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Open Source

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This evening I was playing Minecraft and feeling that what I was doing was rather dull. I considered looking at open source software for project ideas. For those of you who don’t know, open source software is when a program’s code is free for anyone to look at and add to, usually with a bit of a learning curve. Instead, I realized I have a book to edit, and I should probably get on that. I was going to work on it this summer and barely have. Oops. So here’s a quick blog to get me in the mood.

Of course, I’m still interested in open source stuff. If any of you programmers have interesting suggestions, let me know. Right now I’ve just been plowing through Project Euler, and the problems have been getting rather difficult. I kind of want something else to work on, maybe something that someone might use. 

Planes, trains or automobiles? What is your favorite way to travel 500 miles?

Maybe you can travel further with a plane, or go more places with a car. Particularly after being in the UK for a while, though, I must say I like trains best. Comfy seat, scenery passing by slow enough that you can enjoy it, the steady rhythm of the wheels on tracks. In airplanes flights always seem to be full, but on trains they aren’t always. Sometimes you get the seat next to you as well. I really wish there were more train lines in the US. On a train, you can travel practically anywhere in the UK. In my area in the US, you can only go up and down the coast.

Posting and Programming

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So, you know, apparently I can’t post every day. We’ll just have to settle for occasional bursts of posts.

I don’t go back on all my promises on this blog though, as you can see on the left sidebar, I’ve now reached 25 solved problems on Project Euler, and hit their “Level 1”. I consider this a good accomplishment, as some of these problems are pretty tricky. I do get help when I can’t figure it out, but for the most part I try to solve them on my own.

Are you too lazy or too busy?

Yes, this was indeed a question on the site. Regarding posting? I must be lazy. Something about finishing work and just wanting to go home, and once I’m home just wanting to play video games and chill out. Same reason why the editing of my book hasn’t been happening yet. I thought I would have time this summer–and technically I do–but who wants to work all day and then come home just to do something equally as mentally challenging? Only the strong-willed, I suppose. I can be, but not all the time.

Vampires

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On my way to London, I finished this book. I saw the movie about a week before–when I hadn’t read the ending yet–and enjoyed it. Who can go wrong with Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise, Kirsten Dunst, and Antonio Banderas?

~

Book 7: Interview with the Vampire, by Anne Rice

Now before you leave this page in disgust, let me remind you that this was written and popular before Stephanie Meyer and the teenage-angst-and-sparkling-vampire stories. It’s true to lore, and this time set in the vampire’s perspective. A boy manages to interview a vampire named Louis (think French like “Loo-ey,” not “Loo-is” as my boyfriend pointed out was the wrong pronunciation), who was a plantation owner in New Orleans during the time of slavery. The book tells the story of his life, from being turned into a vampire to the present-day.

What I found most interesting was how much of the book was focused on the fact that Louis could never let go of one aspect of humanity–his sense of good and evil. Particularly right after being “turned,” he is consumed with the thought that killing humans is wrong, and this leads to problems; a vampire cannot truly live comfortably without human blood. At first it seems that this will wear off, that he will become used to being a vampire and consider killing a normal, daily act. But it never completely does, and other vampires consider him everything from special to weak because of this.

Another aspect of vampires I’ve never heard of is how bonded they can become to one another. It’s not necessarily love, because they can’t experience human emotions. And it’s not a physical attraction, because a vampire’s ultimate pleasure is “the kill,” not any sexual acts with each other. They’re not all solitary creatures; despite their lack of human emotions, they can get lonely–or whatever you call it with vampires–not having any of their kind around. Some seek others, and some turn a human into a vampire for company. And once they have another vampire around, they tend to stay together for years on end.

An interesting side note, comparing the book to the movie, is how the book unashamedly talks about two male vampires living together and loving one another. The same with a male (adult) vampire and a female vampire who he turned at the age of 5. They have a father-daughter love, but as she gets older (in mind, not body) you wonder if it’s something slightly different. Again, none of this love is physical. They just enjoy each others’ company and care about each other. In the movie, these themes are played down a lot. Don’t want the audience to think this is a movie about homosexuality, or god forbid, pedophilia! And of course it’s not. Oh, Hollywood.

I could say much more, but suffice to say, it was a gripping, thematic tale of the traditional vampire. Don’t be fooled by its being labeled as “horror.” It’s not scary as much as it’s grim, and deep philosophical questions are explored which makes it more meaningful than you might expect.

