Contours

In this post we will experiment with drawing contours on shapes. This post is based on the PluralSight course by Janani Ravi.

We will use The Marching Squares algorithm to draw contours. The algorithm is easy-to-implement, is an embarrassingly parallel algorithm that generates contours for a two-dimensional (rectangular) array. Continue reading “Contours”

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”

First ChatGPT Post – Populate Binary Tree

Hope your weekend is going well. I will start with an unrelated event to the main subject of this post.

When I was working at my first job in Minneapolis, Minnesota the Red Cross would stop by at work for blood drives. They made it simple, so I started to give blood once a year.

Time went by and I decided to do it twice a year (one for my wife and one for me). I had my first appointment for 2023 last Friday afternoon. All went well as usual up to the point in which after the gauze was taped to my arm to protect the area from which the needle was removed. The technician offered a bandage to put pressure over the gauze to protect it for a couple hours. I have always declined and this time was no different. Continue reading “First ChatGPT Post – Populate Binary Tree”

Longest Absolute File Path – C# and Java – Revisited

Hope you had a nice Thanksgiving day with family and friends. My wife and I typically roast a turkey. This year, for the first time, we went with a fresh turkey breast. It was a fraction of the weight of a full turkey and when all was said and done, my wife did not have to deal with cleaning the bones. Today, and probably for the next few days, we will be having different types of turkey sandwiches (Bread, butter on the outside, panini press @ 350F, turkey meat. When brown and crunchy, open sandwich, apply mayonnaise and a touch of mustard. Close and enjoy).

In this post I will revisit solving LeetCode 388. Longest Absolute File Path. The motivation was a message I received a few days back on a solution in O(n). I looked up my solution in Java from February 27, 2017 and it was hard to follow. At the time I used a different plugin and the output was not that great. With time it stopped working so I switched to a different one. Much better but sometimes it mangles the output. Continue reading “Longest Absolute File Path – C# and Java – Revisited”

Middle of the Linked List

I am working on the last 2-hour block of the day. My wife was trying to make a payment for our Internet service, but she needs a number that can only be found in a previous bill receipt. Apparently she can not find one, so at the end of the workday we will go to make a payment in person and will hopefully keep the receipt, so this situation does not repeat. Continue reading “Middle of the Linked List”

Java Date and Time

It is a sunny day in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul.

Earlier today I read an article on Medium that described how bad are the crypto currencies and which actors are making money of it. I missed to bookmark the article. While writing this post, in an attempt to locate the article, I did a Google search using the following string: “medium crypto currency”. It returned several articles. I did not spend the time looking for it. That said; if you are investing on crypto currencies, perhaps it would be a good idea to read some of the articles that have reasons why you should stop doing so. That said, I have invested a few dollars on crypto currencies. My reasoning was to better understand what Bitcoin, among other crypto currencies is all about.

Today is the birthday of the wife of one of my wife brothers. We are invited later this afternoon. Hopefully the weather will hold. It is nice to attend a BBQ on a sunny day.

Today and for a few more days, I will attempt to solve some problems in HackerRank. In the past couple years I have concentrated on solving problems from LeetCode. Continue reading “Java Date and Time”

Two Sum – Revisited

It is a very nice sunny day in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul. Today is March 29, 2021 and the high for the day is going to be around 70F. My wife and I talked about grilling chicken for lunch but it is a work day and the process of grilling, eating and cleaning might take a couple hours. That is fine on a holiday.

I decided to attempt to solve all problems in a section of LeetCode. It seems that several problems that I have solved before fall into this collection. I will take a problem from each category a day. Perhaps on weekends I will look at two. Continue reading “Two Sum – Revisited”

Producer and Consumer

Hope you are doing well. I fully understand that not all countries are moving quickly to vaccinate most their population against COVID-19. Hopefully the efforts have already started and will be completed soon. Here in the USA it seems that every state is moving at its own pace. That said, a large amount of people have received at least the first of two jabs. The youngest I know of is of age 21. The world needs to get as much of its population vaccinated as possible to achieve herd immunity. If this is not done the virus will continue to mutate and the threat of COVID-19 might remain for years or decades.

It seems that Israel is leading the vaccination process. As in many other countries, there are some people that do not wish to get vaccinated. The prime minister of Israel has made some clever, and for what I understand legal changes to motivate all their citizens and residents to get a COVID-19 vaccine.

In a nutshell the idea is that the good of the majority needs to prevail. People will not be forced to get a vaccine unless there are medical reasons. Besides that, the population needs to show a vaccine passport to work where there is human contact with others. If the person wishes to attend events and places where they could possibly transmit COVID-19, they need to have a COVID test in the previous 48 hours. The COVID tests used to be free but in the near future people will need to pay for a test. So if a person for without a real medical issue does to get the vaccine but wishes to mix and mingle with others, they will have to pay and get a COVID test every other day. I guess Israel will be one of the countries that will reach heard immunity in the very near future. In my humble opinion, we in the USA need to start thinking about each other and work for a common goal. Continue reading “Producer and Consumer”

Merge Sorted Array

Good morning!  Hope your day has started on the right note. The high temperature in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul is forecasted to be about ten degrees less than yesterday. BTW, yesterday the temperature went up to 61F which is the highest this year so far. My wife and I were planning on grilling yesterday but one thing and the other and I ended having BBQ Chicken Teriyaki from Trader Joe’s. Tasty but I prefer my wife cooking (just making points).

It seems that COVID-19 vaccinations are starting to pick up Minnesota. We are behind other states but the expectations are high. We need to hit herd immunity as soon as possible. It seems that masks and social distancing will be a good idea for people with or without the vaccine for the near future until there is enough data to understand if we will need periodic vaccine boosters or not. Continue reading “Merge Sorted Array”

Sherlock and GCD

It is a Monday morning and it is garbage collection day so I had to put out on the driveway both bins. The company that provides our development with the service collects every week both garbage and recycle bins. All previous companies that I am familiar with collect garbage every week and recycle every other week. To be honest with you, my wife and I would be fine with recycling once a month and if it was not for the potential for smell during summer, garbage every other week.

Earlier this morning, I saw in my inbox a recommendation for a problem from HackerRank named Sherlock and GCD which maybe solved with a Dynamic Programming approach. Continue reading “Sherlock and GCD”