This site is basically one single .html file, and is based on [[TiddlyWiki|http://www.tiddlywiki.com/]] (weird name!) I am experimenting with this unusual format. Till now it has been easier for me to construct. I hope its also easier for you to navigate! I am still figuring out things, and you would most likely see some changes from time to time.\n\nIf you find any non-functional external or internal links, let me know.\n\nThe RSS feed for this site is available [[here|index.xml]]. This is the best way to keep track of the latest changes to this site.
\nStarted: July 2008\nFinished: July 2008
Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking by Malcolm Gladwell\n\nStarted: June 2008\nFinished: August 2008
Lately I have started keeping a record of the books I read. This is mostly for my own benefit to examine my reading habits and trends. Unless there is something very interesting, I'll just try to list the books I read with very simple notes. The list is ordered in reverse chronological reading order. \n*[[Obama's Wars]]\n*[[Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do]]\n*[[Stones into Schools]]\n*[[Game Change]]\n*[[Whole Earth Discipline]]\n*[[Courage and Consequence]]\n*[[Too Big to Fail]]\n*[[Rock and Roll Jihad]]\n*[[By Way of Deception]]\n*[[Street Fighters]]\n*[[Gold]]\n*[[Sophie's World]]\n*[[In the President's Secret Service]]\n*[[Uranium Wars]]\n*[[Flat, Hot and Crowded]]\n*[[The Audacity to Win]]\n*[[Zaviya]]\n*[[The Final Call]]\n*[[Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room]]\n*[[The Prince]]\n*[[Smile When You're Lying]]\n*[[Imperial Hubris]]\n*[[Charlie Wilson's War]]\n*[[Descent into Chaos]]\n*[[First Principles]]\n*[[The Jansen Directive]]\n*[[The Numerati]]\n*[[Taliban]]\n*[[The Associate]]\n*[[Honeymoon in Tehran]]\n*[[Kill Bin Laden]]\n*[[Hell or High Water]]\n*[[The case of exploding mangoes]]\n*[[The Duel]]\n*[[Competing on Analytics]]\n*[[Moneyball]]\n*[[The Looming Tower]]\n*[[Why Beautiful People Have More Daughters]]\n*[[Progress Paradox]]\n*[[The Hades Factor]]\n*[[The Appeal]]\n*[[Siege of Mecca]]\n*[[Super Crunchers]]\n*[[Lazarus Vendetta]]\n*[[Altman Code]]\n*[[Sigma Protocol]]\n*[[Blink]]\n*[[Three Cups of Tea]]\n*[[The Blair Years]]\n*[[Urban Tribes]]\n*[[The Innocent Man]]\n*[[The Power of Full Engagement]]\n*[[Jinnah of Pakistan]]\n*[[The 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in History]]\n*[[My Start-Up Life: What a (Very) Young CEO Learned on His Journey Through Silicon Valley]] \n*[[Seven seconds or less: my season on the bench with the runnin' and gunnin' Phoenix Suns]]\n*[[Bush's brain : how Karl Rove made George W. Bush presidential]]\n*[[Whose War Is It?]]\n*[[Girls of Riyadh]]\n*[[Founders at Work: Stories of Startups' Early Days]]\n*[[What should I do with my life?]]\n*[[Why do I love these people?]]\n*[[Freakonomics]]\n*[[The Reluctant Fundamentalist]]\n*[[The World is Flat]]\nI also maintain a [[list|Reading List]] of books I would like to read in future. Of late, it has started to increase exponentially, with no hope of dwindling in the near future.\n
Bush's brain : how Karl Rove made George W. Bush presidential by James Moore and Wayne Slater\n\nStarted: October 2007\nFinished: October 2007\n\nNotes:\nI heard good reviews about it, but its average in my opinion. This book was written before the 2004 elections, which was perhaps the pinnacle of Rove's career. Perhaps thats one reason that makes me think it didn't do justice to him. Otherwise, he isn't really a larger than life character as is portrayed these days. The book took almost a 100 pages trying to set it up, which I think could have been in at least one third of that size. Apart from that, it is filled with blatant speculation that is frequently repeated. Could have done a much better job on profiling the guy.
