Smurfmatictag:smurfmatic.net,2005-02-14:/blog//32012-11-29T10:32:43Z...the blogMovable Type 4.31-enSort of moving ontag:smurfmatic.net,2012:/blog//3.22972012-11-29T10:16:19Z2012-11-29T10:32:43ZThis blog lost its purpose in the past few years, but has kept my best memories since at least 2005. In 2001-04, I was on Tripod, and a pMachine blog on this current domain! Probably because of the most active...Cedrichttp://smurfmatic.net/
http://twitter.com/cedricsam
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/cedricsam
Weibo: http://weibo.com/cedricsam
From 2007, I had a blog on Chinese stuff. But since I now live in China (Hong Kong, actually), it would seem a bit irrelevant to keep updating. But I still do, occasionally.
Comme les Chinois: http://commeleschinois.ca/
I've also started blogging more seriously on work-related stuff. So, for that, I will use Tumblr:
http://electricricecooker.tumblr.com/
(In 2010-12, I was hosted on my employer's domain: http://jmsc.hku.hk/blogs/ricecooker/)
Finally, I also have a portfolio that currently lacks some updating:
http://cedric.sam.name/#portfolio]]>
Canadian elections by polling division: now the 2011 mapstag:smurfmatic.net,2011:/blog//3.22962011-10-10T16:25:48Z2011-10-15T16:34:02Z http://earth.smurfmatic.net/canada2011/polls/ Update (2011-10-16): Indeed, I've now added the political parties layers (the colors represent the proportion of votes by a party over the total number of votes) and a voters' turnout layer (nb of votes compiled over the nb...Cedrichttp://smurfmatic.net/http://earth.smurfmatic.net/canada2011/polls/Update (2011-10-16): Indeed, I've now added the political parties layers (the colors represent the proportion of votes by a party over the total number of votes) and a voters' turnout layer (nb of votes compiled over the nb of registered voters). If there are problems in interaction or information layout, please tell the interaction designer (me).
I finally got around last week to update my election maps to 2011. The new interface now lets you get the maps in good old 2-D Google Maps if your system doesn't support the Google Earth plugin.
The new version also lets you compare layers between each other. For now, I'm only offering the default "margin of victory" map for 2008 and 2011. Pretty soon, I will post maps specific to parties and the turnout rate. You are welcome to submit ideas of other geographic analyses.
Also, I've decided to release the code for this project to the open on GitHub.]]>
Les étoiles filantes (2010-11)tag:smurfmatic.net,2011:/blog//3.22952011-08-14T07:22:46Z2011-08-14T07:41:32Z Ce soir, j'ai essayé de regarder les Perséides, en vain. Contrairement à l'année dernière, alors que nous étions à Lamma, cette année, je suis à Montréal à la mi-août. Les choses ont beaucoup changé, et j'ai l'impression que ce...Cedrichttp://smurfmatic.net/
Ce soir, j'ai essayé de regarder les Perséides, en vain. Contrairement à l'année dernière, alors que nous étions à Lamma, cette année, je suis à Montréal à la mi-août. Les choses ont beaucoup changé, et j'ai l'impression que ce fût l'année où j'ai consolidé mes assises à Hong Kong.
Cette année, je n'étais pas au milieu de la jungle (urbaine et rurale) de Hong Kong, mais plutôt au milieu de la banlieue montréalaise, chez mes parents et mes grands-parents. J'ai peut-être vu que deux étoiles filantes pendant la demi-heure passée sur la terrasse derrière la maison de mes grands-parents, sans rien voir, car les lumières du voisin shinaient un peu trop fortement.
La chanson des Cowboys fringants vient rappeler de l'ephémérité de la vie. Qu'il faut profiter de tous les moments, au risque de ne pas assez vivre. Il faut faire des erreurs, et ça prend probablement des échecs pour être heureux. Être heureux, c'est peut-être aussi un état d'esprit. On ne peut peut-être jamais être totalement heureux, et ce qu'il faudrait c'est d'être plus heureux?
