Vivian's Tech Blog

Nice tool to manage group money: Scred

2011-12-08T07:54:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago I had a wonderful vacation with a group of friends. We shared expenses during the trip. And as you can imagine, dealing with the receipts and costs afterwards was a headache.
Fortunately, one friend introduced Scred , which is a web tool for recording shared expenses and debts, tracking transactions, and providing pay back suggestions. We saved a lot of time and efforts by using this tool to get the pay back amounts. Then we sent payments via Amazon Payment or bank transfer.
Nice tool really worth to recommend!

Land Use Planning

2011-11-01T09:18:00.000-07:00

Comprehensive Plan:

Comprehensive planning is a term used in the United States by land use planners to describe a process that determines community goals and aspirations in terms of community development. The outcome of comprehensive planning is the Comprehensive Plan which dictates public policy in terms of transportation, utilities, land use, recreation, and housing. Comprehensive plans typically encompass large geographical areas, a broad range of topics, and cover a long-term time horizon.

The components of a comprehensive plan may include Growth Trends, Growth Management Plan, Natural Areas Inventory, Long Range Transportation Plan, Housing Plan and Community Facilities, Environmental Resources Inventory, Hazard Mititgation Plan, Open Space/Greenways Plan, Water Resources Plan, Agricultural Land Protection Plan, the Economic Development Plan, and Historic Preservation Plan.

FW:礼貌的英文Email

2011-07-31T19:56:00.000-07:00

Sources: http://www.mitbbs.com/article_t/WaterWorld/966489.html

邮件的开头
　　
　　感谢读者是邮件开场白的好办法。感谢您的读者能让对方感到高兴，特别是之后你
有事相求的情况下会很有帮助。

Thank you for contacting us.如果有人写信来询问公司的服务，就可以使用
这句句子开头。向他们对公司的兴趣表示感谢。

Thank you for your prompt reply.当一个客户或是同事很快就回复了你的邮
件，一定记得要感谢他们。如果回复并不及时，只要将“prompt”除去即可，你还可以
说，“Thank you for getting back to me.”

　　Thank you for providing the requested information.如果你询问某人一些信息
，他们花了点时间才发送给你，那就用这句句子表示你仍然对他们的付出表示感激。

Thank you for all your assistance.如果有人给了你特别的帮助，那一定要
感谢他们！如果你想对他们表示特别的感激，就用这个句子，“I truly appreciate
… your help in resolving the problem.”Thank you raising your concerns.

　　就算某个客户或是经理写邮件给你对你的工作提出了一定的质疑，你还是要感谢他
们。这样你能表现出你对他们的认真态度表示尊重及感激。同时，你也可以使用，“
Thank you for your feedback.”

在邮件的结尾

　　在邮件开头表示感谢一般是表示对对方过去付出的感谢，而在邮件结尾处表示感谢
是对将来的帮助表示感谢。事先表示感谢，能让对方在行动时更主动更乐意。

Thank you for your kind cooperation.如果你需要读者帮助你做某事，那就
先得表示感谢。

Thank you for your attention to this matter.与以上的类似，本句包含了
你对对方将来可能的帮助表示感谢。

Thank you for your understanding.如果你写到任何会对读者产生负面影响
的内容那就使用这句句子吧。

Thank you for your consideration.如果您是在寻求机会或是福利，例如
你在求职的话，就用这封邮件结尾。

Thank you again for everything you've done.这句句子可以用在结尾，
和以上有所不同。如果你在邮件开头已经谢过了读者，你就可以使用这句话，但是因为
他们的帮助，你可以着重再次感谢你们的付出。

十种场合的表达

1. Greeting message 祝福

Hope you have a good trip back. 祝旅途愉快。

How are you? 你好吗?

How is the project going? 项目进行顺利吗?

2. Initiate a meeting 发起会议

I suggest we have a call tonight at 9:30pm (China Time) with you and Brown.
Please let me know if the time is okay for you and Ben.

我建议我们今晚九点半和Brown小聚一下,你和Ben有没有空?

I would like to hold a meeting in the afternoon about our development
planning for the project A.

今天下午我建议我们就A项目的发展计划开会讨论一下。

We’d like to have the meeting on Thu Oct 30. Same time.

十月三十号(周四),老时间,开会。

Let’s make a meeting next Monday at 5:30 PM SLC time.

下周一盐湖城时区下午五点半开会。

I want to talk to you over the phone regarding issues about report
development and the XXX project.

我想跟你电话讨论下报告进展和XXX项目的情况。

3. Seeking for more information/feedbacks/suggestions 咨询信息/反馈/建议

Should you have any problem accessing the folders, please let me know.

如果存取文件有任何问题请和我联系。

Thank you and look forward to having your opinion on the estimation and
schedule.

谢谢你,希望能听到更多你对评估和日程计划的建议。

Look forward to your feedbacks and suggestions soon.

期待您的反馈建议!

What is your opinion on the schedule and next steps we proposed?

你对计划方面有什么想法?下一步我们应该怎么做?

What do you think about this?

这个你怎么想?

Feel free to give your comments.

请随意提出您的建议。

Any question, please don’t hesitate to let me know.

有任何问题,欢迎和我们联系。

Any question, please let me know.

有任何问题,欢迎和我们联系。

Please contact me if you have any questions.

有任何问题,欢迎和我们联系。

Please let me know if you have any question on this.

有任何问题,欢迎和我联系。

Your comments and suggestions are welcome!

欢迎您的评论和建议!

Please let me know what you think?

欢迎您的评论和建议!

Do you have any idea about this?

对于这个您有什么建议吗?

It would be nice if you could provide a bit more information on the user’s
behavior.

您若是能够就用户行为方面提供更多的信息就太感激了!

At your convenience, I would really appreciate you looking into this matter/
issue.

如果可以,我希望你能负责这件事情。

4. Give feedback 意见反馈

Please see comments below.

请看下面的评论。

My answers are in blue below.

我的回答已标蓝。

I add some comments to the document for your reference.

5. Attachment 附件

I enclose the evaluation report for your reference.

我附加了评估报告供您阅读。

Attached please find today’s meeting notes.

今天的会议记录在附件里。

Attach is the design document, please review it.

设计文档在附件里,请评阅。

For other known issues related to individual features, please see attached
release notes.

其他个人特征方面的信息请见附件。

6. Point listing 列表

Today we would like to finish following tasks by the end of today:1…….2…
….

今天我们要完成的任务:1…….2…….

Some known issues in this release:1…….2…….

声明中涉及的一些问题:1…….2…….

Our team here reviewed the newest SCM policy and has following concerns:1…
….2…….

我们阅读了最新的供应链管理政策,做出如下考虑:1…….2…….

Here are some more questions/issues for your team:1…….2…….

以下是对你们团队的一些问题:1…….2…….

The current status is as following: 1……

2……

目前数据如下: 1……

2……

Some items need your attention:1…….2…….

以下方面需提请注意:1…….2…….

7. Raise question 提出问题

I have some questions about the report XX-XXX

我对XX-XXX报告有一些疑问。

For the assignment ABC, I have the following questions:…

就ABC协议,我有以下几个问题:……

8. Proposal 提议

For the next step of platform implementation, I am proposing…

关于平台启动的下一步计划,我有一个提议……

I suggest we can have a weekly project meeting over the phone call in the
near future.

我建议我们就一周项目开一个电话会议。

Achievo team suggest to adopt option A to solve outstanding issue……

Achievo团队建议应对突出问题采用A办法。

9. Thanks note 感谢信

Thank you so much for the cooperation感谢你的合作!

Thanks for the information

谢谢您提供的信息!

I really appreciate the effort you all made for this sudden and tight
project.

对如此紧急的项目您做出的努力我表示十分感谢。

Thank you for your attention!

Thanks to your attention!

谢谢关心!

Your kind assistance on this are very much appreciated.

我们对您的协助表示感谢。

Really appreciate your help!

非常感谢您的帮助!

10. Apology 道歉

I sincerely apologize for this misunderstanding!

对造成的误解我真诚道歉!

I apologize for the late asking but we want to make sure the correctness of
our implementation ASAP.

很抱歉现在才进行询问,但是我们需要尽快核实执行信息。

Attractions in New York State

2011-07-15T18:23:00.000-07:00

1) Carmel, NY, Putnam County
2) Train From Grand Central to Beacon NY DIA Museum and water front park

Export KML from Google Maps

2011-07-13T08:16:00.000-07:00

You know, Google Maps support KML. It means much of the content you create or get in Google Maps can be exported to kml files and be viewed in Google Earth.
You can follow the following steps to get the kml file of a route generated in Google Maps.

(1) Left Click "Link" and copy the link to the clipboard:

(2) Paste the link into the address bar and then ADD "&output=kml"at the end of the original link.
Press "Enter". You will see a pop up window asking you if you want to "Open" or "Save" the kml file.

FW: Investing Books

2011-06-15T07:00:00.000-07:00

1) The Intelligent Investor

This is perhaps the most important and influential book ever written about value investing. Originally published in 1934 by Ben Graham, this work has been heralded by such notable investors as Warren Buffett as "the best investing book ever written". In it, Graham presents two types of investing styles - one for every day people who don't want to think about their portfolios ("defensive") and the business man or woman who wants to enjoy maximum returns ("enterprising").

http://beginnersinvest.about.com/cs/newinvestors/tp/aatp110101.htm

Fileseach Method not available in Office 2007!

2011-05-06T11:39:00.000-07:00

Can you believe that?! Application.FileSearch in Excel and Access 2003 has been hidden in Office 2007!!
I hate Microsoft not only because they keep sending updates, patches, and forcing customers to upgrade (to me it's downgrade) Windows version, but also because they make easy things difficult to do!
Microsoft is evil.... stamped... again.

FW: Funny Leave of Absence Letters

2011-05-02T08:37:00.000-07:00

I will be a little late in Tuesday morning. My ferret broke his tooth Saturday night and the vet was closed yesterday and today. I need to call the vet tomorrow when they open at 7 to see when I can bring him in.

#1 downside to owning cats in an apartment with carpet: Cleaning up after cats in an apartment with carpet.I am running late, on the road now though!

I tweaked my back yesterday while working in the yard and am paying the price this morning. I'll be in the office after noon today, but please contact me on my mobile for anything urgent.

I am not feeling well and just paid my homage to the porcelain god just moments ago….. going home now.

Insomnia, headache have combined to take me out. I'll be in later, probably by 11 if I feel better.

I am growing tired of getting sick. I'm out today. No, it's not the swine flu. Sore throat + lack of voice.

Almost made it to work today when I got a call from the folks saying they had a slight leak in the bathroom and that if I could come by and look at it that would be great. Got there and waters all over the bathroom. Killed the main at the front, cleanup the water, cut into the wall and found the line for the shower has 4 inch gash in it. Off to the Depot now for parts, brother should be in with in the hour to help with the new drywall/ hardy. Basically looks like it's going to be a really bad Friday. See y'all Monday.

car woes. Dealing with a finicky car this morning. I shall arrive late this morning.

