I referred my friend Tom Nourse to an internship at Google. We both interviewed recently (him last week, me the week before). Apparently it was for the same position and he got it.
It's great for him - don't get me wrong. Just wholely ironic.
Still interviewing. It's almost bad I'm leaving the country next week - but not really.
Matt
Monday, February 28, 2005
IBM Extreme Blue Interview round 3
I was not expecting a 4 way conference call (3 IBMers and me) for today's interview. It was definitely less exhausting than a 2 hour interview, but the 4 way was a lot more confusing.
Next time, I'm not giving a free time before 10 am :) One of the IBMers was based on the West Coast, so I definitely can't complain about early interviews, but next time I should jog to wake up.
Peace
Matt
Next time, I'm not giving a free time before 10 am :) One of the IBMers was based on the West Coast, so I definitely can't complain about early interviews, but next time I should jog to wake up.
Peace
Matt
Friday, February 25, 2005
Where my friends are going for spring break
I don't know what's so different about this spring break from last one, but so many of my friends are going cool places this year
Meghan L: Chennai, India
H: London, England
Aileen & Caroline: Spain
Justin: Weimar, Germany
Mel, Jim, Jon, and HueiHuei: The Carribean
Kacy: Acapulco, Mexico
Latika: Paris, Amsterdam, and London
Katy: Qatar (with me!)
Erika: Italy
Stu: Crested Butte, Colorado
Did I miss any CMUers?
Peace out, buggy in the AM !(?)
Matt
Meghan L: Chennai, India
H: London, England
Aileen & Caroline: Spain
Justin: Weimar, Germany
Mel, Jim, Jon, and HueiHuei: The Carribean
Kacy: Acapulco, Mexico
Latika: Paris, Amsterdam, and London
Katy: Qatar (with me!)
Erika: Italy
Stu: Crested Butte, Colorado
Did I miss any CMUers?
Peace out, buggy in the AM !(?)
Matt
Break Plans
Found out a little bit more about the Qatar itinerary (I now have a Qatari Visa and I have the tickets)
Basically, fly Pit->Philadephia->Heathrow->Doha, Qatar (via Bahrain, but we don't deplane in Bahrain); the return is the same, in reverse.
Heading out, 4 hour layover in Philly, 3.5 in Heathrow. Coming back 4 hour 40 minute layover in Heathrow, 4 hour 20 minute layover in Philly (some of that is important to clear customs). Total travelling time there is 24 hours, and back is about 28 hours (not including early check in or getting bags or driving to/from airports).
But hey, it sounds really amazing. I'm not sure what we'll do with a whole day there on a holy day (Friday) before our return flight. I'm trying to see if I can experience a religious service - I hear most things will be closed on that Friday so I'm not sure what else to do.
Peace
Matt
Basically, fly Pit->Philadephia->Heathrow->Doha, Qatar (via Bahrain, but we don't deplane in Bahrain); the return is the same, in reverse.
Heading out, 4 hour layover in Philly, 3.5 in Heathrow. Coming back 4 hour 40 minute layover in Heathrow, 4 hour 20 minute layover in Philly (some of that is important to clear customs). Total travelling time there is 24 hours, and back is about 28 hours (not including early check in or getting bags or driving to/from airports).
But hey, it sounds really amazing. I'm not sure what we'll do with a whole day there on a holy day (Friday) before our return flight. I'm trying to see if I can experience a religious service - I hear most things will be closed on that Friday so I'm not sure what else to do.
Peace
Matt
Thursday, February 24, 2005
Dallas
(yes, I'm really early on the Friday dog blogging thing. But I tried it on Thursday thinking it was Friday... and now this makes a tad more sense)
Peace
Matt
BIW may face all-or-nothing bid
From linked article:
A single-source move by the Navy is unlikely to favor BIW, said Loren B. Thompson, industry analyst for the Lexington Institute, a public-policy research group based in Arlington, Va.
"The most likely outcome of the Navy's scheme is that Bath will lose its role in building the DD(X) destroyer," said Thompson. "The Navy, for some time, has been trying to find a politically acceptable way of sending the production of warships to the (Gulf of Mexico) shipyards, and I think that's really what this competition is all about.
"If this all unfolds the way I fear it will, there's going to be hundreds of heartbreaking stories around Bath," he said.
And mine will be one of the hearts breaking
Matt
A single-source move by the Navy is unlikely to favor BIW, said Loren B. Thompson, industry analyst for the Lexington Institute, a public-policy research group based in Arlington, Va.
"The most likely outcome of the Navy's scheme is that Bath will lose its role in building the DD(X) destroyer," said Thompson. "The Navy, for some time, has been trying to find a politically acceptable way of sending the production of warships to the (Gulf of Mexico) shipyards, and I think that's really what this competition is all about.
