I learned today that Oregon is the only state with different designs on the two sides of its flag. On one side is a heart-shaped emblem and "State of Oregon" and "1859".
It seems as if this blog is gaining a little attention, picking this site from Orkut before I decided to switch that to my other site. So I have an announcement: I have two invitation to join GMail. I will give them to the two highest bidders, though the bid doesn't have to be money. Though there is a reserve, so bid wisely carefully. And a guarantee winning bid goes to the person who wants to drive to LA on the night of the 17th and back over the weekend. (UCLA graduation to go to).
In other news, yesterday, I saw Kill Bill (both volumes) with Jenn, Karen, and Linda. Vol. 1 I saw on Jenn's Powerbook and Vol. 2 in Emeryville. Not a bad movie. People said the first one was bloody, but it was treated so lightly that the blood had no gravity (unlike Saving Private Ryan). Also, The Bride got lucky killing Gogo (she was cool). I also saw the memorial to the ancient Ohlone shellmound in Emeryville (ditching the trio I was with in the process). Though seeing it, something didn't impress me. That was probably because it was only a memorial (didn't realize that at the time, only after reading the link you can see by clicking on the title). It's not good to see a sacred burial site now be the site of an Old Navy. Imagine putting one over a cemetary.
I hail now from Oregon because of an interview with Xerox tomorrow. I came to the realization today that this is my first time out of California in four years (unless you include Reno or Vegas, which seem like extensions of California). I'm saddened that as much as I would like to see the world, in recent years I have not been farther north the North Bay, farther south than Los Angeles, and farther east than Vegas. Who wants to go travelling in early September? (like hitchhiking :-D, maybe not)
Monday, May 31, 2004
Thursday, May 20, 2004
Oh, the Places You'll Go!
Yay! Last final completed! Now marks the end of all academic life at the University of California, Berkeley. What lies ahead, I have a few ideas, but nothing is set. I know I said I would get to a reflection on my time at Berkeley, but don't feel like it now. But I leave you with "Oh, the Places You'll Go!" by Dr. Seuss (you have the click on the title). It's pertinent to my life now, and the lives of many of my friends.
Wednesday, May 19, 2004
Didecade
Though age is continuous, age is often treated dicretely. I make this point because I'm nerdy enough to do so, and because there recently was a discontinuity in my perceived age vs. actual age graph.
In recognition of this discontinuity, my friends surprised me with dinner at Chinese place on Solano. I followed my friends into the place, and was interested to see another friend at a table there, and shortly I realized I knew everyone at that table, and was wondering what they were doing there. About the time I noticed a second table with people I knew was when it occurred to me what was going on.
Of note at the dinner: I jumped between the two tables of my friends (there was a third table for another friend who's discontinuity occurs a few days previous to mine), one table was full, so I sat between two of my friends. There was a lot of food.
The celebration was concluded with a traditional cake and presents. The cakes were chocolate with mint ice cream (not particular my favorite flavor) and tiramisu. The presents consisted of two cards (one Charlie Brown, one pickle) signed by many of my friends, a certificate for a pound of See's chocolate, a gift card of unknown value to Barnes and Noble, and a $100 gift card to Best Buy.
Apparently I have been successful in not letting anyone know what material things I want (except for the stuff I don't expect anyone to get me, i.e. laptop and car). [Before I comment more on this, I want to make it clear, that I appreciate all the effort my friends went to for me.] Despite this, and I feel bad saying it, I'm a little disappointed by the final gift, especially after the ideas the people in charge of the gift buying had. This is for three reasons: most importantly, (1) I guess my friends really don't know that much about me, (2) many of the things they mentioned are worth more (20" flat-screen TV, Gamecube+games, makeover, etc.), which makes me feel like I've been shortchanged, (3) as I understand it, I'm fully expected to add more money in order to buy something I want, which just seems like wrong in principle. The first point seems to characterize my friendships better than I'm willing to admit. The second point just makes me feel shortchanged; it would have been better if they hadn't mentioned those alternatives (though a count of the people at the dinner does averages to something lower what I might expected from the organizer; however, I don't know the actual average and contributors so it wouldn't really have bothered me that much). The third point is dumbfounding, especially as it relates to the second point. Essentially, as punishment for not knowing what to get me, I get to pay up to what they were thinking of getting me.
The ideal gift seems to me to be a physical object that is either something the person desires (or desires but doesn't know it) or something that defines the relationship between the giver(s) and receiver. A physical object that doesn't fit into these criterion would be rejected (though not openly). A gift card is an indication that the givers don't really know what the receiver wants, though this may work if the person is really into some particular store or the gift card is worth a reasonable present for that store. Pure money doesn't work at all unless it's in a large quantity.
A few notes before I publish, graduation is nigh, and I intend on posting some reflections of my time in college. Also, Blogger now allows comments. So people, person, or null set, comment away!
