Saturday, July 26, 2008
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Sunday, June 8, 2008
你想戴一頂什麼樣的博士帽?
你想戴一頂什麼樣的博士帽 - 李開復
在我進入卡內基梅隆大學攻讀計算機博士學位時，系主任曾對我講，當你拿到你的博士學位時，你應該成為你所從事的研究領域裡世界第一的專家。這句話對于初出茅廬的我來說簡直高不可攀，但也讓我躊躇滿志、躍躍欲試。就這樣，在經過五年寒窗、夜以繼日的努力工作後，他所期待的結果就那麼自然而然地出現了。一個打算攻讀博士學位的人，就應該給自己樹立一個很高的目標。如果沒有雄心壯志，就千萬不要自欺欺人，也許經商或從事其它工作，會有更大的成績。
在目標確立之後，我建議你為自己設計一個三年的學習和科研計劃。首先，你需要徹底地了解在相關領域他人已有的工作和成績。然後再提出自己的想法和見解，做腳踏實地的工作。另外，還要不斷跟蹤這個領域的最新研究進展。只有這樣，才可以把握好方向，避免重復性工作，把精力集中在最有價值的研究方向上。
在學術界，人們普遍認為“名師出高徒”。可見導師在你的成長道路中作用是多麼的大。所以，你應該主動去尋找自己所研究的領域裡最好的老師。除了你的老師之外，你還應該去求教于週圍所有的專家。更不要忘了常去求教“最博學的老師”- Internet！現在，幾乎所有的論文、研究結果、先進想法都可以在網上找到。我還鼓勵你直接發電子郵件去咨詢一些世界公認的專家和教授。以我的經驗，對于這樣的郵件，他們中的大部分都會很快給你回復。
我在攻讀博士學位時，每週工作七天，每天工作16個小時，大量的統計結果和分析報告幾乎讓我崩潰。那時，同領域其他研究人員採用的是與我不同的傳統方法。我的老師雖然支持我，但並不認可我的研究方向。我也曾不止一次地懷疑自己的所作所為是否真的能夠成功。但終于有一天，在半夜三點時做出的一個結果讓我感受到了成功的滋味。後來，研究有了突飛猛進的進展，導師也開始採用我的研究方法。我的博士論文使我的研究成為自然語言研究方面當時最有影響力的工作之一。讀博士不是一件輕鬆的事，切忌浮躁的情緒，而要一步一個腳印，扎扎實實地工作。也不可受一些稍縱即逝的名利的誘惑，而要200％的投入。也許你會疲勞，會懊悔，會迷失方向，但是要記住，你所期待的成功和突破也正孕育其中。那種一切都很順利，誰都可以得到的工作和結果，我相信研究價值一定不高。
從一定意義上講，一個人如果打算一輩子從事研究工作，那麼從他在讀博士學位期間所形成的做事習慣、研究方法和思維方式基本上就可以判斷出他未來工作的輪廓。所以，你一定要做一個“有心人”，充分利用在校的時間，為自己的將來打好基礎。
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Control your email!
A book from the Lifehacker. Tips for a better control of your life:
- Read Excerpt: Chapter 1, Control Your Email (PDF)
- Read Excerpt: Table of Contents (PDF)
- Read Excerpt: Index (PDF)
The content certainly looks pretty good. But there's one thing I definitely need but is not found in this book: How to manage your email accounts on multiple desktops/laptops. Read More......
