Stereotyped by Google?

Apparently my blog is the #1 search item for the phrase “charedi wannabe.” I find this to be quite funny. Perhaps those who know me personally will be equally amused….

Pure Schmaltz

Break thus far has been berry berry good to me. I’ve already made up for lots of lost sleep. So much for being productive during my time off…Maybe later. So I was reading an article which mentioned that Clive Owen met his wife on stage by playing Romeo to her Juliet. As he put it,

"It's the schmaltziest way you can meet somebody, I think."

Mad props for that comment. Eli7—you wouldn’t happen to be doing any more role playing in your CC class?? ;-)

Team Work

So here’s a hypothetical situation for you all to ponder. Let’s say 3 CS majors are assigned the task of coding up a networked version of Clue. Assume none of said individuals have a clue as to how a networked game works to the point than certain unmentionable members were blissfully unaware that 2 separate programs, one for the client and one for the server, needed to be written. Say one individual realized that if she didn’t take it upon herself to figure out client/server communication, her team would be up a creek with source code due in a matter of days. Say while the other members worked on graphic displays and game board logic, this chic took up residence in the computer lab, coded up the entire client, converted their applets into JFrames, and made the GUI in those frames functional. Well since only one person wrote the client code, and only one person understands the client code (this one person admits her aversion toward commenting complicates matters), guess who’s stuck writing the entire server? Doh.

Life in the X-Lab

I have officially moved into the computer lab. I spend significantly more time there than anywhere else. By the time I leave (and contrary to popular belief, I do actually leave), I feel utterly drained. So this is why you should never take 3 hard-core CS classes in one semester...

Wave of the Future

For those of you who question my plan to abandon the computing world due to the lure of the law school, I present you with this article. It describes a company called Intellectual Ventures…

“[Its founders] have created the quintessential company for the 21st century. It doesn't actually make anything: it outsources, offshores and offloads nearly every task performed by regular corporations. It has no factories, machine shops or marketing teams. Only patent attorneys populate the quiet hallways.”

In a nutshell, their strategy is to buy patents from all across of the high-tech spectrum in an effort to set up a patent marketplace. Intriguing, I know. Intellectual property had become the #1 American export. According to Myhrvold, “Intellectual property is the next software.” Tell me magic eight ball, is this where my future lies?

Want a Challenge?

And now for the million dollar question…(drum roll please):

Does P = NP?

Sounds easy enough, right? Many have dedicated all of their genius to answering this question. You mission, dear readers, should you choose to accept it, is to solve this seemingly simple question. But like all great inquiries, such as how many licks does it take to get to the center of a tootsie roll, the world may never know…..

Update: I didn't realize that when Jill said, "And now for the million dollar question.." that she meant it literally!!!! AWESOME.

The Teflon Guerrilla's Demise

I was in the Hillel today (hunger does strange things to people..) when they just so happened to be discussing the topic du jour, the archetypical terrorist’s death, and whether of not they should feel somber. Some articulated how revolting it would be for anyone to express joy. I played the PC game for a bit, and instead of explaining why joy is perhaps at least somewhat justified, I focused on why perhaps many people rightfully feel relieved. One girl started talking how she really pitied Arafat’s daughter, thus ending my PC run…
I turned on the news reports about said terrorist, curious to see how they would spin the legacy of a mass-murder who was always “more about politics and prime time than Palestine.” In the middle of the segment, the reporter zeroed in on a small group of settlers singing and dancing. Despite their best effort to exaggerate the scene, it was obvious from the footage that there were less than 10 men present (one might have thought otherwise from just hearing the report). I felt a slight twinge in my stomach. Granted the media’s version was distorted—but dancing in the street??? That’s what some Palestinians did when word of 9-11 spread. The parallel it drew was disturbing, and came a little too close to robbing us of the higher moral ground.

Words of Wisdom

A quote from a friend who just started dating:

“I tell ya, arranged marriage is the way to go!”