Mock's Pictures

Second Day At Google

2006-06-07T23:18:00.000-07:00

Hello from Googleplex. This is my second day ... well ... second night at Google. Here are some (non-confidential) pictures of me:

Google's campus is big. This scooter helped me get around from one place to another. (All employees can borrow one for free.)

We had dinner in this area. All food is free. I can even bring visitors here and eat free food. The rule is simple: Don't Be Evil.

It's 11:30pm and I'm still at Google. Why don't I go home? ... well... two reasons: 1) I don't have internet at home; 2) I don't have free food at home. Hahahahaha!

Anyway, I'd better go home. I'm not supposed to sleep here, am I?

The UPitt Graduates

2006-04-30T12:43:00.000-07:00

Thai people at CMU (Carnegie Mellon University) and UPitt (University of Pittsburgh) are like brothers/sisters. (most of the time with UPitt people being big brothers/sisters, and CMU people being younger bro/sis :P) We have a long tradition of joining each other's events. Today, when UPitt people celebrate their degrees (mostly Masters & PhD), my friends and I went to congratulate them. Thanks to my roommate Gap, for letting me steal his car.

I took a lot of photos, including a few videos -- we call them "Teen Talk".
And here it is: The Teen Talk Video (Episode 2 -- @UPitt) for download.
size: 177 MB length: 17:30 mins
username: mockfriend
password: [please ask Mock]
WARNING: This video may not be suitable for minors or conservative adults.

[From p'Namtarn's camera]
Mock is recording the event from above. R is narating. Golf, Lek, and Ged provide moral supports, and occasional มุึขs.

From left->right: Pete, Ged, p'Kaew, R, Andrew
P'Kaew is the star of this event. She's also featured in the video. (We had an exclusive interview with her.)

top row: p'Moss, p'Namtarn, Pete, Ged, p'Kaew, R, Andrew, Pure, Mock
bottom: Lek, p'Win, p'March
P'Kaew (aka. Dr Tavida Kamolvej) and her fans at CMU.

This picture should give me a parking space at Thammasart Univ, where Dr Tavida Kamolvej will be lecturing. Hahaha...

Lek and p'Krit

R and p'Nuey (พี่เนย)

Mock is taking a picture with the Duo-Presidents of SIAM (Thai Students Organization @CMU).

R and P'Nuey, again.

The UPitt graduates. Look at the end of the teen-talk video to see what they were actually doing.

:)

Mock is taking an order from Gap (who's sleeping at home, and wanted to get some food), while taking picture with R and p'Pae (พี่เป้) whose gf (pictured below) is graduating.

[From p'Namtarn's camera]
P'Namtarn and Mock. Aren't we like ... errr.... 2 happy monkeys?
We also had an interview with p'Namtarn in the video ;)

Hmmm.. err, ahem..., ehmmm..., well, no comment in English.
แสงแดดอันจัดจ้า ประกอบกับรัศมีแห่งบารมีของบัณฑิตใหม่ ทำให้อาจารย์วันทนีย์ต้องยกมือมาบังแสงเอาไว้

Spring Carnival

2006-04-21T01:34:00.000-07:00

CMU Spring Carnival 2006. The theme for this year is "another time, another place." I used up almost ½ GB of my memory stick, not really for taking pictures, but rather for the "teen talk" videos -- which are available for download here. [The username is mockfriend. Ask Mock for the password.]

Okay, time for the pictures...

Oong (โอ่ง) and her new guitar. Oh, no, actually she didn't buy that one. It's probably too cheap. :P

The TSA (Taiwanese Students Association) booth. There used to be a Thai booth... hmmm... 5 years ago?

The Beatles' booth. Very colorful, very musical :)

The SigEp Wars ...

What's the concept of this booth? ... highway safety, maybe :D

Mock, on top of the TSA booth.

Oong, taking a picture with Andrew (Bulakul, not Carnegie).

colorful dinosaurs, colorful rides

back (left->right) : Ged, Mock, p'Aom, p'Kob, Gap, Andrew, Him
front: Ooooong

blah blah blah ...