Thursday, February 28, 2008
和風日式炸豬排
今天下班一時興起，看到冰箱裡有兩盒豬排，突然腦袋裡浮出了日式炸豬排的畫面＠﹍＠
雖然身在美國，在這邊要吃炸豬排其實是一件很方便的事。（就像在台灣出門轉角7-11買御飯糰一樣方便吧！）拿起電話打給佐治(Saji)或Cafe Swish，二十分鐘豬排就會送來了，好像也不需要大費周章動手親自下廚。不過兩盒豬排在手，在加上記憶中的和風炸豬排一直跟我呼喚讓我口水直流，想想Rachel Ray的名言：「A great meal is only 30 minutes away!」我還是自己動手吧！
材料：
豬肉片(Pork chop - butterfly cut) x 4
麵包粉
麵粉/pancake粉
蛋 x 2
醬油
鹽
糖
沙拉油
作法：
1. 先用刀背或著鎚肉的鎚子把豬肉拍軟拍扁。肉片因為是butterfly cut，會有一條「脊」，請對準多拍幾下，拍軟拍扁才會好炸＋好吃。
2. 醃肉：把醬油、糖、鹽、少量沙拉油跟肉片放在碗中混合，放到冰箱冰二十分鐘（或更久，看你有多少時間）。
3. 打蛋。加入一些麵粉，會有一些麵粉塊，所以要花點功夫打均勻。
4. 拿一個淺盤子倒入麵包粉，如果沒有麵包粉，可以用超硬的美國麵包拿去用果汁機打碎，我就是這樣做的。
5. 肉醃好以後，燒一鍋熱油吧。
6. 夾一塊肉片沾滿蛋汁，裹上麵包粉，放到鍋裡炸，口水不要滴到油鍋裡喔:-)
7. 過給分鐘將肉片翻面，炸到金黃。
8. 重複6-7 直到肉片用完。假如油不夠請記得再添加。
9. 起鍋。
註：
1. 材料比例份量請隨意。
2. 豬排可以配自己喜歡的醬，例如泰式酸甜辣醬。
3. 可以配高麗菜絲跟檸檬。
Friday, February 22, 2008
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Mussels 食譜
某一天肚子餓心血來潮做的菜，從開始食物下鍋到上菜滿快的，大概20分鐘吧，也不太花功夫。這到菜很好吃，只是還沒有取名字（暫定為Mussel大燴吧？？）。不管了，我只知道再不寫下來就會忘記作法了。
原料：
1. 一包去殼的mussel，我是用韓國產的冷凍mussel「註1」。
2. 青蔥，切成數段。
3. 玉米粉，調勾芡用。
4. Brown sugar（黑糖）。
5. 鹽少許。
作法：
1. 準備材料之前為了省時間，先用frying pan燒淺淺一鍋水「註2」。
2. 把材料準備好，將mussel丟入滾水內煮。
3. 等到mussel差不多解凍八成時（請用眼睛、筷子、跟鼻子判斷），將mussel撈出放在盤子或碗中(A)，另外找一個大碗(B)把煮mussel的水倒入留著。
4. 把frying pan稍稍沖洗一下，擦乾淨水分後熱鍋加入少許沙拉油，油熱後加入蔥爆香，倒入(A)中的mussel煎/炒。
5. 加入黑糖跟少許鹽，攪拌一下mussel確定有均勻上色。
6. 把(B)碗中的水(mussel湯)倒回炒鍋內，煮沸調入勾芡即可上桌食用。
註：
1. 包裝上都是韓文，根據我用韓文手寫輸入法，加上Google跟日文Yahoo翻譯機（韓->日->中）的結果，好像是說對女性很補！？
2. 用別的鍋子也可以，不過水不可以太多，燒水的目的雖然是要讓冷凍的mussel解凍，但是mussel解凍時流出來的美味湯汁一定要留著等會用。假如用太多水到時候就變成海鮮湯了。
Monday, January 21, 2008
One if by land, two if by sea
紐約餐廳週終於開始了，利用這個機會，我們終於有機會到這家傳說中紐約最浪漫的餐廳朝聖「註1」。
坦白說，這家餐廳的外表真是一點都不起眼，畢竟它是之前十八世紀的carriage house改裝的「註2」，位在Barrow Street的入口，很容易經過而完全沒有注意到。不過裡面的裝潢，真是古色古香，壁畫跟火爐讓人有暫時離開了吵雜髒亂紐約的錯覺。
A picture is worth a thousand words. 我想還是用照片讓大家感受這家餐廳的氣氛吧。
古典的壁爐跟裝潢。
進門後就是吧台。
這就是一樓華麗的dining room「註3」。
現場的浪漫鋼琴演奏。
今晚的菜色，還不錯吃「註4」。
註：
1. 因為浪漫，所以這家餐廳也是紐約無數情侶求婚、定情處。
2. carriage house就是以前以馬車為主要交通工具時，用來放馬車的地方。看大門入口的照片不難想像吧。
3. 當然，餐廳週時每家餐廳都大爆滿，One if by land, two if by sea也不例外。它餐廳內分為兩層，樓下是照片中有美麗燭光跟吊燈的dining room，樓上（還是算做balcony？）則是「稍稍」擁擠，兩桌之間間隔不到40公分的小房間。樓上一樣有壁畫跟燭光伴你共進晚餐，但是假如你沒有坐在靠一樓dining room的balcony窗戶，很有可能你是完全聽不到美妙的現場鋼琴伴奏。所以訂位時請盡量訂一樓的位置。
