Curious Connections

I'm not sure if I'm going to culture moina. Hopefully, yes. So, if you're like me then here's the resource I found online. Also, links to buy moina!  https://himadriaquatics.com/products/moina-culture-live-fish-food/

 I'm a big fan of volunteering and intership concept. I mean to say, everyone from high-school onwards should be given opportunity to do volunteering or internship with any NGO or Govt firm or private biz. All around us there are many biz ( big and small) which can use interns or volunteers to make things easy on their hands.  For example, a person can volunteer at an art studio or support a kudambashree biz or work in a hotel, or a resort, or a Ayurveda centre, at a pet centre, or a pet rescue home, or KSRTC, Village Office, or with Horticultural Society Nishagandi, or with Tourism Dept or work at a help desk in a counselling centre, at a hospice, or work with Agro Industries Centre, or work in a Physical Rehabilitation centre, Blood Bank medical college, RCC, KTDC, MILMA, Fine Arts College, Polytechnic, Industrial estate, a school, old age home, etc.  Well, this post was triggered by a conversation I had with a aquarium shop keeper. Btw, my interest in keep fish tank is...

  Sharing - Caring - Giving - Growing  My fav area where I get different kind of thoughts is Medical College, Trivandrum, especially around evening as street lights take over. The people milling around, rush of buses, screaming siren of ambulance, traffic lights, mute sight of Causality Building of Medical College, vendors squatting by the way side, people with xray in one hand, groundnut seller tapping his metal spoon to attract customers, medical students wearing stethoscope, boys and girls enjoying Peni ice cream, cobbler who sits on the payment, cops coming out of police station, medical store owners looking happy with the sales, broken road inside TRIDA, fruit sellers making a sale, girls in groups buying provision in a store, young people flocking at Malabar Bites, people coming in and out of Jayaram Bakery, Regunath Stores which is stuck in time, thattu kada packed during evening,  a lady who sells tender coconut, spirited people coming out of Ruby Arena bar, ...

 Here's a post where I'll post all the pics and screenshots from Insta which has triggered my interest. So, instead of just shelving all these great DIY project, I can use this blog post as a repository to put all in one basket.  How to Make this Type of Leaf Holder? Planter with a half portion of Glass Bottle ( Doable project) Metal stand to hang plants  Magnetic Bookmark project ( Bible theme)  Do you Get Ideas with Such Wall Frame Planter Idea - Simple Gadget      Lovely!  DIY Plant Related  Projects

I love eggs! Love to have eggs in any format -  half-boiled ones,full boiled ones, omelette, poached, meat stuffed egg,  scrambled, egg roast, egg sunny side up, egg gravy, egg biryani.  These days I have the habit of eating boiled egg by 11ish. Being at home, and pitching for work has such perks. And,while having egg, I thought of the good old adv which used to come on T.V. I'm not sure how many of you remember this adv. As I go through the comments on YouTube, it's clear that there are many who loved the lyrical beautify of this TV adv.  Sunday ho ya Monday, roz khao ande” was a public relations campaign by the National Egg Coordination Committee (NECC) to increase egg consumption in India. The campaign was a success, and the slogan remains relevant today: For the Love of Eggs - Egg Vending Machine I stay close to Trivandrum, Medical College. Driving past this area, I see scores of people from morning to evening, coming to this area for cure, for work, and more imp...

I saw an Insta reels on how to use old silverwear and metal spoons to make custom rings! It looked nice, giving a rustic feel to and make such rings a unique gift piece.  Here's the Insta link if you want more inspiration and idea. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Connor Dukes (@byconnordukes)

  Vintage Photo This photo shared by someone triggered my love for old pictures! And, it triggered something else now! What if I take old pictures, put it in a frame and sell it to people! Yes, random people.  Well, it could be old pictures from my family album or from your album! Probably, I can add a call out, a caption to make it compelling.  Just thinking! Curious Konnections