I'm feeling lucky.

2006-04-08T01:46:00.000-07:00

Five days ago (Apr-3) was my 2x^th birthday. I have received two birthday presents from my dear friends at Carnegie Mellon. They are the products of two competing companies: Google and Microsoft. I like them both :) Thank you everybody.

The Google licence plate. This one, I must say, is the most lovely birthday present, ever! Thanks to P'Namtarn, p'Non, Kanat, Ged, and Pure. They also gave me two more empty frames, so I can keep this one at home and use the other two for my (future) car... Hmmm.. wouldn't it be more perfect if they had also given me a car?! -- just kidding.

[The pictures on the plate are blured to protect privacy of the people involved.]

Microsoft Streets & Trips 2006 with GPS Locator. Uhh, an expensive, hi-tech toy. Thanks to everybody (Share et. al.) I am having so much fun playing with this thing. Warning to myself: while driving, focus on the roads, not on the GPS system!

Finally, the Senate Election ballot. this is NOT my birthday present, but I think it's kinda cool to be able to cast my vote while I'm away from my country. Hope it really gets counted, though.

====== Edited on 4/28/06 ======

Actually, three weeks later, I received another surprise. These two books are from no-i. They are โลกด้านที่หันหลังให้ดวงอาทิตย์ & ผู้ชายคนที่ตามรักเธอทุกชาติ พิมพ์ครั้งที่ 85 -- written by Win Lyowarin, my favorite author. She bought them during her trip to Thailand; how thoughtful! Thank you very much, no-i.

Cornell University

2006-04-03T22:17:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, R and I drove to Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. Today, we come back to CMU. Yes, it's a 7-hour drive each way; but I only have two days to spend.

For R, it's a graduate school visit. He is deciding between Cornell and Stanford (and probably also some other places). For me, it's just a get-away from Pittsburgh -- a very nice (& delicious) one.

We rented a car from Enterprise (at PIT airport). This is no advertising... but they only charged us $15/day underage fees even though we listed two drivers on the rental agreement. Other companies would have charged $25/driver/day.

Along the way, we decided to stop at Grove City Outlet Mall (Highway #279, exit #113). R wanted to get a new shirt to impress the professors at Cornell. Man, you're such an image builder.

Here he is, getting his stuffs from J.Crew.

I didn't buy this one. But, hehe, I must admit... I also ended up spending $24.99 for new pants. [didn't plan to get one at first ... lol]

Arby's at Jamestown. It's half-way between Pittsburgh and Ithaca. Their famous curly fries are very, very delicious.

Here we are at Cornell. This is a fake waterfall! (Nong called it 'Niagara')

R and Nong, at the fake waterfall. R was wearing the new jacket he had just bought from Guess (at the Outlet Mall). Man, you're so #5 (a Thai joke).

Thaaaaaaaaaaaksin! ... well, he's already got out :P

P'Joy, P'Yor, p'Nok, Nong, and other fabulous people at Cornell cooked for THE FABULOUS DINNER that night. It was so good that I didn't get a chance to reach my camera (too busy with the food); that's why I almost didn't have any pictures. Anway, I was able to get a picture of this sweet yellowish sticky rice with fish topping. (ข้าวเหนียวมูน .. something) Even though I had got really full with the main course, I was able to finish this wonderful dessert without a problem :D

FYI: the food we had was ลาบหมู (เผ็ดสะใจ), ไก่อบ-ทอด, หนังไก่ทอด, ข้าวเหนียว, ส้มตำสูตรสีเขียว (เพราะไม่ใส่กุ้งแห้ง/มะเขือเทศ -- โหน่งบอกว่าราขึ้นกุ้งแห้งพอดี; แต่ก็ยังอร่อย และแซบอีหลี), เค้ก, บราวนี่, ไอติมพะโล้!, ฯลฯ

Mock, p'Fon, and Nong at a Japanese milk tea cafe. Nong's fleece is soooo Cornelly (big red).

p'Fon was R's mentor; she's an expert at Cornell, giving R detailed advices on how to have a sucessful meeting with profs and how to plan the coursework. She's going to Rice University (in Texas) next fall for a PhD.