In recognition of this discontinuity, my friends surprised me with dinner at Chinese place on Solano. I followed my friends into the place, and was interested to see another friend at a table there, and shortly I realized I knew everyone at that table, and was wondering what they were doing there. About the time I noticed a second table with people I knew was when it occurred to me what was going on.
Of note at the dinner: I jumped between the two tables of my friends (there was a third table for another friend who's discontinuity occurs a few days previous to mine), one table was full, so I sat between two of my friends. There was a lot of food.
The celebration was concluded with a traditional cake and presents. The cakes were chocolate with mint ice cream (not particular my favorite flavor) and tiramisu. The presents consisted of two cards (one Charlie Brown, one pickle) signed by many of my friends, a certificate for a pound of See's chocolate, a gift card of unknown value to Barnes and Noble, and a $100 gift card to Best Buy.
Apparently I have been successful in not letting anyone know what material things I want (except for the stuff I don't expect anyone to get me, i.e. laptop and car). [Before I comment more on this, I want to make it clear, that I appreciate all the effort my friends went to for me.] Despite this, and I feel bad saying it, I'm a little disappointed by the final gift, especially after the ideas the people in charge of the gift buying had. This is for three reasons: most importantly, (1) I guess my friends really don't know that much about me, (2) many of the things they mentioned are worth more (20" flat-screen TV, Gamecube+games, makeover, etc.), which makes me feel like I've been shortchanged, (3) as I understand it, I'm fully expected to add more money in order to buy something I want, which just seems like wrong in principle. The first point seems to characterize my friendships better than I'm willing to admit. The second point just makes me feel shortchanged; it would have been better if they hadn't mentioned those alternatives (though a count of the people at the dinner does averages to something lower what I might expected from the organizer; however, I don't know the actual average and contributors so it wouldn't really have bothered me that much). The third point is dumbfounding, especially as it relates to the second point. Essentially, as punishment for not knowing what to get me, I get to pay up to what they were thinking of getting me.
The ideal gift seems to me to be a physical object that is either something the person desires (or desires but doesn't know it) or something that defines the relationship between the giver(s) and receiver. A physical object that doesn't fit into these criterion would be rejected (though not openly). A gift card is an indication that the givers don't really know what the receiver wants, though this may work if the person is really into some particular store or the gift card is worth a reasonable present for that store. Pure money doesn't work at all unless it's in a large quantity.
A few notes before I publish, graduation is nigh, and I intend on posting some reflections of my time in college. Also, Blogger now allows comments. So people, person, or null set, comment away!
Friday, May 07, 2004
Of moths and vaccuum tubes
Ha ha! A bug in Calmail, identified by me!
Thomas,
There was a bug in the filtering code if you both defined rules
and used our predefined spam filtering rule. I have fixed
your account and we will be fixing all other accounts with
this problem over the weekend.
Sorry it took so long.
- Jerry
Thomas,
There was a bug in the filtering code if you both defined rules
and used our predefined spam filtering rule. I have fixed
your account and we will be fixing all other accounts with
this problem over the weekend.
Sorry it took so long.
- Jerry
Party my life away!
Score! Two posts in two days... hasn't happened since like this the speck of memory was first allocated to me.
I wonder why people make dying sound like such a bad thing. It happens to everyone. It's inescapable. Tell the people who are organizing my funeral (unless it's the county, in which case it wouldn't really matter), to throw a big party, as in Playboy Manor party. No crying, no black. Get sunflowers.
Over the past few weeks, I've probably meandered the maze that is my brain a little more than usual, and there have been some highs and lows. Right now definitely a low, and to a large extent I have no idea why. A possible explanation is stress, but, unfortunately, it's a positive feedback (i.e. the lower I feel, the more evidence I bring to pull myself down more).
Well, here's to something to cheer me up!
Addendum (May 08, 2004 @ 10:37): The death stuff was the result of a friend's friend dying recently, and the resultant query about appropriate flowers for that person's funeral.
I wonder why people make dying sound like such a bad thing. It happens to everyone. It's inescapable. Tell the people who are organizing my funeral (unless it's the county, in which case it wouldn't really matter), to throw a big party, as in Playboy Manor party. No crying, no black. Get sunflowers.
Over the past few weeks, I've probably meandered the maze that is my brain a little more than usual, and there have been some highs and lows. Right now definitely a low, and to a large extent I have no idea why. A possible explanation is stress, but, unfortunately, it's a positive feedback (i.e. the lower I feel, the more evidence I bring to pull myself down more).
Well, here's to something to cheer me up!
Addendum (May 08, 2004 @ 10:37): The death stuff was the result of a friend's friend dying recently, and the resultant query about appropriate flowers for that person's funeral.
Thursday, May 06, 2004
Nameless....
So I suppose I'm suppose to update the oblivion that is my Blog to my activities since the 26th. With little else to post, and hw to do, let us proceed.
