Addition to coin collection

I haven't been up to much lately. I did buy an expensive coin, the 2000 Library of Congress Bimetallic Ten Dollar. Its composition is 1/4 oz Au, 1/4 oz Pt. Here's a scan.

I started playing Utopia, or rather, nostalgia. The last time I played was Grade 10. I doubt anyone from back then (Paul, Roddy) is playing, but if you are, say hello or attack me. :P I'm on Legends 28:39; my place will be easy to figure out.

Then there's work. Work is interesting: I'm applying some theorems and skills I acquired in Graph Theory and CS241. And my coworkers like it. They like software that's better than the open-source alternatives. They like proofs of upper-bound running times and novel approaches to old problems. Work is great! Some things I'm doing may be good grad school material.

Oh, and I've been dreaming a lot. Long, coherent, narrative, sometimes poetic dreams in vivid technicolour. Like Kevin dreams. I wonder why... :P

Great but banned ad from Microsoft

Here's one of the best ads I've seen in a while. It certainly brought back some childhood memories and the kid within me... I remember doing that and imagining stuff like that when I was bored with school.

In defense of gifted education

Let's start with a question: are we all created equal?

No.

Well, it really depends on what "born equal" means. If the meaning is taken to be "all men are born equal in dignity and rights" then it is yes. If the meaning is taken to be "all men are born with equal intellectual abilities" then the answer is a hard no. Some are offended by this, but let me pose some questions. Are we born equally tall? Physically strong? Beautiful? No of course, right? These are much less contentious. So why is intelligence so touchy? I think the answer is because in our society, intelligence is highly correlated with success.

The idea that some cannot achieve a high level of success almost regardless of how hard they try is denied by many. Yet studies show that this is very true. I'm not going to use footnotes since Wikipedia has already done that for us. Back on topic, studies show that IQ is the best predictor of future performance. Now this doesn't mean that IQ is a good indicator of future success, it just means it beats all the others. So before the smart ones start wearing a grin, remember that there is no substitute for hard work. Or is there?

Contrary to what most others may believe, I think there is a very good substitute for hard work, and I think that is high IQ (work is still needed, just not hard work). High IQ babies look at a novel object and get bored with a few glances, while average babies will be intrigued for much longer. Years later, the high IQ babies become schoolchildren and are bored with their lessons, their teachers, and probably their classmates as well. They'll think "d'oh, Mrs. Campbell is teaching that again for the 14th time" and begin daydreaming, doodling -- whatever relieves them of their boredom. If kept in such a stultifying environment, these minds will not attain their true potential. They will still do better on average than their peers but the point is that they do not reach their potential.

We want to nuture our bright minds, since it is known that a well-educated people fare better economically and hence we invest in education. So what's the best way to invest though? I think having a good gifted education program is essential to investing this money properly. Now, the main point coming from people that oppose gifted education is that it segregates the children, and violates the widely accepted clause of "all men are born equal." After all, why should these gifted children receive more resources (like better teachers) and therefore more investment money? This is where we go back to the question posed at the beginning of this post. Simply, we are not created equal when it comes to intelligence!

Here's a hastily thought-up analogy:

Basketball is what determines success and thus basketball teams, that of nations.
We want to invest in out nation's basketball team.
We want teach our children basketball, for a great team in the future.

Now, do we

• spend equal resources on short children as very tall children? Illogical isn't it? The tall kids will be bored; they may start lifting the ball above their heads and grinning at the stunted kids frantically jumping. They tall ones will not develop their skills.
  

• spend more resources on our very tall children? Logical isn't it? You know that the future all-stars will be tall. No, not all the tall kids will be excellent players, but the best players will be tall. In analogy with IQ, height isn't a great indicator of future basketball performance, but it is nevertheless the best indicator. Thus it is statistically wise to specially nuture our very tall children.

Sorry, this post is probably disorganized and unclear, but I don't feel like cleaning it up. =P
Time to sleep. Cha!