Aside: มีคนฝาก comment มาว่าภาพนี้ ท่านอาร์แต่งตัว ทำผม เสียจนดูเหมือนว่าเป็นคนเรียบร้อยซะเหลือเกิน 555 [what does the man imply?]

Mock and May. She's playing Sodoku while eating breakfast. Hmmm.. a great way to start a new day, feeding both your stomach and your brain :)

I ordered a western omelette. It came with salsa topping! So good :D

I think the logo looks a bit like gmail =>
Don't you think?

We really love this Cornell Mail truck :P

May, R, p'Fon ... and some kind of tower.

Oh, right, it's McGraw Tower, according to Wikipedia.

Happy Gaypril... a sign in front of the Cornell Store.

Nong's getting his math homework done.

May's cheering Nong, "Hurry up! Get it done so we can go eat lunch; I'm hungry."

May is a great tour guide. She knows a lot about Cornell, and she loves it. She has shown me so many places that morning. (I do remember those places, but I don't remember the names, so I won't write about them :P) And, oh, I also attended the Eastern European Civilization class with her. ( the class was fun -- i had a nice dream .) Most important of all, she also treated me a meal. (Haha, that's the best part -- just kidding).

May is going to UC Berkeley next year for a PhD (in Chemistry, not European history .. hehe).

The Nanotech building. May said it's the newest building on campus.

Some people say Cornell is in a forest. I say it just looks a bit natural. I can imagine that it must be very beautiful in the summer.

A very beautiful building.

That same building...

Oh, yeah, Cornell has a farm, and the farm has some cows. The cows produce milk, and the milk is made into ice cream :) GREAT ICE CREAM :) :) :)

The Okenshield's Dining Hall. At CMU, campus food = expensive junk. Here, campus food = reasably-priced delicious food! At $7, one can eat until the stomach explodes. (chinese food, american food, desserts, drinks, ice cream, ...)

From left to right: R, Mock, Thame, p'Fon, p'Nok, p'Yor, Miki, [?].

Notes:
[1] ขอบคุณเพื่อนไก่ที่ช่วยกดดัน (ผ่านทาง comment) ให้ผมเขียนคำอธิบายใต้รูปไวๆ
[2] ช่วยกันคอมเมนท์ได้ตามศรัทธา .. ถ้าเห็นคำผิด/ข้อมูลผิด ช่วยชี้แนะด้วยครับ :)
[3] รักคนอ่านทุกคน ~~(คนบางคนที่ไม่ได้อ่านผมก็รัก ... ฮี้วววว)~~

Univ of Maryland

2006-04-01T21:04:00.000-08:00

I visited University of Maryland (UMD) during March 31 - Arpil 1, 2006. Its CS department is ranked at the 11th (almost top ten, huh?), and the HCI Lab (HCI = Human-Computer Interactions) is among the top 5! (i mean five, not five factorial :P)

The university is very close to Washington, DC (about 45 minutes by Metro Train from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport).

Inside the terminal.

A view from the Metro station. It costs $3.55 to get to UMD/College Park station.

Here I am at UMD.

The CS buildings. The pathway reminds me of the bridge between Wean and Newell-Simon Hall at CMU.

I don't know what this building is, but it looks beautiful (esp with this colorful beetle, and the cherry)

One of the HCI labs. These 25 screens are connected to 25 computers in another room, which are linked together by a fiber-optic network.

Rob (the guy in black t-shirt) was my tourguide.

UMD has a very nice sport/recreational facility. Its gym is HUGE, with an olympic-size pool. And here, the climbing thingy, isn't something we see at every university :D

There's even a sand ground for beach volley ball.

A scene like this makes me miss my high school (Episcopal High School in Alexandria, VA).

The sun dial. I don't know how to read it, though.

This is the only picture of me from this trip, taken inside the hotel room.

