Thoughts from a Techie

"Presented by Apple Music". Probably the most disgusting 4 words you could find in this honest review. I am not an Apple fan, and asking me to opt in to a 3-month Apple Music trial just to download The 1989 World Tour Live is a crime against humanity. Yet because it's The 1989 World Tour Live, I'm willing to accept that. I am so disappointed with myself. And yes Blank Space is playing It's been roughly 3 years since I last did a written review on anything Taylor Swift; back then the review was probably so biased I had to put a disclaimer (had a good laugh at how cheesy it was. No one read it anyways so it didn't really matter).  Today's review, not that biased. I effectively put my tenure as a fan club manager on hold ever since uni started (that's before 1989). Still a member of the board but no longer actively engaging, which sort of pushed me slightly closer to the edge of the Neutral Zone. There's of course a 1989 World Tour sh...

Tried Facebook's Year In Review function. Saw the obvious limitations of algorithms. Decided to write something of my own. For me, most of 2014's great moments came in December. Hands down my greatest personal achievement of the year (if not my whole entire life to this moment): finishing a half-M. Nothing beats the insane feeling when I crossed the finish line, especially given the equally insane circumstances - breakfast-less, sleep-deprived, and to a small extent, intoxicated (thanks to another great moment the day before. Too much greatness.) The logical progression is to have a shot at the M. Not too soon I guess, but at least I've already got a date to replicate the half-M. And of course this time the plan will include proper sleep and breakfast and zero alcohol. Shortly after comes IHG. First time playing real competitive football with a bunch of awesome folks who always score in the last 10 minutes. The comeback kings, or more formally known as Pioneer Hall...

Shake It Off is one of these songs... The first time you listen to it, it sounds like shit. But then you keep listening. The 13th time you listen to it, it actually feels like an okay song... Then you keep listening. The 131st time you listen to it... THIS IS DOPE AS HELL!!! Of course this kind of stuff doesn't happen to all my Taylor Swift songs. Not even many of them - just 2 years ago for example, Never Ever was an instant favorite of mine. I have to admit this song is one hard to swallow because it's so much different from anything she's ever put out (true for every new release, but none as profound as this one. Again compared to 2 years ago with Red already considered a giant leap towards pop). But then it still has the quirkiness that made Never Ever so likable. And it was accompanied with a music video. And a brilliant one. I have to wait for more songs to be released and most importantly for HMV to carry the physical deluxe album with gifts so...

Note: This post is actually a not-so-literal translation of the previous one (http://nguyenhuyanhh.blogspot.com/2014/04/3-tuan-canh-google-docs-nhung-khoanh.html). 29/04/2014, 21h00. The very last time I press that "save" button in the Apps Script editor. Did a copy-paste special values-only on the data, officially locked that into the database. Done with the first round of RED Your Song contest (bit.ly/TSVNContest) organised by the fanpage Taylor Swift Vietnam (which I'm a current admin of) and sponsored by Cornetto. It requires participants to submit a YouTube video of them singing to Red by none other than Taylor Swift. I've only been in this position for a little more than a year, done this data collection on Docs twice or thrice and I must say it's a pretty interesting job. Probably thanks to my love for El Goog (yes, their Spreadsheets are really powerful) and my general interest in stats. However this time the task is slightly different in nature - it...

29/04/2014, 21h00. Lần cuối cùng trong 3 tuần canh google docs cùng apps script mình bấm nút save. Copy hết số liệu, ko formula, paste lại chỗ cũ, sort range khóa sổ. Vòng 1 cuộc thi RED Your Song (bit.ly/TSVNContest) chính thức khép lại. Từ trước đến nay 1 năm làm ad mới 2,3 lần dùng google docs nhập liệu nhưng cũng đã khá quen. Công việc rất đơn giản nhưng thực sự thú vị, chắc cũng tại tâm hồn thích tính toán + tình yêu vốn có với anh google. Nhưng lần này hơi khác vì đây là cuộc thi, giải thưởng rất lớn, yêu cầu tuyệt đối không có sai sót vì sai một li đi mấy chục triệu. Cứ chiếu thể lệ mà làm. Cái gì ko hiểu ko biết thỉ hỏi TN. Thế mà cũng nhiều vấn đề phết. Không hiểu thay vì đập muỗi mà muốn đập bàn đập ghế bao nhiêu lần vì khó chịu, vì nóng. 1. Khó chịu nhất, khó hiểu nhất là KHÔNG ĐỌC KĨ THỂ LỆ TRƯỚC KHI GỬI BÀI. Bao nhiêu bài thi trong số 48 bài đã nộp (49 nếu tính cả bài nộp 1 tiếng sau khi hết hạn. thi lần này có vẻ hot :)) bị mình/TN nhắc về tên + phần mô...

I don't watch many awards shows. I only watch those with Taylor Swift on (you know, I'm a big fan of her); most of the times music shows. This is the first time I've seen a film awards show live. Well there must be something there for me isn't it? Taylor is again nominated for Best Original Song. Given she's only an occasional actress, being nominated for a Golden Globe for a song/score category is a big deal and I'm quite interested. The nominees for Best Original Song in a Motion Picture are: Atlas, from The Hunger Games: Catching Fire; Let It Go, from Frozen; Ordinary Love, from Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom; Please Mr. Kennedy, from Inside Llewyn Davis; Sweeter Than Fiction, from One Chance. And the winner is, Ordinary Love, from Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom. Quite deserving, I guessed. After all just looking at the nominees, not just the songs but the artists behind them and the films they represent, I figured it would be difficult for Taylor to...

It's 2:20am, December 1st in my time. I'm eagerly waiting to leave this place for home. That's part of why I can't really sleep. (The other part is well I force myself not to sleep, so that I will not miss the flight. It's at 8am.) And since it also nicely coincides with Taylor Talk at its 13th month (!!!), I guess I would just write something about it. For those who have no idea what that is, 'it's a Taylor Swift podcast brought to you by the fansite taylorswift13.org'. As simple as that. Taylor Talk came to me through kind of an accident. One beautiful November day last year, as usual I just randomly browse the Internet just to kill the boredom after finishing my O levels. And taylorswift13.org kind of popped out. What a nice fanpage it is. Great Taylor Swift stuff, written by a great guy named Adam. Another glance through the page, and I found this Taylor Talk thingy (by that time it's already in episode 3, before the GRAND interview with Ch...