The Burn(TM)

Someone set up us the bomb.

Went on a full burn this weekend and was hiding in the CSE underground on Saturday and Sunday. As you might have noticed I haven't updated in a while this past week, and that's mainly because of the full-burn. Rather than wait for things to get lulzy as the CSE 321 (Discreet Structures) midterm arrives in about 1.5 weeks, I instead decided to go on a full-burn this weekend to clear as much stuff as possible.

The good thing is that lots of stuff were cleared, so I can continue the burn tomorrow and Tuesday. The best part of the weekend burn was the fact that I finished off the CSE 370 (Digital Design) lab on Saturday, clearing up time on Monday to burn through more material. It's gonna be a lol moment when I check out the moment the lab begins on Monday.

I'm in lookahead mode now, as in, I'm burning through material from the upcoming days in advance. Just probably a few tweaks to deploy on the homework assignments and that should be about right. Still have the CSE scholarship essay to write though.

Night @ CSE

Make sure you have enough bits when you do two's complement. That was part of a Gotcha question on the CSE 370 Midterm-1 -- very craftily designed so that you wouldn't notice the overflow even though you done it with 4 bits instead of the required 5+.

Today's Artwork: Full Adder Implementation with two 4:1 multiplexors

My wiring is now getting color coded...

That and more. I like the fact that we did our first implementation of a 4-bit adder completely though the computerized diagram, which was then programmed onto the FPGA. This means no wiring at all as everything is fleshed out and tested on the computer first, then flash onto the FPGA board. This is perfect because you will never get any wiring errors when you program the board directly.

The best part of FPGA programming is that everything can be done via gate diagrams or in the Verilog Hardware Description Language (HDL). HDLs are kinda like a programming language but not quite. Nevertheless they are still code, and I like code. It is so much easier for me to see and manipulate things in code than with gate diagrams.

Next quarter: CSE 303, CSE 326, and STAT 390 are on the menu. CSE 303 (Linux based.. Bash, C, and C++), and CSE 326 (Data Structures) are both coding classes. Win. Do want.

pew pew pew

Finally done with the CSE 321 homework. It took 16 hours to complete. Proving theorems with prime numbers and modular arithmetic can get really lulzy, really quickly.

Now that that is done, I can has cheezburger nao?

Why don't you keep books?

Because I've got something better.

I call it the Internet.

NO

do not want

Those Karnaugh maps (K-maps) gotta really be checked for errors before proceeding...

(The K-map is that box with a lot of zeroes and ones in it.)

Another CSE Atrium picture...

This one taken today, with some daylight for a change. iPhone camera + editing in Adobe Lightroom 2.

Today was productive. Done with the homework for both CSE classes. Readings on the plate for both CSE classes tomorrow, and will hopefully have some time to write my philosophy paper.

In Soviet Russia...

...hardware wires you.

Right. It pays to keep up with readings and to read ahead. Above is a multiplexor implementation of a Fibonacci number detector between 1 and 15 (that is: light up on 1 2 3 5 8 13). A normal implementation would require 5 chips and a gazillion wires running all over the shop due to the input being 4 bits wide.

But multiplexors = win. I would say it's almost beautiful the way the 4-bit Fibonacci function can be implemented with a single 8:1 multiplexor. All I needed was one inverter. 2 chips total. Done. The only reason I got done so fast was because I read through the multiplexor section in the book, and was like, "omg. this is so much easier. do want. nao."

I'm now getting into the habit of wiring a little, then testing a little with my logic probe. It's kinda like programming where you code a little and test a little. If you really know what you're doing you can code a lot at once then compile. But when it comes to wiring up microchips, I rather be safe than sorry. Trying to find errors in wiring is not the most entertaining thing one could do.

This is the CSE Atrium at 7pm:

Hardware labs are getting longer and more complicated. The idea was floating around that it won't be long before our study group will be in the hardware lab on Sunday to finish off complicated projects. We'll be building a magnetic card reader for the last 2 labs at the end of November, which is purported to take "forever" to complete.

If only we could program the FPGA directly (that coming soon?). I definitely prefer to work in code rather than to directly wire up logic.

Get rid of... money?

I watched this left-wing docu-drama, Zeitgeist: Addendum, on Saturday out of curiosity since Hector was talking about it earlier. I must say, I've seen some pretty crazy things from the left before, but this one just takes the cake.

