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  1. Andy D.

    Username change request thread

    Hi, Could you please change my username to Andy D. Thanks,
  2. Andy D.

    Computer Fever - Is there an MD in the house?

    @ MRoss - funny you mentioned this. Back in '07 I had exactly the same problem - with my right eye actually. I remember one night in particular where I was working on a project for a customer and finished up in the office around midnight. My right eye felt really really strained that evening -...
  3. Andy D.

    Well I'll be - Greece might actually do it...

    That pretty much sums up the EU. Great idea, but he application of it got messed up along the way. Too many social issues as well as economic were not addressed as the zone was enlarged over the years. Still if any good is to come from this, the EU will be reformed and hopefully a stronger...
  4. Andy D.

    Gödel, Escher, Bach

    bigbadwolf - Did you find it an interesting read?
  5. Andy D.

    Gödel, Escher, Bach

    Has anyone on here read Gödel, Escher, Bach? I recently read a Jon Ronson book - The Psychopath Test and he mentions the above tome during the course of one of the chapters. I grabbed a copy from B&N the other night as it sounds like a fascinating read. Any thoughts on it?
  6. Andy D.

    OUTSOURCING: GOOD or BAD

    Just to add a slightly different slant to this. Whilst it is true that your major manufacturing bases in the west (which killed off many of the previous skilled craftsmen) have often been snuffed out, there has been something of a mini-renaissance when it comes to hand made goods. You only have...
  7. Andy D.

    Remembering 9/11

    I was working just outside of London at the time. I remember one of our co-workers walking out into the huddle that had gathered. She was talking about how her husband was on a call to colleagues in the US - in the WTC when the planes hit, and the line went dead. Awful, awful day.
  8. Andy D.

    HTSQL

    Andy Nguyen - Did you get the opportunity to have a play with this? If so, any thoughts?
  9. Andy D.

    Hurricane Irene

    Yike Lu - Put down the Alex Jones and gently step away ;). Well the covert ops folks are welcome to clear up some of the trees on their way through of they get the chance!
  10. Andy D.

    Hurricane Irene

    Well we have a lot of trees down in CT, and no power in a lot of places - but thankfully no terrorist attacks. I can't help but think somebody should come up with a better way of running the power lines to residential areas. A lot of CT is woods/forest, so every time there is a bit of a storm...
  11. Andy D.

    HTSQL

    Andy - Yeah I really like the idea behind it. Basically taking a URL converting it into a SQL query and pumping the data back to you in JSON format. It sits over most of the major DB formats as well from the looks of it.
  12. Andy D.

    HTSQL

    Has anyone here used HTSQL? http://htsql.org/ If so what are your thoughts on it as a tool that could be used in Financial Services?
  13. Andy D.

    Hurricane Irene

    Thankfully I am far enough in-land that the storm surge won't be a problem. We moved all the garden furniture inside, stuck the vehicles in the garage and took the advise of the folks down in LA - invested in a decent bottle of Bourbon. If the power holds out we have some TV shows from the UK on...
  14. Andy D.

    Earthquake

    Yep I felt it here, we have an older building as well (19thC) so they may explain it feeling a little worst here than other buildings. Of course this weekend we the hurricane to content with.
  15. Andy D.

    Corruption in India

    FEnzo, I agree you should take it on a case by case basis, but I still think you eventually have to draw a line in the sand. I deliberately picked an item i.e. the Norman invasion that seems absurd, because nobody is reasonably going to blame the modern day residents of Normandy, or their...
  16. Andy D.

    Corruption in India

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:The_British_Empire.png But from looking at this map, a lot are. Or if they aren't it is due to very recent developments since the financial crisis, but they still have the infrastructure and civil service of a modern democratic nation. And looking at Africa...
  17. Andy D.

