Originals are available from the photoset page on Flickr.
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Originals are available from the photoset page on Flickr.
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a few months ago, and finally had the chance to go through my notes this afternoon during lunch break.
Having followed the world of chess ever since I was a teenager, I’ve always been interested to know how great chess players think, to know their opinions about life, to know the things they went through to achieve their extraordinary skills… and this book offers exactly that.
Garry Kasparov wrote about his experience, his thinking process, and how he applied all those things into various aspects of life. These are my favourite quotes from the book:
Ch1 – The lesson
p14
It’s not enough to be talented. It’s not enough to work hard and to study late into the night. You must also become intimately aware of the methods you use to reach your decisions.
Ch2 – Strategy
p19
“Why?” is the question that separates visionaries from functionaries, great strategists from mere tacticians. You must ask this question constantly if you are to understand and develop and follow your strategy.
Ch3 – Strategy and tactics at work
p36-37
… our goal is to improve our position. You must avoid creating weaknesses, find small ways to improve your pieces, and think small – but never stop thinking.
Ch4 – Calculation
p50
A computer may look at millions of moves per second, but lacks a deep sense of why one move is better than another; this capacity for evaluation is where computers falter and humans excel. It doesn’t matter how far ahead you see if you don’t understand what you are looking at.
Ch5 – Talent
p65
Break your routines, even to the point of changing ones you are happy with to see if you can find new and better methods.
Ch6 – Preparation
p73
If you said you ddn’t have enough time, that meant you were not well organized.
…
Botvinnik summed up his philosophy by stating, “The difference between man and animal is that man is capable of establishing priorities!”
Ch7 – MTQ: Material, time, quality
p96
But I believe that by using your time wisely you can put all your material to your best advantage and achieve the ultimate goal of quality. That’s the promise of the material-time-quality concept–in chess and in life.
Ch8 – Exchanges and imbalances
p102
If we can detect or cultivate a weak spot in our opponent’s position, we can then attempt to transform our position to take advantage of that weakness.
Ch 9 – Phases of the game
p112
So dedicate yourself to making the time, finding a space in which you can think and learn, and finding new ideas with which to shock your adversaries.
Ch11 – Question success
p135
Question the status quo at all times, especially when things are going well. When something goes wrong, you naturally want to do it better next time, but you must train yourself to want to do it better even when things go right.
Ch12 – The inner game
p145
That’s why I always think of Simon Bolivar and remember that experienced soldier who studies the battlefields in the aftermath of the war returns with both wisdom and renewed courage.
Ch13 – Man vs. machine
p166
Weak human + machine + superior process was greater than a strong computer and, remarkably, greater than a strong human + machine with an inferior process.
Ch14 – Intuition
p178
As they develop, our instincts–our intuitive senses–become labor-saving and time-saving devices; they literally cut down the time it takes to make a proper evaluation and act. You can collect and analyze new information forever without ever making a decision. Something has to tell you when the law of diminishing returns is kicking in. And that something is intuition.
Ch15 – Crisis point
p184
But in fact, crisis really means a turning point, a critical moment when the stakes are high and the outcome uncertain. It also implies a point of no return. This signifies both danger and opportunity…
Another thing I like about this book is that it also validates my belief on the importance of wanting to improve the way you do things, and also on the importance of understanding what you are doing.
And regarding Garry’s current involvement in politics… as much as I wish him all the best, I’m afraid this is one battle he’s unlikely to win despite his brilliance (and I’d love to be proven wrong!). Politics defy any form of logic and reasoning, chess is a much more peaceful world in any way.
]]>Hudson project has been very active during that period, and this video clearly reflects that fact with the number of commiters (names) and their activities (particle movements).
Hudson Code Swarm Part 2 from Cliffano Subagio on Vimeo.
And in case anyone is interested, I’ve uploaded the code_swarm config file I used to generate the videos to github.
