The Akashic Field Chronicle

Click here to read other Pick-of-the-Week (POW) entries

As promised, I’ll be trying to blog with a little more semblance of regularity. I figured, what better way to get back into the zone than by bringing back a regular blog segment. Fortunately, I had just the thing in my archives, the AFC Pick-of-the-Week (P.O.W)!  But a weekly segment seems completely unrealistic at the moment. Perhaps bi-monthly sounds a little more practical (we’ll see). Anyway, it’s still a week and I still pick something, just not every week, so there.

This week, I’m picking…

Beamer

LaTeX Beamer to be exact. What’s Beamer you ask? Well technically it’s just another LaTeX package, but a pretty awesome one if you ask me. A friend introduced it to me while I was doing my MS at  UP Diliman and I’ve been a huge fan ever since.

It’s basically a package (i.e. an extension) to LaTeX in order to make presentation slides using standard LaTeX syntax. If you already write papers or dicussion notes in LaTeX and you’re familiar with its syntax then Beamer is definitely for you. If not, then it’s a perfect opportunity to start learning LaTeX. I previously wrote about how useful it is in this post, and I still believe so.

Why Use Beamer

Here are some reasons why I’d recommend using it:

• LaTeX – It’s built on top of LaTeX and if you think LaTeX is great (esp. for rendering math) then this reason is pretty self-explanatory.
• It Looks Great – It’s hard to sell this claim, esp. to people who are obsessed with PowerPoint. But you have to see it to believe it. Here are some great Beamer examples:
  • A Sample Presentation by Till Tantau (creator of the Beamer class)
  • Demo of different features
  • My MS thesis defense presentation (ok, maybe it’s not great, but it has sentimental value)
• Portability - A Beamer presentation is essentially a PDF file so it will work almost anywhere (and preserve ‘animations’).
• Reusability - the LaTeX code in your paper, discussion notes, book or whatever, is exactly the same code used in Beamer. Including the structure (section, subsection, etc.). This means formulas will render perfectly whether you originally used it on a paper or a presentation. If you’re cramming a presentation, you can even make it straight from your paper (just put \begin{frame} … \end{frame} on certain segments)
• Structure - Beamer, without messing with the nitty-gritty, enforces a certain style to your slides as you will see if you look at the examples I have above. Some PPT users might see this as very limiting, but after a while you begin to realize that this actually forces you to adhere to certain rules (font size, image placement, margins, etc.) that actually make your presentations look very professional.
• It’s Free - and not the ‘illegal’ kind of free

Did I mention they look great?!

Who Should Use Beamer (and who might not want to)?

If you regularly write research papers and make presentations (Faculty, Grad Students, Researchers, etc.) then I definitely recommend you at least try it out. If you’re already familiar with LaTeX then I recommend it even more. Also, if you find yourself rendering mathematical formulas very often, then the LaTeX equation rendering is the best there is.

Still, there are some who might not see the point of using Beamer and might not necessarily benefit from the things I listed above. These include:

• People who can’t invest time learning LaTeX - I admit, the learning curve is a little steep and for some people it just isn’t worth it.
• People who want their presentation to focus on the animations – although beamer has some animation capability, it won’t give you that nasty ‘Swivel” animation. Sorry.
• People who need their content to  be accessible to their superiors - and by this I mean, people who are expecting their bosses to re-purpose their hard work to please their respective bosses (you know who you are). You can’t expect the bosses to learn LaTeX. Sorry.

How can I learn?

I won’t go into a tutorial of Beamer, much less LaTeX. Fortunately, Google is your friend. To save you a little effort, here are the tutorials I really like:

• A Beamer Quickstart – this should get you started real quick (huh? wait?)
• Beamer v3.0 Guide – the most comprehensive one I’ve found besides the user manual (also, it’s made with beamer)
• Beamer User Guide – the manual
• LaTeX Tutorial – by Eudean Sun, presented (using beamer!) in a seminar sponsored by the UCLA Graduate Students Resource Center. Specially targeted to Grad Students.

So there. Start making professional looking presentations and make your adviser think you’re actually making progress on your research

Click here to read other Pick-of-the-Week (POW) entries

Oh my! Talk about a blogging break. Lots to write about since my last post on August 3, 2009 (Which according to the site stats is currently the most read post in TAFC to date). The short of it is:

1. I’m done with my MS
2. “Fund the Pinoy” was successful beyond my wildest expectations
3. I’m here at UCLA doing my PhD
4. and, I survived my first ever quarter.

Now, for the long version…

Fund the Pinoy

Knock and the door shall be opened to you. When I went to The Interwebs and asked for Php 364,000 (~$8,000), I knew it was a long shot. Never in my wildest dreams, (those who know me well would probably say this isn’t such a hard feat), would I have imagined such an overwhelming response to such a simple call for help. I could honestly say that this has been one of the most amazing surprises/blessings/experiences I have ever had in my entire life.

In the first night alone, a few hours after posting my plea, I was able to raise more than half the amount. In a few weeks time the total pledges have exceeded my target (although eventually I got exactly what I needed). It was simply amazing how ready people were to help. I was even helped by complete strangers (oh the power of social networking).

