Lucid Confusions | Author Archives

Archive by Author

Honey, did you brush your teeth?

February 18, 2012 in Tips with 0 Comments

That’s a question I get (used to get) every night. Nowadays, I just ask myself the question. Who was asking the question? My in-house dentist – yes, my wife.

One day I pondered, “What fun if I could make her ask the whole world that same question”. I know, so mean, right? I can picture all you, brush-haters, jeering at me. But it was the only way I could take the focus off me.

If you are still wondering, she started a blog and it’s called BasicOralCare.com. She started late last year and has done a great job at writing some very interesting posts. She talks about the basics like brushing, flossing, tooth wisdom (intended!) and more. She also covers advanced topics on how to identify cancer, root canal treatments and answers questions from readers. And I am proud of her.

I wanted to introduce her blog here. If you find it interesting, let her know. Thanks.

Postcards from London

February 13, 2012 in Photos, Travel with 1 Comment

I was in London, UK recently and spent very little time there. Actually, I spent 5 days there, four of which was spent at the conference I was attending. Before I caught the flight back, I told myself I had to see some part of London. So I caught the tube (underground railway network – it is one of the most fascinating networks I have ever seen) and got down at Covent Garden and took a long walk.

Here’s what I saw in the Queen’s backyard.

(View on Flickr)

Trafalgar Square Street Performance with Guitar (View on Flickr)

I’m lovin the new rule: No more than 200 SMS

January 15, 2012 in Marketing with 0 Comments

One of the things I am glad I am not carrying in from 2011, this year, are the barrage of text messages on my cellphone. Back in 2009, I wrote about mobile SMS spam. Back then, I used to accumulate 51 short messages in 3 days. Early in 2011, I was accumulating 51 messages in just a day! That’s how bad it got. Then the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) came up with a beautiful plan. They said, “No SIM should send out more than 200 SMS in a day.”

How Ford India spoilt my day and made it at the same time

September 14, 2011 in Random in Life with 1 Comment

I got a car. My first car. And it was quite an experience getting it. As the days went by, the experience turned sour around every turn. I was tempted to blog about it but I had vowed to myself that I would not write anything in public till I get the car.

Like any serious shopping decision made, after more than a year of research, contemplation and personal budget analysis, I (we) decided that we cannot do without a vehicle of our own anymore. And part of that research was to find the right car at the right price. Ford India had released the Figo more than a year back and it seemed a perfect fit for our requirements.

We went on July 20 and booked our car at MPL Ford (Taramani branch), one of the dealers for Ford in Chennai. We were told that the average waiting period for the Figo is 20/22 days. August 10 was set as our delivery date.

I don’t want to write about all that happened separately. I captured it all in an email I sent to the Managing Director of Ford India, Michael Boneham

Management lesson at the barber’s

August 21, 2011 in Tips with 0 Comments

I am not a big fan of visiting the barber. So the fact that there is a barber shop right next to my house helps.

Anyways, it was not my regular barber at the shop this time. It was a young boy – maybe 16, 17 years old. There were no other customers when I stepped in and this guy was busy cleaning shelves. (Not a good sign!)

I checked with him and he asked me to wait 2 minutes. And the haircut was on.

He was slow. Didn’t use a lot of water (which they normally do in haircuts). I was worried I was going to walk out of there with a bad haircut. I wanted to tell him to use more water because he would get better control of my frizzy hair. But I stopped myself. (My thought: Either this guy is nervous and he will nick me or he may actually have his own method for cutting hair. If I tell him to do it my way, it may put him off and I would actually walk out with a bad haircut). So I waited. He finished. And it actually looked as if my hair was chewed on.

You suck at PowerPoint

August 4, 2011 in Marketing, Tips with 0 Comments

Presentations have been a very dear subject to me. More than the actual deck, the whole art of capturing your audience’s attention is what makes the presentation come alive. Unfortunately, I have found no easy way/cheat/hack to get that technique. Some people seem to be naturally good at it while others struggle to make connection with their audience.