]]>Me and some colleagues were yammering some Chuck Norris Facts-like jokes a few days ago (ChuckNorrisException can never be caught, only thrown :p), and that reminded me of ChuckNorris Plugin, a simple plugin I wrote when I first started learning about Hudson plugin mechanism a while ago.
This plugin displays a picture of Chuck Norris, instead of Hudson the butler, and a random Chuck Norris ‘The Programmer’ fact on each build page.
On failure build, Chuck Norris is ready to give you a whoopin’ for breaking the build.
You’ll also see a Chuck Norris fact on the build page.
A thumb up on successful build.
And an alert stance on other build results.
Please leave a comment and let me know what you think of ChuckNorris Plugin. And also let me know if you want to install it on your Hudson instance, I’ll make the .hpi file available for download.
My favourite facts: ‘Chuck Norris can unit test an entire application with a single assert,’ and ‘When a bug sees Chuck Norris, it flees screaming in terror, and then immediately self-destructs to avoid being roundhouse-kicked.’
Originals are available from the photoset page on Flickr.
]]>It was a pleasant surprise for me to find out that Tony and some other Emptiness Theme users like to the header images from previous versions of the theme and requested their availability for download. Thanks so much for using the theme.
So here they are (in chronological order)…
Light greenish-yellowish leaves on tree branches in front of my home in Carnegie. This picture was used as the default header image from v0.1 to v0.9 of the theme.
A city-loop train with Crown complex in the background. This picture was taken from the Flinders St studio apartment where I lived back in 2005. I used the picture as a custom header image demonstration on a cleaner way to customise WordPress Theme styles using MyCSS Plugin.
Stones and water, which I thought represent the theme of emptiness really really well. The picture was taken at Korakuen Garden during my trip to Japan this year, and was used in v1.0 .
Weird grassy plants at Shinjuku Garden. In retrospective, I found the random pattern of the plants to be quite interesting. This picture was used in v1.1 .
Buildings behind the Shibuya Crossing at night (original 1024×768 image). I used this picture to test the custom image header cropping feature introduced in v1.1 .
]]>The episode, #11 kontribusi ke open source project dalam waktu luang, was uploaded earlier this week. We discussed about my experience contributing to several small open source projects and various other tech-related topics.
After listening to the episode, I figured that I didn’t answer Ronald’s questions well enough. I admit that I actually got lost when there were several questions asked in one go, my mind was digesting part of the questions and lost half of them when it was my turn to talk. Note to self: prepare a pen and a notepad.
There were a couple of things that I would like to clarify since I wasn’t very clear with my answers. First one is that I misunderstood the question about why Hudson Build Monitor was made as a Firefox Add-on have (as opposed to subscribing the build feeds directly on Firefox toolbar). My revised answer would be that it does have a benefit in domain knowledge which allows data visualisation (coloured orbs, etc) and action triggers (starting a build, clearing up stuck executors, etc) amongst other things.
The second one is on the bit where I talked about commercial products bundling open source software and using open source tools during the development process. I could’ve formed my sentences better. I just want to clarify that I wasn’t implying that commercial is the opposite of open source since there are tons of open source commercial products out there. Instead, I was referring to my experience back in year 2000 when most commercial products thought of open source as a non-option.
Thanks, Ronald, for the invitation, and all the best with Teman Macet podcast project. I believe that the show has plenty of opportunities in the Indonesian market. To those unfamiliar with Indonesian language, ‘Teman Macet’ roughly means ‘companion during traffic jam’.
]]>This post is contributed by Jamie Sward (author bio provided). I’ve always wanted to have a home studio / home office of my own someday, and I’ve always been interested to learn about anything eco-friendly, so the topics covered in this article suit my blog really well. I hope you find the information useful as I do.
In this day and age, every little bit that we can do to help the environment makes a big difference. Since the average person spends most of his or her time at work, maintaining an eco-friendly office lifestyle is a great first step.