By Way of Deception by Victor Ostrovsky\n\nStarted: February 2010\nFinished: February 2010
Charlie Wilson's War: The Extraordinary Story Of How the Wildest Man in Congress and a Rogue CIA Agent Changed the History Of Our Times by George Crile\n\nStarted: June 2009\nFinished: June 2009
Competing on Analytics: The New Science of Winning by Thomas H. Davenport and Jeanne G. Harris\n\nStarted: November 2008\nFinished: November 2008
Courage and Consequence: My Life as a Conservative in the Fight by Karl Rove\n\nStared: April 2010\nFinished: May 2010
I have taken various courses at UW. Here is a list of them, with some associated material and their websites (some links may not work now).\n\n~CS886: [[Preference Elicitation|http://www.cs.uwaterloo.ca/~gkastido/cs886/]] by [[Robin Cohen|http://ai.uwaterloo.ca/~rcohen/]] (Fall-08)\n~CS798: [[Advanced Computational Finance|http://www.cs.uwaterloo.ca/~yuying/Courses/CS798_07/798.html]] by [[Yuying Li|http://www.cs.uwaterloo.ca/~yuying/]] (Fall-07)\n~CS846: Patterns of Reactive Systems by [[Richard Trefler|http://se.uwaterloo.ca/~trefler/]] (Fall-07)\n~CS785: [[Intelligent Computer Interfaces|http://www.student.cs.uwaterloo.ca/~cs785/]] by [[Robin Cohen|http://ai.uwaterloo.ca/rcohen/rcohen.html]] (Spring-07)\n~CS689: [[Statistical and Computational Foundations of Machine Learning|http://www.student.cs.uwaterloo.ca/~cs489/machine-learning/Winter2007/]] by [[ Shai Ben-David|http://www.cs.uwaterloo.ca/~shai]] (Winter-07)\n~CS854: [[Middleware for Pervasive & Ubiquitous Computing |http://www.cs.uwaterloo.ca/~jpblack/teaching/cs854/]]by [[Jay Black|http://www.cs.uwaterloo.ca/~jpblack]] (Fall-06)\n~CS886: [[Reasoning under Uncertainty|http://www.cs.uwaterloo.ca/~ppoupart/teaching/cs886-winter05/cs886.html]] by [[Pascal Poupart|http://www.cs.uwaterloo.ca/~ppoupart]] (Winter-05)\n~ECE750-6: Pervasive Computing by [[Paul Ward|http://www.ccng.uwaterloo.ca/~pasward/]] (Winter-05)\n~CS886: [[Electronic Market Design|http://www.cs.uwaterloo.ca/~klarson/teaching/F04-886/index.html]]" by [[Kate Larson|http://www.cs.uwaterloo.ca/~klarson]] (Fall-04)\n~CS854: Tetherless Computing by [[Srinivasan Keshav|http://www.cs.uwaterloo.ca/~keshav]] (Fall-04)
[[Home]]
Descent into Chaos: The United States and the Failure of Nation Building in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Central Asia by Ahmed Rashid\n\nStarted: May 2009\nFinished: June 2009
Smartest Guys in the Room: The Amazing Rise and Scandalous Fall of Enron by Bethany ~McLean and Peter Elkind\n\nStarted: August 2009\nFinished:
First Principles: The Crazy Business of Doing Serious Science by Howard Burton\n\nStarted: May 2009\nFinished: May 2009
Founders at Work: Stories of Startups' Early Days by Jessica Livingston\n\nStarted: August 2007\nFinished: September 2007\n\nNotes:
Freakonomics : A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything\nby Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner\n\nStarted: July 2007\nFinished: July 2007\n\nNotes:\nWorth reading once, but I dont think it deserves all the hype.
Game Change: Obama and the Clintons, ~McCain and Palin, and the Race of a Lifetime by Mark Halperin and John Heilemann\n\nStarted: June 2010\nFinished: June 2010
Girls of Riyadh by Rajaa Alsanea\n\nStarted: September 2007\nFinished: September 2007\n\nNotes:\nIf the goal of the author was to portray girls living in Saudia as normal human beings, then yes she succeeds. But I am not really sure why was that even a goal in the first place. The popularity of the book says more about ignorance of people regarding eastern/middle-eastern culture than the quality of the book itself. On a side note, why is it that the author seems to be predominantly focusing on the romantic lives of the girls, and nothing else? A bit more emphasis on the social fabric of the society would have made the book much more enlightening for me. As it is, its just a good short read.\n
Hell or High Water: My Life in and out of Politics by Paul Martin\n\nStarted: February 2009\nFinished: February 2009
[>img[ |2.jpg][2big.jpg]] \nYou are visiting the home page of Omar Zia Khan. I am a graduate student in the [[Artificial Intelligence Lab|http://www.ai.uwaterloo.ca]] and the [[Computational Statistics Group|http://compstats.uwaterloo.ca/]] in the [[Cheriton School of Computer Science|http://www.cs.uwaterloo.ca]] at the [[University of Waterloo|http://www.uwaterloo.ca]] Waterloo, Canada co-advised by [[Prof. Pascal Poupart|http://www.cs.uwaterloo.ca/~ppoupart]] and [[Prof. James Black|http://www.cs.uwaterloo.ca/~jpblack]]. I hold an M.Math (CS) degree from [[University of Waterloo|http://www.uwaterloo.ca]] and a B.S. (CS) degree from [[National University of Computer & Emerging Sciences|http://www.nu.edu.pk]] in Islamabad, Pakistan.\n\nYou can contact me at __nahkzo@uwaterloo.ca__ (in reverse order) or +1-519-888-4567 ext :36641 in ~DC3552D.\n\nMy schedule is available [[here|https://bookit.uwaterloo.ca/ocas-bin/ocas.fcgi?sub=web&web=gbl&viw=43f30GNgbLQ%3d&xen=uJjJfdRPBHI%3d&server=tbtzPzHLjyw%3d&ver=2]].\n\nPlease bear with me while this site is under construction.
