I'm thrilled to share that I've completed the Professional Certificate in Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence from UC Berkeley Executive Education. You may recall that I started the program last summer. It's been a challenging six months, but I can safely say I gained a lot from this course. Of note is that I also got a perfect score on all the assignments. :-)
But I must admit — online school can be a bit lonely at times. It's definitely not the same as being in high school or college. Even though we have office hours and Slack channels, there are only so many options when you can't meet face-to-face. It just seemed so anticlimactic. In other words, no walking across the stage to collect my certificate, meeting fellow students and their families, or a fancy farewell dinner.
I understand that the knowledge I gained from this course is more important than anything else, but it kind of sucks that you can't truly connect with your peers. However, the good news is several AI-related groups that are local to me have appeared on Meetup. I've been pitching them in Slack and the office hours. Hopefully I can attract interest from fellow Bay Area learners.
In other news...
I didn't feel like making a separate post about this, but I obtained the Guildmaster qualification with the Archaeology Guild in RuneScape two days ago. Completing this achievement allows you to buy all the permanent rewards from the Archaeology Guild Shop. In particular, the master archaeologist's outfit comes with several useful abilities. I'm sure this will make the grind to 120 Archaeology a bit easier. :D
Currently listening to: "Through the Fire and Flames" by DragonForce
Friday, April 5, 2024
Thursday, March 28, 2024
level 120 Farming in RuneScape
I just reached level 120 Farming in RuneScape today. This is actually my first level 120 skill ever!
It's worth mentioning that getting a skill to level 120 requires about eight times as much XP as level 99. However, the grind wasn't too bad because RS3 has pretty good XP rates. It also helps that I got a lot of experience rewards from the daily challenges and Treasure Hunter keys alone. I definitely can't imagine getting a 120 on an Ironman. :P
I'm also reasonably close to level 120 Dungeoneering and Slayer, and hope to reach them in the not-too-distance future. Can't wait to get that master Slayer cape!
Currently listening to: "Garden Song" by John Denver
It's worth mentioning that getting a skill to level 120 requires about eight times as much XP as level 99. However, the grind wasn't too bad because RS3 has pretty good XP rates. It also helps that I got a lot of experience rewards from the daily challenges and Treasure Hunter keys alone. I definitely can't imagine getting a 120 on an Ironman. :P
I'm also reasonably close to level 120 Dungeoneering and Slayer, and hope to reach them in the not-too-distance future. Can't wait to get that master Slayer cape!
Currently listening to: "Garden Song" by John Denver
Monday, February 26, 2024
another certificate down :D
I'm thrilled to share that I've completed my certificate program in natural language processing from Carnegie Mellon University. Like the other programs, this one was entirely online. Of note is that this has been the most challenge course to date. However, natural language processing has many applications, and this was overall quite a worthwhile experience.
In other news...
I recently hit level 99 Hunter and also 2,700 skill total in RuneScape on my alternate account "ixfd64 rs2" during Double XP Live. As you can see, this has been a productive week for sure.
Currently listening to: Old School RuneScape soundtrack – "Harmony" by Ian Taylor
In other news...
I recently hit level 99 Hunter and also 2,700 skill total in RuneScape on my alternate account "ixfd64 rs2" during Double XP Live. As you can see, this has been a productive week for sure.
Currently listening to: Old School RuneScape soundtrack – "Harmony" by Ian Taylor
Monday, January 1, 2024
a year of many ups and downs
Hope everyone had a great New Year's Eve. It's hard to believe 2024 is already here!
I'll start by saying this has been an eventful holiday season. One highlight is the Hsuehs had us over on Christmas Eve. Lily made us a nice hot pot dinner, and all the food was delicious. It's not often that we get to spend Christmas Eve with other families. I'm grateful the Hsuehs decided to invite us.
Also worth mentioning is that our neighbor Bob gave us a box of See's Candies on Christmas. I didn't expect any Christmas presents, so this was quite nice. It's definitely something I appreciate. We're lucky to have him as our neighbor.
I didn't feel like making a dedicated post about this, but I completed the Wharton School's AI for Decision Making program on the 28th. Unlike the MIT course that I finished in October, this one focused more on the business aspects of artificial intelligence. One nice thing about this program is that it's not time-gated — which means you don't have to wait for a course to unlock on a certain date. I was able to finish all the videos and do the quizzes well before the course is due to end.
