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2009-02-28
Run, Fatboy, Run
Yes, I just saw the movie. But guess who's the fatboy in this blog...
I've been kind of a gymhopper for a while. Yes, I go to the one at work like four times a week. And I occassionally use the little gym, if two treadmills and three other machines count as a gym, in the apartment I live. But I also have tried 24 hour fitness for a month and YMCA for a week. And that's not the end---I still have others lining up, like this or this.
2009-02-21
SUBMITTED!
Yay!!!
My thesis is finally submitted!!!
It's a relief to finally put this behind.
Too happy to say any more...
2009-02-02
Comcastic!
(If you have no idea what the title means, I refer you to this page. Just pick your favorite definition from the top 3.)
My Internet service, provided by Comcast, suddenly stopped yesterday. It wasn't a temporary loss of connection, as I could connect to Comcast's servers. When I tried to sign in, I was told that my account was "recently deleted."
Then I called. After some waiting on some horrible background music, as usual, I managed to tell someone about my situation. His reply was, "There is no Internet service on your account!"
Quite frankly, I wasn't in shock. In fact, six months into using their Internet service, I was only billed for the Cable TV service and never for Internet. I bought the cable modem and installed it myself. I did call Comcast to activate my service, but found no urge to notify these evil Cable companies for their billing mistakes afterwards.
Anyway, I got my connection back, except this time I'll probably be billed. No biggie. I'm planning to move soon despite the recently reduced rent, and will sign up for discount as a "new user" at the new place...
2009-01-26
New Year Is Down
Ok, it's been too long since I updated the blog. My (Chinese) New Year resolution is to revive it. And what's better than to start with one about the New Year?
My tagline for today is 牛年大吉, which Yahoo! Babel Fish correctly translated to "Year of the Ox extraordinarily good luck." But how about my beloved Google Translate? It dares to translate it to "Year of the Ox down" (!)
I guess the only reasonable explanation is that its server goes down in the middle of the translation :P
2008-11-23
Samsung TV
I bought a Samsung LCD TV last year because of its awesome picture quality, after comparing it to offerings from Sony, Sharp, etc. Its only weakness is its sound system, which can easily be fixed by a home threater system I might buy later anyway. So overall I am very happy with this purchase.
Maybe a bit too happy.
Too happy that I decided to buy another Samsung LCD TV to be my monitor.
Don't get me wrong, it's a great monitor, and I am perfectly happy with it. But I put my computer very close to the TV. And as a TV my new monitor also has a remote... meaning when I try to turn on my TV, I'll turn off my monitor.
Why I couldn't think of it before I bought the monitor?
2008-11-20
Launched!
After months of silence, he's back.
Yes, I mean me. I'm back.
It's impossible to find time writing this blog being this close to launching such a major product with such a huge impact. If you are obsessed with Google stuff as much as you are obsessed with me, you would already know about SearchWiki.
What's the best part developing SearchWiki? Definitely on reading people's comments. So go ahead, write some comments for me to read!
Labels: work
2008-08-28
Whoa!!!
It's been a month and a half since my last blog entry! This is really some kind of record for me. Not that I'm proud of it...
The reason for that is always the same. Too busy. Well, between packing, moving, unpacking, and starting a new job, I also presented the paper in CEAS and, (*drums*) defended my dissertation! The thesis is going to need some more work, as one of the committee member is not quite happy with one of the chapters, but at least I won't need to worry about flying back to Houston and scheduling with five professors.
Speaking about the defense, I did it in a way I never thought I would. I used... Skype!
The reason for that is always the same. Too busy. Well, between packing, moving, unpacking, and starting a new job, I also presented the paper in CEAS and, (*drums*) defended my dissertation! The thesis is going to need some more work, as one of the committee member is not quite happy with one of the chapters, but at least I won't need to worry about flying back to Houston and scheduling with five professors.
Speaking about the defense, I did it in a way I never thought I would. I used... Skype!
2008-07-11
I'm Joining Google
For those of you who don't have insider knowledge (shame on you!), I have accepted an offer from Google and will be joining them shortly in their Mountain View headquarter. So yes, I will be relocating to Bay Area. And this allows me to escape from the horrible traffic in L.A. (If you want to argue the traffic is also bad in Bay Area, you have no idea what bad traffic is.)
It wasn't an easy decision. I lost my title of "Principal." (Even my other offer at least gave me a "Senior" title, although it is not a good time to join a company that has been messed around by that convicted monopoly.) I took a pay cut, made worse by knowing that I was about to get another raise. I will move from a small, noisy cubicle to sharing a cubicle with others. But the temptation of moving up north is too great to pass.
I need to thank Symantec, for an opportunity to an above average interesting job. Also for offering me to move to their Mountain View office once they knew my intention to go north. And the best of all, still paying for my CEAS registration. Free banquet!
It wasn't an easy decision. I lost my title of "Principal." (Even my other offer at least gave me a "Senior" title, although it is not a good time to join a company that has been messed around by that convicted monopoly.) I took a pay cut, made worse by knowing that I was about to get another raise. I will move from a small, noisy cubicle to sharing a cubicle with others. But the temptation of moving up north is too great to pass.
I need to thank Symantec, for an opportunity to an above average interesting job. Also for offering me to move to their Mountain View office once they knew my intention to go north. And the best of all, still paying for my CEAS registration. Free banquet!
Labels: work