    Corruption in India

    The problem with this though is, where do you draw the line? Do we blame modern day rioters in London for the actions of the Norman elite that invaded Britain in the 11thC? If you take a look at the history of most nations, they are a litany of invasion, counter invasion, warfare and theft...
  18. Andy D.

    synthetic a priori

    I prefer the Prussian spelling ;). Ahh so the visa process, doesn't this usually involve the hotel sponsoring you or something along those lines?
  19. Andy D.

    synthetic a priori

    Whilst on the subject of Kant, has anyone been to Konigsberg? I guess one of the Russian posters might be able to help on this one, what's the deal with getting a visa to visit?
  20. Andy D.

    London riots

    A global effort by the world's democracies to colonize Mars could do the trick. I'm only half joking here as well :). This is an interesting book that was originally published back in the 90's by one of NASA's guys...
  21. Andy D.

    London riots

    If you read my post earlier, it did say with the caveat of where in the US you live.
  22. Andy D.

    London riots

    I can certainly believe that. At the end of the day Britain's loss, is America's gain. I know a fair number of people who have moved over here now and the quality of life they have on a regular salary is superior to what they would have living in the UK.
  23. Andy D.

    London riots

    I'm in agreement with BBW here, with the caveat I think it depends which part of the US you are in. I love New England though, it really is a great place to live. The mid 90's onwards in (old) England certainly felt like an optimistic time, however I would say around 2000 is when I really...
  24. Andy D.

    London riots

    And the Turkish-Kurds and white vigilante gangs hurling racist abuse in North London. I've read about Poles being chased by groups because of their nationality. The chaos has not only enforced some ethnic divisions, but brought the scum out of the wood-work with a racist axe to grind. Edit: And...
  25. Andy D.

    London riots

    It's interesting that the riots have spread to other cities. Greater Manchester, and the West Midlands conurbation. Yet places like Newcastle and Gateshead which have some pretty impoverished areas seem to have escaped any rioting. Alexei Smirnov Ha the rocking horse is burnt anyway, what was...
  26. Andy D.

    London riots

    I've got friends over in London so been getting an update on things. Pretty bad to be honest and the behavior is disgraceful. Time to take the kid gloves off. I do worry though what the political fall-out will be from this.
  27. Andy D.

    S&P Downgrade Effects

    @IlyaKEightSix I was doing a lot of Open Source software consultancy/contracting back in '08. The worst issue I had was people not paying on time. So just make sure you cover yourself on that front. As for the online ad metrics, there are some good companies out there. I used to work in the...
  28. Andy D.

    S&P Downgrade Effects

    Anthony DeAngelis I think this has been the thing that has been the most frustrating about the whole situation. Watching posturing politicians use the situation as a political football, and a complete lack of any leadership in the situation.
  29. Andy D.

    Which Quant Shops Hire Straight Out Of Undergrad?

    Sure I can see how a lot of people would take the money. But I'd argue there are people who wouldn't and the pursuit of some esoteric idea in physics which interests them and may yield a noble prize is also a driver. If money was the only factor driving your career and education choice, then the...
  30. Andy D.

    British Universities, facing HUGE cuts, plan tuition increase

    Yeah that's what I read from his post as well. However I can tell you for a fact that two good friends of mine both completed their PhD's in the UK (both British citizens) one in Chemistry and the other in some area where Genetic and Psychological research meet (I've probably done them no...
  31. Andy D.

    Which Quant Shops Hire Straight Out Of Undergrad?

    Just speculating here, but I would have thought folks who were that unique would have their universities clawing at them to stay on and do a Masters/Phd? If you are that much of a smart cookie I would imagine, Harvard, Oxford, Yale, Cambridge, Stanford etc. would be offering you a free ride?
  32. Andy D.

    Debt ceiling

    I certainly have been. Obviously like all the other GC holders out there, I get taxed on this but doubt I will ever see a penny of it! Thing is Anthony, it's the overseas expenditures which cost so much and achieve very little. The US and Britain do all the heavy hauling when it comes to the...
  33. Andy D.

    Debt ceiling

    Incidently, for those of you in NYC and whom enjoy history - if you ever go up-state for a weekend in the Adirondacks, there is a great reconstruction of a working British-American fort from the French-Indian war on lake George. Andy Nguyen - So from looking at your flow-chart it looks like...
  34. Andy D.

