Pingbo Tang -- AI Adventure of a Bridge Engineer

Roger Schank's Homepage

2009-06-09T14:08:00.000-05:00

Roger Schank's Homepage
This guy is old, but very interesting. His idea might be related to my thoughts about "collaboration memory for project information management".

BI Dashboard for the Super Bowl

2009-06-07T19:38:00.000-05:00

BI Dashboard for the Super Bowl
Touchable surface showing visualized information, and people can interact with data in real-time, should be useful for real-time monitoring of a site, which can be a busy highway, a dynamic construction site.

动物不同寻常的瞬间 | 微趣.cn

2009-06-07T19:22:00.000-05:00

动物不同寻常的瞬间 | 微趣.cn

So lovely

Google's Rich Snippets and the Semantic Web - O'Reilly Radar

2009-05-28T09:26:00.000-05:00

Google's Rich Snippets and the Semantic Web - O'Reilly Radar

Combining semantic "tags" with machine learning techniques should be the way to go, we need to have tools to identify patterns in those tags manually created by people, then develop algorithms to learn these tags and possibly automatically create tags in the future.

Collaborative learning is always important, it is not just collaboration between algorithms, it should be the collaborations between all sorts of agents: human beings, algorithms, an organization, a web page containing information and exchanging information with other web pages. Observing the behavior of these agents, the information exchange between them, and identifying the patterns of information exchange history, are the things I want to explore in the near future.

Ala. Power plant to test capturing greenhouse gas - Forbes.com

2009-05-25T10:53:00.000-05:00

Ala. Power plant to test capturing greenhouse gas - Forbes.com

I doubt the effectiveness of this expensive experiment, how they can be sure that these greenhouse gas will not escape from other paths out of the deep ground?

US Can Cut Emissions 34% With Improvements to Building Efficiency | Green Business | Reuters

2009-05-25T10:49:00.000-05:00

US Can Cut Emissions 34% With Improvements to Building Efficiency | Green Business | Reuters

That's why some many people are crazy about green design.

ScienceDirect - Automation in Construction : Collaborative knowledge management—A construction case study

2009-05-24T20:05:00.000-05:00

ScienceDirect - Automation in Construction : Collaborative knowledge management—A construction case study
This work is exactly what I am interested in: utilize social network to enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of project knowledge exchange. The fundamental problem is: what are the general mechanisms enabling people to distribute knowledge in a systematical and fast way, can we have a "Watch Dog" to suggest people which parts of the documents they need to focus on for getting their job done?

Benevolent dictators and scientific collaboration : business|bytes|genes|molecules

2009-05-23T21:53:00.000-05:00

Benevolent dictators and scientific collaboration : business|bytes|genes|molecules

Very nice idea, can all scientists be more open minded and share ideas with each other, I really want to have such a platform to share ideas with people, including share my working papers, my thoughts about their works, and the experiences of me.

W. Brian Arthur - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

2009-05-18T13:00:00.000-05:00

W. Brian Arthur - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This scientist might be opening a new eye on the domain of Architect, Engineering and Construction as well, since the complexity of these domains might be also modeled as dynamic, adaptive, and complicated systems.

ZOTERO文献组织软件

2008-10-30T20:34:00.002-05:00

ZOTERO是一个很好的endnote替代物，完全免费。作为一个firefox网络浏览器的插件，我可以用它随时把网上找到的学术资源保存下来。它支持导入各种开源的文献输出格式，像计算机领域的BibTex等等。

6D 校园

2008-10-30T20:30:00.001-05:00

发现这个网站，居然有同济武东路校区的3D照片，在地图上任意位置双击就会出现一个小窗口，展示站在那个地方看到的三维照片，可以旋转三百六十度看到整个图景，真的很酷，我看到了宁远楼，足球场，毓秀楼，大学二年级，研究生一年级的生活还历历在目，可是当年陪着我的父亲已经消失了。

褪色的金黄

2008-08-14T20:25:00.003-05:00

读托马斯.哈代《还乡》

来自英格兰的荒原之风吹入我心灵的湖泊，哈代那支伤感而凝重的笔，让我想起秋日的夕阳。他孤独而温暖，严肃而亲切，向你诉说着他关于悲剧人生的思考。那种即将逝去，却又未完全逝去的感觉，有如夕阳在历史的车轮将其碾压在身后的那个梦，在我们追随他的光芒的时候，泛出褪色的金黄。

在这个世界上，个体生命的浮沉，挣扎，愤怒，悲伤，乃至绝望，与历史的漩涡来讲，又算得了什么呢。你看，那古老的埃格敦荒原，在千万年的风雨吹拂中，保持着他那灰蒙蒙的古老而庄严的面孔，从未改变。或许格林明白了什么，他成为了一个如荒原般坦然的布道者，伫立在荒原上，人群中相对高处的一点，代表着自然与注定的命运，向人们宣告着生命的痛苦与必然。

世界上每个人都有自己的梦想，都有对未来不同的期待。所谓期待，自然是对美好生命历程的向往，而非末日灾难和死亡。但是，在生命与生俱来的悲剧中，偏偏你的期待与你所得永远不成正比，甚至恰恰成反比。这让我猜想，上帝手中的幸福和快乐该是有限的，它们像蒲公英的花朵一样在风中飘散，随机的扎根在他的子民们生活的广袤无垠的土地上。幸福的人，刚好停留在它们扎根的地方，而不幸的人们连它们根系的边缘也碰不到。大多数人，只是在幸福生长的时候，偶尔品味到盛开的幸福之花的隐约芬芳而已。

我宁可不要这种假设！我害怕这种古老咒语一般的猜想！因为，从某种程度上说，就我所见，这些咒语在大多数人的生活中是灵验的。在人们祈祷越密集的地方，希望破灭的概率往往越大。在生命挣扎越多的地方，怎样的彷徨和挣扎也显得微不足道。能被满足的，只有那么多。一个人的幸福与快乐，无论他是否承认，他所拥有，别人已无法再拥有。于是，他个人快乐的背后，有许多和他同样祈祷着的人们的泪水。这个世界就是如此，她不是一个皆大欢喜的圆，她永远都有无法弥补的缺口。只是，你无法断言，下一个缺口会出现在什么地方。

我无法评价尤苔莎，这个被埃格敦荒原的人们视为异物的女人。我至今不明白对她的感觉是厌恶还是痛惜。她向往繁华的城市，痛恨荒原。这是她的自由，她所做的那些甚至不能称之为自私。她的悲剧仅仅在于她所做的那一切导致的灾难性的后果。在灾难之前她甚至一无所知。我确信，她是一个在错误时间出现在错误地点的人，这样的描述同样适用于他的丈夫格林。格林与尤苔莎唯一的不同是，格林可以融入荒野，于是他活了下来——作为心如止水的布道者。而尤苔莎，不是原理荒原，就是在她的梦想和荒原的撞击中粉身碎骨。

历史的变化给了任何感伤一张忧郁的脸，每一种感伤都能在逝去的梦想中找到存在下去的理由。世界是不会改变的，她保持沉默，，一如既往的克隆着生命的故事，偶尔在这里，偶尔在那里亮起幸福的火花，照亮小小的一片空地——就像维恩的幸福那样，犹如天边的一道光芒。而人，在时间的流逝中，期待，欣喜，叹息，改变，失落，然后再次期待。

野史偶感

2008-08-14T20:15:00.002-05:00

洪承畴七十大寿，满清百官贺之，可贺词因其特殊经历（大明贰臣，兵败降清）难于措辞。一落魄书生云：“公以为杀吾君者吾仇也，杀吾仇者吾君也”。承畴大赏之。时有黠者云：“然则有烈妇人，其夫被害，而曰杀吾夫者吾仇也，杀吾仇者吾夫也，可乎？抑有为子者，其父被害，而曰杀吾父者吾仇也，杀吾仇者吾父也，可乎？”

痛快！舞文者于不经意间模糊气节二字，有如后现代文学青年笔下的爱情。当黠者以日常为人熟知之事推知其荒谬，则认贼作父者面目一览无遗。我中华历史上写着大大的“气节”二字，贤士立身之本，延伸出我中华传承千年的一部正气史。

土木足球一队：滚吧，足球

2008-08-02T18:52:00.003-05:00

没有强壮的身体，我很容易被人轻松挤开把球断走；没有脚力，我没有办法把球开得很远。于是我曾经很丧气，叹老天爷没有给我强壮的身体和双脚，让我在场上任人欺凌。可是，我终于发觉了自己的两个优点，这两个优点不仅让我重新找回自信，更让我在场上充分的满足了自己虚荣心：成为新生土木足球一队的场上队长。

