Musings of a Mathemagician

Apology

2005-10-09T21:01:00.000-04:00

I'm so sorry.

zOMG Equation

2005-09-23T20:20:00.000-04:00

It seems Dave is big news these days. See Kate's blog.

Dave's Lost!

2005-09-22T14:57:00.000-04:00

I thought Dave's post was so funny today, I decided to quote and link it. Read my below post if you have not yet already.

Holy. Jeez. God. Yo'z. OneOneWTFBBQElevenOne. Ugh.
Couch split into two.
TV Remote control - shattered.
Friend - fined 130$.
Group - banned from TV lounge for 1 month.

Was it worth it?

See here to find out!

Lost: Season 2

2005-09-21T16:47:00.000-04:00

From: David Ho
To: Phil Trinh
Date: Sep 21, 2005 10:49 AM
Subject: Lost Season 2.

Couches in place. Set up for flippage*.
We hear there's a major cliffhanger.

I'm personally wearing a helmet tonight. Maybe my lab goggles too.

-Dave, preparing for post-lost season premiere.

* In case nobody knows, Dave and his friends (At the University Guelph) apparently got so excited from the episodes of Lost last season that they periodically flipped couches in the air while watching the show each week.

Worry

2005-09-18T22:25:00.000-04:00

Doubt yourself and you doubt everything you see.
Judge yourself and you see judges everywhere.
But if you listen to the sound of your own voice,
you can rise above doubt and judgment.
And you can see forever.

- Edmund Hoyle

A weak man has doubts before a decision;
a strong man has them afterwards.

- Karl Kraus

The whole problem with the world
is that fools and fanatics are always so
certain of themselves, but wiser people
so full of doubts.

- Bertrand Russell

No man likes to have his intelligence or good faith questioned,
especially if he has doubts about it himself.

- Henry Brooks Adams

In all affairs it's a healthy thing now and then
to hang a question mark on the things
you have long taken for granted.

- Bertrand Russell

Our doubts are traitors,
and make us lose the good
we oft might win by
fearing to attempt.

- William Shakespeare

I doubt a lot of things in my life. It's really one the traits that I sometimes wish I could live without. I think the worst of every possible situation -- taking the view of a constant pessimist. And what does it bring me? Worry. Constant worry. Worry about people, worry about work, worry about my life.

For a long time, I thought it was a result of thinking too much. Constant pondering if you will. But now I realize that I was lying to myself all this time. Constant pondering is simply the means by which I allow myself to doubt -- to worry.

So what do I need? Constant reassurance. I need to be constantly reassured that the things that I hold most dear in my life will always be there the next day. Call it doubt, call it insecurity. I'm distrustful, I'm doubtful, I'm insecure.

Or maybe...

Maybe, I simply realize the intrinsic value of the people, objects, and beliefs we need to survive and carry on in our lives. Well...and then I worry.

Instant Coffee (Deep Roast!)

2005-09-15T17:52:00.000-04:00

So I just finished my Fields and Coding Theory (MATH 4109/6109) class just 10 minutes ago (Today, we studied the properties of finite fields that have non-zero characteristics), and I felt myself nodding off every 10 minutes.

This isn't wholly unusual. I got about 2 hours of sleep the night earlier trying to finish my assignment for Abstract Algebra, as well as trying to catch up on some work in other classes. But seeing how my day starts at 8:30 AM each day at the gym, and at least on Thursdays, continues to 9:00 PM, I'd like to share another one of my little secrets for surviving the long hours (ooh, I have many to share).

With the end of my last class, I set out (in a determined fashion) to the Tim Hortons located nearby (on campus). Pushing several girls and whiny boys out of my way, I made it there in only a minute or two. Now, for the following, I needed:

(1) My trusty 'Nalgene' water bottle (approximate size: Extra Large coffee at Tim Hortons)
(2) My can of Nestcafe instant coffee (Deep Roast!), carefully stashed in my locker.

Having reached the Tim Hortons, I pushed my way through the line and butted in front of the poor lady tending the cash. Reaching out, I grabbed a handful of sugar sachets (low calorie sweetener, of course), and demanded her for 2 little packets of cream for coffee. She looked curiously at me for a second. I growled menacingly at her. She burst into tears and ran off to get me some cream for my coffee.

So let me reiterate. I had in my possession:

(1) My trusty 'Nalgene' water bottle
(2) My can of Nestcafe instant coffee (Deep Roast!)
(3) 2 small containers of cream
(4) 3 sachets of low calorie sweetener

I combined the contents with four (!!) heaping tablespoons of instant coffee (recommended dosage: 1-2 teaspoons), and shook vigorously for 30 seconds under the watchful eye of the Tim Hortons lady and a few other curious bystanders. Ahh...the bitter taste of cheating sleep, yet again.

I hope you all enjoyed my small tactic for surviving what could be my last year of undergraduate studies. Use wisely.

The Grocery Store and Group Theory

2005-09-05T02:17:00.000-04:00

I've suffered an utterly dreadful Sunday, studying what I can about Group Theory. It's uncomfortable for me, especially at 2 AM in the morning, wondering why I do this stuff anyways. It's not like I'll be waiting in line at the grocery store, trying to purchase a steaming BBQ Chicken (Shut up. I'm hungry at the moment), and the following situation ensues:

"I'm sorry sir, you can't purchase that.", says the pimply faced cashier in a determined tone.

"Why not?", I growl at her. She quivers in my ultra-masculine/towering/intimidating/commanding presence.

"Well, I'm afraid you first have to prove that given a group G and a subgroup H, H is normal to G if and only if, for all a in G and all h in H, aHa-inverse is a subgroup of H if and only if aha-inverse is an element of H", comes the blistering reply.

"Oh no! I...I don't know how to prove that!", I stammer, breaking down into tears and sobbing uncontrollably.

"Well sir, I'm afraid I'll have to take that steaming and delicious barbeque chicken from you, basted to perfection and best served on the side with cooked rice, mashed potatoes and a glass of ice water...", says the pimply faced cashier as she wrestles it away from my clutching grasp.

I sob some more. Hanging my head in shame, I run out of the store and return home to a single can of tuna and a glass of warm water from the tap.

But of course that wouldn't happen in real life. Because for one, I know how it's proven. Jeez.

One Last Night (Part II)

2005-09-03T04:41:00.000-04:00

The Table

Happy Birthday Shelly

2005-09-01T22:18:00.000-04:00

I'd like to wish a big (28th??) Happy Birthday!!!!! to our good friend Michelle Bennett, otherwise known as Shelly, 'That-Australian-Chick', and so forth.

Shelly, I hope you enjoy a a heck of a birthday!

One Last Night (Part I)

2005-08-30T10:09:00.000-04:00

It's 10:00 AM Tuesday, and I just got home from the party. I'm too tired to give a full commentary, but rest assured, one shall be provided. For the moment, let's just say that I've gotten about 2 hours sleep in the last two days, and after some of the invited members drank an obscene amount of alcohol (nearly finishing 2 liters of vodka, 750 mL of rum), 6 people had to stay for the night. So Jen and I needed to take care of them until about 5:00 when they finally dozed off. I think I got about an hour's worth of sleep at Jen's.

Oh, and I'm quite proud of the fact that (I think) I washed close to 80 dishes yesterday.

For the moment, I present the 'before' pictures of Jen's basement, where the event was held.

Okay, I'm going to go pass out for a couple hours until we need to return the rented tables. I hate taking care of drunk people.

The Event (Frustration II)

2005-08-28T23:49:00.000-04:00

I want to add something (as the night grows longer, I grow more angry) to my post below, so if you haven't read it yet, do so now.

If you really want to know how much effort I put into this event, then all you need to do is take a look at the little details. Like the nametags that were meant to indicate each persons spot at the dinner table. Each of those nametags had to be measured, carefully cut from cardboard, folded, then inscribed with each member's name with a calligraphy pen in italic script. In total, it took me more than 3 hours because each member's name needed to be perfect and I had to redo the tags in many cases (often more than two times).

Let me iterate in slightly easier-to-understand-language. (Edited Due to Language....give me a break, I was pissed)

The Event (Frustration)

2005-08-28T23:41:00.000-04:00

As some of you know, I've been planning an event (party would not describe it properly) for a very close group of friends for months now (since the start of the summer). The event will end up (or would have ended up) costing upwards of $400 to setup. This includes the cost of food, alcohol, decorations, rentals (tables), etc. And it frustrates me that most people do not know the amount of effort to organize an event of this magnitude.

I literally have pages of notes that I have to update in order to keep myself organize. Names and phone numbers of the invited, lists of items to buy, list of items to borrow, list of things that need to be done on each day. In fact, for the last week, every day (Monday through Monday) had specific goals that needed to be done in order for the deadline to be met. I've wasted an enourmous amount of gasoline shuffling from shopping mall, to department store, to grocery store, to people's houses in order to collect the necessary items.

I'm most happy with the members of the group that I've chosen to aid me, and who know what is going on (unlike the others, who are in the dark). Especially in the last few days, when the few have really gotten together and helped me tremendously in organizing this event (and in the case of a few, really supported me and given me hope).

Tonight, my day started early when I had to sit at home and continue organizing, preparing for what had to be done the day of. I got together with 2 of my helpers later and we had to make several runs to grocery stores, buying what items we could. 4 of the 5 people who were in on the plan continued to the location where the event was being held and we worked for a couple hours, moving and rearranging furniture and cleaning up. Finally, we settled down, in order to discuss what has to be done tomorrow.

After a couple hours, we decided to call people in order to check one last time that everybody was confirmed. Take note that,

1) I called weeks ago all the invited members, asking them specifically what days they desired. I had to work in everybody, and there was a single day when every single person was available.

2) Numerous e-mails have been sent out referring to the event

3) A week ago, I sent out an e-mail in which I said that the event would be held on Monday after dark (8:00-9:00), which was a sure thing barring weather concerns.

4) One of our members sent out a formal invitation yesterday stating that the event was confirmed for Monday at the time specified.

With the above four points, I recieved NO e-mails in reply, stating that a person would not be available, or even that a person was not sure if he/she was available.

The first two people we called were a) not willing to pay the fee (which amounts to about the same as dinner and a movie) and b) told us they did not want to stay out that late.

At this point, we're still not sure about the other 'x' members. I just feel crushed and so angry that the plan seems to be falling apart. I'm quite proud of my helpers, however, as they expressed the same frustration as I did -- we all put in an incredible amount of effort into this, and to be brushed off so brashly...well, it's infuriating.

But at the same time, I don't think anybody feels quite the same way I do about this. Please understand. I've been planning this for months. I have long lists, long notes. I've spent $200+ already (with more to buy tomorrow) with my own money, trusting our friends to attend and to repay.

I can't sleep right now...I just feel, well, uninspired. I hope we can salvage what's left of my original idea.

NoWhereRadio.com

2005-08-26T06:16:00.000-04:00

I uploaded my interpretation of Evocacion (see post below) to a better music host, and I'll probably make any further uploads of my playing to the same site. It will also be available in the side menu underneath the Guestbook.

Check it out here
To download, you'll want to (left) click the '+' sign.

Evocacion (Played by me!)

2005-08-22T16:59:00.000-04:00

I recorded this today. It's actually the first time I've ever recorded myself playing the guitar. I'm not too happy with my playing, and it's pretty easy to spot some errors in the recording, but hey...nobody's perfect, right?

It's a melancholic song composed by Jose Luis Merlin called Evocacion.

Grab it here while it's still up (There's only a limited number of downloads before it shuts down). It's an 1.8 MB MP3 file, so nobody should have any excuses.

What do you think? Be gentle...I do bite.

Bad Day(s)

2005-08-21T23:53:00.000-04:00

Sometimes when I'm having a bad couple of days and when I'm really depressed, I really want to get away. Sometimes, I dream about getting away from Ottawa, and never coming back. Maybe when I get my Masters and go to the States for my PhD, I'll just stay there forever and start a new life. Sometimes, I dream about leaving home, family, and friends without a word, and disappearing.

But in my heart, I know that'll never happen. I love home too much, and I'm the type of guy that, once attached to people, stays attached. My life has always been here among friends in Ottawa, and it will probably always be here. I don't know, I guess in times of stress, we sometimes hate ourselves, the life we lead, and want to be somewhere else, with a different mindset and different goals.

When I do start thinking these thoughts, I remind myself of the present -- my work and my schooling (...I never know where happiness lies though). I also remind myself of the past: I've gone through difficult times, and I've always emerged the victor (bruised, tired, depressed, but always the victor).