Honeymoon in Tehran: Two Years of Love and Danger in Iran by Azadeh Moaveni\n\nStarted: March 2009\nFinished: April 2009
If I am assassinated by Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto\n\nStarted: October 2007\nFinished: \n
Imperial Hubris: Why the West is Losing the War on Terror by Anonymous (Michael Scheuer)\n\nStarted: May 2009
In the President's Secret Service: Behind the Scenes with Agents in the Line of Fire and the Presidents They Protect by Ronald Kessler\n\nStarted: December 2009\nFinished: December 2009\n
Jinnah of Pakistan by Stanley Wolpert \n\nStarted: February 2008\nFinished: February 2008\n\nNotes:
Kill Bin Laden: A Delta Force Commander's Account of the Hunt for the Worlds Most Wanted Man by Dalton Fury\n\nStarted: March 2009\nFinished: March 2009
\nStarted: July 2008\nFinished: July 2008
^^[img[ghi.gif]] ^^\n\n[[Home]]\n[[Research]]\n[[Publications]]\n[[Courses]]\n[[Personal]]\n[[About]]
The thesis can be viewed in pdf from over [[here|ms-thesis.pdf]].
Moneyball: The art of winning an unfair game by Michael Lewis \n\nStarted: September 2008\nFinished: September 2008
My ~Start-Up Life: What a (Very) Young CEO Learned on His Journey Through Silicon Valley by Ben Casnocha\n\nStarted: November 2007\nFinished: November 2007\n\nNotes:\nBen has great clarity of thought. He presents his ideas lucidly and often manages to convince me to his point of view. I am also an avid reader of his [[blog|http://ben.casnocha.com/]].
Obama's Wars by Bob Woodward\n\nStarted: October 2010\nFinished: October 2010
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I shall write here occasionally about different things such as [[Sports]] and [[Books]].
*Automatically Generated Explanations for Markov Decision Processes\n{{indent{Omar Zia Khan, [[Pascal Poupart|http://www.cs.uwaterloo.ca/~ppoupart/]] and [[James P. Black|http://www.cs.uwaterloo.ca/~jpblack/]]\n{{indent{In Decision Theory Models for Applications in Artificial Intelligence: Concepts and Solutions\n{{indent{Edited by L. Enrique Sucar, Eduardo F. Morales and Jesse Hoey (2010)\n*Evaluation Results for a ~Query-Based Diagnostics Application\n{{indent{[[John Mark Agosta|http://berkeley.intel-research.net/~jmagosta/]], Omar Zia Khan and [[Pascal Poupart|http://www.cs.uwaterloo.ca/~ppoupart/]]\n{{indent{In The Fifth European Workshop on Probabilistic Graphical Models ([[PGM 2010|http://www.helsinki.fi/pgm2010/]])\n{{indent{September 13-15, 2010 Helsinki, Finland\n*Refining Diagnostic ~POMDPs with User Feedback\n{{indent{Omar Zia Khan, [[Pascal Poupart|http://www.cs.uwaterloo.ca/~ppoupart/]] and [[John Mark Agosta|http://berkeley.intel-research.net/~jmagosta/]]\n{{indent{In [[POMDP Practitioners Workshop:Solving real-world POMDP Problems|http://users.isr.ist.utl.pt/~mtjspaan/POMDPPractitioners/]] held with [[ICAPS 2010|http://www.icaps10.upf.edu/]]\n{{indent{May 12, 2010 Toronto, ON, Canada\n*Minimal Sufficient Explanations for Factored Markov Decision Processes\n{{indent{Omar Zia Khan, [[Pascal Poupart|http://www.cs.uwaterloo.ca/~ppoupart/]] and [[James P. Black|http://www.cs.uwaterloo.ca/~jpblack/]]\n{{indent{In 19th International Conference on Automated Planning and Scheduling ([[ICAPS 2009|http://icaps09.icaps-conference.org/]])\n{{indent{September 19-23, 2009 Thessaloniki, Greece\n*Minimal Sufficient Explanations for ~MDPs\n{{indent{Omar Zia Khan, [[Pascal Poupart|http://www.cs.uwaterloo.ca/~ppoupart/]] and [[James P. Black|http://www.cs.uwaterloo.ca/~jpblack/]]\n{{indent{In 4th International Workshop on ~Explanation-Aware Computing ([[ExaCt 2009|http://exact2009.workshop.hm]]) held with [[IJCAI 2009|http://ijcai-09.org/index.html]]\n{{indent{July 11-13, 2009, Pasadena, CA, USA\n*Explaining recommendations generated by ~MDPs\n{{indent{Omar Zia Khan, [[Pascal Poupart|http://www.cs.uwaterloo.ca/~ppoupart/]] and [[James P. Black|http://www.cs.uwaterloo.ca/~jpblack/]]\n{{indent{In 3rd International Workshop on ~Explanation-Aware Computing ([[ExaCt 2008|http://exact2008.workshop.hm/]]) held with ECAI 2008\n{{indent{July 21-22, 2008, Patras, Greece\n*Data-centric Support of a Smart Walker in a ~Ubiquitous-Computing Environment\n{{indent{Hao Chen, [[James P. Black|http://www.cs.uwaterloo.ca/~jpblack/]], Omar Zia Khan and [[Kamran Jamshaid|http://www.shoshin.uwaterloo.ca/~kjamshai]]\n{{indent{In 2nd International Workshop on Systems and Networking Support for Healthcare and Assisted \n{{indent{Living Environments ([[HealthNet 2008|http://reti.dsi.uniroma1.it/HealthNet08/]]) held with Mobisys 2008\n{{indent{June 17, 2008, Breckenridge, CO, USA, \n*SAFIRE: A ~Self-Organizing Architecture for Information Exchange between First Responders\n{{indent{ [[Nabeel Ahmed|http://www.cs.uwaterloo.ca/~n3ahmed/]], [[Kamran Jamshaid|http://www.shoshin.uwaterloo.ca/~kjamshai]], and Omar Zia Khan\n{{indent{In 2nd IEEE Workshop on [[Networking Technologies for Software Defined Radio (SDR) Networks|http://www.winlab.rutgers.edu/~wenyuan/sdr07/index.htm]]\n{{indent{ held with IEEE SECON 2007\n{{indent{June 18-21, 2007, San Diego, CA, USA\n*Impress: Towards ~Next-Generation Ubiquitous and Pervasive Computing Systems [[[.pdf]|http://www.cs.uwaterloo.ca/research/tr/2007/CS-2007-34.pdf]]\n{{indent{ [[James P. Black|http://www.cs.uwaterloo.ca/~jpblack/]], Hao Chen, and Omar Zia Khan\n{{indent{University of Waterloo Tech Report, [[TR-CS-2007-34|http://www.cs.uwaterloo.ca/research/tr/2007/CS-2007-34.pdf]], 2007\n
In no particular order ...\n\n''International Affairs'':\n#1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus by Charles C. Mann\n#Forgotten Continent: The Battle for Latin America's Soul by Michael Reid\n#China: A History by John Keay\n#China: Fragile Superpower by Susan Shirk\n#The New Asian Hemisphere: The Irresistible Shift of Global Power to the East\n#City of Gold: Dubai and the Dream of Capitalism by Jim Krane\n#The Arabs by Eugene Rogan\n#The Second World by Parag Khanna\n#Ghost Wars by Steve Coll\n#In the graveyard of Empires by Seth Jones\n#Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army by Jeremy Scahill\n#Zeitoun by Dave Eggers\n#The End of Influence by J. Bradford ~DeLong and Stephen S. Cohen\n#The Future History of the Arctic by Charles Emerson\n#Why the West Rules - for Now by Ian Morris\n''Politics and Public Policy'':\n#Numbers Rule by George G. Szpiro\n#Water: The Epic Struggle for Wealth, Power, and Civilization by Steve Solomon\n#The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power by Jeff Sharlet\n#Speech-less: Tales of a White House Survivor by Matt Latimer\n#The Lesser Evil by Michael Ignatieff\n#Citizen of the world : the life of Pierre Elliott Trudeau by John English\n#The Myth of the Rational Voter by Bryan Caplan\n#Public Intellectuals by Richard A. Posner \n#Libertarianism: A Primer by David Boaz \n#Who Are We: The Challenges to America's National Identity by Samuel P. Huntington\n#Why Welfare States Persist: The Importance of Public Opinion in Democracies by Clem Brooks and Jeff Manza \n#Tackling the Unconstitutional Overthrow of Democracies: Emerging Trends in the Commonwealth by John Hatchard and Tunde Ogowewo\n#The Economists View of the World\n#The City: A Global History and The New Geography: How the Digital Revolution is Reshaping the American Landscape by Joel Kotkin\n#Socrates in the Boardroom: Why Research Universities Should Be Led by Top Scholars by Amanda H. Goodall \n#Immigrants: Your Country Needs Them by Philippe Legrain\n#Critical: What We Can Do About the `Health-Care Crisis by Tom Daschle\n#Waste: Uncovering the Global Food Scandal by Tristram Stuart\n#The death of the American virtue by Ken Gormley\n#Numbers Ruleby George G. Szpiro\n''Pakistan'':\n#Pakistan: Nationalism without a Nation by Christophe Jaffrelot\n#Out of the Nuclear Shadow: Pakistan’s Atomic Bomb & the Search for Security by Zia Mian\n#Pakistan between Mosque and Military by Hussain Haqqani\n#Shopping for Bombs by Gordon Corera\n#Songs of Blood and Sword by Fatima Bhutto\n#The Leopard and the Fox by Tariq Ali\n#The Nuclear Jihadist: The True Story of the Man Who Sold the World's Most Dangerous Secrets...And How We Could Have Stopped Him by Douglas Frantz and Catherine Collins\n#In Other Rooms, Other Wonders by Daniyal Mueenuddin\n#No way Down (K-2) by Graham Bowley\n''Religion and Philosophy'':\n#A Brief History of God by Karen Armstrong\n#The Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam by Dr. Muhammad (Allama) Iqbal\n#Why I am Not a Christian by Bertrand Russell\n#Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion by David Hume\n#Against the Gods: The Remarkable Story of Risk by Peter L. Bernstein\n#A History of Christianity: The First Three Thousand Years by Diarmaid MacCulloch\n#Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal, by Ayn Rand\n#Dialogues by Plato\n#Autobiography by