Challenges

Past few weeks / months saw an exponential increase in my capabilities to craft lines of codes into more efficient algorithms based on common patterns. As I struggle with interesting issues that crop up, I am reminded that there is so much overlap in this subspace that sometimes it really boggles my mind.

Take a finite state machine (FSM) that can only exist in one state at a time. Due to the design of the algorithm, there may be multiple excitations of the same FSM that leads to different states based on the input at any one time, usually in the microsecond resolutions. However, due to limitations found in our physical universe (even if represented in a series of 0s and 1s), the said FSM can only exist in the last known state, barring changes as it transits from state n to n+1. Obviously, techniques must be employed to ensure a fluidity of this and error-less results (which is often sacrificed by latency).

And then I chanced upon a completely new set of literature on point processes that I have not read before last Friday that totally piqued my interest. However, the math involved is beyond my capabilities and I have to start brushing up the elementary portions of it before even attempting to understand the papers.

Also, courses have begun on Coursera and I am taking Digital Signal Processing and Pattern-Oriented Software Architectures for Concurrent and Networked Software. Both courses are obviously beneficial to my work and are not the basic courses one would take in one's spare time. I just finished 3/4 of the 1st week of lecture notes for DSP and my head is already reeling. Seems like I have forgotten a huge chunk of trigonometry and integration from junior college, which was 10 years ago. Whoa. I am excited to see what the software architecture class will touch on next week as I believe many of the bug-creeps I face is due to an insufficient understanding of parallel/concurrent/asynchronous programming.

Ah. New knowledge is always so enticing.

Black Water

Happy lunar new year, dear friends. While it poured buckets over the holiday weekend I slept in trying to recuperate from 12-16h days since the 2013 descended. Then I went back to the office to clear up some stuff that enabled me to avoid visiting relatives.

Not such a bad thing since I managed to achieve a huge performance gain today in my code. Reduced 600 lines of complex if-then statements into 150 lines. The processor was able to achieve the same results 40-200x faster. How's that for a performance gain?

Trajectories

Massive trajectories of purpose and non-purpose.

We bounce, we flee, we rush towards space and time; bounded by the physical and governed by natural laws.

You stop. Breathe. And realize you are heading no where.

He stops. Breathes. And finds no purpose in his pursuits.

She stops. Breathes. And is contented with her path.

Where are you now, friend?

A blanket of darkness or a wave of lightness?

Blue

The young man with a Mohawk dyed a shocking electric blue. He had piercings through his earlobe that one could see to the other side. Arms and legs covered with tattoos. He walked with a sway, daring anyone to look at him. Instead, it was more like a pitiful cry for attention. I could see beyond this facade, always a lonely soul devoid of love and care at home. Seeking this in the outside world, he tries so hard to shout out, to overcome the background noise.

I would have challenged him to a staring match, but instead I ask myself, how can I help him? Perhaps I am being presumptuous and a busy-body. So I walked away pondering.