Basically, among some of the things that that docu-drama suggests we get rid of to achieve a "nearly-perfect utopian society" are:

• Militaries
• War
• Religion
• Countries
• Money

lol? Basically everything that is part of culture/society. Definitely makes you go o_O by then, but it doesn't stop there. It allocates a brief clip to pander the crazy idea that 9/11 was a hoax. That alone should be a really good indicator of the film's credibility, or rather, the lack thereof.

However, what is striking about this left-wing docu-drama is that it proposes that the chief institution of modern society, money, be done away with. And to replace money, a resource-based economy that everyone will have the resources they need. In other words, Disneyland. Just not gonna happen outside of a science fiction movie.

Do not want. But nevertheless worth a critical viewing, as long you take what he says with a heaping of salt.


In other news, I've also been reading Ted Kaczynski's Industrial Society and Its Future (a.k.a. The Unabomber Manifesto) and it has so far been surprisingly insightful. As far as I've read so far, Kaczynski really seems to know what he's talking about and provides very strong reasoning to back up his arguments.

Rather coincidentally, Kaczynski also analyses what he calls "leftist psychology" and the symptoms he points out are highly similar to the paranoia and conspiracy-theory pandering going on in Zeitgeist: Addendum. I think he hit the nail on the head there.

Too bad that he had to pursue his agenda through violence, as he would certainly be a really important philosopher otherwise. I must say, Industrial Society and Its Future makes far more sense than any of the philosophical readings that I've went through so far for my philosophy class on personal values. A highly recommended read.

10111

Datestamp is wrong.

I was 10110 years old yesterday.
I'm 10111 years old today.

Binary is good.

Thanks people for the birthday party!

Now back to reading CSE 370 and 321. And the homework.

I can has...

...widescreen?

Do want. CSE computer labs = win. That's one of the Linux workstations in the lair (Fedora Core). My classes don't involve any coding now so it doesn't really matter whether I use the Linux or Windows workstations. Linux's user-unfriendliness really gets to me though.

Using a Mac at home has really spoilt me. Using Linux really makes you realize how exceptionally user-friendly Macs really are. If anything, Linux is an example how not to design an operating system that is meant to get things done.

Electrical Engineering

CSE is connected to Electrical Engineering...

And you can access The Lair(TM) from the Electrical Engineering underground "tunnel" too. The confluence of those two underground stairs for some reason reminds me of the Large Hadron Collider (a.k.a. LHC).

Which reminds me: http://www.hasthelhcdestroyedtheearth.com/

"Get it right the first time" applies in hardware design too.

Went to great lengths to ensure that the computer based CAD design of my circuit was right. And the amazing this was, when I wired up the physical circuit + microchips in the same way following that, it worked the first time round. I really have to learn to wire less neatly when time is of the essence.

Oh noes!

Going over CSE 321 homework at a cafe on Sunday night...

As you can see from our expressions, this stuff is "omg material". But it's still a want. It's all logical. I like logic. Do want.

University: The Real Life MMORPG

*For the non-game inclined, and for the purposes of this post, MMORPGs are a kind of computer game that is the most accurate in simulating the real world.

Call it a role playing game if you will, although I think it would be more accurate to call it a role programming game. Just like its online counterpart, this game most fundamentally consists of a framework of levels (Freshman, Sophomore, Junior, Senior) that participants have to navigate through. Most different is the result when you reach the end of the game. In this game, you win when you collect that piece of paper at the end (unlike MMORPGs where you just continue playing forever).

However, my point is not to compare the framework similarities. What I have observed as being almost perversely identical, is the way you "gain experience" to "level up". In an MMORPG, you do this by grinding. You go to a zone, group up with some people, and start killing monsters over again and again. In University, you too, do this by grinding. You go to a class, group up with some people, and start doing assignments over and over again. Do you see a difference there? I do not.

Playing computer games (particularly MMORPGs) when I was young taught me the most important lessons in life. You will not learn those lessons in a university. A university is another kind of game; unfortunately, a kind of game designed with very sinister and perverse intentions in mind when looked at from its place and purpose within society. It is beyond the scope of today's post to dissect those reasons, but do think about the why.