Thursday was the horrible, horribly comm midterm, and boat dance and, subsequently, the Student Action party. It was nice to take a ride in the Bay, but the "dance" part was pretty bad... bad speakers, bad DJ, small space. The Student Action party was so much better; it even got broken up by the cops, though apparently that was largely because a bunch of campaign signs fell off one of their trucks. The music was better, the dance floor was still kinda small, but it was more square, and the selection of drinks was limited (to kegs).
Friday was spent, watching the Men's Octet's "Unbuttoned" show. I hadn't see the Octet all year, and I recognized two people, one just around Cory (apparently he's an EECS major) and the other from Hankido.
The weekend was largely spent on the 192 cars and helping others with 129 (dang dyslexia-esque, confusing me for the last week). Missed like two parties/get-togethers because of it. While we had a 35 second car for a short time, the speed on it was turned too high and it crashed bad, destroying our temporary servo mount (that I put together with tape, wood, and styrofoam) and some plexiglass. We replaced the sensor mount and the servo mount, and nothing was the same afterwards, maybe because the outside sensors were mounted 12 inches away, as opposed to 10 inches. The other car was running at between 45 and 50 seconds at one point, but lost like 5 seconds between the time I went home to take a shower and my return. Ultimately, our cars ran 2nd and 3rd last, and that was only because the opamp on their sensor board failed. Afterwards, we had dinner with Prof. Fearing at La Val's and played Petals Around a Rose. Great fun.
During this time, I set up the degree petition at www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~devang/degree.php to try to get the College of Engineering to give print diplomas with our major on it. There was some hassle with not asking PTS before using a t-shirt design. Though not the initial culprit, I didn't think to stress the point that we need to ask them first (something to keep in mind for the future). It was replaced with a bear that Grace described as "sad," which reflects the emotions of engineers without their major on their diplomas. :) Though the "sad bear" is starting to grow on me. It may have to replace the PTS transformer bear, as my buddy icon at school or in the future.
Hmmm... oddly enough, it feels as if I've met an unusual number of people with the same name (specifically Grace) in a short time. There's Grace of APPLE-Engineering, Grace, who's Valerie's roomate and apparently was in my Econ 101a class, and another Grace, that I don't remember where I met her.
Since then, it's been laziness (must get other this laziness), and new IEEE officers (congrats to Ankit, Belinda, Shawn, and Jason for their elections to pres, vp, treas, and sec).
And I'm arranging an interview with Xerox in Wilsonville, OR. Yay! Though I kinda hope I will be going to UCSB. Easier.
Thursday was the horrible, horribly comm midterm, and boat dance and, subsequently, the Student Action party. It was nice to take a ride in the Bay, but the "dance" part was pretty bad... bad speakers, bad DJ, small space. The Student Action party was so much better; it even got broken up by the cops, though apparently that was largely because a bunch of campaign signs fell off one of their trucks. The music was better, the dance floor was still kinda small, but it was more square, and the selection of drinks was limited (to kegs).
Friday was spent, watching the Men's Octet's "Unbuttoned" show. I hadn't see the Octet all year, and I recognized two people, one just around Cory (apparently he's an EECS major) and the other from Hankido.
The weekend was largely spent on the 192 cars and helping others with 129 (dang dyslexia-esque, confusing me for the last week). Missed like two parties/get-togethers because of it. While we had a 35 second car for a short time, the speed on it was turned too high and it crashed bad, destroying our temporary servo mount (that I put together with tape, wood, and styrofoam) and some plexiglass. We replaced the sensor mount and the servo mount, and nothing was the same afterwards, maybe because the outside sensors were mounted 12 inches away, as opposed to 10 inches. The other car was running at between 45 and 50 seconds at one point, but lost like 5 seconds between the time I went home to take a shower and my return. Ultimately, our cars ran 2nd and 3rd last, and that was only because the opamp on their sensor board failed. Afterwards, we had dinner with Prof. Fearing at La Val's and played Petals Around a Rose. Great fun.
During this time, I set up the degree petition at www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~devang/degree.php to try to get the College of Engineering to give print diplomas with our major on it. There was some hassle with not asking PTS before using a t-shirt design. Though not the initial culprit, I didn't think to stress the point that we need to ask them first (something to keep in mind for the future). It was replaced with a bear that Grace described as "sad," which reflects the emotions of engineers without their major on their diplomas. :) Though the "sad bear" is starting to grow on me. It may have to replace the PTS transformer bear, as my buddy icon at school or in the future.
Hmmm... oddly enough, it feels as if I've met an unusual number of people with the same name (specifically Grace) in a short time. There's Grace of APPLE-Engineering, Grace, who's Valerie's roomate and apparently was in my Econ 101a class, and another Grace, that I don't remember where I met her.
Since then, it's been laziness (must get other this laziness), and new IEEE officers (congrats to Ankit, Belinda, Shawn, and Jason for their elections to pres, vp, treas, and sec).
And I'm arranging an interview with Xerox in Wilsonville, OR. Yay! Though I kinda hope I will be going to UCSB. Easier.
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