Signing off 2005

Google Talk?

Google has been successful on its every move, so far. The search giant just released its IM software Google Talk a few days ago. The Google Talk's user interface still looks very "Google", but is its neat face enough for the long-term survival?

People seem less enthusiastic for this new product than Google's previous products. The reasons are very simple. Google only own a fraction of memberships compared to AOL, Yahoo and MSN. It is a fact that is very hard to change. Certainly, IM, as a communication platform, has much potential due to its popularity among young users. That's probably why Google is willing to put its name at the stake. While I am not optimistic on this move, we can tell if "Google Talk" is still talking in months.

Summer is almost gone

There are only two weeks left before the fall semester starts. What have I done during the summer?

The good news is that I have two publications accepted during the summer. The WI paper was long due. It was somewhat disappointing that the CIKM paper was not accepted as a regular paper. (Life doesn't reward us in proportion, does it? Or I am just whining too much.) In addition to school, I also started some exercise in gym. It is definitely challenging for me because I have been living a sedentary lifestyle since high school. Losing a few pounds worth celebrating, but more importantly, I need to keep it as a healthy habit.

What's the bad news? I had a plan to study some linear algebra application in data mining, but it didn't happen. The excuses are always there. I am just hoping I will be more focused with the semester starts.

How to remove sticker in 10 mins ;)

Every summer, residents in Chicago have to apply for parking stickers from the City. Some people may need additional residential parking stickers besides the city one. Year after year, I've had totally eight stickers on my car window. Parking sticker probably only exists in Chicago over the Midwest. Whenever I am on road trip to another town, I miss the old days when my car was "stickerless".

The City of Chicago should be proud of the quality of their parking stickers. Many times, I tried to peel off those from the window, but never succeeded. Yesterday I finally decided to implement this project to remove those colorful stickers from my car.

After doing some research online and consulting a friend, I decided to try razor blade + Goo Gone technique. Both razor and Goo Gone are available in hardware stores. The task was not as hard as I thought. It took like five minutes to strip a sticker. The glue residue also can be removed with Goo Gone in a couple of minutes.

It was nice to get rid of those stickers.

A Visit to Ohio

It's been nearly three years since I left Ohio. Few weeks ago, my x roommate invited me to attend his wedding. While he wasn't sure that I would go because of the 5 hours drive, I said I would definitely go. There are two reasons. First, he was the best roommate I've ever had. Secondly, it was also a good opportunity to visit other friends in Dayton/Cincinnati area.

I was not disappointed; the three days trip was a memorable experience. Some friends I met reminded me of the situation when I just arrived in Wright State. It was early 2000: NASDAQ was still rocket high and I was excited and hopeful about the new field I was getting into. Life doesn't work the way I expected, but that is another story.

Visiting a place I've lived just like reading an old book. Life is always busy and hectic. A new book became dusty and old over years. One day, you picked it up from the shelf. Probably you never expected to recall much; after all, life makes us forgetful, doesn't it? However, when you turn a page to another, each page woke up the seemingly forgotten stories, and the past memory became so vivid. It was a surreal and emotional experience.

Finally...

Finally, I got the TimedPageRank paper accepted. It is definitely long due. What did I learn from this experience?

1. It is my first long paper. I've learned the framework to conduct research: how to search an orginal idea (motivation), design a problem-solving algorithm (model), assess the designed technique (evaluation), and compose an academic paper(document).

2. The second lesson is not directly related to research. Waiting can be torturing at times, but we have to hang in there.

P.S. I googled my paper title another day, and found there were discussions [1],[2]on our research on searchenginewatch.com! (who knew? ;))

As We may Think

I just finished reading the article "As We my Think" by Vannevar Bush. Its entry on wikipedia claimed that the "memex" system, proposed by Dr. Bush, is "in many ways like today's World Wide Web".

The claim is a bit stretched in my opinion. The entry of "memex" on Wiki considers the memex "a microfilm-based precursor to the personal computer". I think this is a fair assessment.

This article was written in 1945. It is not very easy to read because of many techical terms in Physics. My favorite part must be his comments on how human's brain works.

"It(The human mind) operates by association. With one item in its grasp, it snaps instantly to the next that is suggested by the association of thoughts, in accordance with some intricate web of trails carried by the cells of the brain. It has other characteristics, of course; trails that are not frequently followed are prone to fade, items are not fully permanent, memory is transitory. Yet the speed of action, the intricacy of trails, the detail of mental pictures, is awe-inspiring beyond all else in nature."