Cupcakes…..I remember I walked 20-mins in NY in 2005 with some local friends who wanted to treat me to the popular Magnolia bakery. All I can say is that I was not blown away.

A few years since – and everyone is talking about cupcakes. In fact, in a time when Americans are struggling to communicate the value proposition of the “free” West, the cupcakes seem to have done the trick: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/23/dining/23cake.html?scp=1&sq=cupcakes&st=cse.

To be fair – I do like them and just yesterday bought some overpriced ones myself – $3 per piece after standing in a line! Then I realized what I like about them is the concept – simple, bite-sized cake that goes well with a latte and look cute. But the cake itself was dry and not that good. The icing is just cream-cheese and sugar, and if you want to have the cake without the frosting, it’s no fun.

But I don’t want to give up the idea of cupcakes just yet – they have some good things going for them. So I am seeking some good recipes for a rich moist cupcake. If you know of any please send them my way.

I went to a Haas Energy Club (BERC) event yesterday. I suddenly realized that I am on the other side of the table now – instead of talking to people “in the industry”, I belong to it and was supposed to impart wisdom to students who are still trying to make a switch to renewable energy

In one of those chats, I was questioned about the profiles that would be a good fit in renewable energy. This is important to know since most of us do not come from a power engineering or a semiconductor background to make an “obvious fit”. Knowing your transferable skills is key to be able to tailor your resume and highlight projects that reflect those skills, so it makes sense to a recruiter in renewable energy. Four such profiles are:

Sales: If you have done sales, you can always sell something else. Most sales people know this – so I will not belabor the point. It’s easier though if you have done B2B sales since many non-residential sales are a multi-week/month sales process and knowing how to navigate through the sales cycle and the organization is key skill.

Technical Application: I seem to be getting pushed into this direction because of my technical background. I don’t remember when I had to last use laws of thermodynamics in a professional setting. Interestingly, I remember more than I ever thought from those classes in undergrad that I never paid any attention in. I am sure that is the case with many ex-engineers. Understanding the technology helps in competitive analysis, market analysis and even speaking to prospects. These are typically bucketed in “biz dev” but instead of talking in pure $ or cost-benefit, if you can tailor your experience to demonstrate that you can understand and apply new technology – that would be useful.

Financial Modeling: All renewable energy needs money and most companies selling technology have none. So money needs to come from outside – venture capitalists, private equity, banks, government, etc. All these institutions need to see models highlighting the assumptions that the renewable energy company is making to claim the “low-cost energy source” that they make. So if you can highlight any excel or deal structuring skills – that would be useful. The two companies that I have worked in have separate departments for the financial modeling for cost/benefits of the technology.

Regulatory/Policy/Government: I am clubbing these together – and I am sure there is a lot of difference in each of these, but the idea is that in renewable energy the macroeconomic context matters – unlike software or other non-regulated industries. So if you have had an opportunity to work with government officials, any policy issues within external organizations, telecommunication which is semi-regulated or perhaps a regulated industry in another country – then those skills can be useful in renewable energy.

Here’s an interesting story on human ingenuity and perseverance. Finding local resources to power your lives, is something that appeals a lot to me about renewable power resources. There’s something about being self-sufficient for basic needs, that is very powerful and motivating.

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1717149,00.html

Hridyan turned one on 23rd!
But I can’t say time flies or anything similar. It was one long sleepless year…

But it was also the most incredible year…..he turned out to be the smiliest and happiest baby. He is walking now and according him all the rest of us have been sent on this earth to take him on strolls. It seems like talking is not going to be strength …maybe he’s taken after dad on that. “Light” was his first and so far the only word. He’s a relentless flirt and I am embarrassed regularly by his smiles to random women on the street. He’ll smile till they are forced to respond. I think he knows when someone succumbs and says “he’s so cute” . Loves to eat with us and eats just about everything including all spices. So much more…maybe the pictures will say it better….
http://picasaweb.google.com/hridyan

Can’t wait to see him start on his other tricks….this is an unbelievable age. But he’s growing up fast….sometime just too fast.
Love it……ok, almost all of it

This site is hilarious. Since I am not white, I am not sure how true the author’s claims are – but it seems insightful and one hell of a good read.

One paragraph from this article, left me in splits for a loooong time…

“White people like to make the most of their free time, but many of them discovered that time doing yoga was time away from their dog and time with their dog was time away from yoga. It was becoming a fairly significant problem. Thankfully, Doga has been created to allow white people to combine two of their favorite things into one expensive, time consuming activity called Doga or dog yoga.”

(I don’t know if Doga really exists …and actually don’t want to know)

I fell in love with Usain Bolt since his Beijing Olympic race and the world record. He did it again today at Berlin. The way he wins reminds me of Barbaro from a few years back at Kentucky Derby. It’s a “I win, no arguments, very clean” attitude. I’d be very surprised if he ever tested positive for an illegal substance. Beautiful!!

Check it out here:

Update: He does it again in a few days. New WR for 200m. None of the contenders were even in sight. Unbelievable!!

(Got back last weekend from an a-mazing trip of Singapore and Indonesia. Made new friends, partied and learnt a whole lot about life and work in South East Asia. Will post some pictures – out of the 10,000 that were taken by 8 or so cameras – some other time)

In the meanwhile, found this article today:
http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1914857-1,00.html

I had been having this feeling since Hridyan was born. For some reason – spending 30-mins to lose 200 calories and then regain that in a half a slice of Tiramisu – did not seem like an efficient process operationally or even by the economic theory of efficient use of resources. Muscles burning more calories (than fat) also seems to have been muffed by this article – thankfully. I am beginning to believe that eating less if the only was to reduce weight – and that gives me lesser guilt about skipping gym sessions . Now I only have to figure out how to eat less….