LCPC 2008

Wow, I just realized that I never posted that my LCPC paper got accepted. Hmm... I wonder if that says something... :-p

After some adjustments for reviewer comments and acknowledgments, with a good amount of work and ideas from Wen-mei, I got it to fit within the page limit. So a couple more passes for stupidity like the "the the" I found last time and I'll be done with this. Well, there's still the presentation... -_-;;

The title of the paper is "CUDA-lite: Reducing GPU Programming Complexity." Unfortunately Wen-mei kiboshed the one line I wanted, which I had at the beginning of the conclusion: "CUDA-lite performs great, with less coding requirement." Wonder if I should sneak it back in... ^_^

Empty apartment

Well, the movers came yesterday and packed my stuff into a vault to be delivered to California. Almost all of my material goods (minus the kendo bogu, some shinai, and one suitcase) into 34 boxes. It feels so weird seeing my apartment empty... 

So let the cleaning begin!! And see how soon Sain says "F**k it!" to his security deposit. :-p

Unfortunately the car shipping is not working out, so I have to arrange for someone else to hand it over next Tuesday. :-(

My new kitchen mitt

I found this in my mailbox after coming back from Taiwan. I had completely forgotten about it. :-p

I had decided to make a donation after watching A Night Of Too Many Stars. I usually donate $100 at a time. However, the $100 gift was a beanie, which I didn't want. I wanted the $50 gift, the kitchen mitt. So I donated $99.

Taiwan Trip

Just got back from a 1 week trip to Taiwan. For some reason, it was very tiring. I was tired the whole time I was there. Maybe I'm getting old. Or I need more naps. ^_^

I practiced kendo 3 times while in Taiwan. I think the biggest take away that I want to make sure I remember is my zanshin (残心). It sucks. -_- 林老師 mentioned that I need to be more ready for opportunities for multiple attacks. I should not just attack and go through. I need to be ready to attack again. Which also fits with the philosophy of being ready to attack at all times. 菅原先生 at Indianapolis had also mentioned that I need to pay more attention to my zanshin on my last visit, so I guess I have something concrete I need to work on. :-p

4E D&D

That's right, Fourth Edition Dungeons and Dragons... :-p

I decided to try playing a game with Nick and Ryan this past weekend using the new rules, with Ryan being the DM and Nick and I both playing 2 characters. Personally I never do quite as well when I have to play multiple characters, but meh...

I played a Warlord (new class) and a Cleric while Nick played a Paladin and Wizard. I barely finished creating the Cleric when we started, and didn't even really read over the combat section yet, which made certain things a little confusing. Ryan had to save our asses because Nick and I apparently can NOT roll. Let's just say that the number 1 on the d20 appeared way too often, as well as numbers below 10... -_-;;

I have to say I still don't know what to think about the new system yet. The simplification of the Skills system is intriguing, yet harkens back to the Non-weapon proficiencies of 2nd Edition. I think it's an improvement though. I definitely do NOT like how many minuses were eliminated by boosting everything overall. :-( It feels like they don't want to imply weaknesses and/or make the math simple. However, one thing I'm furious over is putting the magic items in the Player's Handbook. >:-( Not only is the system magic heavy to begin with, this violates so much about the premise of D&D in my opinion.

As for the REAL major change, the at-will, encounter, and daily power system... I withhold judgement for now. ^_^