FW: What Not to Say

2011-03-29T06:13:00.000-07:00

What Not to Say About Someone's Appearance

Don’t say: “You look tired.”
Why: It implies she doesn’t look good.
Instead say: “Is everything OK?” We often blurt the “tired” comment when we get the sense that the other person feels out of sorts. So just ask.

Don’t say: “Wow, you’ve lost a ton of weight!”
Why: To a newly trim person, it might give the impression that she used to look unattractive.
Instead say: “You look fantastic.” And leave it at that. If you’re curious about how she got so svelte, add, “What’s your secret?”

Don’t say: “You look good for your age.”
Why: Anything with a caveat like this is rude. It's saying, "You look great?compared with other old people. It's amazing you have all your own teeth."
Instead say: “You look great.”

Don’t say: “I could never wear that.”
Why: It can be misunderstood as a criticism. (“I could never wear that because it’s so ugly.”)
Instead say: “You look so good in skinny jeans.” If you slip, say something like “I could never wear that…because I wasn’t blessed with your long legs.

What Not to Say in the Workplace

Don’t say: “That’s not my job.”
Why: If your superior asks you to do something, it is your job.
Instead say: “I’m not sure that should be my priority right now.” Then have a conversation with your boss about your responsibilities.

Don’t say: “This might sound stupid, but…”
Why: Never undermine your ideas by prefacing your remarks with wishy-washy language.
Instead say: "What’s on your mind." It reinforces your credibility to present your ideas with confidence.

Don’t say: “I don’t have time to talk to you.”
Why: It’s plain rude, in person or on the phone.
Instead say: “I’m just finishing something up right now. Can I come by when I’m done?” Graciously explain why you can’t talk now, and suggest catching up at an appointed time later. Let phone calls go to voice mail until you can give callers your undivided attention.

What Not to Say During a Job Interview

Don’t say: “My current boss is horrendous.”
Why: It’s unprofessional. Your interviewer might wonder when you’d start bad-mouthing her. For all you know, she and your current boss are old pals.
Instead say: “I’m ready for a new challenge” or a similarly positive remark.

Don’t say: “Do you think I’d fit in here?”
Why: You’re the interviewee, not the interviewer.
Instead say: “What do you enjoy about working here?” By all means ask questions, but prepare ones that demonstrate your genuine interest in the company.

Don’t say: “What are the hours like?” or “What’s the vacation policy?”
Why: You want to be seen as someone who focuses on getting the job done.
Instead say: “What’s the day-to-day like here?” Then, if you’ve really jumped through every hoop and time off still hasn’t been mentioned, say, “Can you tell me about the compensation and benefits package?”

Periodically Import XML Data into Excel

2011-03-15T09:33:00.000-07:00

This is a VBA app (run in Excel 2007) that I developed to automatically import online XML data into a Excel file every 1 minute.
Here is the download link
XML Data Importer

KML Circle Generator

2011-03-15T09:25:00.001-07:00

This is a VBA app (run in Excel 2007) to generate a LineString path that looks like a circle in KML file. You can download the app from the following link:
KML Circle Generator

Many thanks to the author of the online KML Circle Generator for sharing the source code. For some reason the above online tool that I have used for over one year isn't working now:(

Reference:
http://dev.bt23.org/keyhole/circlegen/output.phps

No Function MOD(a,b) in VBA

2011-03-03T11:59:00.000-08:00

Can you believe that in VBA you cannot call MOD(a,b) function although it works fine in Excel cells??!
Well, you can use the operator a MOD b if both a and b are integer numbers.
But there is no direct MOD function in VBA because VBA 2003 does not support MOD (number, dividor) as a WorksheetFunction.
Therefore, I have to write the following function:

Function fmod(a As Double, b As Double)
fmod = a - b * (a \ b)
End Function

Don't assume those funcstions are exactly the same!

2011-03-03T11:34:00.000-08:00

If you see functions sharing the same name in different programming environments, don't jump to a conclusion that they are exactly the same!
Today it took me a lot of time to find a bug in a VBA macro. I just didn't understand why the function atan2(a,b) cannot return the correct answer.
After carefully reading the description of this function in the Microsoft Visual Basic Help, I realized that I mistakenly assumed that the atan2() in VBA (worksheet functions) is the same as the atan2() in c++. I was wrong!!

In Excel Developer Reference:
Atan2(x,y)
returns the arctangent of the specified x and y coordinates.

In C++ Developer Reference:
C Library, cmath (math.h)

     double atan2 (      double y,      double x );
long double atan2 ( long double y, long double x );
     float atan2 (       float y,       float x );

y: Floating point value representing an y-coordinate.
x: Floating point value representing an x-coordinate

Difference:

See?! The meanings of the first and the second parameters in C++ are switched in VBA!!

Return License Plates When Moving out of State

2011-02-27T10:21:00.001-08:00

There are a lot of things that you have to do when you relocate to another state.
In addition to change your driver license and get new title and registration of your car, don't forget to check if you need to return license plates and cancel registration when you move out of state.

Each state maintains different requirements regarding license plates. Some mandate that you must return license plates along with a registration cancellation notice. Others require no notification from the registered owner. See this link for state-by-state information.

If you live in a state that does not require surrendering your plates, you're free to keep them as souvenirs. If you don't plan on keeping them, be sure to protect yourself against possible identity theft or criminal involvement by disposing of properly.

Maryland

Maryland law requires you to return your license plates to the MVA when your vehicle's insurance is cancelled, when you move out of Maryland, or when you no longer need the license plates. Under certain circumstances you may be eligible for a partial refund of your registration fee.

More information can be found on this web page.

Learning Oral English

2011-02-23T07:10:00.000-08:00

What are you trying to say?（你到底想说什么？）
Don't be silly.（别胡闹了。）
How strong are your glasses?（你近视多少度？）
Just because.（没有别的原因。）
It isn't the way I hoped it would be.（这不是我所盼望的。）
You will never guess.（你永远猜不到。）
No one could do anything about it.（众人对此束手无措。）
I saw something deeply disturbing.（深感事情不妙。）
Money is a good servant but a bad master.（要做金钱的主人，莫做金钱的奴隶。
）
I am not available.（我正忙着）
Wisdom in the mind is better than money in the hand.(脑中的知识比手中的金钱
更重要）
Never say die.it's a piece of cake.别泄气，那只是小菜一碟。
Don't worry.you'll get use to it soon.别担心，很快你就会习惯的。
I konw how you feel.我明白你的感受。
You win some.you lose some.胜败乃兵家常事。
Don't bury your head in the sand.不要逃避现实。
I didn't expect you to such a good job.我没想到你干得这么好。
You are coming alone well.你做得挺顺利。
She is well-build.她的身材真棒。
You look neat and fresh.你看起来很清纯。
You have a beautiful personality.你的气质很好。
You flatter me immensely.你过奖啦。
You should be slow to judge others.你不应该随意评论别人。
I hope you will excuse me if i make any mistake.如有任何错误，请你原谅
It was most careless ofme.我太粗心了。
It was quite by accident.真是始料不及。
I wish i had all the time i'd ever wasted,so i could waste it all over again
.我希望所有被我浪费的时间重新回来，让我再浪费一遍。
I like you the way you were.我喜欢你以前的样子。
You two go ahead to the movie without me,i don't want to be a third wheel.你
们两个自己去看电影吧，我不想当电灯泡。
Do you have anyone in mind?你有心上人吗？
How long have you known her？你认识她多久了？
It was love at frist sight.一见钟情
I'd bettle hit the books.我要复习功课啦。
a piece of one's mind .直言不讳
He gave me a piece of mind,"Don't shift responsibility onto others."他责备道
：“不要把责任推卸到别人身上。”
a cat and dog life　水火不容的生活
The husband and his wife are always quarrelling,and they are leading a cat
and dog life.这对夫妇老是吵架，相互之间水火不容。
a dog's life　潦倒的生活
The man lived a dog's life.这个人生活潦倒。　
A to Z　从头至尾
I know that from A to Z. 我很了解这件事。
above somebody　深奥
Well,this sort of talk is above me.我不懂你们在讲什么。
all ears 全神贯注地倾听着
When you tell Mary some gossip,she is all ears.跟Mary讲一些小道消息，她会听
地仔仔细细。
all the more　更加，益发
You'll be all the better for a holiday.度一次假，对你会更有好处。
all dressed up 打扮得整整齐齐
She is all dressed up and nowhere to go.她打扮得整整齐却无处炫耀。
all in all 总的说来；最心爱的东西
The daughter is all in all to him.女儿是他的无价宝。
all out 竭尽全力
They went all out.他们鼓足了干劲。
all over　全部结束；浑身，到处
Glad,it is all over.这事全部结束了，好得很。
I'm wet all over.我浑身都湿了。
all set　准备就绪
He is all set for an early morning start.他已做好清晨出发的一切准备。
all you have to do 需要做得是
All you have to do is to calm yourself down and wait for the good news.你需
要做得是静下心来等好消息。
as easy as falling of a log /as easy as snapping your fingers /as easy as
ABC 容易得很
To me,a good story teller,it would be as easy as falling of a log.
对我来说，讲个故事还不是随手拈来。
as busy as a bee 非常忙
Mum is always as busy as a bee in the moring.妈妈每天早上都忙得不可开交。
at one's fingertips　了如指掌
How to get at that little island is at his fingertips.他知道怎么去那个小岛。
at one's wit's end　智穷
Don't ask him.It is also at his wit's end.不要问他了，他也不知道。
big shot 大人物，大亨
He is a big shot in our little town.
black sheep　败家子，害群之马
Every family has a black sheep.家家有本难念的经。
black and blue　遍体鳞伤
The thief was caught of red-handed and beaten black and blue.那个小偷当场被
抓住并被打得青一块紫一块的。
black and white　白纸黑字
The proof is in black and white and the murderer has no any excuses.证据确凿
，凶手再也无话可说。
blind alley　死胡同
You are heading into a blind alley.你正在钻牛角尖。
blow hot and cold　摇摆不定
This guy seemed to have no own idea.He always blew hot and cold.这家伙好象没
什么主张，总是摇摆不定。
blow one's own trumpet　自吹自擂
Don't blow your own tumpet.Let us see what on earth you can do.不要自吹自擂
了，让我们看看你到底能做什么。
born with a silver in one's mouth　出生在富贵人家
He is born with a silver in one's mouth.他是含着金钥匙出生的。
bland new 崭新的
a bland new coat　新衣服
break the ice　打破沉默
The couple hadn't spoken to each other for a week.They were both waiting for
the other one to break the ice.这对夫妇已经一个星期没说过话了。两人都在等另
一方先开口。
by a blow　无意中的一击
He is beaten to the ground by a blow.他被击到在地。
can't stand it any longer　不能再忍受了
I can't stand it any longer,I quit.我再也忍受不了了，我走。
carry something too far　过火了
You are carrying your joke too far.你玩笑开得太过分了。
castle in the sky　海市蜃楼
You plan is nearly a castle in the sky.你的计划简直就是空想。
cats got one's tongue　哑口无言
chain smoker 老烟枪
come up with 产生，想出
Let me come up with some ideas.让我想一想。
come easily　容易
Languages come easily to some people.有些人能够很容易地掌握语言。
cup of tea　喜欢
Movies are not my cup of tea.我不喜欢看电影。
cut it out 停止，住嘴
Cut it out!I can't stand you any longer.
call it a day 不再做下去，停止（某种活动）
Let us call it a day,stop.这一天工作够了，停工吧！　dark horse　黑马
Nobody considered that John would win the game.He was a dark horse in the
final.
dear John letter　绝交信
Jack received a dear John letter from his girlfriend because he had broken
her heart.
do somone good　对某人有好处
Having some moring exercises does you good.
Do you get me?　你明白我的意思吗？
doesn't count 这次不算
It doesn't count this time,try again.
doesn't make sense　不懂；没有任何意义
The sentence you made doesn't make any sense to me.
down and out 穷困潦倒
Being down and out,he couldn't support his family.
drive at　用意，意欲
What's he driving at?他用意何在？
drop in 偶然拜访
I dropped him in on my way to the hospital.
drop me a line　写信给我
On arriving the University,please drop me a line.
early bird　早起的人
An early bird catchs worms。捷足先登
easy come easy go 来得快去得也快
eat my words 收回前言，认错道歉
I said something bad to my mum.Although I want to eat my words back, it didn
't work,for I had hurt my mum's feeling.
face the music 直面困难
He knew he'd never get away with it so he decided to face the music and give
himself up to the police.他知道自己不可能逃脱，因此决定一人做事一人当——向
警察自首。
face up to 勇敢地面对某事
You must learn to face up to your responsibilities.
fed up　厌倦
I am rather fed up with your complaints.
feel free to do something 不要拘束
Please feel free to make suggestions.
few and far between　很少，稀少
Human beings are few and far between in this zone.
French leave　不辞而别
give me a headache 让人头痛
The naughty boy gave me a headache.
give me a hand 帮我一下
go Dutch AA制
God bless you 上帝保佑你
God bless you with your examinations.
God knows 天知道
Got it? 明白了吗？
green thumbs /fingers 园艺技能
hands are full　非常忙
have a ball　勇敢
have had it　受够了
I have had it with all your excuses.我受够了你的借口。
hold water　站得住脚
Non of his arguements seem to hold water.
in every sense of word 在某种意义上说
It's a lie in every sense of word.这是不折不扣的谎言。
keep an eye on　提高警惕
kill time打发时间
lazy bones 懒骨头
Get up lazy bones!
leave it to me　让我来吧
leave me alone 别管我　
like father like son　有其父必有其子
like it or not　不管你喜不喜欢
make a fool of oneself　愚弄某人
make a big money　赚大钱
make both ends need 收支平衡
We have to cut our expenses to make both ends need.
make waves　引起轰动；兴风作浪
His achievement made waves in his country.
make yourself at home 别拘束
no good 没有好结果
Bad mam comes to no good.
no kidding 不要开玩笑
none of your bussiness　不关你的事
not really 也不是……
old hand　老手
He is an old hand at stealing.
old story 老一套
I am tired of it,same old story.
on one's word of honor　以某人的人格担保
on occasion 间或
of one's own accord　自愿地
packed like sardins　拥挤
During the holidays,people in the trains are packed like sardins.
pass away　去世
pay the price　付出代价
You are playing with the fire and you must pay the poice one day.
put up with　忍受
I cann't put up with your rudeness any more;leave my room.
red-letter day 重要的或值得纪念的日子
red tape　繁文缛节
red carpet　红地毯
run into　偶遇
I ran into an old friend in the shop yesterday.
run out of　用尽，缺少
Quick,quick,we are running out of time.
show up 炫耀
small potatos　小人物
so what?　那怎么样呢？
stand up for 忍受
suit one's taste 对某人的胃口
sunday dress 最好的衣服
sure thing　十有把握的事
take one's time 尽情玩
Take your time and enjoy it.
take the words out of one's mouth　说出某人想说得话
that's it　就是
that is really something 太好了
there is nothing I can do　我什么都不能做
there you go 这边请
there is nothing wrong with me 我没事
under the table　死底下，秘密地
under the weather　身体不适
what's going on　怎么了
what a man　多勇敢的人啊
walking dictionary 活字典
what is up 近来可好
Hi,I haven't seen you for a long time,what's up?
world class　一流的

