dmg's home page

xournal with search of PDFs

nospam@example.com (Daniel M. German) — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 13:17:26 -0700

I have finally completed a working implementation of Searching in the underlying PDFs inside Xournal.
I decided to implement search as follows:

User provides a search string filling the search box, and (this is important) typing return.
Every page has a layer called search (it is not part of the interface), if the page has matches, the layer contains the boxes wrapping the matches. This means that all matches are already rendered in the document.
Next and Prev send to the next page or previous page with matches.

Some user-interface details have to fixed:

It only does case-insensitive searches
If you try to type a capitalized character, the focus is moved away from the search box (anybody knows how to fix this?)
It only searches the PDF, not the annotations.

To download it, go my github page http://github.com/dmgerman/xournal. Clone my repository, and switch to the
branch search using git branch search. Build as usual.

technical briefing at ESEC/FSE on Intellectual Property

nospam@example.com (Daniel M. German) — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 02:28:17 -0700

The slides for our technical briefing at FSE are here:

Part1
Part2

--dmg

It finally arrived: Modernist Cuisine

nospam@example.com (Daniel M. German) — Mon, 04 Jul 2011 13:20:09 -0700

Everybody who has had some time to talk to me knows that I like food: eating it and preparing it. And yes, like many other endeavours in my life I approach it with geek passion. .

Continue reading "It finally arrived: Modernist Cuisine"

On games and freedom of expresion (US View)

nospam@example.com (Daniel M. German) — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 06:49:12 -0700

It is always interesting to read the rulings of the Supreme Court of the United States, and this time is no exception:

Judge Scalia writes (for the majority 7-2):

Continue reading "On games and freedom of expresion (US View)"

NSERC Discovery Accelerator Supplement Grants in Computer Science

nospam@example.com (Daniel M. German) — Sun, 26 Jun 2011 19:38:28 -0700

In the words of NSERC, the " DAS Program aims to provide substantial and timely additional resources to accelerate progress and maximize the impact of outstanding research programs." Since 2008 these are the recipients in the area of computer science:

Continue reading "NSERC Discovery Accelerator Supplement Grants in Computer Science"

NSERC Discovery Grants 2011 in Computer Science

nospam@example.com (Daniel M. German) — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 09:45:05 -0700

NSERC has published the results of the NSERC discovery grant competition in 2011.. NSERC only published the raw data, so with a little bit of initiative one can retrieve it and visualize it.

I had several questions about this data....

Continue reading "NSERC Discovery Grants 2011 in Computer Science"

My teaching assignments for next year

nospam@example.com (Daniel M. German) — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 23:38:22 -0800

My teaching assignments for next year are:

Spring 2011: Research term
Summer 2011: Research term
Fall 2011: CSc 370 Databases and CSc 595: Graduate Seminar
Spring 2012: Seng 410 Media Applications

--dmg

so you think want to get a PhD?

nospam@example.com (Daniel M. German) — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 00:06:38 -0800

Really?

In Canada 80% of postdocs earn $38,600 or less per year before tax—the average salary of a construction worker.

There are some other interesting facts and numbers in that article.

--dmg

Banksy

nospam@example.com (Daniel M. German) — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 13:55:04 -0700

"The Art we look at is made by only a select few. A small group create, promote, purchase, exhibit and decide the success of Art. Only a few hundred people in the world have any real say. When you go to an ARt gallery you are simply a tourist looking at the trophy cabinet of a few millionaires"

"The time of getting fame for your name on its own is over. Artwork that is only about wanting to be famous will never make you famous. Fame is a by-product of doing something else. You don't go to a restaurant and order a meal because you want to have a shit".

--Banksy

What to do with a PhD

nospam@example.com (Daniel M. German) — Sat, 23 Oct 2010 10:17:00 -0700

At least if you are in the United States, but I suspect this happens in Canada too: Too many people with too many degrees doing jobs that do not require it.

The full paper here.

--dmg

So you think it is easy to take portraits?

nospam@example.com (Daniel M. German) — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 12:07:46 -0700

Think again. This video shows what was needed to take the portraits of the Leafs.

Toronto Maple Leafs Photo Shoot from Finn O'Hara on Vimeo.

And here is a some write-up about it.

--dmg

is netflix Canada worth it?

nospam@example.com (Daniel M. German) — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 23:35:45 -0700

I like movies, and instantly became interested in subscribing to Netflix after the big announcement today. At 8 dollars a month, it sounds very appealing.

As soon as I got home I started querying its database. It is kind of annoying that I can't see a simple list of movies available, and instead I have to scroll, scroll, and scroll. I realized that most movies I wanted to watch were not available, and frequently even the recommended alternatives were not there either. The movies they had were not exactly stellar.

I use the Internet Movie Database data for my courses, thus I decided to create a simple experiment with it to decide if I should subscribe:

* How many of the top Internet Movie Database top 250 movies of all time are in netflix Canada?

If a good proportion are there, then Netflix will have the movies I want to watch.

After a little bit of scripting magic, here are the results:
Continue reading "is netflix Canada worth it?"

The best lunch spots in town?

nospam@example.com (Daniel M. German) — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 00:51:43 -0700

I am frequently asked this question, and to answer it I have started a new project: Lunch in Victoria.

--dmg

What a contrast

nospam@example.com (Daniel M. German) — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 08:41:59 -0700

Living in a country where even pick up games involve cleats and chin pads, I can't but marvel at the ingenuity of children in
Africa.

--dmg

incoming chimes or lions, versus building huts or creating exams.

nospam@example.com (Daniel M. German) — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 21:02:27 -0700

Who would have thought?:

"Researchers say there is an evolutionary rationale for the pressure this barrage puts on the brain. The lower-brain functions alert humans to danger, like a nearby lion, overriding goals like building a hut. In the modern world, the chime of incoming e-mail can override the goal of writing a business plan or playing catch with the children. "

--dmg