I've seen and beaten my enemy before, and it's only a matter of time before I beat it again.

Monty Hall Problem (Part I)

2005-08-20T18:28:00.000-04:00

In the following two entries, I'd like to present a very notorious math problem, called the Monty Hall Problem. It's rather close to my heart because of the fact that during my first encounter with this problem, I did not manage to deduce the right answer. Embarassed and having taken a blow to my ego, I spent some time dissecting the problem, so I know it rather well at the moment.

This first issue will present the historical problem and the second issue will present the answer (along with the first impressions of a few mathematicians in the US).

There used to be a colum called Ask Marilyn in a magazine called Parade. This column was written by Marilyn vos Savant and in the magazine, it said that she had the highest IQ in the world (listed in the Guiness Book of Records). In the column, she answered math questions sent in by readers. In 1990, this question was asked,

You are on a game show. On this game show, the idea is to win a car as a prize. The host shows you three doors, and says that there is a car behind one and two goats behind the two other doors. He asks you to pick a door. You pick a door, but the door is not opened. Then the host opens one of the doors you did not pick to show a goat. He then says that you have a final chance to change your mind before the doors are opened and you get a car or a goat. Do you want to change your mind and pick the other unopened door? What should you do?

Serenity and Solitude

2005-08-14T22:21:00.000-04:00

Serenity and Solitude

Serenity and Solitude
Are perfect as a coupled pair,
But thrifty with their cleansing mood
When strife pollutes the city air.

Identical in lettered length,
Each entity recruits its twin;
Though strong alone, their greater strength
Is when combined to mute the din.

I found them on the Crystal Coast
One autumn morn on Emerald Isle,
Amid the haunts of Blackbeard's ghost
Along its yawning, golden mile.

Alone before the rippling sea,
My thoughts unfurled in whipping wind
As words within addressed to me
The comfort of a long-lost friend.

The sky was coldly overcast
With clouds of slate descending down;
A haloed ring of mist amassed
From bundled strips of heaven's gown.

I craved no sun to warm my bones,
For warmth was otherwise attained,
Exuded clear in pleasing tones
By songs composed of peace regained.

I wished to tarry, but my time
Was spoken for another task;
But still I smiled in bliss sublime
And cast away my weathered mask.

My newfound joy was bona fide,
For Solitude was wholly earned;
Serenity caressed the tide,
And, by her touch, the tide was turned.

- Marillion

Oh My Goodness! Sam the Dog

2005-08-12T15:01:00.000-04:00

Oh my goodness!

Sam...The World's Ugliest Dog 2003-2005! Sam is a purebred, yes that's right, a purebred Chinese Crested Hairless. He's almost 15 years old and was taken in as a rescue over five years ago by Susie Lockheed. He was considered "un-adoptable" by local shelters. Susie took him in on a 48-hour trial period. During that time he lived in a cage because he acted like "Cujo" the rabid dog. Susie had to shove food and water into the cage and run. The 48-hour trial became several days, and then Sam just walked out of the cage and became one of the pack.

- http://samugliestdog.com/

Sam going from being the hit of the 4th of July Parade to a luxury suite at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel (and his own filet mignon!)

Comments on Susie's website/blog:

"To the hand-wringing do-gooders that are chastising people for commenting on the dog's looks: the dog is ugly. He won an ugly dog contest! It's ok to say he's ugly, you're not hurting his feelings, you're not hurting the owner's feelings: she entered him in an ugly dog contest...SHE ALREADY KNOWS! People are commenting on the dog's looks because it's funny. Please trust me on this: it's OK to have a laugh. Meanwhile, discuss this with your therapist, and have another Prozac."

"Damnnnnnnn your dog looks like it got hit by an SUV and survived. Then by bad luck it got trapped in a fire that burn 110% of it's body. It got tired of looking at itself so he scrached himself blind with those killer claws. But under all that crustiness it's beautiful creature. LOL. CAUTION!!! be careful in your sleep because he's not to happy about that close up in the front page of the Express news paper."

"I'm sure he is a lovely dog , but a face only a mother could love ."

"its was the craziest looking thing i ever saw outside of the movies cross freddy cruger with austin powers and turn it into a dog and you will get sam its awesome he has a loving owner i certainly couldnt keep him"

"He's ugly, but he's got moxy! I like him."

"That is most certainly a real dog. I wouldn't have believed it either if I hadn't seen this "Sam" thing on TV morning talkshow"

"woah. talk about true beauty"

"I think he's cool. He's now on the background of our computer. He should hold his title proudly. He earned it. He should be excited."

"If Satin had a dog, this would be it! He is Ug-ly!"

"I heard that it was so ugly that the owner had to tie a steak around his neck so other dogs would play with him."

"no way that can be a real dog"

Intro to Group Theory

2005-08-10T05:02:00.000-04:00

It's 5:00 in the morning. I did a good deal of work, and I'm tired, but after drinking a tank of coffee, I doubt I'll be sleeping much. Instead, let me unravel the mystery of Group Theory for you people who have no idea what mathematicians are refering to when they say "groups". This is the domain of Abstract Algebra, so if you thought that high school math was abstract enough, be prepared for a rude awakening.

As an interesting twist on things, I'll introduce the concept the way us math-junkies learn it. Try to decipher it, if you can. Otherwise, the example at the end will basically make you go "Ooooh...that's what you mean by a 'group' ".

A group G is a finite or infinite set of elements together with a binary operation, * that together satisfy certain properties. (A binary operation, *, is defined by * : G x G -> G). The group must satisfy these properties:

1. Closure: If A and B are two elements in G, then the product A*B is also in G.

2. Associativity: The defined multiplication is associative, i.e., for all A,B,C in G, (AB)C = A(BC).

3. Identity: There is an identity element E such that EA = AE = A for every element A in G.

4. Inverse: There must be an inverse or reciprocal of each element. Therefore, the set must contain an element B = A' such that AA' = A'A = E for each element of G.

Yeesh, what does that all mean? It's actually quite simple.

Let's begin with a set of numbers, say, the integers {..., -3, -2, -1, 0, 1, 2, 3, ...}. This is your group G. Now, it was mentioned that along with the group, you needed some kind of 'binary operation'. So let's use addition (+). (Don't concern yourself with what exactly constitutes a binary operation, but addition (+), multiplication (*) and division (÷) are all examples)

So we have our group G = {..., -1, 0, 1, ...} as well as our operation, the good'ol addition, +.

Now we need to make sure that it satisfies the properties:

1. Closure: Let's use 1 and 3. Is 1 + 3 = 4 in G (the integers)? Of course it is. So this seems to hold.

2. Associativity: Let's use 1, 2, and 3. Is (1 + 2) + 3 = 1 + (2 + 3)? Yep. So this appears to work.

3. Identity: So we have to find some number E so that when you use the operation with E, you get what you started with. 0 (zero) works fine here. 1 + 0 = 0 + 1 = 1.

4. Inverse: Let's begin with A = 1. Now we need to find some number A' so that when you use the operation with A and A', you get the identity element (0 = zero). (-1) works. 1 + (-1) = 0.

And that's it. The question most people ask is why exactly are mathematicians so inclined to call this seemingly obvious material such complicated names and abstract notions. Why call integers a 'group' and why refer to addition as a 'binary operation'? Well, it's all in the name of being flexible, you see.

There are many, many different kinds of groups out there. So instead of making statements about a certain kind (for example, the integers with the addition operation), suppose we were to only work with the abstract notion of a group and a binary operation. Now, we can discover new (and exciting) results about groups, and apply them to everything. It's much more powerful that way, you see? (But much more difficult to grasp, of course).

It's like studying a certain medical disease. It would be quite easy (in comparison) to study a single sick patient and attempt to find a cure in this very particular case. However, would it be much more powerful (not to mention difficult) if we could make a claim about the disease in general, regardless of who the patient is? Then, our 'cure' will work on every single person in the world. (Of course, it never works like this in real life (even for math). We start small and generalize.)

Hope you enjoyed this.

Appeal

2005-08-05T16:01:00.000-04:00

This is how you appeal for more classes. I did it in first year. I just did it again (basically used the same letter as before). Maybe I'll do it third year and set a new record. Nobody will be insane enough to take 16 classes majoring in Math.

August 3, 2005
Undergraduate Appeals Secretariat
Registrar's Office
300 Tory Building

Dear Undergraduate Appeals Secretariat,
Subject: Request For Permission to attend extra courses.

I am entering my second year of the B.MATH/M.Sc. program for Pure Mathematics at Carleton University. I have currently obtained 8.5 credits since last year. I feel that due to the nature of this program (shortening the ‘honours’ requirements into three years, with the final, forth year devoted to attaining a Masters), it would be an advantage for me to take an additional credit during each of my terms this year (thus overloading my 2.5 credit limit to a 3.5 credit limit).

Only 6.5 credits remain in the undergraduate portion of my program and given the opportunity, I would like to obtain all 6.5 credits this year, allowing me to submit an application for graduate studies for the Fall term of 2006. This will allow me to avoid remaining as an undergraduate during the 2006/2007 year with only half a credit or a credit of my required classes remaining.

I have been informed that the main reason why students are not granted more than 3.0 credits per term is because the University cannot be certain whether or not the students can handle the workload. However, I feel that I would be able to take on the extra workload if permitted by yourselves.

My academic achievements have been quite substantial. During my first year at Carleton, I was also granted a course overload (6.0 credits total) and I was successfully able to handle the increased workload. In addition to attending classes not within my level, I was able to maintain a near-perfect CGPA and retain my entrance scholarship. Early in the year, I was awarded the NSERC Undergraduate Student Research Award and I have also been informed that I was selected by the Department of Mathematics and Statistics for the Helga H. Schirmer Scholarship in Mathematics. Academic achievements are not necessarily a guarantor of success, but coupled with my enthusiasm for, and interest in the field of Mathematics and Statistics, I feel I have both the ability and the attitude to successfully complete an extra credit of work each semester.

For your reference I have included a copy of a recent web audit.

Sincerely,
Phil Trinh
CU# meowmeow

From: Some Girl
To: "trinh.phil@hoobyboo.com"
Date: Aug 5, 2005 9:04 AM
Subject: Request for Overload (meowmeow)

Dear Phil Trinh,

Congratulations on your academic achievement thus far. Your request for
course overload has been granted. You are permitted to register for 3.5
credits for both Fall 2005 and Winter 2006.

Sincerely,

Some Girl
Registrar's Office
Carleton University

I rock.

Dukes of Hazzard

2005-08-04T12:27:00.000-04:00

No, I didn't go see the movie (jeez, I have good taste, alright?). I did see this review from the place where I get my scoop and thought it was too funny not to share. Here is the direct copy-and-paste from James Berardinelli's Movie Reviews. Personally, I have no reason to go see it; I looks craptacular, not to mention I honestly think Jessica Simpson is fugly as hell.

Since it is not possible to endure The Dukes of Hazzard without finding some other task to occupy one's mind (straight viewing could result in brain damage), I passed the time by re-constructing what might have been the pitch meeting in which Warner Brothers executives green-lighted this project.

Executive #1: We need to find something to get us back on top.

Executive #2: But no one can come up with ideas that will appeal to teenage boys. All of our scripts are highfalutin' things, like the one Clint is directing. What's it called? Million Dollar Man? Wasn't that a Universal TV series?

Executive #1: No, Clint's movie is Million Dollar Baby, and has nothing to do with the TV series. More's the pity. Clint's made a lot of money for us, so we had to let him do it, even though it will sink like a rock. Have you read the script? What a downer. No one's going to see it. But I think you've got something there. Let's do another re-make.

Executive #2: How about a French film? We can change to ending to make it happy.

Executive #1: Nah. Even with the better ending, too arty. Remember: we want teenage boys. We need car crashes, chases, girls in bikinis, that sort of stuff…

Executive #2: What about a '70s TV show? Then we can get some of the dads too, since there will be the nostalgia thing.

Executive #1: Right, right. Make it cheap and it's sure to bring in the bucks. What shows haven't been remade? I think most of them have already been done.

Executive #2: CHiPs. Emergency! Marcus Welby M.D. The Dukes of Hazzard.

Executive #1: The Dukes of Hazzard is a piece of shit, but that means box office appeal. People love bad TV shows turned into movies.

Executive #2: I have an idea - how about making a movie so excruciatingly unbearable that it will make the TV series look good. That way, when we come out with the Dukes DVDs, people will be clamoring for them.