第一个优点，是敏捷。我反应很快，尤其是我的双手，在很多时候极短的时间内可以做出反应。第二个优点，是大局观。不管是在什么样混乱的情况下，我总是能主动去观察整个场上的变化，观察对手的动作，然后做出决定，该把球送到什么地方，我自己应该站在什么地方。

这两个优点和机缘巧合，让我成为了一个守门员，一个身高不到165公分的守门员，带着队长袖标大喊大叫的守门员。所谓的机缘其实是：大家觉得我带球容易被断，但是无球状态又极为冷静，适合做一个与对方球员没有太多身体接触的人；另外，我们土木一队技术好的人太多了，都不愿意做守门员。于是，我无可奈何的站到了球门线上。可慢慢的，大家发觉我嗓门大，喜欢指挥后卫，因为我站在最后面，整个场上的局面看的最明白，往往指挥的还不错，就让我做了场上队长。我自然虚荣心膨胀，当即把袖标带上了，人来疯一般的继续指挥。

成为队长守门员是大学时代我最自豪的事，也是我深刻挖掘自己自信和责任心的经历。我没有受过专业训练，所以之用最简单的办法练习：十几个人围在门边射门，我尽我的全力不让他们得逞。往往是倒下后马上爬起来接另一个球，膝盖带着护膝仍然伤痕累累。管理工程系那位校队的老兄嘲笑我：“就为了个新生杯，不值。”可我觉得，我就是不喜欢看见球在我站在线上的时候进门，因为，我是守门员，还是代表我们整个队的队长。最后一道防线，我永远不能放弃。

土木一队的兄弟们，你们能如果能看见这个博客，你们还会记起我们那个时候吗。我们认真的准备每一场比赛，我们在每次胜利后欢呼，我们一起亲吻新生冠军杯。我知道，你们都很厉害，把对方压在后场透不过气来，我总是一身干干净净的在后场溜达，比训练还轻松。王冬，晓毅，世俊，你们这三个后卫基本上没让我累着，我只是你们偶尔的中转站。可是，别忘了我也是有贡献的，还记得吗，跟管理工程他们的半决赛，点球大战，最后四比三的时候，我主动出来罚最后那个，因为我怕你们跑得太累，紧张。那个球很轻松的进了，你们知道我练了多少次吗。所以，亲吻那个奖杯的时候，我的自豪一点也不比你们少啊，因为我勇敢的承担了那一次的责任，而那一次我的人来疯，对我们来说，可能是至关重要的。

守门员是个苦差。没有带球的英姿，只有倒在地上看见球进入网内的无奈。即使是偶尔惊艳的扑出一脚精彩射门，那也只是一瞬间，就像极光在夜间刹那闪现，马上消失。更多的，是你无可奈何的目送足球入网，是你莫名其妙的失误被观众嘲笑，而你的失误，对队友的打击是最大的，因为一次失误就是一个入球。有时候，我就坐在球门口，看着大牙，阿连，国华在前面风光无比的冲杀，连后卫们全都压上去了，无比羡慕，只有祈祷不要突然一个反击，对方某个前锋和我一对一单挑。我真的很怕，那时候。

难堪的一对一我都忘了，我只记得我光辉的一对一。对九七土木队的时候，你们说的那位很有名的林同学，进球无数的前锋，突然反越位带着球风一样的到了我的面前，我不顾一切的冲出来拦他，他果断打门，我手一伸，电光火石之间，居然指尖碰到了球，生疼生疼的，像火烧一样。那一瞬间我回头看着我的门，那球居然就因为碰得那一下，飞越了横梁。我现在还记得门后面那为观战同学惊讶的眼神。突然觉得：“一辈子有这么一瞬间，也值了！”

所以，每当我没有自信的时候，我就回忆起那个美丽的瞬间，回忆起回头看球飞越横梁的样子。我知道，我的勇气和智慧可以战胜一切。

魏玛（续）

2008-07-26T23:02:00.002-05:00

魏玛的街道都是石头铺成，根本不见现代化的水泥路面或者柏油路面。汽车在碎石路面上驶过，发出特殊的沙沙声，就像古城在诉说一段久远的故事。我在魏玛大学的门前停下，看见旁边的一片广袤的绿地，忍不住走了过去，才发觉映入眼帘的是一个墓园。墓园被围墙包围着，铁门关着，上面居然有我熟悉的斧子镰刀图案。难道在德国也有“共产党”？

马上我就知道了，其实，这里是苏联红军的墓园。在第二次世界大战期间，有很多苏联红军战士牺牲在异乡的土地上，就地安葬。我打开铁门，进入墓园，试图靠近这些勇敢而年轻的灵魂。一排排的墓碑，在零散几棵大树下沉默着。我可以看见他们的名字，出生和牺牲的日期。大多数人都不到三十岁，还有几位的名字十分相似，年龄接近，难道他们是兄弟吗？

我抬头看着蓝天，墓园背后有一段破损的墙，那是他们战斗的地方吗？墓碑整齐的排列着，我突然发觉自己似乎回到了七十年前，看见了那些年轻的笑脸，看见了那些在故乡等待他们的姑娘。一条小河在断裂的墙后流淌，那条小河是不是流向这些士兵的故乡呢？沉默良久，我掩起墓园的大门，踮脚走出，生怕惊动了他们的安息。在我的心里，一会儿回响着“喀秋莎”，一会儿回响着“白桦林”。突然想流泪。

走过墓园不远的地方，有一个钟楼似的建筑，残破不堪。据一位魏玛大学的教授说，这是战争的痕迹，德国政府特意没有维修它，就让它这样，成为历史的见证。爬山虎爬满了破碎的墙壁，郁郁葱葱之间，辽远空间的死亡在和当下的生机对话。我走过这破碎的城堡，听见悠扬的小提琴声，在城墙下的一个小坡旁，一个金发碧眼的男人在拉小提琴，我对他笑笑，他沉醉的笑笑，继续在他的世界里飞翔。只有在这样一个死亡和艺术的地方，在这样一个阳光明媚的下午，在满眼绿色包围下，我才似乎有些理解，魏玛对于德国人的意义。我也慢慢理解，为什么这样一个小小的城市，会让整个德国在它成为废墟的时候悲伤，疯狂。我找不出一个合适的对应点，也许，这可以和我们中国人在长安城被炸成废墟的感觉相比，和敦煌被外国人劫掠一空相比，和圆明园被八国联军洗劫殆尽相比，和兵马俑被盗墓者破坏至尽相比。

魏玛

2008-07-22T21:46:00.002-05:00

魏玛原来是这样一片神奇的土地，唯有我伫立在这个小城街头的时候，我才发觉。若要说规模，这个城市比不上我们中国的的一个小镇，整个城市徒步一个小时可以走遍。在来到这里之前，关于它我只知道《魏玛宪法》，这是德国历史上在普鲁士帝国之后第一部真正意义上的宪法，那时的德国也因此被称之为“魏玛共和国”。漫步街头，我才发觉这个城市绝不仅仅是一部宪法诞生的地方。

如果你问一个德国人魏玛什么最有名，十个有八九个会说“歌德和席勒”，剩下的会说“巴赫”。没错，这个小小的地方，可以称得上是德国的文化之都。当时的德国国家歌剧院就在这里，歌德当时是国家歌剧院的院长，是他一直栽培席勒，让这位诗歌天才也成为一代宗师。歌德绝大部分作品都第一时间在魏玛上演，“浮士德”是其中最有名的。在国家歌剧院前有一个广场，中央立着歌德和席勒的雕像，歌德像一个哥哥，微微斜着身，左手搂着席勒的肩膀，右手握住席勒深处的左手。席勒似乎有些青涩，直立着，眼睛看着远方。在歌剧院广场对面，是一个艺术博物馆，放了很多有关魏玛艺术史的资料。再往后的一条街道上，有席勒的故居。而巴赫的故居，就在歌剧院斜对过的大象旅馆边。

能言树

2008-07-19T18:18:00.003-05:00

首次发表于《同济大学生》1999年12月28日，修订于2008年7月19日

我是一棵树，站在秋日的午后，明媚的阳光照耀着我，它已失去了夏日那份激情与热烈的感觉，让我能够勉强睁开眼，感觉到鸟儿们在我身上繁忙而快乐的舞蹈。它们踩在我的肩膀上，商量着，向往着南国冬日的暖阳。我身上披满树叶和果实，还有一只被人遗忘在春天的风筝。树叶们纷纷来向我道别，我不知道，它们看没看见我忧郁的眼睛。我说不出话，但是那种想说的欲望时时来冲击我。我把欲望深深的结晶在我的果实里，我的天使们，你们知道吗？