Of note is that the Wharton program includes several complementary courses. I spent much of the holidays catching up on the lectures because the courses expire in less than three weeks. It would be a shame to let them to go to waste because they are worth several hundred dollars — and more importantly — cover a lot of concepts. I certainly hope to put that knowledge to good use in my future career.
Dad has also been working on a huge home improvement project in the past several weeks. You see, our street has had a huge rat problem in recent years. Because they often get into our backyard and shit all over the place, my father decided to convert the gazebo — which he built in 2020 — into a greenhouse for storage. This would prevent rats from getting in and making a mess. I occasionally had to help out because there are tasks that require two people. There's still much work left to do, but the greenhouse should keep the rodents out once it's complete.
New Year's Eve
Like the previous nine years, my family did not host or attend any New Year's Eve parties. It seems few people are interested in celebrating the New Year nowadays. I miss the feeling of counting down to midnight with friends. Even though there were some public New Year's Events in downtown Mountain View and elsewhere, hanging out with strangers just isn't the same. It certainly doesn't help that food has gotten pretty expensive.
However, the nice thing I got to watch the 2023 movie The Flash on Blu-ray after dinner. It had over-the-top action as well as some hilarious scenes. I'm a huge Flash fan and really enjoyed the movie despite the critical reviews. Sometimes I think it would be so cool to have super speed.
New Year's Day
Our original plan was to participate in the New Year's Day Pathways Walk in Los Altos Hills. However, this seemed a little risky due to the recent spike in COVID-19 cases. We ultimately decided to play it safe and just go for a walk in our neighborhood.
Otherwise, this has been a busy day as I continued to catch up on the video lectures. I also had to help my dad with the greenhouse every so often. As you can see, this was an eventful two weeks!
2023 in review
You're probably aware that the past year had many challenges. For one, the economy is still in a bad state. The most unfortunate thing that happened to me was I got laid off in June. Even though I started my own data science consulting firm right after leaving Energous, finding customers is not easy either. Hopefully that changes once we have a website.
Another thing is that COVID-19 cases have gone back up. Looks like some people were right about the pandemic lasting more than three years. Furthermore, food has gotten pretty expensive as I mentioned earlier. It's been predicted that prices will continue to rise. Good thing my family has our own vegetable garden.
However, this doesn't mean 2023 didn't have its highlights. Perhaps the most important thing is I've completed two AI certification programs. I'm also around halfway through two others. Those will look good on my resume, that's for sure.
Furthermore, there were many social opportunities last year. For example, the block party in August was pretty fun. We also had several other get-togethers with family friends this summer. Let's hope the trend continues. :D
Of course, no New Year is complete without New Year's resolutions. For those curious, my goal for 2024 is to switch to an AI career. I also hope to get at least two skills to level 120 in RuneScape soon. There are also a few other nice things that are slated to happen this year. For example, Derek — the LAHS class of 2004 president — has started to plan our 20-year reunion. I'm definitely excited for the future!
Currently watching: The Flash (2023)
I'll start by saying this has been an eventful holiday season. One highlight is the Hsuehs had us over on Christmas Eve. Lily made us a nice hot pot dinner, and all the food was delicious. It's not often that we get to spend Christmas Eve with other families. I'm grateful the Hsuehs decided to invite us.
Also worth mentioning is that our neighbor Bob gave us a box of See's Candies on Christmas. I didn't expect any Christmas presents, so this was quite nice. It's definitely something I appreciate. We're lucky to have him as our neighbor.
I didn't feel like making a dedicated post about this, but I completed the Wharton School's AI for Decision Making program on the 28th. Unlike the MIT course that I finished in October, this one focused more on the business aspects of artificial intelligence. One nice thing about this program is that it's not time-gated — which means you don't have to wait for a course to unlock on a certain date. I was able to finish all the videos and do the quizzes well before the course is due to end.
Of note is that the Wharton program includes several complementary courses. I spent much of the holidays catching up on the lectures because the courses expire in less than three weeks. It would be a shame to let them to go to waste because they are worth several hundred dollars — and more importantly — cover a lot of concepts. I certainly hope to put that knowledge to good use in my future career.
Dad has also been working on a huge home improvement project in the past several weeks. You see, our street has had a huge rat problem in recent years. Because they often get into our backyard and shit all over the place, my father decided to convert the gazebo — which he built in 2020 — into a greenhouse for storage. This would prevent rats from getting in and making a mess. I occasionally had to help out because there are tasks that require two people. There's still much work left to do, but the greenhouse should keep the rodents out once it's complete.