 October is coming to a timely close. As the month ends, I have bills to pay. As my wallet accumulated nothing but change, I decided what came naturally to me! I went out to pledge!  So, before I went to the pawn shop, my mind was thinking - how much will I get for these titbits! Will it cover my dues? A little later inside the shop, the girl said a figure that assumed me! Hello No! So much! I never expected that much! It's a big save!  Well, the story doesn't end that way! Sometime after, I was sipping lemonade in a shop! I was thinking, well, is that enough. What if I didn't have these dues to be paid. In that case, I would have used the money for something else.  Hey. Did you get the point!  We're greedy buggers! When we have nothing, we pray for something, even meager! But, when we get more, that's not enough!  What a wonderful mind! 

I found this video very useful. I'm not into usability, still such short videos share ideas and point in a simple format. I hope each colleges in Kerala create micro videos on various topics and uploads on YouTube. What say?

  Sling Bag Collection Other day at Malabar Bites (a popular snack shop), there was a young fella with a sling bag. When asked, he showed the site. After I left the shop, I kept on telling the name on my mind. But, in between, some big thought came like an avalanche and buried that name.  All I could remember was that it started with P. Then  searched all different keywords around pl, pulo, and whatever name that starts with P. At my search on mobile was in vain.  Later, next day, I resumed my search on the laptop. This time, I used image search, site search. Finally, after going through many pages, I reached. Whew!  It's https://www.theplor.in/  ( I guess, this site has to do a bit more SEO to wriggle its way past all the big bag brands).  The keywords could be: Students canvas bag  Sling bag for men or women Beige color cotton bags for men/women  Unisex sling bags  Rustic looking laptop bags for young men Handy bags to carry 15 in...

  Auto Passenger by the auto rickshaw Today it rained heavily. It was quite unexpected. Probably, it's the change of season. It's thulavarsham now - a season in Kerala marked by heavy rains, thunder and lightning,  And, in this rain I was under the roof and watching the road outside. As I was gazing without any intent, there came an auto. A lady got down from the auto and she was paying the fare. It took her sometime to open the umbrella and then few more minutes to rummage through her purse to pay the fare.  So, in this situation, I was thinking that it would be great if there was some kind of temporary attachment on the auto which will give some cover to the passenger - till he or she opens the umbrella.  What if there's a button on the auto which will open a small cover for the passenger. I'm not sure if this idea would work but if it works it would save lot of trouble for the passengers.  Or it could be a 3 to 4 feet plastic rod which can be folded alongside...

Occasional Cleaning of the leaves and waste   I have no problem taking a broom clearing the dry leaves on the road. Well, I'm not new. My mom used to do it. Now, she's not in a great shape to do all these tasks.  And, so I started doing it and it made me feel good. It's good b'cos it makes the road in front of my house look good and I hope people who use this road will feel good to use this road.  Often, I wonder why most people don't do such things in Kerala. Why are such people a minority? How can we teach the new gen kids to practice such public cleaning activity? What if a popular politician or a public influencer takes up such task?  Just saying! Curious Konnections 

Hilly Acqua & Kudambashree   I just landed on this site while searching the keyword - Kerala govt mineral water project. And, when I reached the site, it had the tell-tale sight that it's maintained by a govt committee. Btw, why am I so against the f&cking committe. Oh, it's nothing personal. Who know tomorrow I will be a part of a committee. The problem with most committee or teams is that it bogged by opinion of too many people, interests and they take too much time to reach the objective.  Well, talking about committe, I came across a line on Content Marketing Institute blog and here it goes - My neighbor was a math professor at a college in San Francisco. He once told me: “ The longest distance between two points travels through a committee .” Source;      contentmarketinginstitute Ok, let's not deviate from the main thing I want to share or suggest! 1. Why are most such sites have this word next to their url ( Not Secure )  2. Th...