这里是孤儿院围墙外的一条小路，是这个城市最寂静的街道，除了顽皮的孩子们和孤独的老人们，还有在孤独和不孤独之间徘徊的恋人们，我不知道这个世界还有别的什么样的人。这条路从远处的树荫中延伸而来，向着另一端树荫中的未知地点伸展而去，而我在这条路的旁边，和那些人们一样孤独，一样寂寞的守望。

一位老人在我身边静静的站立着，拄着一根似乎和他一样苍老的拐杖。他倔强而挺直的身形让我想象，他年轻时是一个不屈的战士吗？他多像一个徒劳而疲惫的英雄啊。他的头微向下倾，浑浊的目光在我身边的泥土上无声的徘徊。我不知道他心中的图画。突然，有什么东西使他那浑浊的目光开始闪烁——那是夹杂在一地落叶中的一张小纸条。

老人蹒跚地走向在风中随着落叶们一起悸动的纸条。他颤抖着的手慢慢的展开那张纸条，昏花的双眼努力的捕捉纸条上模糊的字迹。那字迹充满了稚气，歪歪扭扭，让老人回忆起自己的童年。老人会心的一笑，但是当他一字一句的念出纸条上的话的时候，每个字，每句话都像苦涩的泉水渗入他逐渐干涸的心田。他的双手抖得更厉害了，嘴唇和眼眶也在无声的抽动。刹那间，他整个人像一棵古老的树在佛的咒语中复苏了，老去的双眼中噙满了泪水。

“谁捡到这张纸条，我爱你，谁捡到这张纸条，我需要你，我甚至连个讲话的人也没有。所以，无论谁捡到这张纸条，我爱你。”

于是，老人的双眼开始搜索篱笆墙后的孤儿院。最后，他在孤儿院唯一的那栋小楼底层最边上的窗户玻璃后发现了一张小女孩的脸。那张脸紧贴着玻璃，鼻子被挤得平平的，失去了血色。但是，苍白的颜色掩盖不住那张脸兴奋的神气，她睁大眼睛张望着，尝试着向老人微笑。

老人举起了那拿着纸条的手，向着那张苍白的笑脸缓慢的挥舞。啊，孤独的人，你们终于找到一个朋友了。我想为他们说一些祝福的话，可我说不出来，于是我费尽全力的舞蹈。他们却只能听见我浑身的树叶和枝桠，还有那只被遗忘的风筝，在初秋的风中歌唱。

老人害怕夏天的过去，他的苍老使他本能的在每年的温暖季节过后诅咒袭人的凉意，祈祷下一个轮回中温暖的阳光早日来临。但是这一个秋冬，小女孩改变了这一切，她成了他深藏心底的温暖的太阳。老人开始拿起他那把尘封多年的雕刻刀，刻出许许多多的木头玩具送给他的“小太阳”。即使是在滴水成冰的冬天，他也感觉到他那双布满皱纹的大手是如此的灵活，富有弹性，一如当年在野战的丛林中一样。而小女孩，无论刮风下雨，都会在每个午后，乖乖呆在孤儿院的篱笆边向她的老朋友来的方向张望，手中紧紧握着她画给老朋友的心中的美丽——蓝天，白云，太阳，草原，小鸟，期待着他从口袋中掏出又一个带着木质芬芳的欣喜。他们在笑声，雨声中，走过了肃杀的深秋，严寒的冬季。

天又渐渐的暖和起来了，我失去了往年的叶子和果实后，又开始有了一件日渐浓密的新装。新的生命力在我的身体里流淌，在我孤独的心里，各种各样新的欲望在发育，成长。毕竟，我也压抑，挣扎了整整一个冬季。但是，我没有忘记为老人和小女孩祈祷，为他们在寒冷季节中每个温暖的午后，为温暖的阳光普照整个大地——祈祷，虽然，我的祈祷仍然无声。

这是一个真正温暖的午后，阳光已经开始强烈起来了，小女孩一如既往的跑到篱笆边，她今天为老人画了一轮最大，最大的太阳，大得可以照亮，照暖老人那个小小的家，给他永远的温暖季节，永远的快乐健康。然而，这一次，直到太阳西下，那熟悉的蹒跚的身影始终没有在小路的尽头出现。小女孩呆坐在我的腿旁，低着头，不敢再向路的尽头张望。突然，一滴晶莹的泪水渗进了我深扎的这土地，我开始激动的颤抖，我要说，我要说！安慰她！她还有我这个朋友！——我仍然说不出来，女孩听见的只是晚春的风在嫩叶间悲鸣。她终于知道，他不会再来了……

于是，小女孩在晚霞中默默起身，回到小楼最边上那个小小的房间，拿出她的蜡笔，在那轮太阳的背面，又开始写着：

谁捡到这张纸条，我爱你，谁捡到这张纸条，我需要你，我甚至连个讲话的人都没有。所以，无论谁捡到这张纸条，我爱你。

赫尔辛基：斯蒂凡

2008-07-18T21:44:00.002-05:00

斯蒂凡是一个个子不高的波兰人，褐色头发，小平头，淡蓝的眼睛总是很认真的看着你。第一次和他说话是在IABSE 2008 conference 会场，引起我注意的是他的姓名牌。他在佛罗里达大学读博士，会议给他准备的姓名牌上写他来自美国，可他酷酷的在“美国”下面加了“波兰”两个字，写的还不怎么好看，可他却举起他的姓名牌，很自豪的跟我说：“我是波兰人。”于是我说：“我是中国人。”两人会心一笑。然后他说：“我住在这后面的Euro Hostel”，我哑然失笑：“我也是！”。才发觉我们居然是上下楼。

斯蒂凡喜欢在说话的时候伸出右手的食指和中指，随意的挥舞着，颇有演讲家的风度。他对问题的看法让我颇感兴趣。记得我们一起听的一场演讲，那位芬兰人讲的是“概率工程量记录”，讲的是预计的工程进度不能用一个绝对的数值来度量的时候，可以用一个简单的概率模型模拟不同的工程进度可能性对整个工程进度的影响，以及各种情况发生的可能性。斯蒂凡先生对这个想法很感兴趣，可是不满意那位演讲者用一个简单的三角形去模拟工程量的可能性分布，在会议结束后拦住那位演讲者探讨了一番概率论，跟他讨论为什么不这样做，为什么不那样做。我站在旁边，觉得这可真是个难缠的聪明人。

那天的晚餐在赫尔辛基市政厅，我们几个会后还在讨论的人一起走路去市政厅，那是我和斯蒂凡友谊的开始。他跟我解释他的研究，说他研究的是建筑物在灾害中的连续倒塌的模拟，他试图发展出一种模拟方法自动识别出给定建筑物的关键部位，一旦那些部位出问题，可能会出现多诺米骨牌式的现象：一个构件损坏会引发大范围的倒塌。我虽然不是那方面的专家，但感觉利用领域知识可能引导更加高效的关键构件识别，于是就把话题往那里引，居然两个人越说越开心。走到市政广场的桥上时，斯蒂凡突然停下来，很认真的看着我说：“你是个很聪明的人，我们应该互留名片，这两天我们可以在一起做些工作。”被一个这么聪明的人欣赏，我也非常开心，于是，我们就在市政厅游荡了一晚上，互拍马屁：“你是这个会议上最聪明的人。” 但是，我知道，我其实不是那么聪明的人，我只是直觉比较敏感，真正要做事情，技术和逻辑还是有欠缺，而这正是斯蒂凡的长处。我想，如果我们以后能一直在学术圈合作，该多好，优势互补。

聪明的斯蒂凡果然不一般，他拿到了会议的最佳论文奖，让颇有野心的我嫉妒却又心服口服。拿到了最佳论文，一大群人围上了他，我只能在圈子外等候，因为我们的约定：“一起做些工作”。可是谁知道，我们一直什么都没做成。那天晚上，一大帮人在外面跳舞，我撑不住在午夜先回旅馆，而斯蒂凡他们凌晨三点才回来，而他的飞机是当天晚上八点，我对有效的学术探讨已不存任何期待。在我离开酒吧的时候，斯蒂凡抓住我，说：“平波，明早我们九点在我房间见面可以吗？”我点了点头。可结果是第二天我们在他的房间里聊了半小时，马上被一个马来西亚妹妹叫出去：“这是在赫尔辛基的最后一天，你们难道还要在房间里度过吗？”最后的结果是，我们先陪着马来西亚妹妹逛街到他下午一点乘飞机离开，然后我们一起乘船去了赫尔辛基港外的一个小岛，游荡到下午五点，我看着他乘上去机场的电车。