Août 2010 a été déterminant dans l'année qui suivit. J'avais decidé le mois précédent de retourner à la maîtrise, et allait bientôt commencer mes cours et rencontrer un nouveau groupe de personnes. À ma job, je venais aussi d'être affecté à de nouvelles tâches, qui allaient me permettre de réaliser des choses qu'on s'attendait de moi à mon embauche en 2009.
Durant l'année, j'ai continué à faire des événements Beer Bay hebdomadaire, durant lesquels j'ai fait connaissance de ma petite gang québécoise, depuis lors désintégrée.
En 2011-12, je sais que j'aurai un nouveau groupe avec moi à la maîtrise. Je sais que mon contrat de travail aura à être renouvellé. Je sais aussi que ça sera l'année déterminante, l'espèce de point d'inflexion pour la carrière que je souhaiterais avoir. J'ai hâte de voir comment ça se passera.
***
Ça fait depuis deux semaines que je suis revenu de Hong Kong. C'est la plus longue période pour laquelle je suis de retour au pays, et par le fait même, les plus longues vacances prises depuis fin 2009.
Je me sens bien et reposé. Ça fait changement du Cédric stressé, qui avait hâte d'atteindre le bord de la piscine. J'ai hâte de recommencer.]]>
Chromebook, first impressionstag:smurfmatic.net,2011:/blog//3.22942011-08-08T03:15:35Z2011-08-08T03:24:24Z I just received my Samsung Series 5 Chromebook. First impressions... There's going to be a little bit of getting used to the lack of desktop. It's basically like Google Chrome, the browser, but taking the entire space of the...Cedrichttp://smurfmatic.net/
I just received my Samsung Series 5 Chromebook. First impressions... There's going to be a little bit of getting used to the lack of desktop. It's basically like Google Chrome, the browser, but taking the entire space of the computer. Aesthetically, there are added icons at the top right of the Chrome for time, wifi signal, battery and other Chrome instances. It's fast, but there's going to be some learning curve for doing stuff like listening to music, editing videos and opening terminals...]]>
Political financing map in Canada for Cyberpressetag:smurfmatic.net,2011:/blog//3.22932011-04-16T04:47:28Z2011-04-16T05:31:02Z After a few sleepless nights, the political financing map (carte des contributions aux partis politiques) is finally out. The great thing about doing this project is that we started with what is supposed to be public data and made...Cedrichttp://smurfmatic.net/
After a few sleepless nights, the political financing map (carte des contributions aux partis politiques) is finally out.
The great thing about doing this project is that we started with what is supposed to be public data and made it actually public. We downloaded it, refined it and mapped it. Although I didn't get around to posting the geocoding results, essentially all the raw data of about 500,000+ entries is made available to the public through Google Fusion Tables. I even used the data I extracted to create my own non-Cyberpresse visualisation (en français).
I think the amount of data displayed will be overwhelming to anyone. Users of the map will be interested to see around places where they live and places that they know, so I think it will be a great platform for crowdsourcing too. I hope you enjoy the map!]]>
Montréal en trois tempstag:smurfmatic.net,2011:/blog//3.22922011-04-15T03:50:50Z2011-04-15T03:56:14ZDernière d'une série de trois, voici un tracé de la provenance des contributions faites aux partis politiques et associations de circonscription en 2009. L'outil d'où proviennent ces captures d'écran sera publié tard vendredi soir, heure de l'est. Samedi matin, la...Cedrichttp://smurfmatic.net/Parti conservateurParti libéralBloc Québécois
(Les dons au NPD et au Parti vert dans la région métropolitaine sont trop minimes pour être montrés ici.)]]>
Vancouver en trois tempstag:smurfmatic.net,2011:/blog//3.22912011-04-14T00:08:23Z2011-04-14T00:10:50ZLike I did for Toronto, but this time for Vancouver. Conservative Party Liberal Party New Democratic Party...Cedrichttp://smurfmatic.net/
for Toronto, but this time for Vancouver.
