Pix from California trip
Pix from CA trip

CA trip
Topic: Personal Updates
Happy memorial day!

Just back from a trip to CA. Was in BMCM retreat since 5/20.

Lot to write about and post some pix. Will do once dust settles down and work etc. comes back on track.

Cheers!!

Lightning Out of Lebanon : Hezbollah Terrorists on American Soil
Topic: Books....
Lightning Out of Lebanon : Hezbollah Terrorists on American Soil (Hardcover)
by Tom Diaz, Barbara Newman

This book is bound to send chill right down your spine...examines how a sleeper cell of Hezbollah operatives built their cell in the US right under the nose of different security agencies and thrived for sometime before government woke up and took some timely action...actually it was a bunch of dogged officers who took special interest to bust this cell...but only a tip of the iceberg...when the US is waging war on terror all over the world, it appears from this book and from many other books and sources that very people US is after are consolidating their bases within US and God knows when they will pull of another 9/11....

Officers who pursued these Hezbollah guys in NC and brought them to justice are really commendable....

Very well written....abundant foot notes...well researhed..concise...

Cheers!

Man in the Shadows : Inside the Middle East Crisis with a Man Who Led the Mossad
Topic: Books....
Man in the Shadows : Inside the Middle East Crisis with a Man Who Led the Mossad (Hardcover)
by Efraim Halevy

Another book from one more Mossad man...not disgruntled one like Ostrovsky or Menashe....Halevy retired as director of revered Mossad some time back....like many of his predecessor and many Israelis involved with military or intelligence, he too penned kinda of memoir....looks like approved book deals are kinda perks for these guys working for intelligence agencies....

Reads a like text book in political science...boring style...no sensationalisam....do not expect marvelous exploits of Mossad even if author being director is certainly aware of....deals with dry politics of middle east and how the author who was a diplomat before being made director of mossad continued to use his diplomacy to solve some major crisis and how he had to deal with his political masters etc....and bores normal reader who is not a political science student....

So...so...book

Profits of War : Inside the Secret U.S.-Israeli Arms Network
Topic: Books....
Profits of War : Inside the Secret U.S.-Israeli Arms Network (Hardcover)
by Ari Ben-Menashe

If you enjoy books by former spies or secret service agents blowing up lids on their operations and their masters, this book is for you.

The author, an Israeli military man, takes us thru high level machinations, profits to be made by instigating wars, opportunistic moves and what not....read to be believed....if you thought recent books from another disgruntled Mossad man Victor Ostrovsky were blasts, read this...and you will put this book on a different plane...

Unless you followed what happened with Iran hostage situation in 1980s and subsequent Nicaraguan Contra scandal etc., the material in this book may seem to dated but the author does a good job of providing enough context even if you are not very interested and know much about events from that era.

Reads like a thriller....

Cheers!

http://www.mp3sugar.com/
Topic: My vote.....
http://www.mp3sugar.com/ - good place to download some rare music (ofcourse not free). But, downloads are inexpenive with many 10+ song albums costing only 99 cents or so....excellent quality....reliable downloads...

If you are looking from oldies such as Boney M, Pet Shop Boys etc., this may be one of the few places to have full albums of those oldie groups....

Cheers!

SIFY --- good stock for speculators?
Topic: Stocks
SIFY- Indian internet service provider seems to be a good stock for short term speculation. It has had quite an erratic swings of late. It is not as expensive as REDF (Rediff). That makes it more attractive to risk. Just make sure to set right stop level.

What is the right stop loss level? Varies from person to person. My rule of thumb is for stocks bought for long term appreciation (i.e. investments), it is ok to tolerate up to 10% decline. For short term speculations, it is better to dump losers and move on at 3-5% loss depending upon money invested.

(Disclosure: Do not hold any positions in SIFY)

MSFT --- good time to accumulate?
Topic: Stocks
MSFT - Microsoft stock has seen 10+% decline over last few weeks. 11% decline after their last earning report. Stock has remained flat for last few years. However, considering Microsoft's strong position and cash pile (close to 50 bn), stock may be a bargain. P/E is only 16. With 26% payout ratio, some real returns will come back everytime dividends are paid.

(Disclosure: I own MSFT)

BioClock Light Therapy Travel System
Topic: My vote.....
BioClock Light Therapy Travel System

http://www.cvs.com/CVSApp/cvs/gateway/detail?prodid=341613

Do you hate to wake to up the screaming sound of alarm clocks? do you like to wake up naturally as though first rays of sun are slowly working on your retina to provide a natural wake up call...then try this...this is a neat piece of device which packs conventional dawn simulator with some other features....

