Dear diary, my day was Okay.

Excel is my new boyfriend.

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 14:51:07 -0500

Had a 4 hour long affair with Excel this morning. That bad boy sure knows how to stimulate me the right way. Here’s our baby (the algorithm used to calculate the checksum digit for a CUSIP using the Modulus 10 Double Add Double technique. Feel free to use it if needed):

First cell:
=CONCATENATE(IF(CODE(MID(A2,1,1))<58,(CODE((MID(A2,1,1)))-48)*1,((CODE(MID(A2,1,1))-55)*1)), IF(CODE(MID(A2,2,1))<58,(CODE((MID(A2,2,1)))-48)*2,((CODE(MID(A2,2,1))-55)*2)), IF(CODE(MID(A2,3,1))<58,(CODE((MID(A2,3,1)))-48)*1,((CODE(MID(A2,3,1))-55)*1)), IF(CODE(MID(A2,4,1))<58,(CODE((MID(A2,4,1)))-48)*2,((CODE(MID(A2,4,1))-55)*2)), IF(CODE(MID(A2,5,1))<58,(CODE((MID(A2,5,1)))-48)*1,((CODE(MID(A2,5,1))-55)*1)), IF(CODE(MID(A2,6,1))<58,(CODE((MID(A2,6,1)))-48)*2,((CODE(MID(A2,6,1))-55)*2)), IF(CODE(MID(A2,7,1))<58,(CODE((MID(A2,7,1)))-48)*1,((CODE(MID(A2,7,1))-55)*1)), IF(CODE(MID(A2,8,1))<58,(CODE((MID(A2,8,1)))-48)*2,((CODE(MID(A2,8,1))-55)*2)))

Second Cell:
=MID(A2,1,8)&IF(CODE(MID(SUMPRODUCT(—MID(B2,ROW(INDIRECT(“1:” & LEN(B2))),1)),2,1))-48=0,0, 10-(CODE(MID(SUMPRODUCT(—MID(B2,ROW(INDIRECT(“1:” & LEN(B2))),1)),2,1))-48))

fun fact

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 10:42:12 -0500

Restaurant owners will often price the wine they buy cheapest at wholesale as the second cheapest wine on the menu… Price that one higher, and you get a bigger marginal profit. -Vino & Veritas

tricky tricky!

the best way to think is not to think.

Sat, 14 Nov 2009 17:44:10 -0500

the best way to think is not to think.:

then i must be constantly thinking then. =D

Stationary is love.

Fri, 04 Sep 2009 15:52:22 -0400

Took advantage of pay-as-you-wish night and toured the Museum of Arts and Design last night, and spent half the time at their gift store in the stationary section (*shocks*).

I discovered and was fascinated by the “In a Word” greeting cards by Connecting Dotz.

They look like this:

And the back of the cards explain what these words mean and their cultural origin.

Some of my favorites are:

Grok
(grahhk; rhymes with)
Martian, from the novel
Deep, intimate understanding
To establish a singular rapport with somebody, or gain an instant deep spiritual understanding of something. Connotes an exhaustive knowledge. Emphatic form is “grok in fullness.”
This one is from Stranger in a Strange Land!!! had to do extensive research on this book in APUSH for we didn’t start the fire project. good memories.

Lagom
(la-GOOM)
Swedish
Just right, perfect, no need for more
Lagom describes an optimum state.
In contrast to “more is better,” lagom ar bast translates as “Enough is as good as a feast.”

Ubuntu
(oo-BOON-too; oo as in “spoon”)
Xhosa & Zulu, South Africa
The kindness and compassion which come from understanding each of us is part of a greater whole
Sometimes described as “I am because you are,” ubuntu expresses a social and spiritual stance of respect, concern and compassion for one’s family, neighbors and ancestors.
Never knew this even though I’ve been fooling around with linux ubuntu.

Mamihlapinatapai
(Ma-MI-luh-PEE-na-TAH-pie)
Yaghan, Tierra del Fuego, South America. ENDANGERED LANGUAGE
A meaningful look between two people, expressing mutual unstated feelings
Literally means “ending up mutually at a loss as to what to do about each other.” This is the unmistakable look of shared understanding

Yuen
(yoo-EN, said quickly)
Mandarin Chinese
A connection that is meant to be
Certain people are meant to find each other…

And you can get these for my birthday here. JK!

"I am a part of all that I have met;/…Tho’ much is taken, much abides;/…that which..."

