The only valid measurement of code quality: WTFs/minute.
Source: http://www.osnews.com/story/19266/WTFs_m
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@cx882
The only valid measurement of code quality: WTFs/minute.
Source: http://www.osnews.com/story/19266/WTFs_m
…bled XIII…(Slovenia) by roblfc1892 || Facebook
Europe can be magical at times...
Regret for the past and fear of the future are twin thieves that steal from the present.
Don’t remember who :-(
Visualize the airlines and airports you used the most in 2016 for a sweet infographic about your travels.
It’s that time of year where the “Year in Review”s are popping up everywhere, and since I’ve had the privilege of traveling a ton this year, I thought I’d post this fun visualization.
This past year, I’ve had the opportunity to do two major international trips, thanks in part to incredibly low airfares. Back in late March, I flew to Europe on an incredible $274 roundtrip fare, and got to spend a few days in beautiful Croatia with Elaine, a good friend from high school, as well as visit many of my friends in Edinburgh, Scotland from my study abroad semester. It was interesting to see especially how my Scottish friends have grown and matured, and to allow me to immerse myself in nostalgia and revisit some of my favorite spots in the place I called home for a semester. And this past October, I had the chance to explore the beautiful country of Vietnam (as well as visit some friends in Asia along the way) and get some new perspective about the privilege we have as Americans. I hope I’ll remember some of the local people I met while traveling the country.
And of course, I was able to pull off a few domestic trips as well, spending time with family and visiting friends in Seattle and New York. This is in addition to a few good road trips with friends, to Death Valley and Half Dome.
You can generate your own with your TripIt data here: http://cem.re/year-in-review/ (Was hacked together by a fellow Facebooker)
As a map: (generated from gcmap.com)
It’s been a great year of adventures, and I’m definitely thankful I had these opportunities this year. Here’s to more travels and adventures in 2017!
Day 2: 🇭🇰Hong Kong!
Oct 8, 2016 | Urban Pack Hostel 休閒小窩, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong
This was my one day in Hong Kong, and I spent it mostly meeting up with people and exploring around Mong Kok, which I've surprisingly never been to!
I began the morning meeting up with Samantha, who's now studying at HKUST. We caught up over tea, and one thing I learned: I am so glad I didn't attend university in Hong Kong. Apparently their system emphasizes memorization a LOT, and teaching quality leaves much to be desired... I was surprised that she was already in her final year though; how time flies!
Hanging out with Samantha!
After that, I walked towards Jordan for lunch, and decided to cut through Kowloon Park on my way there. A few things of interest: there was a temporary exhibit called the "Avenue of the Comic Stars", a clear nod to the nearby Avenue of the Stars in Tsim Sha Tsui. Of course, I didn't really recognize any of the comic stars... There was also a nice pagoda and lake filled with a bunch of turtles, which was pretty neat to see. Finally, I made a stop at the Aviary and saw some of the lovely birds they have!
Penguin! Avenue of the Comic Stars in Kowloon Park.
A nice and peaceful pagoda in Kowloon Park.
A little turtle family!
Next stop: food! I started by grabbing some curry fish balls at a stand in Jordan which I've patronized many times over the last fifteen years. I guess my spice tolerance has gotten better: I didn't die while eating them! :-O
咖喱魚蛋 Curry Fish Balls – yum!
This stand has been here for as long as I can remember, and it's just as yummy as before!
I then continued down the street to get my fix of 雲吞麵 Wonton Noodle Soup at 麥文記 Mak Man Kee. This is also a fairly well-known wonton noodle soup shop, and their Jordan location has quite a bit of history! I usually go to Mak's Noodles, but this was quite yummy too, albeit with what seems to be a smaller portion...
雲吞麵 Wonton Noodle Soup at 麥文記 Mak Man Kee.
I decided I had to try Tim Ho Wan's famous BBQ pork buns, so I continued walking along to Mong Kok. Tim Ho Wan recently lost their title of being the world's cheapest Michelin star restaurant (lost to a restaurant serving chicken and rice in Singapore). Along the way, I passed by a few street markets and what looked a bit like a slum in Mong Kok.
A busy street market in Yau Ma Tei.
