A discussion about sperm donation came into my mind a few days ago.
All biological beings are built to spread and continue their genetic legacies. However, I should also be responsible on how my genetic future will match, grow, and further spread. And thus consider one-way blind donation unsuitable for me.
I noticed a missed delivery slip near my front door. As before, I filled it out for redelivery without requiring signature, but the package never came and the staff could not find it in their office. Due to its content, I guess the package has been stolen. I did not keep a copy of the delivery slip since the process has worked before a few times.
Lesson learned: keep the due diligence and never let my guard down.
[This is my reply to a co-author who expressed concerns about the randomness in peer reviews.]
During my military training, a saying went like 散彈打鳥不死也傷, which roughly translates to “if one shoots enough bullets into a forest eventually a bird will be hit”.
(There are others related quotes such as “the best way to have a great idea is to have a lot of ideas” by Linus Pauling, but shooting bullets feels more concrete/visceral.)
Other things being equal, more attempts tend to reduce statistical variance and increase the numbers of success.
I received an announcement earlier today that a prominent member of our research community is scheduled to retire next month, which made me think about what it means for a research scientist to retire.
To me, it means all the extra time and freedom to do whatever I want, such as single-author a SIGGRAPH paper in an exotic topic that I wouldn’t be able to find support from funding agencies or company managements. (I used to joke with my students that I plan to single-author papers when I am 88 years old.) But I have yet to reach that biological and career stage, so I cannot predict what I can or want to do then.
Maybe I will write a follow-up post when I turn 88.
During the last 1-1 with a direct report who will transfer to another team, I found I prefer talking to him as a friend than as a manager.
I wonder if this reflects my style of influencing.
For OKR 2019, I rated myself 80 percent:
By avoiding a brand of low-quality chocolate, I have restored my biometrics to the previous non-normal-human level.
I have learned all 3 basic forms of the physical art I have started learning for about 4 years ago.
The default period is from July 2020 to June 2021 unless stated otherwise.
Publish at least 4 papers in top graphics/HCI/vision/ML venues, such as ToG (including SIGGRAPH and SIGGRAPH Asia), CHI/UIST, NIPS/ICML, CVPR/ICCV.
Ship at least one product as a manager/researcher and file at least two patents.
Help at least 4 students publish in top graphics/HCI/vision/ML venues individually.
Recruit at least 2 top job candidates.
This year marked so many remarkable events, such as a global pandemic, environment degradation, and social injustice, which are more worthwhile to address than the above 3 categories, which I no longer feel the kind of urge to prove after SIGGRAPH 2011.
I (belatedly) created this new category for the coming years.
Practice sketching and animation to a professional level.
Continue learning a Middle Eastern language to elementary school level, complementing the one Asian and one European language I already know.
Practice meditation to the level that I can enter the God mode immediately, anywhere and anytime.
Finish the book of change, to renew my (now rusty) Chinese and crack the only Chinese classics that my grandfather did not during his life time.
Finish the baroque cycle, which I have resumed in the middle of the first volume (quicksilver).
Recover from an acute physical incidence that threw me off balance, and fix a chronical one.
A group of interns posted their projects on an internal expo and solicited popular votes with ferocity last seen in the 2016 Republican party presidential primaries.
Meanwhile, one intern submitted a paper to a top venue even before the start of the internship, and is now spending time revising the conditionally accepted paper, filing a patent, and collaborating with a product team, instead of campaigning for popularity among other interns.
Our time is very limited. As a research mentor, it is my responsibility to guide you towards what is important and steer you away from what is less so.
It was great to (virtually) meet with my PhD adviser after all these years. I was trying to discuss collaboration and he told me that he just wanted to catch up.
I have been bumping into the same group of people throughout my career; maybe we are a small community.
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