How to split a polygon by an overlapping line feature

2011-02-22T07:10:00.000-08:00

Here is a tip to split a polygon by an overlapping line feature. I have tested it in ArcMap 9.3 and it works.

http://webhelp.esri.com/arcgiSDEsktop/9.3/index.cfm?TopicName=Common_polygon_editing_tasks

· Select the polygon.

· Set the task to Cut Polygon Features.

· Click the Sketch tool.

· Right-click the line and click Replace Sketch. This lets you see the line's vertices and segments as an edit sketch.

· Finish the sketch (you can press F2 so you don't inadvertently add more segments to the sketch when you finish it). The polygon is split where the line crosses it.

Transportation Journal Ranking Website

2011-02-11T06:56:00.000-08:00

Journal ranking website (in transportation)
http://www.journal-ranking.com/ranking/listCommonRanking.html?selfCitationWeight=1&externalCitationWeight=1&citingStartYear=1901&journalListId=451

FW: How to spruce up your English

2011-02-07T09:27:00.000-08:00

Proper use of adverbs can separate your speech or writing from others. Here are some examples:
1) Improving your English is easier than you think.
Better: Improving your English is incredibly easy.
2) Michelle speaks good English.
Better: Michelle speaks English perfectly/fluently.
3) I was surprised that the driver was not hurt in the accident.
Better: Miraculously the driver escaped the carnage unharmed.
Astonishingly the driver was able to escape injury.

Definition:

An adverb is a word used to modify verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs. Adverbs are like the seasoning in sentences. They help describe how things appear and how things happen. They help a reader see action in his mind's eye and paint pictures with words. Adverbs help you control what others see when you speak or write. Many adverbs end in "ly," but don't think that all adverbs end in "ly" or that all words that end in "ly" are adverbs.

Adverbs are one of the necessary components to good writing. When used correctly, they can add a whole dimension to your work.

(Reference: http://www.yourdictionary.com/grammar-rules/List-of-Adverbs.html)

List of Adverbs that you can use in writing or speaking:

absurdly 荒谬地

admittedly 无可否认地

astonishingly 令人惊讶地

certainly 的确

coincidentally 碰巧

curiously 奇怪的是

definitely 肯定地

evidently 明显地

financially 经济上说

frankly 坦率地说

fortunately 幸运地，辛亏

honestly 说真的

hopefully 但愿，我希望

in my opinion 在我看来

indeed 是真的

incredibly 极其，比想象更（好，坏，容易，等等）

interestingly 有趣地，值得一提的是

ironically 正话反说，出乎意料之外

luckily 幸亏

miraculously 不可思议地，奇迹似的

more importantly 更重要的是

mysteriously 令人费解

naturally 自然地，不用说

superficially 表面上看

surprisingly 令人惊讶地

technically 严格意义上说

theoretically 在理论上说

unexpectedly 出乎意料地

undeniably 无可否认地

(Reference: http://www.popyard.com/cgi-mod/newspage.cgi?num=705334&r=0&v=0&j=0)

Seek for Fundings

2011-01-05T07:54:00.000-08:00

Grants

Federal
FEMA
US-DHS-RCPGP
State
MassDOT-Grants
MEMA-FEMA-HMA
Other Government Agencies
Non-Profit Organization
All Hazards Consortium (AHC)

How to write grant proposal
http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/grant_proposals.html
Sample grant proposal
http://www.pluggedin.org/tool_kit/sample_grant.html

Request For Proposal (RFP)

Federal
State
Other Government Agencies
Non-Profit Organization

Automatically Import XML data into excel at a fixed time interval

2010-12-16T14:23:00.000-08:00


'Function: Automatically Import online XML data into  excel at a fixed time interval'
'Language: VBA'
'Author: Vivian N. Yang'
'Date: Dec. 12, 2010'

'Define Global Variables'
'Inputs'
Dim TotalCount As Integer 'Total Number of Data Collections (#)'
Dim TimeInterval As String 'Time Interval to collect data (text format, e.g."00:01:00" means 1 minute)'
Dim Links() As String 'Web Links to collect data'
Dim NumofLinks As Integer 'Number of Links (dimension of the array Links())'
Dim Outputs() As String 'Names of the worksheets to store the outputs'
'Others'
Dim CurrentCount As Integer
Dim SelRange As Range
Dim Actsheet As Worksheet

Sub Main()
' Clear Outputs'
Call Clear_Output
' Get Inputs'
Call Get_Inputs

' Start the data collection'
CurrentCount = 1
Dim XmlMap As XmlMap
For Each XmlMap In ActiveWorkbook.XmlMaps
XmlMap.Delete
Next
' Write Outputs'
Dim i As Integer
For i = 1 To NumofLinks
Sheets(Outputs(i)).Cells(1, 1).NumberFormat = "h:mm:ss AM/PM"
Sheets(Outputs(i)).Cells(1, 1).Value = Format(Now(), "hh:mm:ss")
ActiveWorkbook.XmlImport URL:=Links(i), ImportMap:=Nothing, Overwrite:=True, Destination:=Sheets(Outputs(i)).Cells(2, 1)
Next i

'Start the OnTimeMacro'
Call OnTimeMacro

End Sub

Sub Get_Inputs()
Dim Row As Integer
Dim Col As Integer
Dim i As Integer
Row = 2
Col = 2
NumofLinks = Sheets("Input").Cells(Row, Col).Value
ReDim Links(1 To NumofLinks)
ReDim Outputs(1 To NumofLinks)

For i = 1 To NumofLinks
Row = Row + 1
Links(i) = Sheets("Input").Cells(Row, Col).Value
Outputs(i) = Sheets("Input").Cells(Row, Col + 1).Value
Sheets(Outputs(i)).Cells(1, 1).Value = i
Debug.Print Outputs(i)
Next i
Row = 8
TimeInterval = Sheets("Input").Cells(Row, Col).Value
Row = 9
TotalCount = Sheets("Input").Cells(Row, Col).Value
End Sub


'The time interval can be changed in this subroutine OnTimeMacro()'
'Example: 5 seconds -TimeValue("00:00:05")'
'Example: 1 minute -TimeValue("00:01:00")'

Sub OnTimeMacro()
' Run the RunEvery1Min macro TotalCount times.'
If CurrentCount < TotalCount Then
' Run the RunEvery1Min macro in 1 minute'
'Application.OnTime Now + TimeValue("00:00:10"), "RunEveryTimeInterval"'
Application.OnTime Now + TimeValue(TimeInterval), "RunEveryTimeInterval"
' Increment icount by 1.'
CurrentCount = CurrentCount + 1
Else
' CurrentCount is greater than TotalCount, so exit the macro.'
Exit Sub
End If
End Sub

Sub RunEveryTimeInterval()
Dim Row As Integer
Row = CurrentCount * 7
' Write Outputs'
'Delete all existing XmlMaps'
Dim XmlMap As XmlMap
For Each XmlMap In ActiveWorkbook.XmlMaps
XmlMap.Delete
Next
'Import data'
Dim i As Integer
For i = 1 To NumofLinks
Sheets(Outputs(i)).Cells(Row, 1).NumberFormat = "h:mm:ss AM/PM"
Sheets(Outputs(i)).Cells(Row, 1).Value = Format(Now(), "hh:mm:ss")
ActiveWorkbook.XmlImport URL:=Links(i), ImportMap:=Nothing, Overwrite:=True, Destination:=Sheets(Outputs(i)).Cells(Row + 1, 1)
Next i
' Runs the OnTimeMacro again.'
Call OnTimeMacro

End Sub

A free tool to split audio file

2010-12-16T13:48:00.000-08:00

I needed to divide a 2-hour .WAV file into smaller files. It didn't take me very long to find this free software online: Audacity.
Step 1: File-Open-Select the WAX file
Step 2: Place labels where I want to split the file
Place the cursor, press Ctrl+b, optionally type a name for the label
Step 3: File-Export multiple
In the dialog, set
Split files based on: "labels", check "Include audio before first label"
Name files: Numbering consecutively
Step 4: Press Export.

