First thing you realize when you take up a task of information gathering for your MBA is an effective way to save all those different links. Sanjay Srinivas just introduced me to http://del.icio.us where you can online bookmark your web pages that are interesting. No need to add bookmark into your windoz and be stuck with them on the computer.

Also found out two more similar services (1) http://digg.com/ and (2) http://newsvine.com

I’ve now learned a number of methods for solving tough Sudoku puzzles by hand, including X-Wing, Swordfish, Jellyfish, Squirmbag, Turbot-fish, XY-Wing, XYZ-Wing, Conjugate Pairs, Bowman Bingo, Simple Coloring, Super Coloring and Tabling.

I have not yet found a single website that explains all of these techniques in one location, so I thought I’d provide some links to the various websites where I discovered these techniques.

The Sudoku Techniques page at SadMan Software explains most (but not all) of the simpler “pattern-matching” techniques. Techniques explained here include:

• Naked Single
• Hidden Single
• Block and Column/Row
• Block / Block
• Naked Subset
• Hidden Subset
• XWing & Swordfish
• XY-Wing
• Coloring / Colourring
• Forcing Chains
• Nishio

Just a thought ... Leaders are people who do the right thing and Managers are people who do things right 

The student who called from Stanford was female, and sounded young. And hyper. She had almost a valley-girl accent and she was just oh so excited about Stanford. On top of that, she told me that the only school she had applied to was Stanford, and if she hadn't been accepted she was just going to wait and reapply. Although I can understand that, I did find it a little hard to believe, and a little irrational. Anyway, I asked her about the aspects of Stanford that really stick out in her mind and she recited the usual: small, close knit community. That aspect of the school is what initially piqued my interest, but I have to say that the novelty is wearing off, and most people don't seem to have a whole lot else to say about Stanford.

I have been contacted twice recently by Harvard, I received an e-mail from a student and a voicemail from Britt Dewey, the Admissions Director. I had been expecting Britt’s call, it’s too bad I wasn’t there to take it. The student who e-mailed me just encouraged me to attend admit weekend and invited me to e-mail him with any questions that I had. I took him up on the offer and asked him about the level of competitiveness and camaraderie at HBS as well as the housing situation. His response was that with 900 students you get all types of behavior, including cutthroat competition. However, the vast majority are very friendly, have a lot of fun, and it is a great place to go to school. He said that housing can often be a headache, especially compared to Houston, and he recommended that I try the lottery process first and if that fails plan to spend a long weekend in Boston at least a month before school starts. Seeing as the lottery deadline isn’t until May, and you don’t hear from them until shortly before June, I don’t think we have a choice to look earlier if we go with the lottery.

Well, last night I met a couple of guys who also got into Harvard and Stanford. They were both formerly in I banking, and one was now in industry and the other in private money management. They both sounded like they had really great, and really terrible, work experience. Great because they obviously learned a whole lot but terrible because they had to work crazy hours. As I have been in industry my whole career (all 2.5 years), my average work week is probably about 41 hours! That's a far cry from what these guys used to work.

Anyway, all this has left me feeling slightly intimidated. I know that I have a decent finance background, having passed the CFA level 1 exam, but what the I bankers of the world have done is in an entirely different league. In a way I almost wish I had gone to work for Merrill Lynch after college, like I probably could have. Of course, I have really enjoyed the last two years of having a personal life, so I guess it worked out better in the end. I got to have my two years and still get in to Harvard and Stanford...

As for making a decision, I would say that I am 80% towards Harvard. The reasons behind that lean are mostly career and location oriented. I see Harvard as being the perfect school to prepare people to succeed in large companies, and that's where I see myself in the future. OTOH, Stanford is definitely infused (and probably inseparable) from the entrepreneurial spirit, which I definitely want no part of (the thought of starting my own company gives me chills...). So from a career POV, Harvard wins out.

HBS 

This morning I had about a 25 minute conversation with the alumnus that HBS hooked me up with. It was a very good conversation, and they picked the absolute perfect person to speak with me. His background was also in engineering, and we just clicked right from the beginning. He spoke very passionately about the two main advantages he thinks HBS has over any other school:

1. International Recognition: In his view HBS gives you a certain cachet that you can’t get anywhere else (Wharton and Chicago being the next two in line). For example, when doing an international deal the banks all want to see bios and background information. A degree from HBS gives you a certain bit of credibility that is hard to come by.

2. The case method: He felt the case method was the single most valuable feature of HBS. If you want to learn finance, he said, then go to community college and you can learn all you want about the mechanics of finance. Or go to the library and learn it on your own. But the case method teaches you how to think about finance (or any subject), and it teaches you that your thinking can be enhanced by having a strong group of thinkers around you. Learning to think in a new, rigorous, thorough manner was the number one thing he got out of HBS, it was worth more than all the other benefits of combined.

I found his ideas and his fervor very impressive. I am still going to do some serious thinking about HBS v. GSB over the weekend, so I will write more on Sunday or Monday.