It is especially hard to wake up during winter months when there is no sun on most of the days.....falling asleep second time around 4-5 AM is disaster as next time you try to get up at 6-7 AM, your sleep would be disturbed and your work day gets affected....if you can get required hours of sleep but want to get up naturally with gradually brightening light simulating sun rise....this is a device....perfect for cold dreaded new england winters and other times too....do not expect this device to help much if you are not getting your quota of regular sleep....

cheers!

iPod 30 GB
Topic: My vote.....
Apple 30 GB iPod with Video Playback White

iPod - what an innovation...probably only Walkman from Sony had created so much buzz in the recent history. One big value add for other companies from iPod is the ability to develop many other interesting accessories which work well with iPod and provide additional functionality.

Apple certainly developed a killer device and a whole array of apps go along with it. iTunes software makes it so easy to use.

Podcasts are a big value. There are so many good podcasts on all sorts of subjects. They are all well categorized in podcast directories such as PodCast alley etc.....it is a great way to enhance knowledge in any specific area.....top schools such as Wharton, Darden, Baylor etc. put a lot of good info and make them available as podcasts.....get ivy league education for free.

all in all a great little device if you want to just enjoy music and entertainment or use it for more creative purposes.....

Apple has been quite stingy in terms of providing basic accessories....does not even come with wall charger....buy a wall charger, car charger, cassette tape adapter or FM transmitter to play in the car....you are good to go....best saying once I heard regarding how best to use commute time was -"make your car a virtual university"....iPod serves that purpose perfectly.

Bit pricey....close $300....but worth every penny....

Cheers!

Solitude & Character
Topic: Quotable Quotes
"You can do everything in solitude except build character."

What a great quote....not sure who gave this but came across this in Brian Tracy's "Accelerated learning program" audio book.

This is one of the reasons why all spiritual leaders suggest to practice your spiritual prowess by living in the society rather than dropping out of it in the name of 'sanyas'. That is more like escapism. It's only when you are with people all your abilities are stretched to their limit and you will move towards higher plane gradually.

Cheers!

Some interesting books
Topic: Audio Book
It's been while since listened to these books. Not much to write about them individually but all of them are decent.

The thinker's way : 8 steps to a richer life / by Chaffee, John.


How to talk so people listen [sound recording]: the real key to job success/
by Hamlin, Sonya.


The seven sacred truths : a lifetime of wisdom while you're young enough to enjoy it /
by Waitley, Denis.


The fourth mega-market, now through 2011 : [how three earlier bull markets explain the present and predict the future] /
by Acampora, Ralph, 1941-


Reminiscences of a stock operator /
by Lefevre, Edwin, 1871-1943.


Win your case : [how to present, persuade, prevail-- every place-- every time] /
by Spence, Gerry.

Perfectly reasonable deviations from the beaten track : selected letters of Richard P. Feynman.
Topic: Audio Book
Perfectly reasonable deviations from the beaten track : selected letters of Richard P. Feynman.
by Feynman, Richard Phillips


This is a very good book indeed. If you have read popular physics books, you probably have heard about Dr. Feynman who is certainly one of the finest physicists of 20th with so many credits starting with his work on the first ever atom bomb to leading the investigation into Challenger disaster of 1986.

Feynman is probably one of those rare who tried hard to bring physics to common man in a way lay people can understand and appreciate even some of the most complex aspects of physics. It did not stop him from using simple but very effective common ways to hammer down a point. Even when he was explaining what went wrong in Challenger disaster to senate , he put a piece of rubber in a glass of ice cold water and showed how the rubber became very brittle and lost its elasticity. He continued to say that's what precisely happened with rubber used in some o-rings of Challenger which was not up to specifications and cold weather on the day of launch made the rubber brittle which started the chain reaction and finally leading to disaster.

Feynman won Nobel prize in 65(?). He worked for a long time at California Institute of Technology () and shaped the lives of many many around him. Feynman's name was exposed to me quite early and , first since my father was a professor of physics he mentioned his names quite especially in connection with his popular science series. Secondly, my went to for his grad studies when Feynman was still alive and was a legend on campus. Another not so personal but still a reason being Srinivas Kulkarni, now a top astro-physicist at , is originally from Hubli. So when any article was written about him, he got associated with Feynman in his intro. , Dr.Kulkarni is Sudha Murthy's (wife of Infosys chairman) brother. Trivia.

