What is the question to the answer to life, the universe, and everything?

Wang is moving!

2010-06-24T17:38:00.000-07:00

Well, not technically but I am moving my blog to a new one over at my own domain: http://www.wangyip.ca. Please update your feeds or bookmarks accordingly! Although I haven't been posting very frequently, you may have missed two posts that I have made in the mean time: One is on a better design for cookware handles: http://wangyip.ca/2010/06/too-hot-to-handle-a-better-handle-for-ovenware/

Toughest Developer Puzzle Ever 2

2010-06-02T09:17:00.000-07:00

While checking out my feeds, I came across the toughest developer puzzle ever 2. No one has yet to solve it yet but then again, it was probably recently released and contains 100 'stages' or puzzles. I'm going to keep track of where I am and try to work through the levels as best I can. I'll post the answers / hints to all the levels I have completed. Remember to always check the source for

10 things I keep in mind when playing badminton

2010-05-27T13:14:00.000-07:00

Every Sunday, I play drop-in badminton at the YMCA - usually with another friend. After playing many singles and doubles games, playing competitively in high school and then playing recreationally in university, I have learned a few things about the game which I should write down and keep track of. My blog is a place to share knowledge but it's also a nice place for a knowledge dump so that I can

Don't look at the things that don't change

2010-05-08T19:33:00.000-07:00

Back when I was still at UBC in residence, I got hooked on playing texas hold'em poker. As a student of the game, I absorbed as much information as possible in order to improve my own game. One thing I learned was that when the flop comes (the first 3 cards) and really, the subsequent turn and river (1 card each), you should not be looking at the cards, rather, you should be looking at your

Reframe Your Mind

2010-04-27T09:59:00.000-07:00

About a week ago, I performed a speech at my Dawnbreakers Toastmaster club. It was on the concept of reframing and it went over well - it may have been one of my best speeches to date although I find it hard to judge the quality of my own speeches. In my speech, I told two stories on the concept of reframing and I'd like to share one of them now. Back in the summer of 2008, I was working as an

Notebooks: A symbol for limitless potential?

2010-04-22T11:21:00.000-07:00

The other day, I was at Staples looking for a large pad. Being particularly inspired by Demetri Martin and his large pad, I thought that I would do something similar for an upcoming speech for Toastmasters. I was quickly sidetracked by all the stationary inside. My thoughts immediately raced back to all my past Septembers, where as part of the ritual of starting school, I had to get new

Q & A sites that I like using

2010-03-12T11:22:00.000-08:00

Ah google, what would life be like without you? The power of the internet at your fingertips! I don't think it's just me but I'm an information fiend. We all devour information at such a quick pace these days that it's so hard to keep track of it all. If only I had eidetic memory.. What are the different phases of the moon? What is the definition of syzygy? What is the King's Indian Attack in

Improv Workshops - A Summary of my Experience

2010-01-26T14:06:00.000-08:00

In November, while I was working on my novel for NaNoWriMo, I was also participating in Improv Workshops at the RapidFireTheatre in Edmonton. Call me a little crazy but both were really opportunities that I could not miss. For one thing, NaNoWriMo only happens once a year. The Improv Workshops happened every couple of months, except in December I planned to go back home for vacation for 2 weeks.

NaNoWriMo - 3 Lessons Learned

2009-12-17T15:27:00.000-08:00

My apologies for the lack of posts - it has been a busy couple of months for me. Most of the time, I don't have anything interesting to say so I just don't say it, but I have learned that it can be valuable to post more often to get into the habit of quicker thinking. I'll tell you what I mean later. This past month in November, I participated in NaNoWriMo. Now I had heard about NaNoWriMo

My Friend, the Toastmaster

2009-10-26T22:19:00.000-07:00

As some of you know, I am a part of Toastmasters International. I've actually been a part of Toastmasters for about 2 years on and off. I think when I first started back in 2005, I was already pretty good and I'm not sure I've challenged myself to do different things with my speeches in a while. In any case, in all the time I've been a part of Toastmasters, I never really got a chance to compete.

Web Apps - Evernote

2009-09-27T21:17:00.000-07:00

I'm a huge technology buff, especially web and desktop applications. I'm particularly interested in different web applications and the value that they bring to me, either personally or professionally. I wanted to do a highlight of one of many web apps I use almost daily - Evernote. Evernote has often been called "your second brain". It is an extremely powerful note taking application that

Review and Preview of the Year that follows

2009-09-12T22:03:00.000-07:00

Last week was my birthday. Every time it rolls around, I take the time to reflect on all the things I have done and then think about what I want to accomplish in the coming year. I can't remember where I learned about this (I know that it was during my university life though), but I remember someone telling me that writing down goals makes you more likely to achieve them. It was an exercise of