Conservative PartyLiberal PartyNew Democratic Party]]>
Toronto en trois tempstag:smurfmatic.net,2011:/blog//3.22902011-04-12T06:59:21Z2011-04-12T07:04:26ZThese are the compiled financial contributions to national instances of political parties and riding associations for 2009, distributed among polling divisions (from postal codes of contributors, geocoded when possible). The data was obtained from Elections Canada's website. More to come...Cedrichttp://smurfmatic.net/Conservative PartyLiberal PartyNew Democratic Party]]>
Reviving the Canadian electoral financial contributions projecttag:smurfmatic.net,2011:/blog//3.22882011-02-20T15:17:32Z2011-04-16T04:47:24Z Sometime in early 2009, I came up with the Canadian electoral financial contributions project. At the time, I thought it would be awesome to do something with the data that Elections Canada, an independent federal agency in charge of...Cedrichttp://smurfmatic.net/
Sometime in early 2009, I came up with the Canadian electoral financial contributions project. At the time, I thought it would be awesome to do something with the data that Elections Canada, an independent federal agency in charge of conducting elections and referendums in Canada, releases publicly about funders of political parties. The website contains different ways to access the information, whether it is political party or riding association annual returns or by candidate's expenses during an election.
I wrote a basic how-to, pointing out how obfuscated the browsing of the data was. You can technically download CSVs of the data, but Elections Canada's servers would time-out if you asked for the entire dataset at once.
Try to do mashups with this
There were also some cleverly hidden public data that consists in the postal code of a single contributor. Using a Web browser, it was impossible to compile this data into a database. But using simple scripts with a command-line tool like curl, it was possible to know the location that a donor used to make its donation, including private residence. It might be of questionable good taste to reveal those on a map, but in an era of data mashups and visualisation, it makes perfect sense for what is after all public data.
Michael Sabia (Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec President / CEO) gave money to the Liberals
At the time, I demonstrated my method with only 2008 data and let the project die for lack of interest and time. In the meanwhile, I moved to Hong Kong and started a new career over here, and have been working on data projects.
Now that elections are looming in Canada, and with an improved skill set, I've unearthed the project a week or so ago, and started really digging into it since yesterday. I already reached the stage of collecting all the 2007-2009 data from annual transaction return, and the postal codes of contributors. I am now geocoding the postal codes and will be thinking of ways to offer a better filter and search the data. Aside from mapping the data geographically, I think that it would be interesting to show trends in the data, of where the money went, etc. For the public, it would be interesting to offer a focus on where celebrities and important people put their money, just like the Huffington Post's Fundrace did in the US.
---
Update 2011-04-16:This is the raw data]]>
Theories in Interaction Design -- Assignment Onetag:smurfmatic.net,2010:/blog//3.22872010-10-25T15:13:09Z2010-10-25T15:16:40ZWell, what are assignments good for in grad school, if we don't get to publish them anywhere? So here it is, the first assignment that I did for our first seminar course at SD PolyU in interaction design. *** (The...Cedrichttp://smurfmatic.net/
grad school, if we don't get to publish them anywhere? So here it is, the first assignment that I did for our first seminar course at SD PolyU in interaction design.
***
(The original article can be found here)
Assignment One
Using an existing product type, discuss at least three kinds of data that one may select for observation. Explain where you think each kind of data may lead one in an investigation of the nature of interaction.
The Twitter application for Android by Twitter Inc.
Illustrations 1 & 2: The Twitter application for Android
For this assignment, I will be considering the official Twitter app on the Android platform. It is one of the applications that I use the most on my mobile handset.
In the study of interaction design, we are looking at the relations between humans and objects. These "objects" are often computing devices, including the software which runs them or on them, because of their malleability and ubiquity.