Executive #1: Brilliant! But we still need to pack enough people into the movie for it to make back its cost on opening weekend, before word gets out. By the Monday after its release, it will smell worse than three-day old fish.

Executive #2: We can hire a screenwriter, although we don't really need a script. Avoid top-notch talent behind the camera. Hire a virtually unknown director and don't worry about competent editing. No one's going to care if there are continuity problems in the car chases or if nothing makes sense. In fact, why bother? Cut corners everywhere.

Executive #1: Speaking of talent, who do we get to star? The originals are alive, but they're too old. Maybe they could make cameos…

Executive #2: Foggedaboutit. No one will know who they are. Get two B-list guys whose salaries won't break the bank. Johnny Knoxville as Luke Duke and Seann William Scott as Bo. Ray Ray and Stifler. Neither can act, so they won't upstage the car. And, let's face it - the General Lee makes the movie. Without the car, you don't have anything. During the TV series, half the fan mail was for that car.

Executive #1: What about the girl? The one in the hot pants.

Executive #2: Britney Spears?

Executive #1: No, she's passé. She couldn't open a movie if it came with a zipper. Maybe if we had made this a couple of years ago. When this movie hits theaters, she'll probably be barefoot and pregnant. How about the "Chicken of the Sea" girl? What's her name?

Executive #2: Jessica Simpson.

Executive #1: No, not the chick from the cartoon. The one from the reality show.

Executive #2: Yeah, Jessica Simpson. She can't act. She looks like a life-size Barbie, with an expression to match. Plastic. Like one of those expensive blow-up dolls.

Executive #1: Put her in a bikini and no male under 17 will care whether she can act. Who cares if it doesn't make sense why she's in a bikini. Just get her to undress in every scene. What about the rest of the cast? How about Willie Nelson as the whacked out uncle Jesse. Nelson's long hair and stoned look will be a perfect fit. Just as long as he doesn't sing "On the Road Again."

Executive #2: And Burt Reynolds as Boss Hogg? A throwback to the Smokey and the Bandit days?

Executive #1: Reynolds? Isn't he dead?

Executive #2: Not officially, although his recent films have included a co-starring role opposite a bear and a re-make with Adam Sandler. He probably needs money, so we might be able to get him cheap. If not, we can always try Danny DeVito. He's the right shape.

Executive #1: Reynolds looks better in a white tux. Besides, we've already seen DeVito in a penguin suit!

(Mutual fake laughter.)

Executive #1: Who was the guy who did the title song and the voiceovers? Some old time singer. Engelbert Humperdinck?

Executive #2: Waylon Jennings.

Executive #1: Yeah, that's right. See if he's available. Get him if he's not dead. And if he is dead, get someone who sounds like him. I want that voiceover to be authentic. That's what we're aiming for - authenticity! Realism! Car chases with jumps that make the bus acrobatics in Speed look believable!

Executive #2: When do we release it?

Executive #1: August, of course. We don't want it going against anything that could be construed as a quality film. Jettison it amidst all the other garbage, and people will see it because they recognize the name. The only other choice is February, but action films don't do well at that time of the year. Too many people in the north freezing their asses off. Stupid idiots should all move to L.A.

Executive #2: I think we've got a winner. A dumb script. A director with few credits. A B-list cast. A cheap editor. A really bad movie with enough action scenes to make a trailer that will get kids to the theater during its first weekend, then sell DVDs of the series.

adidas_1

2005-08-02T12:18:00.000-04:00

adidas_1
Men's
$250.00 (US)

THE MOST ADVANCED SHOE EVER MADE!

Always a leader in innovation, Adidas introduces the adidas_1, the world‘s first intelligent running shoe that meets the individual cushioning needs of each athlete.

The adidas_1 works like a human reflex action, where a nerve senses a stimulus and sends a message to the brain. The brain then undestand this message and then send a command to a muscle to make a physical adaptation. The shoe has its own reflexes: it senses, understands and adapts to an athlete‘s needs, activities and environment.

The shoe‘s nerve is a magnetic sensing system that measures the distance from top to bottom of the midsole gauging the compression and therefore the amount of cushioning being used. About 1,000 readings per second are taken and relayed to the shoe‘s brain.

Underneath the arch is the shoe‘s brain: a microprocessor capable of making 5 million calculations per second. So, the sofware understands if the shoe is too soft or too firm. Once it has determined if the level of cushioning is appropriate, it sends a command to the shoe‘s muscle to make a change.

A motor-driven cable system is the shoe‘s muscle. The motor, housed in the mid-foot, receives the brain‘s instructions and adapts by turning a screw , which lenghtens or shortens the cable.

Very cool. Does it overclock?

Sunburst

2005-07-31T22:38:00.000-04:00

It's been a tough time for all of us...lots of maddening events that can set us off at any given moment (you know which event I'm referring to...). So in an effort to heal our broken spirits, I've decided to post a video of that 'girl' (yes Dave, girl!) Li Jie, playing a super-happy-bunny-rabbity-sunny-rainbow piece. The piece is called Sunburst by Andrew York. The score can be found here (only in musical notation) but I have heard that the piece is fiercely difficult. I dare you to listen (and watch) without cracking a smile.

Right Click and Save-As here (wmv file, 9.8 mb)

Soon to come: Actual posts about me

Dave's Post & T-Shirts

2005-07-28T08:52:00.000-04:00

Heh, well the story is that Dave informed me that he'd be posting a crazy blog entry, so I immediately advertised it on my site (without his explicit permission). That scared Dave off a bit after the excited comments, so he redirected all his extra traffic to Sat's blog entry (which is nothing special, it was there before I even posted on my page).

But now Dave has informed me that he's terrified of letting you guys down, as the expectations are stratospheric. And he has (slightly?) delayed the posting of this mysterious crazy-zOMG-oh-jeeeeeeeeez post.

By the way, we've seem to have started a new thing with the word "zOMG"! Soon, it'll go down in history and be everywhere: on t-shirts, hats, backpacks...just like "phat" or "sick" (and similarly, it'll ruin a generation of kids and mysteriously disappear into the realm of 'uncool' things to say).

Well alright. I'm ditching my career in maths and taking up the tshirt business. First up, only $39.99...

You know you love it.

Dave's Post

2005-07-27T13:06:00.000-04:00

I'm currently at my math lab.

Dave has informed me that he is thinking up a brand new blog post that'll blow your socks off. Honestly, it's going to be super-uber-zomg-jeeez and everybody will need to read it. In an effort to promote shameless advertising between blogs (and since I have nothing better to post about), I have decided to be the first to get off the word of mouth about this amazing event.

(Do I sound excited? Oh boy! Okay, not really.)

Head over there now Now NOW (Actually, I don't know when he'll post it)
(Links section to the right)

Springfield Files

2005-07-26T22:25:00.000-04:00

The Simpsons episode (titled The Springfield Files) in which Homer finds an alien recently came up in a conversation. Out of curiosity, I found the transcript. It was quite a memorable episode.

Nimoy: Hello, I'm Leonard Nimoy. The following tale of alien encounters is true. And by true, I mean false. It's all lies. But they're entertaining lies, and in the end, isn't that the real truth? The answer...is no. Our story begins on a Friday morning, in a little town called Springfield...

Mulder: All right, Homer. We want you to re-create your every move the night you saw this alien.
Homer: Well, the evening began at the gentleman's club, where we were discussing Wittgenstein over a game of backgammon.
Scully: Mr. Simpson, it's a felony to lie to the FBI.
Homer: We were sitting in Barney's car eating packets of mustard. You happy?

Mulder: Wait a minute, Scully. What's the point of this test?
Scully: No point. I just thought he could stand to lose a little weight.
Mulder: His jiggling is almost hypnotic.
Scully: Yes. It's like a lava lamp.

Alien: I bring you love!
Dr. Hibbert: Is that the love between a man and a woman, or the love of a man for a fine Cuban cigar? (chuckles)
Alien: Uh...I bring you love!
Lenny: It's bringing love, don't let it get away!
Carl: Break its legs!

I'm up to my knees in work. Notably a statistics assignment due tomorrow and a report I have to write up for my research. Plus I'm getting sleepy. Not goodness.

Forget-Me-Nots

2005-07-24T18:55:00.000-04:00

Most people know that each flower has a generally-known symbolic meaning. For example, carnations mean rejection or disapointment, oleanders represent caution, and violets are symbolic of modesty (yes, I had to look that up, I'm not a know-it-all in all aspects of life, you know).

My favourite are these little ones, representative of remembrance and memory.

The Forget-me-nots are the genus Myosotis of flowering plants in the family Boraginaceae. There are about 50 species in the genus, and among them there is inevitably considerable variation. Nevertheless a considerable number of the species fit the same description, of a small (1 cm diameter) rather flat 5-petalled blue flower growing profusely on straggly stems, flowering in spring. Colour variation is not unusual within species, and white or pink forms are quite likely to be seen. They are popular in gardens, and cultivated forms often show a mixture of colours.

Why "Forget-me-not"?

The name was borrowed from Old French "ne m'oubliez pas". In the 15th century Germany, it was supposed that the wearers of the flower will not be forgetten by their lovers. Freemasons claim that during the Second World War the freemasons of Germany used the flower to secretly identify themselves to each other, however this has been completely discredited.

- Taken (directly) from Wikipedia

So...what's your favourite flower?

Back Pains

2005-07-24T13:55:00.000-04:00

My back is slightly sore from the extended 2 and a half hour back workout I endured (with Dave, KB, and Nishant) yesterday.

That being said, I rarely get sore (just the result of working out often), so my relative soreness means that Dave Ho is curled up somewhere in his house in the fetal position, clutching his back and moaning periodically while nibbling at pieces of chicken burgers and sipping protein shakes.

Cavatina

2005-07-21T23:55:00.000-04:00

I was experimenting with a new song today. It'll probably take me a few weeks to play this decently.

Cavatina by Stanley Myers is the theme song to the award-winning 1978 Universal Pictures and EMI Films presentation of The Deer Hunter. Originally written for solo guitar, this piece represents the tranquility of the woodlands in western Pennsylvania versus the horrors of the Vietnam War.

It's one of the more recognizable pieces out there, mainly because it's so attached to the movie (the movie won 5 Oscars, along with Best Picture). However, the interesting fact is that it was meant to be played on two guitars. The guitar duo of the song is fairly easy to play...but when the song is arranged for a single guitar, the fingering gets fairly difficult to pull off. Many barres and ackward fingerings in this piece.

I have two arrangements of this piece in Mp3 form, but the only one that was available online is horribly played. I have no idea why the person who played this piece felt they needed to be more flexible with the speed, as he/she speeds up at some places (unnecessarily). That and I feel the tempo should be slower.

Anyways, regardless of the fact that the author totally rapes this piece (again, surprising as I've listened to some other of his pieces and he plays them quite well), I still think it's pretty enough for a listen.

Right Click and Save-As here (Mp3 file, 1.6 mb)

Space Quest II

2005-07-20T12:44:00.000-04:00

When I was young, I was really into adventure games. They were the sort of games where you had the typical hero, and you would direct him, telling him where to go, who to talk to, what to pick up, and so forth. You would slowly unravel the story and enjoy the predicaments our hero found himself in. In particular, I enjoyed the Space Quest series, which extends from SQI to SQVI (in the making), though I really only played SQI, SQII, SQIII, and SQV (briefly).

I'm particularly fond of SQII because everytime I had to make the dreaded trek to my aunt's house in Montreal, the only companion I had (sad), was a sturdy 286 with (gasp! Color monitor!) . For those of you who do not know what a 286 is, think of it this way: It is actually a 12 Megahertz processor. That's right. The computer I'm on right now is something like a 2000 Mhz processor. On this 286, the only working program (other than ScanDisk and some kind of Word Processor) was...you guessed it, Space Quest II, baby!

So while my parents and sister (poor girl) were stuck upstairs with the relatives, I would usually sneak downstairs (this was before I got a laptop) and played this 1987 classic. Here aresome actual game specs for you junkies to stack up against your newfangled "Guild Wars", "World of Warcraft", and the like.

The game was released in 1987 using Sierra's AGI (Adventure Game Interpreter), the same game engine Space Quest 1 uses. The game supports EGA, CGA, VGA, Hercules Monochrome, MCGA (PS2) and Tandy graphics modes. The game uses a maximum of 16 colors, a screen resolution of 160 X 200 pixels, requires a whopping 256K and has optional joystick support. When playing the game, you hear the "music" through your computer's internal speaker. Apple and Amiga users had improved sound and soundeffects; 3 simultaneous tones instead of 1. You can use the parser interface to insert commands such as "LOOK AROUND" and "GET KEYCARD".

