This is the week for the ACM. So many things yet to say. Will the teams gel and smoothly handle transitioning from problem to problem and from coder to coder during the five hours over the eight problems? Will they be properly forearmed with knowledge and references? Will they be confident enought to face adversity in the form of difficult and possibly ambiguous problems, recalcitrant and often obstinate judges, and sly and daunting opposition?
We've had a sem and a week. Let's see what'll go on.
24 October 2005
21 October 2005
Training Day V: Pizza!
Today is the Pizza training day. Today's set is from ACM ICPC Tehran 2001.
8:50 AM: I arrive. We're wondering if we can start, considering that there are rallies clogging Elliptical Road and parts of Manila.
9:50 AM: Riza goes to get the team notebooks. We'll start soon.
10:12 AM: We begin. No Booroonggoo nor Art/Eng'g for pizza.
10:39 AM (273 min): Wet gets Parencodings. Pizza!
10:47 AM (265 min): Roger gets Parencodings. Pizza!
11:15 AM (237 min): BisDak gets Parencodings. Pizza!
11:38 AM (214 min): Decided gets Parencodings. Pizza!
12:11 AM (181 min): Wet tries Chase.
12:42 PM (150 min): Roger tries Chase. Pizza arrives. Roger tries Chase again and again. Wet gets Chase. Pizza!
12:46 PM (144 min): Break for lunch. Pizza!
1:14 PM (144 min): Resume after pizza.
3:07 PM (31 min): Masarap daw yung pizza.
3:38 PM: The end of intensive training session.
8:50 AM: I arrive. We're wondering if we can start, considering that there are rallies clogging Elliptical Road and parts of Manila.
9:50 AM: Riza goes to get the team notebooks. We'll start soon.
10:12 AM: We begin. No Booroonggoo nor Art/Eng'g for pizza.
10:39 AM (273 min): Wet gets Parencodings. Pizza!
10:47 AM (265 min): Roger gets Parencodings. Pizza!
11:15 AM (237 min): BisDak gets Parencodings. Pizza!
11:38 AM (214 min): Decided gets Parencodings. Pizza!
12:11 AM (181 min): Wet tries Chase.
12:42 PM (150 min): Roger tries Chase. Pizza arrives. Roger tries Chase again and again. Wet gets Chase. Pizza!
12:46 PM (144 min): Break for lunch. Pizza!
1:14 PM (144 min): Resume after pizza.
3:07 PM (31 min): Masarap daw yung pizza.
3:38 PM: The end of intensive training session.
20 October 2005
Training Day IV
After yesterday, we up the tempo even more with today's set from ACM ICPC Taejon 2001.
9:20 AM: We begin with three teams and four people.
11:23 AM (177 min): Three tries by Wet for Calendar. That's it.
11:53 AM (147 min): Tries from Wet and Roger for Polynomial.
12:22 AM (118 min): Roger tries and Wet gets Polynomial.
1:42 PM (38 min): Finished checking MPs. Roger tries Polynomial and has progress. Decided tried Tables.
2:16 AM (4 min): Madness. Tries from all teams.
9:20 AM: We begin with three teams and four people.
11:23 AM (177 min): Three tries by Wet for Calendar. That's it.
11:53 AM (147 min): Tries from Wet and Roger for Polynomial.
12:22 AM (118 min): Roger tries and Wet gets Polynomial.
1:42 PM (38 min): Finished checking MPs. Roger tries Polynomial and has progress. Decided tried Tables.
2:16 AM (4 min): Madness. Tries from all teams.
19 October 2005
Training Day III
Woohoo! Roger overtook Decided after I had left yesterday. Very tight. Today's set is from ACM ICPC Northwest Europe 2003, and ups the difficulty another smidgen. So far, two early birds and no one else. We'll see how things progress...
9:13 AM: We begin with no sign of Roger.
9:57 AM (256 min): Artist/Engineers try Vases.
10:27 AM (226 min): A steady flow. Wet tries Signals. Art/Eng tries Vases again. Wet tries Signals again. Decided tries Boss?. Wet gets Signals.
10:43 AM (210 min): BisDak tries Numbers. Roger tries Signals. Decided tries Numbers.
10:48 AM (205 min): Decided tries Boss? again. Roger tries Signals again.
11:58 AM (135 min): Two tries over the last 70 minutes, both over Boss? by Decided and Wet.
12:07 PM (126 min): Ten minutes later, two more tries: Booroonggoo with Signals and Art/Eng'g with Boss?
12:10 PM (123 min): Wet tries Boss?
12:20 PM (113 min): Roger tried Boss?
12:38 PM (95 min): Art/Eng'g tried Boss? Who IS the Boss?
12:58 PM (75 min): Roger tries Subway. Crimson Editor crashes. Used Command Prompt.
1:04 PM (69 min): Roger tries Subway again. No crash this time. May have been from trying to capture all the cascading 0s and 1s that were being output earlier.
1:41 PM (32 min): Now playing Mansion Impossible and Nanaka Crash. Roger tries Subway again.