Now coming to this audio book. Feynman's daughter brought out this book after his death in 1988. Feynman wrote many letters to many people ranging from very important to many common ones including a kid in Dun school in India. Letters read with right explanation and context make a very interesting listening experience.

Certainly 5 starts.

Assertive Communication Skills for Professionals
Topic: Audio Book
Assertive Communication Skills for Professionals
by Carol Price

Good one to get on top of basic assertive communication skills. Using many simulated exercises is certainly a big high light of the book. A scene requiring assertive communication is simulated and author and her group of students go about how best to address the situation. This makes you get the finer points well.

The Martha Rules: 10 Essentials for Achieving Success as You Start, Grow, or Manage a Business
Topic: Audio Book
The Martha Rules: 10 Essentials for Achieving Success as You Start, Grow, or Manage a Business
by Martha Stewart

More than the book, I have admired Stewart all along after having read about her and her life in other books and magazines. Having come from a regular background what she went on to accomplish is very impressive. Regardless of her conviction in stock scam etc., she managed to hold herself up and came out with this book which is not bad at all.

Stewart does a nice job of methodically going thru time tested business principles and how she applied many of them in her case.

One part that is very touching and impressive is when she chose to step down from her company when there was a lot of buzz around her during stock investigation. She explains why at sometimes you have to give up something that you hold so close to your heart in the good of bigger stuff.

Nicely done work.

Freakonomics : A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything
Topic: Audio Book
Freakonomics : A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner

If you read any magazine regularly or listen to NPR etc., it is unlikely that you have not heard about this book. So much buzz has been around this book written by Univ of Chicago economist who says he can find the reason given the right data. He calls himself a "causality" expert (i.e.finding the cause).

Does not live up to the hype created around it but is certainly interesting. Levitt is quite good at challenging conventional wisdom and coming up with altogether a total different reason based on facts and numbers that are available....some of the interesting things he looks at are why the overall crime in the US came down since 90s, why drug dealer continue to work when they make 1/10 of lowest hourly jobs and life ending circumstances, guns etc.....he uses the research from Sudhir Venkatesh who lived with drug peddlers of South Side of Chicago while was doing research for his Ph.d.

Overall an interesting book but could have been done much better especially since the material presented is so interesting.

Trivia - NZ
Topic: Trivia
New Zealand is the first ever country to allow women to vote.

The undercover economist : exposing why the rich are rich, the poor are poor, and why you can never buy a decent used car
Topic: Books....
The undercover economist : exposing why the rich are rich, the poor are poor, and why you can never buy a decent used car by Harford, Tim,

Quite a bit of hype surrounded this book when it came out. Had heard about this on some NPR program. Then it seemed to be a very interesting book explaining nitty gritties of economics to layman.

Lived up to expectations partially. Author does a good job of touching upon some common phenomena with inquisitive eyes of an economist. But, the explanations are not crisp enough to make a common man a common economist.

Good read though.

Benjamin Franklin
Topic: Audio Book
Benjamin Franklin : [an American life] by Isaacson, Walter.


This is a good (audio)book narrating the life of one of the finest American scientists, statesman and politician.

The future for investors
Topic: Audio Book
The future for investors : [why the tried and true triumph over the bold and the new] /
by Siegel, Jeremy J.


Siegel whose book "Stocks for the long run" went on to became a best seller comes up with another book. This one written after 2000 crash is good reflection on the market reality. Siegel does a good job of documenting the experience and running some additional analysis to develops a variation of his original theory of buying good stocks and holding them for ever.

In this book, Siegel develops a solid framework around what goes by unclear and ill explained "value investing". The term is because "value" in value investing is not well defined. Siegel ties values to dividends and regularity of dividends and the in dividends. Thus, he helps one pick right value stocks at least per his theory.

In the light of all accounting irregularities, dividends have become more important than ever. It is difficult to dividends as they fudge the bottom line.

Siegel's point is not many people make money because they over pay for the growth when they are buying stocks trading at eye popping PE ratios such as 100 and above. Once you overpay for the growth, it is very difficult to make money when the market prices the stock . But, Siegel shows how the dividend paying not so sexy companies such as tootsie Rolls, etc. delivered better values than tech giants such as IBM.

Great and nice sequel to "Stocks for the long run"

Cheers!