Categories
Miscellaneous

tipping and time pass


found this in an email forward
here is all i end up doing when i am bored and there is not much to do.

PS: this was a one time thing. don’t ask me repeat the same performance.

Categories
Miscellaneous

old age care


this is a joke. but it really makes me ponder why people should not do it.

Categories
Miscellaneous

Car: One giant wallet for men

I am amongst those guys who always used to complain that women unnecessarily lug a heavy handbag around which is stuffed with junk. However recently I have noticed that guys are no better either. Just open the boot (and not just glove box area) and be amazed by the quantity and variety of stuff they carry around.
Running shoes, towel, change of clothes…. This I saw in the back seat of a guy who swears that he has not been to the gym in over a month.
An empty: Mini-fridge. (An insulated cooler is more common) I would love a drink on the road, but what use it would be if you have not stocked it.
Paint cans, dent removal kit, a tool kit that would rival the one owned by your mechanic. I wonder how often you would stop at the traffic light to repair your car (a bit of context, most Indians go to a mechanic even for a simple flat tire)
Items in the ToDo list which have been lying untouched for months.
CDS, dvds, combs, deodorants, etc. and all the other junk you can think of.
I guess what really happens is that one sees a huge personal storage space and over time we find stuff to fill it.

Categories
Miscellaneous

Casino: One-Time Play chips

Unlike the popular perception, casinos are not all about gambling. One can also go there to enjoy the lights, food, free booze, the shows/performances and the glamour which makes it like a mini-paradise which is open all night.
However there is a catch.
Most casinos have high entry fee (about INR 2000-3500/- in Goa) which they cannot lower because most of it goes to the government. However they do reduce the burden on your pocket by giving you one time play chips of 1500-3000/-. So if you deduct the price of these, then the entry fee is worth one night of partying.
So all you have to do is go to the Roulette table, bet half your money on red and half on black. Just as an insurance keep a small amount on the ‘0’. Collect your winnings and enjoy your evening.

Categories
Miscellaneous

Title Insurance

With the way the property prices are going, everybody in India wants to invest in property. I have a few MBA batchmates who are knee deep in student loans, but are already checking out properties in and around Bangalore.
Apartment structure depreciates over time so many of the smart fellows want to invest in land/plots. However their investments are hindered by 2 reasons:
1. Squatters: illegal occupation/land-grabbing.
2. Legitimacy of the transaction:
a. It is not uncommon that a fraud sold you the land without the knowledge of the owner.
b. The legal owner sold the same piece of land to multiple persons and disappeared.
c. The ownership is disputed. There are siblings (usually sisters) who have claim over the property and yet were not paid the proceeds.
In the USA, there is a concept of title insurance which a person can buy and it secures them against ownership disputes. I could google for some commercial property where the title was insured. However I wonder why the insurance companies do not sell title insurance. Also it would be good if some institution can guarantee the land against squatters. This could turn into a huge business proposition.
Right now gated communities/plots offer some kind of security. There is a community boundary wall with enough security to prevent squatters. Also the builders who create and sell these plots use their brand name to provide an implicit title guarantee.
 

Categories
Miscellaneous

It’s not a helmet stand

Have you ever wondered what percentage of the 2 wheelers don’t have one/both side view mirrors? For the remaining who have them often use the mirror as a place where they can hang their helmets and hence don’t bother it to aligning them properly.
However the interesting point is that this does not stop these 2 wheelers to take dangerous zickzack turns in the streets to take advantage of every possible gap between 2 moving vehicles. Often they don’t bother to use turning indicators and expect the traffic to brake suddenly so as to prevent crushing these bugs.
‘What you don’t know can’t hurt you.’ Well that does not mean that you impair your visibility and take high speed blind turns and rely on the alertness and benevolence of the person behind you to ensure you return home safely.