Non-materialism

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If you could own one thing you don’t currently have, what would it be?

I’ve deliberated over this for a little while now and am realizing there’s not much in the way of material possessions that I want. If you asked me right now what I wanted for Christmas or my birthday, I couldn’t tell you. Everything I seem to want is non-physical and needs time rather than money… more friends, the 3rd draft of my novel, to get to do what I want to at work, to read more, to do more programming in my spare time. I could maybe do with a new phone, but to be honest I can afford to get one when I’m ready.

Of course, it’d be nice to find my camera charger, USB cord, and iPod wall adapter. They disappeared somewhere between Arizona, my old flat, and my new flat.

I should consider myself lucky, I suppose. Recently I’ve been reminded many times that I’m probably one of the richest people in the world. I don’t mean that at all in a haughty way. If you have a decent place to live, with running water and electricity, enough money for food, clothing, and simple living, you’re also one of the richest people in the world. And you’re extremely lucky if you can get a good education, or have a decently paying job. If you enjoy it, too? Well, you’re pretty much in paradise.

Forums and Roofs

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Today I got stuck at work and decided to post a programming question online. Hasn’t been solved yet, but people have been nice about it, and my code is apparently not horrible. This inspired me to look around for forums that I might be able to contribute to. So far I’ve made accounts at stackoverflow.com for programming questions, and writingforums.org for creative writing questions. Haven’t found any programming things I can help with, as many are obscure things you can’t find easily through googling, but I’ve posted a couple times on the creative writing forum and hope it turns out to be a fun way to keep up my writing.

Find the nearest window. Look outside. What is the most interesting thing you see? What is the least interesting thing? If you don’t have a window, close your eyes and imagine one: what do you see when you look through it?

At my boyfriend’s flat, the most interesting thing I can see out the window is the sky. It’s blue with a few clouds, and pretty much still bright like midday. It’s just about 9pm. Don’t be fooled, though, it was raining this morning. It’s light so late here, even compared to Seattle. I didn’t think it would be much of a difference, but it really takes till at least 11 for it to get really dark. I may be remembering incorrectly, but this feels later than in the Seattle area.

Least interesting thing? Everything else. It’s all roofs, and from my perspective you can’t even see any windows. I almost considered making the roofs the interesting thing, but how interesting can I make a shed roof and the distant shingles of a row of flats?

I’ll give it a try. A large shed roof: gray metal with evenly spaced raised edges, interspersed with big screws to hold it together. A dirty sock thrown on the side that’s been there since the first day I was here, and green and brown stained gutters. The sky? A boring blue.

London

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My constant impression of London is of crowds. Everywhere I go there are people, frequently too many to be comfortable. Particularly on the subway. And it’s not helped by the heat. I didn’t expect it. I looked ahead this week at weather before I left, and I guess didn’t really believe it would be above 20C most of the time I’m here. Underground, it’s even worse, probably 10 degrees hotter than outside and more humid.

Aside from that, I’ve had a wonderful time. I managed to get a fairly nice hotel for not a lot of money, which included a nice breakfast and free wifi in the lounge–sadly not in the rooms. It’s too bad I couldn’t stay with my friend, but to be honest it’s nice to have my own room (with a bathroom).