4. 這家餐廳印象中視沒有a la carte（一道一道菜單點）的服務，完全是套餐（prix fixe）的形式消費。一套套餐最低$75大洋，這就是為甚麼我們要趁餐廳週趕去利用$35大洋的折扣價湊熱鬧了。
餐廳地點：
One if by land, two if by sea.
17 Barrow Street, New York, NY
View Larger Map
Beef noodle soup - 清燉牛肉湯麵
不久之前心血來潮做了清燉牛肉湯麵，照了照片但是一直沒有寫blog紀錄。其實以前這道菜也蠻常做的，但是今天我想說萬一以後哪天做菜的點子用盡，臨時想不出要做什麼菜，我可以翻翻自己的blog，抽籤決定要做什麼給自己吃。
準備材料：
義大利天使麵線(angel hair)
牛肉(chuck steak)
蕃茄
洋蔥
糖
鹽
黑胡椒（可有可無）
馬鈴薯（可有可無）
作法：
1. 為了省時間，燒兩鍋水(A,B)。
2. 等水滾的時候，牛肉切塊，切洋蔥、蕃茄，準備鹽跟糖。
3. 於A 鍋川燙牛肉，川燙後移到另一鍋(B)繼續煮。
4. 將蕃茄、洋蔥、馬鈴薯等等加入B 鍋，煮到滿意為止（請用眼睛、鼻子跟筷子判斷）。
5. 在4.進行時，把A 鍋洗好，燒水準備煮麵。
6. 麵煮好之後，放入B 鍋的牛肉、菜跟湯，上菜！
註：
1. Angel hair是一種超級細義大利麵，煮久一點，會變得很Q，口感很像麵線。我不曉得紐約哪邊有賣麵線或者是好吃的（中式）麵條，我也不太想花時間去找，巷口（其實是好幾個blocks away）超市賣的Angel hair是我心目中最合適做湯麵的No. 1。
2. Beef chuck在超市都是一片一片牛排的包裝，他的口感比起超市賣的beef for stew不知道好幾千萬倍，會帶有一些牛筋，也不會吃起來乾乾硬硬的。
3. 我做菜對於食材的量相當隨性，大家做菜高興加多少牛肉、幾顆蕃茄或洋蔥自己衡量，高興就好。
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Sunday, January 6, 2008
New York Winter Restaurant Week 2008
今年紐約的冬季餐廳週終於開始了。從Jan 21到Feb 1，星期一到五，紐約許多知名餐廳將會提出「相對」便宜的套餐，讓你可以以較低的價錢，享受到平日每人動輒七八十塊美金的西餐廳用餐的樂趣。
所謂比較便宜的價錢是什麼呢？這個價錢每年都會隨著物價波動而改變，根據餐廳週網站的說明，今年的公定價錢為：午餐$24.07，晚餐$35.00。午晚餐都是三道菜的prix-fixe套餐，不過因為晚餐價格稍貴，晚餐菜單的內容可能會包括比較不同的選擇「註」。
有興趣的朋友可以先到各大美食評論網站（雜誌）參考一下各家餐廳的評價。我通常會去紐約時報的Dining & Wine版，或者是New York Magazine的Restaurant版，利用他們的搜尋功能找到行家們對各家餐廳的評價，以及各餐廳註明的菜色。舉例來說，紐約市有一家知名的日式餐廳Nobu，假如用New York Magazine來搜尋，我們可以發現這個餐廳主廚Nobu Matsuhisa的招牌菜是那幾道：
his miso-marinated black cod, rock shrimp with spicy mayonnaise, and tuna tartare with a bed of crushed avocado all have stood the test of time
這個網站也會順便跟你說這家餐廳的價位如何，有哪幾道菜是非點不可的，以及從1到10一般消費者的評價。例如：
Recommended Dishes
Kumamoto oysters with Maui onion salsa, $10; black cod with miso, $19; Omakase dinner, starts at $80 per person
當然餐廳週菜單不一定會剛好cover推薦的菜餚，不過總是可以幫忙抓個方向，知道哪些菜可能比較特別。如過要更仔細的做功課，當然還是要去把餐廳的menu調出來，用Google好好研究大家的評價囉！
想要抓住這個罕見的機會到紐約高級餐廳看看嗎？請到opentable.com訂位。
註：當然小費是不包括在內的。請自行加入計算。
Saturday, January 5, 2008
Christmas Island Red Crabs