John S. Mill\n#Reasons and Persons, by Derek Parfit\n#A Brief History of Liberty by David Schmidtz and Jason Brennan\n''Finance and Money'':\n#House of Cards by William D. Cohan \n#Ascent of Money: Nial Ferguson\n#Lords of Finance by Liaquat Ahamed\n#The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine by Michael Lewis\n#Liar's Poker by Michael Lewis\n#13 Bankers: The Wall Street Takeover and the Next Financial Meltdown by Simon Johnson and James Kwak\n#False Economy: A Surprising Economic History of the World by Alan Beattie\n#The Age of Unthinkable by Joshua Ramo\n#Golden Fetters: The Gold Standard and the Great Depression by Barry Eichengreen \n#Nerds on Wall Street: Math, Machines and Wired Markets by David J. Leinweber \n#Gold: The Once and Future Money, written by Nathan Lewis\n#The Power of Paper by Christopher Ondaatje \n#The Spirit Level: Why More Equal Societies Almost Always Do Better by Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett\n#Good Capitalism, Bad Capitalism by William Baumol et al\n#Priceless: The Myth of Fair Value (and How to Take Advantage of It by William Poundstone\n#Creative Capital: Georges Doriot and the Birth of Venture Capital by Spencer E. Ante\n''Behavioral Psychology and Economics'':\n#Economic Lives: How Culture Shapes the Economy by Viviana A. Zelizer\n#Fooled by Randomness by Nassim Nicholas Taleb\n#The Age of Infovore by Tyler Cowen\n#Calculated Risks by Gerd Gigerenzer\n#How to Be a High School Superstar by Cal Newport\n#Do What You Are by Paul D. Tieger\n#The Time Paradox: The New Psychology of Time That Will Change Your Life by Philip Zimbardo and John Boyd\n#Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert\n#Luxury Fever: Why Money Fails to Satisfy In An Era of Excess by Robert H. Frank\n#Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell\n#The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell\n#The Blank Slate by Steven Pinker\n#A Whole New Mind by Dan Pink\n#Why Smart People Do Dumb Things: Lessons from the New Science of Behavioral Economics by Mortimer Feinberg\n#Vital Friends: The People You Can't Afford to Live Without by Tom Rath \n#The Dip : A Little Book That Teaches You When To Quit (And When To Stick) by Seth Godin\n#Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely\n#Tripping the Prom Queen: The Truth About Women and Rivalry by Susan Shapiro Barash\n#The Levity Effect: Why it Pays to Lighten Up by Adrian Gostick and Scott Cristopher\n#Microtrends: The Small Forces Behind Tomorrow's Big Changes by Mark Penn\n#Snoop by Sam Gosling\n#The Tyranny of Dead Ideas by Matt Miller\n#Made to Stick by Chip Heath and Dan Heath\n#Stumbling on Happiness by Daniel Todd Gilbert\n#A Textbook of Cultural Economics by Ruth Towse\n#The Aesthetics of Junk Fiction by Thomas Roberts\n#The Incredible Bread Machine by Susan Love Brown, Karl Keating, David Mellinger, Patrea Post, Stuart Smith and Catriona Tudor\n#Individualism and Economic Order by Friedrich A. Hayek\n''Business and Career Coaching'':\n#Design is how it Works by Jay Greene\n#The Four Steps to the Epiphany by Steven Gary Blank\n#Recruit Or Die by Chris Resto \n#The Anti 9-to-5 Guide: Practical Career Advice for Women Who Think Outside the Cube by Michelle Goodman \n#Getting from College to Career: 90 Things to Do Before You Join the Real World by Lindsey Pollak\n#Questions That Sell: The Powerful Process for Discovering What Your Customer Really Wants by Paul Cherr\n#Do More Great Work: Stop the Busywork by Michael Bungay Stanier\n''Science and Technology'':\n#The Age of Wonder by Richard Holmes\n#Beautiful Data by Toby Segaran, Jeff Hammerbacher and Segaran Toby\n#The Strangest Man: The hidden life of Paul Dirac, quantum genius by Graham Farmelo\n#The Visual Display of Quantitative Information by Edward R. Tufte\n#Total Recall: How the ~E-Memory Revolution Will Change Everything by Gordon Bell and Jim Gemmell \n#The Big Switch: Rewiring the World, from Edison to Google by Nicholas Carr\n#Computing in the Middle Ages by Severo Ornstein\n#Accidental Empires by Robert X. Cringley\n#The Accidental Billionaires by Ben Mezrich\n#Free Culture by Lawrence Lessig\n#Digital Destiny: New Media and the Future of Democracy by Jeff Chester\n#Geekonomics: The Real Cost of Insecure Software by David Rice \n#Crowdsourcing by Jeffe Howe\n#Bad Science by Ben Goldacre \n#Bricklin on Technology by Dan Bricklin\n#Googled: The End