在那六个小时的游荡里，我们才发现我们有很多相同之处。他父亲和我父亲都因为癌症早逝，母亲身体都不好。他为了一点理想全世界漂泊，我也一样。可我在学术之路上比他幸运很多，他的导师是一个很贪婪的家伙，在他作出一些很好的结果的时候，试图攫取他的学术成果。具体手段是，以水平不够为名，不让他发任何论文，这样他就不能有足够的学术资历申请到任何像样的教授职位，消失在工业界，不对这位老教授构成任何威胁。就连这次会议那篇拿到最佳的论文，也是他很不容易跟系主任告状才争取来的机会。斯蒂凡为此很痛苦，经济和学术的双重压力，加上对母亲的担心，让他都有点神经质了。他信誓旦旦地说，他一定要去告倒他现在的导师，重新组织他的专家委员会，在今年圣诞节以前答辩完毕去工作。我听见他不停跟我说他的艰难，也很难过，却也不知自己该做些什么。但是我也释然了，斯蒂凡才是最配得上，也最需要这个最佳论文奖的人，这个奖项能有力的驳斥那位教授所谓“斯蒂凡水平不够”的借口。

离开了赫尔辛基，偶尔收到斯蒂凡的电子邮件，说他还在波兰，拼尽全力准备圣诞节以前答辩。最近的消息是他准备先接受一个华盛顿桥梁设计公司的职位，暂时改善经济状况。可我知道，他的心不在工业界，而在大学。做出这样无奈的决定，情非得已。这个充满智慧的家伙，我相信，他一定会回来的，因为我们有一个约定：“我们都要做一流大学的教授，做了不起的，重要的事。”

斯蒂凡，我们一起冲。

写作计划

2008-07-18T21:29:00.002-05:00

游记：

赫尔辛基
魏玛
蒙特利尔
马里兰
华盛顿
休斯敦
匹兹堡
绍兴
杭州

自传

读书小组
德语班
学三楼
武东校区七号楼
土木足球一队
宁远楼
我的父亲
西南八楼记
赤峰路上
燕翔
杭州测量和工程地质实习
钱塘江六桥工地实习
川口子弟小学
衡阳市八中
我的摇滚

发如雪

2008-07-17T20:46:00.002-05:00

如果真有一样东西能让人一夜苍老，那是思念。思念是一种无奈的东西，每个人都为了分开而相聚，为了相聚而分开。人海茫茫，每个人都是大海中的一滴水，期待与另一滴水的刹那拥抱，然后又在刹那间分开，从此思念煎熬。

如果，我遇见了一个和我应和的人，我会为我们终将分开而悲哀。如果我明知必须分开而又恋恋不舍，那是怎样一种伤痛。满脑子的音容，满脑子要说的话，不知如何说，也知不必说。为什么，这种无用的感情要进入我的骨髓，让我压力重重，心力交瘁。

歌唱

2008-07-15T19:21:00.002-05:00

我从小喜欢歌唱。小学时的班主任陶老师觉得我乐感好，总鼓励我去唱歌，参加唱歌比赛。我参加过两次比赛，一次唱张明敏的《青海青》，一次唱《大海，我的故乡》，可惜一次奖也没拿到，灰溜溜的在台下看着同班那个和我一起去参加比赛的女孩子拿第一名，心里老大不服气：哼，不就是长得比我高一点，好看一点吗。想起过去的自己，真是好笑。

慢慢长大的我还是那么喜欢唱歌，可是比赛拿不到奖（那种参赛者三分之二以上能拿奖的比赛，例如卡内基梅隆大学中国学生卡拉OK比赛，班级歌曲比赛不算）似乎成了我命中注定的。大学一年级，带着金大牙老兄（德语班大哥级同学）的鼓励，我好不容易鼓起勇气报名参加了在上海外国语大学举行的“爱未来杯”英语歌曲比赛，还在大牙同学的真心建议下选择了“Michael Learns to Rock” 的“sleeping child”。还记得那时候，每天早晨五点五十起床，在读外语以前，在同济南楼前的草坪上练习两三遍那首歌，特意为了参加比赛买了一张“Michael Learns to Rock”的正版唱片。结果，傻傻的骑车到了上外，才猛然听别人说正版唱片不是卡拉OK唱片，是不能消人声的。满头大汗的跟着原声唱片唱完了那首歌，好几个地方因为没有消除原声，被原声带得很高，把自己声音的缺陷暴露无遗，灰头土脸的回来了。从那以后，自信越来越少，每次在同济十大歌手报名点踌躇一番之后，还是走了。大学三年级还去了一个赈灾清唱比赛，唱超载乐队的《绿草如茵》，还是被刷下来了。永远只是一个普通的“麦霸”而已。

可我还是不可抑制的喜欢唱歌，不管拿不拿得到奖，只要有人愿意和我一起唱，我就愿意把自己的心放进去大声的唱。在同济大学读书小组三年，每年都有一群朋友唱歌的时候。有时候在西南一楼门口的草地上，有时候在图书馆地下室，有时候是在某个同学的宿舍里。如果有一个会弹吉他的朋友在，那就更爽了。那个时候，《国际歌》，《野百合也有春天》，《蒙古人》，我们一首接一首。何平，一位长年在地下室沉默不语读书抽烟的大哥，突然在唱完歌对我说：“我喜欢你唱，有感情”。那一刹那，我觉得自己是世界上最满足的人。

我还喜欢一个人唱，尤其喜欢骑着自行车在夜色中穿行时歌唱。那时候做家教，往返骑自行车总要半个多小时。我就一路骑一路唱，把beyond所有的歌唱一遍，再唱黑豹和唐朝。夜里十点钟，路上没有多少人，那时候听着自己的歌声在翔殷路，中原路，控江路上回荡，觉得自己就是夜幕中的国王。

夜色中激越的歌声慢慢在岁月里溜走，我还是怀念当初唱歌的模样，人生如诗，生命如歌。

少年中国说

2008-04-18T11:30:00.000-05:00

少年中国说

日本人之称我中国也，一则曰老大帝国，再则曰老大帝国。是语也，盖袭译欧西人之言也。呜呼！我中国其果老大矣乎？梁启超曰：恶是何言，是何言，吾心目中有一少年中国在！

欲言国之老少，请先言人之老少。老年人常思既往，少年人常思将来。惟思既往也，故生留恋心；惟思将来也，故生希望心。惟留恋也，故保守；惟希望也，故进取。惟保守也，故永旧；惟进取也，故日新。惟思既往也，事事皆其所已经者，故惟知照例；惟思将来也，事事皆其所未经者，故常敢破格。老年人常多忧虑，少年人常好行乐。惟多忧也，故灰心；惟行乐也，故盛气。惟灰心也，故怯懦；惟盛气也，故豪壮。惟怯懦也，故苟且；惟豪壮也，故冒险。惟苟且也，故能灭世界；惟冒险也，故能造世界。老年人常厌事，少年人常喜事。惟厌事也，故常觉一切事无可为者；惟好事也，故常觉一切事无不可为者。老年人如夕照，少年人如朝阳；老年人如瘠牛，少年人如乳虎；老年人如僧，少年人如侠；老年人如字典，少年人如戏文；老年人如鸦片烟，少年人如泼兰地酒；老年人如别行星之陨石，少年人如大洋海之珊瑚岛；老年人如埃及沙漠之金字塔，少年人如西伯利亚之铁路；老年人如秋后之柳，少年人如春前之草；老年人如死海之潴为泽，少年人如长江之初发源。此老年与少年性格不同之大略也。梁启超曰：人固有之，国亦宜然。

梁启超曰：伤哉老大也。浔阳江头琵琶妇，当明月绕船，枫叶瑟瑟，衾寒于铁，似梦非梦之时，追想洛阳尘中春花秋月之佳趣。西宫南内，白发宫娥，一灯如穗，三五对坐，谈开元、天宝间遗事，谱霓裳羽衣曲。青门种瓜人，左对孺人，顾弄孺子，忆候门似海珠履杂遝之盛事。拿破仑之流于厄蔑，阿剌飞之幽于锡兰，与三两监守吏或过访之好事者，道当年短刀匹马，驰骋中原，席卷欧洲，血战海楼，一声叱咤，万国震恐之丰功伟烈，初而拍案，继而抚髀，终而揽镜。呜呼，面皴齿尽，白头盈把，颓然老矣！若是者，舍幽郁之外无心事，舍悲惨之外无天地，舍颓唐之外无日月，舍叹息之外无音声，舍待死之外无事业。美人豪杰且然，而况于寻常碌碌者耶！生平亲友，皆在墟墓，起居饮食，待命于人，今日且过，遑知他日，今年且过，遑恤明年。普天下灰心短气之事，未有甚于老大者。于此人也，而欲望以拏云之手段，回天之事功，挟山超海之意气，能乎不能？