To paraphrase Google's choice of name for its first branded phone, these handheld machines and their apps are communication "nexuses" between us and other people. The information that we put on the Internet is our medium of communication. In particular, the Twitter application lets users sign on, find and read, write and contribute to the Twitter network. Twitter in turn acts as a "media" where other people pool, analyze and derive information that is important to them.
For this assignment, we may be immediately interested in the interaction with the application, but in turn, we may more generally see it as an interaction with other people, via the Internet.
Clearly, I think that one of the first "data" that we have to look at is flow and hierarchy of the system. By this, I mean the way that this program is organized, and what logical steps a user must go through to accomplish what he came to the app for. The interaction may be initiated when the user voluntarily clicks the Twitter icon in his application launcher or when a notification draws his attention to the Twitter app (more on this later). The user is initially brought to a screen of six main icons and a bird figure that "tweets" trending topics on Twitter (see Illustration 1), and is further led down to more states with more streamlined potential functions. If he leaves the program to do something else on his device, he may be brought back to the same state when he decides to come back to it.
Another data that I would investigate is feedback and notification. In a sense, this Twitter application talks to us, the users. Without this response from the application, we would have trouble talking back to it. For instance, a sound notification may be triggered by incoming "direct messages" or "mentions" of our Twitter username by other users when the app runs in the background. Some types of feedback may popup messages (like the one seen in the mid-bottom of Illustration 1) when an error has occurred, such as a failed tweet when the network is unavailable.
Illustration 3: The Twitter app's settings menu
Coupled to response is the idea of controls. I define controls as the user input destined to change and modulate his interaction with the application. Controls are the icons that change the state of the app and they are the clickable areas when I read my friends' tweets. However, they are also in my mind the app's settings box, which lets us set up the amount and the kind of response to expect from the app.
Flow and navigation is what we are doing with our ship. Whereas controls let us steer around the app, feedback and notifications let us know where we are -- and whether we've hit a reef.]]>
Les étoiles filantestag:smurfmatic.net,2010:/blog//3.22862010-08-15T14:50:07Z2010-08-15T15:39:48Z J'aurais dû m'en douter que les Perséides se voyaient mieux dans l'hémisphère nord. La constellation de Persée ne se lève qu'après 22h à la latitude de Hong Kong. Vendredi soir, le 13, je suis sorti prendre une marche de...Cedrichttp://smurfmatic.net/
J'aurais dû m'en douter que les Perséides se voyaient mieux dans l'hémisphère nord. La constellation de Persée ne se lève qu'après 22h à la latitude de Hong Kong.
Vendredi soir, le 13, je suis sorti prendre une marche de minuit dans la jungle de Lamma.
Derrière le stand à tofu-dessert, j'ai pris le chemin qui longe le champ d'aubergines qui va jusqu'à la plage de la centrale électrique, car elle est juste à côté justement d'une central électrique (au charbon) qui alimente une bonne partie de la ville. C'était difficile de voir les étoiles, tant les lumières de la centrale scintillaient. J'y suis resté quelques instants, et j'ai repris le chemin vers l'autre plage, celle aménagée par le département du loisir.
La route entre les deux plages était en béton, assez large pour des camions (quelque chose que Lamma n'a pas, en général, sur ses routes), mais sans lampadaires. C'était ma première fois dans une jungle, la nuit, je me suis dit. Pas la jungle profonde, mais quand même. Une chance que j'ai amené ma grosse lampe Maglite, laissée dans l'appart par le locataire précédent.
Il y a trois ans, j'étais allé voir les étoiles au Mont St-Hilaire pour la fête de quelqu'un que je ne connaissais pas. C'était une belle soirée, même si j'ai fini par dormir sur le sofa de la cabane du centre de recherche/retraite McGill louée par l'amie de mes amis. Probablement que ça a été la meilleure récolte de tous les temps en étoiles filantes...