Christmas Island是澳洲的一個小島，根據wikipedia的說明，他們只有1,600個居民，住在這個135平方公里的島上。居民有大約70%是華人。
這個島有個奇特的景觀，每一年固定的時間，島上特有的紅蟹(red crab)會成千上萬地湧到海邊產卵。屆時螃蟹們的移動路線就會變得跟紅色的河流一樣，人車要通過都有困難。
Christmas Island Red Crabs - The most popular videos are a click away
Dunkin' Donuts 免費咖啡
Dunkin' Donuts 最近有免費咖啡sample的活動。
只要連上這個網站，填好問卷跟姓名地址，Dunkin' Donuts就會寄免費的咖啡sample到你家喔。
數量有限，動作要快喔！
Saturday, December 22, 2007
Super Mario Galaxy - 結局？？
好不容易，馬力歐終於集到了足夠的星星，開著太空站到了宇宙中心。
打了上百個galaxy之後，顯然我的功力已經提昇得還不錯，沒有花太多時間就把大魔王打敗了，也終於解救了被他控制的宇宙，galaxy能夠恢復正常。
破關之後，原本以為遊戲就到此為止（可以專心做研究了？？？）不過回到太空站卻發現Rosalina跟我說另外再集滿50顆星星，可以解開隱藏的關卡。看來這個遊戲還真的是值回票價，打完大魔王後還有這麼多的關卡可以讓我有空慢慢玩。
剩下的這些隱藏關卡想必都是挑戰性極高的，例如要蒐集三顆綠色星星才能解開的trial galaxy，就有可以測試你會不會手振的Rolling Gizmo Galaxy跟Electric Labyrinth。（當然youtube上面有影片，可是還沒過關以前千萬不要看！！）想到有50個挑戰性高的galaxies心理就高興～
馬力歐的結局？？看來還有一陣子我才會知道了。
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Riverside Church, New York
幾個月前去New Jersey玩，順手在Hudson River對岸拍了一張Riverside Church的照片，放在Flickr上面。沒想到前一個禮拜，竟然有一個旅遊網站(Schmap New York)寫信給我請我授權讓他們使用我的照片。
這個旅遊網站看起來滿有意思的，首頁放了一張互動式的紐約地圖，旁邊的旅遊內容，是依照歷史或主題分類的。再配合上Flickr裡面的照片，旅客們應該很容易就可以找到心目中理想的景點。有興趣的朋友可以在我網站右下角看到縮小版的地圖。
除了Riverside Church, 這個網站我再粗略地看了一下，該有的紐約景點應該都有包含了，不過就介紹而言，內容似乎稍嫌單薄，每個景點都是一個paragraph簡單帶過。不過既然這是一個免費的網站，大家就看看照片跟簡單的景點介紹，想要深入再Google別人的遊記好了。這邊想到一點它的好處：這個旅遊簡介有pack成電腦上可以直接執行的一個小程式，可以download再在自己電腦上看。假如有PDA的話帶著出去玩應該就很方便吧。
接下來是對應我照片的旅遊景點說明：
Riverside Church
490 Riverside Drive
New York, NY 10027
Tel: +1 212 222 5900
www.theriversidechurchny.org
A soaring neo-gothic church with architecture inspired by the cathedral at Chartres, this church houses the world's second largest carillon in its impressive tower. John D. Rockefeller, Jr. gave the bells to the church in memory of his mother. Construction was begun 1927 and completed by 1930. Riverside Church, which is interdenominational, is also a thriving multicultural community center and sponsors a wide array of programs including anti-racism and anti-poverty initiatives. Carillon recitals are held on Sundays and on special occasions. Check the schedule for regular services and tours.
