Sometimes I listen to myself » Uncategorized http://blog.charleskiyanda.com Open Source Culture and Science Sat, 28 May 2011 22:51:46 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 How to improve, as a foreign speaker, your written english. http://blog.charleskiyanda.com/2010/12/16/how-to-improve-as-a-foreign-speaker-your-written-english/ http://blog.charleskiyanda.com/2010/12/16/how-to-improve-as-a-foreign-speaker-your-written-english/#comments Thu, 16 Dec 2010 03:15:37 +0000 Charles Kiyanda http://blog.charleskiyanda.com/?p=153 I really, really, REALLY hope I got the commas right in the title. I’m a native French speaker and struggle to no end when writing documents in English. I’ve been looking for ways to improve my written English. Writing more often on this blog is, in part, an effort to achieve this goal.

My wife recently started . . . → Read More: How to improve, as a foreign speaker, your written english.]]> I really, really, REALLY hope I got the commas right in the title. I’m a native French speaker and struggle to no end when writing documents in English. I’ve been looking for ways to improve my written English. Writing more often on this blog is, in part, an effort to achieve this goal.

My wife recently started a Master’s degree and I’ve discovered that correcting the texts of another non-native speaker. Consider it a game of chess against a well-matched opponent. Despite my limited abilities, I’m amazed I can actually make her texts better.

I’ve found some resources most useful in correcting (others and myself alike). Regarding commas, the best explanation I’ve seen so far online is here. The oatmeal also has an informative and funny poster about semicolons.

]]> http://blog.charleskiyanda.com/2010/12/16/how-to-improve-as-a-foreign-speaker-your-written-english/feed/ 0 API design http://blog.charleskiyanda.com/2010/12/08/api-design/ http://blog.charleskiyanda.com/2010/12/08/api-design/#comments Wed, 08 Dec 2010 01:40:53 +0000 Charles Kiyanda http://blog.charleskiyanda.com/?p=145 An interesting post on API design. Not so much technical information as reaffirming the value of being concise, consistent and predictable when . . . → Read More: API design]]> An interesting post on API design. Not so much technical information as reaffirming the value of being concise, consistent and predictable when designing interfaces.

]]> http://blog.charleskiyanda.com/2010/12/08/api-design/feed/ 0 Finally http://blog.charleskiyanda.com/2010/02/28/finally/ http://blog.charleskiyanda.com/2010/02/28/finally/#comments Sun, 28 Feb 2010 06:47:51 +0000 Charles Kiyanda http://blog.charleskiyanda.com/?p=131 After neglecting way too much in my life, I’ve finally defended my thesis. Being in the process of making final corrections, I thought I’d post here a couple of tricks I discovered along the way for the list of abbreviations and the list of symbols. If you’re using latex and (for abbreviations) linux, read on.

List of . . . → Read More: Finally]]> After neglecting way too much in my life, I’ve finally defended my thesis. Being in the process of making final corrections, I thought I’d post here a couple of tricks I discovered along the way for the list of abbreviations and the list of symbols. If you’re using latex and (for abbreviations) linux, read on.

List of abbreviations

Took an afternoon, but I remembered how to use grep and sed long enough to craft this little bit of regexp voodoo.

sed -r input.tex ‘s/([a-z]{0,1}[A-Z]{2,})/\n\1\n/g’ | egrep ‘[a-z]{0,1}[A-Z]{2,}’ > output

It’ll catch the acronyms of the form AAAAA or aAAAAA (with obviously any number of As) as well stuff you write in all caps. It also obviously spits out all the acronyms in the order they appear without sorting them nor eliminating doubles. Took me 1.5 hours to do that, figured I didn’t really want to bother with writing a perl script.

List of symbols and variables

I’m stuck doing it by hand, although I found there was a way to automate the list of symbols. Unfortunately it requires some thinking ahead I didn’t do and it would probably take just as long to do it either way now. See here.

Enjoy and happy thesis writing if you’re going through the process as well.

]]> http://blog.charleskiyanda.com/2010/02/28/finally/feed/ 0 Please be aware the content you browse may be visible to passengers around you. http://blog.charleskiyanda.com/2009/12/22/be-aware/ http://blog.charleskiyanda.com/2009/12/22/be-aware/#comments Tue, 22 Dec 2009 21:16:39 +0000 Charles Kiyanda http://blog.charleskiyanda.com/?p=127 I keep complaining about every little thing around me whenever I travel by plane, but I think I secretly enjoy it. The long lines at security, the overpriced food, the delays (although this time, my first flight is on time), the multiple check points where you have to show every piece of ID you have. At . . . → Read More: Please be aware the content you browse may be visible to passengers around you.]]> I keep complaining about every little thing around me whenever I travel by plane, but I think I secretly enjoy it. The long lines at security, the overpriced food, the delays (although this time, my first flight is on time), the multiple check points where you have to show every piece of ID you have. At least, the airline companies are slowly getting with the time and we now have wifi onboard. It was about time.