The first day, we–my friend, her flatmates, and I–had high tea at this cafe called the Muffin Man. Tea, teacakes, and cheesecake for 5 pounds. I probably didn’t need the cheesecake. It was all delicious. We then wandered around, shopping a bit. My friend got a top, and I resisted getting necklaces. After refreshing at her flat, we then went out with another one of her flatmates to an Irish pub called O’Neills. The funny thing about this place is that there’s one in Glasgow, and I’ve been to it. This one, though, was packed when we got there. A live band was playing covers of popular songs, pretty well, too. We almost didn’t find a table. Once we did, though, I got fish and chips, and they got Irish stew. All of it was delicious. I introduced my friend to cider with a Kopparberg. And we all went home happy.
Day two was more shopping. Berate me all you want for not going to big landmarks like Parliament and tourist traps like the London Eye, but I’ve seen a number of them before and this trip was more about seeing my friend again than seeing London. We went to Camden Market, which was basically a maze of closely hung clothes and Indians constantly asking if you want what you’re looking at. I felt too pressured to buy anything, though there was some stuff I might have been interested in. I just like to be able to stare at something for a while to think if I want it, rather than be pressured into something that may not be my style after all. After that, we went to Portobello Road/Market, to see if there was more interesting things. By then, though, I was so exhausted from walking around that I wasn’t really interested in buying anything. The highlight of the day was that evening, when my friend and I went out to Japanese food. None of her flatmates were interested, and they really missed out this time. The food was amazing. They took a while with one of the things my friend ordered, and to apologize they gave us a free salmon hand roll. I’d go there again in a heartbeat.
Today, we were going to go to a Doctor Who shop (another thing her flatmates aren’t interested in, who knows why), but found out it was too far away. Instead, we checked out Forbidden Planet, which is a sci-fi/fantasy store full of comics, manga, figurines, t-shirts, and other “cult” memorabilia. Not to mention, they also carry Doctor Who stuff. We looked and found too many tempting books and comics, a few interesting Doctor Who trinkets, but nothing we really wanted. My friend wanted the Master’s Fobwatch, but it’s apparently sold out everywhere, even another local comic shop. Oh well. We then relaxed in a pub and got mini meat pies to snack on.
Now, I’m on the train back. It’s been a good trip, and I hope to go back to London before long. Perhaps to see more “touristy” things.

On Realizing Dreams

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So after a two-week break, I’m ready to blog again. Perhaps this is because my days have been fairly uneventful, from a blogging perspective. Just going to work every day, and relaxing in the evenings and on weekends with a pint and some friends, or a video game, or a book. I know this isn’t really a good excuse, there are always things to talk about. That’s why, thanks to WordPress, I think I’ll get back into this daily thing.

I wrote a post a while back based on a prompt from this blog sponsored by WordPress. I haven’t done more prompts by them mostly because I’m lazy, but sometimes because they’re ridiculous. I’m realizing now that I should use the prompts anyway, and exercise as much freedom as necessary… even blogging about how they’re bad prompts. Maybe skip days when I have some of my own ideas. But I need something to keep ideas flowing daily, and I think this is a good thing. As motivation for myself, I’ve put up a little banner in the left column of my blog, linking to the site and pronouncing myself part of Post-A-Day 2011.

Why do some people’s dreams get realized, and others don’t?

This is an interesting topic for me. I feel like someone who has dreamed of big things and accomplished them, and do my best to continue to do so. I’ve written a book (though not published… yet). I’ve moved to Scotland. I’m studying a degree in Computing Science. But I don’t think the fact I’ve done these things makes me different from other people, that I can realize my dreams but others can’t. I believe everyone can.

Some people’s dreams are set too high, or they expect too much from themselves. I think it’s fine to have big dreams, but it’s necessary to realize they can take more time or energy than first expected. Then sometimes people are born into a family or time period that is more difficult than others, so it’s harder to realize “bigger” dreams. It’s true some people have it easier than others. Becoming a billionaire is easier when you’re born to parents who are already millionaires, for example.

On the other hand, some people have dreams that might not be considered “big,” like growing up, raising a family, and spending your whole life in one small town. That doesn’t mean they’ve wasted their life, or not realized their dreams. If they want a simple life, they’ve lived how they wanted to live. Perhaps their dreams are simpler to bring into their lives than for other people. And of course, even this is relative. Some countries are so poor it’s difficult to live a life like this.

If you’re dreaming of writing the next big novel, or becoming an olympic athlete, or being a successful businessperson, I say go for it. No matter who you are or where you come from. Just remember to be patient, and always take opportunities when they come along.

Starting An Internship

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Today I’ve finished my third day of work. I’m enjoying it so far, and I think I will long-term. I haven’t really got to work on the project I’m supposed to be doing yet, but it’s a necessary thing. I have to set up my computer how I like it first, and then start researching and studying the things I’m working with: the Havok physics engine and Android programming. We’re not actually sure yet if I can combine the two, but we’re finding it out, and in the meantime I’m reading up on them and trying some programming tutorials. The environment itself is great, a nice office (with a mini-kitchen, even), good computer, and cool people that I’ll hopefully be getting to know better.