Monday, December 10, 2007
Super Mario Galaxy - Wii
記得上次玩馬力歐已經是超過十年以前的事了。一個多月前我Paper送出去後，好不容易狠下心來買了一年多來一直嚷著要買的Wii。這段日子除了打打網球跟拳擊，也一直上網研究各個Wii遊戲的評價，想要物色Wii Sports每一項運動都變成Pro之後要玩的遊戲。
到了感恩節，看著Buy.com上面有著Google Checkout新用戶有$10折價的優惠，發現目前各大遊戲評論網站上評分最高的馬力歐銀河（Super Mario Galaxy：IGN rating= 9.7，GameSpot= 9.5），算算竟然價錢只要$38。當然這個價錢還是滿貴的，可是相對於其他Circuit City, Best Buy等賣場$49.99的高價位（還要另外加銷售稅），這個免稅免運費的價錢大概一輩子再也找不到了。當場二話不說，登錄了一個新的Google Checkout帳號，下訂等待馬力歐的到來。
忙碌的日子使等待銀河馬力歐的時間變得並不是很漫長。不過實驗室的繁忙並沒有使我失去對馬力歐的期待。馬力歐一到，我馬上拆開包裝上機開始作戰。其實大家都知道，馬力歐的目的非常的簡單，就是打敗大魔王，救出公主。銀河馬力歐也不例外，只是這次的戰場移到了太空，有數十個銀河系需要馬力歐（跟蘑菇頭還有Lugi）去探索搜尋Power Star的存在。等到蒐集到足夠的Power Star之後，馬力歐所在的太空觀測站就可以變成太空船，載著馬力歐到宇宙的中心跟大魔王決鬥。
因為沒有偷偷看馬力歐攻略，現在我也不知道我現在打的進度到哪邊。只知道現在太空觀測站已經完全電力恢復，只差22顆星星「就」可以啟動引擎飛到宇宙中心了。目前我對這個遊戲的感覺是：前面一段的關卡非常非常的容易，容易到會一邊打馬力歐一邊覺得「這個遊戲會不會是給五歲還設計的？一點挑戰性都沒有！」不過到了後半段（觀測站電力全部恢復之後），就會有一些比較有挑戰性的關卡（galaxy）了。
現在在遊戲還沒有全破之前，我還沒有辦法做完整的評論，假如要我評分，我目前會給個8.3/10左右的分數吧。當然假如後半段的關卡的挑戰性比較強、困難度足夠，我相信我會給這遊戲更高的分數。
這是其中一段我覺得滿有挑戰的戰鬥，剛好YouTube上也有，不過一堆日文只好請看倌們自行翻譯了。
遊戲在IGN上的介紹：
Thursday, December 6, 2007
雞肝粥
取雞肝1具洗淨切成小塊；將小米50克洗淨入鍋，加入適量豆豉及生姜片煮粥；水沸時加入雞肝，快熟時放入鹽、味精等調味，再煮至粥熟。宜溫熱眼含，日服1劑，常食為佳,具有養血明目、補肝養胃功效。實用于肝血不足.頭暈眼花及夜盲症患者。
Read More......Sunday, December 2, 2007
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Mastering Your Ph.D.: Countdown to Your Thesis Defence
Time to prepare for my thesis defense, although it might still be one year away... Gotta plan early!!!