The geeky t-shirt. FindBugs is a tool developed at UMD, claimed to be very popular among the developers around the planet. I'll have to try it sometimes.

Most hotels around the world have the Holy Bible in guest rooms, but very few also offer the Teaching of Buddha. I admire the thoughtfulness of Quality Inn.

The plane that I took back to Pittsburgh. The seat vibrated as if it were a massage chair. I had a nice, relaxing, flight-long nap :)

UMD's 1500-acre campus from the sky.

UC Santa Barbara

2006-03-26T23:52:00.001-08:00

Santa Barbara is a very, very beautiful beach town. However, my schedule was fully packed on that day, so I couldn't go to downtown or near the beach to take pictures. Also, it rained a little bit. Anyway, here are a few pictures of the UC Santa Barbara (UCSB) ...

Coral Tree Cafe

A statue of red-and-blue pencils... huh!?

This weird structure is supposed to contain the letters 'u' , 'c', 's', 'b'.

A girl is studying for her final exam near the campus lagoon.

Storke Tower, a bell and clock tower (containing 61 bells)

The Interactive Fog Screen, a project by Prof Tobias Hollerer.

San Diego & Los Angeles

2006-03-26T23:50:00.000-08:00

Leaving San Francisco at 9am, I arrived at P'Eak's apartment in San Diego at 7pm. (P'Eak is Him's brother.) It was a long, and partly pleasant drive. Here's the reason. The highway #508 and #5 are very, very beautiful. If you every plan to drive on this route, I suggest you pick a nice day, and drive during day time. The scenic views along the 400ish miles will stun you. I wish I could take pictures along the way and share them with you, but, too bad, I couldn't. With a speed limit of 70 mph (and you know not many people really obey the limit), I thought it was a good idea to put all my focus on the steers, and not the camera. :D

However, once I got to LA, the view turned ordinary, and worse than that, the traffic flow became really, really bad. I was stuck about 2 hours on the freeway #405, going less than 10 miles.

I was trying to burn a CD with a semi-primitive tool; I still wonder why that CD didn't work. o_O ???

P'Eak and Him, at a Laos restaurant in San Diego.
พี่เอกและฮิม ที่ร้านลาวใน San Diego แซ่บอีหลี - ดีลิเชียส

Him & Aey at Ruen Pair restaurant in Thai Town, LA.
ฮิม และเอ๋ ที่ร้านเรือนแพ ณ ไทยทาวน์ LA

Ban Khanom Thai. I bought a lot of snacks and dessert back to Pittsburgh -- almost overflew my luggage.
ร้านบ้านขนมไทย ขนมเยอะแยะไปหมด อย่างนี้ต้องโกยซื้อให้เต็มกระเป๋า .. แต่กลับมา pittsburgh ไม่นานก็เกือบหมดแล้ว

A Thai book store (Dokya)
ร้านดอกหญ้า ผมทำบัตรสมาชิกที่นี่ ($15 ตลอดชีพ) แล้วลดราคาได้ 25%
ซื้อหนังสือกลับมาสองเล่ม คือ "รอยเท้าเล็กๆ ของเราเอง" และ "นิยายข้างจอ" โดย วินทร์ เลียววาริณ

ต่อไปก็เป็นร้านต่างๆ ในย่าน Thai Town
(มีมากกว่านี้อีกแยะ, นี่แค่ตัวอย่าง)

ก๋วยเตี๋ยว 3 ชาม $10
ผมทานสองชามอิ่ม เหมาะกับการชวนเพื่อนไปหลายๆ คน จะได้ทานหลายๆ อย่าง

อยู่ใกล้ๆ สนามหลวง ค่าเฟ่ เป็นร้านขายของชำ ไทยบ้าง จีนบ้าง เวียดนามบ้าง ฯลฯ

มวยไทย ก็ต่อยกันที่นี่

Mock at Sanam Luang Cafe.
ผมสั่งน้ำแดงใส่โซดาที่สนามหลวงคาเฟ่ อร่อยมาก นอกจากนั้นพวกเรายังสั่ง คะน้าหมูกรอบ ข้าวมันไก่ ผัดไทยกุ้ง ข้าวเฉโป(หมูกรอบ หมูแดง เป็ด) และอะไรอีกนะ โอ้ย เยอะ จำไม่ได้!

