Yearly Note 2011: Markers and Matches
2011 was the year the gaps in my education taught me more than the education did.
Most days were the commute, then deep into our thesis on tracking video markers under changing light. The problem was hard and oddly creative, and it held me. The library became a regular spot; a small circle of friends carried the rest.
I was made thesis team leader, which I took as an honour and also as a question, since I wasn't sure the department's way of picking leaders was fair. My team wasn't always the most technically able, but they were dedicated, and our advisor, supportive as he was, couldn't give us much technical direction. So we taught ourselves. Doing that over and over, I started to wonder whether the system was actually preparing us for the work ahead or just assuming it would happen.
The high point was being selected for the Topcoder Open world finals, a payoff for a lot of quiet hours. I'm not someone who reflects much, but I had a hunch I should write these things down, that a year like this was worth a time capsule. I think I was right about that, at least.