A combined GMAT Study Strategy by Dave, Ursula, GMAT Club and ERIN
KAPLAN Workshop. Though i aint a fan of their tests, workshop is a gem!
GMATprep software can be downloaded here ; Other link (same page) (My fave)
Powerprep Software
OG : PS & DS (Pdf version)
OG : SC
1000 CR
1000 SC
3000 RC
KAPLAN TESTS CD
Spidey's SC Notes ( Yay! The notes' link has been found back)
Sahils' Note
GMAT PLUS Soft Copy
LSAT pdf format ( 22 LSAT pdf files can be downloaded from here)
Hard bin quant from PR
links for permutation/combination problems.
More GMAT resources (reviews on books / software / etc)
Practise questions and grid for time mgmt
standard deviation
critical reasoning-tips&tricks
good grammar lessons at the start for SC, though most of the other part is junk.
subject verb agreement
more on verbal / subject verb etc
one free LSAT test
Erin’s template for Issue anaylsis.
argument template
categorization of OG questions (10th)
Venn Diag
compound interest and mean
Dave blogs’ about everything you need from GMAT to B schools.
number theory problems. If you will explore more, i think it should give you pretty good questions in other section of quant too like inequalities / percentage etc
More number theory

I didn't really look into the faults until after I received my sz150pc notebook and got a better feel for it, but from what I know now most the faults are easily fixable. I believe all sz premium models are essentially built the same, other than carbon fiber and edge capability options, so you may have the same faults as the majority of us.

1. left edge of the keyboard doesn't register when pressed. fix: link
2. palm rest isn't properly insulated or grounded. fix: link
3. battery isn't properly fitted when locked into place. fix: use felt to pad the gap or velcro sticky pads for reinforcement.
4. the notebook was built with low memory, slow hard drive, or slow cpu. fix: for a memory upgrade unscrew the bottom square panel and you'll find the slots. for a hard drive or cpu replacement, see this link.
5. too many stickers on the notebook. fix: link
6. too many pre-installed nonessential software. fix:click here for a semi-restore or here if you own a separate copy of Windows XP and want to do a clean install.

non-fixable minor faults:

At least on mine there is a small amount of leakage on the bottom of the lcd when brightness is set to 100%, see here. Also the dvdrw drive is VERY flimsy and the keyboard and small trackpad may take a while to get used to.

KSRA rifle training from Feb 5
Karnataka State Rifle Association will conduct civilian rifle training from February 5.
Those interested may contact KSRA, No 782, 15th cross, I Phase, JP Nagar, Bangalore- 5600078. (ph: 26635026 / 26635631). Fax: 26635271.
 

1.  Either the physicians in this hospital or the chief administrator ____ going to have to make a decision. is are   You're right! When subjects are connected by or, the subject closer to the verb (which is, in this case, singular) determines the number of the verb.

2.  ______ my boss or my sisters in the union going to win this grievance?
Is
Are
 
You're right! Again, the subject closer to the verb (my boss) determines the number of the verb.

3.  Some of the votes __________ to have been miscounted.
seem
seems
 
You're right! Some is the subject in this sentence; it is plural because the word votes makes it a countable indefinite pronoun.

4.  The tornadoes that tear through this county every spring _____ more than just a nuisance.
are
is
 
You're right! The subject is tornadoes. You were not confused by the words and phrases that came between the subject and its verb.

5.  Everyone selected to serve on this jury _____ to be willing to give up a lot of time.
have
has
 
You're right! Everyone! seems to be a plural word, but it is always singular.

6.  Kara Wolters, together with her teammates, _________ a formidable opponent on the basketball court. presents present   You're right! The subject is not compounded by phrases such as along with, together with, and as well as.

7.  He seems to forget that there __________ things to be done before he can graduate.
are
is
 
You're right! The subject (things, in this case) comes after the verb in constructions that begin with here or there.

8.  There _______ to be some people left in that town after yesterday's flood. have has   The subject is people, which is plural, and that determines the verb (not the word there).

9.  Some of the grain __________ to be contaminated.
appear
appears
 
You're right! Some is the subject of this sentence and, since it is not really countable (you can't count the grain), it is singular.

10.  Three-quarters of the students __________ against the tuition hike.
is
are
 
You're right! Three quarters of the students represents a countable number.

11.  Three-quarters of the student body __________ against the tuition hike.
is
are
 
You're right! Three quarters of the student body represents a lump sum, a singular entity.

12.  A high percentage of the population _________ voting for the new school.
is
are
 
You're right! "Percentage" is a mathematical proportion, expressing here a singular lump sum.

KSRA rifle training from Feb 5
Karnataka State Rifle Association will conduct civilian rifle training from February 5.
Those interested may contact KSRA, No 782, 15th cross, I Phase, JP Nagar, Bangalore- 5600078. (ph: 26635026 / 26635631). Fax: 26635271.