Blog of Parag

Adit

We are pleased to welcome the newest member of our family. Adit was born on the evening of Dec. 28th, 2005. He weighed 7.5 lbs and was 20 inches long at birth. Both Adit and V are doing very well.

BTW, Nebraska also beat Michigan in the Alamo Bowl. That just added to all the other happiness of the day.

Master's thesis in a trash can

Linda Cerniglia lost her only copy of her Master's thesis saved on a jump drive when a burgler stole her purse from her car. After a few hours of her own detective work and a dive inside a dumpster, her perseverance paid off and she found her purse with her jump drive in it. She graduated soon after that and everything worked out well. Read the whole story here.

I am just totally and completely amazed that this lady was so absolutely careless to have only one copy of her thesis on a small device that can be easily lost. I remember from my thesis-writing days that I used to back up my thesis on 2 computers (one at home and one at my lab) and one Iomega zip-drive every night.

Just to be the devil's advocate: It almost seems unfair that Linda got her thesis back. She should have been punished for being so careless by making her write the whole thing again.

Left or right?

Every time I sit down for a proper 'sit-down' meal at a banquet or a reception, I instinctively choose the wrong set of glasses.

I am right-handed and I grew up eating food with my fingers. I still eat a lot of my meals at home with my fingers. For people who eat with their fingers, it makes sense to keep their glass of water on the left, so you can pick up the glass with the hand that is not involved in picking up food.

In US and Europe, When there are place-settings on a table, your glasses are always on your right. I have been told that many many times and I try to remember, but, every time I reach for a glass of water, it is usually the one on my left. I realize my mistake after I have made it and then, I have to exchange the glasses with my neighbour on the left side.

I have been through this so many times over all these years. Wonder how much longer I have to go before I remember to do it correctly. So, if you ever go to a banquet with me, and sit on my left side, I'll probably hijack your glass of water.

Dr. Suess

These days, Ashwini is into Dr. Suess books: The Cat in the Hat and One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish.

These books are so wonderful. I absolutely love to read these rhyming stories to Ashwini. I can read these books all day long. Here is an example of some excellent poetry from One Fish, Two Fish.

I think it is one of the advantages of not growing up in US. I had not read any of Ashwini's books as a child and I enjoy them as much as she does when I read them to her. I should get other Dr. Suess' books for Ashwini (and me) soon.

Savings Bonds

It is a good time to start buying savings bonds. Interest rate on the inflation-protected I-bonds is 6.73% for the first 6 months on bonds bought till April 2006. This is the best interest rate available on any investment other than junk bonds. The inflation protected bonds always yield more than the current rate of inflation. So, you'll never lose your principle to inflation. The best place to buy them is online, directly from the government... TreasuryDirect.

Minister of Communication and Information Technology

Microsoft chairman Bill Gates (L) speaks as India's Minister of Communications and Information Technology Dayanidhi Maran looks on during a news conference in New Delhi December 7, 2005. Microsoft plans to invest $1.7 bln in India over 4 years, Gates said on Wednesday. REUTERS/B Mathur

Thank you, Manmohan Singh (or Sonia) for selecting someone for this post who at least dresses up well and looks intelligent. Thanks for not giving this portfolio to old farts like Pranab Mukherjee and Natwar Singh or some self-serving moron like Laloo Prasad Yadav.

Appearance is so important for someone in public life. Til recently, all Indian politicians cared about was connecting with their voters and didn't pay attention to who they deal with in the outside world. I am glad it is changing.

I remember a photo from 15-20 years ago when the Defense minister from some country came to visit India. He was photographed with his Indian counterpart. I don't remember their names but, the image is burnt into my memory. The visitng defense minister was from a military background (all defense ministers should be) with a chest full of medals and in comparison, the only thing the Indian minister had to show was a huge belly.

Bowl Schedule

This season's college football Bowl schedule was announced yesterday. For a change, there is not much controversy this year about who should be in a BCS bowl and if there will be a real National Champion. The only two unbeaten teams, USC and Texas will play in the Rose Bowl on Jan 4th to decide the champion.

My boss and I were kidding about Nebraska playing Michigan in a bowl game because they have similar winning records this year. It turned out to be true. They will be playing in the Alamo Bowl on Dec 28th.

Other interesting matchup will be Florida State and Penn State in Orange Bowl on Jan 3rd. Two legendary football coaches, Bobby Bowden and Joe Paterno will face each other in this rare matchup that will be fun to watch.

After being one of the worst college football teams for years, Rutgers had a winning season and they became bowl eligible. They will play Arizona State in Insight Bowl on Dec 27th. Big 'yaay' for Rutgers. Hope they win.

So, my picks are: Texas, Nebraska, Penn State and Rutgers.

The first ever college football game was played between Rutgers and Pricenton back in the 19th century. Don't remember the date.

Baby, we were born to run.

'Born to Run' is my most favorite Bruce Springsteen album. It was first released 30 years ago. To celebrate the 30th anniversary, a digitally remastered CD along with 2 DVDs was released last month as a 3-disc set. One of the DVDs is a live recording from a 1975 'Born to Run' concert in London. I must order it soon.

Pop-up ads

Several friends had told me that they were seeing pop-up ads while accessing this blog. A few days ago, I figured out the link that spawned them and fixed it. If you still see those pesky pop-ups, please let me know.