What's it about? Here's a slightly abridged version of the story.

Roger Wilco was a mere janitor when he was rashly thrust into a fiendish plot to rule the galaxy by the Sariens (evil aliens). He of course, foiled their plot and became a hero by saving countless lives (Space Quest I). His efforts were awarded with the coveted Golden Mop, as a token of eternal gratitude. Our should/would/could be brave janitor became an instant celebrity.

Life was beautiful...

But heroes come and go and people soon forget. He's now lightyears away from the fame he once achieved as his celebrated herodom had slowly faded. His memories and his golden mop are the only momentos of the hero he once was... The promotion to head janitor was no consolidation (especially since he is the only member of the janitorial staff). Nor was the transfer to Orbital Station 4. Sweating like a pork-beast in a pressure suit while relocating space debris in zero-gravity, just wasn't your idea of a good time.

Life sucks.... Again.

His new adventure starts as his boss orders him to go clean up some mess in a shuttle that just arrived. When entering the shuttle, Roger is being knocked unconscious by two ugly goons who were waiting for him. After a while, he wakes up to find himself tied up, and facing the mighty Sludge Vohaul (the alien more hideous than your Aunt Hildegard)! As the Sariens' commander, Vohaul is a little bit pissed at Roger for ruining his Sarien Operation. And now the mad scientist has devised a new plan to make Xenon pay! Ensuring Roger will not interfere again, he is sent to the Labion labor mines, to enjoy many painful hours of labor...

The game was absolutely hilarious and if I remember correctly, at one point, you had to swing a rock in a jock strap to throw at a soldier standing guard over a spaceship. You also had to navigate underground caves with a crystal in your mouth as a light, swing from a bear, evade local hunters, destroy evil salesmen, ...

Simply a classic.

Red-Neck Locking System

2005-07-18T12:17:00.000-04:00

Introducing the Red-Neck Locking Mechanism.

Some assembly required

Tim Brookes

2005-07-18T11:55:00.000-04:00

"Classical guitar is an instrument played by socially phobic overachievers under a brutal regime of constant discipline until the results begin to approach what the guitar is truly capable of doing. By then, all but the best are broken. [...] Advanced classical and jazz guitar music asks the hand to make shapes it only ever makes during electrocution, or in the last contortions of strychnine poisoning...."

GUITAR: An American Life, by Tim Brookes

Tremelo

2005-07-17T12:54:00.000-04:00

Oh, I knew I forgot something in my last post.

Later in the night, I was trying to explain (without a lot of success) what a tremelo is to Dave and K-B. Since it's impossible to sustain a note for long on a classical guitar, the way to 'fake' it is to play the same note over and over very quickly. So, a tremelo done on an open E string is performed by picking with your a (ring finger), m (middle finger), and i (index finger), over and over. Like amiamiamiami...

It's much more difficult than it sounds because to have a nice sounding tremelo, each pluck should have an even, consistent tone. When most people (including me) try, they get this gallopey, uneven sound. And no, I can't imagine how in the world you could do this without decent fingernails.

In all honesty, it's probably not all that useful, as the tremelo isn't used in many songs. Most people just learn the technique so they can play a single piece! One of the most famous guitar pieces out there is also the most famous tremelo piece. Called Recuerdos de la Alhambra and was written by the famous Franciso Tarrega.

Right Click and Save-As here (Mp3 file, 3.4 mb)

Post Gathering Thoughts

2005-07-17T02:26:00.000-04:00

Coming back to Nishant's house after the gathering, we (Nishant, a very quiet Jen, KB, Dave, Neil, and I) had nothing to talk about so I spent most of the time teaching Dave how to play The Spanish Romance (Jeux Interdits) and the rest of the time fooling around with classical music on an acoustic guitar (in fact, it sounds rather nice. I like the metallic sound an acoustic produces, especially with fingernails).

I mentioned a couple songs that I figure you guys might want to listen to (this is mostly directed towards the people who were at Nishant's past midnight)

I played tidbits from this song throughout the night. It's the song that Dave thought was Spanish-sounding (and it is!). The song is called Asturias (or Leyenda) and is written by Isaac Albeniz. Asturias is the name of a town somewhere (in Spain?) and Leyenda (considered the more appropriate name) translates directly into Legend. Listen to the mp3 (and if you listened to what I managed to play, you'll realize I have a long way to go).

Right Click and Save-As here (Mp3 file, 1.8 mb)

And the other one I'd like to mention was in response to Nishant's question as to what I thought was the darkest/creepiest song. This song is called La Meurtre del Angel (It's actually a Tango) written by Astor Piazzola. Listen to the whole thing. It sounds like an angel is being stabbed (repetitively) in the dark. And yes, I have the sheet music, but no, I have never tried to play it.

Right Click and Save-As here (Midi file, 14 kb)

I have to apologize to a few people however. Kate, for not watching over her at the beach; Mina, for not bringing her home when I could see she was tired; and for a few other people who I might have been rude to during the night. I'm sorry you guys.

SRS Volume I, Issue 2

2005-07-14T23:45:00.000-04:00

Summer Research Series
Volume I, Issue 2

I had originally written an article on why applied mathematicians differ from say physicists, but I scrapped the entire write-up, unsatisfied with my work. Then I recalled that my supervisor, Dr. Dave Amundsen has a section on his website detailing the exact description I was looking for (in fact, it's very close to what I had originally written up). Consider the following a (nearly) direct transcription of his page (I've referenced it at the bottom). I've made only a few changes (mostly formatting).

The term Applied Mathematics encompasses many different areas of mathematical research, and may be defined in numerous ways. Loosely speaking, it covers the intersection between mathematics and other scientific fields, such as physics, computer science, biology, engineering etc. with the driving motivation being a particular application or physical setting which researchers seek to understand more thoroughly. It is often the case that by understanding the mathematics behind one application this leads to understanding of an entire class of mathematically similar, yet seemingly disparate physical settings.

In order to study such problems there are typically two key elements:

1) Modelling: The construction of a mathematical framework (equations) which approximate (rarely can we be exact) the application of interest. This is as much an art as a science and will involve deciding upon which effects are "important" and which can be neglected.

For instance: Billiards. Newton's second law F = (mass x acceleration) works quite well for modelling this setting where the impulse from the cue and effects of rolling friction are contained in the unbalanced force and the balls are treated as spherical rigid bodies. But this is still merely an approximation since the balls are not rigid and do have some (very small) ability to deform on impact. This in turn will have a (very small) effect on the motion of the balls. In such a setting air currents around the balls would also usually be neglected, but what if you tried to play in a wind tunnel!?

2) Analysis: Once a model is derived the next step is to explore it's implications about the system's behaviour and where its limits of validity lie. Depending upon the complexity of the model, a mix of analytical (pencil & paper) and numerical (computer) techniques may be used to accomplish this. Typical analytic techniques might include perturbation theory, asymptotic methods and dimensional analysis. The computational aspect is also very important and there are numerous techniques to choose from depending on the nature of the equation(s) in the model and the physical domain in which they are to be simulated.

Mathematical Connections

The motion of an (undamped) spring-mass system

is modeled by

In fact, this equation also applies to many other situations, such as describing electrical circuits, swinging pendulums, and water waves.

A more complicated example is the Nonlinear Schrodinger Equation which provides a more sophisticated model of water waves on deep water.

In the coming (2?) issues, I'd like to address how these equations can be interpreted. Of course, I won't be able to explain in detail how everything works, but I'd like to be able to present an equation (such as the one above) along with its physical interpretation; then for you to have the ability to convince yourself that this connection between physical model and abstract mathematics is indeed plausible.

Attention Span

2005-07-12T17:07:00.000-04:00

I often make fun of kids my age for having a really short attention span. Looks like it's way worse over in Japan. This is apparently what they watch on TV. (I think you'll want a Broadband connection to view this).

Sad. Real Sad.
I don't know whether to laugh or cry,

Good Luck Neary

2005-07-12T01:10:00.000-04:00

I'd like to wish Neary, my friend of 14(?) years, good luck on her exam tomorrow (or rather, today). Good luck Neay. Keep clear head, be logical, but be creative.

As for me, I'll be up for a few more hours to do some work.

Philosophy

2005-07-11T16:47:00.000-04:00

What Philosophy Do You Follow?

You scored as Existentialism. Your life is guided by the concept of Existentialism: You choose the meaning and purpose of your life.

“Man is condemned to be free; because once thrown into the world, he is responsible for everything he does.”It is up to you to give [life] a meaning.”

- Jean-Paul Sartre

“It is man's natural sickness to believe that he possesses the Truth.”

- Blaise Pascal

Existentialism: 100%
Strong Egosim: 75%
Kantianism: 65%
Justice (Fairness): 45%
Utilitarianism: 45%
Hedonism: 40%
Apathy: 35%
Nihilism: 30%
Divine Command: 0%

Caprichio Arabe

2005-07-10T20:19:00.000-04:00

And I don't feel like updating this blog with anything useful at the moment. But I will give you guys a taste of some excellent guitar music.

This is a very famous song (well, among the classical guitarists) by a very famous composer (and player). The song is called Caprichio Arabe and was composed by Francisco Tarrega. I plan to study it after I finish my current songs. I've heard that it's easier than it sounds, but it still sounds pretty difficult!

Right click and save-as here to save the 1.8 mb Mp3 file

A bit sick

2005-07-10T11:06:00.000-04:00

I haven't been feeling very hot lately. This has mainly caused me to reject anything I feed myself (into the sink, the toilet, and so forth). Had a terrible night yesterday and woke up this morning even worse. But I've got to haul my ass to Carleton to do some work.

Lucida Artista Concerto

2005-07-08T12:44:00.000-04:00

I'm planning to purchase a new guitar soon, but I'm still negociating with a store in the US. It's a bitch to import anything into Canada as they slap on taxes, duties, brokerage fees galore on anything that comes in. Anyways, this is what I'm trying to get my hands on.

The guitar is a Lucida Artista Concerto (LG-777). It has a solid cedar top (the two main choices for non-crap guitars are cedar, which usually has a darker tone, and spruce, which generally sounds brighter), rosewood back and sides, gold lyre tuners, and an ebony fretboard.

The guitar itself is fairly cheap if you buy it in the US (I've seen it for $710 CDN with a case, shipped), but to get it to Canada, it'll pump the costs up to mid $800s CDN). The guitar, like many mid-priced decent guitars, was made in Spain, and was imported into the US. Unfortunately, from what I can determine, it is not imported into Canada.

Li Jie - Koyunbaba

2005-07-07T22:17:00.000-04:00

If you want to see and hear something fantastic that will absolutely blow your mind away, download this 31.6 megabyte video of the guitarist Li Jie playing the (not so well known) piece Koyunbaba by Domeniconi. I doubt, given a couple decades of playing whether I can play half as well as this. Freakin' amazing.

Right click and save-as. It's for windows media player. It's a fast host, but unless you're on cable, be prepared to wait 2 hours for the download. Tell me what you guys think!

Li Jie - Koyunbaba (31.6M)

London Bombings

2005-07-07T15:56:00.000-04:00

Dave and I spoke briefly regarding the London bombings. What a freakin' shame. Why the hell do people feel compelled to do this?

Regardless, I have a friend who has a friend that lives and works in London. Here is a very inspiring quote from the gentleman.

There is calm and stoicism in this city. Hitler couldn't break London, the IRA couldn't break London, and Al Quaeda will fail to break London too. They can temporarily hurt us, but they will never destroy us or make us cower. That is a given.

Congrats Dave!

2005-07-06T14:17:00.000-04:00

I'd like to give a big congratulations to David Ho, who yesterday, gave my Ultimate Protein Shake© a try.

Today, Dave e-mailed me with the following,

David Ho
1:24 pm (53 minutes ago)

"omg phil... i feel so sick man.. i made the shake and drank the whole
thing.. i feel like puking!!!!!!"

Dave, you hardcore bastard; even I, inventor of the Ultimate Protein Shake©, cannot drink it all in one go. (Do you realize how much oatmeal you have just consumed? Go cook 2 cups of oats. It'll expand and probably be the size of your head!). But you feel good don't you? A little bit psychotic, perhaps even dizzy, but good.

You fuckin' rock, Dave.

ARGH

2005-07-05T23:41:00.000-04:00

*sigh*.

I'm going to go sip some coffee, do some work, play on my guitar, and maybe call up an old aquaintance to help calm me down.