of the World As We Know It by Ken Auletta\n#Behind the Cloud by Marc Benioff and Carlye Adler\n#Afterthought: The Computer Challenge to Human Intelligence by James Bailley\n#Sun in a Bottle by Charles Seife\n#The Lights in the Tunnel by Martin Ford \n#Chief Culture Officer by Grant McCracken\n#What's Next, Gen X? by Tamara J. Erickson\n#Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us by Seth Godin\n#The 360 Degree Leader by John C. Maxwel\n#Numbers Rule Your World by Kaiser Fung\n''Sports'':\n#Shooting for Tiger by Bill Echikson\n#Strokes of Genius: Federer, Nadal, and the Greatest Match Ever Played by L. Jon Wertheim\n#The Book of Basketball: The NBA According to the Sports Guy, by Bill Simmon\n#The Winner Within by Pat Riley\n''Fiction'':\n#The Book of Secrets by M.G. Vassanji\n#Solar by Ian McEwan\n#The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Loet by David Mitchell\n#The Scorpion's Gate by Richard Clarke\n#Breakpoint by Richard Clarke\n#Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand\n#Fountainhead by Ayn Rand\n#War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy\n#The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger\n#Shalimar the Clown by Salman Rushdie\n#Snow by Orhan Pamuk\n#A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini\n#On the Beach by Nevil Shute\n''Miscellaneous'':\n#The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls\n#The Lost City of Z by David Grann\n#Burgundy Stars by Bill Echikson\n#The Complete Travel Detective Bible by Peter Greenberg\n#The N word : who can say it, who shouldn't, and whyby Jabari Asim.\n#The Game: Penetrating the Secret Society of Pickup Artists by Neil Strauss\n#Audition by Michael Shurtleff\n#Telling True Stories: A Nonfiction Writers' Guide by Mark Kramer and Wendy Call\n#Secrets and Lies by Bruce Schneier\n#Beyond Fear by Bruce Schneier\n#The Definitive Book of Body Language by Barbara Pease and Allan Pease\n#Modern Luxury by Richard Mishaan\n#The Hollywood Economist: The Hidden Financial Reality Behind the Movies by Edward Jay Epstein\n#Food Rules: An Eater’s Manual by Michael Pollan.\n#In Remebrance of Things Past by Marcel Proust\n#Book of Days by Emily Fox Gordon\n#Cooking for Geeks by Jeff Potter
Reconciliation: Islam, Democracy and the West by Benazir Bhutto\n\nStarted: January 2009\nFinished:
The idea behind creating this list was to monitor them regularly myself. How successfully I have been doing that is questionable. The venues are listed in no particular order .\n\nJournals:\n[[AI|http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/505601/description#description]]\n[[JAIR]]\n[[JMLR|http://jmlr.csail.mit.edu/]]\n[[ML|http://www.springer.com/west/home/computer/artificial?SGWID=4-147-70-35726603-0&referer=www.springeronline.com&SHORTCUT=www.springer.com/sgw/cda/frontpage/0,11855,4-147-70-35726603-0,00.html]]\n[[Decision Analysis]]\n\nConferences:\n[[NIPS|http://nips.cc/]]\n[[ICML|http://www.machinelearning.org/]]\n[[IJCAI|http://www.ijcai.org/]]\n[[AAAI|http://www.aaai.org/home.html]]\n[[UAI|http://www.auai.org/]]\n[[ICAPS|http://www.icaps-conference.org/]]\n
Very broadly, I am interested in helping human beings guide computers to perform according to their wishes. More specifically, I am interested in providing human beings explanations to understand the rationale behind automated policies (produced by decision-theoretic frameworks such as Markov Decision Processes) and then learning from their feedback to refine these policies for future. Research in this area lies at the intersection of artificial intelligence (more precisely, machine learning) and operations research. See the section on [[Publications]] for more details on my recent work. \n\nMy [[Masters thesis]] is titled "[[Incremental Deployment of Context-Aware Applications|ms-thesis.pdf]] ". It was related to ubiquitous computing, but with more focus on systems aspects. I presented a framework to enable the introduction of new sensors, applications, and other devices in ubiquitous computing environments without any disruption to existing entities. \n\nThe UW AI seminars page can be found [[here|http://ai.uwaterloo.ca/aiseminar.htm]] and the UW Computational Statistics seminars page can be found [[here|http://compstats.uwaterloo.ca/google]].\n\nI have compiled a list of some [[publication avenues|Relevant Publication Avenues]] that anyone new in this area may find helpful.