New year, new post

Yes, very late, but happy New Near! 新年あけおめ！

Sorry for not posting. I've been caught up in "family" things: a cousin from Shanghai is visiting, and my aunt opened up a restaurant. The weather is fine here, around 9 in the daytime and 4 in the evening.

I got Bao's awesome anime package in the mail a week or so ago, filled with food for slacking. After feasting, I started to think about Canada, about home. And the more I thought the more I came to miss it. Oh, in the vast fields of white (with some brown and black on the roadsides [ed.: don't spoil the image]) how I long to roll! T_T

Today, I decided when my last day of work would be: April 14th. I'm thinking of flying home around April 18-20th. I hope Bao's house is open from April 19-21st to May 1st... =P

In my spare time I was shopping and exploring Tokyo with my two cousins, playing games (Golden Sun 2, Civilization IV, Freespace 2, Freelancer, Super Mario RPG, Lego Star Wars, Windows Vista's Chess), eating too much, and eating too much too much [ed.: hard to read].

I also tried a new IQ test by highiqsociety.org, the Teaching Assistant Cubed, and got a questionable result. I tried it again and got 134. @_@

Crunch time

It's crunch time. Home before 10pm? No way.

On the bright side, I get to toy with confidential releases of Beta 2 of Windows Vista and the technical beta of Office 12. Though to be more specific, it's Vista and Office that's toying with my program... =P

So what am I doing? I'm working on an XPS implementation which will be used in the upcoming Windows. XPS has great potential I think. It's a open fixed-document format, which means it's non-interactive like PDF, platform independent, and also it's the native spool format of Vista. Imagine the possibilities. Better yet, imagine the specification. Yup, it's only 385 pages long. (version 0.7 was ultra verbose at 500-ish)

Oh yeah, I have to keep track of some blogs at work... ;)

	Tim Sneath (WPF & WinFX)
	Feng Yuan (Windows Digital Documents)
	Andy Simonds (Windows Digital Documents)
	XPS Team (Windows Digital Documents)
	Brian Jones (Microsoft Word)
	Jeff Bell (Microsoft Publisher)

Office 12 and Vista are visually dazzling. The system requirements are equally dazzling however.

JLPT overwhelms Jason 60-40

JLPT pulled a dramatic 60-40 upset victory over defending champion Jason yesterday in the 2005 Language Cup finals.

"I was confident going into this match," said a sweaty but ecstatic JLPT during the post-match interview. "I was so devastated by last year's 8-92 loss to Jason. I trained hard throughout the year and have reached a level of play that I can really be happy about," added JLPT with a genial smile.

Things weren't so bright for last year's champion. Asked whether he continued his training throughout the year, the 21-year old refused to comment. "I don't think it was a good day for me." he said instead. "I didn't bring my watch, and [JLPT's] 'time warp' really caught me off guard. Before I knew it I had five minutes left to prepare my final counterattack."

During the first phase, Vocabulary and Writing, the two players were generally evenly matched though JLPT always held the upper hand. This probably threw Jason off guard. By the time the closing bell rang, JLPT finished with a slight lead over last year's champion.

In the second phase, Listening Comprehension, Jason valiantly rallied back and finished with a substantial lead over JLPT. Using his 'ear technique' which he honed after watching hundreds of episodes of anime, Jason enjoyed an excellent round of play. The fat lady had not sung yet however.

The third and most important phase, Reading Comprehension and Grammar, was when the outcome was sealed. JLPT opened with her usual 'mundane two-page essays on useless topics' strategy. When Jason appeared to be coping well, she revealed a formerly proscribed technique: the 'repetitively-redundantly-droning-and-makes-no-sense-like-this-current-sentence sentence that uses basically only bombastic words and which is definitely a run on-sentence in English but if it isn't I'd like to make it so because I-loooove-curry-and-by-the-way-I-just-had-some this morning... keke' trick of doom.

From this Jason never recovered. JLPT mercifully finished him off with her famous 'time warp' trick -- those that witnessed it for the first time were completely baffled.

Jason later admitted today that he bathed in last year's glory and was idle in preparations, while his opponent apparently increased her powers tenfold.