A side of Hong Kong I haven't really seen before. When I think of Hong Kong, of course I mostly see the glittering buildings in Central and Tsim Sha Tsui. But there's a clearly a much poorer side of Hong Kong as well, hidden away along a major thoroughfare in Mong Kok...
Finally, I reached Olympian City and found the Tim Ho Wan. I didn't want to wait so I grabbed their BBQ pork buns to go. They were really good – it's slightly crispy on the outside but very soft, and the BBQ pork filling is really yummy. I derped though and forgot that I couldn't buy just one; I had to buy three... no complaints!
Tim Ho Wan's famous BBQ pork buns.
That delicious BBQ pork filling...
After that, I made my way to Mong Kok to explore some of the street markets. In Mong Kok, there are actually five such markets:
Tung Choi Street, home to the Goldfish Market
Fa Yuen Street, which is a street market that sells a wide variety of things
Flower Market, self-explanatory
Yuen Po Bird Garden and Market, a street where you can buy birds and supplies for pet birds
Temple Street Night Market (which I didn't visit)
The Goldfish Market is pretty unique: it's a street with a lot of vendors that sell goldfish in little bags, supposedly popular because it's a fengshui thing. I'd expected a street lined exclusively with goldfish vendors, but there are also a handful of restaurants and pet shops sprinkled in between.
Lots and lots of goldfish at the Goldfish Market on Tung Choi Street!
I quickly walked through Fa Yuen Street, since I wasn't really interested in buying anything... until a produce stand caught my eye with mangosteens. I was so excited: I haven't had them in like 15+ years, and they're so yummy! The vendor gave me a weird look though when I said I wanted just two (they were being sold for HKD $30 for 2 lbs)...
Fa Yuen Street Market, filled to the brim with vendors selling all sorts of things.
I then strolled through the Flower Market, which to me wasn't anything particularly special. At the end of the street, I made my way to the Yuen Po Bird Garden and Market, which was really neat! There were of course lots of stands selling bird supplies and crawling insects as food, but there were also stands selling a variety of birds. Especially at the stands which had tons of small birds for sale, the birdsong was deafening but pretty lovely!
Birds for sale!
The shop owner bringing out one of the parrots for the crowd to admire.
Why hello there little guy!
As I made my way back to the MTR station, I passed by something I haven't seen in the Tsim Sha Tsui area in a while: a street vendor selling roasted chestnuts and the like. If only I wasn't so full...
Roasted chestnuts!
... among other food items.
I then made my way to Causeway Bay to catch up with Belle (from Edinburgh) over dessert. It was interesting to hear her transition into the banking life, and I was pretty shocked at some of the hours she puts in and the office culture. There's a pretty stark difference: in software, a lot of us at least talk about work-life balance; in banking, it seems like everyone's a workaholic. She was surprised to hear that our managers actually care for us, value our opinions, and tries to give us work aligned with our interests. In contrast, her manager made certain all the juniors knew where they were in the pecking order and that they were dispensable... So glad I didn't go into banking :-O
Dessert at Hui Lau Shan!
Catching up with Belle over dessert.
I then grabbed dinner with my Uncle Alan and Aunt Ada, and they took me to one of their favorite Teochew restaurants, Zither Restaurant 古琴潮州酒家 in Wan Chai. As always, the food was really good, and it's pretty neat because my Uncle knows the chef and they seem really close. (The chef also remembered me from the last time I visited... and even pointed out where I sat too! :-O) I found this a bit amusing: first thing my aunt asked: "oh it's just you this time? Where's your girlfriend? Oh wait that was just a friend you were traveling with..."
After dinner, I wandered around Wan Chai a little bit before making my way to The Peak. It was a really clear night so I got treated with some amazing views at the top!
Wandering around Wan Chai.
Enjoying the view from the top of Victoria Peak. This view never gets old, and I'm convinced that Hong Kong has one of the world's most beautiful skylines!
I finally headed back to the hostel, ate my mangosteens, and packed. I have an early early flight tomorrow morning, and I made a rookie mistake: didn't learn until AFTER I'd booked my low-cost flight to Singapore that:
1. Check-in closes 1 hour prior to departure (6:00am) 2. I have to check in in person at the airport 3. The first train to the airport doesn't arrive in time, so I had to take the night bus... at 4:30am.
