Python: ADD (+) vs. INPLACE_ADD (+=) vs. extend() for LIST

Posted on February 26, 2022 by timlyg

Today's Python series by Jake Gober led me to consider why there's difference between concatenate (+) two lists to the same variable and using the extend() function on the list.

The answer is ADD (+) creates a new list, I supposed even though the variable name is the same, it is still going to be a new list, so the list that was earlier assigned to the dictionary would not be affected. While += works on the same object, as does extend() rather than creating a new one, so there's no need to update the dictionary after the change in list. Therefore, ADD, by creating a new list, makes the operation slower, some clocked it 3 times slower than the other two, see chart below.

I had to google it for a while because most results are only talking about the difference in runtime. But this site hits the mark. I've pasted the answer in the comment in case the site expires. They have a nice chart for runtime as well:

In conclusion: It seems that Python is using some kind of pointers in its object creation, but I am not certain and I fear it would take up more time and energy than I wanted to explore into it, so I'll leave it as a question for now. This is good enough.

Posted in Questions, Technical | 1 Comment

Wine and Cheese Pairing

Posted on February 24, 2022 by timlyg

Today my SP company did a virtual Wine & Cheese event. Two bottles (Malbec & Sauvignon Blanc) were sent to me last week, and this week two cheeses (Bucheron & Cheddar).

First time enjoying what this is all about. Sample the wine, feel its taste, and try the cheese, then mix them up.

Cheese term I learned: Rind. The outermost layer of the cheese, waxy looking and feel. Usually edible.

I've recorded it.

I hope this could help in my creative culinary skills. Being able to discern different wines/cheeses.

Posted in Culinary | Leave a comment

The Solid Rock

Posted on February 17, 2022 by timlyg

"My Hope Is Built on Nothing Less" By Edward Mote, 1979-1874. Baptist Pastor in England.

Lyrics:

1 My hope is built on nothing less
than Jesus' blood and righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
but wholly lean on Jesus' name.

Refrain:
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand:
all other ground is sinking sand;
all other ground is sinking sand.

2 When darkness veils his lovely face,
I rest on his unchanging grace;
in every high and stormy gale,
my anchor holds within the veil. [Refrain]

3 His oath, his covenant, his blood,
support me in the whelming flood;
when all around my soul gives way,
he then is all my hope and stay. [Refrain]

4 When he shall come with trumpet sound,
O may I then in him be found:
dressed in his righteousness alone,
faultless to stand before the throne. [Refrain]

Some parts of the hymn appears to have connection with a woman on a deathbed. And Bishop Bickersteth calls it a "grand hymn of faith." It certainly is, and I supposed it's good for funeral hymn.

Written in 1834. Sang most popular to the tune of Solid Rock by William Bradbury, 1816-1868. American. Shout out to Bradbury pianos. He went from Baptist to Presbyterian. He's most famous for the "Jesus Loves Me" tune.

I looked into this because it was played in church several weeks ago and I tried the piano myself using the Rejoice Hymns by Ron/Shelly Hamilton of the Baptist. This hymnbook has beautiful arrangement so I generally go to this hymnbook first for training.

Wikipedia mentioned Hillsong, so I looked:

I compared the original words with other versions. Hillsong turned the words "Solid Rock" into "Cornerstone".

I think Hillsong changed the lyrics to match their candy coating style. For the musical aesthetic of artistic literature rather than for the faith. Cornerstone just sounds nicer to them, the meaning of foundation is changed in Hillsong's chorus, while they still follow the same verses as the original.

Hillsong in verse 2: When darkness "seems" to hide His face...rather than the original When darkness veils his lovely face, suggests that Hillsong is aiming for a mental delusion correction rather than the real truth in hardship and the struggle to victory of it in Christ. Hence, a prosperity gospel aspect. To win without hardship.

And they removed the entire 3rd verse:

His oath, his covenant, his blood,
support me in the whelming flood;
when all around my soul gives way,
he then is all my hope and stay.

Because it's not Hillsong's style to have any negativity and it's too much for them to alter: "whelming flood", "all around my soul gives way", oh so negative!

Music for the verses are similar style as the original Bradbury's tune. But in the Refrain, Hillsong couldn't make it sound triumphant enough as the original, it's probably too strong for their prom night for Jesus style. Their cheer has no edification for the singers nor listeners, it's not about standing on Christ the Rock, but just yay yay yay He is Lord of all.

The MELITA (by John Dykes) tune version however is not bad:

Melita (meaning Malta, where Paul escaped shipwreck) was the tune Dykes wrote for another hymn: Eternal Father, strong to save. The tune is suitable for seafarers and so became known as the Navy hymn. To stand strong in the stormy sea for God is near.

