taking care of a kitten

One December morning in our apartment vehicle parking area, a little kitten was found seeking attention. The kitten seemed to be abandoned by someone who didn't want or couldn't take care of it. The tiny creature looked hungry. One of the residents kept a bowl of milk & bread for it. The kitten would lap up the milk and leave the bread. I think this went for 2 or 3 days. One Sunday morning Pushpa and I got back from our bicycle ride, as we parked our bikes, the little one appeared. Pushpa has a fondness for kittens, she picked up and brought it home.

I was against the idea of it staying on our home. My reason was that it needs to answer its calls of nature. So we decided to let it stay on the terrace. There's lot of place for it run around and it could use one or two planters for taking care of its business. The arrangement worked, it seemed comfortable and safe on the terrace. Also, we would feed it only on the terrace but let it spend few minutes everyday inside.

When inside it would explore every nook and corner. It would claw the foot mats. Once we gave it an unused PET bottle. The way it played with the bottle was amusing. I think kittens are more active and playful when they are being watched. Little show-off creatures. They know how to get attention and also good at emotional blackmailing.

It almost a month since it became our building resident. Its growing up fast. Our attempts at finding someone to adopt it hasn't worked so far. Looks like its going to become our apartment cat.

Talking of cats, these two proverbs are commonly known-

1. Curiosity killed the cats.

2. Cat has nine lives.

Out of curiosity I Googled if there were more such proverbs, instead I found a few amusing quotes:

• Owners of dogs will have noticed that, if you provide them with food and water and shelter and affection, they will think you are God. Whereas owners of cats are compelled to realize that, if you provide them with food and water and affection, they draw the conclusion that they are God - Christopher Hitchens
• In ancient times cats were worshipped as gods; they have not forgotten this - Terry Pratchett
• Cats have it all - admiration, an endless sleep, and company only when they want it - Rod McKuen
• I had been told that the training procedure with cats was difficult. It's not. Mine had me trained in two days - Bill Dana

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Bicycles- MTB vs Hybrid

Having ridden both Mountain Terrain and Hybrid bikes I had accumulated some experience and knowledge about the bikes and riding. When I spoke to a person relatively new to cycling, the most common question was: what's the difference between a Hybrid bike and MTB. Having gone over the matter several times, a thought formed- collate the info into a blog post. So here we have this post outlining the differences. Hoping this helps a buyer choose the right kind of bike.

MTBs Firefox Firestorm 29 D & Firefox Firestorm 27.5 D

Hybrid bike Montra Downtown

	MTB	Hybrid Bike
Frame	MTBs come in 2 or more frame sizes. With frame the wheel diameter varies. Larger the frame, larger the wheel diameter.	Hybrid bikes come in 1 size which is more or less equal to 27.5" MTB.
Tires	Tires are usually 2" wide with deep treads. These tires are built for rough roads.	Hybrid tires are slimmer compared to MTB tires. With closer treads the tire surface appears smoother. Hybrid tires are made for smoother roads.
Suspension	Front fork has twin shock absorbers with suspension lock as an optional feature.	Rigid frame.
Brakes	Older MTBs have V-brakes, the newer bikes have disc brakes on both wheels.	Disc brakes are standard for both wheels.
Terrain handling	It is easier to control a MTB on dirt roads, stony roads, muddy & slushy conditions than a Hybrid bike. Wide tires and front suspensions absorb shocks to a great extent hence the ride feels comfortable. Braking power on dirt roads is better compared to a Hybrid.	Hybrid bike is built for smooth to mildly rough roads. A hybrid rider experiences more shocks on rough roads because it lacks shock-absorbers.
Rider effort	MTB tires have more contact area with the road surface hence requires greater pedaling effort than a Hybrid on tar / cement roads.	With sleeker tires, a hybrid bike moves faster on tar / cement roads with lesser pedaling effort.
Tire Air Pressure	30 to 35 PSI	45 to 50 PSI

Disclaimer: The information provided is based on personal experience after riding these bikes for  considerable distances. There isn't any sort of input from the two manufacturers in composing this article.
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Chintamani Chanduhoovu

There are varieties Marigold flower. This one is called Chintamani in Karnataka.

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