ร้านพี่ใหญ่ อาหารจานใหญ่สมชื่อ ผมสั่งผัดกระเพราไก่สับราดข้าว อร่อยและเผ็ดสะใจ

We bought a lot of food to go from Thai Town, and drove to Santa Barbara. The UCSB was very generous; they reserved a hotel room with double queen beds for me to stay (as a visiting grad student). So, p'Eak, Him, and Aey had a free hotel stay in Santa Barbara that night :)

Geek Tour (part 2)

2006-03-25T04:28:00.000-08:00

The Third Stop: Google. I'm going to be working here this summer. Will take more up-close pictures of the Googleplex and share them with you all (up to the approval of my boss, tho).

The Fourth Stop: Computer History Museum. We didn't really intend to come here, but it was somewhere along the way. The place was close 5 minutes before we got there. So, instead of a museum visit, we had a restroom visit. The staffs looked friendly, and the exhibition looked interesting. I might come back this summer. (it's free, that's why.)

1 Infinite Loop. That's the address of our fifth stop! I leave it to the readers to figure out which company lives there.

The end of the day. We had a dinner with p'Muen+ & p'Os at Xanh Vietnamese Restaurant in Mountain View. Here, p'Park was sitting in front of the "fighting prawns." (that's the name in the menu.) Very big, fresh, and delicious. $15(+tax+tip) for this IS really a good deal. Oh, I'm hungry now. FYI: There were also "shaking cows" and "angry crabs". I'll be sure to order them next time I come.

Finally, we skated! P'Os took us to this rink in Mountain View. This was my second time on the ice. I got much better: falling only 3 times in two hours. (The previous time I skated, I fell about a dozen times.)

Geek Tour (part 1)

2006-03-25T04:07:00.000-08:00

Today (15 Mar 06), we ran out of ideas about where to go. We've been to many places in San Fran already. What about San Jose? (pronounced San Ho-Say) Hmm... we didn't really know what's out there. But we do know what lie between San Fran and San Jose -- the Silicon Valley! Huray, we're going to have a geek tour of the Silicon Valley. I proposed this idea to Gade and p'Park. As geeky/nerdy as they are, the idea was accepted.

Let's see where we have been to ...

The first stop: Oracle. My friend (and former roommate) "Share" willl be working here for a few years. p'Os, from CMU, is already a full-timer there. The pay they get? I don't know. But I can guess it's a little less than 73,000 million :P

A sign to remind bikers that the penguins may be crossing the road. Do you believe there really are penguins at Oracle? [I don't.]

Second stop: Stanford University. Too bad I didn't get in here. It's THE MOST beautiful campus I've ever seen. I've seen their pictures before; but when I saw the place with my own eyes, i was still stunned. Really!

Another pictures of Stanford. It's like a museum / a painted picture / a set-up scene in a movie, don't you think?

San Francisco Tour (part 3)

2006-03-25T03:40:00.000-08:00

Okay, this is the final part. I'll try to be brief, so we can go on to the next day (more interesting!)

A reporter in Japan Town. I asked her to pose for my camera. (If you don't believe, look carefully. Her eyes are looking at my camera, not that guy's.) There was a shopping mall nearby. Inside, we could not really tell if we're in the USA or Japan -- it looked soooooo Japanese. It has everything; you name it: Japanese gift shops, Japanese food/snacks, Sushi, Japanese bookstore. Oh, there were even some Japanese videos Gade was looking for!

King of Thai Noodle! I had dinner here once (last December), and now we come again :) They offer a wide variety of (reasonably authentic) Thai food, both noodle and non-noodle. We liked it a lot. Gade (the guy in the pic) told me he also liked some other things beside the food as well. (That's why we sat there for so long, even after we finished our dishes. Hehe... jkd)

A street-side artist. I gave him some spared changes -- wasn't really sure if it was a good idea. He could easily be hit by a car. Hope that doesn't happen.