Thank vanadium for recommending this tool. (http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=421265)

Farewell, Harry Potter!

2010-10-18T08:52:00.000-07:00

By Vivian
Feb. 2008

*****SPOILER ALERT******
If you haven't completed reading Harry Potter Series and still want to keep the ending a secret for you, please skip this article.
*****SPOILER ALERT******

I met Mr. Harry Potter at the age of 21. I had no special feeling about this little shabby kid at the first sight. However, after I spent several days in Hogwarts with him, I decided to be his friend (despite that I am a little bit older as a friend of a eleven years old boy). And till now I have been a loyal friend for seven years.
In this seven years, we grew up together although we are in different places. He and his friends were learning to be a witch and wizard in Hogwarts while I and my other friends were struggling against different kinds of mechanics in TJ. I always burst into gales of laughter when I found an exact duplicate in reality for the professors in magic world. It's my dream to own an invisibility cloak so that I can sleep or read novels in class without fear of being caught, haha. His days in Hogwarts are so amazing that I always hoped there was a 9-3/4 platform in SH Train Station.
The first three years in Hogwarts were the most precious time for Harry and all of his friends including me. The bizarre classes and teachers, the exciting adventures, and the breath-taking fighting with Voldemort are attractive. At that time, I didn't have any worry. I believed that the dark side can never win the bright side and my friends would take risks but they would be safe eventually. No matter how evil and strong Voldemort is, all good guys can survive and smile in the end, like in any other children literature, right?
But it turned out I was wrong. Harry was in real danger later on. One by one, his friends lost their lives for him. Life became cruel. My young friends had to face various bothers and pains coming from adult magic world. Some from evil death eaters and stupid politicians, some from the double sides of Order members and even someone who he respects so much, some from himself as an arrogant and angry teenager in adolescence. To be honest, I really didn't enjoy two miserable years in "The Order of the Phenix" and "The half-blooded prince" . It was sort of messy. The love story of Harry and Cho was cheesy like QiongYao's novel. Don't even mention Dumbledore's fatal mistake! How can I imagine the death of our sagacious headmaster!!!!
True friends never give up. I can understand Harry's feeling. There are too many things to bear for a boy at his age. I kept my loyalty and followed him on his long way to destroy all Horcruxes. I would say this time Harry didn't disappoint me. After experiencing terror and heartbreak, making fool and mistake, he got matured. He learned how to control his mind and resist irrational instincts. He got courage to sacrifice himself and strong heart to be a true leader. The bright side finally won, with the cost of so many heroes' sacrifices.
I like the happy ending. Harry got married and became a father. He has a good family and a bright career. And his children will begin their new adventures in Hogwarts, but, in a much safer mode. In a new world, everybody is happy ever after.
Everybody is a Harry Potter in his/her heart, I believe. We suffered from our plain life when we were so young. Each of us wanted to be a special one, The One-who-lived, the One who is destined to be a hero. However, the reality always tough us lessons which may cause us to question ourselves "Am I really the One? Can I succeed?" There would be a tough time, a really tough time. After that, we grew up. We understand something about life, about love, about pain, about the true meaning of "the One". Everybody can be his own hero, as long as he finds his goal to fight. Being a special one for ourselves, we form a family, got a job, live a normal but happy life, just like my friend, Harry Potter.

Eric Schmidt: An Idealistic Pragmatist

2010-10-18T08:35:00.000-07:00

By Vivian

Oct. 2010

As the world’s most innovative company, Google is unique in many ways including its management structure, a triumvirate leadership of founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page and CEO Eric Schmidt. Schmidt shares responsibility for Google’s daily operation with Brin and Page, and focuses on the company’s management and administration. He is one of the most influential leaders in the technology and economic world.

Biography

Eric Schmidt was born in 1955 in Washington, D.C. He spent most of his childhood in Blacksburg, Virginia, where his father served as the chairman of the Department of Economics in Virginia Tech. He started using computers at the age of fifteen and was soon drawn to that wonder land. In 1972, He entered Princeton University and earned a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering four years later. In 1976, Schmidt went to the graduate school in Computer Science at the University of California, Berkeley. He earned an MS in 1979 for designing and implementing a network linking the campus computer center, and a PhD in 1982 with a dissertation about the problems of managing distributed software development and tools for solving these problems.

Early in his career, Schmidt held a series of technical positions with IT companies. He was hired by Bell Lab and Xerox’s Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) as a student and joined the latter as a junior researcher after graduation from Berkeley. In 1983, he went off to Sun Microsystems, back then a startup founded in 1982, and obtained a position as a manager leading a team of 12 engineers. Over a period of 14 years at Sun, he was gradually promoted to Chief Technology Officer and earned international recognition as the mastermind behind Java, a popular platform-independent programming language.

In 1997 Schmidt made a significant career move by accepting the CEO position in Novell, a company which used to dominate the market for local area network but was betting hard against its competitor Microsoft at that time. As chairman and CEO, his was not only responsible for technology development, but also for the company’s strategic planning and management. Although joining Novell in a tough time, Schmidt turned Novell around with a deft combination of cost reductions, divestitures, and new product rollouts, and by 1998, it was back in the black. However, the internet bust of 2000 resulted in a great slowdown in demand. In 2001, Novell acquired the consulting company, Cambridge Technology Partners, to expand its business into services. Schmidt relinquished Novell’s CEO position and assumed the role of chief strategist.

Recommended by Google’s venture capitalists John Doerr and Michael Mortiz, Schmidt joined Google's board of directors as chairman in March 2001 and became the company's CEO in August 2001. Under his leadership, Google has dramatically scaled its infrastructure from a 200-employee Silicon Valley startup to a powerful corporate with 10,000 employees worldwide with steady revenue.

Role as a Leader

Schmidt is internationally famous as a role model who successfully completed the transition from a computer geek to a capable executive. However, his step-by-step career path, undramatic personal life, and low-key personality make his success story less attractive than those of other top CEOs, such as Apple’s Steve Jobs and Microsoft’s Steve Ballmer. When answering questions in interviews or giving a speech in public, Schmidt always keeps a slow, logic and mild tone of voice, which easily gives the audience the impression that he is not a charismatic leader. This might be a reason why some people question his real contribution and argue that he is just a lucky man being in the right place at the right time.

Nevertheless, I believe Schmidt does play a significant role in the rise of Google. There are three core elements that make him uniquely suited for the role of leader in Google. With strong technical background as well as extensive management and marketing experiences in IT world, Schmidt is ideally suited for the new digital economy. His endorsement of Google’s core values and great collaboration skills ensure the effectiveness of the triumvirate structure and maximize the efficiency of employees. As a visionary pragmatist, Schmidt helps Google move forward by broadening its offerings into new areas while still maintaining a culture of strong innovation.

Extensive Marketing and Management Experience

As a seasoned veteran in IT industry, Schmidt was widely seen as the pair's “adult supervision”. His vast experiences in technology development, management and marketing have been an effective complement to the weakness of impetuous young Google founders, who were tough sells and lack of experience managing big companies.

In his years at Google, Schmidt has helped strengthen the company's business and bring in financial oversight. Three years after he joined Google, a formal management system was formed in the company and Google filed for its initial public offering (IPO) of stock, which brought a $23 billion market capitalization.

To cope with the impact of globalization on economic operations, Schmidt has made decisions to make Google better at international business. In addition to build an international sales force, Google also employs a small army of lawyers with different expertise to avoid costly run-ins with local laws. As a sober businessman, Schmidt clearly sees the necessarily of this expense. From 2008, Google international revenues have surpassed domestic revenues.

Through years, Google’s revenues and net earnings steadily increase. Till now Google, as a stock, still remains one of investors’ favorites. This financial success demonstrates Schmidt’s managing and deal-making skills.

Endorsement of Core Value and Great Collaboration Skills

In spite of a big age different, Schmidt and Google founders actually have a lot in common. They all grew up in liberal academic environment where their fathers served as university professors. All of them are computer geniuses and engineers by training. Graduated from top universities in California, they have common interests on open-source products and computer network. Most of all, they share the same view of money “You can make money without doing evil”, which, I believe, provides a solid base of the triumvirate structure. In 2010, they reached agreement to pull Google out of China, the biggest internet market in the world. For fighting censorship and promoting freedom of information, Google lost up to $600 million in sales.

Schmidt collaborates with his colleagues based on trust and respect since he believes that Google guys, as highly motivated and eminently capable people, don’t like micromanagement, bureaucracy, command, and control.

As a CEO, Schmidt is more inclined to provoke than proclaim. “Google is run by its culture and not by me”, said Schmidt in 2009. In Google, when a key executive decision is reached, all interested parties are invited to the decision making process and are encouraged to share their opinions. Schmidt’s job is to oversee the whole procedure and make timely decisions. This bottoms-up way of decision making usually leads to a better buy in and a better decision.

Google allows employees to spend 20% of time on self-directed projects. To closely connect to Google’s frontline innovators, each week Schmidt and his senior associates spend up to six hours in dialogue with team members from across Google, who believe their projects have great potential. This unique management style has hatched a series of great products like Gmail and Google News.

Forward-looking vision

With huge amounts of ideas and new startups coming out every day, Schmidt is credited for making the right decision to keep Google moving forward.

Schmidt keeps looking for new ways to organize and search for information and tries to gain revenue on most of them. Google has introduced many new and powerful products, such as Google Maps, Google Calendar and Gmail. As part of its expansion, Google has acquired other businesses, including YouTube, Blogger, and AdMob. Google has become from a search engine to an on-line services innovator.

In addition, he looks beyond simple acquisitions to global partnerships to buoy the company’s success; such as the partnership between NASA and Google to incorporate surface photos of Mars and the Moon into Google Earth and the partnership with university libraries, like at University of Michigan, to create a card catalog of every book known to exist available through Google Books.