Enjoying some mangosteen goodness back at the hostel. :-)
Day 1: 16 Hours of Flying
Oct 6-7, 2016 | Urban Pack Hostel 休閒小窩, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong
For the next 2.5 weeks, I'll be traveling in Southeast Asia. My itinerary:
Hong Kong: Oct 7-9, 2016 Singapore: Oct 9-10, 2016 Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam: Oct 10-13, 2016 Hoi An, Vietnam: Oct 14-16, 2016 Hanoi, Vietnam: Oct 17, 2016 Ha Long Bay, Vietnam: Oct 18-19, 2016 Sapa / Lao Cai, Vietnam: Oct 19-21, 2016 Hanoi, Vietnam: Oct 22-23, 2016 Seoul, South Korea: Oct 24, 2016 (11-hour layover)
This will actually be my first time in Southeast Asia and was also my first time visiting a country which required a visa. (I ended up visiting the Vietnamese Consulate in San Francisco to get mine. Relatively straightforward but expensive.)
My first set of flights, which will get me to Hong Kong at 10:40pm on Friday:
Asiana flight 211: San Francisco (SFO) to Seoul-Incheon (ICN) Asiana flight 745: Seoul-Incheon (ICN) to Hong Kong (HKG)
Before my flights, I used one of my one-time passes and headed to the United Club in the international terminal. It was actually pretty nice, and I helped myself to some reasonably good beef stew and coffee. The lovely thing though was the excellent view of the tarmac, and it was a nice way to pass a few hours while I worked remotely in the morning.
United aircraft for days.
Here, have some variety. I spy: a United Boeing 747, two United Boeing 787s, an Air Canada Airbus A320, an ANA Boeing 777, what I think is a United Airbus A320, and a Wow Air Airbus A330.
Asiana is an interesting carrier. On one hand, their soft product is excellent: some of the best inflight service I've had, excellent food in economy (and they give you metal cutlery too!), etc. – but their hard product on the 777-200 fleet is ancient. (Excellent legroom though!) Don't get me wrong, the seats were in immaculate condition (much cleaner and newer looking than most US Airways' planes I've been on), but it was like stepping into a time capsule; the entertainment systems were like what Cathay Pacific had over a decade ago. Also, the problem with being Asian and traveling on an Asian airline: the flight attendants would speak to me in Korean, I'd stare blankly back, and then they'd apologize and ask me in English.
For lunch, we had an option of the Korean meal (bibimbap) or the Western meal (steak). I'd been pretty set on the bibimbap... until I heard the flight attendant say "steak". Considering this was an in-flight meal, it was done really well: the beef was still reasonably tender and very juicy!
Lunch: steak! Mind you, this is in economy class...
As the flight progressed, we flew over Alaska and the view out the window was wonderful! (This is also my first time flying on a daytime flight to Asia.)
Flying over the beautiful Alaskan countryside.
For dinner, the options were fish and rice or chicken and rice. I opted for the fish and rice, and this was also excellent. The fish was in some sort of chili sauce, and the rice was also really good. Very impressed with Asiana catering; no wonder they win awards for their in-flight food. :-)
Dinner: Fish and rice.
I had a short layover in Seoul-Incheon airport, and the main things I have to say:
Asian airports are so efficient. Why can't we have that?!
Seriously impressed with the thought: Incheon is designed to be a global hub, and it shows in the little things. Their charging stations have a variety of outlet types, as well as USB charging ports and even wireless charging...
Free airport wifi was fast. I had ~160 photos sync up to Dropbox in less than ten minutes.
My ride to Hong Kong, a regionally-configured Asiana Boeing 777-200.
For my last leg to Hong Kong, we ended up departing over a half hour late, probably due to weather (it was raining REALLY hard outside). On board, I received a second dinner: fish and rice (this time a sweet and sour fish). This was more on the average side, but still good!
Second dinner: [sweet and sour] fish and rice.
I finally arrived in Hong Kong at 10:40pm. It still astounds me at how efficient Hong Kong is: I went from the gate to the curb (through immigration and customs) in just ten minutes. I found my hostel, which was pretty nice. As with everything in Hong Kong, it was a bit cramped, but definitely a lot nicer than I expected!
