2024-12-10 TIL: Interview Success Strategies & Top Podcasts of 2024

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Interview Success in SV

I interviewed at six top companies in Silicon Valley in six days, and stumbled into six job offers

• Structured Preparation: Focus on coding problems, system design, and company-specific technologies. Use resources like LeetCode and HackerRank to practice.
• Daily Consistency: Dedicate regular time to solve problems and review core concepts.
• Mock Interviews: Simulate interviews to build confidence and refine communication.

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Top Charts of 2024

• Apple shares the most popular podcasts of 2024
• The above list of podcasts is available as an OPML file for your podcast player

After dropping Hamer at school, I felt guilty reading an article about programmers preparing for interviews—something I’d aspired to but never pursued. I later browsed Apple’s 2024 U.S. podcast rankings, adding episodes to Overcast for future listening.

I discovered my passport had expired and applied for renewal online, but the initial review failed. Concerned about needing to apply at my registered residence, I rushed to the Beijing Exit-Entry Administration Bureau. Thankfully, the staff resolved the issue on-site without an appointment and eased my anxiety.

In the afternoon, I worked on PopupManager issues. In the evening, I played badminton and admired Hamer’s self-motivation to study, a remarkable change from her younger years.

2024-12-09 TIL: Genie 2, Conventional Commits, and Playful Tech Terms

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Genie 2

• A revolutionary foundation world model by DeepMind that transforms single images into fully interactive 3D environments.
• Enables unlimited training scenarios for AI agents by generating diverse virtual worlds.

Large-Scale Foundation World Models vs. Large Language Models (LLMs)

• Purpose: Generate and simulate 3D environments vs. Understand and produce human-like text
• Training Data: Visual data like images and videos vs. Extensive text data
• Applications: Gaming, simulations, AI agent training vs. Chatbots, translation, content generation

Genie 2 vs. World Labs' AI System

• Functionality: Transforms text or images into interactive 3D environments vs. Creates editable 3D scenes in a web browser.
• Technology: Latent diffusion model simulating physics and interactions vs. AI estimating 3D geometry for coherent, plausible scenes.
• Use Cases: AI training and rapid game prototyping vs. Immersive environment design for gaming and film.

Conventional Commits

A commit message standard that integrates seamlessly with SemVer.

• Types:
  • fix: Bug fix → triggers a PATCH version bump.
  • feat: New feature → triggers a MINOR version bump.
• Footer:
  • BREAKING CHANGE: API incompatibility → triggers a MAJOR version bump.

Cursor AI Review (Beta)

• The AI Review feature has transitioned to a “Bug Finder” tab, designed to identify potential bugs in your codebase.
• No longer included in subscriptions; costs may be high.

Mintlify

• A modern standard for creating beautiful, user-friendly public-facing documentation.
• Built to convert users while being easy to maintain.

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h-api

• A playful alteration of “happy” with a focus on APIs, expressing joy or enthusiasm about API development. Example: “I’m feeling h-api today!”

Fayre

• Fayre: An old English term for a fun gathering featuring local goods, akin to a fair or bazaar.

Lately, the sun has been rising later and later. This morning, Hamer didn’t wake up as early as she usually does. When I went to wake her, I noticed five or six little birds perched on the tree outside the window. The scene was so peaceful.

After dropping Hamer off at school, I stopped by Nanchengxiang to buy breakfast. Today’s breakfast was especially hearty, but in the end, we couldn’t finish it all. Later, I practiced English with Speak and tried out a theme I had created myself—it felt pretty effective.

I spent the day working efficiently using the Pomodoro method, and I completed the task of saving a Layer as a KmlTrack. It’s now basically done.

In the evening, I came home early. Although I didn’t do anything particularly special, just relaxing and spending time with my family made the simple moments feel especially fulfilling.

2024-12-08 TIL: Notre Dame and Bullpen

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Notre Dame

巴黎圣母院

• “Each day we have 20 difficulties. But it’s different when you work on a building that has a soul. Beauty makes everything easier.”

Bullpen

牛棚

• In baseball, the bullpen refers to the area where pitchers warm up before entering the game. It also symbolizes the team’s group of relief pitchers.
• Origin: The term comes from Major League Baseball, where a Bull Durham tobacco advertisement hung near the pitcher’s practice area.