2:00 PM (13 min): Roger tries Subway again. Wet tries Tour. Roger tries Subway again. Wet tries Tour again.
9:13 AM: We begin with no sign of Roger.
9:57 AM (256 min): Artist/Engineers try Vases.
10:27 AM (226 min): A steady flow. Wet tries Signals. Art/Eng tries Vases again. Wet tries Signals again. Decided tries Boss?. Wet gets Signals.
10:43 AM (210 min): BisDak tries Numbers. Roger tries Signals. Decided tries Numbers.
10:48 AM (205 min): Decided tries Boss? again. Roger tries Signals again.
11:58 AM (135 min): Two tries over the last 70 minutes, both over Boss? by Decided and Wet.
12:07 PM (126 min): Ten minutes later, two more tries: Booroonggoo with Signals and Art/Eng'g with Boss?
12:10 PM (123 min): Wet tries Boss?
12:20 PM (113 min): Roger tried Boss?
12:38 PM (95 min): Art/Eng'g tried Boss? Who IS the Boss?
12:58 PM (75 min): Roger tries Subway. Crimson Editor crashes. Used Command Prompt.
1:04 PM (69 min): Roger tries Subway again. No crash this time. May have been from trying to capture all the cascading 0s and 1s that were being output earlier.
1:41 PM (32 min): Now playing Mansion Impossible and Nanaka Crash. Roger tries Subway again.
2:00 PM (13 min): Roger tries Subway again. Wet tries Tour. Roger tries Subway again. Wet tries Tour again.
18 October 2005
Final Countdown
As the grading deadline winds down, I have made amends with the graduating peoples' grades; I am assured that is a non-issue at the Department, although higher up is a haze. The semester at Ateneo had ended with the slightly abortive Problem Set, the first I have truly regretted not being able to attend to with my usual intensity. I am at MH 209, minding my wayward CS 135 students as they reclaim a sense of accomplishment by taking the finals and salvaging their semester.
Truth to be told, this should be a removal exam, and it is, in a way, as only those below passing can take it. The opportunity is extended to those in the slightly higher red zone, and the results of failing (but being able to bring up to half the total) is an INC (of course, a truly dismal performance merits nothing but a failing grade); however, the exam is only an addendum to their lowest exam - so, ironically, those with good exams but bad everything else would have the hardest time, their own achievements becoming hurdles. It's never an ideal solution, but it is a last gasp, something that should only be made available to the direst.
Maybe I have mellowed, more than I had at the end of my tour at Philippine Science. Is it worthwhile to send someone who had labored for four months back to the back of the line? How much of the course is truly necessary to function effectively? How much of my values and valuations truly matter in the lifeplot of those who must bear its influence?
This is partly the reason why I had never put too much stock in grades, as much of their value is truly subjective to the one teaching. Teacher factor is never truly avoidable, but as an educator you always must make an effort to make it negligible. However, negligible against no absolute measure can never be truly neglible. You can only hope that differential would always be positive, for all involved.
Truth to be told, this should be a removal exam, and it is, in a way, as only those below passing can take it. The opportunity is extended to those in the slightly higher red zone, and the results of failing (but being able to bring up to half the total) is an INC (of course, a truly dismal performance merits nothing but a failing grade); however, the exam is only an addendum to their lowest exam - so, ironically, those with good exams but bad everything else would have the hardest time, their own achievements becoming hurdles. It's never an ideal solution, but it is a last gasp, something that should only be made available to the direst.
Maybe I have mellowed, more than I had at the end of my tour at Philippine Science. Is it worthwhile to send someone who had labored for four months back to the back of the line? How much of the course is truly necessary to function effectively? How much of my values and valuations truly matter in the lifeplot of those who must bear its influence?
This is partly the reason why I had never put too much stock in grades, as much of their value is truly subjective to the one teaching. Teacher factor is never truly avoidable, but as an educator you always must make an effort to make it negligible. However, negligible against no absolute measure can never be truly neglible. You can only hope that differential would always be positive, for all involved.
Training Day II
This set is from ACM ICPC Greater New York 2001. Yesterday's was from ACM ICPC South Central North America 2003. So far, all teams except Booroonggoo are here, so we can begin soon.
9:07 AM: Beginning without Booroonggoo.
9:37 AM (270 min): A flurry of successive submissions. Roger and Decided take early leaps. Wet gets a setback.
9:40 AM (267 min): Wet gets back up.
9:56 AM (251 min): Another flurry. Some more good subs, with some quick fixes for almost correct submissions. Roger and Decided change places, and BisDak starts with Morse. Karen leaves, as she will not do it alone.
10:23 AM (224 min): Quiet. Hmmm...
10:44 AM (203 min): BisDak tries Color.
10:58 AM (189 min): BisDak tries Color again. Wet tries Morse, but sends it to the wrong place. Roger tries Plato.
11:21 AM (166 min): Decided breaks back in with Morse.