So I would like to take this opportunity to thank these people who have given me so much. You know who you are (and of course I do too, since I owe you big time), but I won’t ruin it with a list. If you didn’t get my make-shift certificate on your inbox, please inform me at fundthepinoy-at-urriza.net. It is my wish that your kindness will not go unrewarded and that any hopes you might have for this undertaking of mine be satisfied in due time.

UCLA

The place is gorgeous (which is a lot more than I could say for the rest of LA). I have been here for a little over 3 months (1 quarter) and the place is simply amazing. They say a picture paints a thousand words so:

UCLA Powell Library

This is a picture of the undergrad library which I think is stunning on the outside (wait until you see inside). Here’s a picture of where I live:

Weyburn Terrace (Grad Student Housing)

Unfortunately, I don’t have the luxury of taking that many pictures. Apparently, I also do not have the luxury of blogging for too long . So I will have to cut this one short and continue it some other time. Anyway, I’m staying here for the holidays (sad, I know) so I’m thinking I’ll be able to blog a little more in the next few days.

Talk about taking a break from blogging . My last post (five months ago), optimistically entitled “Thesis Sprint”, turned out to be one of the longest, most drawn out sprints that was ever done in the history of “figurative” racing. Maybe marathon (kudos to Wil) would have been a better term. Nah. It was more like a walkathon, crawlathon, stop-to-catch-my-breathaton,(check-my-facebookathon!).

Anyway, it wasn’t until July 13th, that I actually successfully defended my MS thesis (Yey!). I still have a few document revisions before I can truly say that I’m finally done. Still, the hardest part’s over. Thank God. I learned a valuable lesson (I think):

Lesson 1: Don’t ever be too sure of yourself and your abilities.

You never know how things will actually turn out. In other words: “Huwag magsalita ng tapos”.

–

In other news, I have been accepted to UCLA‘s PhD program in Electrical Engineering (Yey!). Which is actually not news anymore to almost anyone who knows me. Still, I haven’t mentioned it in this blog and I think it deserves at least a short announcement here, seeing as it will adversely affect my life from this point on. This would also hopefully lead to 1 less item on my top 10 list.

This truly was a fortunate blessing which even now, is still a pleasant surprise to me. After applying to 5 universities and being rejected from 4 of them, I really believe that there was someone/something greater than me at work here. Funny how I didn’t even have UCLA on my list of schools to apply to initially. It was a suggestion from my MS thesis adviser which I added to the list just because GeorgiaTech’s application asked way to many questions and I was lazy.

Lesson 2: Things always have a way of working out in the end, sometimes even better than what you planned for. The important thing is to never stop trying.

And with full financial support for the entire first year… God truly makes a way. If anyone reading this lives even remotely close to the Westwood area of LA, drop me a line so we can meet up once I’m there.

-

In other other news, my TAship (teaching associate) at the Electrical and Electronics Engineering Institute (EEEI) of UP Diliman has also officially ended last May. So technically, I’m a bum right now. I do have some things lined up keeping me busy (and hopefully keep me earning) in the time remaining before Fall term starts on September.

This means my teaching career is temporary on hold right now. I do however still plan to teach once I get my Ph.D. or maybe even a little bit in UCLA as a TA. It’s hard to convince people that I plan to go back and teach (what with the high paying jobs abroad, especialy for those with advance degrees), but I will. My word on it.

My TA experience certainly deserves its very own blog post (or two), so I wont make this one longer than it already is. So here’s my third and last lesson:

Lesson 3: If you really love what you do, you’ll never have to work a day in your life.

And teaching certainly is what I love to do. That’s about all I can say about the past five months. There’s obviously a lot more to say but after that long an absence its hard to start writing again. Wish me luck and please pray for me on my biggest adventure yet.

WordPress 2.7 has arrived and I updated this blog as soon as I can. The process was quick and painless.  I like what they’ve done to the interface, but it does take a little getting used to. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find the time to post anything after the upgrade. Just look at the date on my previous one. That’s about 3 months without a single post. The only activity this blog has seen since then, is a couple of Russian comments that got through Akismet.

The Holidays are here, so I think new posts are in order. Besides the free time and the guilt at having to pay my webhost for nothing, I have another motivation for resurrecting this blog. In the next few weeks I want to focus on improving my writing skills. Everybody tells me the best way to do that is to practice. I just don’t see myself writing essays in a diary or something. So I plan to use my blog instead. I’m sure the web is filled with people who have nothing better to do than criticize my writing. If you feel like doing so, or you see an error here and there, just drop me a line. I won’t get mad. I’ll even thank you for it.

Why the sudden interest in writing you might ask? No, I haven’t given up on my M.S. and decided to become a writer instead. On the contrary, I’ve actually decided to go straight to a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering. I have my reasons for doing this and I don’t want to dwell on them on this particular post. Its enough to say that I’m almost done with the application process.