  Netholi Pickle ( SJ Poultry) Bills on the Floor Unkept Floor at BEVCO Outlet It's a familar sight in this booze outlet shop in Trivandrum. The tell tale sight that it's run by a committe, not a private individual who would be worried about the next door competition.  So, this post is not about the problem with the unkept premises of BEVCO. Well, it's easy to complain as I'm not sure how they are understaffed or overworked in a such shops! I have a solution for you guys. A suggestion that might work!  Here's the thing! I recently bought netholi pickle from a chicken store. I liked the taste and I wished it could be a good touchings when I have booze!  Now the suggestion is this - what if BEVCO centres have a stand where customers can pick snacks, water ( kerala Govt made water), Kudambashree made Pickels and condiments, and chappati made by Prison inmates, etc.  Here's how it could be implemented: 1. Set-up a stand to keep such stuffs inside the BEVCO centre. A...

  Rains in Trivandrum. This where I paused the video, then shot again. I like the way it mixed. However, I need to improvise the flow and right edits.  What if I learn video editing and use tool like Filimora or Premier Pro? And, use these skills to generate a second income! 

Good Initiative to boost tourism For sometime, govt has been initiating the scheme to facilitate caravan parks in Kerala. However, the response has been lukewarm. So, what's stalling such initiative.  More links: 1. Caravan parks in Kerala    2. Caravan park in Bekal    3. First Caravan park in Idiki    4. Hire a Caravan n Kerala - Travel Packages in kerala 

  Creative Person - Power within us! We're all creative! Somehow, we loose that creative skill in our daily pursuit- the skill to connect the seemingly unconnected.  It was a aha moment when I saw this quote. I just wonder why someone is far good in finding random connections and using that connection to start a biz, solve a problem, make our community better or improve their life, etc.  So, what triggers us to make random connections! Is it a bolt in the sky type of thought, or is it something which comes with introspection?  I'm not sure. As of me, I sometimes get into the mode of making random connection based on what I know, based on my experiences or things I have seen.  One way to increase this skill is to meet people, be in different places and situations, find how one connects with the unrelated one, and so on.  So, how to use this creative skill to make a living? Is there any value for being creative? How to monetize this skill?  That's what I...

 As I write more about Kerala, a state I'm more familiar with, I think, I need a separate post to collate all the ideas under one roof. So, here goes all the hacks, suggestions, and ideas.  Kerala Biz Initiatives  Suggestions on various Kerala Govt Agencies, Departments  1. E-district Makeover with AI     The plan of this post is to introduce AI in edistrict portal so that it can process application in an automatic way and reduce the backlogs. Moreover, it will reduce human errors, and fasten the application process.  2. K-Nanma ( Govt Helpline)     This plan is based on the similar poverty helpline in US ( 211). So, this could be used by the central govt and by state government which provides a 24/7 helpline to call for any needs of the public.  3. BEVCO - Customer Friendly Biz Outlet Initiative   Can we expect BEVCO to do differently that the way it's run now. How can we make booze available to citizens in a better and organ...

  Wood Working Courses Today is  21/10/24. I'm just wishing everyone a beautiful week ahead! Hopefully, we all get to experience, new things, try out new gigs, meet with new people or donate something to someone who is in need!  When I opened facebook, this pic caught my attention. It's a pic of a wood working course by a technical college in US. While I saw this pic, I was thinking of many ITI, Vocational Schools, and Polytechnics spread around Kerala.  Of the many ITI, I know one in Chakai, Central Polytechnic at Vattoorkavu and Women's Polytechic at Kaimanam. So, here's the plan to make these institutions open to public for short term courses ( weekend) 1. Start a separate Facebook and Instagram account to promote such courses and re-brand these institutions.  2. Provide short term courses ( wood working class or basic welding class, basic car repair class or basic astronomy class, graphic design class, embroidery classes, pottery classes, gardening class, cl...