    14-10 club at the Royal Institution

    Sounds like an interesting event. Is there anything similar in NYC?
  35. Andy D.

    Debt ceiling

    Generally yes, the threat of warfare was obviously significantly worst, urban life was appauling and jobs like being a Tanner were pretty lethal, but over all the life expectancy was better, which shows just how bad places like Salford were. Indeed, Yale University being named after the...
  36. Andy D.

    Debt ceiling

    You can't use a single metric to measure the size of government. As for spending and debt. It fluctuated of course. Between 1700 and 1715 the debt went up to 60% of GDP. By 1816 the debt had reached 237% (largely driven by a succession of wars fought with Spain and France and of course the war...
  37. Andy D.

    Debt ceiling

    Britain, huge government in the 18th and 19thC? Not true at all. Britain had a largely laissez-faire approach to government until the 20th C - really after WW2 when the Labour government got into power. It's why they didn't have health and safety standards on industrial machinery, why children...
  38. Andy D.

    What phone do you have?

    Yep I've got the same on my iphone 4. You need a crowbar to get the damn case off :D
  39. Andy D.

    Bitcoin - a new kind of currency

    Peter-Jan Thanks. So I presume if you had the infrastructure e.g. HPC lab at a university, you could in theory generate a fair amount of bitcoins?
  40. Andy D.

    Bitcoin - a new kind of currency

    So to generate the bitcoins through mining, is their some kind of spec/api for writing code against?
  41. Andy D.

    Debt ceiling

    Well I'll be making sure the balance on my credit card is paid off. If interest rates go up, then the consumer will get hit there. Glad I don't have an ARM as well. Michael Lewis will be alright for another book ;)
  42. Andy D.

    Sunday afternoon..

    Andy, yep PR is not too bad a flight it would seem. I hear Aruba is great and Bermuda. If you happen to be in PR at the same time as me, I will most def buy you a drink :)
  43. Andy D.

    Sunday afternoon..

    Andy -- haha oh yes that sounds great. We were planning on heading to Peurto Rico this year for a bit of a beach holiday and a visit round the historical sites. The bar in the pool scenario was most appealing. Unfortunately moving house put a a hold on it for the moment. If you are a fan of...
  44. Andy D.

    Fewer Perks and More Work for Wall St.’s Summer Interns

    I know how you feel, it's Sunday and I'm doing an LMS installation for a company on the West Coast. Still money + experience = new furniture for the living room, so I can't complain :).
  45. Andy D.

    Sunday afternoon..

    Not a fan of hand-pumped ale? I went to the English fish-and-chip shop down on Greenwich ave a few months back. It's well worth a visit if you can cope with your arteries crying in pain after ;)
  46. Andy D.

    Sunday afternoon..

    Bit of a fun thread here (I hope - please no debates over India versus China's schooling system, the decline of the US or whether the EU will collapse ;) ) It's Sunday afternoon and I have to work today. So if you can spend your Sunday afternoon doing something fun, what would be your choice...
  47. Andy D.

    .NET HFT systems

    I think everything that needs to be said about that article is in the 500+ comments on the link you provided!
  48. Andy D.

    .NET HFT systems

    Isn't .Net offered in a C++ flavour? Do you mean a C# .NET trading system versus a non-.Net C++ one?
  49. Andy D.

    Who are you voting for in 2012?

    I guess I have a lot in common with Thomas Paine - an Englishman residing in the US, being taxed without representation ;). In all seriousness, I don't know who I would vote for nobody takes my fancy at the moment as being a particularly good candidate.
  50. Andy D.

    Where do you stand politically?

    I agree with Anthony up to a point here. Bad decisions can be useful, you can learn from them, and then turn them into a useful lesson, especially in the business world. Broadly speaking people doing stupid things should accept the consequences of their actions. However where I diverge is that...
  51. Andy D.

    Where do you stand politically?

    I came in at: Economic Left/Right: -2.38 Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -3.95 I was surprised as I expected to be slightly more to the right on the economic scale.
  52. Andy D.