In her usual emollient way, JLPT remarked, "Jason is a formidable tactician with quick and effective plays. I had a tough time due to his outstanding techniques of 'guessing' and 'second guessing'."

source: Serendipity Islet
Official purveyor of useless news

/played

--------------- Preamble ---------------

I'm a gamer at heart. I know I spend too much time on this pastime, yet it's difficult to let go. I've tried quitting on several occasions with little or no success. I play a lot more after a period of withdrawal, so these efforts could be counterproductive. Currently, I'm on my longest 'no-gaming' streak so far and I'm hoping it'll last as long as I'm here. Otherwise I'd be squandering this lovely opportunity in Japan next to my laptop.

The purpose of this post is to in part serve as a grisly reminder of life passing me by, as well as to just serve as a list of the games I've played so that I can glance and reminisce on good ol' times.

--------------- The Meat ---------------

Gamer levels:
Casual gamer 1-2 hours/day, Enthusiast 2-4, Dedicated 4-6, Hardcore 6-9, Extreme 9+

Let's first start off with the two periods where I didn't play games. One of these periods is right now! The only other period was in grade 12 second semester, application season for university. (After I got in, I thought I'd be at the bottom of the class, so with a "why try?" attitude I drastically lowered my standards and just cared to pass; the marks I somehow ended up with first term suggested I could fare much better had I cared...)

Now those two periods aside, the following is about my gaming life since grade 5, when I got my first PC.

University: I'm around the "dedicated" level at university, with the notable exception of the WoW period, where without fail I played 8 to 12 hours a day. In particular, I binged on the weekends I stayed in 'Loo, where at the very least I played 14 hours a day.

High school: I played everyday after school, almost religiously (like with EQ) until around midnight. For EQ, I even woke up at 5 o'clock in the morning to play. I was dedicated during school days and turned hardcore or extreme on the weekends... :P

Grade school: Still everyday after school, though back then I was also into calligraphy, chess, and science. Probably around enthusiast level on average.

--------------- /played estimate ---------------

How much time have I spent on games? Let's start estimating with an old mathematical approach: find the lower bound. The games that really left an impression have a short description. (All units are hours)

Computer games

MMORPGs
World of Warcraft
Total time spent: > 720
November 23, 2004 to January 23, 2005: 19 days 5 hours. In other words, 32% of the two-months time was spent on WoW. Basically I could take 24 hours, subtract sleep time and 1-2 hours for substance, hygiene, etc, and that would be my play time for the day. No regrets: it was a great time, though my marks suffered a 6% drop. =P

Guild Wars
Total time: 150 to 250
May 2005 to present. Not sure if there is an in-game chronometer. I estimate completing the game at 40-60 hours, 40 for classes like the Monk which can complete missions easily with henchmen. Played about 5-9 hours per day in May and June, while waiting for the Japan visa.

EverQuest
Total time: 600 to 800
One of the most memorable times I've had, surpassed only by WoW. I still remember the opening music and the exact time the music stopped when the game loaded. I still recall a Frost Giant stepping on me.

Multiplayer/Action
Half-Life 40-50, Doom II 20-30, Wolf 3D 20
TFC 300-800, Counter-Strike 300-800
Total Annihilation 60-80, Warcraft II 50-60
Warcraft III 250-500, Starcraft 100-150
Diablo 100-150, Diablo II 300-500
Neverwinter Nights 200-250, Dungeon Siege 30
Freespace 40, Freespace 2 40-50, Freelancer 50

RPGs
Planescape: Torment 40-50
Baldur's Gate 30-40, Baldur's Gate II 50-60, Star Wars: KotOR II 20-40
Star Wars: KotOR 30-60, Albion 50-70, Morrowind 20-30
The Longest Journey 50 (counterexample: WoW was a longer journey)
Grim Fandango 40

Other
Sega Rally 2 20-30 hours, Hitman 2 20-30 hours, Tyrian 40-60 hours

Video games

Action/Party
Smash 300-400 hours, Smash Melee 60-150 hours, Project Gotham Racing 30-50 hours
Mario Tennis 20-40 hours, Tales of Symphonia 90-110 hours
Mario 1 to 3 70 hours, Zelda 1 and 3 60 hours, Zelda: Ocarina of Time 30-40 hours