Source: Nature by Bart Noordam, Patricia Gosling, Netherlands, 23 November 2007
For a couple of years, you have been doing research, research, and more research. But now the final deadline for your Ph.D. is in sight, and it's time to transfer your research results into a thesis. Where do you even begin?
You've got a lot of things to do before you can actually start writing, and you will have to work in a more structured way than you probably have been used to for the past couple of years. Here we provide a five-step framework to guide you toward your goal.
1. Establish your achievements.
Presumably, you sketched out a plan for your research projects at the beginning of your Ph.D. program, so now you need to get a clear picture of where you are in that process and see how it will all fit together in your thesis. Start by making a list of the projects you've finished, such as the research you've already published in a journal article that only needs a bit of editing to fit into your thesis.
Next, list the unfinished projects you are working on and identify the steps you'll need to take to finish them, whether it's sorting out the relevant data, writing and running a data-analysis programme, extracting a message from the data you've collected and analysed, writing up your findings, or all of the above. You'll also have to think about how you want to write up these last few experiments: You'll need to balance the short-term benefits of writing it up as a thesis chapter--which will save you the time of finishing a peer-reviewed article--with the longer term benefit of adding a journal article to your list of publications.
Once you have a good idea of what you have accomplished so far and what it will take to finish the ongoing projects, you should verify your achievements with your supervisor.
2. Determine what should be included in your thesis.
Mastering Your PhD cover art
You and your supervisor will likely agree about what you've accomplished so far and what still needs to be done to complete your ongoing projects. However, opinions might diverge when it comes to whether you need additional material for your thesis. You should meet with your supervisor (and thesis adviser, if different from your supervisor) to discuss exactly what should go into your thesis. Perhaps you believe that finishing ongoing projects will provide sufficient content for a thesis, whereas your supervisor wants you to include a minor (or major!) addition, and your thesis adviser wants you to start a new, ambitious project.
Coming to agreement on these issues will not be easy, so you should be well-prepared when you meet to discuss your thesis content. You will need to decide what you believe is a proper balance between the quality and quantity of the content and the time it will take to finish your research and start writing. If there is truly a need for you to do one more project, make a comprehensive and very specific plan for it.
In the course of these negotiations, remember that even if your adviser's motives for keeping you around are self-serving, the extra time and effort you spend to extend and sharpen your work might make a big difference in your career. So don't stretch it out too long but, assuming you can keep food on the table, don't be in too much of a hurry, either.
3. Make a countdown list.
Now that you have established a "still-to-do" list, make a plan for when to do it. This will be your countdown list, a schematic timetable that describes week by week how you plan to finish your thesis by your target deadline. Most of the activities on your list should directly contribute to thesis chapters.
Use your still-to-do list to estimate the amount of time you'll need to finish those last few projects and allocate that time on your countdown list. Then, draft a table of contents for your thesis. Estimate how many weeks it will take to finish each chapter and block off that time on your countdown list as well.
Next, allocate time for other activities, such as arranging for the printed version of your thesis, preparing for the defence, and setting up job interviews. In reality, you will be working on several tasks in parallel, but writing down the tasks sequentially will help you get an impression of the total time the thesis preparation will take.
Finally, toward the end of writing your thesis, you will have to deal with the procedures that come with submitting it for approval. The university likely has a long checklist of these usually extraordinarily complex and often time-consuming tasks. Make sure you know well in advance what needs to be done and when, and include them on your schedule.
Once you've created your countdown list, you may realize that writing your thesis is going to take longer than you thought. Don't panic. This is the time to hone your time-management skills and your ability to focus on what is important. Your schedule is tight, so good planning will count. Try to minimize delays caused by others.