The Medley of "Solid Rock" & Keith Getty's "In Christ Alone" is much better:

The refrain of Solid Rock is used as a background to the main theme: In Christ Alone.

My source is mainly wikipedia and Hymnary.org so there is still room for expansion.

Posted in Hymns and Scriptures, Music | Leave a comment

Banker's Rounding

Posted on February 17, 2022 by timlyg

While briefing through this Python course by TIQC (very good course, very interactive, great professor Jake Gober), a question came up in the second video: Why is round(10.5) = 10? I'm not sure if the professor had the chance to talk about it, and I had to look up this strange phenomenon.

It turns out that it is true, that it will round to the closest even choice. So round(10.5) = 10, while round(11.5) = 12. Because those are the closest even numbers to round to.

But what's going on? Apparently it's called Banker's Rounding. It seems to be a unbias way for bankers to deal with rounding numbers, so as not to not over pay or under pay interests.

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Aquarium Update (2/15/2022) - Long overdue update with content and water test

Posted on February 15, 2022 by timlyg

It's been a while since I last updated this log. A few creatures have died and new ones were introduced. Here's the thorough log:

Prior to water change (Haven't done water change for weeks...maybe 2 Months+, entire Winter and more)

Temperature: 72.7 F = 22.6 C

Salinity: 35.5 ppt / 1.0265 specific gravity

Ammonia:
Rea Sea: 0 - 0.1 mg/L = 0 - 0.01 mg/L Toxic Ammonia

Nitrite:
Tetra Strip test: 0

Nitrate: (Ideal <5 ppm)
Tetra Strip test: > 80ish ppm
Red Sea: 50+ ppm

Alkalinity: (Ideal 8 - 12 dkH)
Tetra Strip test: 80-120 ppm
Hanna: 138 ppm = 7.728 dkH

pH:
Tetra Strip test: 7.8ish
Rea Sea: 8.2

Calcium:
Hanna: 496 ppm

Phosphate:
Hanna: 1.54 ppm

Water change done right after measurement taken.

After 25% Water change, added one dosage each for: Microbe-Lift, Fluval Sea: (Calcium, Trace Elements, 3-ions), Marine Buffer:

Nitrate: (Ideal <5 ppm)
Tetra Strip test: 160ish ppm

Alkalinity: (Ideal 8 - 12 dkH)
Tetra Strip test: > 180 ppm

pH:
Tetra Strip test: 8.2ish

Conclusion, need to do more water changes. Never slack on that, at least once in 2 weeks. Once a week is ideal. Now in Winter, I get less water produced by the De-Humidifier, so I guess I'll have to go with tap water, which isn't bad based on my last testing. I should test the tap water every time.

Update (2/18/2022):

Nitrate: (Ideal <5 ppm)
Tetra Strip test: > 40ish ppm
Hanna: 52.3 ppm

Creatures:

So many have come and gone (died basically).

(gave away the 2x Three-Spot Domino Damsels to Aquatic Obsessions 3-4 weeks ago - too bad he claimed that every hated these fish so much he wouldn't do much trade off for me, I think he just knocked a couple bucks down for my new purchase)

(Lawnmower Blenny finally died after stomach bulging)

I'll start with the oldest ones in the tank that I can remember:

2x Three Stripe Damselfish (next kind of bully after the Three Spot Dominos, but seems to be tame now when enough time passed with new fish)

2x Blue Damselfish (less of a bully, but it seems that Damselfish are known to be bullies).

2x Feather dusters (one of them really grown at least 1.5 times bigger)

1x Yellow Clown Goby (I believe the other one, the more yellowish looking one has died a while back, not sure why, probably lack of food): Loves to sit on corals, particularly the kenya r

2x Clarkiis (Petco in Oldbridge)

2x Ocellaris Clown (I believe they are Ocellaris and not Percula, no orange in the eyes)

3x Blue-Green Chromis (my favorite because they are cheap, peaceful and active)

1x Yellow Belly Hippo Blue Tang (Had hard time coming out until I isolated the domino damselfish.

1x Yellowhead Jawfish (love playing with digging into sand and hide in it)

1x Copperband Butterflyfish. Seems to be doing well, I think it only feeds on my frozen food, but haven't really observed it eating them.

1x Striped Blenny (yellow lines)

1x Bluestreak Cleaner Wrasse (Not too afraid of humans, love to bounce around just below the surface)

1x Green Clown Goby (I bought two, I think the are one is pretty much dead, probably out of starvation, common cause of death in my tank I think)

1x Splendid Dottyback

1x Peppermint Shrimp (I bought two more but I think only one left so far)

2x Royal Gramma Basslets (I think I have two, bought on separate time, the last one wasn't doing well and Oldbridge Petco wouldn't respond to a refund - I'll try never going back there again)

1x Purple/Orchid Dottyback

1x small hermit crab

1x Target Mandarin Dragonet Goby

1x pin cushion urchion (it really likes to grab objects like the Ceramic Rings I hid under the sandbed). Had to watch it, lest it took some of my frags with it.