Hiking Half Dome
Sep 24-25, 2016
Something that's been on my bucket list for some time now was to hike to the top of Half Dome. This 14-18 mile (22.5-29.0 km) hike is one of the most strenuous hikes in Yosemite – as one guide put it, on a scale of 1-10, Half Dome is an 11 – and takes groups an average of 10-12 hours to complete. It's particularly (in)famous for the cables for the last stretch, whereby you kind of pull yourself up to the top.
Applying for the Permit
Permits are required if you want to hike to the top of Half Dome, and they're issued through a lottery system. The online system works like this: for your group, you can pick up to seven days (ranked in order of preference) to apply for in the lottery in April. When the system draws your application, it goes down your list and picks the first day that has enough permits for everyone in your group. At least one of the trip leader or alternate leader specified on the application has to be present on the day of the hike, and each person can only be trip leader or alternate on one application.
We had a group of 10 people, so we ended up submitting 5 applications for 4 people each (total of 20 permits), and got back 8 permits. It's tough!
Supplies
At a minimum:
Nice pair of gloves: you'll be grateful for them as you hang on to those cables as you ascend Half Dome. (There's also a stash at the base that people have left behind.)
At least 3.5 L of water/Gatorade. Especially if it's a hot
Headlamp, since you'll probably start while it's dark.
Snack bars and food – this is a tough hike!
Hiking boots. Don't even think about doing this without them.
Tip: Go up via the John Muir Trail. The Mist Trail is basically stairs the entire way, and I can't imagine having to go up that trail. Plus, the John Muir Trail gives you great views from high up along the ridge. (We came back via the Mist Trail.)
The Hike!
Kevin, Marion, Valerie, and I opted to stay in the park in one of the heated tent cabins in Half Dome Village (formerly known as Curry Village), and although a bit pricey for the accommodation, all of us were very glad we decided to do that. It's nice to be able to start hiking right away in the morning, and we were very relieved we didn't have to drive back to a hotel after the hike.
On Saturday, we woke up bright and early for the hike. By 5:30am, we were finally ready to head out! It was quite cold in the morning, but nothing that layers (which we quickly stripped off) couldn't solve! Since the shuttles in Yosemite Valley don't begin operating until 7:00am, we had to walk an additional mile or so to get to the Happy Isles trailhead.
Ready for the 17 miles roundtrip to the top of Half Dome! I promise we weren't nearly as chipper after the hike... :-P
As we began walking along the John Muir trail, the sun started to rise, and it was quite beautiful to see the first rays of sunlight start hitting the mountain ridges around us. It was a great incentive as we worked our way up the relentless switchbacks to gain a lot of elevation quickly. As we continued on, we got our first glimpse of Half Dome – but it was interesting since this was the BACK of Half Dome. It definitely threw us off on our geographic orientation a bit!
Our first glimpse of Half Dome from the John Muir trail!
Photo break!
After a while, we finally reached Nevada Falls and got a pretty lovely view of the falls from afar. From the John Muir trail, however, you are actually on TOP of Nevada Falls, so we couldn't get up close. Since this was the end of September and California is in a drought, Nevada Falls was a shadow of its usual self. Still lovely though!
Approaching Nevada Falls!
The great thing about nature is how peaceful and idyllic it can be!
After Nevada Falls, we hit a nice stretch of trail which was relatively flat and sandy, and because it was relatively exposed, it was nice and warm too! Unfortunately, it didn't stay that way for long, and soon enough, it was back to the relentless uphill.
By now, it's 8:30am and the sun is out, and the John Muir Trail has turned into a lovely, relatively flat stroll!
It got to a point where checking my phone to see how far we'd walked started becoming depressing. We'd walk for a while, I'd call for a break (I definitely was not in as good of shape as I thought I was, esp. for the uphill treks), and I'd be dismayed that we only covered another half mile or so since the last check. After trekking through what seemed like a neverending forest for a while, we finally broke through and caught a view of Half Dome, much closer than before!
Almost there... or so we thought.
Just when we were starting to get excited that we were covering the last mile, we found ourselves at the foot of a hill with stairs as far as the eyes could see. That was definitely a struggle, and it got scary too because part of it didn't have steps; you just had to kind of scramble up the rock. (Hopefully you have good hiking boots!) After about seven hours, we finally reached the subdome, where we took a long break before attempting the (in)famous last step: the cables. One word of advice: leave as much stuff as you can at the subdome. Nobody's going to steal it, and the cables are hard enough as it is without a ton of extra weight weighing you down!
