By this time, I am sure you have heard of Dr Randy Pausch and of the last lecture.

If not  here are a few links that you can use to catch up : 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Randy_Pausch

Aug 25 is the one month anniversary of the passing away of this true legend.

His last lecture delivered on Sept 18,2007 has changed the lives of many.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Really_Achieving_Your_Childhood_Dreams

~~ the world will miss him.

James Surowiecki is a staff writer at the New Yorker (the financial page) . His pieces have also been published in New York Times, Washington Post.

This is his book about how the many are smarter than the few. 

It all begins with an early twentieth century experiment by Sir Francis Galton, a noted British polymath. In this expirement, Sir Galton set out to prove that the average person did not know much & that knowledge was concentrated in a few. ( Some of us hold this view, whether knowingly or unknowingly :  especially when we criticize democracy )

Bad Money drives out Good Money - Gresham's law.

Kevin Philips makes several interesting points in his latest book about the United States of America. A former Republican strategist, Kevin Philips needs no introduction. 

The book is excellent and captures the angst, the restlessness that we see all around us. 

He compares the United States of today to later day Hapsburg Spain, to the waning Dutch Empire and to the declining British Empire.  The symptoms - the signals are all there he says and while the landing was harsh for Spain, Holland , a bit softer for the British - the US might have it much softer than others. Again, the countries eventually emerged ever more prosperous in due course. 

Recently, I read this fascinating book by Naseem Nicholas Taleb ( NNT for short).

NNT delves into why predictions & forecasts go terribly awry in particular economic / poicy forecasts and debunks a number of investing myths. Also delves into why risk models are not accurate.

First some background, NNT himself is currently a professor of Uncertainity, in his past life he has been a trader ( a quant - someone who is paid to apply principles of mathematics to trading strategies to eliminate risk).

This is his second book, the first being Fooled by Randomness.

Per Harshal's suggestion, I am starting a blog for folks who want to prepare for the PMP. I ll keep uploading some stuff and will respond to queries.

There is now a F

It was going to be a rain filled sodden weekend here in NC. Given that it always rains on weekends, I have always thought that some one should propose skipping may be two days just the way we adjust time every Spring and Fall.