11:29 AM (158 min): Wet tries again and again.
11:57 AM (130 min): Wet gets Morse. BisDak tries Cyclic.
12:22 AM (107 min): Roger tries Bode. Decided tries Set again and again. BisDak tries Cyclic again.
12:28 AM (101 min): Decided gets Set. I'm going, so Riza will take over.
9:07 AM: Beginning without Booroonggoo.
9:37 AM (270 min): A flurry of successive submissions. Roger and Decided take early leaps. Wet gets a setback.
9:40 AM (267 min): Wet gets back up.
9:56 AM (251 min): Another flurry. Some more good subs, with some quick fixes for almost correct submissions. Roger and Decided change places, and BisDak starts with Morse. Karen leaves, as she will not do it alone.
10:23 AM (224 min): Quiet. Hmmm...
10:44 AM (203 min): BisDak tries Color.
10:58 AM (189 min): BisDak tries Color again. Wet tries Morse, but sends it to the wrong place. Roger tries Plato.
11:21 AM (166 min): Decided breaks back in with Morse.
11:29 AM (158 min): Wet tries again and again.
11:57 AM (130 min): Wet gets Morse. BisDak tries Cyclic.
12:22 AM (107 min): Roger tries Bode. Decided tries Set again and again. BisDak tries Cyclic again.
12:28 AM (101 min): Decided gets Set. I'm going, so Riza will take over.
Cram Session
Just found out yesterday that some of my students are graduating this sem (although one is enrolled in Los Banos - so I should have remembered). I am so late in giving their grades. Day two of the week-long training. Yesterday was fun - a relatively easy set to whet the appetites. Summary of the results are here. The running blog will resume in about ten minutes.
Did I mention the finals I'm giving today? Or grades due on Thursday?
Did I mention the finals I'm giving today? Or grades due on Thursday?
14 October 2005
Mock Competition II
Partly due to yesterday's bad headache, today's Mock Competition is definitely less prepared than the first. Nonetheless, everyone's having a go.
8:45 AM: Due to forgetfulness, I forget that as soon as people log in, the problem names are available.
8:51 AM: Competition begins.
9:22 AM (269 minutes remain): First submission. LCS should be a gimme.
10:06 AM (225 minutes remain): Came back from buying C2 and candy. A second hit from Booroonggoo, this time Language Cardinality.
10:30 AM (201 minutes remaining): Two more tries from two other teams for LCS. Weird how they get the samples right and the test data wrong.
11:30 AM (141 minutes remaining): A lot of action. Very cold here. One correct submission by Decided. Confusion with History Grading.
11:55 AM (116 minutes remaining): More action. Artistic Engineers get the Minimum Transport Cost. Roger tries Theseus, and again, and again, and again, and LCS.
12:21 PM (80 minutes remaining): Ruckus over History Grading earlier. I wonder why? It is kind of ambiguously stated, but there is only one way to interpret the instructions to get the sample dialogue.
12:46 PM (65 minutes remaining): Another flurry of submissions---no go. Booroonggoo trying both History and Theseus, Roger doing both Theseus and LCS.
1:08 PM (43 minutes remaining): Quiet on the homefront.
1:20 PM (31 minutes remaining): Wet gets Theseus. Up to the extent I'm testing, though. Booroonggoo tries Useless, but gets negative. Whoops.
8:45 AM: Due to forgetfulness, I forget that as soon as people log in, the problem names are available.
8:51 AM: Competition begins.
9:22 AM (269 minutes remain): First submission. LCS should be a gimme.
10:06 AM (225 minutes remain): Came back from buying C2 and candy. A second hit from Booroonggoo, this time Language Cardinality.
10:30 AM (201 minutes remaining): Two more tries from two other teams for LCS. Weird how they get the samples right and the test data wrong.
11:30 AM (141 minutes remaining): A lot of action. Very cold here. One correct submission by Decided. Confusion with History Grading.
11:55 AM (116 minutes remaining): More action. Artistic Engineers get the Minimum Transport Cost. Roger tries Theseus, and again, and again, and again, and LCS.
12:21 PM (80 minutes remaining): Ruckus over History Grading earlier. I wonder why? It is kind of ambiguously stated, but there is only one way to interpret the instructions to get the sample dialogue.
12:46 PM (65 minutes remaining): Another flurry of submissions---no go. Booroonggoo trying both History and Theseus, Roger doing both Theseus and LCS.
1:08 PM (43 minutes remaining): Quiet on the homefront.
1:20 PM (31 minutes remaining): Wet gets Theseus. Up to the extent I'm testing, though. Booroonggoo tries Useless, but gets negative. Whoops.
04 October 2005
Blind Faith
Gave the make-up for LE#3. Talked with Riza for the sked for Mock #2. Cleaning out my sked.
Where am I going to hold the finals? Eng'g Theater: renovation. MH 235: renovation. Resked? Take home?
Where am I going to hold the finals? Eng'g Theater: renovation. MH 235: renovation. Resked? Take home?
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