Blink

I liked Outliers so much that I had to read Malcolm Gladwell's other book - Blink. The book is about intuitions, hunches or our unconscious self, how they help us in making better decisions - better than a more thoughtful process and how the mind can adapt and develop these hunches through experience and learning.
An interesting book, not as good as Outliers though. He makes his argument in the first couple of chapters, reiterates the point through different stories (as in Outliers), but the stories are not as interesting. One of the chapters that talks about how different facial expressions could be analyzed to figure out individuals actual emotions is just a bit too detailed and long. It wasn't that bad though and I would still love to read his best-seller "The Tipping Point".

Beijing Part 2 & Outliers

This was my second trip to Beijing. Stayed at J.W. Marriott. It was neat. Never stayed in such a high end room before. The one feature I loved - TV right above the bath tub. Lot of amenities too!! Sure enjoyed the stay. Came back only for the better though. Have 9 days off from work. Took the Monday and Tuesday off along with the extended long weekend the company mandated for Thanksgiving. Finally loads of time to spend with Anya. :)

Read a book called Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell. It is a must read. Highly recommended. He starts by explaining how Roseta, Pennsylvania has low rates of heart related problems amongst its population. He also explains why major league players for NHL in Canada have more players born in the first quarter of the year. He then goes on to illustrate how Bill Joy (co-founder of Sun) and Bill Gates were successful because of several intangible factors in addition to their hard-work and determination. It talks about how a combination of ethnicity, the demographics and failure of white-shoe law firms to accept takeover litigation made successful lawyers out of some Jewish immigrants including Joseph Flom. It also tries to explain why Asians are good at Math (however that was not as convincing as the other outliers). He also convincingly explains why Korean airlines had more crashes before the 1990s. A really awesome book.

The Soul of a New Machine

This book was nice. The title does sound geeky, but believe me, it's far from that. Its an account of Data General building their first 32-bit mini-computer during their hay days. A really engrossing book that briefly touches the politics involved in higher ups, emphasizes the grueling hours put in by the hardware engineers, talks about the thrills and trauma of being a manager with unrealistic deadlines, the satisfaction and enthusiasm of getting the job done, and a sense of void in the engineers after the exhilarating journey ended.
The book won a Pulitzer Prize. One thing/term I learned from the book. "Mushroom theory of management".

Anya's blog

Anya is in her sixth week. Its already been an exciting journey so far. She used to cry a lot during her initial two weeks. She is starting to settle down now. Her mom and her grand moms are taking very good care of her. Lucky girl!!!
I am trying to do my part. Maintaining a blog that captures her growth, and keeps her grandfather, aunts and uncles tuned in. http://sumera-ankur-anya.blogspot.com/. It is fun maintaining that blog.
Enjoying fatherhood. Smooth and bumpy ride. :). Never know whats gonna happen next.

Welcome Baby Anya

It is inexplicable. The feeling when you become a father. A few days ago I was anxious, apprehensive and scared. Now I am proud, confident, responsible, happy and eager. Proud to be a father to 'Anya Pal'. Confident of taking care of the baby and assuming more responsibilities. Responsible because a small little life is so dependent on Sumera and I . Happy because I just love her. Eager to hold her every freaking time.
Sumera and I had a daughter on 5th September at 5:45 pm. She was 8.7 pounds and 20.5 in. Labor was of course not a pleasant experience, but it wasn't bad either. All we do, talk and care about right now is Anya. Life does change a lot. But believe me, it is for the better :).

Beijing

Huge city, with an awesome night life. Heavy traffic during peak hours, but otherwise the roads are smooth and the freeways are not that bad. Surprisingly a lot of foreigners, and as expected a lot of people walking on the roads. I stayed in this beautiful city for a month and I can go back for sure. The food and high-end restaurants are the best part. Had a lot of meat. A LOT!! Roast duck was my favorite. Never had it before. The skin of the roasted duck is a delicacy you MUST have. Had sea otters. They were alright. Had some beef stomach which was good.

Went to the Great Wall, Forbidden City, Summer Palace. Great Wall is truly amazing. We did walk a lot on it. Some of the slopes are very steep and you gotta hold the side rails to keep going. Easily the best thing I saw in China. We also went to Quin Dao (that is where the Chinese beer Tsing Tao is made). It is a nice city with ocean views and some beaches. Not as modern or developed as Beijing ofcourse, so I am guessing it was a more authentic experience of China.

I am so glad I had this opportunity. It is really great to have these experiences with different cultures, food and people. Even though language was a barrier I did everything that I wanted to. So no complaints.

Crater Lake debacle

What a turn of events!! We had a wonderful plan of going to Crater Lake this memorial day weekend. Sumera got sick, and spent a day in the hospital :(. We had to dump the plans. The rest of the group did make the trip. Well, what you gonna do. Eventually its all fine and she is in good health.
So the long weekend was either in the hospital or taking it easy at home. Can't complain though. Had fun watching movies :)
Here's five more songs from my top 25

• Free Falling
• Sweet home alabama
• Paint my love
• Wonderwall
• Don't know why