"If this all unfolds the way I fear it will, there's going to be hundreds of heartbreaking stories around Bath," he said.
And mine will be one of the hearts breaking
Matt
Wednesday, February 23, 2005
adjustment
I'm having an interesting time adjusting to the trackpad on the PowerBook. It does some cool things; if you put two fingers on the trackpad you can scroll up and down. If you drag them left or right FireFox goes forward and back. It's a little twitchy (ie: you move back more quickly than expected) but it's a good reason to use a trackpad instead of a mouse. I really appreciate how Apple puts so much thought into everything. Well done.
Sasha's song Baja off of the Expander EP is really fun - slow, but it has several minutes of the badass music that one might play while the main character of an action movie is walking towards the camera in slow motion. That song is in the "Long dark car ride of the soul" playlist.
Peace
Matt
Sasha's song Baja off of the Expander EP is really fun - slow, but it has several minutes of the badass music that one might play while the main character of an action movie is walking towards the camera in slow motion. That song is in the "Long dark car ride of the soul" playlist.
Peace
Matt
Tuesday, February 22, 2005
Laptop... finally
Through a lengthy series of bank visits (4, one to deposit bonds, one to get the card the teller failed to return, one to get a cashiers' check, and one to cash said cashier's check for cash because Apple doesn't take them), delays with the computer store (they said I wouldn't have the laptop until after I left for Qatar), and other fun ... I now have my laptop courtesy of the Apple Store in Shadyside.
The Apple Store in Shadyside had the laptop for $100 less than the CMU computer store, and also $100 less than the Apple Store Online.
Matt
The Apple Store in Shadyside had the laptop for $100 less than the CMU computer store, and also $100 less than the Apple Store Online.
Matt
Sunday, February 20, 2005
More notes
Man lesson 2 (lesson 1 was about melting-salt): When you buy a suit, they don't help you find a shirt, tie, belt/suspenders, garment bag, tie holder, and hanger for your benefit. They're selling you them. They're not including them in the suit price.
In related news, I now own a suit.
Danielle (oldest sister) is visiting April 4-6! Woot!
In related news, I now own a suit.
Danielle (oldest sister) is visiting April 4-6! Woot!
Long dark car ride of the soul
I'm working on a new playlist, called "Long Dark Car Ride of the Soul."
Inspiration comes from Sean Higgins (Cheverus '03), who described Underworld's dubnobasswithmyheadman as a perfect cd for those car rides at night, when the world is still and sleeping, when everything feels a little bit off but a little bit right too.
I'm trying to get a playlist together for such rides, or evoking the same feelings in me. I'm trying to avoid anything too vocal, anything too fast, anything too swinging.
So far, I have:
"Everything in Its Right Place", Radiohead, from Kid A
"At the River", Groove Armada, Best of Groove Armada
"Be Quiet and Drive {Far Away)" (acoustic), Deftones, Little Nicky Soundtrack
"Tongue", Underworld, dubnobasswithmyheadman (Possibly include "Dark & Long" from same CD, but would like to avoid Underworld overload)
"Precession", Jaya, Essential Selection Volume One (disc 2), mixed by Paul Oakenfold
"PVC IV", Blue Man Group, Audio
"Lethal Industry", DJ Tiesto, In My Memory
Suggestions?
Inspiration comes from Sean Higgins (Cheverus '03), who described Underworld's dubnobasswithmyheadman as a perfect cd for those car rides at night, when the world is still and sleeping, when everything feels a little bit off but a little bit right too.
I'm trying to get a playlist together for such rides, or evoking the same feelings in me. I'm trying to avoid anything too vocal, anything too fast, anything too swinging.
So far, I have:
"Everything in Its Right Place", Radiohead, from Kid A
"At the River", Groove Armada, Best of Groove Armada
"Be Quiet and Drive {Far Away)" (acoustic), Deftones, Little Nicky Soundtrack
"Tongue", Underworld, dubnobasswithmyheadman (Possibly include "Dark & Long" from same CD, but would like to avoid Underworld overload)
"Precession", Jaya, Essential Selection Volume One (disc 2), mixed by Paul Oakenfold
"PVC IV", Blue Man Group, Audio
"Lethal Industry", DJ Tiesto, In My Memory
Suggestions?
Friday, February 18, 2005
My research
My research this semester, under Prof. Christopher Olston is on search engine index freshness - particularly the discovery of new pages on the web, using the Web Information Collector (WIC) algorithm.
The general idea is that there is a fixed resource limitation while trying to index the web. For example, bandwidth is limited so you can only download 3 pages per site per week.