    Online Engineering ..?? Really...??

    I'm doing courses with LSE via the London International programme at the moment and think it is a great system. The online video materials aren't at the level of MIT yet, but the VLE is certainly coming along, and uses Moodle as it's core. There is also access to an online library of white...
  53. Andy D.

    Agile Practices and Micromanagement

    Micromanaging really is a pain in the ass. I find absolutely nothing worst as a programmer, than having somebody interupt me with emails, phone calls and pointless meetings numerous times a day. 90% of it is trivial crap. 5% of it could have been worked out by the person in question if they...
  54. Andy D.

    What phone do you have?

    Ahh OK. I run an Asterisk PBX at my office. It's a great piece of software of you are interested in SIP.
  55. Andy D.

    What phone do you have?

    cgorac - I don't use the skype to cell service, just the IM and Skype to Skype services. Since everyone I know and work with uses it, it was a good solution and the app works well with the iphone. Talking of SIP - have you done anything with Asterisk?
  56. Andy D.

    What phone do you have?

    The thing I use most on my iphone (and I presume will be on the Droid as well) is the Skype app. It's free and I barely use the actual phone service now as the vast majority of people I speak top on a daily basis use Skype. I'd totally recommend it if anyone of you haven't tried it yet.
  57. Andy D.

    What phone do you have?

    iphone 4 on verizon.
  58. Andy D.

    HFT Careers and How to Get Into High Frequency Trading

    The European Nuclear Research Centre, which is based under the French, Swiss border.
  59. Andy D.

    Excel - Web interface?

    Everyone, Thanks for the feedback here. I've decided to go down the route of a C# asp.net web interface, that will store the data in a MSSQL DB. I'm then going to hook up the Excel spreadsheet to the DB so it pulls the data from it using some macros.
  60. Andy D.

    An Oxbridge for those who can't get into Oxbridge

    I'm not entirely sure what the problem is here. UoL colleges set their own admission criteria already I believe ( I'm positive LSE does). They will also be setting their own tuition fees soon. Can somebody from LSE access all the resources at SAOS for example? I don't know but I would doubt it...
  61. Andy D.

    Excel - Web interface?

    I totally agree that using Excel as storage is bad, my preferred method would be to setup an Apache environment, pump the data into MySQL via a PHP front-end and then dump the data and have it imported to Excel. My concern with the above method is getting the data from the DB into Excel without...
  62. Andy D.

    An Oxbridge for those who can't get into Oxbridge

    Ahh that makes sense if it is going to be part of UoL, like LSE.
  63. Andy D.

    An Oxbridge for those who can't get into Oxbridge

    Sounds interesting. I was hoping though that somebody would set-up a science and mathematics equivalent of this - an English Institute of Technology or similar, in somewhere like Birmingham. As much as I love the humanities, there seems to be a saturation of these courses in the UK (which I am...
  64. Andy D.

    Excel - Web interface?

    Alain - I primarily work in PHP at the moment, mostly LAMP environments. I'll have a look into Python today them, that sounds interesting. The content coming via the web front-end will basically needs be added incrementally to an XLS. The XLS is then setup to do financial functions for the...
  65. Andy D.

    Excel - Web interface?

    Tsotne - We use MySQL pretty much exclusively at my place. I'll use a DB if necessary in order to pass the data into Excel if that is a recommended route? Andy - It will be accessed internally only, by around 12 people so it is a pretty small app really. Thanks guys.
  66. Andy D.

    Excel - Web interface?

    I have a project I need to get done quickly, and any advice would be most appreciated. To cut to the short of it: I need to write an app that will take Purchase Orders, tidy them up and dump them into Excel. The front-end needs to be accessible via an intranet to non-tech types. I'm thinking I...
  67. Andy D.

    What books are you currently reading?

    To be honest BBW that is the same conclusion I came too. And when Perkins started doing the conspiracy circuit, and appearing on Alex Jones type shows he kind of shot his credibility in my eyes. I've read a couple of his books and they are interesting, but it is difficult to tell what is...
  68. Andy D.

