Eye Exams

I'm really should be studying for finals, but I have a nasty habit of procrastinating. So that's why I'm blogging now.

I got virtually no work done over the weekend, because I went back to TO. I find that I can't get any work done in TO. It's strange, but my family is even a bigger distraction than the distractions in waterloo. Actually it's probably because I'm too busy going out to do any work. My dad had his lab's students over for a dinner BBQ on sat, which I helped out with by grilling all the meat. It's scary though, because these students are just a few years older than myself and outside of this setting, they could be my friend. I remember when I was a kid, my dad's students seemed like really old people, but now they just seem a lot like myself. All I'm saying is that it feels weird.

Sunday was a Banquet for my uncle's grandma 80th birthday. I haven't been to one in a long time, and the food was good. The best part? I got to bring some food back with me to waterloo. :)

It sounds a little strange, but on mon, I played a game of chess with a professor of mine. Our ECE222 (Digital Computers) prof. came to our class lunch (where we had invited a whole bunch of proffessors) and there happened to be a chess board in the faculty lounge. I was playing a friend, when the professor started watching. He was like, "yo, i got next." Actually no, he didn't say that, I made that up...but he did play in the next game. We were playing in teams. I don't think chess is much of a team game, but after a really, really close game, the professor's team ended up winning. Ah boo. It was fun though. And it was kinda funny since you could tell that none of us really played a lot of chess. The weird part was later that night, I was at Soeby's (24hr grocery store) with a couple of my housmates at midnight, and the same professor was there! He was buying toilet paper. And then it gets weirder...we saw a TA for the course there as well. He was buying shampoo. We were buying candy. I don't know where I'm going with this story...

Anyway, back to the topic in the title of this post. I don't know if this ever happens to anyone else, but I often get into situations where my eyes just give up on me. It gets to a point where I can't keep them open any longer because they hurt. Then I have to lie down and get some sleep. It usually happens when I do a lot of reading... But it's really annoying - I could be reading something interesting and I can't continue on account of my eyes. A few nights ago I was reading a whole bunch of articles from this interesting site. He's a columnist of the New Yorker (which I added as a link on my page) and he posted his articles up. I've never read anyting from the New Yorker seriously before (probably because I was too young), but, wow, i'm impressed. The writing is of top quality and the topics are often quite interesting. I recommend all the following articles I read that night:

The Naked Face
Can you read people's thoughts just by looking at them?

---This article is about being able to read people's true feeling from their facial expressions. A few scientists have actually tried to quantify this process by studying the muscles in the face and the possible facial expressions that can be generated. It's called Facial Action Coding System (FACS). I found this topic fascinating. I also found out that the researcher is a consultant for Half-Life2 (a computer game, if you haven't heard of it), which is going to be awesome. If you haven't checked out the E3 presentation on it, check it out, because it's pretty cool.

The Talent Myth
Are smart people overrated?

---This one is actually mostly about ENRON. I never realized what the culture at ENRON was like and how their corporate culture was a direct contributor to their demise. It's kinda scary, because I agreed with what the consultants were saying to ENRON. Read to article to find out what they recommended and how it all went downhill from there.

The Art of Failure
Why some people choke and others panic.

---According to this writer, there is a marked difference between choking and panicking. I think I could learn something from this article. I"ve experienced a choke on occasion. And I sometimes panic (especially on exams where I don't know the material!). The thing is, I'm not really sure what to do to stop from choking. Panic can be stopped with experience (ie studying for exams thoroughly).

The New-Boy Network
What do job interviews really tell us?

---A few topics are covered in this article. The power of first impressions should not be underestimated. Typical job interviews are not very useful, unless they are performed in a proper way. So if anyone of you are going for job interviews, this may article may be helpful....either that or discouraging.

The Physical Genius
What do Wayne Gretzky, Yo-Yo Ma, and a brain surgeon named Charlie Wilson have in common?

---Some people have it, and others don't. The reason? Because they practice and "chunk" and they are physically "creative". Unforunately, I'm not one of these people.

Six Degrees of Lois Weisberg
She's a grandmother, she lives in a big house in Chicago,
and you've never heard of her.
Does she run the world?


---The answer is yes. Some people are "connectors". They connect people with other people. If you know one personally you'll become a much happier person. Now, if only I could find one.

The Coolhunt
Who decides what's cool? Certain kids in
certain places--and only the coolhunters
know who they are

---This article is actually is about the diffusion of ideas. From innovators --> early adopters --> early majority --> late majority. Which one are you?

Anyway, I read all these articles in one sitting. And it hurt. Studying for exams also does this to me (because I cram and cram). A quick calculation: 7 New Yorker articles X 8000 words/article = 56000 words. And that was just my reading from that one site during one sitting.

I think I know the reason why my eyes stop working.

But it was worth it.