Circle of Life

It's really been a while since I last posted. Not sure why but for the past 2-3 years, I just do not have that 'feel' to blog anymore. Perhaps as we grow older, we move past yet another chapter of our life and we have different priorities/needs/interests now. It reminds me of how most of us used to keep a diary when we were kids and we just outlived that habit of writing things down in that small book.

It's snowing outside now on Boxing Night. And I have been staring out at the window for over an hour now. I was brought back to what I have fondly dreamt about as a kid.

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When I was a boy, I used to dream that I would work in a country abroad, a country with cooling weather and snow for Christmas. And now that I am in Sweden, I guess that the dream of mine actually came true. Well, not exactly 100% as the weather here is Arctic cold rather than cooling hahaha. But nevertheless, I enjoy it just as much.

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Given that my time here might not be a long one, I reckon that I should take in as much as I can get to experience over here. Heck, this might be my first and last snowy winter, not as a tourist but as a resident. The culture here, where family comes first and money is secondary, gonna miss the most I will. You can just go around the town in whatever brands of clothes that you have and nobody will ever raise an eyebrow and look down on you. If only Sweden is nearer to home.

And since it's Christmas, we are heading to another year with or without a bang, depending on how you look at it. Without realizing the passing of time, old resolutions have to be ticked or crossed out and new ones have to be made just to keep our hopes alive. 

As always, my one and primary resolution in ushering the New Year is to STAY ALIVE. But for this year, I'll add another crucial one: To spend more time with my loved ones. It's too late to realize the love that you have for your family when they're gone, especially when you couldn't even attend the funeral. 

While my life and work here have been going smooth, to not being able to attend my Grandpa's final journey in life is disheartening. Looks like you just can't have everything in life eh? In the end, we still have to gain some and to lose some, to balance the equation so to speak. 

This is to you Grandpa! Cheers and thank you for the great time that we had together. Thanks for teaching me to save money for the rainy day and thus me being the thrifty that I am today :) Thanks for the football games at the playground. Thanks for the RM11 ang pows with your trademark 陈 on the red packets. I am gonna miss that most from you during the coming CNY's and birthdays. I will continue that for you alright? Thank you. And I am sorry if I had hurt you in any way. I am truly grateful that I got to spend time with you before I left for Sweden. That we got to chat, showed you some photos about Sweden, and putting my palms on your forehead. 

I miss you. 

Happy Xmas to you and your family. May you be well and happy. Be kind to one another. Remember, you only live once.

Biographies Environment for LaTeX

Was working with this paper on LaTeX and was preparing to submit it until I found out that I need a section right at the end for the biographical details of all the authors. It's not an IEEE paper and thus the \IEEEbiography environment couldn't be used.

Stumbled upon this nice environment called picins. The .sty file can be downloaded off CTAN server here and the syntax looks a little like this:

\parpic{\includegraphics[width=1in,clip,keepaspectratio]{Marktrix.eps}}

\noindent {\bf Marktrix The Monk} is still searching for the truth.

LaTeX rocks and Cheers!

Happy Postdoc Appreciation Week... to me :)

Cheers to the miserable postdocs hahahaha

有得有失

世界没有什么东西是完全完美的

我终于明白在人生里有得就会有失

学到珍惜和感恩, 您就会发现

生命是公平, 美丽, 和挺好的

:D

The Chapati Hat

It's been exactly 5 years today since I donned that Chapati hat in 2009. I remember that it was one of the happiest moments of my life, and my Mom too as my buddy said that she cried when I received my scroll on stage.

I was grateful that some of my best friends and colleagues were present to show their support and that some of the fellows in the crowd gave me one of their loudest cheers and claps.

And this year, I am looking forward to seeing my beloved wife completing her PhD journey with flying colors and she'll be donning her very own chapati hat in April next year :)

I always believe that life is very fair. You'll get some, and you'll definitely lose some. In the end, it is up to us to judge if we have received more than we lost. Not necessarily in terms of quantity but more on the quality and the value of it. 

The life of a human is never gonna be a steady state, it never was, never is and will never going to be. The transients and changes are never ending, else there will be no advancements and improvements in our lives and life in general will definitely be a very boring happening, or rather not happening much :)

I guess as what I have read and studied on the many books that I have come across so far, we ought to embrace life as it is, as it comes along and adapt to it. Living with fear and worry is just a very negative way of taking the jest out of our very own existence. One such great and influential books on my take on life is "How To Live Without Fear and Worry" by the late Venerable K. Sri Dhammananda.

After all, life is short and we should make the very full use of it. Make it count, cultivate more good Karma no matter what others have done to us, be kind and generous according to our means and most importantly, be grateful and appreciative of loved ones amongst us. 

Time is always against us, but with great courage and a very positive thinking, I believe that nothing is impossible.

If you have read to this very last line of this very bland writeup of mine on this very lazy Saturday afternoon, May You and Your Loved Ones Be Well AND Happy. Remember that nothing is more important that our very own heartbeat. 

Haha OK I took that last line from Jacky's song :p

一起呼叫　沒有煩惱

除了呼吸其他不重要

除了現在甚麼都忘掉

心事像羽毛　越飄越消遙

煩惱　甚麼煩惱

除了心跳沒有大不了

人們不該去羨慕飛鳥

世界比我大　把自我縮小

烦恼歌 - 张学友

Cheers!

Genie, you're finally free... :'(

Together with many in the world, I mourn the passing of a great comedian and actor: 

Robin Williams

You have brought great laughter to me when I was a kid. I shall never forget that.

May the drums of Jumanji keep on rolling for you.

Making MATLAB compatible with Mac OS X Yosemite Public Beta

The 2 videos below (in chronological order) shall serve as the essential guides to enable the compatibility of running MATLAB on Yosemite. I have tested the solutions myself. Both MATLAB and Simulink run perfectly well after the tweaks.

Credits go to Behrad Bagheri for making the videos.

Cheers

Time...

It's been a long time since I last blogged. As in really writing something.

Time has been passing so fast since I turned 21. 

In the last decade, I have achieved much in life: I got a Ph.D., a job, found a marvelous and beautiful (both inside and out) girlfriend who would later became my lovely wife, my first home and car, and now I'm in Sweden on a short contract work placement. 

Whenever I think and recall on all those memories, the photos and videos, they really bring tears to my eyes. Things just happened to fast, there's so much to cherish, but there's so little time. How nice it would be if I can remain as a kid forever with no worries and troubles in my mind, that my parents do not grow old and that they're as energetic and youthful as ever. Never mind all the materialistic possessions in the world, the joy that they bring is shortlived. Being able to be together with our loved ones, that time and experience are priceless. 

Only if there's a pause button in life :(

And of course, I do have some regrets. And sometimes, like everyone else, I wish that I could turn back time and undo all those mistakes that I have made. 

In the end, everything and everyone loses. Time wins. 

May you treasure the time that you have with your loved ones. Time and tide, waits for no man...

The Return of The Marktrix

After a long hiatus from my digital world. I'll soon return with more posts in the very near future. 

I'll be back!