Reviewing/handling 20 papers plus attending an intense multi-day program committee meeting is probably a lot of work for some people, but nowadays it is almost like a break to me – reading papers in topics that I might not usually pay attention to, participating in a gathering of about 100 people (like a small conference) to catch up with old friends and get to know new faces, consuming more sweets in 3 days than I would normally do in a year, and temporarily stepping away from my usual product/leadership responsibilities.
March 29, 2025
March 13, 2025
Pleasant surprise by a party companion
I have been to three main types of parties serving food: buffets, small bites, and sit-down meals.
Buffets offer maximum flexibility as I can walk around eating whatever and talking to whomever.
I usually have difficulty with small bites as I don’t know what, when, and where will be carried by the waiters.
Sit-down meals tend to have the best quality, but also be most time-consuming and least flexible.
However, in a recent sit-down party, I was seated next to someone who has an unexpectedly interesting background as program managers working for several major tech companies. I learned about stuff that I wouldn’t usually hear from other researchers/engineers.
I guess this is one example benefit of stochastic sampling in social events.
February 18, 2025
Holiday time for exploratory fun
Monday the 17th is a holiday and I was pondering whether I should start a work task that I aimed to finish by the end of the week or spend time on more exploratory research. I decided to go for the latter as I realized that during my usual workdays I often feel enough obligation towards my collaborators for the former and I am the only one who can push myself for the latter.
My decision turned out to be correct for this particular one, as on Monday I had some fun tinkering with \href{https://glicol.org/}{computer music language} (that I have zero background with) and on Tuesday I immediately hit on issues that required responses from my colleagues upon starting the work task.
And I also spent some time doing some silly doodling:
February 16, 2025
Sports-themed Sunday
While walking to visit this sports-themed exhibition at SFMOMA today before its closing, I noticed some black-chauffeured cars in the neighborhood and realized that the NBA All-Star weekend was happening around.
February 1, 2025
Sticky rice ball
A sticky rice ball with a fried dough stick and sweet or salty filling is a traditional breakfast in Taiwan.
January 25, 2025
Spilling tortilla chips
She spilled the bag of tortilla chips all over the place.
He sighed, and later realized that he should have made a humorous comment.
January 22, 2025
Dream earlier this morning
I joined a tour in Japan during SIGGRAPH (Asia?), but had difficulty following the tour guide in winding streets in a canal-like environment. Within the group were Szymon and Matt with whom we talked about old age. I realized that I can’t see clearly due to wearing a wrong pair of glasses with one lens missing, and tried to come back to the hotel by backtracking the original way. I found myself with another tour group which was on their way for returning, sat in front of Hao and Eric and got my head pat by Hao’s girlfriend.
This dream is a reflect of several real-word facts:
* My dry eyes sometimes caused blurry vision.
* I found pair of glasses on the ground near San Jose Diridon station last evening.
January 18, 2025
Sparkling wine bottles
Walked by this liquor store in TPE terminal 2 and found interesting these wine bottles as lampshades.
January 16, 2025
Train station bench sleeper
What to do with about 10 minutes before the train arrived?
Adding some colors, even just rough regions, can greatly enhance the visual appeal of a sketch.
https://www.behance.net/gallery/217024435/PortraitsMotoGStylus2025/modules/1236093195