***
Hier soir, j'ai eu de la belle visite sur Lamma. Les amis avec qui j'étais venu sur l'île pour la première fois étaient de retour pour célébrer la fête d'une de nos amis. Ça me donne l'occasion d'émettre la réflection très profonde que, wow, les choses ont bien évolué en une année. Il y a dix mois à peine, je venais d'arriver à Hong Kong, sans emploi, pas certain si j'aurais une chance de revenir à mon ancienne job à Montréal. Et aujourd'hui, je pourrais me dire que, quoique ce n'a rien de la stabilité à Montréal, j'ai quelques assises solides sur lesquelles bâtir.
Je pense que mes amis savaient que j'aurais aimé que tout le monde reste, comme tout le monde savait que notre ami américain voulait ses smores. :D Mais bon, je pense que sur toutes les choses qu'on voulait collectivement, il y en avait certaines qui n'étaient compatibles avec les désirs de tous et chacuns. Le problème des groupes nombreux...
Ce « bon temps » comme la chanson des Cowboys frigants chantent, c'est peut-être maintenant et plus jamais ? Peut-être qu'en vieillissant, on devient moins flexible, moins ouvert sur notre conception du bonheur, des bons moments de la vie ? Un peu trop heavy là.
C'était le premier vrai get-together chez moi, en tout cas, je voulais dire. Et comme c'est pas si facile que ça se rendre à Lamma, je suis quand même content d'avoir pu rassembler tout le monde pour voir ces fameuses (ou foutues) Perséides, même si elles ne se sont pas du tout pointées, à cause surtout des lumières intenses des bâtiments autour de la plage publique (toilettes, etc.). On a quand même allumé un petit feu, qu'un gars qui travaillait p-ê pour le département du loisir nous a crié quelque chose qui nous a fait comprendre que c'était interdit et qu'il était la personne en position d'autorité icitte.
Le monde a quitté sur le ferry de 23h30, le dernier qui sort de Lamma de la nuit, avant celui du matin à 6h40. C'est dommage qu'il n'y ait plus de traversier de nuit, comme c'est le cas pour d'autres îles extérieures plus peuplées. Comme j'ai oublié mes clés prêtées à un de mes visiteurs, j'ai dû attendre le retour du ferry à 1h, quand un matelot me les apporta. Avec une note qui dit que c'était pour 沈先生 (M. Shen), une faute commune sur mon nom de famille, qui est 岑 (Cen -> Sam).
Je suis rentré chez moi à 1h10, épuisé, plein de sable sur toutes les parties de mon corps, et j'ai pris la douche que je voulais prendre une heure et demie auparavant. Je suis ensuite allé sur mon toit, chasser les étoiles filantes. Et j'en ai pas vu une seule, puisque le voisin shinait ses grosses lumières sur sa terrasse en brassant quelques parties de Mah jong.
Finalement, je pense que la conclusion serait qu'on a eu du bon temps, malgré le manque d'étoiles filantes. Quand je suis rentré, j'ai pensé à cette chanson populaire québécoise. Le band de garage de mon frérôt la joue, mais qui est probablement marquante pour les gens de notre génération, et étrangement (ou pas) aussi pour nos amis anglos néo-montréalais.
(Peut-être je me souviens de ma conversation en juin à Montréal avec une amie, qui en conclusion aurait pu se terminer sur la pensée que plus on recherche le bonheur, moins on le trouvera... Alors, eille, faut juste chiller un peu plus. En tout cas, c'est une réflection qui sera bonne pour plusieurs!)]]>
Flying awaytag:smurfmatic.net,2010:/blog//3.22852010-05-14T09:43:05Z2010-05-14T09:51:37ZProbably one of the most improbable flights I've done (aside from HKG-CAI) that I'll be doing tonight. I don't know. Maybe this break from my life in HK will do much much good. Living on Lamma is already a daily...Cedrichttp://smurfmatic.net/
melatonin pills).
Did I pack too much? Probably.
I'm a little nervous -- have no specific idea why.