    Mandelbrot - The (Mis)behavior of Markets

    Connor - Thanks. I'll pick up and a copy of it and give it a read.
  69. Andy D.

    Brain Drain good for developing countries??? Really??

    Sorry BBW didn't address some of your earlier points when you responded to me. I would argue there are competing motives, which include humanitarian but also a host of others e.g. securing access to natural resources etc. For example the British Unions sent reps out to Iraq after the invasion...
  70. Andy D.

    Mandelbrot - The (Mis)behavior of Markets

    I've just been browsing through Amazon for some books on Mandelbrot and came across this: http://www.amazon.com/Mis-behavior-Markets-Benoit-Mandelbrot/dp/0465043550/ Has anyone read it and is it good/bad? Thanks
  71. Andy D.

    Brain Drain good for developing countries??? Really??

    At the moment unfortunately I do! If only the sales folks would bring in some more business ;).
  72. Andy D.

    Brain Drain good for developing countries??? Really??

    No and I don't think anyone has suggested democracies are immune from collapse. But generally democracies which are more than notionally democratic have the better quality of lives amongst all of the countries on the planet. Not all of these nations either require foreign policies that involve...
  73. Andy D.

    Brain Drain good for developing countries??? Really??

    That wasn't what I was trying to imply I was implying that in some instances war would be necessary where the nation was ruled by a dictator, sorry if that wasn't clear in above. I think we will have to agree to disagree. Investment into infrastructure/education shouldn't be the only metric...
  74. Andy D.

    What books are you currently reading?

    Agreed on Tolkien. I studied a fair bit about him when I was taking a course in Old English. Tolkien was an incredibly accomplished linguist, folklorist and historian. I believe he spoke around 12/13 languages and familiar with a further 12. These ranged from Welsh to Middle English. Fantastic...
  75. Andy D.

    Brain Drain good for developing countries??? Really??

    BBW raises an interesting point here: This leaves us with one of the great dilemma's faced by the West. Do you intervene (which in many cases would involve war as these nations are governed by dictators) or do you stand back and hope the people can solve it themselves - or maybe it is a shade...
  76. Andy D.

    What books are you currently reading?

    I love Tolkien's books, they really are in a world of their own (excuse the pun). For Sci-Fi I have been reading Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars books. They really come across as ahead of their time when you consider they were written in the late 80's early 90's.
  77. Andy D.

    What books are you currently reading?

    Has anyone read any of Daniel Kahneman's books? And do you have one you'd recommend as an introduction to his work?
  78. Andy D.

    Take the current GRE or wait for the revised GRE for Fall 2012 application?

    groy - I'm doing the new GRE test once it comes into play. I picked up the Kaplan book New GRE Premier, which has been a really useful resource. I presume after the new test has been launched, the old one won't be available anymore?
  79. Andy D.

    What books are you currently reading?

    I picked it up in Grand Central Station when I was waiting for the train back to CT. You can probably get it a lot cheaper off Amazon and probably in paperback now as well!
  80. Andy D.

    Beer gardens in NYC

    Sounds fantastic! This gets my vote :)
  81. Andy D.

    What books are you currently reading?

    Yes I read that early this year - it's a good read.
  82. Andy D.

    Dual Monitor Delight

    Also to add to the above, if anyone has done Flash/ActionScript programming having two monitors makes life a lot easier. One monitor holds the timeline and animation and the other is used for coding. Just my opinion here, but I think the nature of the IDE lends itself to two monitors rather...
  83. Andy D.

    Dual Monitor Delight

    I use two monitors. I do a lot of web programming, so having one screen with my code editor/IDE and another with the web browser(s) running, possibly also with Telnet/cygwin open tailing the error log. Tabbing between the three would be possible of course, but having the second monitor is just...
  84. Andy D.

    How To Write Unmaintainable Code and Enjoy Lifetime Employment

    That's a very funny article :)
  85. Andy D.

    So, what's more now?