I thought about the topic of this particular post while I was waiting for my carry-on at the “security” check point. The guy operating the x-ray machine looked perplexed while looking at the pink and purple picture of my bag. Just for kicks, I thought I’d make the list of the items that I’ve tested and can make it through the Albuquerque check point:

  • a 2.5″ diameter cardboard tube (it has pictures rolled inside there, christmas present for my parents and in-laws who, hopefully, don’t read my blog yet)
  • a camera tripod (with the head unscrewed so it can fit in the carry-on. I guess that makes it just a really big metal stick.)
  • frozen green chili (wrapped up in plastic, then in paper and then in plastic again. To be fair, it is Albuquerque, so they may be very familiar with what green chili looks like under x-ray.)
  • a bunch of electronic things (ipod, fm transmitter, headphones) with all the cords mangled together.

and finally, the one which really surprises me

  • two home made fruit cakes (made by my wife I should mention so nobody thinks I can actually cook). This is my mom’s recipe which is as dense as steel and each cake is wrapped in gauze (and drenched in brandy, hmmmmmm), then wrapped in plastic foil and then wrapped in tin foil. I can’t believe that looks like anything intelligible on an x-ray.

Thank god for airport security keeping me and my holiday festivities safe!

]]> http://blog.charleskiyanda.com/2009/12/22/be-aware/feed/ 0 Jamendo fun http://blog.charleskiyanda.com/2009/08/25/jamendo-fun/ http://blog.charleskiyanda.com/2009/08/25/jamendo-fun/#comments Tue, 25 Aug 2009 05:31:25 +0000 Charles Kiyanda http://blog.charleskiyanda.com/?p=120 . . . → Read More: Jamendo fun]]> I’ve been playing with Jamendo lately (anything not to write my thesis). Just found this today. A little bit of a strong autotune effect there and I can’t quite decide if that was intentional or not. Assuming it was, it’s an interesting sound. In the first song of the album “Broken Stereo”, the effect is varied throughout the song. I think I like it. And it’s all legally free, of course. :)
]]> http://blog.charleskiyanda.com/2009/08/25/jamendo-fun/feed/ 0 american healthcare debate http://blog.charleskiyanda.com/2009/08/14/american-healthcare-debate/ http://blog.charleskiyanda.com/2009/08/14/american-healthcare-debate/#comments Fri, 14 Aug 2009 04:03:06 +0000 Charles Kiyanda http://blog.charleskiyanda.com/?p=118 As a canadian citizen living in the US (and given the level of disinformation flying around), I feel it’s a public service to post a link to this blog post from an american woman living in the UK and telling her impression of the UK National . . . → Read More: american healthcare debate]]> As a canadian citizen living in the US (and given the level of disinformation flying around), I feel it’s a public service to post a link to this blog post from an american woman living in the UK and telling her impression of the UK National Health Service.

]]> http://blog.charleskiyanda.com/2009/08/14/american-healthcare-debate/feed/ 0 wolfram alpha http://blog.charleskiyanda.com/2009/04/27/wolfram-alpha/ http://blog.charleskiyanda.com/2009/04/27/wolfram-alpha/#comments Mon, 27 Apr 2009 13:03:15 +0000 Charles Kiyanda http://blog.charleskiyanda.com/?p=83 Wolfram (Mathematica) is trying its hands at the “search engine” market. Essentially, I’d call that a “fact engine”. Basically, you put in something like “strength of hurricane katrina” and it returns all kinds of numbers and plots with the path and strength of the hurricane over time. At least, that’s what I understand it to be . . . → Read More: wolfram alpha]]> Wolfram (Mathematica) is trying its hands at the “search engine” market. Essentially, I’d call that a “fact engine”. Basically, you put in something like “strength of hurricane katrina” and it returns all kinds of numbers and plots with the path and strength of the hurricane over time. At least, that’s what I understand it to be from a summary of a demo. It’s not launched yet and we’ll have to wait a couple of weeks.

I’m not entirely sure about how great this will be. Can’t go into details now because I have to run to a sandstorm for some experiments, but I’ll get back to this tonight. Basically, I’m not sure the people who are interested in getting “raw” facts rather than commentary are likely to for this service.