Schmidt imagines personal devices such as mobile phones will act as true personal assistants. In 2008, Google officially entered mobile phone market by introducing Android, a free, open-source mobile operating system. As of August 4, 2010 Google is activating 200,000 new phones to the Android platform per day. Android has already surpassed Apple to become the biggest handset platform in the United States, the third-biggest worldwide, and by far the fastest growing, bringing revenues to Google

Conclusion

In my opinion, Schmidt has dual personalities: an idealist who believes in concepts like “don’t be evil”, and a pragmatist who cares about financial reports. On the one hand in his whole career life he is trying to maintain a Garden of Eden where seeds of great innovations can grow up. On the other hand, he is working hard to provide continuous supply and resources to those seeds and make sure they can be well taken care of in a fertile environment. His role is more like a protector than a supervisor, a teacher than a manager. Together with the founders of Google, he is seeking to form a unique and idealistic business model which can integrate company revenue and public benefit into one goal. However, this is a challenging task. I am actually quite disappointed to see Google stepping into internet telephone service. Once Google starts to get payments from its users directly, its freedom fighter image will collapse and there will be no difference between Google and its long-term enemy Microsoft. The questions are: will Eric Schmidt eventually abandon his idealist personality when the amount of money reaches an “evil-not evil” threshold? Will Google turn from the light side of the Force to the dark side once it beat all its competitors? Let’s see.

Acknowledgment:

Many thanks to Ms. Julie Anne McNary for her valuable comments and suggestions on this article.

Source Cited:

Eric E. Schmidt-Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_E._Schmidt
Eric Schmidt. http://www.crunchbase.com/person/eric-schmidt
Eric Schmidt Oral History. http://www.cwhonors.org/archives/histories/Schmidt.pdf
Eric E. Schmidt: Legendary Business Leader. http://martinandrade.wordpress.com/projects/eric-e-schmidt-legendary-business-leader/
Eric Schmidt: Interview transcript. http://marketplace.publicradio.org/display/web/2009/07/07/pm_corner_office_google_schmidt_transcript/
Google CEO Eric Schmidt: Good Or Just Lucky? http://www.businessinsider.com/eric-schmidt-good-or-just-lucky-2009-4
Google CEO Eric Schmidt: "We Don't Really Have A Five-Year Plan". http://www.businessinsider.com/google-ceo-eric-schmidt-we-dont-really-have-a-five-year-plan-clip-2009-5
Google CEO Eric Schmidt: Android OS Is Profitable, Might Generate $10b Per Year. http://www.softsailor.com/news/45493-google-ceo-eric-schmidt-android-os-is-profitable-might-generate-10b-per-year.html
Google's Chief Looks Ahead http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1541446,00.html
Google China: Hacking bid that quickly grew into a clash of titans. http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2010/mar/23/google-china-hacking-bid-clash
Google's Management Style Grows Up. http://www.businessweek.com/managing/content/jun2009/ca20090623_918721.htm
How I Did It: Google’s CEO on the Enduring Lessons of a Quirky IPO. http://hbr.org/2010/05/how-i-did-it-googles-ceo-on-the-enduring-lessons-of-a-quirky-ipo/ar/1
Janet Lowe. Google Speaks: Secrets of the World's Greatest Billionaire Entrepreneurs, Sergey Brin and Larry Page. Wiley, John & Sons, Incorporated, 2009
In Search Of The Real Google. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1158961-1,00.html
Inside Google: Eric Schmidt, the man with all the answers. http://www.wired.co.uk/wired-magazine/archive/2009/08/features/the-unstoppable-google?page=all
Leadership Style Of Google CEO Eric Schmidt. http://www.scribd.com/doc/19030674/Leadership-Style-Of-Google-Ceo-Eric-Schmidt
Meet The Google Guys http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1158956,00.html
Sanity check: Has Eric Schmidt finally outmaneuvered Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer? http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/hiner/?p=628
The Google Management Style. http://thylmann.net/blog/2006/10/6/the-google-management-style.html
Who's Really Running Google? http://www.forbes.com/2006/06/02/internet-microsoft-google_cz_ec_0605valleyletter.html

Using Online Poll to Schedule Events

2010-10-18T08:29:00.000-07:00

Here is the website where I create an online poll to schedule events:

https://www.doodle.com/

Tips:

The available time of the first person to participate in the poll is quite important because the others would just narrow down the time windows.
Set up narrow time slots if possible.

Things to remember when doing business

2010-09-21T14:21:00.000-07:00

Once starting to work as a full time employee, I realize how well I was protected by my advisor in school. Now it's time for me to fight on my own.
I hope I can go through the hard time and gradually grow up. So that, one day I can provide protections to others.
My first supervisor is very nice. He taught me several things:

Don't be afraid of making decisions and taking responsibilities.
Let each figure tells its story. If the figure couldn't deliver enough information, edit it or delete it.
Put yourself in clients' shoes.
Treat your email communication as equally important as your oral communication. The customers appreciate a reply from their email messages - it's good business protocol.
Don't neglect details.
Technique writing skill is one of the most important skills in work.
COMMUNICATION! COMMUNICATION!!! COMMUNICATION!!!

Words, phrases, sentences

2010-09-20T10:02:00.000-07:00

** is a field that undergoes constant change.
Great progress has been made in the use of technology in**.
A key challenge going forward is **.

Dealing with the nuts and bolts of the project.

Requirements to take P.E. Exam

2010-09-17T13:20:00.000-07:00

To take P.E. Exam, one has to meet requirements on

Education Background
Engineering Experience
F.E. Exam
(Residency)

Each state acts independently to set its own requirements. States can have widely different requirements in these areas.
Many engineers, who works in U.S. with a H-1B visa, have a M.S. and/or Ph.D. degree from an ABET-accredited university but a B.S. degree from universities outside U.S. They have to contact the state board in order to know how many years of engineering experience they need and what kind of experience qualifies.

The answers to the above two questions vary with personal background and state requirements.

Qualifying Experiences:

The state bases its decision on the descriptions of your work experience that you and your references provide. Only experience wherein you have made use of your engineering knowledge will count.
Research in graduate school can be qualifying experience. But it depends on what you did.

Years of Qualifying Experiences:

In California it is possible to take a Principles and Practice in Engineering examination with only two years of experience after a bachelor's degree, or one year of experience after graduate school. where there is a state-specific structural engineering exam and two additional exams in land surveying and earthquake engineering for civil engineering candidates.
In Nevada, college graduates are eligible to take the Principles and Practice exam immediately after graduation and passing the EIT, before acquiring the required experience.

References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Professional_Engineer
http://www.ppi2pass.com/ppi/PPIInfo_pg_map-ma.html
http://www.mass.gov/Eoca/docs/dpl/boards/en/en_faq_app_guidelines.pdf
http://www.ppi2pass.com/ppi/PPIInfo_pg_myppi-faqs-examfaqs.html

10 Excuses Your Boss Doesn't Want to Hear

2010-09-01T06:19:00.000-07:00

Date: July 2nd, 2010
Author: Justin James

Ducking responsibility or shifting blame when a project goes wrong is unprofessional — and it won’t win you any points with your boss either. Justin James explains some ways to circumvent the need for excuse making.

There are lots of reasons why a project might not be going well or may even fail. When your boss wants to know why, there is a world of difference between offering an excuse and providing a legitimate reason. In truth, most excuses only make your manager more upset and put the blame on you. Here are 10 common excuses that employees give their managers — and how you can turn them from weak excuses into a way of getting your supervisor to help you resolve the problems before your project is jeopardized.

1: I didn’t understand the assignment

Not every boss has great communication skills. And yes, having a manager who is not good at explaining what needs to be done makes life difficult. At the same time, using your boss’ inability to explain things as an excuse for not doing them just does not fly. If an assignment does not make sense, it’s your responsibility to find out what really has to happen. And if you find yourself in this situation more than once, it is a sign that you need to be extra careful when working with this particular person to get things fully understood.

2: The deadline was impossible

We all know this situation: A manager hands you an assignment with a deadline attached to it. You tell the manager that the deadline can’t be met and you’re told, “I don’t care; make it happen.” When the deadline is missed, you say, “But I told you the deadline was impossible!” and the boss is still angry. The disconnect here is that simply saying that the deadline is not possible is not good enough. As soon as the boss tells you to do it and you passively accept the ridiculous deadline, you make it your responsibility to meet it.

Your best defense is to negotiate a better deadline, and to do that, you need a project plan. The fact is, you always should be able to paint a picture of what a project will entail with some broad strokes anyway, and it is fairly easy to assign some rough estimates of the time to make each step happen. When you show your supervisor that even the most optimistic rough draft of a plan that omits a million minor details shows that it will take three months and they are demanding three weeks, guess what? It is now your manager’s responsibility to deal with the deadline issue. You have turned an opponent into an ally, and no sane boss can hold you accountable for the bad deadline anymore.

3: A valuable resource was not available

A good part of a manager’s job is to ensure that the team has adequate resources in the form of time, money, and equipment. If you are missing a critical resource, your manager needs to know now — not when the project is late or has failed — so that he or she can fix the problem immediately. When you tell your boss ahead of time, it’s not an excuse — it’s asking for help to solve a problem. When you tell your boss after it’s too late, it becomes an excuse and the failure is on you.

4: The requirements shifted

We all know that requirements get changed constantly. All too often, projects undergo the “gold plating” process long after deadlines and success conditions are determined. That being said, it is really bad form to use this as an excuse for failure. It’s up to you to nip these changes in the bud as they come up. With each new requirement, you need to show how it will affect the possibility of meeting deadlines and the defined success conditions and either move the goalposts as the requirements change or don’t allow the change. If you allow new requirements to be added without changing deadlines, you have effectively made it your responsibility to meet the new targets.

5: I have personal issues

We all have personal issues that come up from time to time. But if your personal issues are affecting your projects’ success, you need to either deal with them or get some help with your work. If things have gotten to the point where your boss is asking you, “What is going on here?” it’s too late. Explaining your non-work issues at this point is just going to make your boss even more upset. But if you explain that you are having some troubles as soon as you see they are affecting your work, your boss will be able to make the needed adjustments. Most supervisors would rather shift resources or expectations than try to force someone with an outside issue to be 100 percent.

6: I don’t have enough time

If you do not have the time to do something, no amount of money, motivation, or resources can make it happen. If there is too much on your plate, you need to get rid of some of it or let your manager know you are overwhelmed. If you don’t get any relief, it’s your manager’s problem, not yours if deadlines can’t be met. But like so many of the other situations listed here, it is your responsibility to make it clear that there is a problem as soon as you can, so that adjustments can be made.

7: I don’t know what went wrong

Some projects just fall into a rut and never get out. When you’re doing the project post-mortem, there is no single thing anyone can point to and say, “This is what messed the project up.” All the same, when a project is off the rails, everyone is usually aware of it, even if they don’t know why. This kind of situation can be embarrassing. After all, how can you know that the project is blowing up but not know why? Usually, it’s a case of “death by 1,000 paper cuts.” The project lead had a bad illness and lost a week of time, the servers were down for a day due to hardware failure, the QA person had a death in the family, and so on. All of these reasonable issues can add up to a critical amount of lost work. All too often, we think that if you just keep pushing, maybe the mystery problems will go away and the project will get back on track. But it never actually works out this way. If a project is going south, you have to let people know, even if you don’t know exactly why, so they can adjust expectations.