Today, Xiaoyan took Hamer to Pop Land, fulfilling Hamer’s wish to visit again after getting a stamp there yesterday.

While they were out, I stayed home, finishing the 2023 World Baseball Classic final and watching highlights from other games. Feeling restless after spending most of the day indoors, I went for a refreshing walk.

In the evening, I picked them up and stopped by a crowded Christmas market at FLO. On the way home, the cold night air made the scooter ride feel especially freezing.

2024-12-07 TIL: Dental Health and Baseball Basics

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How do you make a great recruiting video?

Dia

• Your personal insertion cursor

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「六龄齿」

The first permanent molar, also known as the six-year molar, is the earliest permanent tooth to erupt, usually around age six.

• Located as the sixth tooth from the midline, it grows behind the last baby tooth.
• Importance of the First Permanent Molar: Longest-lasting tooth in life. Takes on the majority of chewing functions. Plays a key role in aligning the upper and lower dental arches and guiding other permanent teeth. Requires early protection through fissure sealant application to prevent damage.

Fissure Sealants

A highly effective method to prevent decay in the grooves of young permanent teeth.

• Involves applying a sealing material on the biting surface and grooves of molars to protect against bacteria and food buildup.
• Non-invasive, painless, and preserves natural tooth structure.
• The material hardens to form a protective barrier over deep grooves, preventing decay.

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A Pro Player Explains The Rules Of Baseball

The count matters

• Hitters don’t want to strike out
• Pitchers don’t want to walk hitters

Baseball Rules for Beginners

strike, ball, hit, foul ball, and fair ball

• 3 strike = out
• 4 ball = walk (batter advances to first base)
• 1 hit = walk
• foul ball, 0 or 1 strike counts as a strike, 2 strikes do not count as a strike.
• 1st base loaded fair play: Caught (Runner must return) or Dropped (Runner advances)

This morning, Hamer had a nosebleed, so I stayed with her until she felt calm. Later, we went to the basketball court, where she excitedly practiced her shots.

At noon, she cooked her favorite scallion oil noodles. After lunch and a quick nap, she attended dance class, then got a dental sealant, earning praise for her healthy teeth.

In the evening, Hamer cooked an upgraded noodle dish with sausage and shrimp, enjoying it immensely. Meanwhile, I reviewed baseball rules and watched the 2023 World Baseball Classic finals.

Excitingly, I also learned I’ll be speaking at the DS session—a thrilling first for me!

2024-12-06 TIL: DevToys, Cline

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DevToys

How DevToys became cross-platform and extensible

• The development of DevToys 2.0 involved exploring technologies like Uno Platform, .NET MAUI, and Avalonia, but issues with keyboard input and lack of Linux support led to choosing Blazor Hybrid.
• Blazor Hybrid framework allows a web-based UI with native .NET logic, reducing memory consumption and improving performance.
• The team aimed to maintain a native-like UI across platforms using CSS and Blazor web components, emulating Fluent UI on Windows, Aqua on macOS, and Yaru on Linux.

Cline

Cline vs Cursor

• As an IDE extension, Cline excels in deeply integrating with existing development environments. It functions as a versatile AI assistant, offering features such as file manipulation, terminal command execution, and browser automation.
• Cursor focuses on simplifying code writing and editing through natural language processing. It stands out with its predictive editing capabilities and unique support for backend code iteration.

Last night, Hamer wet the bed, something she hadn’t done in a long time. She woke up calmly, got ready efficiently, and we even arrived at school early. The sunrise was beautiful, with clouds looking like casual brushstrokes across the sky.

In the morning, I had an idea for an ArcGIS Earth-themed project and brainstormed with ChatGPT. At work, I continued experimenting with the Cursor editor, trying its useful features, and worked on enhancing my Python project.

After work, I went out for dinner and drinks with colleagues, enjoying a rare moment of relaxation.

2024-12-05 TIL: Cursor, MAUI Challenges, and Quotation Mark Rules

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Cursor

Cursor, The AI Code Editor.

