

Tom Siebel on Being Gored by an Elephant - grellas
http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2010/1011/rich-list-10-passions-pursuits-tom-siebel-gored-by-elephant.html?boxes=Homepagelighttop

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mayank
I work fairly often in the field in Kenya, and am frankly just shocked that
they were offered a "walking safari". At the Ol'Pejeta Conservancy where I
work, the rules are simple: stay inside the vehicle at ALL times. There simply
isn't the option to get out of the car, EVER. Elephants are the same
everywhere, and this is a terrible omission that ended in an unfortunately
inevitable way.

If you've ever had a male bull elephant plan on getting frisky with your land
rover, you'll never even consider a "walking safari", which (come to think of
it) sounds like a monumental recipe for disaster. By the way, should you find
yourself in that situation (in a car), don't drive away -- rev the engine as
loudly as you can and try not to soil yourself.

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bd_at_rivenhill
_By the way, should you find yourself in that situation (in a car), don't
drive away -- rev the engine as loudly as you can and try not to soil
yourself._

I was thinking more like Browning M2 or Oerlikon 20mm with a cut down barrel.
Bofors 40mm is probably a bit much, but I wouldn't want to ignore Ruark's "use
enough gun" dictum.

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mayank
Guns are banned in the Ol'Pejeta Conservancy, except for the staff (I just
have a research permit), and even then only to use against poachers. I've seen
some serious firepower at the research center, but strictly for use against
poachers.

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raheemm
From the title I thought he was referring to Siebel Software being bought out
by Oracle

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narrator
I knew some wall street traders who dropped out and moved to Tanzania for 2
years and had a sapling plantation. They say the locals burn the forests down
around their villages because they are habitats for wildlife they hate, namely
elephants and lions that routinely kill people.

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cma
the classic, "Shooting an Elephant": <http://www.online-
literature.com/orwell/887/>

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hc5
an interesting story... ruined by... the editor's criminal overuse... of
ellipses

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nodogbite
Yeah, why was it written like that?

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jonsen
I think it's transcript style. I didn't find it annoying. I think it added a
subtle intensity and captivation which added to my experience.

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jvdh
What was annoying was that the last two paragraphs were on

.

.

the second page.

Don't get me wrong, I know about spreading pages over multiple pages is
supposed to help increase page views. But this was just so ridiculously short
and unevenly distributed that it was extremely annoying.

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dasil003
The guide missed the elephant from 5 yards away. Was it just a warning shot?

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yewweitan
I thought this was awesome. Being able to recount such a horrific event in
that calm manner is an immense display of mental fortitude.

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eam
Great story. The ending was quite humorous:

 _I [still] have the iPhone that was in my left front pocket that basically
exploded . . . it's now in about 200 pieces. . . and I have been meaning to
send it back to Steve Jobs for a refund._

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borneogamer
Basically shit happens, and the poor guy had a really bad day. It's a good
thing he can take it all in his stride.

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joubert
They should have flown him to South Africa for surgery instead of 20 hours to
San Jose.

