This is my youngest son. He's 4 years old and is a total goober. Let's call him "J". J is probably going to be a sales person when he grows up. He is extroverted, charming, funny, naturally positive, and when he wants something he goes after it with dogged persistence »
Once upon a time, when I was a wee lass (25 years old, to be precise), and not yet a product manager but a code warrior-ess (or whatever it is that you call female warriors), I did that clichéd, hackneyed Silicon Valley stunt: co-founding a tech startup with three other »
Originally posted to Quora. The original question was "Do parents love biological children more than adopted children?" Someone who was a biological father without adopted children, who was therefore speculating, posted: ...I think that we derive a certain fulfillment and gratification from natural children that we don't get from adopted »
Orignally posted to Quora. Q: How should paternity leave be arranged for a gay man with an adopted child? Should he get paternity leave, which is usually shorter, or maternity leave? If he gets maternity leave, doesn't this suggest he is the 'mother' in the relationship, which is offensive to »
My answer, originally published on Quora. Q: What do MIT admissions interviewers look for? My Answer I used to interview applicants to MIT, and the biggest things I looked for were: Deep intellectual curiosity and a passion for learning that goes far beyond the norm. This was best demonstrated by »
My answer, originally published on Quora. Q: If you are an adoptive parent, do you celebrate your child's 'gotcha day'or 'homecoming day'? If yes, how do you do it? My Answer: We don't. The main reason is that, for both of my kids, this day would either be really close »
Here's a visual of how Los Gatos's public elementary schools feed into the middle schools, and then how the middle schools feed into the high schools. The width of each stripe is roughly proportional to how many kids transition from one school to another in a given year. It's far »
My answer, originally published on Quora. Q: Why would anyone want to be an employee and not an entrepreneur? One of the most difficult issues I've faced as an entrepreneur is looking smart people in the face and telling them to work for my company when I honestly have a »
Dear James (age 3.5), You are a very sweet young boy, and I am so touched by how much well you care for others and help them when they need you. Over the weekend, you and Kian were playing in the sprinklers while I tried to test them out »
Dear Kian, Thursday was the last day of 2nd grade for you, so we spent Friday together doing "special time." First, you played with James a little bit in the morning. Then we took him to daycare so he wouldn't miss "water play day." You and I came home and »
My answer, originally published on Quora. Q: What are your feelings towards your adopted child? My Answer Words fail to describe how deeply I love my two adopted children. While I have no biological children to compare them too, I honestly cannot imagine loving or caring for them any more »
What a goober! (James saw a photo of Kian at age 4 dressed up in this costume, and begged for me to look for it so he could dress up as Buzz Lightyear too....) »
“My super powers are super hug powers, hot lava, corn, peas, and carrots.” -- James on 5/14/2014, age 3.10 »
Today is the first day (that I remember, anyway) when I realized how grownup Kian already is at age 7.5. I fondly remember when he was 4 or so, and we were so close: best buddies. I could do no wrong in his eyes and I could not feel »
Give me the world’s biggest hug. Bigger than Ironman, Superman, the Green Lantern, and Batman can fly. --James on 4/21/2014, age 3.9 »
*Question was originally posted to Quora on 2 Mar 2014. As a startup, if no ownership shares have been issued and no documents have been signed by any founder yet, but a lawyer has incorporated the business and drafted the legal documents for review, can the majority push founders out »
My answer, originally published on Quora. My Answer The most obvious answer: Fewer and fewer girls are studying math and computer science in college, and Of those women who do graduate in those fields, and who even become programmers, they are likely to leave the field after a few years. »
My answer, originally published on Quora. Q: How does it feel to adopt a child of a different race from you? What should you be aware of? I am young, gay and though not close to the decision whether to have kids, would like to have a family of my »
My answer, originally published on Quora. Q: Why is it so difficult (time, money, etc.) to adopt a child? It seems like there are plenty of people in the world that would like to adopt a child and plenty of children that need to be adopted. Why isn't the process »
Early - Starting August 2011 (13 months) At age 1 yr, 1 month, in the USA for just over 1 month) 1. Dog / doggy (8/18/2011) 2. Tickle 3. Hi (11/24/2011) 4. "Bucka bucka" - the name of his special strawberry pillow 5. "Bap" (fruit and/or »
My answer, originally published on Quora. Q: Should I finish a degree in CS if I don't really want to be a software engineer? Some context: I started a degree in engineering, did well in it academically (marks wise, I was typically in the top 10% of the class; not »
My answer, originally published on Quora. Q: What Kellogg MBA classes have students found to be the most useful and why? My Answer From the vantage point of someone who has been out of Kellogg for over a decade, here are the classes that have proven the most useful in »
Dear Kian, Today is Saturday May 28, 2011. I just had the most wonderful day with you. You are 4-1/2 years right now, on the brink of entering kindergarten. And 4.5 is truly a wonderful age. Perhaps the best age (although I know that consistently throughout your entire »
(I originally published this article semi-anonymously on the Cranky Product Manager blog in October, 2010. The post received a lot of traffic from reddit and other sources. At the time, I received some criticism for hiding behind an anonymous persona and for not naming names, so I'm updating and republishing »
My sister Laura is in town, so we took a "Captain Underpants" photo of Kian and posted it to Facebook. He'll hate me for this later. I better start saving up for his psychotherapy. Kian said that he wouldn't trade his daddy for a train (thank goodness!). But would he »
This past weekend, K got to experience the sugar-overload of Easter. On Saturday evening, we went to friends' for an egg hunt and dinner. Then, Sunday we headed to some other friends for a quiet Easter brunch. Other Notables: K does not react well to "ready, set, go!" Instead of »
1. When he successfully gets himself dressed 2. Fixing his own hair, using the mirror and some water 3. Collecting rocks and pebbles that he finds EVERYWHERE. He jacket and pants pockets seem to always have a few rocks in them. (must be careful or they will ruin my washer »
I took Kian to swimming class at AVAC this evening. It was a bit rough because he was expecting Mr. David to be his teacher today. He had been saying earlier how Mr. David was his friend -- a big deal because at the previous lesson he wouldn't go near »