RPGS
Chrono Trigger 30-60 hours, Chrono Cross 60-70 hours, FFIX 40-50 hours, FFVIII 40-60 hours, FFVII 60-80 hours, FFVI 40 hours, FFV 30 hours, FFIV 30 hours, FF 25 hours

Gameboy games
Pokemon Yellow 40-45 hours, Pokemon Silver 30-40 hours, Golden Sun 30 hours

Various (Mostly old games; 15 hours each for quick calculation)

Jazz Jackrabbit, Raptor, Commander Keen, Prince of Persia, (10-20 more titles)

--------------- Analysis ---------------

The list above contains the large majority of the games I've played. I've omitted games that I've only played for on a few occasions. Notable examples are Halo, the Mario Party series, Mario Golf, etc. Let's say those games sum up to 100 hours in total.

By summation,

Σ(floor[/played] ) = 5060 hours

So, I've spent a minimum of 5060 hours playing games. My best estimate would be 6400 to 7200 hours, but this bare minimum estimate suffices for the purposes of this post. It's hard to estimate play time for games like Counter-Strike and Diablo II; I would say the upper bound is much more realistic for those games.

A completely different approach to estimate "/played" would be to take my mean daily gaming time as say, a conservative 3 hours, and multiply that by 10 years x 365 days a year -- this yields 10950 hours! (What's scary is that this isn't an upper bound by any means...)

--------------- Reflection ---------------

Let's finish off by putting the lower bound estimate into perspective, to visualize what "just" 5060 hours can mean. . .

• A full-credit course in university is about 36 hours of classroom time + an optional amount of self-study or homework time (recommended to be a matching 36 hours). On average, I attend 30-36 hours of lectures, and do about 10 hours outside class. Let's put the total time for a course then at a high 50 hours. With that, 5060 hours translates into the time and effort needed for 101 courses, or 20 terms of school! Indeed, the 720+ hours from WoW alone would be about 3 terms.
  

• Japanese Language Proficiency Test level 1, the highest level, is usually obtainable after 900 hours of study. Generalizing other languages to be the same level of difficulty -- very conservative since Japanese is hard -- 5060 hours is ample time to fully master five foreign languages! (I've spent about 36x3 classroom hours + perhaps 50-150 hours self study, so around 200 hours...)
  

• 5060 hours is 2.3 years worth of sleep at my usual 6 hrs/day
  

In conclusion,

/played
. . . STACK_OVERFLOW

Miss Universe-ity?

Yes, apparently there's an annual pageant among Japanese universities. Awesome, no?

Volleyball

I just finished watching a volleyball match between Japan and America. Like always, there was enthusiastic cheering from the Japanese crowd -- I almost felt sorry for the Americans.

I was disappointed to observe that, like the last time I watched volleyball in Japan two years ago, the comments directed towards the non-Japanese teams usually contain 高さ, or height (i.e. height advantage), especially if they're winning. I'm a little annoyed at this: it's almost as if it's wrong to say that the opposing team's technique or strategy is better. No, it's their height of course!

Announcer 1: "Ah, point America!"
Announcer 2: "Yeah, player X is so tall isn't he?"
Announcer 1: "Yea, amazing isn't it?"

Some thoughts

I wonder what it would be like right now if China, instead of Japan, performed something like the Meiji Restoration and Westernized more than a century ago? It might've been China that attacked Pearl Harbor to secure her position in the Pacific. China would've probably annexed Korea instead of Japan. Atomic bombs might've been dropped on China. This alternate timeline is unlikely* to have occurred since Japan Westernized in response to the Qing Empire's defeat to the European powers -- very shocking since China was the overwhelmingly dominant power in the area since recorded history. Plus, with China's historically infamous hubris, it is unlikely to happen even given that the order of events is reversed and instead Japan was the first in the area to be forcibly opened up to European powers.