The game world I knew of (EverQuest) was more perfect than the one I'm in now. At least my participation in that was a true choice. This one, on the other hand, is a Catch-22 choice. In other words, a do-or-die. There has to be a better alternative to higher education than the one that currently being perpetuated.

do want

Right. It's really incredible how taking just 12 credits results in almost no more free time. Just like last Saturday, this one was spent doing a hardcore burn though homework and trying to take in all sorts of coursework. Just 12 credits. The minimum to be considered a full-time student. Imagine that.

I don't know how some engineering students can manage 18 credits (the maximum). That just sounds like science fiction to me. But of course, art students are a different story. Computer science/enginering is probably the ultimate in terms of workload (3cr CSE class ~= 5cr normal class workload), but our degree does rake in more dough on average. So it's a do want.

Back to studying.

A review of some sort...

do want?

It is odd how I tend to make momentous decisions very quickly. Somehow, I stumbled upon the question of which educational path would lead to the most optimal situation to fulfill my ultimate goal of developing superhuman machine intelligence. Of course, I'm now in the University of Washington's undergraduate Computer Science program and as long I stay on the ball, I will, in 2 years, complete one of the best computer science programs in the nation.

So that part is effectively a given. The problem is where to go from there. There are 2 paths:

• Take the PhD in Computer Science (5-7 years)
• Take the MS in Computer Science (1-2 years)

But here is where a critical analysis of those 2 paths turns up severe deficiencies in one of them. The first is of course, the fact that the salary difference between a PhD and MS in Computer Science is relatively small -- and effectively disappears when one considers the fact that the MS degree holder will be working sooner.

The next problem with the PhD approach relates to my goal of developing super-AI. To use MMORPG terminology, the PhD route to this goal is akin to an attempt to solo a boss mob -- an approach that almost never results in success. To use more down-to-earth vocabulary, going it alone on such a complex goal is unlikely to produce results.

Now consider the MS in CS path. Upon completion of the MS, I would find a job in the industry -- the real world. I reason that achieving those goals would be far more likely in an industry setting. Consider all the great innovations in computing, from the personal computer to the iPhone, and then observe how many were actually borne out of a industry setting versus a university setting. The answer is clear: the industry is the mover in technology. To do something that matters to the real-world, I would need to be in the right place: the industry.

Then it follows that the PhD is nothing but a colossal waste of time if my goal is to develop, implement, and deliver technology to market. It is not my goal to publish verbose research papers that will be filed away within the annals of research journals.

And so, here is where my educational path will now be structured to prepare me for work within an industry setting. I think it is incredibly useful that I have come to realize this fact today, because I will now be able to take the appropriate senior year classes. Then comes the MS in CS.

I cut down a lot of trees to do my homework.

Apparently, as a consequence of using water-based ink (can only use one side due to write-through), large strokes (despite the rollerballs being "fine"), and the fact that I'm trying to finish old supplies of Cambridge and Mead paper (low-end stuff), I've been going through writing paper like no tomorrow.

For my notes though, I use high-end Clairefontaine paper, so I am able to use both sides. But even so, the wide strokes of the rollerballs do go through paper very fast since I am unable to write small. Not a very entertaining prospect, considering Clairefontaine paper costs about 14 cents per piece (which is why I use it for note-taking only). Fountain pens still beat everything else hands down when it comes to writing small, but the prospect of refilling them is decidedly one of the more unentertaining activities one could engage in.

I never use recycled paper, ever. Recycled paper is rubbish. When you write with high-end instruments of the fountain or rollerball variety that make use of water-based ink, writing on recycled paper is like trying to write on a sponge -- an activity that gets nowhere. Recycling is for making cup-holders, cardboard boxes and what not -- it is not to be used for mission critical supplies like writing paper. Attempting to be excessively green will ultimately do more damage to the environment.

It's like how buying a Prius paradoxically causes more damage to the environment because it's so efficient, costs less to drive, which ultimately encourages more driving, putting more CO2 into the atmosphere. On the other hand, the guy with say, a Maserati, would be encouraged to drive less because his vehicle would be (A) a work of art, and (B) expensive to maintain.

But of course, these are situations based on current technology. Should electric cars hit the road with power and elegance equal to something like a Maserati, then that would be a win-win situation for all.