呜呼，我中国其果老大矣乎？立乎今日，以指畴昔，唐虞三代，若何之郅治；秦皇汉武，若何之雄杰；汉唐来之文学，若何之隆盛；康乾间之武功。若何之烜赫！历史家所铺叙，词章家所讴歌，何一非我国民少年时代良辰美景、赏心乐事之陈迹哉！而今颓然老矣，昨日割五城，明日割十城；处处雀鼠尽，夜夜鸡犬惊；十八省之土地财产，已为人怀中之肉；四百兆之父兄子弟，已为人注籍之奴。岂所谓老大嫁作商人妇者耶？呜呼！凭君莫话当年事，憔悴韶光不忍看。楚囚相对，岌岌顾影；人命危浅，朝不虑夕。国为待死之国，一国之民为待死之民，万事付之奈何，一切凭人作弄，亦何足怪！

梁启超曰：我中国其果老大矣乎？是今日全地球之一大问题也。如其老大也，则是中国为过去之国，即地球上昔本有此国，而今渐渐灭，他日之命运殆将尽也。如其非老大也，则是中国为未来之国，即地球上昔未现此国，而今渐发达，他日之前程且方长也。欲断今日之中国为老大耶，为少年耶？则不可不先明“国”字之意义。夫国也者，何物也？有土地，有人民，以居于其土地之人民，而治其所居之土地之事，自制法律而自守之；有主权，有服从，人人皆主权者，人人皆服从者。夫如是，斯谓之完全成立之国。地球上之有完全成立之国也，自百年以来也。完全成立者，壮年之事也；未能完全成立而渐进于完全成立者，少年之事也。故吾得一言以断之曰：欧洲列邦在今日为壮年国，而我中国在今日为少年国。

　
夫古昔之中国者，虽有国之名，而未成国之形也，或为家族之国，或为酋长之国，或为诸侯封建之国，或为一王专制之国。虽种类不一，要之，其于国家之体质也，有其一部而缺其一部，正如婴儿自胚胎以迄成童，其身体之一二官支，先行长成，此外则全体虽粗具，然未能得其用也。故唐虞以前为胚胎时代，殷周之际为乳哺时代，由孔子而来至于今为童子时代，逐渐发达，而今乃始将入成童以上少年之界焉。其长成所以若是之迟者，则历代之民贼有窒其生机者也。譬犹童年多病，转类老态，或且疑其死期之将至焉，而不知皆由未完全、未成立也，非过去之谓，而未来之谓也。

且我中国畴昔，岂尝有国家哉？不过有朝廷耳。我黄帝子孙，聚族而居，立于此地球之上者既数千年，而问其国之为何名，则无有也。夫所谓唐、虞、夏、商、周、秦、汉、魏、晋、宋、齐、梁、陈、隋、唐、宋、元、明、清者，则皆朝名耳。朝也者，一家之私产也；国也者，人民之公产也。朝有朝之老少，国有国之老少，朝与国既异物，则不能以朝之老少而指为国之老少明矣。文、武、成、康，周朝之少年时代也。幽、厉、桓、赧，则其老年时代也；高、文、景、武，汉朝之少年时代也，元、平、桓、灵，则其老年时代也。自余历朝，莫不有之。凡此者，谓为一朝廷之老也则可，谓为一国之老也则不可。一朝廷之老且死，犹一人之老且死也，于吾所谓中国者何与焉？然则吾中国者，前此尚未出现于世界，而今乃始萌芽云尔。天地大矣，前途辽矣，美哉，我少年中国乎！

玛志尼者，意大利三杰之魁也，以国事被罪，逃窜异邦，乃创立一会，名曰“少年意大利”。举国志士，云涌雾集以应之，卒乃光复旧物，使意大利为欧洲之一雄邦。夫意大利者，欧洲第一之老大国也，自罗马亡后，土地隶于教皇，政权归于奥国，殆所谓老而濒于死者矣。而得一玛志尼，且能举全国而少年之，况我中国之实为少年时代者耶？堂堂四百余州之国土，凛凛四百余兆之国民，岂遂无一玛志尼其人者！

龚自珍氏之集有诗一章，题曰《能令公少年行》。吾尝爱读之，而有味乎其用意之所存。我国民而自谓其国之老大也，斯果老大矣；我国民而自知其国之少年也，斯乃少年矣。西谚有之曰：有三岁之翁，有百岁之童。然则国之老少，又无定形，而实随国民之心力以为消长者也。吾见乎玛志尼之能令国少年也，吾又见乎我国之官吏士民能令国老大也，吾为此惧。夫以如此壮丽浓郁、翩翩绝世之少年中国，而使欧西、日本人谓我为老大者何也？则以握国权者皆老朽之人也。非哦几十年八股，非写几十年白折，非当几十年差，非捱几十年俸，非递几十年手本，非唱几十年诺，非磕几十年头，非请几十年安，则必不能得一官，进一职。其内任卿贰以上、外任监司以上者，百人之中，其五官不备者，殆九十六七人也，非眼盲，则耳聋，非手颤，则足跛，否则半身不遂也。彼其一身饮食、步履、视听、言语，尚且不能自了，须三四人在左右扶之捉之，乃能度日，于此而乃欲责之以国事，是何异立无数木偶而使之治天下也。且彼辈者，自其少壮之时，既已不知亚细、欧罗为何处地方，汉祖、唐宗是那朝皇帝，犹嫌其顽钝腐败之未臻其极，又必搓磨之、陶冶之，待其脑髓已涸，血管已塞，气息奄奄，与鬼为邻之时，然后将我二万里山河，四万万人命，一举而畀于其手。呜呼！老大帝国，诚哉其老大也！而彼辈者，积其数十年之八股、白折、当差、捱俸、手本、唱诺、磕头、请安，千辛万苦，千苦万辛，乃始得此红顶花翎之服色，中堂大人之名号，乃出其全副精神，竭其毕生力量，以保持之。如彼乞儿，拾金一锭，虽轰雷盘旋其顶上，而两手犹紧抱其荷包，他事非所顾也，非所知也，非所闻也。于此而告之以亡国也，瓜分也，彼乌从而听之？乌从而信之？即使果亡矣，果分矣，而吾今年既七十矣八十矣，但求其一两年内，洋人不来，强盗不起，我已快活过了一世矣。若不得已，则割三头两省之土地奉申贺敬，以换我几个衙门；卖三几百万之人民作仆为奴，以赎我一条老命，有何不可？有何难办？呜呼，今之所谓老后、老臣、老将、老吏者，其修身、齐家、治国、平天下之手段，皆具于是矣。西风一夜催人老，凋尽朱颜白尽头。使走无常当医生，携催命符以祝寿。嗟乎痛哉！以此为国，是安得不老且死，且吾恐其未及岁而殇也。

梁启超曰：造成今日之老大中国者，则中国老朽之冤业也；制出将来之少年中国者，则中国少年之责任也。彼老朽者何足道，彼与此世界作别之日不远矣，而我少年乃新来而与世界为缘。如僦屋者然，彼明日将迁居他方，而我今日始入此室处，将迁居者，不爱护其窗栊，不洁治其庭庑，俗人恒情，亦何足怪。若我少年者前程浩浩，后顾茫茫，中国而为牛、为马、为奴、为隶，则烹脔鞭箠之惨酷，惟我少年当之；中国如称霸宇内、主盟地球，则指挥顾盼之尊荣，惟我少年享之。于彼气息奄奄、与鬼为邻者何与焉？彼而漠然置之，犹可言也；我而漠然置之，不可言也。使举国之少年而果为少年也，则吾中国为未来之国，其进步未可量也；使举国之少年而亦为老大也，则吾中国为过去之国，其澌亡可翘足而待也。故今日之责任，不在他人，而全在我少年。少年智则国智，少年富则国富，少年强则国强，少年独立则国独立，少年自由则国自由，少年进步则国进步，少年胜于欧洲，则国胜于欧洲，少年雄于地球，则国雄于地球。红日初升，其道大光；河出伏流，一泻汪洋；潜龙腾渊，鳞爪飞扬；乳虎啸谷，百兽震惶；鹰隼试翼，风尘吸张；奇花初胎，矞矞皇皇；干将发硎，有作其芒；天戴其苍，地履其黄；纵有千古，横有八荒；前途似海，来日方长。美哉，我少年中国，与天不老！壮哉，我中国少年，与国无疆！

“三十功名尘与土，八千里路云和月。莫等闲白了少年头，空悲切！”此岳武穆《满江红》词句也，作者自六岁时即口受记忆，至今喜诵之不衰。自今以往，弃“哀时客”之名，更自名曰“少年中国之少年”。

About Tibet, let’s calm down and look at the evidence!