• Tab: Multi-Line Edits, Smart Rewrites, Cursor Prediction
• Chat: Instant Apply, Codebase Answers, Reference your Code with @
• Ctrl+K: Fast Edits, Terminal Ctrl+K

Switching to MAUI?

Development effort is more than double compared to Native. And the output or quality of apps you get is inferior.

• Lack of UI libraries
• Buggy framework
• Platform-specific bugs
• Lack of proper tools
• Performance issue

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Quote placement

• For American English, place the comma or period inside the closing quotation marks. This is a convention, regardless of logic.
• For British English, the rule is more logical—punctuation is placed inside the quotation marks only if it belongs to the quoted material.
• In Chinese, the punctuation at the end of a sentence typically goes outside the quotation marks, unless the quoted text is a complete sentence.

Today, Hamer slept in and woke up upset about missing her early start. She cried to Grandma, but I stayed calm, giving her space to work through her emotions. Later, we talked, and she felt better.

At work, I explored the Cursor AI code editor. Initially unimpressed, I changed my mind after using it with a real project. Its smart predictions, editing capabilities, and context handling significantly boosted my coding efficiency.

At noon, I followed my fitness routine. In the evening, Xiaoyan arrived back. Hamer and I cooked noodles and discussed ways to improve her morning routine.

2024-12-04 TIL: P/Invoke, C# Iterators, Cross-Platform WPF, and ‘Dulce Domum’

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P/Invoke

Ever needed to call native functions from a DLL in your .NET app? P/Invoke (Platform Invoke) bridges the gap between managed and unmanaged code.

• Managed Code: Runs under the control of the .NET runtime (e.g., C#).
• Unmanaged Code: Runs outside the .NET runtime (e.g., C/C++ native libraries).

Key Ingredients for P/Invoke:

1. DllImport Attribute: Declares the external method and specifies the DLL.
2. Marshaling: Automatically converts between managed (C#) and unmanaged (native) types.
3. System.Runtime.InteropServices: Provides tools for defining P/Invoke signatures and managing interop behavior.

yield

In C#, the yield keyword simplifies the creation of iterators, enabling methods to return elements of a collection one at a time without the overhead of creating temporary collections or implementing complex iterator logic.

• Deferred Execution: Using yield return, a method can produce each element only when it’s needed during iteration.
• State Preservation: The method retains its execution state between yield return calls, allowing it to resume from where it left off in subsequent iterations.

LINQPad

The Ultimate Scratchpad for C#

• LINQPad comes with an integrated tutorial/reference, comprising interactive sample queries.

Avalonia XPF

A cross-platform WPF that enables you to reuse your code and extend your app’s reach.

• Avalonia XPF enables WPF apps to run on macOS and Linux with Avalonia’s Fork of WPF, which allows Avalonia to maintain both API and binary compatibility with WPF. Avalonia XPF replaces the low-level WPF code (MilCore) with Avalonia.
• Avalonia XPF is based on WPF shipped with .NET 6.0 SDK. Currently, unsupported WPF features include Visual3D, Viewport3D, InkCanvas, Win32 interop, and custom Window chromes.

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趿

tā, walk in slippers.

• 趿拉：把鞋后帮踩在脚后跟下
• 趿拉板儿：wooden slippers

Dulce Domum

Dulce Domum (lit. Sweetly Homeward) is a tune composed by Robert Ambrose in 1876. This phrase is used as the title of chapter 5 of the 1908 novel The Wind in the Willows.

• lit. is an abbreviation for “literal” or “literally”.

This morning, Hamer woke up before the alarm, got ready on her own, and we admired a beautiful sunrise as we headed to school. On my way back, I stopped to buy a fried dough stick for my mother-in-law, and we enjoyed a long breakfast, talking about family and her past.

I spent the day fixing bugs and learning about P/Invoke, yield, and LINQPad. Xiaoyan shared a photo of her birthday noodles, which inspired me to cook her something similar.

In the evening, Hamer helped serve dinner from Hema, and we stayed within budget. Later, we enjoyed watching baseball highlights of Chinese Taipei’s games in the 2024 WBSC Premier 12 baseball tournament.