Astronaut Training for Children NASA A news clip carried a story of a girl who became a pilot. And, the experiences which gave her the flight of imagination to become a pilot. It's the story of the Maitreyee piloted a flight which was facing a technical snag and managed to land safely on the ground with 141 passengers to Trichy.  In the article, there was the mention of astronaut training for children by NASA. On reading this, I was wondering if ISRO has similar program.  While searched online, I found couple of activities and training conducted by ISRO. One such programe is YUva VIgyani KAryakram (YUVIKA)  or "Young Scientist Programme"by ISRO. One more thing I wish to know is how similar are the training given by NASA and ISRO, which can ignite the imagination of young minds!  Do ISRO benchmark their training for young people with the similar other astronaut related agencies? Do they contact attendees to know what they experienced and try to add to their ...

  Click Bait Topics on Facebook  About BMW - Spam type posts on Facebook These days I'm noticing this kind of posts which keeps appearing on my facebook wall. These posts are no use to me, so I need clicking the option - Hide all Poss from __   . At first I thought I won. But, the more I hide the posts from my feeds, more are appearing with similar format. The tell tale signs of the posts are the numberd posts. Often the headline reads as Ten Unknown Facts About #BMW.  Also, if such posts are appearing in my fb feeds, then the chances are that it will appear for you!  Suggestion to Facebook! So, if any of the Facebook staff, gatekeepers reads this post, then pls do something about it. Either, you can tweak your internal algorithm to catch such types of posts like "Ten Facts about...." as a potential spam. To support this, if a fb user clicks to hide the posts from a person, then it's an added confirmation about it.  Let's try to make things easy! Curio...

Pork portions at the shop   Kripa Cold Storage - Pork Shop at Nalanchira Earlier, I used to buy pork from Premier Cold Storage, Medical College, Tvm. At that time, I used to buy packeted pork bits by MPI.  Lately, I buy pork from Nalanchira. Though, I'm not that happy with the way they cut the pork, I feel it's fresh than the packed ones. ( Kripa Cold Storage, Ph# 9388269338.  Btw, I have used Swiggy Gine to pick pork from the shop. It saves time. But, I'm not sure about the pork cut. I usually buy pork which has meat and fat in equal portions. However, most shop keepers are always on a hurry mode to listen to our preference. ( What to do?) What kind of pork recipes do you make at home? My wifey makes pork vindaloo and pork pepper roast. Both are good in its own way. Now, I wish she makes pork spare ribs ( grilled). I think, the last time I have pork ribs was at Koshy's Bangalore. So, what's your fav pork curry?  Have you tried Pandi curry, Coorgi style?  Curiou...

  Varkala Black Beach  Varkala Beckons! At one time Kovalam used to the beach destination in Kerala. Now, that spot is taken by Varkala, which is around 40km from Trivandrum. With more tourists visiting Varkala beach, I have more reason to share my experiences, pics taken of the beach, and other personal observation about this cliff beach. So, on this blog post  I've listed the main activities visitors can experience.  Reaching Varkala By Train Varkala is a 45 minute train from Trivandrum. You have to check the trains which stops at Varkala. From Varkala railway station to the cliff beach ( Heli Pad), the auto guys usually charge somewhere around Rs 120. First of all, I'll tell you what I do when I visit Varkala. For folks like us in Trivandrum, Varkala is a short trip. Most people would be driving down to Varkala by car. But, I personally prefer train travel. From Varkala railway station, it's a short ride by auto to Heli Pad point. From there, we usually walk to Bl...

 This is just a random post after I wrote the post about Vfive apartments in Kumarapuram . What if I'm able to find out or make a list of all apartments ( big and small) in Trivandrum. Probably, such a list might be useful for a potential home buyers.  Also, I can use this list to promote one of my services, which is to create apartment walk-through videos!  Favorite Homes   ICloud   VFive Homes  . Desi Homes  SOBHA Limited Nikunjam Builders Heather Homes Confident Group SFS Homes Asset Homes Skyline Builders Shanoor Homes Indroyal Properties Prime Property Developers Cordial Properties Kalyan Developers Olive Builders Malabar Developers Varma Homes iCloudHomes Artech Realtors Sowparnika | Apartments . Sun Homes Sree Dhanya Homes