Airline Travel Charges

Now a days most airlines charge extra for the following: 

Extra if you want a window seat. 

Extra if you want an aisle seat. 

Extra for checked baggage. 

Extra for food 

Extra for a bottle of water. 

Extra (in some airlines not all) to use the bathroom. 

Since I have travelled a lot all over the world I have 2 suggestions for the airlines to consider: 

When the cabin pressure fails and oxygen masks come down, it should be available to only those who pre-paid $7.50 to use it. (It is like a flight insurance. Passengers should pay this fee while booking the ticket.) 

(I digress. Once I was travelling from Chennai to Delhi. After landing in Delhi, the plane was taxiing but most of the passengers were standing and removing their carryon luggage. The flight attendant pleaded with the passengers to sit down but failed. She informed the captain and he immediately put a sudden brake. Most of the passengers fell on the floor.) 

So, I have a suggestion. Charge $50 if you want to get off the plane quickly ahead of other passengers. 

Do you have any other ideas to charge the passengers? Please let me know. 

Thanks.

Sridhar Vembu

When we think of big tech founders, it comes to our mind Bill Gates and Steve Jobs. But one Indian entrepreneur who is making a difference is Sridhar Vembu. 

Sridhar Vembu is the founder and CEO of Zoho Corporation. It is one of the most successful software companies. He had a vision to foster rural development and to create sustainable, community driven workplaces. 

What he did? 

He closed his headquarters in Silicon Valley in the San Francisco Bay Area and opened it in a remote village near Tenkasi in Tamil Nadu (His native village). Zoho corporation Headquarters in a village in Tamil Nadu India has now 1000 employees. Its market value is 13 billion US Dollars. 

He is considered as the 35th richest person in India. He was awarded Padma Shri in 2021.

 Here is how he lives in his headquarters:

Pete Rose Reinstated

Pete Rose the famous baseball player who was banned from inducting into Hall of Fame was reinstated today. He is now eligible. I am very happy. I am reproducing part of a blog post I wrote about Pete Rose in May 2013. Here it is. 

Pete Rose is a former professional American baseball player who is very famous. Pete Rose to baseball, is like Tendulkar to cricket or Beckham to soccer. I would think he is better than both of them. To say that Pete Rose loves playing baseball is quite an understatement. Let me give 2 examples of his love for baseball. 

1 - He once said in an interview that he will play baseball even if no one paid him any money to play. He loves the game so much that he’ll play for free. (I don’t think Tendulkar or Beckham will make such a statement. Or any professional player.) Legend goes, he never argued about his contract with his team owners.

2 – During his games, whenever he got a “Ball 4 - Walk”, he would run (like a 100-yard dash) as fast as he could to first base, instead of just casually walking to first base. (Non-Baseball readers: If you do not understand the game, it is OK). This is just an example to show Pete’s enthusiasm for playing the game. He was always like a 12-year-old boy, playing a game with friends on the weekend, in the middle of the street. 

Because of his unique playing style (enthusiasm of a school boy in a professional sport), Pete was nick named Charlie Hustle. 

Pete should have been automatically elected to Baseball’s Hall of Fame. However, there were accusations and allegations that he gambled on baseball. Therefore, he was banned from induction into Baseball’s Hall of Fame. 

Gambling on baseball is legal in Las Vegas and other places that take Sports Book Bets. However, players should not gamble on the games. Yes indeed, Pete did what he is not supposed to do and he is paying for it. Hopefully they will reconsider the ban and vote him into the Baseball Hall of Fame. He has a tremendous backing of people (fans) who want to see him inducted…but the Baseball Commissioner’s office is against him. 

Oh, by the way, there is one final point I wanted to make about Pete Rose’s gambling on baseball. What kind of bets did Pete make? He always made bets for his team to WIN. He never made any bets for his team to lose. 

Fixing happens when athletes lower their performance on purpose so they look bad and the team looks bad (now they can make money by betting against themselves). Pete always wanted to win and also bet that way. Banning him is indeed a tragedy.

Hebemus Papam

It is a Latin word. Meaning: We have a Pope. Please do not confuse with the Tamil word “Papam”

Everyone is surprised that in more than 2000 years, an American was elected as a Pope. But when he came out to speak to the audience he spoke in Spanish. Though he was an American born, he served in Peru for more than 20 years. So, he is fluent in Spanish language. 

Here is my tongue in cheek remark (Please take it as a joke) 

When Donald Trump wants to dominate the world, is there a special reason why they elected an American? 

Did Trump pressure the cardinals to elect an American? 

Did Trump threaten Vatican with Tariff? 

Did Trump threaten to annex Vatican as the 52nd State (after Canada the 51st)? 

Did Trump threaten to rename Vatican as East Virginia? 

Did Trump threaten to deport foreign born bishops living in USA to El Salvador. 

As the famous Tamil Movie dialogue says “enakku oru unmai therinjagnanum”. (I want to know the real truth.)