2024-12-03 TIL: NMEA Insights, SQL Tips, and Whimsical Observations: From Pac-Man to The Wind in the Willows

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NMEA Sentences

• Four Common Types: $GPGGA, $GPRMC, $GPGSA, and $GPGSV.
  • $GPGGA and $GPRMC contain location and time-related data.
  • $GPGSA and $GPGSV provide satellite-related information.
• Examples:
  • $GPRMC,194000.000,A,3401.8431,N,11711.4761,W,24.43,145.27,061020,,,D*4F
  • $GPGGA,194000.000,3401.8431,N,11711.4761,W,2,10,1.0,478.9,M,-32.5,M,2.0,0000*4D
• Time and Date Formats:
  • $GPGGA: Time in HHMMSS.SSS format.
  • $GPRMC: Time (HHMMSS.SSS) + Date (DDMMYY), e.g., 194000.000 (UTC 19:40:00.000) and 061020 (6th October 2020).
• Checksum: Ensures data integrity. Calculated by XOR-ing all characters between $ and *. Example: 4D.

SQL for ArcGIS

• Use TIMESTAMP with the format: yyyy-mm-dd hh24:mi:ss (24-hour clock, no AM/PM).

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Figure Skating

• A type of skating that involves circular patterns and often includes jumps.
• /ˈfɪɡ.jɚ/

Incisor

• One of the sharp teeth at the front of the mouth that cut food when you bite into it. (切牙、门齿)
• /ɪnˈsaɪ.zɚ/

Pac-Man

• Pac-Man, a classic arcade game by Namco. Named “食鬼” in Hong Kong, “小精灵” in Taiwan, “吃豆人” in Mianland China.
• Ghost Characters: Blinky (red), Pinky (pink), Inky (light blue), Clyde (orange).

XJBC (夏季八冲)

• A humorous “coffee brewing technique” requiring:
  • No bean selection, no sifting, no stickers, no blooming, no temperature control, no timing, no circular stirring, no cup warming.

Reading Notes from The Wind in the Willows

1. On Laziness:
   • Finding joy in being the only idle one among busy citizens.
   • The essence of a good holiday is not resting but watching others work.
2. On Fear:
   • A terrifying entity feared by all the small animals in the fields and hedges—the “horror of the Wild Wood.”

Musical Skiers

• Icelandic photographer Haukur Sigurdsson captured this aerial image of Nordic skiers looking like musical notes on a staff.

This morning, Hamer woke up on her own, surprising me as she called from the bathroom. I admired her for waking up early three days in a row. The sunrise on our way to school was beautiful, and I felt grateful not to have to nag her to get ready.

Xiaoyan left for a business trip. I rushed to a meeting, then spent the day fixing bugs, including a tricky NMEA data issue.

In the evening, I enjoyed playing badminton with colleagues. Later, my mother-in-law visited, and we had a meaningful chat about health and family.

2024-12-02 TIL: Flock, Location Properties, and Language Nuances

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• The PointsCount is distinct from Count in a Part.
• Location has an AdditionalSourceProperties property, useful for storing extra attributes for a location, such as customized node types like start node, end node, and vertex.
• Flock: Flutter by the community, for the community. Flock is Flutter+.

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• 珩 (héng) is the top gem of the pendants.
• The phrase ‘handled it’ could be pronounced as /ˈhan·dldɪt/.
• The phrase ‘the exhibit instead’ should be pronounced as /ði ɪɡˈzɪbɪt ɪnˈstɛd/.

Last night, strong winds made it colder this morning. Hamer woke up early, got ready, and arrived at school by 7:25. After dropping her off, I stopped by the supermarket for fruit and corn.

At home, I made breakfast and then practiced English. I spent the morning working on a playback issue and discussed the solution with my colleagues. In the afternoon, I fixed the issue. In the evening, Hamer and I watched baseball and figure skating.

During lunch, I reflected on how I could be kinder to my mother-in-law and reduce Hamer’s material possessions to help her develop independence.

I didn’t realize it’s already December before writing this journal—time has flown by.