2008-04-12T17:25:00.002-05:00

This is a section of a long post about Tibet-China issue , and I recommend anyone who are interested in that topic to read this post and think about what happened recently.

Let us look at the evidence. If Tibetans were so fiercely suppressed, and if Chinese leaders in Beijing were really out to Sinocize Tibet by increasing the ethnic ratio of Han to Tibetan, then why are all Tibetan families permitted to have up to three children, and are only fined small amounts of money if they exceed this number? Tibetan families in Tibet average 3.8 children, larger than Tibetan families in India. In fact, the population of Tibet in 1959 was only about 1.19 million. Today however, the population of Greater Tibet is 7.3 million, of which, according to the 2000 census, 6 million are ethnic Tibetans. If we consider the Tibet Autonomous Region only, then according to the census conducted in 2000, as referred to in Wikipedia, “there were 2,616,300 people in Tibet, with Tibetans totalling 2,411,100 or 92.2% of the current regional population. The census also revealed that the Tibetan's average lifespan has increased to 68 due to the improving standard of living and access to medical services.” In 1950 the average lifespan was only 35, and “infant mortality has dropped from 43% in 1950 to 0.661% in 2000.”

As Barry Sautman, who is Associate Professor of Social Science at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology points out in his study on “Tibet and the (Mis-)Representation of Cultural Genocide”, “the state sponsored transfer [of Han Chinese] to Tibet is on a small scale. From 1994 to 2001 the PRC organized only a few thousand people to go to Tibet as cadres. Most serve only 3 years and then return to China. Those who move on their own to the Tibet Autonomous Region usually return to China in a few years. They come for a while, find the cities of Tibet too expensive, and then return to China. Some of the 72,000 Chinese who maintain their “hukou” [household registration] in Tibet don't really live there. Pensions are higher if your household is registered in Tibet.”

These facts are supported by articles in the “Columbia Journal of Asian Law” and by an Australian Chinese demographer in “Asian Ethnicity in 2000”, and show that the claims of ethnic swamping in Tibet are misleading. "What I think these articles show,” says Barry Sautman, “is that there is no evidence of significant population losses over the whole period from the 1950s to the present. There are some losses during he Great Leap Forward but these were less in Tibetan areas than in other parts of China. Where these were serious were in Sichuan and Qinghai, but even there not as serious in the Han areas of China. There are no bases at all for the figures used regularly by the exile groups. They use the figure of 1.2 million Tibetans dying from the 1950s to the 1970s, but no source for this is given. As a lawyer I give no credence to statistics for which there is no data, no visible basis."

In fact, as Michael Parenti has pointed out in his article on “Friendly Feudalism: the Tibet Myth”, “both the Dalai Lama and his advisor and youngest brother, Tendzin Choegyal, claimed that ‘more than 1.2 million Tibetans are dead as a result of the Chinese occupation.’ But the official 1953 census - six years before the Chinese crackdown -recorded the entire population residing in Tibet at 1,274,000.33 Other census counts put the ethnic Tibetan population within the country at about two million. If the Chinese killed 1.2 million in the early 1960s then whole cities and huge portions of the countryside, indeed almost all of Tibet, would have been depopulated, transformed into a killing field dotted with death camps and mass graves - of which we have not seen evidence. The thinly distributed Chinese military force in Tibet was not big enough to round up, hunt down, and exterminate that many people even if it had spent all its time doing nothing else.”

……..

M.A.Jones

Gedankenstrom

2008-02-20T09:30:00.000-05:00

Gedankenstrom

JPype Setup on Linux

January 31st, 2008 by johannes.liegl

During the last days I faced the problem to enable the calling of Java methods from Python code. I stumbled upon the JPype project on sourceforge that does exactly what I needed. Setting JPype up on Windows was done in a couple of hours but for Linux it lastet 2 days. So here are my hints for all of those who want to use JPype on Linux without spending to much time for the setup.

You need:

python
python development package (e.g. apt-get install python2.4-dev)
c-compiler (e.g. gcc)

Change to /usr/local/src and check out the 5.1 version of the JPype code from the CVS repository.
“cvs -z3 -d:pserver:anonymous@jpype.cvs.sourceforge.net:/cvsroot/jpype co -P jpype” should do this for you.
If not try to login to the CVS server before. Try “cvs -d:pserver:anonymous@cvs.sourceforge.net:/cvsroot/jpype login”.

So, by now you should have the JPype code in /usr/local/src/jpype - change to that directory.
Now you have to edit the setup.py file. There should be an if statement “if sys.platform==”win32″. Go to the else
branch of the if-statement and change JAVA_HOME to your JDK. On my machine it was /usr/local/java/jdk1.6.0_04.

Compile the source from /usr/local/src/jpype with “python ./setup.py install” this should work without errors and automatically install the jpype module into your python directory. at my machine it was /usr/lib/python2.4/site-packages/jpype. now
change to that directory. Edit _linux.py and alter line 37 so that it returns the path to your libjvm.so file.
(e.g. /usr/local/jdk1.6.0_04/jre/lib/i386/client/libjvm.so).

The installation manual of JPype says that you should export the path to your libjvm.so with
“export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=/usr/local/jdk1.6.0_04/jre/lib/i386:/usr/local/jdk1.6.0_04/jre/lib/i386/client” for example but I didn’t need to do so.

Now JPype should be up and running. You can import it in your python files using “import jpype”. Here is a little
hello world code snippet:

    from jpype import *
       class PythonCallsJava:
           def callJava(self):
               try:
                   startJVM("/usr/local/jdk1.6.0_04/jre/lib/i386/client/libjvm.so", "-ea")
                   java.lang.System.out.println("Hello World!")
               except:
                   print "error"
               shutdownJVM()

   if __name__ == "__main__":
       javaCaller=PythonCallsJava()
       javaCaller.callJava()

Some links:
http://www.thescripts.com/forum/thread477930.html _Linux.py
http://sourceforge.net/projects/jpype/
http://cents.cs.berkeley.edu/tinywiki/index.php/Tinyos_Installation_Log

侯捷网站

2008-01-03T16:04:00.000-05:00

侯捷网站: "知识与技术有万古长空和一朝风月之分，虽然两者都有必要，但前者更重於後者。如果不能在学校阶段扎下结实的基础，以後更无机会。"

万古长空，我们看得到张衡，高斯，我们看得到赵州桥那厚实表面下精美的设计经验的积淀。那是我在生命中追求的真意，厚积而薄发，深得我心！

侯捷网站

2008-01-03T15:57:00.000-05:00

侯捷网站: "一个人的成功（受人尊敬的那种专业型成功），一定是把许多许多精力投注在单一主题上日日夜夜拚搏才有的成果。"

此言深得我心。

马在田院士个人主页

2007-12-28T11:40:00.000-05:00

马在田院士个人主页: "一个诚实的科学家能做出受国际重视的成果是可以冲破人为障碍的。一切优秀的科研成果是迟早会被承认的。你可以用诚实的工作成果找到知音。借用李白的两句诗表达自己的感受，那就是“莫愁前路无知己，天下谁人不识君”。一切正直的科学家的成果是会受到被承认的时候，当然是有迟早之别的。"

马在田院士个人主页

2007-12-28T11:32:00.001-05:00

马在田院士个人主页: "认识自我，追求优秀，在不断完善知识结构中成才"

看了马院士的院士寄语，深受感动，引用其中一句如下：

科学一流必须是国际的，没有国内国外之分。因此当代青年追求的优秀都应当与国际一流相比。为此中国才能赶上美国，否则永远是二流甚至是三流的。

马在田院士个人主页

2007-12-28T11:32:00.000-05:00

关于湖南大学校歌

2007-08-10T15:05:00.000-05:00

关于湖南大学校歌

麓山巍巍，湘水泱泱，
宏开学府，济济沧沧，
承朱张之绪，取欧美之长，
华与实兮并茂，兰与芷兮齐芳，
楚材蔚起，奋志安壤。
振我民族，扬我国光。

这是目前为止唯一一首感动我的校歌，大气和朴实并存，热血隐隐奔腾，正是湖湘文化千年延绵的气势和风骨。

温家宝看望钱学森季羡林等学者(组图)_新闻中心_新浪网

2007-08-05T11:48:00.000-05:00

温家宝看望钱学森季羡林等学者(组图)_新闻中心_新浪网: "国之魂魄，民之肝胆，屹立东方，亿万斯年"