The presentation deck is a tool that is used to complement your thought process / talk. But boring presentations are made and sadly, the person writing this is also guilty of the crime.

Michael Hyatt posted this presentation from Slideshare today. It is a great presentation by Jesse Desjardins and I strongly recommend going through these slides for some great points and ideas.

Tradeshows 101: Starting out on the tradeshow circuit

July 23, 2011 in Events 101, Marketing with 0 Comments

I did a simple Google search on managing tradeshows and I noticed a lot of stuff on tradeshow management was written by booth suppliers or vendors and there were none really written by company personnel (like me) sharing their experiences on and off the show floor. So here’s my series on tradeshows/event management.

I will start with four rules that I use every year.

Start early.Think 1 year. For those of you who haven’t gotten into the rhythm of the events tune, one year may sound like a lot of time. But it is true, a lot of things can happen before one year. For one, all the key slots/booth spaces for next year’s event get booked at this year’s show. So if you want a good spot for next year’s show, make sure you meet with your sales rep during the show.What if you weren’t at this year’s show or you decided to do the show for the first time? Then you don’t have a choice. Try to book the show as early as possible to get best pricing and a good location. More than the pricing, it is the location that matters.
Continue Reading…

User Conference New York – Update [PICS]

March 26, 2011 in Events with 0 Comments

We wrapped the ManageEngine User Conference in New York City this week (March 22, 23). It was a great show – in terms of content, participation and energy. We had a packed room at Park Central Hotel – 112 attendees, excluding the organizers.

In terms of content, we had a great keynote presentation from Dennis Drogseth, vice president, Enterprise Management Associates followed by presentations by ManageEngine personnel and customers. We also had a customer panel chaired by Dennis, which got very exciting – we extended it by 30 minutes. You can read more about the event here and here.

Some pictures* from the event:

[Show as slideshow]

SuperMoon Pictures – March 2011

March 20, 2011 in Photos with 2 Comments

On March 19, we witnessed the SuperMoon. The term “SuperMoon” was coined in 1979 by Richard Nolle and defined as

“a new or full moon which occurs with the Moon at or near (within 90% of) its closest approach to Earth in a given orbit. In short, Earth, Moon and Sun are all in a line, with Moon in its nearest approach to Earth.”(quoted from the Wikipedia page)

SuperMoons occur every year as the moon orbits the earth. But the supermoon that occurred on March 19, 2011 is one of the closest in 18 years. More details here.

Took some pictures last night. The moon looked the same to the naked eye like any other night except it was brighter. But when I looked through my lens, it was definitely bigger than the last time I captured it. Here is what I saw:

Shades of SuperMoon - a play with white balance

If content is king, design is queen

March 12, 2011 in Advertising, Branding, Marketing with 0 Comments

You shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. But the cover of the book is what makes -

the reader pick your book from the book rack.
the recruiter choose your resume to read from the pile.
a girl look at you in a crowded club.
the impression you make when you walk into a room of strangers.

When you think design, do not limit it to the usage of colors and images or to what is printed on paper or on a website. Design encompasses the layout within a retail shop, the font style, size and structure on a research report or even the clothes you wear everyday.

If you notice all successful businesses, books, artists, people – they all have good design. I have yet to find something great but with poor, crappy design.

Concert Photos: Mighty Thunder 2011

February 7, 2011 in Photos with 0 Comments

On Jan 21 – 23, I attended a three-day live concert in Cochin, Kerala, India. It was a christian concert with artists from all over the country. You can get more details about the event at mightythunderconcert.com.

I got the opportunity to photograph the event and I loved it. It is the first time, I went all manual on my DSLR and used only my 70 – 300 mm lens on all three days.

One of the best things about covering an event like this is that you get to be in front of all the action. :)

So after10.5 GB and 3600 photos, here are some of my best frozen moments:

[Show as slideshow]

12 3 4 5 ►