Hamer woke up early wanting to exercise, but I was too tired, having not slept well. She watched her iPad until I got up around nine, and we decided to go play basketball. We planned for only thirty minutes since we needed to catch a special effects movie at the Science Center. However, we stayed longer, and things got rushed. At home, I reminded Hamer repeatedly that we were late, but she was slow getting ready, and I ended up being stern. We weren’t in the best mood as we left, but talked it out on the way.

We missed the movie but accepted it calmly. Hamer enjoyed learning about the scientists' names and their birthdates. Afterward, we explored the main exhibit, which was interesting, and ate McDonald’s outside under the sun, like a picnic. Hamer was thrilled with her burger, fries, and Sprite.

In the afternoon, Hamer played at the children’s area while I napped. Afterward, we strolled around and caught a stunning sunset, with half the sky in dark hues and the other side glowing red. Back home, we cooked noodles, and Hamer put on a face mask, curious why kids have them.

On Monday morning, Hamer climbed into our bed early to keep sleeping. Both she and Xiaoyan were too tired to get up since yesterday had been exhausting. It was pretty cold when we left home, and Hamer mentioned that she’d wear her fleece-lined school uniform from now on.

While waiting at home before work, I happened to hear a song by The Carpenters. Xiaoyan said to me, “I taught you how to sing this song, remember?” She asked if I could still recall it. I replied, “Of course I do—it was at the track.” Xiaoyan was really surprised, thinking I wouldn’t remember that detail, and she was delighted. She taught me this song line by line when we were still in school, during one of our first walks on the track after we started dating.

I got to work a bit late today, and after a morning meeting, I didn’t get much done until the afternoon when I finally made some progress.

Later, during a chat with Hamer, she said the happiest part of her day was going to school. That was a big surprise but also made me really happy. School used to be something she dreaded and avoided. I asked her what made her most nervous, and her answer was also school—she still feels tense in class, but it seems she’s getting used to it.

Today was Sprint day, and in the morning, the team reviewed the list of issues needing resolution—most of which came from the external testing team. Though the list was quite long, it felt manageable. My main focus was on handling the mutual exclusivity between G and other functionalities.

As the workday was ending, I started tackling a S123 issue. While discussing with the PE, I realized that a logic error had been made. By 11 p.m., I thought I was close to untangling the issue, but the more I looked into it, the more complex it became. I knew I wouldn’t be able to solve it tonight. I let my colleague go home and decided to stay back and continue working on it until around 1:30 a.m., trying to get as far as I could before calling it a day.

I got home after 10 p.m. tonight, feeling quite satisfied. Most of the G features are complete, and the device connection issues, which had worried me, were mostly resolved thanks to a colleague’s help.

Throughout the morning, my biggest headache was the S123 reading and editing permissions issue. I kept experimenting with my idea of using the REST API to check edit permissions. By 10:30 a.m., I finally got the update and delete logic working, and took a break to relax. Later, I ran into another issue when editing geometry. Adding different layers created permission management problems, which made me anxious. I discussed it with the S123 team and kept thinking about it through lunch. By the afternoon, I managed to solve it, then quickly moved on to address the UI problems I had missed earlier, and finished off the G recording and data display. Without noticing, it was already night, and I worked until 10 p.m.

When I got home, Xiaoyan and Hamer were finishing a dance workout. Around 11 p.m., they went to get ready for bed, while I scrolled my phone aimlessly until I finally went to sleep at 1 a.m.

This morning, I looked for places near home where we could exercise and found some community centers and soccer fields. We got up late and rode to brunch, enjoying bagels, pasta, and fries. During brunch, I saw an open tennis court for the evening and booked it. Afterward, we picked up a tennis racket for Hamer, and she went to her dance class.

While she danced, I explored a nearby community center. The basement gym felt eerie, but once I got familiar with the place, it was better. I ended up in the library and read Scarcity Brain until it was time to get Hamer, who was eager to check out the gym.

Afterward, Hamer did some homework, knowing we planned to hike tomorrow and play tennis later. We struggled a bit with tennis, using an automatic launcher, but Hamer enjoyed using cones to catch the balls. Compared to badminton, tennis felt more challenging, and I considered getting a coach eventually.

After tennis, we went out for dinner, and when we got home, Hamer finished more homework. She then did a dance workout with Xiaoyan while I, exhausted, went to bed early.