我不知道，我们国家的魂魄是否是一个真实的存在，现在看到的很多精英人士，大多悲观失望，部分投机取巧，随波逐流，只关心自己的下一碗饭在哪里，很难看到对同胞和祖国的担心和赤诚。

我不想成为悲观失望者的一员，我也不想成为一个只说不做的清谈客，然而，每当我面对一些现实，我发现自己确实在逃避，如很多我所厌恶着的精英一样。

“我自横刀向天笑，去留肝胆两昆仑”，那样的气魄，是我所神往的，而现在的我，却不知我的这些技能，能怎样的帮助我的祖国，归，或不归？回去是否会让我的研究理想沉沦？我对自己的毅力没有把握，我也担心害怕，自己会受到伤害。生活不是那么简单的，我只是为了寻求一种简单，选择了做一名科学家的理想，走到今天，却发觉，科学家不能解决我对我的祖国命运的困惑。到处有洪涝，环境在被破坏，很多人的生存权利没有得早足够的尊重，而我，什么也做不了。我有时候就是感觉人群像一个毒瘤在世界上扩散，把世界变成丑恶的牛棚，直到有一天无药可救，所谓的科学家们也不能阻止这个熵极大化的过程。

唯一的力量也许来自于孔夫子：知其不可而为之。

Borland Together Downloads

2007-04-24T15:48:00.000-05:00

Borland Together Downloads

Good news, Borland provides us a very good development tool, it is the integration of Together (UML Modeling tool) and Eclipse ! We can model and automatically generate code and maintain code now!And this excellent tool is free!

By the way, Turbo C# provided by Borland is also integrated with Together now, and it is also free!

Cheers.

钟万勰院士治学之道 | 丁香园 - 医学、药学、生命科学专业人士�

2007-04-06T16:06:00.000-05:00

钟万勰院士治学之道 | 丁香园 - 医学、药学、生命科学专业人士�: "钟万勰院士治学之道"

I just read this article. This scholar graduated from Tongji University. The most impressive sentences from this article are:

Keep on your idea and do not blindly follow other people, no matter she or he is a internationally famous guy. You will fall into difficulties many times, and in your academic life failures will be definitely more than successful cases. Monitor your own direction, keep on doing thing which excites you, and forget temporary gains and loss, you will be happy.

IFC Engine Series

2007-04-03T14:22:00.000-05:00

IFC Engine Series

This dll is a library which can be called by Visual C++ or Visual Basic application and it is useful for developing my own IFC Viewer.

By the way, I found that I can parse XML using MATLAB directly.

dyll.pdf (application/pdf Object)

2007-04-01T14:42:00.000-05:00

A paper about using interval to model geometrical tolerances.
dyll.pdf (application/pdf Object)

Sweets Building Products by sweets.com - Google 3D Warehouse

2007-04-01T13:52:00.000-05:00

Sweets Building Products by sweets.com - Google 3D Warehouse

This webpage provides a lot of 3D models of buildings, which should be very useful for simulation of construction site for construction management.

Tongji

2007-03-20T22:34:00.000-05:00

老校训：仰天地之正气，法古今之完人。

同济老校歌，铿锵有力
校歌歌词

好一片中华大地
不振兴工艺
真可惜真可惜
同有耳目
同有手足
同有心思才力
不作工负了好教育
勤劳诚毅
提携我中华国民
同舟共济同舟共济
振兴工艺

好一片中华大地
不健康身体
真可惜真可惜
同有心腹同有肌肉
同有起居饮食
不学医负了好教育
慈爱仁义
扶持我中华国民
同舟共济同舟共济
健康身体

好一片中华大地
不格物穷理
真可惜真可惜
同有头脑同有智慧
同有星辰空气
不学理负了好教育
明彻清晰
训练我中华国民
同舟共济同舟共济
格物穷理

（注：此校歌创作于1927年）

Accuracy and Geometric Decomposition

2007-03-20T22:19:00.000-05:00

Lack of automatic support for data collection and interpretation makes the laser scanning based bridge geometric data acquisition process prohibitive to ordinary bridge inspectors. First, even though from the technical data of a laser scanner bridge inspectors can know how accurate each point can be positioned, what are more useful for them are the accuracy of geometric features which can be extracted from dense point cloud such as how much uncertainty lies in the normal values of an extracted plane. Evaluation of those geometric features and extraction of high level uncertainty information require bridge inspectors to know how to do manual uncertainty analysis. In addition, that process is too complicated for on-site data evaluation to get a quick feedback about the data quality. Second, bridge inspectors need to manually analyze the relationship between the accuracy of single geometric features and the value generated based on them. Interestingly, accuracy constraints for a group of geometric features can have multiple solutions to achieve the same accuracy level for their corresponding inspection goal. So if bridge inspector can get a tool to show them the trade-off between the accuracy constraints to achieve specific accuracy requirement for an inspection goal so that they can have more alternatives on site and get more flexibility on site. Third, bridge inspectors need to interpret accuracy into a series of surveying strategies such as locate the scanners within 10 m from the target object.

Today's work

2007-03-11T23:34:00.000-05:00

1. Finish the executive summary of the PhD Proposal

2. Search papers related to my research and read the paper from Carl Haas and a paper from Burcu (About the impact of new data collection technology on data collection and transfer process for timely construction management, Journal of Construction Engineering and Management)

3. Find a paper from Martin Fisher: Formalizing Product Model Transformations (This paper might be important for me to understand how to extend IFC bridge information model to support inspection goal decomposition since it transforms design centered model into a construction activity centered model through three mechanisms introduced by the authors, I can transform the IFC bridge model to a surveying activity centered model so that bridge inspection goal will be transformed into a series of measurement activities to generate inspection goal value: such as the value of the under clearance of a bridge, we can decompose it into measurement of the bottom surface of the super structure and the measurement of the top surface of the road underneath the bridge).

Idea:

From the bridge function(cross river or valley or another highway, we can navigate to the road underneath the bridge, and then from the attribute of the bridge such as how big vehicles are allowed to run on it we can simulate the process that the biggest allowed truck passing under the bridge and to see whether the bridge's under clearance is satisfactory). This reasoning process is transparent, because it is not just specify a limit value for the under clearance, it shows the design intent behind the under clearance limitation values.

Flash LADAR

2007-03-09T23:30:00.000-05:00

Flash LARDAR is a new sensor. We can call it 3D camera since it can simultaneously collect thousands of 3D points like a camera can simultaneously record color and reflectivity information for thousands of pixels.

Professor Carl Haas at University of Toronto (University of Texas Austin previously) are trying to use this new technology for spatial management on the construction site. This new technique can collect accurate 3D information directly and avoid the limitation of digital camera which requires complicated model to reconstruct depth information from multiple photos.

Professor Haas is also trying to merge the information from CAD model with 3D point clouds to enhance the speed and accuracy rate of traditional computer vision technique since in CAD model there is prerequisite knowledge about the 3D scene. But how to formally represent those knowledge in 3D model so that computer can automatically interpret 3D semantic information from 3D CAD model is a problem. The representation in IFC (a paper of Professor Grundig at UT Berlin talks about this from the perspective of a surveyor) and the semantic web technology might be of use to formally capture semantic information from 3D CAD model so that we can automatically extract knowledge from 3D model and help computer vision algorithms to interpret 3D point clouds which only contains xyz value and generate intelligent point clouds.

Good future is coming:-)

ICES Presentation of Pingbo

2007-03-06T00:44:00.000-05:00

My presentation slides about geometric defect detection of Bombardier track system is available from the following link:

http://www.ices.cmu.edu/censcir/participate/collaboration_event_archives.html

Specification Model and Inspection Planning for Automatic Inspection Goal Decomposition

2007-03-06T00:20:00.000-05:00

The researches of Frank Boukamp and Chris Gordon can be combined together and serve as the foundation of my research, which is about geometric inspection goal decomposition.

Frank is modeling the specification so that the knowledge in construction site inspection specifications can be represented in a formal way so that computer can interpret the knowledge from the specification model automatically and use the knowledge to detect defects of a structure. Here, defect means the part of a structure violating the design specification.