    Power - I'm sure you are aware, but just in case you aren't - The GRE is changing its format and the new test format starts from August onwards I believe. Therefore if you are going to be revising, try and get one of the newer GRE books. Kaplan have one out for example which gives a break down...
  86. Andy D.

    Greece pulling out of the euro?

    ChrisN - From my last experience of being in Greece, there are a number of areas that the government should be targeting. Walk down a street in any of the larger tourist areas like Kos for example, and check out many of the shops that cater to tourists. Here you will see myriad pirated goods...
  87. Andy D.

    OECD countries post great recession

    Yep agreed.
  88. Andy D.

    OECD countries post great recession

    I'd be interested to see what the quality of the jobs are though that have helped cut the unemployment figures. There was some talk recently that the fast food chains were providing a lot of the new employment positions. Unfortunately the article doesn't go into much detail.
  89. Andy D.

    What books are you currently reading?

    Yeah good plan. I always try and listen to podcasts and audio books at work whilst coding. I've been working my way through the Point of Inquiry podcasts if anyone is familiar with them?
  90. Andy D.

    What books are you currently reading?

    I've generally found you have to make time for it. I read on average about 3 books a week in the 300 page, paperback range. Obviously larger books (like the Norman Davies one mentioned above) take a little longer. I generally read a night and on the weekends.
  91. Andy D.

    What books are you currently reading?

    Just finished Physics of the Future by Michio Kaku And I am now reading, Europe - a history by Norman Davies.
  92. Andy D.

    Greece pulling out of the euro?

    Dominic - Well whilst the Darien project may have brought England and Scotland together, Salmond is intent on taking it apart. Frankly I wish the Scots all the best and think they should go it alone now. I'm sure they will be perfectly fine running their own economy, and will no doubt get along...
  93. Andy D.

    Greece pulling out of the euro?

    They would be silly to do it. What Greece needs is to put the safe guards in place to prevent this from happening again, and try and make the best of a bad situation until they turn their economy around.
  94. Andy D.

    Cramer vs Cramer

    I try... and fail ;)
  95. Andy D.

    Cramer vs Cramer

    .. and I thought this was going to be a thread on Matrix methods! ;)
  96. Andy D.

    The college bubble

    I think the thing worth remembering is that every system, US, UK, other European nations and India etc. all have flaws in their own way and bonuses. It's recognizing where those flaws are and having the balls to fix them, that is often the problem for governments. Some people will stick their...
  97. Andy D.

    The college bubble

    I'm not sure a group of 3 credit courses in "World History" are going to solve that problem though. There is nothing more pointless than teaching at degree level a single course on say Beowulf - in modern English only for example. Waste of time, you can buy the book for $10 and read it...
  98. Andy D.

    The college bubble

    I'm in agreement with BBW and IlyaKEightSix here. I'm very much into History and enjoy the subject immensely. I've done work with organizations in the UK that work with English Heritage and spend a fair amount of my vacation time visiting museums and historic sites. However I see no point in...
  99. Andy D.

    The college bubble

    And there are some great museums in London with free entry ;).
  100. Andy D.

    The college bubble

    I think you are generalizing here. I'm personally not against students loans, but I think stricter criteria needs to be in place on who gets them. As you said above "there is no free lunch" - if the government gives loans to people who can not pay them back, and does not do the due diligence, in...
  101. Andy D.

    The college bubble

    I presume the best way of dealing with this, is to pull Federal funding of loans and let States deal with it at that level.
  102. Andy D.

    The college bubble

    True, but I think the gulf in wages (and perceived gulf) at the higher levels is what attracts people into subjects that require a degree, as opposed to say carpentry or plumbing (although a plumber can make a damn good living). Anthony, the government is already stepping in - with our money -...
  103. Andy D.

    The college bubble

    Alain - Indeed that seems to be the case. And by the way, I forgot to thank you for the link above, fascinating stuff (if depressing). Essentially, the Private Uni's grab the loan money and use the fact that, if the loan repayments cease after a two year period, then this isn't considered...
  104. Andy D.