Batman Begins

2005-07-04T13:12:00.000-04:00

I went to go see Batman Begins yesterday with Kate, and boy, what a movie! Probably one of my favourite movies of 2005 (along with Sin City), I spent most of the movie, sitting in my seat, thinking "Jeez, it must be so freakin' cool to be Batman!".

I mean, Batman has all the gadgets, he's a millionaire in real life, he gets all these beautiful (European) women, he buys hotels on a whim, drives a tank of a car, and can fly. And boy, is he badass or what!

Batman Begins takes us to the dark corners in the life of billionaire Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale), who is rescued from an anonymous Asian prison by the mysterious Henri Ducard (Liam Neeson). Bruce, who has been haunted by the memory of seeing his parents gunned down in front of him, has been wandering the world, picking fights with small-time thugs until Ducard finds him and offers him an alternative to his nomadic existence. Ducard wants to train Bruce so he can become a member of the League of Shadows, the organization presided over by Ra's Al Ghul (Ken Watanabe). The League of Shadows is dedicated to restoring "balance" to a world in which "criminals thrive on the indulgence of society's understanding."

- James Berardinelli's Movie Reviews

Of course this is not to mention that the movie was directed by Christopher Nolan, who also directed my favourite movie of all time Memento. So go watch it. Drop what you're doing, and go watch it in theaters. Nowadays, with ballooning movie ticket prices (It costs $9.95 to see a movie in Ottawa for heaven's sake), it's rare that you see something actually worth the price of gas and price of admission.Luckily, a night with the caped crusader is money damn well spent.

Okay, let's find me a cape.

Canada Day

2005-07-02T12:30:00.000-04:00

I've been occupied lately with a lot of work and (yay) play, but I've been a bit lazy to keep this blog updated. However, I found some time today while downloading a video of Andres Segovia playing Leyenda (Asturias) (Kudos if you know who Segovia is (classical guitarist) or what song Leyenda is (see below posts on the pieces I was working on)).

Friday was Canada Day! So I got together with:

Mina: Who was nice enough to plan the whole get together, but being her soft spoken self, had trouble herding us all.
Jess: who was...tall...as usual.
Annick: Who was a quiet presence.
Neary: Who was her scheming self.
Lina: Who loves to giggle.
Kate: Who surprised me.
Andrea: Who was hungover and sleepy.
Alex: Who came to comfort his hungover and sleepy girlfriend.
Kanika: Who came, then left.
Peter: Who is back from his travelling. (with...)
Sophea: Who was scared of me.
Casey: Who was in nearly every picture.
KB: Who later left. (with)
Lillian: Who later left. (with)
Dave: Who later left. (with)
Nishant: Who later left. (with)
Satoru: Who later left.

We did a little bit of shopping, ate pizza (I know! I'm so mad at myself!), went to the Parliament (there must have been at least a few hundred thousand people there during the day), and watched the fireworks (really impressive and pretty).

It was my bright idea to bring Kate to the Ottawa University bus stop because I figure there would be less people there. Well, I was right, but we had to wait at least an hour (watching bus after bus pass, filled to the brim with people). All I remember was this situation.

10-15 buses must have passed right by without stopping as there was so many people. Then one 95 came by and it has space for maybe 1-2 people. The doors open, and 5-8 men and women crammed themselves in. Freakin' hyenas I tell you! Animals! You heard some guy saying "There's no more room on this bus!", and some woman going "I don't care!" Jeez.

Eventually I got home, but oddly enough I didn't feel at all tired. So I made a big meal, played some guitar, watched a movie, then dozed off.

From left to right: Two strangers, me, Casey, Kate, Andrea, Sophea, Neary, Lina

Kate and I. (I have sensitive eyes, and people kept on blinding me with the flash in nighttime)

Exam Recap

2005-07-01T13:07:00.000-04:00

I'm actually writing this in the future (It's Monday July 04), but I meant to write a short blurb on how my exams went. I studied very little for my two exams (one on Discrete Math, the other in Statistics), and I believe I did fairly well. I can't imagine what I could do wrong to provoke any mark less than 90%, and I'm actually hoping (quite optimistically) that I wrote a perfect exam in Discrete.

I'm actually not very talkative once exams are over, but I will post my marks when I recieve them for those interested.

Schizo-Phil

2005-06-27T19:33:00.000-04:00

it's gonna be okay phil, it's gonna be just fine....juuuuuuuuusssssssssssssssst fine. no sweat, it's all good. easy math, you got this man. no way can you screw up. hell this is like grade 9 math. easy stuff. linear regression, hypothesis testing, multilinear regression, piece 'o cake....

...holy FUCK what am I talking about...I haven't went to a single class....I musta missed like 50, 60 hours of classes, and I spent a night studying half a year's worth of material. I am sooooo fucked.

...okay baby 23 minutes to exam time, no sweat. tons of time phil, tons of time. hell, i got time to sneak in a quick meal. let's open up the oatmeal here and get a swig of water....

...what the FUCK are you doing, man? wake up! it's 20 minutes till game time. shit, and you're eating?!? wtf omg. damn you. open up that textbook. read goddamnit, read....degrees of freedom...hrm......testing procedures....hrm....n-k-1....

....man, i shouldn't be panicking. this is not helping. i should relax. kick my feet up, ya know? maybe listen to a bit of classical music to put myself at ease....ah, this is a good song...

....shit 13 minutes left, what the fuck are your feet doing on the table. omfg, get your pens, pencils, calculator, brain ready jesus. good god man, concentrate....CONCENTRATE....

...oh come on man. stop blowing this out of proportion, phil. so what if you screw up the exam. get an A in the class. oooooh big deal. people would kill for an A. it's not gonna affect you long term. in ten years, this will all be behind you and you'll be laughing at how you're acting...

...i'm gonna ****in' kill you! fine, you get an A. then when you apply for your PhD at some fancy smancy school, they'll turn you down because your gpa isn't as good as some geek that went to Waterloo. Then you'll regret it, and drop out of school, depressed. your family and friends will check you into a clinic and you'll spend the rest of your life high on antidepressents, stuck in the past, eating oatmeal, and wondering what could have been....if you only didn't FUCK up your math exam...

...see? you just made a big speech and wasted valuable relaxing time. now we only have 6 more minutes till the exam. 4, after we get all our shit together. 2 once we take one last look at the notes...2 to walk over to the actual exam building....

...shit...

Exams and Music

2005-06-25T23:30:00.000-04:00

I decided a while ago that I'd like to update the site with more news regarding my research and actual noteworthy musings (like on movies, math, etc.), rather than details of my personal life. (Such as "zOMG, I benched 250!"). It just makes my site more interesting that way (and people have told me those were the types of posts they liked to read, anyways). Well that doesn't mean I'm planning to cut off all stories related to myself...

I realized a couple hours ago that I had a Statistics midterm on Monday (I previously thought it to be Tuesday), so I've slumbered down to my basement to start the cramming. I also have the third (and final) assignment due in my Discrete class on Monday, as well as the final exam on Wednesday.

I'm a bit worried.

Classical guitar is going fairly well, though I've had to cut the nails on my right hand because I broke the nail on my middle finger last week. Makes playing much more difficult, but give it a week or two and I'll be able to play normally again.

Here is a list of the pieces I'm working on.

William Mason - Classical Gas: Nearly done. Sounds good!
Agustin Mangore - La Catedral (Preludio): Plain creepy. (Just started)
Anonymous - Spanish Romance (Jeux Interdits): Done, but it's a bit messy
Jose Luis Merlin - Evocacion: Really pretty. Just picked up a copy of the music.
Isaac Albeniz - Asturius (Leyenda): Tough!

See the score here.
(PDF File - 326 kb)

Cleavage, Tea, and Popcorn

2005-06-25T19:20:00.000-04:00

I spent Friday night with Kate, and together we did what we could to enjoy a relaxing evening. She chose to watch After the Sunset from the limited selection I provided her. We microwaved some popcorn (after having screwed up the first batch) and settled in my cool (temperature-wise) basement to watch the flick.

After the Sunset starred Pierce Brosnan, Salma Hayek, Woody Harrelson, and Don Cheadle. It's essentially a cat-and-mouse caper, revolving around a one-upmanship competition between Brosnan and Harrelson. Actually, I think the main character in the cast would be Salma Heyek's cleavage, because boy, were they acting (!!). Anyways, I enjoyed the movie. Kate didn't appear to enjoy the hairy, old men too much. Pity.

After, I made her some tea, and we watched an episode of CSI in which I narrated the entire thing to her while she was looking away. I think I did a rather good job. Except for the fact that I sometimes get muddled up between whether I should be describing the visuals (yes), or the audio (no).

Me: "Sarah just found a bucket of spit."
TV: "[Warren] What is that? [Sarah] It's a bucket of spit."
Me: "Sarah is smiling."
TV: "[Warren] Why are you smiling? [Sarah]...Because smiling supresses the gag reflex"
Me: "She's smiling because smiling surpresses the gag reflex."
Kate: "I heard."

Oh well. Can't win 'em all.

SRS Volume I, Issue 1

2005-06-23T00:39:00.000-04:00

Summer Research Series
Volume I, Issue 1

Welcome to the very first issue of the SRS. In this issue, we’ll introduce the basic motivation for the entire project. We'll start nice and slow and give everybody a nice overview of the physical significance of what we're doing.

Begin by considering a closed tank filled with water. Attached at one end of the tank is a piston that is oscillating (i.e. forcing the water) at some frequency. So this system will create traveling waves in the water of the tank. The waves will begin at the piston, hit the opposite wall, return to the piston, and be pushed forward again.

Now imagine pushing a friend on a swing. We all know that in order to get the ‘best’ swing, we need push at the appropriate moment, that is, when your friend is at the singular point between swinging forward and backwards. We say that the oscillations (your pushing) are at resonant frequency when this occurs.

This wave oscillator works in a similar fashion, and depending on whether or not the piston is pushing at the resonant frequency, you may end up with some very nicely formed waves, large in amplitude (height), or multiple, smaller waves that will eventually disappear.

Already, I bet you can formulate some questions as to how the whole system works. What effects does friction from the walls and floor (we call this dissipation) have on the evolution of the water waves? What effects does dispersion of the water waves have?

Longer waves travel faster than shorter waves. This has some interesting consequences. As a first example, suppose you tossed a large rock into a pond. The immediate result of this is a turbulent splash and the creation of many impact waves of various wavelengths all mixed up together. After just a few seconds, however, if you look closely you will see concentric rings of circular waves propagating away from the center and you will note that the longest waves are out in front of the next longest wave, which is out in front of the third longest wave, etc. In other words, the longest waves outrun the shorter waves and order is created out of chaos. This sorting of waves by wavelength is called wave dispersion.

- Introductory Oceanography MEA 200

And you can bet there's an elaborate jungle of questions related to what effects does forcing have on the system. What if the piston is pushing at a certain forcing f(x) and not another g(x)? What if the piston is pushing at exactly resonant frequency or what if the piston is pushing far from the resonant frequency?

How would you even begin modeling the waves using an equation or a system of equations? Where would you start and how would you proceed? In the coming issues, we'll develop the tools you'll need to answer many of these questions.

A Dream Within A Dream

2005-06-22T18:57:00.000-04:00

A Dream Within A Dream

Take this kiss upon the brow!
And, in parting from you now,
Thus much let me avow--
You are not wrong, who deem
That my days have been a dream;
Yet if hope has flown away
In a night, or in a day,
In a vision, or in none,
Is it therefore the less gone?
All that we see or seem
Is but a dream within a dream.

I stand amid the roar
Of a surf-tormented shore,
And I hold within my hand
Grains of the golden sand--
How few! yet how they creep
Through my fingers to the deep,
While I weep--while I weep!
O God! can I not grasp
Them with a tighter clasp?
O God! can I not save
One from the pitiless wave?
Is all that we see or seem
But a dream within a dream?

- Edgar Allan Poe

Chest Workout

2005-06-20T16:45:00.000-04:00

I started a new workout routine today, tired of my plateau and standstill with putting on weight. I had an absolutely blistering chest workout, and I loved it. It's definately more intense than anything I've done before, and though I wasn't too happy with some of the weights I was able to lift on my first day, I'm sure next week they're all going up.

Flat Dumbell Presses: 200 lbs x 3, 190 lbs x 5, 190 lbs x 7*
Incline Dumbell Presses: 170 lbs x 4, 160 lbs x 4
Decline Barbell Presses: 175 lbs x 8
Dips: Body Weight (~180 lbs) + 90 lbs x 8
Incline Dumbell Flyes: 90 lbs x 9, 90 lbs x 9
Cable Crossovers: 70 lbs x 7, 70 lbs x 5

*Anything with Dumbells is total weight. So 200 lbs x 3 means 100 lbs each hand for 3 reps.

Mr. and Mrs. Smith

2005-06-19T12:09:00.000-04:00

Mr. and Mrs. Smith
Movie Review

Regardless of whether or not celebrity rumours are your cup of tea, it's nearly impossible to peruse a newspaper or magazine, and not read about the coupling of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie - ackwardly named Brangelina. The couple has succeeded in attracting mass attention to their new movie Mr. and Mrs. Smith. People want to know what all the fuss is about, and luckily, they won't be disapointed.

The premise is simple enough: John and Jane Smith (Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie) are a happily married couple who work as assassins for rival firms. Neither is aware of the other's occupation, and, to the outside world, they look like a traditional, upper-class suburban couple, albeit without the dog and the 2.5 kids. In fact, to keep the spark in their marriage of five or six years, they visit a marriage counselor. Then, one unfortunate day, a client double-books a hit, with John and Jane unknowingly assigned to eliminate the same target. When their take-down schemes prove to be incompatible, they lose the mark and discover a few things about each other. The resulting domestic strife makes the events of War of the Roses seem tame by comparison.

- James Berardinelli Movie Reviews

Unfortunately, the movie does have its share of shortcomings. It's basically two movies in one. The first is a sadistic romantic comedy, very high on comedy and frightfully painful (and amusing) romantic play. Whether discussing their sex life or decorating their living room, Brangelina deliver on a lot of laughs and funny moments. The second part of the movie is a typical summer action flick: loud, noisy, and repetitive, with a lot of guns and a lot of explosions. When the movie degrades into the latter case, it gets fairly tedious to follow, but it's not all bad.

I found the movie to be a lot of fun. It's definately a summer flick, and does for the summer of 2005 what Pirates of the Carribean did for the summer of 2003. So go check it out. It's light, fluffy entertainment for the summer, though you'll find yourself forgetting it soon enough. Consider it a light snack before Batman Begins or the appetizer before War of the Worlds.

Read a Secret. Share a Secret.

2005-06-18T13:07:00.000-04:00

In the tradition of Found magazine, PostSecret offers intriguing glimpses into the lives of strangers. Every week, Frank, the site’s moderator, displays several secrets anonymously sent in from around the world on homemade postcards. The secrets are silly (“I only pick up my dog’s turds when people are watching”), sinful (“I had gay sex at church camp. Three times”), psychotic (“I once planned to kill my mother”), inspirational (“I believe I will accomplish something truly great in this lifetime. I will be 53 tomorrow”), heartbreaking (“I still haven’t told my father I have the same disease that killed my mother”) and shocking (“Everyone who knew me before 9/11 believes I am dead”). PostSecret is a tribute to the diversity of human existence and the transformative power of a single sentence.

- Betty Costello (Arts&Culture Newsreview.com)

Poor Ducks

2005-06-17T15:15:00.000-04:00

Natural selection at work, folks

Thank you to Jess, our resident biologist for sending me this.

On closer inspection...it's hard to discern whether or not this is fake. It's probably quite easy to set this up, though I doubt that the animals are models, as the legs of the father are in motion in the second picture. The resolution isn't too good, and the distance is quite far. 4 chicks fell through the grate, but the holes don't seem to be large enough for the fall to be instantaneous. I mean, if I had to take a guess, I would have have probably suspected that, if the animals are real, then 2/4 or maybe 3/4 of the chicks may have fell through, and the final one stuck in the hole...without a video, it's hard to see. (Which makes me wonder how someone managed to get these shots...)

Summer Research Series

2005-06-16T13:42:00.000-04:00

From the request of a few friends, I have decided to start a new series on my blog, aptly named "Summer Research Series", or SRS for short. Each couple of days (or perhaps even daily), I'll post a single part of the series up for the readers.

Basically, it'll explain in layman's terms what I have been doing, and what I will be doing this summer as an NSERC researcher with the Mathematics department at Carleton University. It'll be of particular interest to those of you who are interested in the Sciences, those of you who are planning to do research in the future, or even for those of who you are just plain curious as to what it's like behind the glamour and the glitz (hah!).

Hopefully, through my experiences, you'll get a feel for what it's like to attack a complex topic and paw your way through the problems and questions that arise.

I don't demand much out of you. Some basic knowledge of mathematics is at hand. If you have some basic knowledge of differential Calculus, then that'll be more than enough. Even if you only have some knowledge of Grade 11 Math and Physics (sines, cosines, anybody?), you should be able to follow the trail of breadcrumbs. On the other hand, some days, I'll want to go deeper into a topic, and then we'll need to bust out some more complex mathematics (like ordinary and partial differential equations, fourier analysis, numerical analysis, etc.)

I'm very optimistic about this, and I have a great feeling that it'll be a lot of fun for all of you to tune in, so don't be afraid if you're knowledge of math and/or physics isn't as deep as you'd like it to be.

One of the secrets of life is to keep our intellectual curiosity acute

- William Phelps

Morning Protein Shake

2005-06-15T14:22:00.000-04:00

This is, of course, addressed to people who want to put on weight. Good weight, of course. If you're heading in the opposite direction on the scale, then go away.

Phil's Morning Protein Shake
4-6 large eggs
2 cups plain oats
2 heaping tbps peanut butter
2 bananas
3 cups milk

Put in a blender and blend until smooth. Makes enough (for me) to put some into a water bottle and drink pre-lunch, and the rest can be drank in the morning (though it's sometimes tough to drink it all). If you don't eat as much as I do, you may want to start with half of everything (except eggs!). So {4, 1, 1, 1, 1.5-2} for each item on that list.

If you plan to drink daily (as I do), use only 2-3 whole eggs, and the rest egg whites. Depending on the amount of eggs and the size of the bananas, you may need to increase/decrease the amount of milk. The goal is to get the consistency just right. Too much liquid and your oats sink and you're left with this liquidy stuff at the top. Too little liquid and you're left with this sludge. Just perfect is something you can almost swallow immediately, and something that doesn't force you to cnstantly mix with a spoon.

The amount of protein you get from this is pretty astounding.
3 whole eggs = 3 x 6 g = 18 g protein
2 egg whites = 2 x 4 g = 8 g protein
3 cups milk = 3 x 9 g = 27 g protein
2 cups raw oats = 2 x 3 g = 6 g protein
2 heaping tbps peanut butter = 2 x 4 g = 8 g protein
Total protein per blender = 67 g protein

Considering the fact you want at minimum 1 g protein/lbs body weight (though realistically, you want 1.5g - 2g if you're serious about putting on weight), this nearly does half your job for you already.

If you're fat consciencious, it's not that bad. There are certainly worse things you can eat. Probably eating a single hot dog is worse than all this. There is relatively no fat found in the oats, nor the egg whites. The whole eggs and milk contains some fat, but it's mostly good fat. The peanut butter is the major contributor, and you can always decrease this in the future if you're really anal.

Some final notes:

A) Don't be badass like me and drink it without the bananas when you run out, as it doesn't go down too well. If you're really desperate (and I am), decrease the peanut butter, and dry other foods to add to the flavour. I've tried different flavours of frozen yogurt, different kinds of fruit, hot chocolate powder, etc. But really, none of them can top the banana.

B) There's no point in putting in extra protein (like protein powder). Your body only digests a certain amount efficiently, and as you eat more and more in the same meal, a lot of the protein goes to waste.

C) This recipe makes a lot. Drinking it all in one meal is (probably) impossible, but you're welcomed to try. Come'n, I dare you. Double dare you...? I put aside enough to fill a small water bottle for later, and drink the rest, but even that is a challenge. But hey, we all love challenges, don't we?

D) Yes, I have been using it for months now (5 days a week. Weekends, I try something different, like actually cooking my eggs). It does get boring, but hell, it has become a part of my routine. That, and I've pretty much sucked out all the pleasure in eating, so it doesn't bother me much.

E) A lot of people go nuts and get worried when my eggs aren't cooked. The fact of the matter is that salmonella is quite rare (less than 1/30000 eggs), and the rareness of having problems with salmonella drops tenfold when you use quality eggs (like the Omega eggs I purchase from Costco), and are in good health. There are numerous medical articles you can read on this matter, but I can direct you to one here. What advantages do you have to consuming raw eggs? When eggs are cooked, the chemical structure of the eggs change. Most important for 'us', you're destroying many of the nutrients and proteins found in the egg in raw form. Of importance to those who are allergic to eggs, consuming the eggs raw virtually rids you of any allergic reactions you may have (again, this is due to the fact that the heating process changes the chemical composition). For more information on this, read my above link, and the link to follow.

F) The other often preached problem with consuming raw egg whites is that, without eating the yolk, you end up with something called biotoxin deficiency:

"Egg whites contain a glycoprotein called "avidin" which binds biotin - one of the B vitamins - very effectively. The cooking process deactivates the avidin in the egg, much the same way it deactivates every other protein in the egg white.

While it is true that eating too many raw egg whites by themselves will cause you to suffer from a biotin deficiency, the fact is that nature created the egg in such a way that its yolk is very rich in biotin. One of the highest concentration in nature. Eat the egg whole together with the egg white and you will be fine."

Taken from Raw Eggs for Health

Of course, this is remedied, because I recommend eating 2-3 whole eggs with the blend. There is a lot of good stuff found in the yolk, and you don't want to miss out.

G) Have you ever tried to cook and eat 2 cups of oats? I have trouble eating the amount of oatmeal equivalent to 1 cup of raw oats. Uncooked, it's a lot easier to down the stuff in quantities.

H) I've been consuming this drink nearly every day since around October 2004, and have had absolutely no health problems with it. Judging from the nutritional data available, I'd say this would be one of the best breakfasts you can have. Quick to make, and cheap too!

Research Screenshot

2005-06-15T10:49:00.000-04:00

Screenshot from my research computer yesterday

For a single post, you, my faithful viewers shall be forced into mine old shoes.

Harvard Quote

2005-06-14T14:43:00.000-04:00

Student: Nima, what's on our midterm?
Nima: Uh, exactly 29 questions.
Student: Multiple choice?
Nima: Yeah, you can choose to suffer, or you can choose to die. Any other questions as you march to your doom?

Prof. Nima Arkani-Hamed, Physics 15c
Harvard

Second Midterm

2005-06-13T17:11:00.000-04:00

I have my second midterm in Discrete Maths in 1 hour and 45 minutes. I'm so fucked. Need to study...

...but I need to finish my work....

....hmmm......

Perusing Movie Reviews

2005-06-13T12:47:00.000-04:00

I was perusing the movie site where I get all my reviews, and I ran across two interesting tidbits.

The first was an explanation of why the reviewer (James Berardinelli) did not take the time to review a few of the most recent "high-profile" summer movies, such as The Longest Yard, The Honeymooners, or The Adventures of Shark Boy and Lava Girl. I did find his reason for not watching The Perfect Man pretty funny, though.

"Finally, there's The Perfect Man. It stars Hilary Duff. That's reason enough to skip it. A few years ago, I vowed never to see a movie starring the talent-deprived, teen-beloved "actress." Thus far, there has been no reason to break this vow, because she hasn't appeared in a movie that has grabbed my attention. I'm waiting for Quentin Tarantino to cast her. Now that would cause a dilemma."

The second noteworthy quote was regarding Batman Begins, which I am anticipating quite excitedly (although I'll probably end up watching it a week or two after the release date). One reason is that the trailers make it out to be quite an entertaining ride. And the second reason being that it's directed by Christopher Nolan, director of Memento, which would probably be my all time favourite movie.

Expect the reviews on the days the films open. The Batman Begins review will be available tomorrow (Tuesday), so at least those who want to read it before the midnight showing will be able to do so. For those who want an early "peek" at my opinion, all I'll say at the moment is to go see it. It's one of the best - if not the best - superhero movies made thus far.

Quick oats

2005-06-10T13:39:00.000-04:00

I didn't have the best night yesterday, so I ended up waking up very, very late this morning (something like 8:45). Anyways, I didn't have time to make a lunch, so I came up with the next best thing:

A 1.5 L bottle of mineral water
A tupperware containing with 2 cups of raw oats

During lunchtime, I run to the Tim Hortons at my University, and ask the nice lady for a small cup. Spoon oats into the cup, and just dump it into my mouth. Dump oats, take a sip of water, dump oats, take a sip of water. It literally melts in your mouth!

And it's actually healthier than most meals kids eat nowadays (pizzas, hotdogs, etc.) High in fibre, low in fat, decent amount of protein.

I got some weird looks with the open tupperware container next to me, making me look like I was eating bird food, but hell, I'm as hardcore as they come.

Hungry

2005-06-09T15:44:00.000-04:00

I'm sooooooooo hungry!!!!!!!!!

But I gots to wait for my supervisor.

Long time no see

2005-06-06T17:39:00.000-04:00

I know, I know, I owe everybody an update on my life. There isn't much to say...or rather, there isn't much I'd care to share.

I've been trying to get a lot of guitar practice in, lately. I've actually gotten quite decent at playing the Romanza (or Jeux Interdits) piece I mentioned a few weeks ago. I recieved a copy of the tablature for Classical Gas, and I spent yesterday sight reading and practicing the first couple lines of the famous piece.

Actually, it doesn't seem too difficult, in relation to how much it's hyped up by popular media. A lot of the song (probably a quarter) is repeated, and I figure I can learn how to play the song decently by the end of the summer.

Last post? (Until the weekend)

2005-06-01T14:33:00.000-04:00

I probably won't be posting until after the weekend, unless I really feel like I need to rant about something. Something...seems to be going on right now, but I can't (and won't) go into details. Just a few notes before I sign off this post.

1. I'm still working at Carleton, as well as taking classes.
2. Michelle, if you get some ideas, e-mail to me.
3. Dave, you need to work harder at the gym, you weaksauce.

That's all I can think off. I'm off (back to work).

Solution to Forced KdV.

2005-06-01T14:30:00.000-04:00

This took me forever to figure out. The solution of the forced Korteweg de-Vries equation (where u = u(x,t)):

-a*u_{xxx} + b*u_x + c*u*u_x = f(x)

is...

u(x,t) = sqrt(3*c)*a^(1/3)/c [ 1 - 3sech^2((3c)^(1/4)/2 *(x/a^(1/3) - constant)) ] - b/c

Jeez.

Quickie

2005-05-30T18:58:00.000-04:00

6:58 PM now. Class in 2 minutes till 10 PM. Then I'm going home.

Air Powered Car

2005-05-30T18:10:00.000-04:00

Holy Shit! Remember that here in Ottawa, gas costs roughly 80 cents/litre. It costs $30-40 to fill up your car if your empty.

So now what do you think about buying an Air Powered Car? That's right. It uses air instead of fuel.

Operation Top-Secret-Hush-Hush-Dinner (Part 1)

2005-05-29T22:54:00.000-04:00

Operation Top-Secret-Hush-Hush-Dinner
(Part 1)
Weather Hunting

Well it seems that the highest temperatures are found during July (26.5 °C) and August (24.9 °C), with June placing third (23.8 °C). The daily minimum ranks in a similar order. The daily average is again in the same order, the hottest being in July. Standard deviations for temperature are highest in June (1.3 °C), and tied in July and August (1.1 °C).

Rain is highest in August (92 mm), then July (88 mm), then June (77 mm). The difference between August and July seems to be mainly the larger showers (> 10 mm).

Wind speeds are at their highest (11.5 kph) in June, with July (10.4) and August tied (9.9 kph) following.

So with this said, it seems that the best time for Operation Top-Secret-Hush-Hush-Dinner© is during the month of July. Probably mid to late July. I'll probably end up sending out an e-mail to the invited mid to late June. Probably late June as people tend to have bad memories.

My statistical excursion tonight was provided mainly by The Weather Network, and Environment Canada

Ramblings

2005-05-26T14:23:00.000-04:00

I'm at the lab right now, letting my code run for a bit longer so I get some better approximations. So in the meanwhile, I'm stuck here, bored as hell.

I'm in the midst of planning a very elaborate dinner at a very top secret location for close high school friends. All I can say is that in order for the dinner to be a success, the weather needs to be perfect, and especially the amount of wind during the night must be minimal. So it'll probably be in the heat of the summer (late June? July?) That, and I need to figure out whether I still have access to this top secret location.

Michelle, if you're reading this, I think it'd be a good idea for me to help you a bit with your blog site. Maybe just make a quick header (like the one I have), as that'll make a huge difference. I'll e-mail you sometime.

Life, God, All.

2005-05-25T13:35:00.000-04:00

Hey, my life sucks.

And God hates me.

That is all.

Alexis Bledel

2005-05-24T15:30:00.000-04:00

So....

...Hot...

Movie Night at Jon's

2005-05-24T14:41:00.000-04:00

Last afternoon (ie. Victoria Day) was devoted to a get together planned by Neary at Jon's house in the guise of a movie-thon (actually, it was supposed to be at the beach, but was cancelled due to bad weather). Attending the 'party' was {Myself, Jen (who I literally woke up, and dragged there an hour late), Neary (who planned everything), Mina (Who again, never said a word to me), Sophea (who's boyfriend, Peter, is touring Asia), Jon and his brothers (very hospitable), Andrew and Sara (who were off in la-la land together), Sophea, and Kate}

We watched Mean Girls, which, wasn't all that bad. Lindsay Lohan is pretty easy on the eyes (though I have to mention that she's been looking pretty crappy lately), and a fair amount of the movie was quite funny and satirical. The ending was a cheap gimmick to appeal to teenaged girls and was sappy as hell, but it wasn't a chore to sit through the movie.

Now, the second movie White Noise should have rather been titled, Utter Crap, because that's essentially what it was. The movie, stars Michael Keaton as a husband who loses his wife, apparently to her slipping on watery rocks and plummetting to her doom. Keaton finds out that his wife is (apparently) sending messages to him via staticky radio and TV waves. However, he soon realizes that not only does he hear (and see) his wife, but men and women who have, or are about to die.

The ending basically explains nothing, and it seems as if the directors and producers had no clue what they were doing and what the movie was (going to be) about. In terms of the 'scariness' and horror aspects, the movie reverts to cheap 'boo' moments that weren't even that scary. I think I might have dozed off a bit near the end.

There is a bit of a funny story though. After the movie ended, I drove Kate home, and came back to Jon's house. We played a bit of pool, and later Sophea and Neary had to be off. So I turned around to the rest of the room, looked at each person individually, and asked whether or not they needed a ride. Mina shook her head, and Sara and Andrew would both be walking home. So I got in the car with Neary and Sophea and drove away.

While driving away, I had this nagging feeling that I had forgotten something at the party. Wallet? Nope. Got that. Keys? Got that. But I didn't bring anything else! Nope, I've got everthing.

After having dropped off both girls, and on the ride home, it hit me! OH SHIT! I forgot Jen!

Indeed, the girl I had telephoned an hour after the party had started to ask if she wanted to attend, then drove her from her house to Jon's house...I had promptly forgotten back at the party. Frantically, I drove back, and on the way saw Andrew and Sara walking. They pointed towards a car that had parked on the side in the distance, and I turned around, and raced back towards the car.

It turns out that Mina had indeed located Jen (who, when I was asking everybody, was in the washroom), and was going to drive her home. Jen got out of Mina's car, and into mine. Then proceeded to give me an earful about forgetting her at Jon's house.

I don't think she'll ever forgive me for that.

Species 2

2005-05-22T11:38:00.000-04:00

Species 2 was playing on late-night tv yesterday, and as I had nothing better to do, I decided to give it a shot. Big mistake.

That movie is literally the worst piece of shit I've seen in a long time. The piece, about 3 people, returning from a trip to Mars, with one of them contaminated with an alien species is based upon the four jewels appealing to teenaged boys: 1) blood, 2) gore, 3) simulated sex, 4) brief glimpses of bare flesh.

One of the 3 astronauts becomes a human/alien hybrid, and attempts to gain world domination by sexing women (who, in the movie are all sluts) and collecting the children that are the (instant) result of each sex session.

I found this quote on the James Berardinelli Movie Review site where I like to check out all my film reviews, and thought it was pretty funny:

Somewhere, someplace, I recall hearing Species 2 described as "erotic." I would love to know who used with that adjective for this movie, because he (or she) has a peculiar notion of eroticism. Sure, there's a lot of sex and nudity, but it's almost always accompanied by the ripping open of a woman's abdomen as an alien baby claws its way free, splattering blood and gore in all directions. Anyone turned on by that is not someone I would care to be sitting next to in a theater.

Maybe I should call...

2005-05-21T21:33:00.000-04:00

Maybe I should call my ex.

I went through my entire Saturday with that thought on my mind. But whenever I did think of the subject, I told myself to go practice the guitar. An hour later, I'd come back to the same thoughts, so I'd go back to practicing.

Suffice to say, I've gotten a hell of a lot of practice, I'm still practicing right now...

...and thinking...

Sara's Goodbye

2005-05-20T23:59:00.000-04:00

Went to the movies to see Kicking and Screaming along with {Jess, Sara (Piran), Annick, Jelena, Neary, Some-girl-I-didn't know} in celebration (Is celebration the right word? Mourning?) of Sara Piran going off to Toronto with family.

Yes, I was the only guy there, and it was slightly ackward at times, even with my arch-nemisis Jelena there to keep me on my toes.

I can't say I really enjoyed the movie. It stars Will Ferrell as a crazed soccer parent who gets the chance to coach a team of inadequate soccer kids against his overly-competitive (not to mention psycho) father. I don't like to base my decision of how good or bad a movie is on statistical factors, but when the number of groin jokes (mostly soccer-ball-in-groin) exceeds the fingers on my hands, I can't say the movie is the most intellectually stimulating adventure out there.

Suffice to say, it was an okay night. I'm sorry to see Sara go, and I did give her a hug at the end of the night. It's sad to see friends slowly leaving Ottawa. C'est la vie, non? We're all growing up.

2005-05-19T10:51:00.000-04:00

I spent hours losing sleep over a problem with my code yesterday. The problem was actually fairly subtle, and I'll discuss it at the end.

Not much to update you guys with. Tonight, I'm probably heading out to go see a movie with Sara (Piran) & friends, as Sara will be leaving on the weekend for tomorrow (FOREVER!).

I'd also like to wish Dave Ho a merry 19th birthday. Apparently, he wants to head to the casino (Dave, do I need to lecture you on the probabilistic pitfalls of casinos?), but I don't know how that'll work with my plans above.

More to come.

Okay, the problem was that I began with an x domain of (-3, 3). Then, for the ordinary differential equation u_{xxx} - 2u_x + uu_x = 0, used the (known) solution u(x) = 6sech^2(sqrt(1/2)x) in Matlab. Took the Fast Fourier Transform of u, plugged it into the fourier transform of the ODE, but did NOT get zero.

Why? It has to do with the fact that when you take the fourier transform of u over the domain (-3, 3), you end up creating a 6-periodic extension of the function. However, inverting the resultant, what I got was a function that was discontinuous (and not differentiable) at (..., -9, -3, 3, 9, ...). So all I really had to do was extend the x-domain a bit farther....to (-10, 10) and everything worked out!

Yay!

2005-05-18T13:23:00.000-04:00

WOOOOOOHHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Figured out what was wrong with my program.

Edit: And now I have more problems to tend to *sob*

Nothing to say...

2005-05-17T22:52:00.000-04:00

Jesus, I'm tired. I have to hit up work again at 5:00 AM tomorrow (and again, I'm stuck there until 10:00 PM) because I have some unfinished business to do.

Well, what should I write about? Things have been okay lately. I've been missing my ex-girlfriend (more than usual?) as I don't seem to have someone I can really talk to these days. I have friends, sure, but it's simply not the same. And I do have my cat, but really, all she does is meow. She's a great listener though. Well, when she's not sleeping.

I've been working out lately with Dave, showing him the ropes. It's been going well. I, on the other hand, have found my growing to been stagnant for the past few months. I really have to start working harder, pushing myself more, and eating much, much more.

I wanted to write a bit more, but I guess I don't have much to tell.

Off to classes

2005-05-16T18:45:00.000-04:00

Well...it's nearly 7:00 pm, and I must get going to my two classes. I also have to decide which class I want to attend, as one runs from 7:00 pm - 10:00 pm, and the other from 8:00 pm - 10:00 pm. I'll probably end up attending both.

I'm really mad at myself because I can't seem to figure out how this business with the fast fourier transform I'm using for the research works. Nevertheless, when I drag my ass home, I'll have spent 17 hours here at work...a new record (???).

Tomorrow, I guess I have to catch up on some more work...that means I'll have to show up (again) at 5:00 am. I don't know how I'll work out the sleeping regime, but...you gotta do what you gotta do.

I figure that it might even be a good idea for me to just sleep here in the Graduate Math Lab...nobody will really know (or care), and it'll be much more efficient. The problem is that I don't have any food...

Early Morning

2005-05-16T06:07:00.000-04:00

Well, here I am at the Graduate Math Lab at 6:00 in the morning. I had to wake up at 4:30 AM just to get ready, take the bus, and get here to do some work so my supervisor doesn't go apeshit when he realizes I did nothing over the weekend.

Then after work, I have to stay for night classes until 10:00 PM. *sob*

Small Changes

2005-05-14T22:09:00.000-04:00

Thanks to the fellas in the Programming section of the Overclockers Forums, I've fixed the problem with the dotted borders underneath each post. The problem was that Mozilla browsers (FireFox is the one I'm using) can read the page fine, but IE turns the dotted lines into ugly dashed lines.

I also added in a white arrow for the scrollbars when you use IE to view the page.

Jess's Birthday Party

2005-05-14T13:04:00.000-04:00

Last night, I went out for dinner (it was more like post-dinner in my case) with...(let's see if I can remember):

Lesley (Who was as perky as usual)
Mina (Who never said a word to me...which is fair because I never said a word to her)
Andrew (Who apparently had a headache and was quieter [than usual])
Sara (Saliba?) (Who I found out was dating Andrew, but that's apparently old news)
Nishant (Who was good company and who drove me back to my car parked a thousand blocks away)
Satoru (Who was always playing with the lemon in his water glass)
Kanika (Who kicked me out of my seat next to...)
Jess (Who was the birthday girl)
Sarah (Piran?) (Who I found out is ditching us for Toronto)
Annick (Who I only spoke to once or twice during the night)
Neary (Who was her usual, cute self)
Lindsay (Who doesn't like me too much)
Yelena (Who really doesn't like me at all)

So we ate at the Hard Rock Cafe. I shared the "Jumbo Combo" along with Nishant and Satoru. Damn thing cost 23 bucks total. Didn't really enjoy it, as everything in that restaurant was deep fried or the such. After that, we moved on over to Oh So Good (after having lost Neary and a few other girls), only to find the place was packed.

So off we walked to Zak's, which is this diner reminiscent of the diner in those Archie Comics some of us used to read. I ordered a coffee while everybody else indulged in some high-sugar-death-dessert. After that, I drove a couple people home, and that was that.

It was fun.

Happy Birthday Jess!

2005-05-10T07:56:00.000-04:00

Happy birthday Jess! For you, I've made you your own post in my blog. I know, I know, I'm just that great of a guy.

Shitty Workout

2005-05-10T02:49:00.000-04:00

Because of problems with the Carleton University athletic facility (mainly because they are shitty), I've had to adjust my workouts this week. To add insult to injury, I had to pay $6 bucks to use the gym today and I'll have to pay the same until my tuition fees are paid.

As a result of my not wanting to pay $36, I had to change my 6 day routine to a 3 day routine. So basically today, I crammed two days workouts into one. I was not happy about it.

In addition to hitting the gym after a long days work, and not having much to eat, I did not feel good after my set of deadlifts. Ended up throwing up -- luckily making a dash for the toilets.

After that regurgitation attempt, I felt a bit better and was able to salvage at least a bit of my workout.

The BIG problem with girls

2005-05-08T22:04:00.000-04:00

Let me tell you the big problem with girls -- I say girls because most of my problems lies with girls, not women. The difference? It's not an age thing, but rather a maturity and behaviour thing.

The problem is the girls never say what they mean or mean what they say. They feel compelled to tiptoe around the issues. You know how refreshing it would be to get to know a girl who was direct and knew what she wanted?

I mean, what is it? Society? Does society force girls to conform to this behavioral identity? Or is it something else? Prevailing hormones?

No no, you’ve got me wrong. I’m not saying they don’t exist. I’ve met a few girls in the past who’ve been nice enough to be honest to me (and I’m happy to have a few as my friends), but as for the other millions…well, they continue to confuse, anger, and frustrate this poor mathemagician.

Romanza

2005-05-08T18:27:00.000-04:00

Not much to report. Frankly, my life has been rather blah lately. I've been spending a lot of time on the guitar, I'm bent on learning this song (It's a download link, right click, save-as), which is the famouse Spanish Romance or Romanza song. I've got the first part (before the key change) pretty well, but I still have to learn the second part.

Oh, and Dave Ho has started a new blog. It's in the links section. Nothing there yet though.

Academic Advising

2005-05-05T12:04:00.000-04:00

I've been staying home lately. I like it.

I'm stuck at the University right now, as I'm behind on my work and I have to really tackle this junk. I also had an appointment to speak to an advisor regarding my plans for graduate school.

I'm worried that the stress and toughness of the year to come will lower my grades significantly. He told me that I should ease off finishing early, as his opinion was that it won't really help me get into any better schools. (He also led me a whole crap of bull on how I should 'enjoy' my education...hah!).

The only good news he gave me was that my grades, if continued, would be high enough to put me “at the top of the list for practically any school in the US”.

The toughest hurdle I see in the foreseeable future is the fact I have to do second year Algebra and third year Algebra concurrently next year...and the only way I'll be able to tackle that is by studying second year Algebra during this summer...something I'm not wholly sure I have time to do.

By the way, I received the marks for all but one of my classes last semester. I'll post them when I get the full list.

Academic Advising

2005-05-05T11:51:00.000-04:00

I'm worried that the stress and toughness of the year to come will lower my grades significantly. He told me that I should ease off finishing early, as his opinion was that it won't really help me get into any better schools. (He also led me a whole crap of bull on how I should 'enjoy' my education...hah!).

The only good news he gave me was that my grades, if continued, would be high enough to put me “at the top of the list for practically any school in the US”.

The toughest hurdle I see in the foreseeable future is the fact I have to do second year Algebra and third year Algebra concurrently next year...and the only way I'll be able to tackle that is by studying second year Algebra during this summer...something I'm not wholly sure I have time to do.

By the way, I received the marks for all but one of my classes last semester. I'll post them when I get the full list.

Unavailable

2005-05-03T11:11:00.000-04:00

I'm not able to check any e-mails in my Hotmail Inbox. If you want to reach me, either call or send via Gmail (assuming I provided you with my address).

From now on, I'll mostly be unavailable from 9:00 - ~4:00 because of my resarch job.

Blasted!

2005-05-02T00:28:00.000-04:00

Blasted! I spent the last 3 minutes of my life looking for my pencil.

I gave up, and went downstairs to heat up a meal. Looked in the window. Fuck! I put the damn thing on top of my ear. I hate it when that happens.

Currently listening to ATB: Ecstacy

Mr. Fantastic vs. Poor Sap

2005-05-01T11:07:00.000-04:00

This is a quote from the SOS boards where I sometimes help kids with math. I thought it was hilarious, especially since sometimes I feel like saying the same things to the people I tutor.

NO! NO! NO! Of course your answer is wrong [...] For god's sake man [...] Start thinking, for gruds sake! [...] grossly careless arithmetic mistakes [...] your integrals are WRONG, but even if they were right, you have not evaluated them correctly [...] start thinking! What a monumental waste of time this whole thread has turned out to be.

- Mr. Fantastic

Hell, Mr. F, don't sugar-coat it ... tell us how you really feel.

- Skeeter

My Grades (Part 1)

2005-04-30T12:51:00.000-04:00

3 grades are in this semester. As expected, I did terribly in Physics (PHYS 1902), getting my first (and hopefully only) A. I got an A+ in Mathematical Methods and Boundary Value Problems (MATH 3705). I also got an A+ in Advance Calculus and Introductory Analysis (MATH 2000), which was something I expected (though was slightly unsure of), but it makes me happy, as this was my most important math class this year.

That stain on my record from Physics, however, is rather disconcerting.

Clubbing

2005-04-30T02:20:00.000-04:00

Ah well, my tutoree took me to a club in Hull. I did find out two things in particular:

1) LGG stood for "La Grande Gueule" i.e. "The Big Mouth". Why in the world it was called that, I have no idea.
2) Fusion (another club) and LGG were literally across the street from another. Odd placement I guess.

The place was literally deserted at the time we arrived (11:00 pm), but it began filling up nicely. As soon as we arrived, my tutoree (we were accompanied by one of her girl friends), bought me a beer: The sooner I could get drunk and loosen up, the better, she claimed.

After two more alcoholic drinks, she and her friend dragged me to the dance floor. I've never danced with a girl at a club before, but it's really not that hard, I think. Mainly for a few reasons:

1) Everybody is too drunk/disoriented/high to notice anybody.
2) It's just a whole lot of *ahem* grinding *cough* against the other person.
3) Just find the beat and you'll be okay.

God, we must have danced for an hour and a half total the entire night. This was, of course, clustered with small breaks for more alcohol, water, or fresh air (freakin' second hand smoke)

In summary, it was an...interesting experience. Fun? I guess.

Really, it's not my type of thing. The whole clubbing experience, I guess. My tutoree made a joke that she expected me to act like a scared wild animal. But truth be told, that wouldn't be surprising. The music is literally deafening (my ears are still ringing at this moment), the strobe lights probably induce seizures in quite a few people, and I dunno...just the whole atmosphere.

I really much rather 'classier' outfits. Lounging around, chatting, actually being able to hear friends, some nice soft music...that's more my cup of tea.

Anyways, I didn't hate the experience, and I'm grateful she took me out to it. I'll probably do it again, sure. But when I go to clubs, it's much more to see friends than to dance and drink.

Okay well, it's late, I know. But I really have to do some work/related reading for University research starting this Monday.

Mad!!

2005-04-29T16:10:00.000-04:00

God! I'm so mad at myself!

My geometry prof e-mailed me today, with the following:

"On the MATH 4207 examination the students were asked to answer 2 parts of
Section A and 4 parts of Section B. On your paper I can find answers to 2
parts of Section A but only 3 questions in Section B. Did you simpply
forget to answer a fourth question or was there a different problem?"

Fuck! I accidently thought the last question (which was in two parts) was worth 2 SEPERATE questions. I don't know what the hell I was thinking, but in the heat of the moment, that's what I did. And to add to the disgust, I knew how to do the other questions.

I walked out of this exam thinking it was the easiest of all my exams, and I just had to do something incredibly dumb to mess it up.

Long Overdue

2005-04-28T23:48:00.000-04:00

I know, I know. Long overdue update.

I did finish my 6th exam on Tuesday. I don't like to talk about my exams after having finished them, so I won't. I will, however, post my marks and my thoughts when I recieve all of them.

For the past two days, I've been trying to unwind. Lotsa tv. Lotsa lounging around. I've been meaning to pick up the classical guitar for a long time now (for those who didn't know, my parents practically forced me to play violin from the tender age of 5 to 16 in a very competitive environment), and I finally put that plan into action.

My father played classical guitar when he was young (actually, everybody in my family has some kind of musical roots), so I'm able to use his guitar. I ran out to buy new strings on Wednesday and spent today stringing the guitar and just fooling around a bit with some chords. I'm going to have to find a book or something, as learning online is a bit hard.

Monday, I have to go back to University, as I start my research that day. Which means I have to spend a few hours today reading over some of the assigned articles (*sigh*).

Oh, and one of my tutorees (along with being an old high school friend/tutoree), called me up yesterday and told me that she was taking me to an undisclosed location, but I'd have to 'dress up nice'. Bit weirded out at where she'd take me. I hope it's not a night club or anything as that isn't really my kind of activity (I prefer quieter environments), but I agreed to go (I don't think she was giving me a choice).

I guess we'll have to wait to see where I end up.

What is Mathematics (P5)

2005-04-28T23:38:00.000-04:00

What is Mathematics?

(Part IV)

Mathematicians are mad tailors: they make all the possible styles, hoping to make something also suitable for wearing...

- David van Dantzig (Translated and reworded)

Crunch Time

2005-04-24T22:45:00.000-04:00

Few people actually understand the exquisite pain I put myself through when I really get down and study. Those who have had the pleasure of listening to me ramble on about how I study will know that when it gets down to crunch time, there's only one place to be during the unholy hours of the night:

My basement. The frigid temperatures down there keeps me awake. The larger space allows me to organize myself, and I like to line up many of my papers marked for studying, so I can pace along and make it some sort of obstacle race. Sad, I know, but it keeps me awake.

Okay, back to work.