Fred 呉怡龍

I've declared email bankruptcy today. For the full story, please see the full post on Silicon Island.

I haven't been moved to post in a while, but I read this article today and just had to put in my two cents.

The article is titled Parents Rise Up Against A New Approach to Math and is about certain schools teaching kids how to do basic math in a different way than the traditional multiplication tables and flashcards.

At first, I was thinking, geez, they're not teaching multiplication tables anymore? What's up with that?

Then, I saw this:

Memorization will only carry you so far," Knight said. "With 'Investigations,' kids understand the real values of the numbers and are not doing shortcuts. When they multiply 23 times 5, they'll do five 20s to get 100, and then add five 3s to get 15, and they put that all together and get 115. What they've done is made actual use of the numbers.

and that really struck a nerve, because that's how I actually do math in my head! And I actually started doing that kind of math spontaneously--nobody taught it to me, but I somehow stumbled onto this "style" and realized that it just worked better and faster so I've been doing it ever since.

So this "New Math" business might actually be onto something after all.

I'm here in Sunny California, at the beautiful Marriott Desert Springs Resort where the DEMO conference is being held this year. Yup, Standout Jobs was selected to present at DEMO!

It's been a long journey for Standout Jobs, and this week marks a major milestone--Standout Jobs has launched our first product, Reception, at DEMO 08. We waited till exactly 7am EST on Monday January 28th, which is when the embargo is lifted according to DEMO rules, to launch the product. The reception (pun intended) has been amazing, we were covered by TechCrunch, GigaOM and Mashable, among the major news sites, as well as local sites such as A frog in the valley, I never nu, Web1979, MontrealTechWatch, TechCFO, Mikel.org, Guillaume Thoreau, and Quebec Valley.

(If you're interested in all the details, you can of course consult the
Standout Jobs Blog.)

Most of my readers probably also read the likes of my cofounders Ben Yoskovitz and Austin Hill, so all this news is no surprise to you... But I do want to remind you that we will be presenting at 12:44PM EST LIVE on the web at demo.com, and this is where you'll be able to finally see just exactly why I've been so reclusive over the last year! ;-) But to be completely serious for a second, we'd love to have your virtual moral support.

I'd like to also give big props to the Standout Jobs A-Team that made this happen--In alphabetical order:

• Marc Andre Cournoyer
• Natasha Duchene
• Daniel Haran
• Gary Haran
• Austin Hill
• Thanh Vinh Tang
• Alain Wong
• Francis Wu
• Ben Yoskovitz

Thank you for your hard work everyone. We'll celebrate when I get back!

(x-posted to siliconisland)

Wow! This is an absolute riot. I've been nominated by the Montreal Gazette as one of Montreal's Sexiest Geeks of 2007!

The competition is pretty stiff, including my good friend Casey McKinnon who has included me in the fun that is Galacticast, and the admittedly uber-sexy Jade Raymond.

Still, I'm for certain the alpha-geek on the roster, since I'm probably the only person who codes on that list!

(OK, OK, Jade is a coder too: she has a Bachlor's degree in Computer Science from McGill. But she probably doesn't code anymore these days since she's now a "game producer". ;-) )

So vote for me! I'll reduce taxes! ;-)

(Crossposted to siliconisland)

Ugh, there is tree pollen everywhere and I can barely breathe because of it... Sigh, I hate allergy season.

I'm staying at the Pantages Hotel in Toronto for the week. This morning, I was deep in slumber when the housekeeper knocked on the door and announced "HouseKeeper!"

I realized I had to respond if I didn't want her to barge in... But it took me a few seconds to have this internal debate: "Er, did she speak to me in English or French, and do I respond in English or French"?

Eventually I realized she was speaking to me in English so I yelled out "Please come back later!" and then I promptly fell asleep again. :)

It's Monday... and that means a new episode of Galacticast!

This episode is for all those fans of "Lost" out there. I actually have a speaking role this week... THREE roles, in fact. So enjoy! And if you know what digg.com is, please digg up the story!



(Higher quality video on the Galacticast website.)

