Tag: Amazon Prime

Working with Images Using NumPy

I finished reading “Measure What Matters: How Google, Bono, and the Gates Foundation Rock the World with OKRs” by John Doerr. The book describes a process based on something called OKR. KPIs are in some cases confused with OKRs. OKRs are like KPIs on steroids.

In a nutshell, one specifies an objective / goal and then defines a set of OKRs which need to be completed to achieve the objective. The process has been used by many successful companies and organizations worldwide.

The book is easy and interesting to read. I already created two objectives and a set of OKRs for each. Will let you know in about three months how my OKRs worked. Continue reading “Working with Images Using NumPy”

Measure What Matters by John Doerr

Good day! Hope you are doing well. This post does not cover a technical subject. If you follow my blog, you might have noticed that about one out of five books I purchase and read are not technical. I believe that success is based on both technical expertise and proper management.

A few decades ago I developed the software methodology which I named Cyclic Development Process (CDP for short). I applied it and tweaked it in order to simplify the development of custom and product systems. It worked very well for me. Continue reading “Measure What Matters by John Doerr”

Spam Filter

In this post we will implement a spam filter. My motivation is dual. On one hand I am reading and experimenting with the book Natural Language Processing by Ekaterina Kockmar published by Manning. On the other hand, I am experimenting with VSCode IDE using GitHub Copilot. If interested I would suggest following the book. I purchased a copy via Amazon Prime.

I have to disclose that at this time I am a Microsoft employee and have been using Visual Studio and VSCode for many years. Continue reading “Spam Filter”

Shuffle the Array

This morning talking with one of my sons on Skype, I mentioned an article which I rewetted titled “China’s push to control Americans’ health care future”. My wife and I used to watch 60 Minutes every Sunday evening. About a couple years ago we stopped watching TV. It appeared to us that there was not much to watch. I liked the article. I agree with the points presented. To me the best part is the moneys offered to several states in the USA for a Chinese company to be allowed to offer COVID-19 services. My question is:  Where are the funds coming from? Stop for a moment and think about it… OK, now let’s move to a different subject.

Then the pandemic came. With it we started watching more content from Amazon Prime, Netflix and YouTube. In the past year it seems that two or three times Netflix has increased the price for their base tier by $1 each time. Yesterday I read the article “Why I’m canceling Netflix in 2021” which provides some reasons why you should be dropping Netflix. My wife and I seem to always watch YouTube and in addition Netflix or Amazon Prime. In these days we are favoring movies from Amazon Prime. They seem to have a larger and better selection and the service is part of Amazon Prime. Continue reading “Shuffle the Array”

Number of Islands – Java

Last evening before going to bed, I left a window in the kitchen opened just a crack. The temperature was forecasted to drop down to 37F, so I hopped it was going to be fine.

A few minutes past midnight I woke up. It felt somewhat chilly. I closed the window and checked the temperature in the upper level zone. It was at 68F which is at what we keep it during the winter months. I turned on the heat in the zone and went back to bed. During the rest of the night I heard the furnace kick in a couple times.

During breakfast my wife asked if windows were closed and the furnace was on. I told her about my midnight adventure. We agreed on leaving windows closed from now on until next spring. The system at home has an air exchange unit so it makes sense to keep the windows closed and the temperature at 68F. Continue reading “Number of Islands – Java”

Lowest Common Ancestor in Binary Search Tree

It is a beautiful sunny summer day in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul. The high temperature for today in the city I live is forecasted to be 83 F. I prefer high temperatures in the range of 75 F to 80 F, but 83 F will have to do.

Yesterday I spent a few hours in front of my computers. My wife left early with a friend to go walking and shopping. My wife got back shortly after 11:00 AM. We made some potatoes with veggies in the grill using a cast iron pan. We always add some pepper, salt and a splash of oil with a high smoke point (i.e., avocado or peanut). Continue reading “Lowest Common Ancestor in Binary Search Tree”

Disjoint Union Sets

It is a rainy Sunday morning in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul. Rain started last evening around 08:00 PM and according to the weather forecast will subside later tonight around 10:00 PM. Not a nice day to be outdoors or grilling.

Last Friday my son mentioned that he would be going shopping on Saturday morning to the Costco Minneapolis Business Center Warehouse. My wife and I decided to join him at 07:00 AM (opening time). We met in the parking lot, donned our gloves and mask, and headed in. We have been at the Restaurant Depot many times, but were nicely surprised with the size of the Costco facility and the variety of items. From now on my wife and I will make the trip from home (30 minutes about 20 miles away) a couple times a month to the Costco in Minneapolis. We believe it is worth the drive.

My wife and I cook and bake. I like to bake deserts, breads and Italian cuisine. My wife cooks lunch during the workdays. We both cook on weekends. We have breakfast which I prepare every day and we both skip dinner. The point that I am trying to make is that we did not start cooking or baking due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Last week we noticed that we were running very low on yeast. We went grocery shopping last Tuesday morning and where not able to find yeast at Costco in Eagan, MN or Trader Joe’s in St. Paul. Back home, I went to Amazon.com and ordered a 2 pound pouch of Red Star dry yeast. The total after taxes (we do have Amazon Prime) came to $24.99 USD. I thought it was expensive but it seems that every one and their brother are baking now a day. The delivery will be sometime tomorrow (Monday).

While at Costco we found lots of Red Star dry yeast in the same 2 lb pouches we ordered from Amazon. That is the same yeast we have been using for over a decade. What we found disgusting was that Costco had the same 2 lb pouches of yeast for under $4.50 USD each. We bought two pouches (totaling 4 lbs) for about $9.00 USD. They should last a year or so. Continue reading “Disjoint Union Sets”

3D Surface Area

Good morning. It is Monday January 06, 2020. Last year’s holiday season was rather long. Christmas fell on Wednesday so most companies gave Tuesday as a holiday. On the following week, most companies do not give New Years Eve day as a holiday but most people take it as a personal holiday or vacation day. I work every day (included weekends and holidays). Granted that on weekends and holidays I only sit in front of my computer for only two 2-hour blocks. Continue reading “3D Surface Area”