FAQ
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is this site?
jontse.com is primarily a place for me to have an internet portfolio, post HOWTOs, and host other data that I find useful.
Who are you?
My name is Jonathan Tse, but most people refer to me as Jon Tse. I am a Olin College alumnus, with a B.S. in Electrical and Computer Engineering. Currently, I am a second-year M.S./Ph.D. ECE Candidate at Cornell University, studying under Professor Rajit Manohar in the Computer Systems Laboratory.
Olin College? Never heard of it.
I have the good fortune of being a member of the third class to graduate from Olin College, the Class of 2008, so it's not terribly surprising that you haven't heard of it.
Olin is a small engineering school in Needham, Massachusetts that focuses on training the next generation of "renaissance engineers." In other words, providing an engineering education with a focus on project-based learning, teamwork, user-oriented design, and the ability to pick up new topics very quickly.
I think the best description I've heard of Olin's curriculum was given by one of its professors. I don't remember it word for word, but the gist was this:
- We don't focus on giving students all the engineering knowledge that they require, because in a few years they'll be out of date anyway. Instead, we focus on instilling the ability and desire to pick up new knowledge very quickly.
That isn't to say that Olin students aren't trained in engineering. My personal experience has been that Olin tends to throw hands-on problems at its students that are just slightly over their heads. In trying to solve them, we must quickly absorb new knowledge and apply it immediately, giving us both context and meaning. Olin students follow what we call "spiral-learning," where we see a concept many times from different viewpoints until we finally "get it." Of course, this led to lots of sarcasm, especially when it's 3AM and you're still caught in that "downward spiral" of a problem set, or perhaps your sanity is "spiraling down the drain."
For more information, feel free to visit Olin's website: http://www.olin.edu/, or look at this New York Times Article, Re-engineering Engineering.
Cornell University? Never heard of it.
Hopefully you've heard of Cornell, but if you haven't, it's a large university in Ithaca, NY. It's also a member of the Ivy League universities, a fact that I didn't know until my first year there. Another Olin alumni who also goes to Cornell brought it to my attention. The both of us were actually pretty surprised to find out that we went to an Ivy, having gone to a basically (at the time) no-name school for undergrad.
Why MediaWiki?
I used to keep a blog, but I discovered I had trouble keeping it up to date, and there wasn't much impetus to, considering no one really read it. I kept switching blog engines and CMS's, until I decided I wanted to just have a wiki, because they're easy. And well, MediaWiki is proven, and I daresay pretty shiny.
Do you have any hobbies?
Games
Well, I'm an avid gamer. I've been playing PC games since the days of 286's and haven't stopped since. I play a good deal of FPS, RTS, and 4X games (when I have the time).
- Quick Aside: 4X games are huge time-sinks. I can't believe how many hours I've sunk into these games. I remember starting turn 400 in Master of Orion 3 and looking up at the start of turn 401 only to realize it was an hour later. Good times though.
My favorite games of all time would have to be the old old Tie Fighter series, the Half-Life series, and Counter-Strike in the days when the Colt M4A1 still had a scope. I used to play TF on the Quake engine, but I haven't been able to get into the new TF2. I did hang around on Battlefield 2142 as OpAmpKensai every once in awhile, so if you got sniped, it might've been me.
I had a fighting games binge, especially with the releases of Marvel vs Capcom 2 on Xbox Live Arcade, BlazBlue, and SF IV, but I always find myself returning to my FPS roots, playing Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 or MAG.
You can find me on Xbox Live, Steam, or the PSN as WiseKensai.
Photography
I dabble in photography every once in awhile. I'm particularly fond of macro compositions, panoramas, and HDR images. A fellow grad student and friend of mine has a picaday project going, which I was a part of for a time, but I moved mine here.
I've also been getting into B&W film photography, Velvia, and the super duper fun IR film stuff.
Canon Systems
Bodies
- Canon EOS Rebel XTi 400D
Lenses
- EF 50mm f/1.8
- EF-S 18-55 f/3.5-5.6
- EF-S 60mm f/2.8 Macro USM
- EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8
I really like my lenses, and would highly recommend the 60mm if you enjoy macro and have a Rebel body. The 17-55mm lens is a bit heavy, but the Image Stabilization makes up for it. I have noticed some dark corners when zoomed all the way out though, which disappoints me, but it takes good photos, so who am I to complain?
Nikon Systems
Bodies
- Nikon D200
- Nikon FM
- Nikon N2000
- Nikon N6006
- Nikon N8008
I acquired a Nikon D200 which I absolutely adore. It's much bigger than my XTi, but it more than makes up for it in features and the meter. It also fits my hands better (I have large hands).
My father also gave me his old Nikon FM---in great condition I might add---and I bummed a Nikon N2000 and N6006 from a friend for only $40! A steal, I'd say. Admittedly the N6006 is weird and doesn't focus quite right, there's a ton of gross stuff in the N2000 viewfinder, but still! P-mode with my AI lenses is totally worth it.
I got my N8008 from a really cool photographer/tennis pro off craigslist, along with a AF zoom lens. Paid a fair price, but I think the steal of the N2000 and N6006 make up for it.
Lenses
- Nikkor AI-s 24mm f/2.8
- Nikkor AI-s 50mm f/1.4
- Nikkor AI-s 105mm f/2.5
- Nikkor AI-s 35-105mm f/3.5-4.5
- Nikkor AI-s 80-200mm f/4
- Nikkor AF 35-55mm f/3.5-5.6
- Nikkor AF-s 35mm f/1.8G
- Tamron 18-270mm f/3.5-6.3 VC
I also have several AI Nikkor lenses from the film era which used to be my father's, and I bought a Tamron 18-270mm f/3.5-6.3 VC from my friend. It's got great IS/VR/VC (pick your poison), it's really sharp, and well, who can argue with 18-270mm??!? It sucks indoors, but that's to be expected.