I’ve started looking at this book given to me by a research assistant at work called Game Physics Engine Development by Ian Millington. It’s basically a look at how to create a simple physics engine, and it would give me the basic information on how a simpler version of Havok might work. It’s not that I’m creating my own engine at all, probably not even tweaking Havok, but I’m sure that it would be helpful for me to know how it works, if I am to use it to create applications. There is a bit of complex math (or maths if you’re from the UK) involved, but it’s reviewed at the beginning of the book, and I’m finding it surprisingly understandable. I did 3D calculus last year–or two years ago, if you count the school year just past–and didn’t do incredibly well, but the basics stuck with me. It was the professor that really was the difficult thing anyway. Reading these sections, though, is reminding me how much I miss math classes. How weird am I? But I do. I know some of the classes I’m taking next year will involve math, and I hope that means they’ll be enjoyable.

I’m slowly starting to meet people and get adjusted to all this new stuff. My days are pretty full, and even though I don’t have to bring work home with me, I only have a few hours in the evenings to myself. Perhaps that’s for the best, though. I finally won’t have a boring summer.

New Digs

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Moved into my new flat today. Haven’t met everyone, but it’s a nice place. Top floor! I like it much better than the ground floor, where I was before, but it was a pain to bring all my stuff up today. Also, bigger fridges, and fewer people. I don’t get my own sink in my room anymore, but the rest is a relief. Not much else happening, mainly getting used to being in Scotland again. Saw the cutest kitten today, my boyfriend’s sister got it for her kids (I should have taken pictures…). Work starts Monday, so I won’t have to come up with things to do for many more days. I’ll have to spend tomorrow unpacking anyway.

Monday after work, I think I’ll go to this vegan restaurant/bar with my boyfriend that’s just down the street. He’s vegetarian, so he’s happy to know he can have anything on the menu. They have “meat-free Mondays,” kind of a joke because they are always meat-free, but they have a “2 courses for £8” deal all day, plus student discounts.

Also nearby is a Korean restaurant, which I go to frequently with friends, even before I moved here. Now, it’s right down the street, and they give discounts for take-out sushi. Definitely doing that. Often.

I’m generally closer to everything, even uni, because I’m more in town than before. My last flat was on the edge of a really residential area, with not as many nice shops. Now I’m a block away from a street with a Tesco, cafes to write in, bars to hang out in, and places to eat. This will be a good summer.

Coming Home

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My travels to Scotland were fairly uneventful, apart from a few minor things.

First, I’d like to complain about airport security again. I finally got my teeny tiny swiss-army-knife-type thing taken away (bought it at Claire’s, can barely cut anything with it). They found it in the x-ray machine. And I’ve been on about 5 flights now from the US to the UK and back, and it hasn’t been found yet. I could complain about it being taken away, but… aren’t they supposed to find all knives immediately? What if I had wanted to stab someone’s eye out with it? I could have done it (but not really, as my knife is a flimsy little thing and I wouldn’t do it anyway). They call themselves high-security, they look and feel like high-security, but it doesn’t really seem like they are.

On a brighter note, I watched the latest and last Doctor Who episode till autumn on the plane, since I’d got it saved on my computer before the flight. Was epic beyond words, and I won’t say anything more.

I had a slightly frustrating experience with a newsstand worker in the Philadelphia airport. The guy before me in line was buying a bag of almonds. The shopkeeper saw that he had glasses that were sold at his shop, and asked the customer if he’d bought them there already. The man got angry that the shopkeeper hadn’t remembered him and was insinuating that he’d shoplifted them. He dug out his receipt for the glasses for proof, then put back the almonds and left.

I was next in line, with three snacks. He charged me $17, which seemed high, but I knew snacks at the airport are expensive. I bought them and went to sit down. Then it hit me that the price was more than it actually should have been, even with tax, and so I took out my receipt and saw I’d been charged for that man’s almonds. I went back, wanting my $4. There were more customers now, so when I asked him about it he asked if I wanted the almonds–probably the easy way out for him. But I insisted, and so had to wait for everyone else to buy, and then let him do a return for me. He seemed rather out of it this whole time, even in his demeanor. Not paying attention to who bought what in the last couple hours, not watching that he’s not charging for something extra. Not a good way to work.

Good thing was, I left for Glasgow from the same concourse I arrived in from Phoenix, so I didn’t have to go through security again at Philadelphia airport. I get tired of doing it at every stop.

When I landed, after I got in the taxi, I realized I really feel at home here. I feel like I’m in a much different point in my life than the last time I came back, after Christmas. I know the city better and I’ve taken more taxis, to begin with. Then of course, I’ve made much stronger friendships, have a job and new flat lined up, and a boyfriend to see again.

Life is good.