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Simplicity

version 16.0

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Friday, March 31, 2006

Not Your Ordinary Optical Illusion

mood:
listening to: Ayumi Hamasaki - No Way To Say

I just Stumbled across this page: http://research.lumeta.com/ches/me/. It's an optical illusion page, but this effect lasts for hours. O_o

Anyway, Stumble is this cool extension I found for Firefox. It's basically channel surfing, except on the Internet. You fill out your interests, and just click on Stumble and it'll bring you to a page it thinks you'll like. It also creates a community with all Stumble users, so you can share more pages, have friends, and review sites.

If you want to get it for your Firefox, search for the extension "StumbleUpon."

posted by Jack at 10:07 PM |

Wednesday, March 29, 2006

This is why you don't propose in public...

mood:
listening to: Darren Hayes - So Beautiful

This video says it all...

posted by Jack at 9:26 PM |

Tuesday, March 28, 2006

Daylight Saving Time

mood:
listening to: Dir en Grey - The Final

I just found out that saying Daylight Savings Time is wrong. The correct term is Daylight Saving Time -- the saving is referring to saving daylight. Saying "savings" would be equivalent to saying game playings time as opposed to "game playing time." I never thought about that.... hmm, and I've been saying the wrong thing up til now. D'oh!

Anyway, just want to remind everyone that Daylight Saving Time begins this coming Sunday, so set those clocks!

posted by Jack at 6:18 PM |

Saturday, March 25, 2006

Dim Sum and Shopping

mood:
listening to: Cascada - Everytime We Touch

Nothing beats dim sum and shopping, and that's exactly what I did today. I went to the china town in Manhattan with Elliott and Travis for lunch today. The place was called Sweet 'n Tart -- yes, it sounds like some desert place, but wasn't. The food was good.. and the great thing about dim sum is that you never have to spend a lot to get a good meal.

After lunch we walked over to SoHo, and Travis wanted to do some shopping around this area with Gap, BR, and other stores... so he left. I went with Elliott to check out some designer store called Bluberry...? I forgot the name, but it's some British designer. I saw a prety nice blazer there, but the price tag said $600. O_o ... no thanks! And obviously I didn't buy anything from there.

I went shopping by myself at the Queen's Center... SoHo is too pricey for me. I bought a blazer and shirt from H&M, jeans and polo shirt from BR, and a new pair of shoes from Foot Co.

Oh, and I'm going to watch Rent tomorrow. This will probably be the weekend that I spend the most money here in NYC.

posted by Jack at 8:18 PM |

Thursday, March 23, 2006

Google Pages

mood:
listening to: Gackt - Redemption

So I decided to give Google Pages a try (just for fun). I signed up about 1-2 weeks ago, and I got the email today with an invitation to join the beta. I'm pretty impressed by the editor... it's better than any browser-based html editor I've ever used -- of course, I haven't really used any for 7+ years, so maybe they're better now. Who knows.

Anyway, here's the test site I created with it. Again, it's just for fun... I'm not about to go away from my text editor + ftp to create pages anytime soon. =P

posted by Jack at 12:20 AM |

Wednesday, March 22, 2006

Statistical Debugging.

mood:
listening to: Cascada - Truly, Madly, Deeply

I came across a very interesting research today. Ben Liblit of UWisc has written papers about debugging using statistical methods. It is a collaborative affort with a few other individuals.

I enjoy this topic because it combines by two favourite fields together: Computer Science and Statistics. If anyone is interested, you can read his papers on his website.

posted by Jack at 7:25 PM |

Tuesday, March 21, 2006

School is Useful!

mood:
listening to: Jolin Tsai - The Moment I Fell In Love

I need to mention this... I used something I learned at school at work! Wow! Can you belive that?! I can't. heh

So here's what happened... I had an ad-hoc implementation of an application that we're going to use to test out different trade systems. It was only working for one system, because I just wanted to make sure it actually worked. The next step was to extend it so it can supports all the systems. And I thought to myself: wasn't there a design pattern I learned in CS 246 that would help me in this scenario? Yes!! It is the Strategy DP!!!