8: We ran into blockages

Workplaces are filled with people who have different, sometimes contradictory, goals. For example, you might need the QA team to test your application but another team’s project has priority, so your application does not get tested until long after your deadline is missed. These kinds of work blockages happen all the time. If you can’t get the situation sorted out yourself, determine how much delay you will suffer and what your options are and present them to your manager. Armed with that information, your manager will be able to make a decision from there or possibly get priorities straightened out.

9: The only copy of the work got destroyed

If your work is stored on a computer, you have no reason in the world to have only one copy of it. Not only should you be making regular backups, but they should be on different devices in different locations. Back up local files to the network server or work on the network and allow the IT department to handle things. If you think your boss will give you a free pass because the only copy of a critical file was on your laptop, which no longer works after you dropped it, you are dead wrong. In reality, using the “no backups” excuse will have your boss wondering whether you can be trusted with any more projects at all. Back up your work, and you will never have to tell your boss that the dead thumb drive has your only copy of the project.

10: The dog ate my homework

Sometimes, inexplicable events come up that keep you from getting things done. These things happen. Does your boss want to know that your project is late or won’t be done satisfactorily because of these kinds of random issues? Of course not. But sometimes, there simply is nothing that can be done about it, especially when it comes up at the last possible moment. Just roll with the punches on this one.

A kml to shapefile converter

2010-08-31T09:47:00.000-07:00

Tool: FWTools
Download link: http://fwtools.maptools.org/

At the command line prompt, use the following syntax
Syntax:
Ogr2ogr -f “ESRI Shapefile”

Example 1:
To convert sample.kml located in C:\Test and save the converted shapefile in the same folder,
C:\>Ogr2ogr -f “ESRI Shapefile” C:\Test\sample.shp C:\Test\sample.kml

Things to remember:
1. Only KML files can be converted to *.shp. If the file is in KMZ format, save as “KML” before conversion.
2. The KML file name should not contain white spaces. The best practice is to use “_” or “-“ as separators instead of a space.
3. The coordination system of the shapefiles may need to be changed because Google Earth's native coordination system is
• Geographic Coordinates (latitude/longitude) GCS_WGS_1984
• Datum: D_WGS_1984

Free GIS application

2010-08-31T09:35:00.000-07:00

MapWindow GIS Application

http://www.mapwindow.org/download.php?show_details=1

Description:

MapWindow GIS desktop application is a free, open source, standards-based standalone software package that you can use to view and edit GIS data in many file formats.

The software includes plug-ins for various geoprocessing tasks (e.g. buffer, merge, etc.), watershed delineation, accessing online data sources, and an experimental geodatabase plug-in. The attribute table editor can be used to write simple queries, and there is a complete scripting editor that allows you to write and run scripts in VB.NET and C# directly in the MapWindow program.

Download MapWindow GIS if you need a simple map viewer, or if you want to write your own custom plug-ins to distribute to other users.

The installer includes sample data and is compatible with Windows 98 and up. Source code can be downloaded using SVN code repository.

My Comment:

I really like those plug-in tools.
For example, the coordination system converter is really convenient!
From that GIS Tools menu, select Vector => Reproject a Shapefile.

Text Box tool in Acrobat PDF

2010-04-02T12:39:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I added a comment in a pdf file and tried to changed the font type and color of my comments in the Text Box. I supposed that this can be easily done from the text box properties. Guess what?! There is no such options! (Figure 1)
Thanks to Internet, I found the solution provided by someone who met the same problem. The tips is -------------
Use the hot key "Ctrl+e"!
The Ctrl e function can bring up the Text Box Text Properties, where font type color and other properties can be changed. (Figure 2).
I just don't understand the User Interface developers' design concept. Why not make everybody's life easier?

Figure 1: Text Box Properties (Right Mouse Click)

Figure 2: Text Box Text Properties (Ctrl+e)

How to make animated gifs?

2010-01-31T14:32:00.000-08:00

I just learned an easy way to create animated gif pictures:
Tool: GIMP ( GNU Image Manipulation Program)
Step1:
Prepare several pictures as the frames, e.g. p1.png, p2,png.
Step 2:
File->Open->"p1.png"
Step 3:
File->Open as Layers->"p2.png"
Step 4:
Image->Mode->Indexed
Step 5:
Save as->"test.gif"->Save as Animation->Export->
Adjust the parameters, for example
"loop forever"
"Frame disposal where unspecifed: One frame per layer (replace)"

Upcoming Conferences in Transportation Field

2010-01-30T06:59:00.000-08:00

the Hong Kong Society for Transportation Studies: http://home.netvigator.com/~hksts/call.htm
Conference List in Kevin's website: http://redvillage.homelinux.net/index.php?Page=conference

GIS Data

2010-01-25T11:30:00.000-08:00

VA:
http://www.virginiaplaces.org/boundaries/gisdata.html
http://gisdata.virginia.gov/Portal/

MD:
http://www.marylandgis.net/SHAdata/

MA:
http://www.mass.gov/mgis/laylist.htm

Other regions:
http://seamless.usgs.gov/
http://arcdata.esri.com/data/tiger2000/tiger_download.cfm
http://data.geocomm.com/catalog/index.html
http://www.nationalatlas.gov/atlasftp.html
http://gisdata.virginia.gov/Portal/

Scripts for ESRI software:
http://arcscripts.esri.com/

Freeware (Forestry GIS)
http://www.forestpal.com/fgis.html

Where to find traffic data in Maryland

2010-01-08T13:01:00.000-08:00

1. CATT Lab
Traffic Data Extraction Software (Web Based)
http://www.cattlab.umd.edu/index.php?page=research&a=00005

2. MD SHA
Internet Traffic Monitoring System (I-TMS)
http://shagbhisdadt.mdot.state.md.us/TMS_Reports_Site_RedirectPage/

3. MD SHA
GIS File Download Center
http://www.marylandgis.net/SHAdata/

Transporation Research

2009-12-01T11:13:00.000-08:00

Google Earth Tools

2009-11-03T11:54:00.000-08:00

Google Earth is a useful and powerful tool. Recently I am working on Google Earth Pro. Here are their additional functions compared to the free version:
(1) Measure polygons and circles;
(2) Print high-resolution image;
(3) Import spreadsheet files and GIS shape files;
Does this Pro license really deserve 400$/year? Well, it does save a lot work load. But those functions can also be done by using some online tools or coding kml/kmz files.
I am not familiar with Google Earth API and those coding stuff. But here are some useful tools I found from ...Google....
(1) KML Circle Generator
It'll generate a LineString path for you that looks just like a circle.
(2) Earth Point Tools: Calculate Polygon Area
Calculate the area of a Google Earth polygon, its perimeter, centroid, and bounding box.
Calculate the length of a path, its mid-point, and bounding box.
You can measure multiple polygons in one folder at one time, and export the results in excel files. Amazing!
(3)Earth Point Tools: Create Directional Arrow
Export a spreadsheet of lat/long coordinates to Google Earth. Pop-up balloons, icons, paths, and directional arrows are easily created from the spreadsheet data.
(A lot of other small but powerful tools can be found in this website. )

C++ String Examples

2009-10-20T05:58:00.000-07:00

This website gives good examples about how to use std::string in C++

http://anaturb.net/C/string_exapm.htm

FW: "be lucky it's an easy skill to learn"

2009-10-17T13:17:00.000-07:00

Are we born to be a luck or unlucky man?
Can we train our mind to be luckier?
A friend forwarded me this interesting article:
"Be lucky: It's an easy skill to learn"
Give our mind a bowl of chicken soup~

CPT/OPT/H1-B

2009-07-27T09:13:00.000-07:00

CPT/OPT
Optional Practical Training (OPT)

Have your application number ready, You will be able to find the status of your case:

My Case Status

classic C++ books for starters

2009-07-25T07:53:00.000-07:00

《The C++ Programming Language》by Bjarne Stroustrup
《C++ Primer》by Stanley B.Lippman and Josee Lajoie

How to read/write Excel in C++

2009-05-22T12:53:00.000-07:00

It is not difficult to write/read Excel data in VB/VBA, the development language included with most Microsoft Office products. It's another story if wring such an application using C++.
It seems the most popular method is to use OLE (Object Linking and Embedding) interface. The advantage is that you can use most Excel functions such as formula, format. The disadvantage is obvious, the application relies on Windows.
A class to be used in environments other than Windows would be welcomed by many developers. BasicExcel is such an open-source project. However, as the name indicates, its function is BASIC. You cannot expect too much on complicated applications.

References:
1. Comparison of methods of reading/writing EXCEL in C++ (chinese)
2. How to automate Excel from C++ without using MFC or #import
3. BasicExcel-A Class to Read and Write to Microsoft Excel

C++ I/O Tips 2 Input/Output

2009-05-12T14:02:00.000-07:00

Tips and tricks for using C++ I/O (input/output)
(http://www.augustcouncil.com/~tgibson/tutorial/iotips.html)

How to prepare the output stream to print fixed precision numbers (3.40 instead of 3.4)

  std::cout.setf(ios::fixed, ios::floatfield);
  std::cout.setf(ios::showpoint);
  std::cout.precision(2);

How to set the width of a printing field

  Given: int one=4, two=44;
  std::cout << one << std::endl.; 
  //output:  "4"

  std::cout << setw(2) << one << std::endl.;
  //output:  " 4"

  std::cout.fill('X');
  std::cout << setw(2) << one << std::endl.;
  //output:  "X4"

  std::cout.fill('X');
  std::cout << setw(2) << two << std::endl.;
  //output:  "44"

How to post source code in blogspot.com

2009-05-12T12:40:00.000-07:00

when I tried to publish a post in which I can show code snippets, I encountered some difficulties:
(1)Pieces between arrow brackets can not be displayed because in such a case Blogger will try to automatically corrected the HTML code by closing all tags such as an C++ library import<iostream>.
(2)There is neither line indent nor highlight. The code is ugly and hard to read.
So, how to display source code in a good manner? I did some research online. Here are the steps I followed to give the source code a "makeup":

Step 1: Edit the html template
(Layout->Edit HTML)
Edit Use google-code-prettify,a Javascript module and CSS file, to allow syntax highlighting of source code snippets in an html page.
There are many other modules which can do the same job, such as SyntaxHighlighter (You can save them in your google page)
(1) Backup the current template.
(2) Add code to "head" tag.
In the "head" tag, link to the Javascript and CSS files in google prettify code

<link href="http://google-code-prettify.googlecode.com/svn/trunk/src/prettify.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css"/>
<script src="http://google-code-prettify.googlecode.com/svn/trunk/src/prettify.js" type="text/javascript"/>

(3)Customize the "pre" tag

pre {
margin: 5px 20px;
border: 1px dashed #666;
padding: 5px;
background: #f8f8f8;
white-space: pre-wrap;       /* css-3 */
white-space: -moz-pre-wrap;  /* Mozilla, since 1999 */
white-space: -pre-wrap;      /* Opera 4-6 */
white-space: -o-pre-wrap;    /* Opera 7 */
word-wrap: break-word;       /* Internet Explorer 5.5+ */
}

(4)Add onload="prettyPrint()" to your document's body tag

- <body>
+ <body onload='prettyPrint()'>

(4)Save the new template.

