This piece is a writing assignment for the Learning How To Learn online class, in which we are asked to reflect on a recent learning challenge. Shorthand—the ability to write at possibly over 200 words per minute—is a dying skill. The ubiquitous use of computers and laptops for taking notes and meeting minutes has turned […]
“Learning How To Learn” (LHTL), an online course freely available on Coursera, teaches techniques for becoming a better learner and thinker. Given by Dr Barbara Oakley (McMaster University) and Dr Terrence Sejnowski (University of California San Diego), the course covers the latest on how the brain works and suggests practices to make the best it. […]
My son Nathan made this: We made it by following the first project in the book 3D Game Programming for Kids by Chris Strom.
Adam Tornhill’s Your Code as a Crime Scene (YCAACS) has lain open next to my laptop for several months now. I’m usually a fast reader and a technical book rarely lasts that long, unless the book is crammed with practical tips and advice that I want to try as I go along. YCAACS is no exception. The […]
Once you publish a paper in a journal, you are expected to regularly review papers for that journal. It’s part of the normal scientific process. Some may consider it a chore, but I see it as an opportunity to keep in touch with my field and to help quality papers get published. When I was first […]
We are involved in DEBORAH, a Eurostars project nr E!10286, led by EQUA Simulation AB, the vendor of the highly regarded IDA ICE building simulation software. Together with CSEM and Bengt Dahlgren AB, a Swedish consultancy firm specialised in buildings, the project’s stated objective is to optimise the design and operation of district thermal energy systems. We held the […]
The big problem with Building Science is that we call it Building Science. The academic study of buildings and their inhabitants is a young discipline; possibly even younger than Computer Science. The earliest articles in Building and Environment appear to date from 1966; Building Research & Information, from 1973. Like Computer Science, we have no single […]
I’m pleased to report that CARNOT, the Simulink library of models for HVAC systems, has now an official home. You can find it by visiting its page on the MATLAB Central. On that page you will also find a link to the official releases, hosted by the Aachen University of Applied Sciences. HVAC systems, in spite […]
I’ve uncovered evidence that Linus Torvalds, creator of Linux, may entertain a secret hobby. An interview of Linus Torvalds in a recent issue of IEEE Spectrum had the following passage: I’d rather make a decision that turns out to be wrong later than waffle about possible alternatives for too long. On the surface, this sounds […]
When you just fix a programming bug quickly, you lose. You waste a previous opportunity to think and reflect on what led to this error, and to improve as a craftsman. Some time ago, I discovered a bug. The firmware was crashing, seemingly at random. It was eventually resolved, the fix reviewed and tested, and […]