--

Anyone experienced a moment when a familiar English word suddenly just doesn't "look right"? You question the spelling at first, then it becomes more and more 'correct' as you stare at it... I've had this happen to me often recently. I've already forgot the words that triggered this. =P

--

I've made note of a couple minor problems that I've observed here.

Idling. No, not the people but the cars. My extended family here is a archetypical example of this: whenever they wait for anything -- people, events, etc. -- while traveling by car, they never shut down the engine. This could go on for a couple minutes to over an hour. Sure, my cousin likes watching the LCD (an excuse they suggest) but doesn't anyone care about the environment, not to mention the yen slipping out of their pockets by the second?

Smoking. I think smoking is a major health issue in Asia. I've been to Shanghai before and it's the same: cigarette smoke taints restaurants, streets -- almost everything. I have to give credit to some of the districts in Tokyo which have implemented anti-smoking bylaws to alleviate the problem, though they do not seem to have been very effective. I still breathe second-hand smoke almost everyday from men smoking as they walk around, even in crowded areas.

---
*Of course, probability doesn't apply to historical events, but this is speaking with the quantum theory of multiple timelines in mind... :P

J-wiki

For those that haven't heard, Wikipedia (in my links area) is a great place to find information.

As 勉強 (benkyou: study) for my Japanese, I have made my first page in Japanese! Check it out.

I'm hoping to add more topics soon. Any suggestions?

Coins

I've delved a bit into coin collecting recently. I'm not yet well read on numismatics, but here's a description of my collection so far:

• 1/20 oz. Gold Maple Leaf (I forgot the year -- I bought it at the Royal Canadian Mint in Ottawa a few years ago)
• 3x 1 oz. Gold Maple Leaf dated 2004
• 1 oz. Silver Maple Leaf dated 1989
  
• Tri-metallic (Au/Ag/Pt) 1 oz. coin from the Pobjoy Mint (mintage 999)

Gold and Silver Maple Leafs.


The Au/Ag/Pt coin -- this one's my favourite. =)

Go Waterloo!

'Best overall' in MacLean's reputational survey for the 14th year. On top of that, 'Loo's two teams claimed both 1st and 2nd place in the East Central North America ACM contest. That's right, we pwned again.

Both come as no surprise though -- it's been like this since I was in Grade 1.

Hmm.. that's enough shameless promotion for a day ;)

Let's see how we do in the Putnam this year.

Preparation for the JLPT

The JLPT (Japanese Language Proficiency Test) on December 4th is drawing nearer...

I went to a language school in downtown Tokyo for a few weeks but that wasn't really helpful. I find the best thing to do now is just to practice the language: chatting with the natives, and listening to the news, etc.

I think I'm ready for it.

Favourite colour

What's your favourite colour? Mine's lavender. The next three would probably be gold, bright orange, and sky blue.

Investments

I had a discussion with a young colleague today about investments in general. We went through many popular forms such as stocks, bonds, real estate, et cetera, arriving somehow at cash. This became quite humorous for me, as I think investing in cash is amongst the most foolish investment choices. He didn't agree.

We defined "investing in cash" as the process of committing money, storing it in the form of cash (domestic currency in physical paper form or in a chequing account), for the prospect of future returns.

I think most everyone knows why this is a poor investment, in fact I wouldn't even regard it as a proper investment. In my opinion, it's the act of not investing. Sure, you can save cash in preparation for a real, large investment, but I dearly hope that cash isn't your final target.

Anyway, its demerits are simple and numerous: inflation nibbles (or chomps) away at your purchasing power, which is obviously not increasing; you're at the whim of the volatile currency market; and quite plainly, there's no growth. These were the ones I suggested.

He didn't have time for much rebuttal as the lunch bell beckoned us to our cubicles, and being a curious guy, I would like to hear some merits of being a "cash investor". I just doubt a combination of miniscule growth potential and low security make for a good investment.

Brainstorm! - show me your creative financial genius!

Aspirations, huh....

It seems that the last post has made some buzz. Ray has reflected on it.

