Scorpion Sting and Anti Venom

During my recent trip to India i found a scorpion in our home and fortunately it didn't sting any one.

Here is what it looked like (in our regional language it is called "Mandragabba" )

I was told the strings are quite dangerous and it made me think what first aid options we have in case of a sting ( apart from calling the local doctor and we live in a village and needs at least couple of hours to go to a decent hospital with all the facilities).

Disclaimer: I am not a Doctor. Use the following info at your own risk.

There is an antidote (Prazosin) available in India and here are few links related to it.Here is the info on this drug and the brands that manufacture it.

USA:

In US Antivenom is available and it is called "Anascorp". It's quite costly. Though it costs a fraction in Mexico.

http://boards.medscape.com/forums?128@379.NxIIaonei1I@.2a0ce37b!comment=1&cat=All

http://www.fiercepharma.com/story/scorpion-antivenoms-price-stings-az-patients/2011-11-15

India

http://www.aarogya.com/health-resources/rural-health/4454-scorpion-sting-a-review-of-121-cases.html

Treatment details

http://www.indianpediatrics.net/may2000/may-504-514.htm

Strings i have tried so far

All these days i never paid any attention to the Strings. What ever String the racquets came with i used them.

 I String my own racquets and hence have more freedom in trying out various combinations.

And i don't break strings that often.

How ever after reading through many tennis forums i now have decent idea reg various Strings and started experimenting with various String setups.

Here is the list of Strings i am using so far :

1) Gosen OG Sheep Micro      (Synthetic String)

   Good and cheap synthetic string. Mostly used for crosses in a hybrid setup

2) Gosen polylon                      (Poly)

    First generation poly. If you have arm problems stay away from it.

3) Forten Nylon                        (Cheap Nylon String)
    Dead cheap string. Good for String breakers. Can be used as a Cross in Hybrid setup

4) Pro's Pro Hitec Multi Fibre   (Multiflament)

    Softest multi. Haven't played with it yet

5) Poly Star Classic                  (Poly)


      Stiffness Ratings


           Company           String           Material     Guage       Stiffness(lb/in)      Tension Loss(lbs)
           Ploy Star         Classic 17        Polyester         1.22                232                        22.23
           Ploy Star         Classic 16        Polyester         1.28                235                        22.14

6) Poly Star Profile                   (Poly)

Applying for Re Entry Permit

In order to apply for a Re Entry permit (after getting the Greencard).

One needs to file I-131 and here is the checklist.

1. $445 ($360 for I-131+ $85 for Bio Metric) check made out to "US Department of Homeland Security"
2. completed I-131
3. Copy of Green card
4. Copy of my Passport All Pages
5. 2 US passport photos
7. Supporting documents for travel. (Explaining the reason why i need to stay for longer period abroad).
8. Optional G-1145 Form.

I got my Re Entry permit and it is valid for two years !!.

For my it took close to two months.

USTA League Results

I Started playing in a USTA League and so far my record is 3-1.

I am only Playing Singles (3.5). Our team hasn't lost yet !! We are 7-0.

Here are my Results so far.

Yonex RD Ti 70 Long

I am able to get couple of Yonex RD Ti Long racquets in 7.5 condition and i am really happy with them.

I need to string one of them and waiting for my Strings to arrive from TW.

I had a hitting session and though this is the first time i played with a Yonex racquet (Box shaped head) i didn't notice any difference and i had good control over all my shots.

The one played with weighed 361gm and the unstrung one weighed  ~345gm.  These racquets are 27.5in long (half inch longer than the standard length which is 27 inch).

Here are the pics.

and it seems this racquet is discontinued and is hard to find.

Here are the specs from archived TW web site.

Head Size: 98 sq. in. / 632 sq. cm.

Length : 27.5 inches / 70 cm

Construction : 19-20 mm

Composition : High Modulus Graphite & Titanium Mesh/Ultima Ti Shaft

Strung Weight : 12.1 ounces / 343 grams

Power Level: Low

Babolat Racquet Diagnostic Center (RDC) Data: Stiffness: 62 (0-100) Inertia: 321 (200-400) Power: B, 50 (0-100) Control: B, 52 (0-100) Manueverability: A, 73 (0-100)

Stroke Style: Full

Swing speed: Fast

Balance: 11pts Head Light

Racquet Color: Red w/Black & Silver Highlights

Grip type: Yonex Leather Grip

String Tension: 50-60 pounds

String Pattern: 18 Mains / 20 Crosses Mains skip: 8T,10T,8H,10H Two Piece No shared holes

Thoughts on Superbowl Weekend

Both the games (NE Vs BAL & SF Vs NY) were really close and even though i was rooting for either NE Vs NY or BAL Vs SF super bowl i was little disappointed the way Baltimore lost to NE.

After watching Rey Lewis's post game speech (Link Here) i appreciate what it takes to be a leader and inspire others where every one is searching for the scape goat or coming up with theories what could have happened if some thing did this , referee making a mistake etc.

As Bellichick famously quoted "stats are for losers"  It's time to move on and learn from your mistakes (missed opportunities).

I will be rooting for NE against Giants and i hope they will settle the score this time and i won't have a sleepless night as it was the case in 2007.

As far as Ravens are concerned it was a great season and lot of positives..

1) Flacco stepped up big time in crucial games
2) Just need to draft good center , Left Tackle and line backers.

Ball Badminton

Recently when i was browsing through the badminton forum i saw a thread where few guys were asking about ball badminton.

This is what i have played during my childhood till i was in high school and it's very interesting game which was very popular in rural Andhra during that time.

When i was a little kid (i was in elementary) i used to go to the high school which was next to our house and watch the high school kids and adults play badminton every day (My father used to play a lot). That's how i picked it up and i played every day during my school years.

Went to Inter school competitions and when i was a senior (10th grade in india) we won the zonal (Inter district) as well as inter zonal (District) level championship.

During that time every year there used to be an open invitational tournament conducted in our village during First & second week of January . Generally the finals will be scheduled on Sankranthi.

I don't think any one is playing this beautiful game in rural India any more.

I used to have few racquets ( Raja , Pitchaiah  and Narayana are the well known manufacturers of the ball badminton racquets during that time).

I will try to post the pictures when i go to India. I am sure i have those old racquets some where in our house.!!

This game is played with 5 players each side (two of them play Front one Center and couple of backs).And it's played best of three games.

Each Game has 29 points and from 25 the points are called with names.

25 - Sub Notice
26 - Notice
27 - Home Ball
28 - Game Ball
29 - Game Up.

And each side will have 5 Serves (one per each person). And you can only win points on your side's serve.