So I finished implementing all the classes today, and tomorrow I will try it out on the other systems. Hopefully it's not going to make the computer asplode... cuz you know, that wouldn't be so good.

posted by Jack at 9:20 PM |

Course Enrollment

mood:
listening to: Cascada - Reason

I picked my courses today for the summer term. I wanted to take Database Management (CS 448), but it was already full when I tried to enroll. Gah! So now I'm taking Computer Networks (CS 456) instead. Boo to people who clicked 30 seconds faster than me! =P

Well, networks is a good course too. I don't know if anyone I know is taking it though. O_o

posted by Jack at 9:00 PM |

Sunday, March 19, 2006

X-Men: Last Stand

mood:
listening to: Cascada - Miracle

So has anyone seen the trailer for X-Men 3? OMG! I'm spazzing just watching it! It comes out May 26th, and I cannot wait to see it. I think this is probably the movie I'm waiting for the most this year -- Pirates of the Caribbean 2 would be a close second.

posted by Jack at 9:52 PM |

The Gin Mill

mood:
listening to: Jay Chou & Landy - Rooftop

Yesterday was Alex's (Eric's friend from college) birthday, so a bunch of us went to a bar called The Gin Mill to celebrate. There were a bunch of Canadians in the bar -- a few of them wearing Leafs jersies. They were really loud, and they sang the Canadian national athem... to which Eric and I sang to as well. =P

After that we hit the Evelyn Lounge to go clubbing. It was so crowded, and it was really hard to walk around. I actually don't really like clubbing that much. =\

posted by Jack at 12:31 PM |

Thursday, March 16, 2006

Gotham Comedy Club

mood:
listening to: Gackt - kimi ga oikaketa yume

I went to Gotham Comedy Club with Elliott, Nimita and Shu tonight. It was very very good... laughed pretty much the entire show... and no, it was not the effect of the alcohol. o.o

This lady that came on was kinda scary though... yelling and stuff. O_O

I ended up spending $40.. $10 for the cover and $30 on the drinks. I only had a bottle of beer and some gin... so I'm not too sure why that's $30, but oh well. $40 is not very much to pay for some good entertainment. =)

posted by Jack at 11:31 PM |

Tuesday, March 14, 2006

Happy Pi Day!

mood:
listening to: Onitsuka Chihiro - Ryuseigan

At the risk of being called a geek by Ams, I wish everyone a happy Pi Day! =P

In US date format, today is 3/14... which are the first three digits in pi (3.14...).

So there are a few ways to celebrate Pi Day. For example, I will refer to my age as 7pi years. *cough* O_O

posted by Jack at 9:34 PM |

Monday, March 13, 2006

Fish vs. Ants

mood:
listening to: L'arc~en~Ciel - Fourth Avenue Cafe

There is a piece featured on Ask Yahoo! that tries to answer a reader question on whether there are more fish or ants.

The writer notes that there is no census of marine population, so no one can estimate the number of fish in the world. However, the writer goes on the say that the number of fish in the world is actually decreasing from over-fishing.

But how can you know that the population is decreasing if you can't measure it in the first place? Maybe someone can englighten me.

posted by Jack at 8:23 PM |

Thursday, March 09, 2006

Financial "Stuff"

mood:
listening to: Vivaldi - Four Seasons (Winter)

I've been working at Lehman for over two months now, and I haven't learned too much on the financial side of things. So my co-worker, Alim, sends me this link to a site with tons of information on financial terms.

Now I know what a Credit Default Swap is; and when people talk about Derivatives, I don't think Calculus! =D

If anyone's interested, the site is here.

