Some small (normally, non-research oriented) projects go here.
Extract bibtex information from a Springer page.
My thesis template in Lyx and Latex
This lyx/latex template uses the built-in 'report' document class and a (modified) latex style class in the thesis template from Stanford University (suthesis-2e.sty). The file structure is taken from the thesis template by Harish Bhanderi for Cambridge University.
It conforms with the thesis preparation guide for the School of Information Technologies, at the University of Sydney, which "is loosely based on Stanford University's guide"
downloads: lyx (zip 96.98 kb, tgz 93.33 kb), latex (zip 95.29 kb, tgz 92.46 kb), style file only (sty 18.50 kb)
NB: it is been reported that some version of WinRAR does not unpack the tgz files correctly
Arithmetic Drills
This program allows people to practice simple arithmetics. It comes with a number of question types, but may be extended by adding more types in qtype.py (in Python).
I wrote this to prepare myself for the Optiver's barrier test for traders. It worked fairly well. If you intend to take a similar test, be warned: Writing and over-confidence slow you down. My advice is the following:downloads: zip (7.35 kb), tgz (6.05 kb), Windows XP binary (2304.15 kb) compiled with Python 2.5
- Be at least as quick as what they (employers) ask for. For example, if the test have 8 minutes for 80 questions, as Optiver's does, train yourself to complete 80 questions in 7 minutes 30 seconds with 90%+ accuracy.
- Write fast!
- There is someone faster than you.
Scripts
I have written some scripts to make my life easier. Some of them may also be useful to other people.
2nd Chance (1.66 kb): a safer rm
If you're like me who sometimes type "rm" to mean "mv", or the fingers are at times faster than the brain, you might want to include this script in your system path that gives you a 2nd chance before witnessing a disaster before you. Unlike "rm -i", it only prompts once.
DEPRECATED: "rm -I" in GNU coreutils 6.10 has provided a similar feature.Anti-spam email redirect
Even though nowadays I would probably get lots of spams no matter whether I put my email link directly onto the web or not, I am still reluctant to do that. So to get around it and still allow visitors to access the email address in text (for easy copying), I tried two ways, both involve using a cgi script.
- Create a cgi script (0.22 kb) that redirects the email address. And then put this as the link.
- As some people absolutely desent the mailto link (because this often undesirably starts up the system's email client), I decided to provide two choices to the visitor: plain email for copying as well as a mailto link for clicking. This cgi script can be downloaded here (0.86 kb). It is suggested to invoke this cgi in a new window, as the link will automatically close the window after being clicked. I.e. use something like
<a href="antispam2.cgi" target="_blank">email me</a>.Dice (0.85 kb)
This can come handy when you can't find enough dices and you are not conscious enough to write a 3-line script to simulate them...Alarm, Mac (1.83 kb) or Linux (0.84 kb)
It is a small program that can serve as reminders. Example usages are: setting a 5-minute reminder to check the noodles being boiled on a stove and make a phone call at 13:30 to John.
The reasons for different versions (and slightly different functionalities) between Mac and Linux are:
- I wrote the Linux version first and found the version did not work properly on Mac;
- The "date" command in Mac is older because the licence for the later versions poses restrictions on commercially distributed software;
- Use "zenity" in Linux and Mac's native dialog box in Mac; and
- Use text-to-speech function in Mac.
STP (Storage for Trivial Passwords) (0.72 kb)
This little script stores trivial, and perhaps, temporary passwords attached to certain files (e.g. zip files). This may be handy when you want to share, say, photos over the Internet with your family, but do not want to disclose your regular passwords. In which case you can create an encrypted (i.e. password protected) zip file and quickly make up a password for that file.