What would be the best algorithm to find all of these pages given a certain set of requirements? Timeliness and completeness are at odds, so you must optimize for one over the other.
The WIC algorithm is a greedy algorithm that improves on the naive algorithm - instead of only downloading the same best 3 pages per week, it balances what it has recently viewed to balance completeness and timliness and rotates which page it downloads.
I got results today on WIC vs the naive algorithm, and WIC kicks its ass for small resource limitation. It's about 70% better when the resource limitation is 1 page, and it's always at least 15% better from my estimation.
Peace
Matt
The general idea is that there is a fixed resource limitation while trying to index the web. For example, bandwidth is limited so you can only download 3 pages per site per week.
What would be the best algorithm to find all of these pages given a certain set of requirements? Timeliness and completeness are at odds, so you must optimize for one over the other.
The WIC algorithm is a greedy algorithm that improves on the naive algorithm - instead of only downloading the same best 3 pages per week, it balances what it has recently viewed to balance completeness and timliness and rotates which page it downloads.
I got results today on WIC vs the naive algorithm, and WIC kicks its ass for small resource limitation. It's about 70% better when the resource limitation is 1 page, and it's always at least 15% better from my estimation.
Peace
Matt
Ordered
Ordered: Powerbook G4 12 inch laptop, with 512 megs of ram, and a ComboDrive (CDRW + DVD-ROM).
I really need to get working.
(edit: I also bought a new Nokia 6820 to replace my old 6800 that got washed. Mostly because it has bluetooth and my new laptop does too. And because I wanted to migrate to Cingular)
I really need to get working.
(edit: I also bought a new Nokia 6820 to replace my old 6800 that got washed. Mostly because it has bluetooth and my new laptop does too. And because I wanted to migrate to Cingular)
Thursday, February 17, 2005
G interview
I'd rank my G interview at 7/10. Not exactly thinking I rocked it.
Notes for you all:
Take a db course. Excellent for interview thinking.
OS also helps a lot.
I'm also an IBM Extreme Blue finalist.
Let's see how this goes... (the waiting game begins now)
Matt
Notes for you all:
Take a db course. Excellent for interview thinking.
OS also helps a lot.
I'm also an IBM Extreme Blue finalist.
Let's see how this goes... (the waiting game begins now)
Matt
Wednesday, February 16, 2005
Qatar images and links of western stuff
(I better not go to any of these)
Pizza Inn, fine proprietor of pizza in the middle east.
The Sheraton Doha
Peace
Matt
Pizza Inn, fine proprietor of pizza in the middle east.
The Sheraton Doha
Peace
Matt
Doha Itinerary
I learned a lot more about about my Qatari spring break plans. There's about 80 people heading over, including the administration, professors, students, etc.
-----
Sunday, March 6
* Mid afternoon: go to airport, fly out of PGH. Flight details to follow. (The students, however, are not going on the charter jet. Which is too bad.)
Monday, March 7
* Arrive. Check in at Doha Sheraton. It's right on the Corniche so it will be convenient to spend free time.
Tuesday, March 8
* Tour of Doha, including souks (local markets)
* Pizza lunch (pizza in the middle east? boo.) at Carnegie Mellon-Qatar
* Class participation
* Dinner with Qatar campus students, Dhow (boat) ride
Wedensday, March 9
* Tour of Doha/free time
* Panel discussion for BA & CA students hosted by PGH visitors (me)
* Class participation
* Dinner with Carnegie Mellon delegation at the Doha Ritz. (The rest of the delegation is staying at the Ritz, but apparently the Sheraton is better because it's more in town)
Thursday, March 10
* Tour of Education City
* Panel discussion with Qatar campus faculty, students, & Student Affairs
* Community lunch with students, faculty, staff & PGH delegation
* Free time
* Inaugural gala (attended by the Emir, and 800 of everyone's closest friends)(for this I need to buy a suit)
Friday, March 11
* Depart Doha
---------
I'm really excited to go; this sounds like an amazing experience.
The amount of free time is large; I am not sure what to do with all of it, but they're letting us roam the city alone.
I have to have "business" attire (shirt and tie) and "semi-formal" attire (a suit). So this weekend I'm buying a suit.
Peace
Matt
-----
Sunday, March 6
* Mid afternoon: go to airport, fly out of PGH. Flight details to follow. (The students, however, are not going on the charter jet. Which is too bad.)
Monday, March 7
* Arrive. Check in at Doha Sheraton. It's right on the Corniche so it will be convenient to spend free time.