Step 2: Format the code
(1) Download WebCodeFormatter which is a small Java app which replaces all the critical characters in your code with the appropriate unicode notations which is safer.
(2) Convert the source code and then copy it to your blog post.
(3) Write your code within

<pre class="prettyprint">
source code
</pre>

References:
1. "How to publish source code in Blogger.com"
2."Posting source code on Blogger"

C++ I/O Tip 1: How to skip comments

2009-05-12T12:35:00.000-07:00

#include <limits> // for std::numeric_limits
#include <string> // for std::string
#include <iostream> // I/O
#include <fstream>// file I/O

// Remove C/C++ comments
ifstream& SkipComment(ifstream &strm)
{
   char c;
   const int c_MAX_LINESIZE=std::numeric_limits<int>::max();

   if(!strm) return strm;

   while(isspace(c=strm.get())||c==','||c==';');

   if(c=='#'||c=='%'||(c=='/' && strm.peek()=='/'))
   {
     //skip the rest of the line
     strm.ignore(c_MAX_LINESIZE, '\n');
     return strm;
 
   }
   else if (c=='/' && strm.peek()=='*')
   {
     //skip everything in the comment block
     c=strm.get();          //skip the first '*'
     char last='\0';
     while(!(strm.eof())&&strm.good())
     {
       c=strm.get();
       if(c=='/'&&last=='*')break;
       else last=c;
     }
      return strm;
 
 }
 else if(c!=EOF)
 {
     strm.putback(c);
 }

 return strm;
}

//main program
int main(int argc,char **argv)
{
      string IFile="test.dat";
      ifstream ifs( IFile.c_str() );
      if ( ! ifs ){cerr << "Unable to open " << IFile << " for reading\n";}
      SkipComment(ifs)>>x;
      SkipComment(ifs)>>y;
      ifs.close();
      return 0;
}

TSP Bible....

2009-05-12T08:58:00.000-07:00

My friend F recommended the following site, where over 300 papers on TSP, VRP are listed.
Nice website

http://www2.imm.dtu.dk/~jla/routebib.html

Job-hunting websites

2009-04-30T14:00:00.000-07:00

www.ite.org
http://www.informs.org/
www.monster.com
www.careerbuilder.com
http://www.postdocjobs.com/

EIT Exam 04/25/2009

2009-04-30T13:36:00.000-07:00

This 8-hour exam really consumes one's strength and energy.
The general part (120 questions) in the morning is not difficult. But I ran out of time and had to guess several answers.
In the afternoon session (60 questions), I chose "Other/General" category, which turned out to be a wrong choice. Too many thermodynamic questions brought a nightmare. I cannot even find corresponding equations in the reference book!! It's too bad that not many weighted were put in mathematics and mechanics.

Experiences and lessons:
1. Have a good rest the night before to gain enough energy.
2. Find the location and direction ahead of time.
3. Bring water, chocolate and lunch.
3. Calculator instructions are allowed in the exam.
4. Be familiar with the reference book.
5. Recommend transportation engineers to take "Industrial Engineering" in the afternoon part!!!!

Exam Result:
Well, I passed the EIT exam and so as my friends. We found that in our state the pass rate is almost 60%!!!

Rookie Fighting with Google Result Redirect Virus

2009-03-16T10:11:00.000-07:00

My desktop was infected by Trojan Horse Virus yesterday and this is not the first time :(.
Last time it took me and my friends two days to identify the virus and finally reformat the hard disk! This time we spent the whole night. The problem seemed to be solved. But I am not sure.

The symptom is that my google search results are redirected to some unknown ad websites and my AVAST! Antivirus software (Home edition) can not update itself due to the failure connection to the server.

(1) Diagnosis
Use "Hijackthis" to generate a log file.
Find a suspicious executive file in the directory "C:\WINDOWS\system32\systen.exe"
(http://www.greatis.com/appdata/d/Windows/s/systen.exe.htm)

(2) Delete this exe file
First mannually delete it from the folder "C:\WINDOWS\system32\"
Second delete any history related to this "systen.exe" from registry
"hkey_local_machine\software\microsoft\windows\currentversion\run"

(3) Update AVAST! and start a through scan
After deleting "systen.exe", AVAST! recovers its updating function.
Several virus were reported during a through scan of all hard disks!!!!!!!
The google search engine came back to normal after those virus were killed.

(4) Use Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware to scan my computer one more time.
Seven malicious programs were found and killed.

I think the infection is caused by my visiting of some unsafe sites from one of them a Trojan was uploaded onto my computer. I am really afraid that my personal information might have been sent out reached malicious hands. It's ergent to place myself on a credit watch programme, which tracks suspicious account movements. Btw, I need to change the passwords to all my accounts.

:( I learned a serious lesson!

============================
Later today I found out that the virus was from my office desktop!!!!!!!
I had to fight with the demon in that computer again! This demon was even stronger!
Symptom:
It not only blocked the update function of all anti-virus software, but also killed the process of any malware detection/repair tools.
Error message about "svchost.exe" popped up sometimes.

At first, I followed the instructions in the following link:
http://www.geekstogo.com/forum/Google-Search-Redirected-t218403.html

The virus was killed temporarily. But it came back after 1 min. There must be some open back doors.

Then I used the following tools (TOGETHER) to kill the virus and clean my computer. I had to change the name of setup file and exe file so that it could be run in my computer.
The scan result showed 9 files including some registry files were inflected!!

Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware (Very good)
=============================
Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware 1.34
Database version: 1749
Windows 5.1.2600 Service Pack 3

3/18/2009 12:20:00 PM
mbam-log-2009-03-18 (12-19-57).txt

Scan type: Quick Scan
Objects scanned: 71913
Time elapsed: 9 minute(s), 2 second(s)

Memory Processes Infected: 0
Memory Modules Infected: 0
Registry Keys Infected: 1
Registry Values Infected: 0
Registry Data Items Infected: 2
Folders Infected: 0
Files Infected: 1

Memory Processes Infected:
(No malicious items detected)

Memory Modules Infected:
(No malicious items detected)

Registry Keys Infected:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\tdss (Trojan.Agent) -> No action taken.

Registry Values Infected:
(No malicious items detected)

Registry Data Items Infected:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon\Userinit (Trojan.Agent) -> Data: c:\windows\system32\ -> No action taken.
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon\Userinit (Trojan.Agent) -> Data: system32\ -> No action taken.

Folders Infected:
(No malicious items detected)

Files Infected:
C:\WINDOWS\system32\ (Trojan.Agent) -> No action taken.
============================================
It takes a long time. It seems the virus hided behind normal registry key/data. Malwarebytes performed wonderful in detecting Trojan agents. But if I deleted infected files using Malwarebytes, Windows cannot be restarted next time.
Therefore, I had to use F-Secure to deal with those viruses.

2. F-Secure Anti-Virus 2009 (Evaluation Version) (good)
==================================
TDSScfum.dll
backdoor: w32/TDSS.W
Win32.TDSS.rtk

Virus:
Backdoor.Win32.TDSS (system infection)
Spyware:
Tracking Cookie
Adware.Win32.Boran
TrackingCookie.Imrworldwide
==================================
3. Spybot-SD Resident
Spybot-Search & Destroy is not very useful since it required updating before doing virus scan. As I mentioned, the update function had been blocked by the virus.

Finally the virus are gone. I did full scan and cleaned unnecessary files using Ccleaner in safe mode.

How to Connect your iPhone to the Wireless Network

2009-03-05T11:58:00.000-08:00

umd-secure

http://www.oit.umd.edu/nts/noc/wireles/iphone_secure_config.html

Transportation Consulting Companies

2009-03-04T10:16:00.000-08:00

PB (Parsons Brinckerhoff) http://www.pbworld.com/
CSI (Cambridge Systematics, Inc) http://www.camsys.com/
SAIC(Science Applications International Corporation) http://www.saic.com/
IBI Group http://www.ibigroup.com/
HDR (Henningson, Durham and Richardson) http://www.hdrinc.com
VHB (Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc) http://www.vhb.com/
AECOM http://www.ensr.aecom.com/index.html
URS http://www.urscorp.com
Caliper Corporation http://www.caliper.com/default.htm
CRA International http://www.crai.com/
Steer Davies Gleave http://steerdaviesgleave.com/
RK&K,LLP (Rummel, Kelpper & Kahl, LLP) http://www.rkk.com/
BAI (Brudis & Associates, Inc) http://www.brudis.com/
ITERIS http://www.iteris.com/
DCI (Danial Consultants, Inc) http://www.danielconsultants.com/

Complie an MPICH2 Application (C++)

2009-02-23T21:07:00.000-08:00

Developer Visual Studio 6.0

Visual C++ 6.0 cannot handle multiple functions with the same type signature
that only differ in their return type. So you must define HAVE_NO_VARIABLE_RETURN _TYPE_SUPPORT in your project.
1. Create a project and add your source files.
2. Bring up the settings for the project by hitting Alt F7. Select the Preprocessor
Category from the C/C++ tab. Enter “HAVE_NO_VARIABLE_RETURN_TYPE_SUPPORT”
into the Preprocessor box. Enter “C:\Program Files\MPICH2\include” into the “Additional include directories” box.
3. Select the Input Category from the Link tab. Add cxx.lib and
mpi.lib to the Object/library modules box. Add C:\Program Files\MPICH2\lib
to the “Additional library path” box.
4. Compile your application.
[Source: mpich2-doc-windev.pdf, section 9.10.2]

Developer Studio .NET 2003

For Developer Studio .NET 2003 or newer you can use the example projects provided with the release as a guide to creating your own projects.
1. Create a project and add your source files.
2. Bring up the properties dialog for your project by right clicking the project name and selecting Properties.
3. Navigate to Configuration Properties::C/C++::General
4. Add C:\Program Files\MPICH2\include to the “Additional Include Directories” box.
5. Navigate to Configuration Properties::Linker::General
6. Add C:\Program Files\MPICH2\lib to the “Aditional Library Directories” box.
7. Navigate to Configuration Properties::Linker::Input
8. Add cxx.lib and mpi.lib and fmpich2.lib to the “Additional Dependencies” box.
If your application is a C application then it only needs mpi.lib. If it is a C++ application then it needs both cxx.lib and mpi.lib. If it is a Fortran application then it only needs one of the fmpich2[s,g].lib libraries. The fortran library comes in three flavors fmpich2.lib, fmpich2s.lib and fmpich2s.lib. fmpich2.lib contains all uppercase symbols and uses the C calling convention like this: MPI INIT. fmpich2s.lib contains all uppercase symbols and uses the 9 RUNTIME ENVIRONMENT 30 stdcall calling convention like this: MPI INIT@4. fmpich2g.lib contains all lowercase symbols with double underscores and the C calling convention like this: mpi init . Add the library that matches your Fortran compiler.
9. Compile your application.
[Source: mpich2-doc-windev.pdf, section 9.10.2]