New Year's Eve
Like the previous nine years, my family did not host or attend any New Year's Eve parties. It seems few people are interested in celebrating the New Year nowadays. I miss the feeling of counting down to midnight with friends. Even though there were some public New Year's Events in downtown Mountain View and elsewhere, hanging out with strangers just isn't the same. It certainly doesn't help that food has gotten pretty expensive.
However, the nice thing I got to watch the 2023 movie The Flash on Blu-ray after dinner. It had over-the-top action as well as some hilarious scenes. I'm a huge Flash fan and really enjoyed the movie despite the critical reviews. Sometimes I think it would be so cool to have super speed.
New Year's Day
Our original plan was to participate in the New Year's Day Pathways Walk in Los Altos Hills. However, this seemed a little risky due to the recent spike in COVID-19 cases. We ultimately decided to play it safe and just go for a walk in our neighborhood.
Otherwise, this has been a busy day as I continued to catch up on the video lectures. I also had to help my dad with the greenhouse every so often. As you can see, this was an eventful two weeks!
2023 in review
You're probably aware that the past year had many challenges. For one, the economy is still in a bad state. The most unfortunate thing that happened to me was I got laid off in June. Even though I started my own data science consulting firm right after leaving Energous, finding customers is not easy either. Hopefully that changes once we have a website.
Another thing is that COVID-19 cases have gone back up. Looks like some people were right about the pandemic lasting more than three years. Furthermore, food has gotten pretty expensive as I mentioned earlier. It's been predicted that prices will continue to rise. Good thing my family has our own vegetable garden.
However, this doesn't mean 2023 didn't have its highlights. Perhaps the most important thing is I've completed two AI certification programs. I'm also around halfway through two others. Those will look good on my resume, that's for sure.
Furthermore, there were many social opportunities last year. For example, the block party in August was pretty fun. We also had several other get-togethers with family friends this summer. Let's hope the trend continues. :D
Of course, no New Year is complete without New Year's resolutions. For those curious, my goal for 2024 is to switch to an AI career. I also hope to get at least two skills to level 120 in RuneScape soon. There are also a few other nice things that are slated to happen this year. For example, Derek — the LAHS class of 2004 president — has started to plan our 20-year reunion. I'm definitely excited for the future!
Currently watching: The Flash (2023)
Sunday, November 26, 2023
a somewhat relaxing Thanksgiving
I've been busy lately but still got to enjoy the long weekend. :-)
We invited the Hsuehs over for dinner on Thursday as we hadn't seen them in over five months. Mom decided not to cook a turkey this year, but did make a lot of other dishes. Everything she made was delicious. Lily's signature braised oxtail was pretty good too. It was great to catch up with Alan up even though we were on our phones the whole time. I guess that says a lot about our generation.
One of Alan's other friends had also invited the Hsuehs over, so the Hsuehs didn't stay at our house for too long after dinner. However, that wasn't a problem because Mom had asked the Hsuehs to arrive a bit earlier. On a related note, one thing I noticed is that Thanksgiving parties have gotten smaller in recent years. It's been a while since we hosted or attended one with three or four other families. It seems people aren't so interested in "Friendsgiving" anymore. I can't blame them because food is expensive these days.
Mom's friend Hong-Yeh had been wanting to see her for a while, so we asked her to come over on Friday afternoon. Her son really enjoys cooking and made the entire Thanksgiving dinner for their family. Hong-Yeh decided to share the turkey and cornbread with us. It's kind of funny that we ended up with some turkey after all. The meat was a bit salty but made for some excellent porridge.
We decided to hike to downtown Los Altos on Sunday as Mom wanted to see the Festival of Lights parade. Of note is that the streets were lined with people. I had no idea the event was so popular. However, the parade wouldn't start even though it was getting late. We eventually got bored and decided to head home. Even though we didn't see the parade, this was a fun experience.
I spent the rest of the weekend listening to lectures and working on assignments for my online machine learning courses. Some modules are very long and have videos totalling more than 10 hours, but they are quite informative. It's always nice to learn during the holidays!