When applying for Grad School in U.S. universities, you have to write a few essays about your qualifications and your plans upon getting your degree. They call it the statement of purpose. It’s hard to make one. Doing my SoP, I realized how much I sucked at writing. A fact that was further reinforced after someone, whose opinions I value very much, told me I need to work on my writing (and speaking) skills. The exact words, if I remember correctly, were: “Your writing skills are not proportionate to your intelligence”. Why thank you! At least I got the intelligent part right.

Seriously though, writing is my weakest link. A flaw that would be all the more crucial once I get into a U.S. university (hopefully next year). I’ve decided to do something about it and I’m going to start with this blog. I have other plans of course, but this is the first and easiest one. So if you read my blog ocassionally, and you think you could have written it better, just say so in the comments section. Hopefully with your help, I’ll start writing better in no time.

I’ve always thought Jorge Cham’s PhD (Piled Higher and Deeper) Comics are simply brilliant, ever since someone recommended it to me at the start of my career as a grad student. Here’s one that’s very close to my heart right now:

Okay, I haven’t been in grad school that long and I definitely don’t have a kid yet, but I don’t want it to come to that either. I’ve actually been thinking a lot about this recently and I’ve come to the conclusion that I should finish my Masters as soon as possible. This way I can move on with my career path as early as possible. Whether that is to teach, to work in the industry, or to go straight to a PhD (I’m kinda hoping for this last one).

Full-time Master students in our department are expected to finish in 2 years. However, the sad reality is that I don’t really know of anyone (especially not among those who also teach), who have actually managed this. The course work isn’t really a big issue, since they don’t really fail a lot of people in grad classes. It ultimately boils down to how long it takes for you to finish your thesis. From what I’ve observed, that can be really long time.

The Problem of Focus

Why do people take forever on their thesis? I’m not exactly sure. Since it’s my first semester working on mine, I can’t really be considered as an authority on the matter. It’s safe to say though, that a lot of it’s got to do with maintaining focus.

A graduate level thesis usually involves a lot of open-ended research work. This is in contrast with most undergraduate work which follows a very strict schedule, usually in the form of a syllabus which they give to you at the start of the semester, or maybe a course checklist. Point is, you know exactly what to expect, and if you work hard enough, there really shouldn’t be any reason to spend a long time in college (okay, maybe that’s not exactly true).

In actual research, you constantly find yourself stumped by some new problem, or maybe an unexpected result. There’s also usually so much happening that you find yourself distracted all the time.

My Plan

I want to finish my thesis this semester. I really do. So what am I gonna do about it? Remove all distractions and try to maintain focus. Of course, that’s not exactly a walk in the park. So, what I’ve done, is to lay out a plan which I’ll try to stick to as close as I possibly can until I manage my goal.

That’s actually the main reason I’m writing this post. I love writing down my plans. Plain and simple, clear and concise, listed down on paper (ok, on a blog). Most of it, I’ve actually managed to do in the past month or so. Others, I still have to work on. Some of them might seem really extreme to a lot of people, but then again, extreme cases call for extreme measures.

1. Zero Distractions – The amount of distractions you run into in a single day is staggering. I think, the best way not to be distracted is to not allow for the possibility at all.
   • Email – I only check my email once a day (in the evening).
   • IMs – I have actually turned off my instant messenger by removing it at start-up. If you want to reach me, use email (which again, I only check once a day).
   • Feeds – Same as email. I might not even read them at all in a day.
   • Blogging – Ummm… I’m blogging right now. Haha. Just on the weekends I guess.
   • Stocks – I initially planned to stay “in-cash” (i.e. no stock) and have managed to sell everything at a decent price. However, now that the market seems to be swinging up again, a friend suggested that it might be a better idea to pick some “blue-chips” and then just check on them once in a while. (I chose, ABS-CBN, Metrobank, and First Gen)
   • Web in general – I try to avoid the web if possible since I consider it the #1 reason for being distracted
2. Forming a habit - Plans like these are easier to implement if you make them part of your routine.
   • Office Time – I arrive at school at exactly the same time (8:00 am) every single day. That’s a feat, considering I have almost 2 hours of travel time
   • Break Time – Strictly 1 hour for lunch. That’s it.
   • Work Time – I do teach, so I can’t really neglect my duties. However, I try not to be distracted too much by it. I can always devote more time on this after I graduate if I decide that this is what I really want.
3. Thesis Work – The key part of this plan is really the schedule. I have outlined everything that I have to do in order to finish my thesis and I regularly check if I’m still on schedule.
   • Adviser Updates – Every week, I will email an update to my adviser. No matter how little work I actually managed to do. This way, someone can track my progress, besides me.
   • Publication – I try to motivate myself to work by aiming for a conference. My adviser suggested submitting to this conference in Hungary. This way I have a deadline which is beyond my control.

That’s it. That’s my plan to finish my thesis either this sem or the next. Hopefully, this will allow me to graduate by April 2009. I’ll bookmark this entry so that I’m constantly reminded that I made this plan. If you know me, and you find me slacking about, just tell me that you read this post so I will remember my plan.

Please pray for me. See you in April!