This seems like a good time to list some goals I have. Pardon the rip off of Ray's blog title, but what dreams may come? Indeed.

I've worked for a couple engineering firms and software companies, and quite frankly I can't see myself doing that for life. So what is there left? Drumroll.

I like university. I like the overall academic environment, and of course, the social side as well. So that brings me to graduate studies. The field is probably mathematics. After that, maybe professor? There's option one.

Option two is law. Law is interesting. The average lawyer doesn't actually make large amounts of dough, so it's really based on interest and my reluctance to just graduate and take a job at say, Epson.

Option three is medical school. My parents went to med school, so naturally I feel somewhat inclined to do the same thing. I'd have to admit that I don't have the stomach that my parents do for the things that may I have to learn and do in med school (actually a long story, lot's of talk with 'rents :P). So maybe it's not such a good idea, being afraid of germs, diseases, and nasty things in general. Yet, I do have an interest in the field, more so than programming let's say. :P

Options two and three seem pretty cliché for a person with no clear idea of what they want to do after graduation, and indeed I am, but I don't believe I'm choosing two and three for the popular reasons.

Anyways, this is basically as far as I've gone in contemplating my future.

Le comte de Monte Cristo

I started reading this as of late. It made me remember a thought I had when I was little:

Wouldn't it be mutually beneficial and convenient -- not to mention cool -- if we as good friends hold positions of esteem in the future?

Now, if you've seen Gankutsuou you'd probably realize what I'm blabbering about. My version isn't nearly as romantic as the one played out in Alexandre Dumas' magnum opus: it's pragmatic and doesn't require ardous effort for its realization*.

Basically what I mean is that it would be great to have at least a doctor, a lawyer, and then other professions too numerous to list, that are all of utility, in our circle of friends. There are some determined among us who already aspire to become one of the aforementioned, hence this 'idea' doesn't change anything. But --

*It's nearing a time when we should be looking at the horizon, wondering which career we should pursue. I'm sure that even without this assertion, we'd eventually find our place in this world; this merely is an attempt to put it into words, partly with the hope of stirring up motivation in some of the lazy asses we have in our circle (myself included =P). Being far from eloquent and rather officious, I would appreciate it if anyone can rethink, rephrase or improve upon this fledgling thought.

Questions, comments, suggestions?

Curry (in a hurry too!)

The Japanese love curry. Their curry is quite a departure from Indian curry. I prefer Japanese curry because it has that "sweet 'n' mild yet spicy" flavour. The best curry is found in specialized curry restaurants; the best dishes there use premium wagyu beef and can cost over 3000 yen. Regular curry rice with inexpensive imported beef usually goes for a reasonable 600 to 800 yen.

You can eat decent curry at home too! It's as easy if not easier to make than instant noodles. Instant curry rice is cheap as well, only around 300 yen altogether for rice and curry. You do need instant rice -- i.e. rice that's already cooked -- otherwise the curry rice wouldn't be very instant now would it...

Here's how to make instant curry rice.

1. Buy instant rice and instant curry. This is a pretty obvious step. Supermarkets typically have a wide selection (at least 20-40 kinds) of curry.
2. Bring a small pot of water to a boil, and then put the curry package in for 3 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, 'instantly' cook the rice in a microwave ('instantly' = 90 seconds).
4. Take a plate and spread the rice on it to cool it down a bit.
5. Cut the curry package and pour its contents onto the rice or beside it, whichever you prefer.

Done!

Here are some pictures from my instant curry adventure:


These are the 12 kinds of instant curry I bought today. Prices ranged from 90 yen to 525 yen. Can you guess which is the cheapest and which is the most expensive? The cheapest one should be easy to spot. =P (Answer at bottom of post)

Here's what's inside a box, a pack of curry.


And the instant rice.


(Answer to the expensive/cheap question!)

The middle one in the leftmost column is the 525 yen one. It contains below-average Kobe beef, which means it's still among the most expensive. The cheapest is the one without a box. A pitiful, homeless curry pack.


From most expensive to least expensive, left to right.

No start button

Oh no... now I can't start.