There was a rat in our home that’s been troubling us for a few days. We decided to get rid of it and set up a trap with some food inside as bait. After a few days of dodging, the rat finally got caught. I picked up the rat-trap to look at the catch and I immediately noticed something special.
The entire rat’s body was inside the trap and only one limb and its tail was catch by the trap door, with its limb slightly jutting outside. It immediately reminded me of Aron Ralston, the ’127 hours’ guy, whose hand was caught by a boulder in a remote canyon desert. I had just seen the movie last night and spent a few more hours catching up on real video footages and his interviews. The memories were fresh and this rat was like the rodent equivalent of Aron.
This rat was a fighter. It kept gnawing at the wooden insides and the metal spring. I kept noticing it for 15 minutes and it never looked like it was giving up. I just couldn’t get myself to kill it. I picked up the trap, went to the road and released it. It waited a few seconds and then ran out limping.
This rat will have a story to tell its horde, I’m sure. And quite possibly become a hero!
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I’m starting a mini-travelogue documenting my trip to Detroit. In this travelogue, I’ll try and capture interesting experiences along the way.
Meeting the Phantom Limb Man :
On the Feb 7th night, I head to the Chennai airport to catch my JetAirways flight. While waiting to check-in at the counter, I was pleasantly surprised to find the famed V.S.Ramachandran standing behind me. I opened up the conversation mentioning that a couple of my friends met him at Landmark book store and he mentioned that he was here for the launch of his new book, The Tell Tale Brain. He spoke about how he had another title but his publishers recommended the new one as his old title sounded too academic. Requested him for a podcast but he politely refused saying he’d rather do it after two weeks. I’ll hold him to that.
Where the $*%#& does my flight leave from?
After checking-in, while waiting for boarding the flight, I noticed that the passengers were a bit harried and bugged. I soon realized why. There was no information which gates the flights are departing from. There are 10 gates and no info on which flight is leaving from which gate. And to make it worse there was no information kiosk to ask as well. The only saving grace was that the PA system was clear enough and one had to stay tuned to the announcements to get the results.
Just 1 Internet PC?
There is just one cybercafe from AirTel inside the waiting lounge for passengers waiting to catch their flights. And that solitary cybercafe has just one computer! No WiFi as well. Can you believe this? There must be atleast 500 passengers at any given point of time and just one internet PC! I asked the guy who was manning the AirTel counter why only one, and he shrugged saying, ‘Airport authorities have allowed permission for only one computer’! Geez. He then proceeded to say that Airtel is having this couner more for advertising reasons than as a business proposition. Right. What else can they expect to do with 1 PC?!
The Nicest Lady Captain I’ve Heard.
We had a lady pilot for the Chennai-Brussels flight and the most informative one that I’ve heard in my life. Most pilots spell out basic information in a robotic way but this lady captain was having a conversation. She must’ve spoken for a full 5 minutes and in a very friendly and interesting way. She said that the flight was burning 3000 litres of gasoline per hour! She also warned early that the its quite windy in Brussels and to expect a bumpy touchdown. True to her words, the climbdown resembled a DisneyWorld rollercoaster ride.
Movies and Food.
It was a really long flight. In addition to a little bit of sleep, managed to watch two full movies. ‘The Town’ and ‘Life as we know it’. I quite enjoyed the service by Jet Airways and the food was above-par and filling.
Landed at Brussels.
We landed at Brussels airport and I expected it to be snowing. Afterall its in Europe right and was surprised that it was warm at 11 degrees.
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Kiruba.TV is a podcast series where achievers are encouraged to share their stories in a friendly conversation. Till date I have had the privilege of recording over 100 podcasts, either as audio or video. Each interaction has been a wonderful experience. What really warms the cockles of my heart is that I’m able to share the conversation with others.
In 2011, I’m even more determined to bring in awesome people, both unknown achievers and popular personalities, on the show. And this is where I seek your help. Do you know someone who you really admire, someone who has achieved greatness in their field, someone extremely inspirational? Please do share the names with me. I look forward to hearing from you and thanks in advance.
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For last couple of years, I have been having 2 monitors configured to the same desktop and that has significantly improved my browsing experience and work productivity. Buoyed by that, I wanted to push it a bit further. Add a 3rd monitor.
I like to have more screen real estate around me. It helps me compare designs, do research and multi-task. While twin monitors have greatly helped me, honestly, I really don’t think having a 3rd monitor will improve any more work productivity. But it definitely scores high on the coolness factor. Besides, that’s the way Bill Gates works as well. If this works for Bill, then its good enough for me. And so, last week, I ordered in a new 17 inch monitor.
However, the 3rd monitor just sits there on my desk as a show piece as you can see in the pic above. That’s because the computer service company I hired, can’t seem to fix it. They seem to be at home with a twin monitor set-up but a bit foxed with adding a 3rd one. There are tons of articles online on how to fix them and I mailed it all to them. Hasn’t improved their confidence much.
Do you know someone in Chennai who would know how to fix a 3 monitor setup? I’d be grateful for their contact details. Please mail them to me at Kiruba @ Kiruba.com or leave them in the comments below.
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A week ago, I received an email asking me if I was interested in contributing a chapter to a book. The book is about Social Media, my home turf, and that caught my attention. I shot back a quick reply saying an ‘yes’ from my side.
It was only after I did a little googling about Jeffrey Gitomer did I realize what a big honor this really is. So, who’s Gitomer, you ask? He is a New York Times bestselling author whose books have sold over 3 million copies.
10 out of his 11 book have been #1 Bestsellers on Amazon.com. The other book ranked #2. His books have appeared on more than 700 best sellers lists, including The New York Times, USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, and Business Week.
On September 15, 2006, Jeffrey made an interesting bit of history. For the first time in 117 years, one author had four books on The Wall Street Journal Best Seller lists simultaneously.
Then on May 6, 2008, Jeffrey launched the 3rd edition of his perennial best seller, The Sales Bible, and it again went to number #1 on Amazon.com. Not bad for a 15-year-old book.
That’s impressive, huh?! Now tell me why I shouldn’t be excited! The chapter that I’m contributing is on podcasting. It’s an area that I’m passionate about and have been doing it for a few years now at http://Kiruba.TV. I’m writing down my experiences and what sort of an impact it is making. My chapter will have real-life examples and a pragmatic look at its uses.
The deadline to submitting my chapter is January 5. While I’ve been doing my homework for a while, I’ll have to step on the gas to make the deadline. I’ll keep you updated on how its shaping up. Now, back to writing.
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Email:Kiruba @ Kiruba.com
Phone :+91-44-42733619
Mobile : 98415 97744
Snail Mail :(Home)
Virugambakkam,
Chennai, INDIA
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