Apr 25Learning New Skills — Asian Americans and the Fine Art of the Air KissIt’s an Art, not Science ’Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house, Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse; The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there…” Oops. Wrong story! It was actually the week…Asian American5 min read
Jan 14Sea Shadow (IX-529) — The Final ViewingSea Shadow (1985–2012) “It takes so long to say good bye; Goodbye is a long, long time!”…Dean Martin Written in 2012: Last Saturday was the final opportunity for most of us to pay our last respects to the Sea Shadow. Built in secrecy during the height of Cold War, she…Sea Shadow4 min read
Jan 13Keynote Speech: The Power of Unity— We Belong!In September of 2021, I was invited to speak at the 2021 National Civic Leadership Forum hosted by the Asian American Unity Coalition (AAUC). Opening speakers included Dr. S. K. Lo, President of AAUC, Mr. Andrew Yang, American Entrepreneur & Politician and Ms. Linda Sarsour, American Political Activist. …Asian American2 min read
Jan 3Everybody Has An Accent — Don’t Let Your Accent Define you!We recently saw the play My Fair Lady. It is amusing to hear: “Why can’t the English teach their children how to speak?” And “Loverly!” The play is all about English accents. It triggered many memories of my experience with accents through the years! Growing Up Without An Accent Growing…English5 min read
Oct 7, 2021The Untold Story of the Stealth Ship Sea ShadowAn Insider’s View of the history and legacy of Sea Shadow The Stealth Ship, Sea Shadow After the success of F-117, the Nighthawk, there was an effort to apply the stealth technology to the challenging marine environment. In 1983, DARPA authorized the design and construction of an A-frame SWATH (Small…Stealth2 min read
Sep 14, 2021Leadership Behaviors 101: The Missing Business School ClassThe Personal Touch of Leaders I worked for Lockheed — and later Lockheed Martin — for 28 years and 21 days. However, as they say, who was counting! During my service, I was fortunate to observe six different CEOs, some quite closely. None of these CEOs had an MBA, but…Leadership5 min read
Jul 6, 2021Can Asian Americans Be Alpha Males?Negative Feedback Can Drive Positive Change “You will never be a vice president in this Corporation,” asserted my boss. One of the few Corporate Officers in our company, he had stature in our large corporation of 140,000 employees. When Jack spoke, everyone listened. The year was 1999 and we were…Asian American6 min read
Apr 27, 2021Proud to Be An Asian AmericanMy Transformational Journey to Becoming An Asian American “You are not an Asian. Indians are not Asian,” said our vice president of diversity in 1999. For him, and many others at that time frame, Asians were from China, Japan, Korea and South East Asia. South Asians didn’t fit their image…Asian American7 min read
Apr 25, 2021Wildlife and Hiking Trails in WilderBy S. K. Gupta. Published in the Orinda News, May 2021 edition With the arrival of warm weather, we expect both wildlife and trail hikers to boom again in Wilder development like last year. Wilder is a master planned development that is located in Gateway Valley, surrounded by lush hills. …Orinda3 min read
Feb 18, 2021The Art of Asking Questions — From The Classrooms to the BoardroomsThe Legacy of — And Learnings from — Larry King People of my generation grew up watching Larry King. His passing brought memories back. He had an art, which, I suspect just got better with experience. I remember him saying that the interview was about the guest, and not himself…Questions To Ask7 min read