]]> http://blog.charleskiyanda.com/2009/04/27/wolfram-alpha/feed/ 0 Travelling for free http://blog.charleskiyanda.com/2009/04/04/travelling-for-free/ http://blog.charleskiyanda.com/2009/04/04/travelling-for-free/#comments Sat, 04 Apr 2009 07:13:06 +0000 Charles Kiyanda http://blog.charleskiyanda.com/?p=81 The twitchhiker, found this through a news item on cyberpresse [french]. A man travelled for 30 days by leveraging his online contacts. He was following 5 rules, as follows:

can only accept offers from twitter users followign @twitchhiker. Can’t accept offers from a twitterers friend’s dad’s girlfriend can only plan 3 days in advance can only spend money on . . . → Read More: Travelling for free]]> The twitchhiker, found this through a news item on cyberpresse [french]. A man travelled for 30 days by leveraging his online contacts. He was following 5 rules, as follows:

  • can only accept offers from twitter users followign @twitchhiker. Can’t accept offers from a twitterers friend’s dad’s girlfriend
  • can only plan 3 days in advance
  • can only spend money on food, drinks and whatever fits in the suitcase
  • can pick between multiple offers, but if there’s only one offer, it has to be accepted within 48 hours
  • can only stay 48 hours in the same location. If he can’t move away after 48 hours, the challenge is over and he goes home

The challenge is over (if I’d known, I would have taken that opportunity to finally familiarize myself with twitter), but you can read about his travels on his blog.

This game reminds me of couchsurfing, which I’d like to try at some point. I’m a bit apprehensive about having someone spend the night at my house, especially if I have to go to work during the day. I’m not sure what the social norm is in couchsurfing about giving a key to the house to your visitors or locking them out of the house when you’re not there. Maybe I’ll start by offering to take someone around the area here if they’re visiting New Mexico.

]]> http://blog.charleskiyanda.com/2009/04/04/travelling-for-free/feed/ 0 Behind-the-scenes pictures http://blog.charleskiyanda.com/2009/04/03/behind-the-scenes-pictures/ http://blog.charleskiyanda.com/2009/04/03/behind-the-scenes-pictures/#comments Fri, 03 Apr 2009 08:07:36 +0000 Charles Kiyanda http://blog.charleskiyanda.com/?p=79 Two very different sets of pictures.

Behind the scenes at netflix

Behind the scenes . . . → Read More: Behind-the-scenes pictures]]> Two very different sets of pictures.

Behind the scenes at netflix

Behind the scenes in Afghanistan.

]]> http://blog.charleskiyanda.com/2009/04/03/behind-the-scenes-pictures/feed/ 0 Airports…again http://blog.charleskiyanda.com/2009/04/03/airportsagain/ http://blog.charleskiyanda.com/2009/04/03/airportsagain/#comments Fri, 03 Apr 2009 07:36:25 +0000 Charles Kiyanda http://blog.charleskiyanda.com/?p=77 Ok, I flew back from Montreal last week and noticed only a few things.

This time, at Montreal security, my stuff got swabbed and [well let me redact this bit too. I'm back at home, now, but I'm not sure I want to get a visit from the FBI. We'll have to see if I change my . . . → Read More: Airports…again]]> Ok, I flew back from Montreal last week and noticed only a few things.

  1. This time, at Montreal security, my stuff got swabbed and [well let me redact this bit too. I'm back at home, now, but I'm not sure I want to get a visit from the FBI. We'll have to see if I change my mind.]
  2. I can now confirm the hoodie thing. I had to switch terminals in Fort Lauderdale and it turns out the airport has security in every terminal. The TSA guard again instructed everyone that “hoodies, sweatshirt and similar things had to be taken off.” He was nice enough to let a girl (who probably only had a bra under her hoodie) keep hers on. TSA vs. fashion, here we come. I’m seriously considering starting a protest group and we just strip naked every time we have to go through a TSA checkpoint.
  3. Speaking of Fort Lauderdale, if you’re going from a cold place to Fort Lauderdale and then back to a cold place, just try to find a way to carry some light shoes and coat rather than winter boots and 5 layers of gore-tex.
  4. Still on about Fort Lauderdale, turns out the Hollywood Airport in Fort Lauderdale has free wi-fi. That makes 2 in the US now, with Albuquerque.
  5. Heard the best public announcement over the intercom in Dallas while waiting for a belated flight. (Apologies to the poor girl, I don’t quite remember her name, so I’ll just make it up.) It went : “Emily Smith, please call home and talk to your mother. Emily Smith, please call your mother.” It’s even funnier if you imagine it in a Jersey accent.

Happy flight if you have to travel.

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