Tuesday, March 8
* Tour of Doha, including souks (local markets)
* Pizza lunch (pizza in the middle east? boo.) at Carnegie Mellon-Qatar
* Class participation
* Dinner with Qatar campus students, Dhow (boat) ride
Wedensday, March 9
* Tour of Doha/free time
* Panel discussion for BA & CA students hosted by PGH visitors (me)
* Class participation
* Dinner with Carnegie Mellon delegation at the Doha Ritz. (The rest of the delegation is staying at the Ritz, but apparently the Sheraton is better because it's more in town)
Thursday, March 10
* Tour of Education City
* Panel discussion with Qatar campus faculty, students, & Student Affairs
* Community lunch with students, faculty, staff & PGH delegation
* Free time
* Inaugural gala (attended by the Emir, and 800 of everyone's closest friends)(for this I need to buy a suit)
Friday, March 11
* Depart Doha
---------
I'm really excited to go; this sounds like an amazing experience.
The amount of free time is large; I am not sure what to do with all of it, but they're letting us roam the city alone.
I have to have "business" attire (shirt and tie) and "semi-formal" attire (a suit). So this weekend I'm buying a suit.
Peace
Matt
Sunday, February 13, 2005
Ben Folds, Landed, lyrics
(only part of the song)
Til I opened my eyes and walked out the door
And the clouds came tumbling down
And it's bye-bye, goodbye I tried
And I twisted it wrong
Just to make it right
Had to leave myself behind
And I've been flying high all night
So come pick me up
I've landed
The daily dramas
She made from nothing
So nothing ever made them right
She liked to push me
And talk me back down
Til I believed I was the crazy one
And in a way
I guess I was
When I opened my eyes and walked out the door
And the clouds came tumbling down
And it's bye-bye, goodbye I tried
Treading the sea of her troubled mind
Had to leave myself behind
Singing bye-bye, goodbye I tried
If you wrote me off
I'd understand it
Cause I've been on
Some other planet
So come pick me up
I've landed
Dinner tonight was a success. I love the eggplant lasagna. The spinach was a little dry, and I put too many meatballs in the sauce for the amount of sauce we had, but lessons learned. The chicken was tender - surprising for doing two 20 minute sessions of cooking (try baking 2 large casseroles, 2 pans of chicken, and heating 2 loaves of bread in a standard oven sometime. I miss quad double-wide ovens.).
From talking to Helen lately, I've remembered a lot of my good memories. Cooking all my favorites from The Colony was really good too.
Life is good.
Matt
Til I opened my eyes and walked out the door
And the clouds came tumbling down
And it's bye-bye, goodbye I tried
And I twisted it wrong
Just to make it right
Had to leave myself behind
And I've been flying high all night
So come pick me up
I've landed
The daily dramas
She made from nothing
So nothing ever made them right
She liked to push me
And talk me back down
Til I believed I was the crazy one
And in a way
I guess I was
When I opened my eyes and walked out the door
And the clouds came tumbling down
And it's bye-bye, goodbye I tried
Treading the sea of her troubled mind
Had to leave myself behind
Singing bye-bye, goodbye I tried
If you wrote me off
I'd understand it
Cause I've been on
Some other planet
So come pick me up
I've landed
Dinner tonight was a success. I love the eggplant lasagna. The spinach was a little dry, and I put too many meatballs in the sauce for the amount of sauce we had, but lessons learned. The chicken was tender - surprising for doing two 20 minute sessions of cooking (try baking 2 large casseroles, 2 pans of chicken, and heating 2 loaves of bread in a standard oven sometime. I miss quad double-wide ovens.).
From talking to Helen lately, I've remembered a lot of my good memories. Cooking all my favorites from The Colony was really good too.
Life is good.
Matt
Second Singleton Dinner
So freshman year, I cooked a Valentine's dinner for my single friends/friends whose significant others were at another college. I'm doing it again this year, just with a slightly extended menu.
Menu:
* Spaghetti and sauce (and possibly sausage)
* Chicken Parmasean
* Eggplant lasagna
* Spinach Ricotta Casserole
* Garlic Bread
* Cheesecake
(Helen was a really good sous chef, and the Eggplant Parm will be awesome. As will the spinach ricotta casserole. I haven't cooked anything else, but other than the chicken parm it's all easy)
If you're reading this and single then ask me about it. It's tonight, here, at 7.
(By the way, Dan and Amy are an old married couple)
Matt
Menu:
* Spaghetti and sauce (and possibly sausage)
* Chicken Parmasean
* Eggplant lasagna
* Spinach Ricotta Casserole
* Garlic Bread
* Cheesecake
(Helen was a really good sous chef, and the Eggplant Parm will be awesome. As will the spinach ricotta casserole. I haven't cooked anything else, but other than the chicken parm it's all easy)
If you're reading this and single then ask me about it. It's tonight, here, at 7.
(By the way, Dan and Amy are an old married couple)
Matt
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