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Quote of the Day

You can certainly fit a square peg into a round hole. Just make the square peg smaller.  -PTS

Quote of the Day

Stability is merely an excuse to be content with the status quo.  This is why I love change! -PTS

9 Equations a True Geek Should Know

Came across this  article  which is entertaining to read while keeping score!  I scored 2 of 9 - Uncertainty Principle and Maxwell's Equations. The good news is I do not qualify as a geek, but that also means there is so much more to learn when I retire. -PTS

Book Review: Outliers: The Story of Success

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A recent good read, which changed my perspective on what it takes to become a wild success in life. The  Outliers   is about how success is affected by external factors beyond individual characteristics. These factors include culture, social systems, even friends and families. Here are some highlights: The Matthew Effect  – Canadian professional hockey players are mostly born in the early months of a year because the age cutoff for tryouts is January 1st. These players when trying out during childhood, have months of physical development over their later-born counterparts. This is a huge advantage which gives successful candidates access to premium coaches and programmes for years, hence an ever increasing head-start eventually leading to professional careers. Similar patterns are found in Major League Baseball, English Premier League, among other sports leagues.  Even when it comes to school, kids born later in the year are at a slig

eBay for Science?

Almost a month into baby raising and I have caught my wind to blog again. Just the other day, I stumbled upon (no pun intended) this website called Science Exchange . The concept is quite simple as it is a platform for outsourcing scientific experimental projects to the lowest bidder. Think of it as eBay for services, the twist being the lowest bid wins. I believe this is a great idea for academic institutions to better collaborate and take advantage of each others' resources in economic ways. I do not have any pending experiments but set up an account anyway for exploration. Hope this concept catches on! -PTS

Welcome to the World, My Precious!

For many years, I have heard that babies are a handful! Well, I will get to find out very soon as my newborn was born today. Looking forward to more an even busier, but rewarding life with the new addition to my family. -PTS

Top 50+ American Cities in 2010

Thinking of raising a family in the US?  Check out this survey . A wide range of criteria was considered to reach these conclusions. They include in order of priority:   quality of schools;  affordability and availability of quality housing;  low crime rates;  job availability and growth;  number of registered sex offenders;  recreational opportunities;  quality/quantity of pediatricians/family physicians;  commute time and distance;  proximity to a good children's hospital;  quality/quantity of childcare facilities and preschools;  and air quality. This list looks very comprehensive to me, giving the survey quite a bit of credibility. -PTS