Rock & Roll Jihad: A Muslim Rock Star's Revolution by Salman Ahmad\n\nStarted: March 2010\nFinished: March 2010
Seven seconds or less: my season on the bench with the runnin' and gunnin' Phoenix Suns by Jack ~McCallum\n\nStarted: November 2007\nFinished: November 2007\n\nNotes:\nMy gripe with it is that its mostly on focussed on the happenings in the playoffs for 2006. Apart from that it was a nice behind-the-scenes look into my favorite basketball team. It sheds some nice light on the relationships between different players and how teams actually prepare for different types of games.
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Siege of Mecca by Yaroslav Trofimov\n\nStarted: July 2008\nFinished: July 2008\n\nNotes:
Sigma Protocol by Robert Ludlum\n\nStarted: June 2008\nFinished: July 2008
[[Omar Zia Khan|http://shoshin.uwaterloo.ca/~ozkhan/index.html]]
http://shoshin.uwaterloo.ca/~ozkhan/index.html
Smile When You're Lying: Confessions of a Rogue Travel Writer by Chuck Thompson\n\nStarted: July 2009\nFinished: July 2009
Sophie's World: A Novel about the History of Philosophy by Jostein Gaarder\n\nStarted: December 2009\nFinished:
I am an avid sports fan. Generally speaking I like sports of all types. Notable exceptions are baseball and (the-so-called American) football. I follow [[Cricket|http://www.cricinfo.com]] and [[Basketball|http://www.nba.com]] religiously, while I also try to keep tabs on what is happening in [[F1 Racing|http://www.formula1.com]]. Oh, and by the way, Roger Federer is the KING!!!\n\nOn my own, I play cricket and squash. I also enjoy swimming, and used to play badminton in an earlier life.
Stones Into Schools: Promoting Peace with Books, Not Bombs, in Afghanistan and Pakistan by Greg Mortenson\n\nStarted: June 2010\nFinished: July 2010
Street Fighters: The Last 72 Hours of Bear Stearns, the Toughest Firm on Wall Street by Kate Kelly\n\nStarted: January 2010\nFinished: January 2010
Super Crunchers by Ian Ayres\n\nStarted: July 2008\nFinished: July 2008
Taliban: Militant Islam, Oil and Fundamentalism in Central Asia by Ahmed Rashid\n\nStarted: April 2009\nFinished: May 2009
The 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in History by Michael Hart\n\nStarted: January 2008\nFinished: January 2008\n\nNotes:
The Appeal by John Grisham\n\nStarted: July 2008\nFinished: July 2008
The Associate by John Grisham\n\nStarted: April 2009\nFinished: May 2009
The Audacity to Win: The Inside Story and Lessons of Barack Obama's Historic Victory by David Plouffe\n\nStarted: November 2009\nFinished: November 2009
The Blair Years by Alastair Campbell\n\nStarted: April 2008\nFinished: April 2008\n\nNotes:\nGiven that Campbell's diaries span almost 9 years, I expected it to be a long bed-time read. Even then, 900 pages at times seemed too much. Campbell give a good insider's view on world and UK politics during his stay in the power corridors. While it didn't give me many new answers I was seeking, it did reinforce some of my earlier views. For instance, Blair was over-rated in the world media as compared to his standing in his own country. The Iraq war was not just a catastrophic decision, but it was also not a good choice to participate for Britain. The poodle status for Blair was well-deserved. \n\nCampbell repeatedly mentions that Blair believed in supporting Clinton or Bush against the whole world opinion only because he thought in this way he could influence their decisions. I doubt it happened. Another issue I have with Campbell's description first on Kosovo and then Iraq is about their so-called moral high ground (read international enforcer status) to go and intervene to liberate the oppressed and bestow upon them human rights. Similarly, the belief that removing Saddam or after attacking Iraq, the US would somehow facilitate the Middle East Peace Process and ensure a breakthrough borders on ludicrous. \n\nI liked Campbell's narratives on how Blair dealt with the Northern Ireland peace process. Similarly, it was interesting to read about Campbell's role in changes in the cabinet or the resignations/firings of different members of the administration. I wonder if Karl Rove ever wrote a diary, and if he could ever publish it. Now that would be really entertaining to read.
The Duel: Pakistan on the Flight Path of American Power by Tariq Ali \n\nStarted: December 2008\nFinished: December 2008
The Final Call: In Search of the True Cost of Our Holidays by Leo Hickman\n\nStarted: August 2009\nFinished: August 2009
The Hades Factor by Robert Ludlum and Gayle Lynds\n\nStarted: August 2008\nFinished: August 2008\n\nNotes:\nOver-rated when compared to other Ludlum's thrillers. Turned out to be bit of a disappointment. Ditto for Lazarus Vendetta and Altman Code. Sigma Protocol was more like what I like it.