Green Office Furniture
When it comes to office furniture, comfort is obviously key. Many office furniture manufacturers are producing lines that are both comfortable and eco-friendly. Herman Miller, for instance, a company that’s been around for over 100 years, has had its eye on the environment for quite some time now. Herman Miller’s ever popular Aeron Chair not only adapts naturally to fit every body type, but it is also 94% recyclable. The brand new Embody chair is 95% recyclable, made from 42% recycled content and contains no PVCs.
Other manufacturers like Knoll and Steelcase are focused on producing eco-friendly desks, cabinets, space dividers and modular office furniture. Furniture made from sustainably harvested hardwoods and recycled and bio-based non-toxic materials is becoming more popular and more readily available. Given that many government agencies, universities and corporations are turning their attention to the environment, manufacturers have seen an increased demand for eco-friendly office solutions.
Energy Efficient Lighting
With countries like the UK and Australia phasing out incandescent light bulbs, we’re starting to see a move toward using energy-efficient lighting in homes and offices all over the world. British retailers are to phase out traditional incandescent bulbs by 2011, in the hopes that the UK will cut carbon dioxide emissions by five million tonnes. By 2012, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Taiwan, Canada, Argentina and the greater EU will ban the production and sale of incandescent bulbs.
What alternatives are there to incandescent bulbs? The two major alternatives are compact fluorescent bulbs (CFLs) and Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs). According to Energy Star, a joint program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy, a CFL will save about $30 USD over its lifetime and pay for itself in about 6 months. It uses about 75% less energy and lasts about 10 times longer than an incandescent bulb.
LEDs are also gaining popularity. Taiwan is a global leader in the production of LEDs. While LED technology is for the most part limited to street lights and electronic signage, the technology is quickly evolving. Cree, a company based in North Carolina recently converted to a 100% LED lighting system. Cree, a leader in LED solid-state lighting components, converted the lighting in their parking lots, hallways, lobbies, conference rooms and more! According to a press release, these new LED lights use 48% less energy than they incandescent, fluorescent and high pressure sodium lights that they used before.
While the widespread adoption of LED lights in the office place is a ways off, this is a promising development nonetheless. In addition to lighting, offices are instituting other environmentally-friendly measures including inter-office paper, plastic, aluminum and ink cartridge recycling programs. If you feel like your company isn’t on the right path, why not make your thoughts known to those in charge? Every little bit helps – from an eco-friendly desk lamp to purchasing recycled paper products. Take a stance and help the environment even from the comfort of your 9 to 5 job.
About The Author
As part of the marketing department at All Modern.com, CSN Chairs and several other CSN Stores, Jamie Sward has grown to appreciate all facets of modern design. All Modern is part of CSN Stores, an online retailer specializing in modern and contemporary furniture, home accessories and lighting from some of the biggest names in modern furniture. Brands include Herman Miller, Knoll, Kartell, Alessi, iittala and more.
]]>As for myself, I took several semesters of Japanese classes in the past. I’m a huge fan of Japanese TV shows Iron Chef, TV Champion, and Takeshi’s Castle. I’ve always been impressed with Japanese culture, specially their politeness and sense of collectivism. To me, visiting Japan was a lifelong dream.
My brother and me, near Kaizoji Temple, Kamakura.
What impressed me the most was that their trains were always on time. I was there for 2 weeks and not even once my train was late. That’s amazing compared to our local train operator in Melbourne, Connex, the symbol of incompetence. I can’t remember the last time a Connex train arrived and left on time.
I was also impressed by a number of smart things I saw in Japan, things that made me stop and think “Hmm, we should have that.” Things like foldable wooden rubbish bin, blood donation bus parked near busy stations, maps with orientation to where you’re standing, stackable bicycle parkings… just to name a few.
The top 5 favourite places I visited…
And the most memorable experiences?
For more pictures from the trip, check out my Japan Trip 2009 album on Picasa.
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If you want to check out the original images at 1024×768, please visit the photoset page on Flickr.
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