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
Monday, February 26, 2024
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
Tuesday, October 10, 2023
a quick 38th birthday post
Just a quick post to mention my 38th birthday. I didn't really do much today because I've been rather busy lately. However, my mom made me an delicious cake as she usually does. It's too bad we didn't have anyone else to share it with. I must admit I miss the feeling of celebrating birthdays with friends. Hopefully I'll at least get to see my cousin Cathy and her husband Andrew during the holidays.
On a side note, the number 38 is considered lucky in our culture because it sounds like "triple prosperity" in Chinese. I don't consider myself overly superstitious, but maybe this is a sign of good things to come. Perhaps it means I'll get a cool new job soon. :-)
In other news...
I reached 2,600 skill total and 99 Herblore in RuneScape on my alt account Ixfd64 Rs2 in recent days. Go me!
Currently listening to: Prelude and Fugue in A-flat major, BWV 862 by J. S. Bach
On a side note, the number 38 is considered lucky in our culture because it sounds like "triple prosperity" in Chinese. I don't consider myself overly superstitious, but maybe this is a sign of good things to come. Perhaps it means I'll get a cool new job soon. :-)
In other news...
I reached 2,600 skill total and 99 Herblore in RuneScape on my alt account Ixfd64 Rs2 in recent days. Go me!
Currently listening to: Prelude and Fugue in A-flat major, BWV 862 by J. S. Bach
Saturday, September 23, 2023
a whirlwind summer
So a lot happened in the past three months. It's definitely been a crazy summer. We went through ups and downs, but that's just how life goes.
As you're probably aware, things had a bad start as I was laid off from Energous in June. Given the current economic climate, the job search looks to be harder than I expected. Of course, finding a job that fits is far more important than getting on as soon as possible.
We also had to deal with a water leak that caused a lot of damage. Mom wanted to replace our dishwasher and stove as they had started to show signs of age. As a team from Costco was helping us install the new dishwasher, they discovered a huge leak from some broken pipes. We might have never found out otherwise. Heaven knows what would have happened in that case. Getting the pipes fixed cost about $2,500 alone. Replacing the damaged hardwood would have cost even more had we not decided to do it ourselves.
Some time later, my mom received news that her old classmate Lin-Yao from college had passed away in July. Details are unclear, but word from her husband is that she died from complications of diabetes. Even though she and my mom have had disagreements, this was a huge shock to us. Our thoughts are with Lin-Yao's family during this difficult time.
However, there have been some good things too. For one, the recession that was predicted to start in July hasn't happened so far. Yet this has not made the job search easier because the tech industry is still in a bad state. But hopefully it means the job search won't get any harder than it already is.
I've also been focusing more on my studies because this seemed like a good time for a career change. Dad suggested taking online classes because I've been considering an AI-related job. I'm currently enrolled in two machine learning certificate programs, one offered by MIT and the other by Berkeley. Both programs have been very helpful even though the work can be demanding at times. I'm pretty sure a certificate would look good on my resume. :-)
Our street also had its first block party in about 28 years this summer. We don't have many opportunities to attend gatherings nowadays, so that was quite awesome. It's been way too long since we've been to a good party. Let's hope there will be similar events in the future!
Oh yeah... the new Necromancy skill in RuneScape is pretty fun. Even though I've been quite busy this summer, I was able to find some free time for games. Hopefully I get 99 Necromancy so that I could use the Max Guild again.
Currently listening to: "Touch the Sky" by Julie Fowlis
As you're probably aware, things had a bad start as I was laid off from Energous in June. Given the current economic climate, the job search looks to be harder than I expected. Of course, finding a job that fits is far more important than getting on as soon as possible.
We also had to deal with a water leak that caused a lot of damage. Mom wanted to replace our dishwasher and stove as they had started to show signs of age. As a team from Costco was helping us install the new dishwasher, they discovered a huge leak from some broken pipes. We might have never found out otherwise. Heaven knows what would have happened in that case. Getting the pipes fixed cost about $2,500 alone. Replacing the damaged hardwood would have cost even more had we not decided to do it ourselves.
Some time later, my mom received news that her old classmate Lin-Yao from college had passed away in July. Details are unclear, but word from her husband is that she died from complications of diabetes. Even though she and my mom have had disagreements, this was a huge shock to us. Our thoughts are with Lin-Yao's family during this difficult time.
However, there have been some good things too. For one, the recession that was predicted to start in July hasn't happened so far. Yet this has not made the job search easier because the tech industry is still in a bad state. But hopefully it means the job search won't get any harder than it already is.
I've also been focusing more on my studies because this seemed like a good time for a career change. Dad suggested taking online classes because I've been considering an AI-related job. I'm currently enrolled in two machine learning certificate programs, one offered by MIT and the other by Berkeley. Both programs have been very helpful even though the work can be demanding at times. I'm pretty sure a certificate would look good on my resume. :-)
Our street also had its first block party in about 28 years this summer. We don't have many opportunities to attend gatherings nowadays, so that was quite awesome. It's been way too long since we've been to a good party. Let's hope there will be similar events in the future!
Oh yeah... the new Necromancy skill in RuneScape is pretty fun. Even though I've been quite busy this summer, I was able to find some free time for games. Hopefully I get 99 Necromancy so that I could use the Max Guild again.
Currently listening to: "Touch the Sky" by Julie Fowlis
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