1. Trouble Shooting

C++ and SEEK_SET
Some users may get error messages such as
SEEK_SET is #defined but must not be for the C++ binding of MPI

The problem is that both stdio.h and the MPI C++ interface use SEEK_SET, SEEK_CUR, and SEEK_END. This is really a bug in the MPI-2 standard. You can try adding
#undef SEEK_SET
#undef SEEK_END
#undef SEEK_CUR

before mpi.h is included, or add the definition
-DMPICH_IGNORE_CXX_SEEK

to the command line (this will cause the MPI versions of SEEK_SET etc. to be skipped).
[Source: http://www.mcs.anl.gov/research/projects/mpich2/support/index.php?s=faqs#cxxseek]

Install MPICH2 on Windows XP

2009-02-23T20:30:00.000-08:00

[Reference: http://www.mcs.anl.gov/research/projects/mpich2/documentation/index.php?s=docs]

STEP 1: INSTALLING MPICH2

1. Main MPICH homepage:

http://www.mcs.anl.gov/research/projects/mpich2/index.php

2. Download the Win32IA32 version of MPICH2 from:

http://www.mcs.anl.gov/research/projects/mpich2/downloads/index.php?s=downloads

3. Download Microsoft Visual C++ 2005 SP1 Redistributable Package (x86) and install the program.

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/thankyou.aspx?familyId=200b2fd9-ae1a-4a14-984d-389c36f85647&displayLang=en#

4. Run the executable, mpich2-1.0.7-win32-ia32.msi (or a more recent version). Most likely it will result in the following error:

If you follow the link to download the .NET Framework it will download version 2.0.50727. To download version 2.0 use this link:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=0856EACB-4362-4B0D-8EDD-AAB15C5E04F5&displaylang=en

5. Install the .NET Framework program

6. Install the MPICH2 executable. Write down the passphrase “behappy” for future reference. The passphrase must be consistent across a network.

7. NOTE: make sure that the MPICH2 versions are the same in all computers/machines. Otherwise, the following error massage may appear:

Aborting: unable to connect to ni, smpd version mismatch Aborting: unable to connect to ni, smpd version mismatch.

STEP 2: CHANGE COMPUTER SETTINGS

1. Copy the executable to the same directory in each machine (node). For example “C:\Program Files\MPICH2\examples\cpi.exe”

2. Set “ Network Connections”: Ensure that each machine can let its files shared by other computers by checking the option “Control PanelàNetwork and Internet ConnectionsàNetwork ConnectionsàLocal Area ConnectionàPropertiesàGeneral-File and Printer Sharing for Microsoft Networks”.

3. Set “Windows Firewall”:

Ensure that Windows Firewall can allow files sharing by checking the option “Control PanelàSecurity CenteràWindows FirewallàExceptionsàFile and Printer Sharing”
From the Exceptions Tab, select “Add Program” and make sure “C:\Program Files\MPICH2\bin\smpd.exe” and “C:\Program Files\MPICH2\bin\mpiexec.exe” are on the list.
Form the Exception Tab, select “Add Program” and add the executable “C:\Program Files\MPICH2\examples\cpi.exe” into the exception list.

4. Add the MPICH2 path to Windows:

A. Right click “My Computer” and pick properties

B. Select the Advanced Tab

C. Select the Environment Variables button

D. Highlight the path variable under User Variables and click edit. Add “C:\Program Files\MPICH2\bin” to the end of the list; make sure to separate this from the prior path with a semicolon.

E. Highlight the path variable under System Variables and click edit. Add “C:\Program Files\MPICH2\bin” to the end of the list; make sure to separate this from the prior path with a semicolon.

STEP 3: RUN MPI

Get Domain name, User name and Password for each machine (Node)

Log on each machine you want to run on. This is not required, but prevents anyone else logging on and using the machine.
Use Start MenuàRunà cmd.exe to opens command prompt window.
Type in “ipconfig” to obtain the IP address of the machine. For example, “1.2.3.4”
In the machine, type in “ping –a 1.2.3.4” to resolve IP address to the host name, we can see: "Pinging hostname[1.2.3.4] with 32 bytes of data."
However, “testmachine” is only a “host name” but not a “domain name”, which is required to find a computer in the network. To get the domain name, we have to ping the machine from another machine, then we will see: "Pinging domainname[1.2.3.4] with 32 bytes of data"
Now we obtain the following informations:

Domain Name: domainname

It is required to find a computer in the network

Host Name: hostname

The host name can be used to identify a computer only when all the computers are in the same subnetwork.

IP Address: 1.2.3.4

User Name: username

The user name required to log in the machine

Password: **********

The corresponding password required to log in the machine

Register each “user” in the master node so that a domain name, user name and password can be automatically retrieved by mpiexec to launch processes.

mpiexec –register user 1 domainname\username\**********

Mpiexec will ask you to enter the domain name, user name and password.

Validate the saved user information:

mpiexec –validate user 1”

Mpiexec should return a message “SUCCESS”.

Go to the working directory

C:\> cd C:\workingdirectory

C:\workingdirectory>

In the working directory, run the example executable to insure correct installation.

mpiexec –n 2 c:\program files\mpich2\examples\cpi.exe

mpiexe c –hosts 2 domainnameA 1 domainnameB 1 c:\program files\mpich2\examples\cpi.exe

Enable/Disable File Sharing in Windows XP

2009-02-23T19:34:00.000-08:00

[Source: http://compnetworking.about.com/cs/winxpnetworking/ht/winxpsfs.htm]
[Source: http://www.wikihow.com/Disable-Simple-File-Sharing-in-Windows-XP-Home-Edition]

If you want to specify access to certain files on your computer by specific users and groups, you need to set advanced-level file and folder permissions. Before this is possible, you must disable the simple file sharing capabilities in your Windows XP software.

(1) Windows XP Professional Edition

The below step-by-step instructions explain how to enable/disable SFS in Windows XP Professional.

Here's How:

Open My Computer from the Start Menu or Windows XP Desktop. A new My Computer window will appear.
Open the Tools menu and choose the "Folder Options..." option from this menu. A new Folder Options window will appear.
Click on the View tab and locate the "Use Simple File Sharing (Recommended)" checkbox in the list of Advanced Settings.
To enable Simple File Sharing, ensure this checkbox is checked. To disable Simple File Sharing, ensure this checkbox is not checked. Click inside the checkbox to alternately enable and disable the option.
Click OK to close the Folder Options window. The settings for Simple File Sharing are now updated; no computer reboot is required.

Tips:

The Simple File Sharing checkbox should be at or near the bottom of the Advanced Settings list in the My Computer Folder Options.
Enabling Simple File Sharing prevents the ability to assign user-level passwords to shares. When Simple File Sharing is enabled on a computer, remote users will not be prompted for a password when accessing that computer's shares.
If the Windows XP Professional computer is part of a Windows domain rather than a Windows workgroup, this process for enabling or disabling Simple File Sharing has no effect. Simple File Sharing always remains disabled for computers joined to domains.

(2) Windows XP Home Edition

You can disable simple file sharing in XP Professional, but not XP Home. Windows XP Home Edition was not designed for high security networking. It was designed for standalone workstations and home based Workgroup configurations. Fear not, there is a way around this.

Here's How:

Restart your computer in Safe Mode. To do this, follow these steps:
- Restart your computer. Before you see the Windows XP logo, hold down the F8 key.
- Select Safe Mode.
Login in as Administrator. You'll get a warning about running in Safe Mode. Click Yes.
Find the folder whose permissions you wish to change. Right click on that folder, and select Properties.
Select the Security tab and change the permissions of the desired folder(s). You can now change all the permissions of the folder just like you would in Windows 2000.

Tips:

If you are looking for information on accessing the file permission settings with Windows XP Professional, see the external links.
In other versions of Windows such as Media Center and Professional all you have to do is go to Tools --->Folder Options. Then go to the "view" tab. Go to the white box and scroll all the way down and uncheck the box that says "use simple file sharing".

Remove link from table of contents

2009-02-23T19:22:00.000-08:00

press Ctrl+Shift+F9,
the fields will be unlinked.

EIT Exam Application Process

2009-02-23T17:57:00.000-08:00

Step 1: Know about EIT Exam
FAQ of Engineering-In-Training (EIT) Examination: http://www.ncees.org/exams/fundamentals/

Step 2: Check with your state licensing board to find out important registration deadlines for your state. (NOTE: The application deadline varies significantly by state, ranging from 45 to more than 180 days before the exam date. Check with your state board for the deadline that applies to you. Your board will also provide information on exam locations. )

Step 3: Prepare application materials.

Step 3.1: Go to the University Registrar's Office or visit Testudo (www.testudo.umd.edu), request an official transcript from the Registrar’s office and have it sent to the state board office.
(NOTE: An official academic transcript must be sent to the Board's office directly from the college registrar. Transcripts marked "issued to student" will not be accepted. )

Step 3.2: Provide evidence of graduation
(1) For undergraduate students in University of Maryland
Go the Office of Undergraduate Advising and Academic Support in Engineering School or visit (http://www.eng.umd.edu/advising/fe-exam-form.html), submit a request to take EIT Exam.

(2) For graduate students in University of Maryland
Go to the Department Office, find the director of graduate service in your department and let her/him send an "Anticipation Graduation Letter" to the state board office.

Other links of interest:

NCEES - National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying
http://www.ncees.org/exams/fundamentals/
State Board (Maryland) website: http://www.dllr.maryland.gov/license/prof_eng/petakeexam.htm
Application forms (Maryland): http://www.dllr.maryland.gov/forms/default.htm#pe
Online Resource: http://www.ppi2pass.com/ppi/PPIInfo_pg_myppi-faqs-webrefs.html#FE

Steps to Remove Remote Control History

2009-02-23T17:49:00.000-08:00

To clear all entries (IP address, user name and password) in the from the Remote Desktop Connection Computer box in any computer, you need to follow the following steps:

Step 1: Remove connection entries in the registry history.
(1) Open the Windows "Start" menu, select "Run";
(2) In the resulting dialog box, type "regedit.exe", click "OK" to start Registry Editor;
(3) click the following registry key: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Terminal Server Client\Default
History connection entries appear as MRUnumber (e.g. MRU0 or MRU1) and are visible in the right pane.
Delete each entry, right-click it, and then click Delete.
(4) click the following registry key: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Terminal Server Client\Servers
History connection information is stored in folders named by IP address.
Delete each folder named by IP address, right-click it, and then click Delete.
(5) Exit the Registry Editor.

Step 2: Remove Remote Desktop protocol files (.rdp files) saved in the My Documents folder.
(1) Open the Windows "Start" menu, select "My Documents";
(2) Find file "Default.rdp", right-click it, and then click Delete.

After the above two steps, remote control history entries would be removed from the computer that you use to access the office computer.