1x bumble bee snail, 2x Turbo snails, lots of small growing white snails that came out of nowhere, probably from the sands I bought.

Corals:

Green Kenya Tree (From Frag Farm)

3, 4 batches of GSP (Green Star Polyps) The biggest one is from Aquarium Obsessions and is a different species than the others I think. Only 2 are visible and appears to survive well now.

Green Zoas, Green-Orange Zoas (larger), Palythoa

2x Candy Canes

1x Red Montipora frag, I think (from Frag Farm)

1x Green Ricordea Mushroom (Seemed to have shrunk, especially when I fed Reef Energy, need to look up how to save it)

4x Duncans (Appear to close often now, need to figure out why)

Posted in Biology | 8 Comments

Furnace Fix

Posted on February 14, 2022 by timlyg

This Morning Nadia said that the first floor is so cold and we realized later that the Furnace in the basement is not working.

There's a great deal of Youtube video tutorials (This "Word of Advice TV" youtuber is very technical and detail) on Furnace. But since the red LED indicator on the furnace (after finding replacing the very old filter still didn't fix the problem, and opening the furnace cover), tells us (according to the error code chart in the back of the cover) that 3 flashes means Pressure Switch Stuck Open, I found a direct video on how to deal with the problem:

Basically just unscrew the Draft Inducer Motor, and clear the vent between the motor and the Pressure Switch that is connected with a rubber piping which can easily be removed. I must have jiggled the clog off as I took off the device because by the time I was ready to clean it, there didn't appear to be anything for me to clean, pipe was clear, the vent was clear as well, so I just briefly poked (paper clip) and gently blew those orifices. After that, hooked everything back and hold the safety switch where the cover would have held it when closed, to do a test run by seeing the ignitor lit up, followed by the burner firing. All good, after putting the cover back.

Posted in Technical | Leave a comment

Thoughts

Posted on February 12, 2022 by timlyg

Man-Li Kuo Lin, a very caring person in NY, helping people with businesses for free and even run a Mandarin school for adopted Chinese. Her blog is here: https://manlikuolin10.blogspot.com/ change "10" to other numbers for previous blog "versions".

Recently looked up some friends. Someone I knew (MK) filed a court case against a creative company for infringing his patented invention - Cup Holder for a Plate. I read the patent a few times and still don't get what it's purpose really was, just seems to be a fishy motive. The complaint is a public record, so I saw the pictures. And the link above shows the progress of it, which appeared to have been settled in 2021. Now I don't know how they do, but reading this patent, I think it's a joke. I am not even sure how it got approved, it's an obvious ploy to sue and get $, rather than invention to help mankind. It's stupid to be granted, and perhaps too stupid to be revoked. GrubTub, the product that's allegedly infringing the said patent, is still selling well on google, so I am thinking that they probably had no problem handling the plaintiff, they did provide lot more responses in the court proceeding than MK, lots of Exhibits by RPA. I just am very curious how it actually turned out.

This is just one of the few not too theological related matters I would comment on. My main criticism is still and should still be focused on theological matters.

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Culinary advise from my cousin Grace

Posted on February 11, 2022 by timlyg

I asked her what sauce she was praising that one time in Kam Man Grocery, and she gave me the following:

I can roughly understand what the sauce in the picture are, most of them are from the brand "Lee Kum Kee", and most of the sauces in Chinese food are soy sauce, rice wine, white pepper powder, salt and sugar, broad bean paste/Chili paste and soy sauce paste. These basic doses can be adjusted to many different flavors.
（show u later)There are many products in the picture that have special purpose designs, such as steamed fish sauce, which are mainly prepared for you with the above raw materials, and are convenient for home cooking.

This is soy sauce paste, Salty and sweet, in the form of a paste. After the vegetables are boiled, pour a little to add flavor.

This is a soy sauce specially designed for steaming fish. Unless you often steam fish, I don't think it is necessary to buy it (usually mixed with soy sauce, onion, ginger and garlic).

These are relatively basic soy sauces, generally salty, which will color the food and make it taste better. But don't use too much, or it will be salty.生抽=light soy sauces(kind of)

This is soy sauce, too, but it is another kind, which we call black soy sauce（老抽）. It has a good coloring effect on food（not that salty), so we will use it as the main coloring.

米酒= Rice wine is usually used for pickling, or for forcing out the aroma of dishes.

There’re white vinegar and black vinegar. With a sour taste.

I hope this answered your question. Or next time you can start by saying what you want to cook, and I'll help you choose the sauce.