posted by Jack at 11:47 PM |

Monday, March 06, 2006

The Schitts

mood:
listening to: Sum 41 - Hell Song

Ok, time for a little bash.org quote. =P

<Nori123> You don't know jack shit
<VioletSky> That's not true, I know him well
<Nori123> Haha
<VioletSky> I'm serious
<VioletSky> Jack is the son of Awe Schitt and O. Schitt. Awe Schitt, the fertilizer magnate, married O. Schitt, the owner of Needeep N. Schitt Inc. They had one son, Jack. In turn Jack Schitt married Noe Schitt, the deeply religious couple produced 6 children
<VioletSky> Holie Schitt, Fulla Schitt, Giva Schitt, Bull Schitt, and the twins: Deap Schitt and Dip Schitt. Against her parents' objections, Deap Schitt married Dumb Schitt, a high school drop out.
<VioletSky> However, after being married 15 years, Jack and Noe Schitt divorced. Noe Schitt later remarried Ted Sherlock and, because her kids were living with them, she wanted to keep her previous name.
<VioletSky> She was then known as Noe Schitt-Sherlock. Meanwhile, Dip Schitt married Loda Schitt and they produced a son of nervous disposition, Chicken Schitt.
<VioletSky> Two other of the 6 children, Fulla Schitt and Giva Schitt, were inseparable throughout childhood and subsequently married the Happens brothers in a dual ceremony.
<VioletSky> The wedding announcement in the newspaper announced the Schitt-Happens wedding. The Schitt-Happens children were Dawg, Byrd, and Hoarse.
<VioletSky> Bull Schitt, the prodigal son, left home to tour the world. He recently returned from Italy with his new Italian bride, Pisa Schitt.
<VioletSky> So there.
<FiPo> LOL
<Nori123> I have actually chortled coke through my nose

Taken from here.

posted by Jack at 8:06 PM |

Sunday, March 05, 2006

Avenue Q

mood:
listening to: Mozart - Agnus Dei

I went to see Avenue Q today with Elliott. For those of you who don't know what Ave Q is, it is a Broadway show. It's definitely not for kids though, because there are some pretty adult stuff in there, and there are a little bit of cursing as well.

Avenue Q is a show about this puppet Princeton who just graduated with an English BA (and yes, they made fun of that BA), and he is living on Ave Q -- which is the only neighbourhood he can afford to live in. The show deals with a lot of life's problems, and puts humor into them. You'll find yourself laughing throughout the show.

There are songs like, "Everyone is a little bit racist" and "Most things in life is just for a little while." It is a pretty meaningful show, and I'm surprised by that.

And the unique thing about Ave Q is that the show has humans and puppets living together. So it almost seems like Sesame Street... but then the themes in the show makes you remember that this ain't kids' stuff.

Anyone who has the chance to watch the Ave Q should definitely check it out. You won't be disappointed!

PS. Gary Coleman is also in the show (well, someone playing as him).

posted by Jack at 10:20 PM |

Iverson Not Chosen for Team USA

mood:
listening to: Linkin Park - Pushing Me Away

Allen Iverson of the Philadelphia 76ers isn't chosen to team USA, while Luke Ridnour of the Sonics is?! Can someone explain to me the logic behind this decision? As far as I can see, Iverson is a way better point guard than Ridnour is. Statistically, Iverson is having the best season of his career... and is better than Ridnour is pretty much every category. And get this: Iverson has actually said he wants to play for Team USA... there aren't many superstars in the NBA that has said they want to play.

I guess you could argue that Iverson is older than many of the players selected to the team. But what about Shaq? He is much older than Iverson, and he gets an invitation. And he doesn't even know if he wants to play for the team.

And if you say that maybe Iverson isn't a "true" point guard -- whatever that means -- then what about Gilbert Arenas? He also plays a shoot-first style of basketball at point guard.

Seriously, I cannot figure out why Iverson did not get an invitation. We'll see if Team USA actually gets gold this time with the roster they've chosen.

posted by Jack at 2:08 PM |

Friday, March 03, 2006

Seven Weeks to Go!

mood:
listening to: Hamasaki Ayumi Evolution

The term is halfway done now. I have seven more weeks of work left, and then it's back to Canada! I'm looking forward to going back. Ams will be done exams by that time, so I'm inviting her over to my place for some quality video gaming time. =D

posted by Jack at 7:41 PM |

Wednesday, March 01, 2006

Learned Siu Lim Tau

mood:
listening to: Smetana - The Moldau

I just finished learning the first form in Wing Chun, called Siu Lim Tau -- "Little Idea." It doesn't look that cool or anything, but Wing Chun is known for its practicality rather than looking cool. My Sifu is a really nice guy, and has a reputation of being a really great fighter. I'm gonna be attending private lessons on Wednesdays, as well as group sessions on Tuesdays and Thursdays for the next three weeks... after that I'm not sure.

If I can get together with Eric sometime, he said he can practice with me, and show me some things. I'll also be going back to Canada in less than two months, and I'm hoping to continue Wing Chun when I get back... I just don't know anyone else practicing Wing Chun back in Canada.

posted by Jack at 9:32 PM |