4. Anticipate uncertainties.
It may be difficult to plan how much time you will need for some tasks. Perhaps that one last set of experiments relies on a sample that needs to be prepared by other people, and you can't count on them delivering it when you need it. Without that sample, the project will be impossible to complete.
If you foresee such problems and potential bottlenecks, it may be useful to have a back-up list to your master countdown list. The master list assumes you'll get the samples on time, and the back-up list assumes the research will come to a halt until you get the sample. For this back-up plan, reschedule the order of your activities to make use of the newfound time, perhaps by identifying a (small) project that can replace the sample project. Don't adjust your overall deadline just yet. Estimating these risks up front will enable you to discuss the various scenarios with your supervisor. Most importantly, this type of forward planning will minimize the uncomfortable feeling that you have a potentially critical problem ahead that is completely out of your control.
5. Discuss your planning with your supervisor.
Now comes the tough part. This meeting might feel more like a negotiation than a discussion. At one end of the table is you, the hard-working Ph.D. student who wants to wrap up the work in a reasonable amount of time. At the other end of the table is your supervisor, possibly hungry for more research results that can be used in a future presentation or publication. Hopefully, some disagreements about how much work you need to do can be curtailed by giving your supervisor your proposed table of contents and your countdown list in advance of the meeting. These documents will show your progress and demonstrate how much you already have accomplished.
If there is a major disagreement, try not to get angry. Instead, summarize the issues you don't agree about and ask for some time to reflect on your supervisor's point of view. Sometimes these planning discussions can't be finished in a single meeting, but that's okay; it's worth doing properly. You will save yourself quite a bit of thesis-preparation stress if you can structure a countdown plan on which all parties can agree.
If, during the course of your research, you find that the project is taking much longer than anticipated, your first reaction may be to work even harder and longer hours or to go into denial about how much time you really need to finish. Rather than sticking your head in the sand, face your situation, make a new plan, and discuss it again with your supervisor.
The last year of your Ph.D. is distinctly different from the ones that have come before it, because you'll focus primarily on transforming your hard work into thesis chapters. Moreover, new activities will become more important, such as finishing projects before a pressing deadline or looking for a job for after you get your degree. This multitasking requires a more structured approach than you've probably taken previously, so be sure to plan your activities. Your countdown plan will show you what needs to be done and will force you to prioritize those activities. Effective communication with your supervisor will establish a commitment to reach your final goal together.
Friday, November 9, 2007
Barcode scanner
今天在玩我的MacBook，發現Mac上面好玩的東西還真不少。
其中有一個很有意思的程式，Delicious Library，這個玩意兒能夠建檔案清單，管理你所有大大小小、從幼稚園到現在買過，在床頭櫃、書架上、電視旁的堆積如山的小說、CD、跟DVD。
能管理書本清單並不是一件大不了的事，Delicious Library吸引我的地方，是他精美與使用者友善的介面，建檔之後，一本一本的書整齊的列在螢幕中的書架上，讓人忍不住驚嘆自己擁有書籍之多、學識之廣博。看著這有質感的桃木書架，好像比拿到博士學位還神氣。
Delicious Library最方便的地方，就是你可以用你那小巧玲瓏的webcam，來充當barcode scanner。稍稍對一下焦之後，書本的條碼立刻被Delicious Library辨識而登錄在你的資料庫中。一眨眼，七本哈利波特就掃描完畢正式進入我的個人圖書館了。
可憐的Windows使用者，Delicious Monster（Delicious Library的製作公司）已經明白表示你們在可預期的將來是不可能享受到Delicious Library帶給你們的便利（還有視覺上的享受）：Delicious Library將會留在Mac的世界朝極致美學的目標邁進。不過沒有關係，來玩個網路版的barcode掃描器過過乾癮吧！拿出你塵封已久的web cam，對準書櫃上離你手邊最近的那本書，享受掃描建檔的樂趣吧。
註：請先按accept開始使用這個程式介面。
延伸影片：David Pogue on New York Times
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