Check it out, I'm in this week's Galacticast! Galacticast is an award-winning weekly comedy/parody show based in Montreal, produced by Rudy Jachan and Casey McKinnon. Just plain awesome.


(Higher quality video on the Galacticast website.)

OK, this is just too amazing. This clip from a Japanese TV show will astound you. Part 1 is about a guy whose parallel parking skills are unmatched. Part 2 shows off a baseball player who can control a baseball like nobody's business... and he's OLD! I liked Part 2 more than Part 1 but both parts are worth watching for the sheer funness.

(This is crossposted to my business blog -- Silicon Island)



Today I am finally unveiling the new startup that I keep talking about -- StandoutJobs. I am working on StandoutJobs with two incredibly rockin' co-founders: Ben Yoskovitz and Austin Hill.

If you've been reading our blogs, you may have noticed that we've brought up recruiting issues from time to time. Unfortunately we are not yet prepared to announce more than just a landing page, but you can be assured that we are out to do no less than totally change the way recruiting is done. It's gonna be a wild ride and I hope you'll come with us.

Finally, I have to echo Ben's sentiments in saying that it's an absolute blast working with these two guys. I too have already learned a huge amount and I have never felt more challenged or inspired in years.

So whatcha waiting for? Leave us your email address at standoutjobs.com and you'll be the first to know when things start shakin' and bakin'.

If you liked my previous post about Origami, you'll love this one.

"This is Origami War. Prepare to have your mind blown." - TV in Japan blog.

It's not Christmas anymore, but who cares? This carol is just perfect right now.

Let it Snow

Oh the weather outside is frightful
But the fire is so delightful
And since we've no place to go
Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!

It doesn't show signs of stopping
And I've bought some corn for popping
The lights are turned way down low
Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!

When we finally kiss goodnight
How I'll hate going out in the storm!
But if you'll really hold me tight
All the way home I'll be warm

The fire is slowly dying
And, my dear, we're still goodbye-ing
But as long as you love me so
Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!

Today I attended a 4 hour crash course on Krav Maga, the official fighting system of the Israeli Defense Forces. I was invited to attend by my friend JF, who has been following the courses for the past year.

For the most part, the seminar focused on defending against multiple armed and unarmed opponents. This fighting system is very hands on; we were more or less immediately formed into sparring teams, and we learned how to get out of situations where one or more attackers are unarmed or armed with a stick, a knife, or a gun. Very practical skills to get you out of trouble and keep you alive.

My favourite part was when an attacker comes at you with a stick; as with many other forms of fighting the proper thing to do is to short-circuit the attack by lunging into the attacker so that there is not enough space to use the weapon.

For a lack of a better description; this system definitely encourages you to fight like an animal. It was actually really fun. It's not every day you can just let yourself go and beat up on people with impunity. :-)

If I ever had unlimited time, I'd be more attracted to mastering a traditional martial arts like Kung Fu. But, life being what it is, I'd definitely consider taking more Krav Maga classes if I knew there was a chance that I'd be (say) traveling somewhere where I might find myself in troublesome situations.

First, my favourite Chinese grocery store  burns down. Now, Wok Cafe (one of my favourite cheap Chinese food restaurants) burns down.

What the hell is happening?!?

I have to admit, though, that the power of the internet as a communications tool is just stunning. I am seeing these pictures on CJAD.com moments after the fire occurred. It's been years since this kind of reporting has become commonplace but I still find it amazing.

Edit: So Wok Cafe is okay afterall. Some other Chinese restaurant burned down.

The linked video shows Origami Master Satoshi Kamiya at work. He builds a Phoenix out of a huge piece of paper, with over 1300 folds.

This man's spatial perception is ridiculous. I bet he would make a good theoretical mathematician.

Watch for the lunch box, it's hilarous!

Last night, sfllaw and vierge_en_trop hosted a really fun birthday party. They got a room at the ultra-fancy W hotel (where the bathtub was right smack in the middle of the room) and we all got dressed up nouveau riche style just for the occasion.

We dined on fine takeout from great local restaurants (including Blue Monday, Village Wok, and a great sandwich place that Damien told me about but the name escapes me), sipped champagne, and generally enjoyed ourselves and the company.

Good times, good times.

I hate being sick... :(