From Frank's model, Chris can generate a list of inspection task for a specific project based on the context of the site, the preference of the user and the project schedule.

I can use Frank's model to generate a list of bridge inspection goals, then I match those project specific goal with a generic inspection goal defined by myself. The generic inspection goal will separate domain abstrct knowledge from specific case. For example, I want to know the under clearance of a specific bridge, but the knowledge it self does not have to be related with a specific bridge, we can just say we want to know the size of a empty space. Then we decompose the generic geometric inspection goal into a number of generic targets. Then I matching those generic targets back to the specific context and make those generic targets to be specific. For example, I decompose "measuring vertical space size" into "measure bottom surface of the solid object over the space" and "measure the top surface of the solid object below the space". The using the project specific information I will know that the solid object below the space is the top the highway below the bridge (which can be extracted from GIS system or bridge management system), and the object above the space is the super structure of the bridge. Then I extract these specific information and get the bottom surface of the above object(super structure) and the top surface of the below object (highway). Finally I calculate the vertical distance between these two surfaces and get the under clearance of a specific bridge.

From specific inspetion goal to generic inspection goal, from inspection goal to generic measurement target, then using the specific project information the generate specific measurement targets, the whole project is inspection goal decomposition and assembly which provide a automatic process for bridge inspection gaol acquisition.

Intelligent Point cloud for 3D data registration

2007-03-01T23:32:00.000-05:00

If we can not recognize 3D objects from 3D point clouds, those point clouds are just a bunch of xyz coordinates. Today I found that for complicated environments like inside the vision group laboratory, even though there is only minor changes of the environment (walking of a student, movement of a small board), two scans can not be registered together accurately.

That's too bad, because we can never expect construction site will be clean and static. If we can not automatically recognize object from point clouds and separate noisy information from useful information, we can not register the 3D point clouds using traditional algorithms. Another thing is that if we want to detect the environment change, we can not directly register two model and get the differences between them, we must segment the point clouds into patches and do "patch-based matching" between two 3D models and find a transformation which can figure out "outlier patches", which is the actual differences between two scenarios.

Anyway, if we know in advance which point belongs to which object, computer and operate on a "object" level and utilize domain knowledge to reason about the scene and detect changes or find a data registration results making more sense(this is a wall, it will not change, that is a table, it could be moved), so we will avoid the problem caused by non-semantic approach: all points are viewed as the same thing(a point, nothing else!), and the algorithm simply trying to minimize the distance between points so that small changes in the scenario will influence the whole registration results and result in failure of 3D registration.

Presentation on CenSCIR seminar

2007-02-28T23:26:00.000-05:00

Today I gave a talk on the graduate seminar of CenSCIR, which is a research center about the application of sensor network for infrastructure management. I talked about my Bombardier research project, which is about using laser scanning technology for civil engineering system geometric defect detection.

I got a lot of feedback from faculty members from other research areas and students from other disciplines, that is a very good experience.

Matt talked about the scanner height and asked whether the height of scanner matters, Omer said something about generate 3D depth information from two cameras instead of using a scanner.

Ideas about stuff organization

2007-02-28T23:07:00.000-05:00

I really need to organize two groups of my stuffs from now on:

1. The programs I have written: I need to design an architecture for my codes now since I have accumulated a bunch of codes and it is time consuming to find some codes when I need them. If I designed a architecture, separate foundation classes and client codes, create a framework, then I will know which code I have already developed and which I need to implement for saving time for future research.

2. The documents of previous research. Since I have so many documents accumulated and I have put most of them in my weekly notes directories. I need to look over those documents and try to summarize them into technical reports so that I will get more sense about what I have done and where I am in the whole research process. Summarizing those stuffs will also provide me an opportunity to rethink about my research and save time for future research once I need some stuff which I have created. If I did not archive those stuffs, some of them may be lost and in them future I need to redo some work. That is too bad.

To do regarding these two tasks:

For code:
1. Create a functionality requirements of codes based on my understanding about the research.
2. Design an architecture based on the functionality requirements;
3. Place my previous codes to a proper place in the architecture, and improve program documentation when necessary, so in the future, other people need to use my code for their research will benefit from it;
4. Develop a to-develop list and start to work on my tool for research, and keep on updating the architecture when necessary, and accumulate code in a systematical way;

For stuffs:
1. look over previous research notes and classify them according to my "type_time_project_description" template;

2. Grouping related stuffs and develop a list of tentative research report titles. that is a framework for all the works I have done and want to do;

3. Give each report a proper code and manage all my stuffs according in the units of "report";

4. Continue my work according to the framework structured by a number of reports and accumulate the works in a systematical manner;

Geometric Decomposition: IFC? COmponent Based?

2007-02-27T23:57:00.000-05:00

Chris Gordon used component-based approach to represent inspection goal for developing inspection plans, but I find that is not a valid approach for inspection goals involving multiple components such as under-clearance of a bridge.

Is IFC's geometric representation good enough for bridge component recognition from 3D point clouds? since I am thinking about a way to represent the relationship between primitives and semantically meaningful objects. IFC represent a component's geometry, so I think I can develop geometric template based on IFC's approach. And the use the semantic relationship in IFC to develop a valid representation for geometric inspection goal involving multiple bridge components.

Data Visualization

2007-02-26T22:44:00.000-05:00

Finally I have reduced the size of my IABSE 2007 paper within 8 pages. Hopefully this will be my first paper published on a influential conference and a good start for my academic career.

So what is today's new idea? Well, yesterday I read some slides on the TRB web page. That presentation is talking about highway safety. One thing impressed me is that they are trying to visualize the safety status of highways: red means dangerous, white means pretty safe. I do not know any details about how they define the safety level of a section of highway, but I find that data visualization is such a simple and effective way for data interpretation and information management.

We can generate a map labeled by the accident rate, and another map labeled with the population density, the curvature of the road etc. Then we can compute the correlation of accidents and various factors using these labeled maps. In my mind, those maps are images and can be processed by any image processing techniques and pattern classification algorithms for data interpretation. I do not know whether this is data mining and knowledge discovery, but I think image processing will be a powerful tool for us to digest huge amount of data and find patterns and knowledge hiding behind them.

Accident map can have different views. We can classify the accidents into several categories according to a specified taxonomy, and we can even compare different taxonomy based on the generated image and its processing results: a better taxonomy will generate images which can explain existing phenomenons and predict some accident correctly. We can also have hierarchy of the visualization: high level taxonomy can generate high-level images shows high-level trends and sub-taxonomy can zoom in to a specific level and view the data in a specific perspective.

These maps will be very useful for accident reducing since people can use it to guide better transportation planning, drivers can use it to generate a "safer path" based on the start point and the target information. Transportation agencies can use it to manage transportation system maintenance and replacement, and they can also provide guidance to drivers so that keep the traffic on deteriorated highway at a low level.

Visualization, such a good idea!

The link of that presentation is:
http://www.trb.org/conferences/e-session/2007am.htm#DATA

Idea of today

2007-02-25T22:36:00.000-05:00

Knowledge language for civil engineers so that people can formalize the drawings, engineering knowledge and construction documents to efficiently extract information from thousands of engineering documents with the help of existing knowledge.

Knowledge language represent the engineering knowledge, document are organized and labled using this language, then a knowledge engine will extract the knowledge or engineering data at a proper level of detail for engineers so that engineers can get what they want to know for making an important decision for bridge maintenance, for construction method selection, for construction schedule change management.

A new start

2007-02-25T22:25:00.000-05:00

I met Huaiwei yesterday, and he talked about the trend of the science development and I am impressed by his ideas.

I have been focusing only on my own research topic and projects for such a long time and never care what is happening out there. However, as a scientist, it is not good to just work alone and just finish the work assigned by the boss, I must explore my own area and find my own passion. So from now on, I will post at least one new idea, or new discovery or new interesting thing to me, a new communication with others everyday. I need to actively communicate with other and outreach the outside world: organizations such as TRB, ACM are good place for me, so I will read the pulications actively and use the resources from these two organizations efficiently.

Today, I just wrap up everything of my past: finish the Bombardier report, finish editing my IABSE2007 paper, organize my notes and papers. In the next week, I will find one or two interesting books as a start point for my adventure.

As a scientist, I want to start at these points: first, classic mathematic logic; second, astronauts; third, geography; fourth, artificial intelligence.

Cheers, for my new start.

2007-02-04T12:18:00.000-05:00

Diagnostics and Data Fusion of Robotic Sensors

One section of this paper talks about "geometric hashing" idea for object recognizing.