San Francisco Tour (part 2)

2006-03-25T03:26:00.000-08:00

North of the Golden Gate Bridge, there are quite a few beaches. We visited two (and forgot both of their names). The 10-mile road through the mountains was quite narrow and curvy. (It was so bumpy that both of my passengers fell asleep; i'm glad I didn't!) Anyway, the view was worth the effort. It reminded me of the beaches in Southern Thailand.

Another curvy road: the Lombard Street. But this one is in the city. (and it's pretty short.) They claim this is the "crookedest" street in the world. I think it's probably one of the most beautiful as well, especially in the Spring when the flowers blossom.

A windmill in (or near?) the Golden Gate Park. The wind was moderate, but the windmill's arms weren't swinging. I'm not sure if it still functions anymore.Well, who care? It's beautiful, and that's enough.

The beautiful garden near the windmill.

San Francisco Tour (part 1)

2006-03-25T02:18:00.000-08:00

Today, Gade, p'Park, and I rented a car and toured San Francisco. We visited many places. Although this is my second visit to this city, it wasn't boring at all. In fact, we had a lot of fun, a lot of good food, and a lot of great scenes. The only thing we lack is... hmm... a lot of girls. :P

Ooops.. what did I say?

I'd better stop talking, and start showing pictures. Haha! Here we go...

Ghirardelli Square: they sell great chocolate and ice cream (made from their chocolate) here. They also give delicious free samples.
[pictures taken by p'Park's camera, with wide-angle lens)

We watched sea lions at Pier 39. But, well, I don't think they are so cute. So, let's look at a picture of these boats instead. The island behind the boats is Alcatraz -- the famous prision. I visited it last time (December 05) -- very beautifully depressing.

The rented car. Pontiac Grand Prix. I wish I have one of this as my own. Hehe.. hmm... maybe not? It takes a lot of gasoline!

P'Park and Gade, on the north side of the famous Golden Gate bridge. This bridge is famous for its beauty, its history (of which I don't know much about). Oh, and it's also a favorite place to die for many heartbroken people. (next to Niagara Falls, perhaps.) Quite a romantic place to die, huh!?

In case you wonder, these two gentlemen didn't jump :D

berkeley visit #2

2006-03-25T00:54:00.000-08:00

Mock with the berkeley bears.

A statue (the meaning of which I don't know) in the middle of the business school.

The famous Sather Gate, at the south entrance.

Somebody's car in front of Soda Hall (The CS dept's building). Look at the license plate. This is one example to show that Berkeley people are quite politically active.

berkeley visit

2006-03-25T00:26:00.000-08:00

I visited UC Berkeley on March 12/13, 2006. This is one of the schools I may (or may not) go for PhD in Computer Science. My another choice is UC Santa Barbara (UCSB). Some say they are not comparable -- as Berkeley is ranked the 3rd and UCSB is ranked the 27th (sorry, I forgot who did the ranking). But ranking isn't everything. I have to choose where I fit in the best; and I am still in the (very tough) process of making my decision.

Anyway, let me share with you some of the pictures I took from UC Berkeley.

These weird-looking trees show up around campus. Do you know what they are?

This is Chin, my (Thai) friend who's a current PhD student in Computer Science at Berkeley. The tall tower behind him is the famous Sather Tower.

Me and a girl on Telegraph Avenue. (close to Campus, south side). This is a very lively street.. many shops, many street venders, many ...err.. girls :D

The stadium... much bigger than the one at Carnegie Mellon.

About this blog

2006-03-25T00:10:00.000-08:00

My main blog is at http://mocksk.blogspot.com
It is in Thai, and (mostly) text-only.

This is my special-purpose blog, created because I want to post pictures and share them with my friends and family. Also, this one will be partly bilingual, so my non-Thai friends can enjoy keeping in touch with me :-)

Welcome everybody!