Posted in Culinary | Leave a comment

Sunday Service Summary 2022-02-06

Posted on February 11, 2022 by timlyg

Since I don't have enough time to delve into Revelation (in Sunday School), or Hebrews, because I need more time to start these from scratch again, using Stephen Tong's Hebrews expository and do more research into Revelation. But here are some quick notes:

We did Revelation 19. Will be starting on Rev. 20 this coming Sunday. It's going be premill. fun. Dispensationalism, aliens too maybe, Zechariah 14.

Angels were noted as not knowing grace. I think the main backing for this is 1 Peter 1:12. Although, I think to not know is a bit far fetch, which is different than "desire to look into". Not able to experience grace is right, and that's still not the same as not know. We are not adhering to experientialism. Ray Prichard talked about similar thing as them: What Angels Wish They Knew, he has a better and careful approach on this topic. We don't say angels don't know grace, because they know enough to wonder about grace, just that they do not share or experience it as we do. Angels who are righteous, they certainly can perceive sins in sinners even though they sin not; while fallen angels live in sins and they would appear be satisfy with perfect vindication of their own, I suppose. I would think to approach angelic desire to witness grace from this starting point.

I also don't think angels are "God machines" as pastor tempted to call it. Pak Tong has a better take on this, that they are spiritual beings but unlike us, they are closer to God in such a way that they are not given a "second chance" like we do. I think I need to look further into this. What would the Angelic Doctor (Thomas Aquinas) say about this?

As far as judging angels go, I don't know why it's always about judging the bad, hence they say we shall judge the fallen angels, only the devil and his minions, not the righteous ones. But I think we certainly can judge the righteous ones too. The role of a judge is more than just condemning the bad, that's a very limited human notion, and not even apt to be defined in this world. I wonder if that's a fundamentalist influence - they would certainly inherit the admiration of someone who shouts judgment upon sinners like commanding fire and hail stones down upon the land. Maybe add a little vibrato in their singing voice as they call down such judgment.

There's also talk of whether there is gender distinction between man and woman after judgment. Pastor Chris' take is yes, as would I. I know Stephen Tong once said no, but he was talking about marriage related matter, so I would like to ask him this question when I get the chance. The basic reasoning is this: God created man and woman before the fall, so why remove that distinction? Yes, there is no marriage as Jesus said it, but would that negate gender? Is gender just for marriage? How is God's kingdom going to look like? I do not know now.

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撒娇是否罪过？

Posted on February 11, 2022 by timlyg

绝对是罪，但我不太强烈追踪。

这是现代华人文化所提倡的不良习惯。張逸萍(Lois Chan) 曾对竹君，邱清泰夫妇认为撒娇是属灵生命操练的实际，作出批评 （我将其作文在comment区重贴，以免它网页被狗）。撒娇不是圣经所讲的温柔。

我也在以后有机会问唐崇荣的列题页，加了此问题。但Google搜查上，唐崇荣几乎每题到“撒娇”这词，都是在罪的范围。如：不让孩子随便哭，免得撒娇，有人误解约翰在主怀里撒娇，不当主为王而撒娇，等。

除了一次，唐崇荣希伯来书第127讲 （=第151录影片）：约翰是门徒中间最年轻的，他很怕跟耶稣疏远一点，就有一些话听不见了，所以他亲近耶稣到一个地步，有时候把他的头放在他的怀里，不是只有小小的孩子，还五、六岁的时候，有时候跑到妈妈怀抱中间撒娇吗？约翰是撒娇的孩子。一个在主面前常常撒娇，常常愿意最亲近，细心听每一个细节，每一个最小的声音的人，这些人很容易明白上帝的旨意。（不知唐崇荣在此用词不当，不然不会在别处说这同样情况是他人误解）。

英文没有一词可翻成撒娇。但最靠近的意思是：Behave like a spoiled child。但因此翻不够准确，有人将这词在英文归三划：1. Whiny, 2. Lovey-Dovey, 3. Being Cute.

撒娇出自明张四维《双烈记·引狎》：“专会撒娇使性，那管我债重家倾。” 那是明朝时代 （1368年―1644年）。我想这因此为亚洲独特风格，起点是负面的。但今有时则被视为可爱美丽。常常在漫画里有特意表答方式。也许因此也吸引西方年轻一代，特别是那些漫画族。

虽然 張逸萍大大指责对撒娇视为属灵操练的看法，为耍手段以争取美德的虚诈，但她错在把撒娇结论为不是罪过。可能她把撒娇混渣与罗曼蒂克，而罗曼蒂克没有得罪神。所以，在Lovey-Dovey, 我不用撒娇，因为他不一定是撒娇，则用谈恋爱。撒娇还是有点幼稚，虚假，自私。也许这是为什么亚洲人家庭文化通常在成熟，慷慨事上，比不上西方人。

Posted in Questions, Theologization | 1 Comment