Image Clustering with K-means

Tue May 12 2020

1 K-Means Algorithm

The general idea of clustering is to group data with similar traits. The main benefit of this is the ability to extract information from new data because you know what it is most similar to, thus giving you valuable insight. In the field of machine learning, clustering is considered unsupervised learning because it requires no labels on the data – the algorithm auto assigns clusters, and you infer behavior off of those clusters.

Clustering has many applications such as image segmentation, preference predictions, compression, model fitting.

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How Films Portray Control

Sun May 10 2020

Sit down and grab a drink because it is time that we talk about the LSD trip that is the 1981 movie Shock Treatment. Shock treatment can be called a sequel to Rocky Horror; however, the storylines are very different, and the only common thread is our main actors Brad and Janet. Where Rocky Horror was a play about lust and sexuality, shock treatment was a musical about questioning your sanity… or something along those lines.

The problem with Shock Treatment -and part of why I loved it so much -was that it was a satire on absolutely anything and everything. The message of the show was unfocused; it shot a ton of stuff at the wall and let the viewer fill in meaning. Many themes could be elaborated on within this show, including mental health, control, gender norms, consumerism, censorship, human nature, and manipulation. Most subjects were one-off and did not serve further the plot that much, but other topics struck home. The show is still well worth the watch because it’s entertaining, and it’s eerie to see how well a movie from the early ’80s reflects society today. Moreover, newer shows like Westworld and Black Mirror are still portraying the same messages about control and consumerism but, using different narrative structures than the ones used in Shock Treatment.

1 Plot

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Hosting Your Own Gitea Server

Sat May 02 2020

1 The Premis

Last week I started hosting my own git-forge to track sync all of my git projects. Between school, open-source communities, and personal projects, I have accumulated a dubious amount of git projects. Although most of my content gets hosted on Github, I also had a fair quantity of local projects, stuff on scattered GitLab instances, and other places. I decided to use Gitea to mirror all of my repositories and keep them in a central location that I can quickly search for them.

For simplicity, I decided to host my Gitea instance on a DigitalOcean droplet using docker and add SSL encryption using a reverse Nginx proxy using a let’s encrypt.

2 Installation

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Working Remote

Thu Apr 09 2020

Last week I watched my professor drone on for seven hours about computer circuitry. As my eyes struggled to stay open as he babbled about SR-latches, I wondered: what sequence of dreadful mistakes did I make to land myself in this situation. I got through my entire college career without pulling a single all-nighter, yet that night changed it all.

Although I could have followed along with the lecture material during the regular class time, remote learning made a tantalizing temptation to procrastinate and binge two and a half weeks of lecture material in one night –two nights before the exam. Ironically, I ended up doing remarkably well on that exam and felt prepared for every question; nerveless, it still begs the question… Why? After asking around, I found that all eight of my friends taking the class also binged the lecture videos before the exam.

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The Rise of Profile Photos

Fri Apr 03 2020

Given enough time in a shower, you develop shower thoughts – but mostly you get pruney fingers. Given the current social distancing measures, everyone has taken to the internet to get their work done. I am now working, taking classes, and hanging out with friends on the internet on a daily basis. The omnipresent prevalence of online platforms has gotten me thinking a lot about how we express our identity on the internet. Specifically, profile pictures have seized my attention lately.

On the internet, you can express yourself in ways that are infeasible in real life. The very notion of a profile with a bio and a brave little emblem representing you at your best is a new paradigm. This gives immense control over your first impressions on the internet– something that we desperately wish for in the real world.

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