Sat, 29 Aug 2009 23:29:03 -0400

“I am a part of all that I have met;/…Tho’ much is taken, much abides;/…that which we are, we are;/One equal temper of heroic hearts,/…strong in will/ To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.”

- Words of Tennyson that the Kennedy brothers quoted and loved. via TIME magazine.

loss of an aura of authenticity- same sentiments about stern

Sat, 29 Aug 2009 23:23:00 -0400

loss of an aura of authenticity- same sentiments about stern

extremely funnysad. oh americans. :)

Sat, 29 Aug 2009 00:54:18 -0400

extremely funnysad. oh americans. :)

Death

Fri, 28 Aug 2009 23:08:00 -0400

It’s one of those things that you always hear but think it’s never gonna happen to you (at least not anytime soon) or near you (unless it’s grandparents, but that’s predictable most of the time).

Earlier this summer, one girl from NYU passed away in a car accident. I didn’t know her but I knew some of her friends. Seeing RIPs and facebook memorials (yes, facebook) made me a little upset. She was so young, how unfortunate, I thought.

Then, just now, I found out that someone who attended NYU (later transferred out) also passed away in a car accident. Except this time, I knew the guy. I wasn’t close friends with him but we were friendly to each other; we’d say hi and exchange small talks once a while.

Man. I can’t quite figure out what this feeling is. Shock? Empathy? Sorrow?

(Kevin says it’s “its a sheer anger and frustration” but I don’t really agree)

It’s really devastating hearing news like this.

What is wrong with this summer anyway? Why is it that everyone kept dying.

It’s been a while. At my interview today, I was asked a tricky brainteaser. I couldn’t...

Thu, 27 Aug 2009 20:41:57 -0400

It’s been a while.

At my interview today, I was asked a tricky brainteaser. I couldn’t find anywhere else to post it (twitter word limit fail and learned to never post anything on facebook) and I wished I had a blog that where I could post it. Then I remembered this place, so tata, here I am. :)

My interviewer started off with the most common brainteaser: what’s the angle formed by two clock hands at 3:15. I blurred out the answer as if I memorized the it, well I kind of did memorize the answer after seeing the problem so many times, but he was definitely surprised and asked me whether the previous intern told me that he would ask me this question.

Then I said (big mistake #1): “Oh no, of course not. I just love brain teasers.” And this is where I got myself into 2 pages of big messy scribbles and 10 minutes of excruciating embarrassment and pain.

Here it is:

Suppose there is a room with 100 light bulbs labelled 1 through 100. Person 1 walks in the room and turns on every light bulb. Person 2 walks in the room and flips the switch on every 2nd light bulb (i.e. he turns off all even numbered light bulbs). Person 3 walks in the room and flips the switch on every 3rd light bulb (turning some on and some off). This process continues until person 100 goes through and flips the switch on the 100th light bulb. Which light bulbs will be lit up at the end?

(I got the answer in the end after he dropped me this hint: what’s so special about odd numbers?)

Have fun with the problem folks. :)

Mamihlapinatapai

Sat, 07 Mar 2009 11:15:09 -0500

Mamihlapinatapai

Photo

Sat, 07 Mar 2009 11:11:26 -0500

"We’re so busy watching out for what’s just ahead of us that we don’t take time to enjoy where we..."

Sat, 07 Mar 2009 11:11:05 -0500

““We’re so busy watching out for what’s just ahead of us that we don’t take time to enjoy where we are.””

- calvin and hobbes

Photo

Fri, 16 Jan 2009 09:34:47 -0500

free pinkberry!

Thu, 15 Jan 2009 22:36:01 -0500

free pinkberry!

woman shot herself as her house forecloses

Fri, 03 Oct 2008 22:39:31 -0400

woman shot herself as her house forecloses

palin flowchart

Fri, 03 Oct 2008 22:33:16 -0400

palin flowchart

who's the biggest winker?

Fri, 03 Oct 2008 22:28:35 -0400

who's the biggest winker?:

Palin winked three times at yesterday’s debate, we counted. *WINK*

This cracked me up so much. So innovative.

Tue, 30 Sep 2008 21:24:04 -0400

This cracked me up so much. So innovative.

Study abroad decison came out and I’m going to Shanghai next semester! Very excited indeed.

Tue, 30 Sep 2008 20:06:14 -0400

Study abroad decison came out and I’m going to Shanghai next semester! Very excited indeed.

subprime crisis in cartoon

Tue, 30 Sep 2008 17:14:16 -0400

subprime crisis in cartoon:

This actually describes the subprime crisis very well, suprisingly.