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Writing Math Formula in Latex

I have finally learned to write math formula in Latex. It is actually quite easy and somewhat comparable to writing expressions in computer language. To be able to express math idea on the web is an empowering experience, like the empowered feeling when I finally learned to type Chinese quickly a few years ago. I am so excited with this new found capability that I have written up a long calculus notes for the study I'm doing currently.

2013.01.29 comments

 

Toy Story 3 - The Cynical Story

In Pixar's animation series Toy Story 3, Andy has grown up and is about to leave for college. He is facing the decision in how to dispose of his boyhood toys, either to take them with him, to put into storage or to throw them away. The toy do not foresee the prospect of being abandon by their owner. They are fearing for they future and hope to find a new home with children who want them and love them.

Pixar make this an exciting adventure story from the point of view of the toys. They are masterful in making a sentimental story out of toys. At then end Andy give the toys to little girl next door. He reminisce the old time with the toys once more before passing them on.

Buzz Light Year

In the movie, the solution is to pass on the old toys to people who want them. In real life, the problem is of a much bigger proportion. In the modern materialistic society, we have acquired so much stuff that it is causing much problem due to the clutter and the constant battle to keep the home organized. We face a similar issue on decision of the disposal of the toy after it has passed its days or simply because we run out of room. Giving them away doesn't solve the problem because there a lot more than people want to receive. Nor is throw them away easy because of our horder nature.

If you think Pixar made a movie to show us what we should do to toys as a responsible owner, look at what I've got and think again. In the first few years of my sons' life we have collected a whole parade of Toy Story characters, many of them are gifts from others. Pixar is a for profit company. One of the way for them to make money is to sell as many Toy Story merchandises as possible. So we end up with not one but three Buzz Light Year of various sizes. In real life, as oppose to in the movie, Pixar is very much a source of problem.

2013.01.27 comments

 

行行搞搞震

行行好奇心強,家中雜物無不被他玩弄一番。有時見他行為鬼祟,一定是偷偷地拿了不該玩的東西來玩了。有時被我們發現要制止時,他心裏一怕,立刻把手中的獵物掉了。一次他拿了我的手錶玩,我要拿回來,他立刻把錶掉到地上,真是禍不單行。

昨天我去洗澡,留他一個人在廳,回來看見他,他對我說:「搞」。

這樣一個「搞」字我覺得怪好笑。搞什麼?我一時沒有看見,因為要忙替他洗澡所以也沒有再留意。後來才發現原來他拿了我的銀包來玩,把裏面的東西拿了出來。總算他自己坦白招供。

今早他說得更詳盡,我步出家門一小會。回來時他跑來對我說:「搞搞震,行行曳」,原來是把哥哥的玩具稍微弄壞了一點。難得他自動招供認罪自知是曳,小孩果然天真無邪。

2013.01.21 comments

 

Learning Journal - Hindsight Blinds

Hindsight blinds because the path of what happened in the past is so brightly lit. That trail is so clear to you that everything else that could have happened is cast even more deeply into shadow. If you then want to reconstruct what could have happened and understand the choices made that produced that pathway versus another, you actually have to work hard to avoid the dangers of hindsight to then re-imagine the world before problems had been solved. — Philip Zelikow

2013.01.17 [] - comments

 

行行的說話

行行的說話越來越清楚,越來越完整了。今天就聽到他說了這些話:

  • 抹乾淨眼
  • 兩個波
  • 紙包蛋糕
  • 哥哥食嘢包包

開始懷念他牙牙學語的時候了。

2013.01.16 comments

 

Probabilistic Graphical Models Course

PGM Cert

Coursera has finally issued me the statement of accomplishment for the Probabilistic Graphical Models Course I took last December. Since 2012, I have completed 7 online courses with Coursera. I have the faintest idea about the subject when I sign up for it. Little do I know what a killer course it will be.

So what is Probabilistic Graphical Models about? It is a system to model the world with lot of uncertainties using probability and network. The application include medical diagnosis, traffic prediction, speech recognition and so on. It requires lot of proficiency in math and probability. This is really pushing the limit of my knowledge. I have spent hours pounding on the programming exercise. It actually foster a lively online student community to tackle these really tough problems together. This completion statement is definitely the most hard earned one. Just don't ask me how much I still remember after the course.

Along with Probabilistic Graphical Models, I did the seemingly suicidal feat of taking 2 other courses at the same time. It does take a lot of effort to keep track of three courses. But in terms of workload, PGM is so overwhelming that those other courses does not seem to add much overall. In fact they sometimes make a nice diversion to the PGM course.

2013.01.15 comments

 

Herring Season in San Francisco

It is herring season in San Francisco. I would not have paid much attention or have much idea about it if I have not stumbled into this in the morning. On my way to work I came by the familiar shoreline. Something was going on. I saw large number of birds, sea gulls, pelicans, flying in the sky or standing on the decayed piers. The normally quiet Agua Vista Park has a large group of people on the pier. One after another they were casting net into the water. Out in the water a number of little steel boats turned up.

Herring Season in San Francisco

I stopped to chat with a fisherman. He was pulling up his net and picking up a few fishes into his bucket, which is already half full. He told me it is the herring season. For a few days a year large number of herring are running into the bay. The fishermen have a good catch and the birds have a feast. It was quite a sight.

2013.01.10 comments

 

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