Currently listening to: "Perfect" by Ed Sheeran
We invited the Hsuehs over for dinner on Thursday as we hadn't seen them in over five months. Mom decided not to cook a turkey this year, but did make a lot of other dishes. Everything she made was delicious. Lily's signature braised oxtail was pretty good too. It was great to catch up with Alan up even though we were on our phones the whole time. I guess that says a lot about our generation.
One of Alan's other friends had also invited the Hsuehs over, so the Hsuehs didn't stay at our house for too long after dinner. However, that wasn't a problem because Mom had asked the Hsuehs to arrive a bit earlier. On a related note, one thing I noticed is that Thanksgiving parties have gotten smaller in recent years. It's been a while since we hosted or attended one with three or four other families. It seems people aren't so interested in "Friendsgiving" anymore. I can't blame them because food is expensive these days.
Mom's friend Hong-Yeh had been wanting to see her for a while, so we asked her to come over on Friday afternoon. Her son really enjoys cooking and made the entire Thanksgiving dinner for their family. Hong-Yeh decided to share the turkey and cornbread with us. It's kind of funny that we ended up with some turkey after all. The meat was a bit salty but made for some excellent porridge.
We decided to hike to downtown Los Altos on Sunday as Mom wanted to see the Festival of Lights parade. Of note is that the streets were lined with people. I had no idea the event was so popular. However, the parade wouldn't start even though it was getting late. We eventually got bored and decided to head home. Even though we didn't see the parade, this was a fun experience.
I spent the rest of the weekend listening to lectures and working on assignments for my online machine learning courses. Some modules are very long and have videos totalling more than 10 hours, but they are quite informative. It's always nice to learn during the holidays!
Currently listening to: "Perfect" by Ed Sheeran
Sunday, October 29, 2023
ordered a snack box for the first time
So the Universal Yums snack box I ordered on Amazon just arrived. I've always wanted to try one, but have been reluctant to do so because food is pretty expensive these days. However, you may recall that I recently completed my AI and machine learning certification program from MIT with a perfect score. I figured this would be a good way to celebrate. It also seemed like a nice birthday present for myself as I turned 38 not long ago.
There were lots of snack boxes for sale, but I settled on Universal Yums because it had excellent reviews and a good weight-to-price ratio. I definitely can't wait to try all the snacks. Seeing them definitely made me feel like a kid on Christmas. I haven't felt this way in probably almost 30 years!
Currently playing: Angry Birds Friends
There were lots of snack boxes for sale, but I settled on Universal Yums because it had excellent reviews and a good weight-to-price ratio. I definitely can't wait to try all the snacks. Seeing them definitely made me feel like a kid on Christmas. I haven't felt this way in probably almost 30 years!
Currently playing: Angry Birds Friends
Wednesday, October 25, 2023
got my AI certificate from MIT
I'm happy to say I've received my certificate for the Data Science and Machine Learning program from MIT. You can see it here or on my LinkedIn profile. Of note is I was the only one who completed the program with 600 out of 600 marks. Guess this makes me a valedictorian!
It's worth a mention that I also completed a capstone course in September and got the certificate for it a few days ago. I definitely learned a lot in the past three months. One thing for sure is that the knowledge I gained will be useful in my future career. On the whole, this was an incredible journey.
However, the hard work is far from over as I'm currently enrolled in three other programs. I'm about a third of the way through Berkeley's Professional Certificate in Machine Learning and Artificial program and just started Wharton's AI for Decision Making course. Because I now have a good understanding of the technical aspects of artificial intelligence, this seemed like a good time to get on the business side. I'm also starting a natural language processing course offered by CMU in November.
Even though I'm going to be very busy for a while, I'm quite confident I can handle all these classes. Here's to the new challenges!
Currently watching: Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania
It's worth a mention that I also completed a capstone course in September and got the certificate for it a few days ago. I definitely learned a lot in the past three months. One thing for sure is that the knowledge I gained will be useful in my future career. On the whole, this was an incredible journey.
However, the hard work is far from over as I'm currently enrolled in three other programs. I'm about a third of the way through Berkeley's Professional Certificate in Machine Learning and Artificial program and just started Wharton's AI for Decision Making course. Because I now have a good understanding of the technical aspects of artificial intelligence, this seemed like a good time to get on the business side. I'm also starting a natural language processing course offered by CMU in November.
Even though I'm going to be very busy for a while, I'm quite confident I can handle all these classes. Here's to the new challenges!
Currently watching: Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