Flight's at 22:45. Will arrive at 20:30 in SFO. Will have traveled 2 hours in the past. Yay!]]>
Alrighttag:smurfmatic.net,2010:/blog//3.22842010-05-03T16:07:28Z2010-05-03T16:35:05ZOnce in a while, it's good to put down an assessment of things of the moment. So, this week marks pretty much the seventh month I am in Hong Kong, and not sixth month as I thought. For some reason,...Cedrichttp://smurfmatic.net/
Once in a while, it's good to put down an assessment of things of the moment.
So, this week marks pretty much the seventh month I am in Hong Kong, and not sixth month as I thought. For some reason, it doesn't seem that long, but seven months is a long long time. You do a lot of things in seven month. Two more months and it's as long as it takes to carry a baby!
The weather's getting really humid. I've lived on my island for a little more than six months, and it's still rather enjoyable. The ferry, however, makes my social life less prone to late-night improvisations. Weekends on the island feel like being in a resort town: the calm and quiet, birds chirping, dogs barking, and of course, tourists bustling.
Work is about what I am expecting, at times very intense, and at times a little less intense. Getting the impression that I am doing something important, which I've always wanted to do; and of being at the right place, at the right time. Enjoying my time there as well.
How has my life changed from September 2009 until today? I have a mobile phone with broadband Internet access. I take the ferry and minibus every day, rather than use my legs to propel myself (on a bike). I feel that 18 Celsius degrees is cold weather. Everyone is Chinese and speaks Chinese. :O I think that hk$100 (ca$14) is overly expensive for dinner at the restaurant. And a bunch of other things.
There is more subtle stuff, I'm sure, but that'll be for another day...
I guess that my interests have changed too, and things that I thought were important or which had a particular interest to me (Chinese indie music) has been evened out by different factors.
I don't think I'll elaborate too much on people, but the people I've met have been great in general. People relationships, but also institutions, groups, whatnot, also seem to be of a different ballgame altogether, because of volume and amplitude. Montreal is just not an international city, while Hong Kong is. Because of that, I often feel like here, right now, is the real thing. It's the major league, to follow the sports metaphor.
I wonder how you would feel or felt about moving to a different city for the first time?
Ants from the ACtag:smurfmatic.net,2010:/blog//3.22832010-04-29T08:12:51Z2010-04-29T08:23:26Z We have this weird problem with the air conditioner at the office. Whenever you turn on the AC, 30 seconds after the fan starts, big black ants start spewing out of the mouth. I think the outside pipe might...Cedrichttp://smurfmatic.net/
We have this weird problem with the air conditioner at the office. Whenever you turn on the AC, 30 seconds after the fan starts, big black ants start spewing out of the mouth. I think the outside pipe might be too close to the ground, the ants made a colony in the pipe, or they are collecting the dirt accumulated in the AC (which was recently cleaned, actually). But this afternoon, when we turned on the AC, instead of the 4-6 blown out, 25-30 actually came out. Let me just tell you it was quite a messy extermination...]]>
SmarTone's really positionning itself as the Android vendor in HKtag:smurfmatic.net,2010:/blog//3.22822010-03-14T03:47:02Z2010-03-14T04:20:01ZOk, so after being the official vendor of the Hero in Hong Kong, the Android platoform's former flagship handset is now proposing to hand you HK$4280 if you bring them your Nexus One and sign a monthly contract of HK$398...Cedrichttp://smurfmatic.net/
hand you HK$4280 if you bring them your Nexus One and sign a monthly contract of HK$398 for two years. That's HK$410 with the fee.
If you bring a phone to them, you sign a 18-month contract and would pay for HK$250 (238+12) a month. If you do the maths, say if we extend this contract to 24 months, you would pay $6000 (250*24) at the end of it. With the other plan, it's HK$9840 (410*24), minus the rebate it's HK$5560.
So the longer contract by six months, and the special plan for Nexus Ones, will save you some 440 over two years, or about HK$19 a month.]]>