Posted by hooeezit on June 19th, 2009
I find the finger movements of accomplished piano players to be poetic and mesmerizing. I don’t have delusions of ever reaching that mastery, but I do want to be able to play a few notes on a piano when accosted by one! So, a few years ago, I bought a cheap (but 61 key) electronic keyboard from Craigslist – a Casio CTK-400. And it sat in the closet till I was suddenly bestowed with oodles of time 2 months ago.
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Posted by hooeezit on June 18th, 2009
I have passively wanted to participate in programming contests for a long time. The last I was in a contest was when I was in 11th grade. We programmed in Basic on an IBM PC-AT (yes – it had a whopping 10MB hard drive!). I solved 2 out of the 3 problems. My partners mulled over a 3rd problem and I only got halfway through the 4th problem. Boy, that was a long time ago! The last 5-6 years, I’d remember about programming contests after reading some article on Slashdot, run some Google searches, come up mostly empty, and promptly forget about it. But today, while browsing through the Google Jobs website, I learnt of this thing called TopCoder Arena. That started an interesting journey, and now I’m all pumped to try out some contests. From what I see, very few people solve the toughest problem in the set, so if I practice well, I’ll definitely be able to win a few contests!
But this post is not about how to win a contest – this is simply about how to start using the excellent, free resource that is TopCoder.
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Posted by hooeezit on June 18th, 2009
Employment opportunities in USA are at a record low in a quarter of a century and a lot of unemployed workers are trying to shift or change careers into fields with existing jobs. Unfortunately, almost everybody is trying the same strategy, so most fields that have jobs available are going to stagnate soon. The advantage will go to those who act the fastest and appear to offer the most employable skills. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by hooeezit on June 4th, 2009
Posted by hooeezit on June 3rd, 2009
Posted by hooeezit on May 30th, 2009
A list of interesting places to visit in the Twin Cities.
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Posted by hooeezit on May 21st, 2009
The food scene in the Twin Cities is surprisingly diverse considering that Minneapolis/St. Paul is pretty much in the middle of nowhere. On the other hand, most Twin Citians seem to congregate within their cliques, and stick with their known eatery choices. Recently, I faced the option of leaving Twin Cities to work somewhere else, and although I didn’t choose that option, I realized that there is a lot that TC has to offer that I haven’t explored. So, I am starting with a long list of interesting restaurants that I want to try or revisit. I’ll also be blogging my experiences at these restaurants as and when I visit them.
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Posted by hooeezit on May 20th, 2009
Rating: ****. (4.5/5) Cuisine: Chinese
Location: Calhoun Village Shopping Center Address: 3236 W. Lake St., Minneapolis
A general belief about Chinese restaurants is that they are only as good as their Hot and Sour Soup. That adage was proven again at 1st Wok today.
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Posted by hooeezit on May 4th, 2009
Interesting places/architecture in Minneapolis & St Paul that I haven’t seen.
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Posted by hooeezit on April 29th, 2009
The American Lung Association just came out with its 2009 State of the Air report. Many large metropolitan areas don’t fare well on the list – including places like San Diego, Kansas City, Cincinnati (!) and Charlotte (NC). Of course, New York, Los Angeles and Las Vegas shouldn’t surprise anyone by making it to the list of most polluted cities. Read the rest of this entry »
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