Elevators - 3 features I'd like to see

2009-08-22T17:02:00.000-07:00

In my residential building, the residents are all served by 3 elevators. Although you expect to wait, there were times where I have waited for 5 minutes plus and gotten incredibly frustrated because it makes me late getting to work. It provided me with some time to think about how, if I was designing elevators, what kind of things I would add in terms of features. The first thing, I don't know

Don't Look Now! Advanced Math at the Gym

2009-07-26T18:49:00.000-07:00

I have way too much time on my hands. Seriously, I head over to the local YMCA probably 4 or 5 times a week. I know, I know, there are other things that I could be doing with my time - like going to school, or taking some night classes at a college to improve some of my language or tech skills. I guess what I'm really focused on right now and until I can find another productive way of using my

Practical Applications of Priority Queues

2009-06-26T22:10:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, my two week free trial membership to the downtown YMCA expired. On the last day, I went in to get my annual membership. The YMCA was just about to close at 7 and I figured I would have enough time to get my new membership and then head into the gym for a quick cardio workout. I believe it was around 5:45 that I started waiting in line and since I wanted to head into the gym to do

Some tips on adjusting to a new location

2009-06-07T14:37:00.000-07:00

I have to first say that my blog is slowly shifting towards new topics. I had originally written this blog with a mathematical focus in mind but as I slowly entered the work force and began professional life, I have seen a lot of value documenting some of my struggles. In fact, because I graduated somewhat sooner than most of my friends, I find myself being somewhat of an expert on the job search

The Power of Luck

2009-05-24T20:12:00.000-07:00

As I talked about in my last blog post, I am now working in Edmonton. With no real base of support for me to rely on (a huge number of family and friends were back in Vancouver), I got quite homesick and even a bit lethargic. After 3 weeks on the job, I was on msn at night and my mom asked if I wanted to go home for the May long weekend.I gave it very little thought and almost immediately said

When you're somewhere new, find comfort in the familiar

2009-05-09T15:36:00.001-07:00

It's certainly been a while since I last blogged - let me explain why right now.Back in the middle of April, I had talked about receiving a phone interview with the Government of Alberta for an Emerging Technologies Specialist position. They liked me enough to fly me down for a second interview and I guess the second interview was also really good so they offered me a job working in Edmonton. To

How I got my 'start up' at Redux Inc.

2009-04-06T15:35:00.000-07:00

It all started when I was scouring job boards for technical entry-level positions. As some of you know, it started back in November and I've been chugging along, applying for the positions that I was passionate about and culminating in phone interviews at Google, Laserfiche and the Government of Alberta. After sifting through various online job postings, I found startuply, an online job board

A Day Spent in Edmonton

2009-03-24T19:45:00.000-07:00

Today, I just flew back from Edmonton for an interview with the Government of Alberta. I am pretty dead tired, mostly from waking up at around 3:30 in the morning from the heat in my hotel room. Here are some of my random thoughts in somewhat chronological order from the time I boarded my flight to now.Headed to YVR about 2.5 hours early and went to the bookstores to find new books to read. After

Another Phone Interview But Not The Same Strategy

2009-03-18T17:52:00.001-07:00

Recently, I had a phone interview with the Government of Alberta for probably one of the coolest positions I have seen in a while. I'm so glad that they called for a phone interview - even if I don't get the job, it helps to boost my confidence that I am putting out good resumes and cover letters that attract employers. To prep, I did much of the same work I did for my previous phone interviews

I've ran out of jobs to apply to.. what now?

2009-03-15T21:23:00.000-07:00

I have been looking for and applying to jobs for a while now, about 4 months going on 5 to be more exact. Although I wasn't exactly conservative while there were many jobs to apply to, lately, I have been doing more research into potential jobs and the employers to see whether or not I really would be a good fit for that company. As a result of waiting (and the best things come to those who wait)

Phone Interviews: Personal Feedback and Strategies for the Future

2009-02-18T23:41:00.000-08:00

Just today, I finished my second phone interview ( a pre-screen interview I think) with a tech company. My first was with Google and the second was with Laserfiche. I wanted to take the time to talk about the two phone interviews, how important they are and how I thought they went. Then, I'll try to talk about strategies for doing your best on these phone interviews. Firstly, phone interviews are

Job Search: General Search Sites and Using Online Resumes

2009-01-31T11:02:00.000-08:00

I have still been searching for jobs and have not had many or really any responses for interviews yet. I'm really not sure if there's something wrong with my resume / qualifications or that the job market is not good / competition is high with all the layoffs. When I first started, I used a nifty trick to find more job search sites that I liked. At first, I tried searching for any "new graduate

Job Search: Online Sites and Resources I use (University, Tech Job Search Sites)

2009-01-23T17:48:00.001-08:00

Lately, I was inspired by Cindy Burn's blog, located here. To be honest, I noticed some comments on her twitter feed and many commented on how good of an idea it was to have a blog chronicling her search because it can not only increase her visibility online (and thus increase the number of potential recruiters seeing her) but also give some helpful advice to those also on the job search (and