The Innocent Man by John Grisham\n\nStarted: March 2008\nFinished: March 2008\n\nNotes:\nI have always loved law as a field. And Grisham always presents wonderful tales from it. This book not only highlights very clearly the dilemma of whether you support capital punishment, but also brings out the misery of people suffering from incurable diseases such as Schizophrenia. Even more, it ensures that we appreciate how tough it is for their family members to deal with such situations.
The Jansen Directive by Robert Ludlum\n\nStarted: May 2009\nFinished: May 2009
The Looming Tower: ~Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11 by Lawrence Wright\n\nStarted: August 2008\nFinished: August 2008
The Numerati by Stephen Baker\n\nStarted: May 2009\nFinished: May 2009
The Power of Full Engagement by Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz\n\nStarted: February 2008\nFinished: March 2008\n\nNotes:\nIf you have read the first part of the book, then you won't miss out on anything if you put it down right there.
The prince : the secret story of the world's most intriguing royal prince Bandar bin Sultan by William Simpson\n\nStarted: July 2009\nFinished: August 2009
The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid\n\nStarted: July 2007\nFinished: July 2007\n\nNotes:\nI finished this book in a single day, it was too hard to put down. One of the best books I have ever read. Like his previous book, the ending is a bit morbid.
The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century by Thomas L. Friedman \n\nStarted: March 2007\nFinished: August 2007\n\nNotes:\nMust read for people in the technology sector. Others would also get a better understanding about how things have evolved over the last quarter century or so. Took me too long to finish it off, but its not because it wasn't interesting enough.
The Case of Exploding Mangoes by Mohammed Hanif\n\nStarted: January 2009\nFinished: January 2009
Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Fight Terrorism and Build Nations...One School at a Time by Greg Mortenson\n\nStarted: May 2008\nFinished: May 2008
Too Big to Fail by Andrew Ross Sorkin\n\nStarted: March 2010\nFinished: March 2010
Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do by Tom Vanderbilt\n\nStarted: August 2010\nFinished: August 2010
Uranium Wars: The Scientific Rivalry that Created the Nuclear Age by Amir D. Aczel\n\nStarted: December 2009\nFinished: December 2009
Urban Tribes: Are Friends the New Family? by Ethan Watters\n\nStarted: March 2008\nFinished: April 2008\n\nNotes:\nI agree with the author's broad notion that friends are the new family. However, his attempt to link various social trends to show why these tribes are being formed seems a bit short on substance. Also, it would have been much better if Watters could have speculated on the future of urban tribes. Is it a transient phenomenon of our generation, or is it here to stay for a while.
What should I do with my life? by Po Bronson \n\nStarted: July 2007\nFinished: August 2007\n\nNotes:\nPo Bronson has a nice and refreshing style of presenting stories from the lives of other people, and then provoking the reader to think about his/her own life choices.
Whole Earth Discipline: An Ecopragmatist Manifesto by Stwart Brand\n\nStarted: May 2010\nAbandoned: May 2010
Whose War Is It? by J.L. Granatstein\n\nStarted: September 2007\nFinished: October 2007\n\nNotes:\nThe author subscribes to a specific ideology and then tries to impose his views upon us in this book. If somebody even today does not have the courage to admit in 2006 that the attack on Iraq by the US was not a mistake and Canada should have sided with US, he does not strike me as a very intelligent person. \n\nThe premise of this book is that it is necessary that Canada participate whole-heartedly in the so-called war on terrorism as it is in its own national interests. And this is because Canada is overly dependent upon the US so it should always be toeing their line. While I am ready to admit the Canada does rely very heavily on the US, but to stop allowing immigrants because an attack could be launched on the US from Canada sounds almost absurd. \n\nThe only small bit where I agree with him are his views on the issue of immigrants and dual nationality. I think he raises very pertinent points on how immigrants are not currently being integrated into the society, no matter what the thinking is. Also there needs to be a greater cost associated with acquiring and then maintaining a Canadian passport than just fulfilling the current three year residency requirement.
Why Beautiful People Have More Daughters: From Dating, Shopping, and Praying to Going to War and Becoming a Billionaire -- Two Evolutionary Psychologists Explain Why We Do What We Do by Alan S. Miller and Satoshi Kanazawa \n\nStarted: August 2008\nFinished: August 2008\n\nNotes:\nSome people won't like this book at all; for the authors political correctness specifically related to gender equality be damned. It talks about evolutionary psychology and tries to explain various phenomena and questions (like the one in its title). You need an open mind to read and digest the issues. I liked it and recommend reading it.
Why Do I Love These People?: Honest and Amazing Stories of Real Families\nby Po Bronson\n\nStarted: June 2007\nFinished: July 2007\n\nNotes:\nIts a nice collection of real-world stories describing how different families reacted to adversity. I would recommend reading it to widen your perspective. I believe you can enrich your relationship by learning from others.
Zaviya by Ashfaq Ahmed\n\nStarted: October 2009\nFinished: