Python

I love using Python as it enables me to create prototype applications quickly and efficiently, and then some.

Recently I have been tasked to combine elements of statistical analysis and machine learning in a Windows application, while developing on a MacBook Pro.

With the magic of VMware Fusion (VMW ftw!), Python, PyQt (based on Trolltech's Qt application framework), R, rpy and Orange, Windows development has been... bearable.

Strange stray thoughts about Names

A stray thought got me thinking - A name is supposed to represent a person, and even though it cannot possibly be an accurate portrayal of that person, a name evokes a lot of emotions/perceptions (e.g., Bush, Osama, etc.). What if the name describes an opposite trait, or is not even wrong. (I apologize, but I had to use my latest favourite phrase somehow - even if it's incorrectly used). Can you think of ironic names?

• a guy named Christian but is not christian, and is [insert opposing religion]



• a girl named Jewel but is not a jewel (eupherism for other, perhaps more appropriate, phrases)



• a person named [Month of Year] (e.g., June) but is not born in that month. "Hi, I'm June. I was born in December"



• a girl named Joy but is not very joyful. "Hi, I'm Joy. Go away".

I suspect last names are the easiest to be "ironic". For example, "smart" as a last name. Think of the possibilities. And of course "carpenter" is also a fairly common last name. "Hi, I'm the carpenter, Mr. Carpenter" or "Hi, I'm the butcher, Mr. Carpenter".

Another observation is related to a well-respected professor named Tan Chew Lim in the School of Computing, NUS. Each part of his name (Tan, Chew, Lim) is a possible surname. My name can also be decomposed similarly.

Update: One addition by wc - Roger Director, the director.

Update 2: Roger Director is a producer, not a director. (Hence the "irony")

Strictly business

I just returned from US yesterday on a 180 degree Singapore Airlines seat. And no, I was not on the business or first class section.



I visited Google to meet the person (let's leave it at "a friend of a friend" because the real relationship is rather more complicated than that) who had initially forwarded my resume. Incidentally, I met another ex-NUS postdoctoral fellow who is now in Google Mountain View. Of course I had the free lunch (sushi) and walked around the campus (beautiful). It was a joy to be in Google campus as employees actually seem happy to be there. I'm really looking forward to starting work there.

Oh, also, the toilets have the self-cleaning devices that clean your ... posterior.

Variational Bayesian approach to movie rating prediction

If you are interested in collaborative filtering and/or movie rating prediction, please refer to the proceedings of KDD Cup and Workshop 2007. One possible extension to our work is briefly described here

One reason to visit USA

One of the perks of visiting USA - drinking strange but funky drinks. Today I am drinking Bossa Nova açai juice - nature's highest antioxidant fruit.



[wikipedia] [official site]

Wireless@SG - Unequal experience

Yuck - The wireless provided by QMax under the Wireless@SG flagship inserts banners into your web surfing experience. The other providers Singtel and iCELL Network do not insert such unsolicited advertisements into the browser.



Geez, QMax even seizes the top frame of a blogger page and makes it impossible to enter a new blog article using the top bar! Outrageous!




Ok, fine. The wireless is free.

Google

In other news, I will be joining Google in its Mountain View, CA office as a Software Engineer towards the end of the year. In the meantime, I will be amending my thesis for submission (whoopie! graduating!), finishing up work, packing up, and going to apply for my US visa.

Make Mathematics Sexy, Smart and Desirable

CSI has driven so many people into forensics that colleges have started whole new programs because of it -- can we do the same for the rest of science?
- Aaron Swartz's thoughts on Science Foo Camp 2007

Agreed. Movie and TV shows can bring a career path into the limelight and the focus of popular opinion - This newspaper article noted that undergraduates studying forensic or archaeological science have increased more than 30% since the introduction of shows like the CSI series.

However, it seems to be that not all publicity is good publicity as a educational promotional tool. Ever noticed how mathematicians are always portrayed as a little ... strange?

Despite the show Numb3rs, which features a mathematician using mathematics to solve high-profile crimes, it nevertheless portrays the protanganist as socially awkward (but hey, then again, he gets the girl). This follows in the same vein as A Beautiful Mind and Good Will Hunting. The result is a job in which people envy for its social status ("he's such a genius, I wish I was as smart as him"), but is simulatenously not desirable ("oh, I don't want to seem like such a freak").

Can we have a show with a sexy, smart (is this adjective redundant?) and desirable mathematician?

SIGGRAPH 2007

Computer graphics and HCI are fields of study with work which I have immense respect for, as they seamlessly apply mathematics to create breathtaking results. It is always entertaining (and sometimes mind-blowing to think about how it's done) to look at SIGGRAPH videos. Well, the preview videos for SIGGRAPH 2007 are out.

Wow.

Defence

Today I had my PhD defence. Actually, it was relatively pain-free, and was over after approximately one and a half hours (basically a seminar and a few questions).

Verdict: Passed - but with minor amendments.

Awesome, but somehow I am too zoned out to work currently. Too much excitement for one day.

Removed 4 Aug due to (potential) copyright issues (with images) Added 9:51pm - defence slides