Chilling at the subdome!
Marion getting ready to ascend the cables.
Not going to lie, the cables were really tough for me, and it's tough for a few reasons:
By this point, I'd already hiked ~8 miles, mostly uphill. I was tired.
I have ZERO upper body strength, and although there are regular slats for you to put your feet on, they're relatively far apart. You have to kind of pull yourself up in between those slats. And when you look around and realize how high up you are, you end up gripping onto those cables for dear life!
There's traffic! There's two cables total for traffic in both directions, and the slats are wide enough only for two people to stand. Because this part is very tiring, people would also rest after every slat, and you had to communicate to let people pass you going down.
The view was fantastic (and kind of scary) as we went up. I think if I had more faith in my arms, I would have loved to take my camera out. Guess it'll just have to stay in my memories! :-/
Finally, I stumbled to the top – Kevin actually has a video of me struggling to hoist myself up the final stretch. The view was incredible! Half Dome was always this landmark, and although I knew it was high up, I didn't completely grasp just how high up it is. It was a beautiful day, and you could see into the Yosemite Valley and it was really lovely. Definitly worth the intense hike up! Amusingly, there was strong 4G signal at the top too – the National Park Service clearly knows what people want to do at the Top of Half Dome ;-)
WE MADE IT!!!
Photoshoot time!
Yosemite Valley! And this gives you a sense for just how high up you are!
Panorama from the Top of Half Dome!
After hanging around at the top for close to an hour and taking tons of photos, it was time to start heading down. Most guides recommend that you should turn around no later than 3:30pm to make it back to Yosemite Valley at a reasonable time. We made our way down the cables – in my opinion, down was a lot easier, esp. if you go down backwards – and basically scrambled quickly down the John Muir Trail and eventually the Mist Trail. Thank goodness we went up the John Muir Trail: the Mist Trail is ALL stairs, and it was pretty brutal to go down. (I don't want to think about how bad it must've been to go up!) On the way, we passed Nevada Falls and Vernal Falls, but at this point, we were all so dead that we had just one singular focus: to go home.
Half Dome Cables from the top. Time to head down!
<2016-09-24 17.46.08.jpg> Nevada Falls!
<2016-09-24 18.33.35.jpg> Vernal Falls!
By the time we reached the Happy Isles Bus Stop, we were all dying. For Marion and me, our legs actually started shaking with each step, and I ended up jogging down a significant stretch of the trail to try and make it easier on my legs. Valerie was basically trudging along like a robot, she was so dead. After four hours on the descent, we finally stumbled to the bus stop right as a Yosemite Valley shuttle bus arrived. We grabbed dinner at the Half Dome Village cafeteria and basically sat in bed the rest of the evening.
The next morning, we drove around Yosemite Valley a bit and got a few photos of Half Dome before leaving. We were all way too sore to do anything else!
Yosemite Valley from the Tunnels Lookout! Hard to believe we were all the way over there just the day before :-O
And it's a wrap: an awesome weekend with an awesome set of friends. :-)
An in-depth guide to plane spotting, focusing on how to differentiate between various popular planes used in commercial aviation.
Hehehe...
By Boy Wildenborg
Home | JinnyboyTV
I Never Want to be Like My Mother | JinnyboyTV
Sometimes it’s good to stop and think about the sacrifices our parents made to get us to where we are.
Many of you are probably aware that carriers that have hubs try to schedule their flights in bursts to maximize connecting traffic — a bank of flights all arrive, there’s pandemonium for 90 minutes, and then huge bank of flights depart. This is efficient network planning and a large reason why we can fly to …
Understanding Airports’ Busiest Times
Many network carriers “bank” their flights: they organize their flights to depart and arrive in waves to maximize connections. Some interesting data to see when that happens, and as such, when large global hubs expect to be busiest.
简单就是爱 Simplicity is Love | Butterworks
Epic Bottle Flip | Eden Ang
Success is in collaboration.
Different | Dan Khoo Productions
I looked it up afterwards and this is apparently for Eid al Fitr and is in Malay (with English subtitles), but I thought it was a lovely short :-)
Source: Internet Cats