    The college bubble

    I just watched the docu that Alain linked too earlier. Pretty interesting stuff for anyone who hasn't seen it. The portion on how the default numbers are massaged screamed "next sub-prime" and a fair amount of this money is Federal in origin. The poor folks who get saddled with debt can't clear...
  105. Andy D.

    The college bubble

    From the Yahoo link: And how much will Strayer, Capella etc. shaft you for that? In fact click on the links to one of those "Uni's" and the site is designed to guide you through a set of forms that extract as much information out of you. No doubt so several forests can be chopped down and...
  106. Andy D.

    part time phd programs

    There is a guy who works in the same building at me, who appears to be doing a part time Phd with a University in the UK (we are on the East Coast of the US). He spends 6 weeks a year over there and the rest of the time here. Not sure exactly what the setup is, but I'd never heard of it before...
  107. Andy D.

    The college bubble

    BBW touched on a good point above when he mentioned Eton etc. One debate you will see regularly in the columns of the Guardian and similar is that, basically Eton, Winchester, Oundle, Harrow, Westminster etc. train the kids to pass exams and train them to get into Oxbridge and the top of the...
  108. Andy D.

    How many programmers are on Quantnet?

    Tsotne - You can download Ubuntu for free. It has an option where you can run the OS in a kind of preview mode, off a CD or USB stick. You should give it a try. If you like it, partition your HD and then run a duel boot machine - or if you have another machine install it on that and use Cygwin...
  109. Andy D.

    How many programmers are on Quantnet?

    If you have say Ubuntu installed with the Windows style environment, then there are plenty of good apps you can use for code editing. I normally use Vi from the command line though for example when I ssh into another box.
  110. Andy D.

    How many programmers are on Quantnet?

    Yeah I normally use EditPlus when writing PHP, but on the Linux servers we have running, if I need to edit anything I use Vi. Vi versus EditPlus is a totally different way of thinking lol. Having to remember to use i and a to edit the doc and escape to exit to delete got some getting used to...
  111. Andy D.

    4-Profit University

    Very amusing :D
  112. Andy D.

    Thank You Quantnet

    Well done!
  113. Andy D.

    Advice on Career/School Choice

    Take the UBS job if you can. If you do get it, save some money up so if you want to (or get made unemployed and thus have time on your hands) take a MFE etc. in future you have funds!
  114. Andy D.

    Why is there a lot of international students pursuing mfe?

    Going back to one of the earlier posts, I have generally found that a good History education in the US also seems to be lacking badly. It's probably on a decline in Europe too, however I think it has a way to go to catch up with the US.
  115. Andy D.

    BI Norwegian business school

    darth - sorry didn't mean to de-rail your thread here!
  116. Andy D.

    BI Norwegian business school

    Ahh looking back above, I am guessing huske is remember as in huske du (remember you?). You are very close. In English: "Norway is for Norwegians only. Otherwise Norway is fine -- but the winter is too long." I have <something, not sure what that would be> in winter. And summer is also...
  117. Andy D.

    BI Norwegian business school

    Based upon the undergrad course in Old English (Anglo-Saxon) I took, I suspect the above reads: You must know that Norway is for Norwegians, we must be realistic. All of Norway is fine - but the winter is long? I knew there was a practical use for that course somewhere ;).
  118. Andy D.

    Where is the bottle-neck in trading?

    Alexei - So is it possible there could be a situation where newer start-ups are frozen out of the co-location game, simply because there is either no space for the machines (although probably not a likely scenario) or simply because the location prices out all but those with big bucks - or worst...
  119. Andy D.

    Where is the bottle-neck in trading?

    I would have also though that proximity to the exchange for example is important. Co-located machines are going to have, even over optic fiber lines an advantage over those 10 miles away.
  120. Andy D.

    Reform the PhD system

    Oh dear, I have been applying for a position in a support staff role at a US Ivy League. Dominic - do you see this as counting against me in the long run?
  121. Andy D.

    Dollar falls to new low as markets await Fed's next move

    From the Guardian: http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011/apr/26/dollar-falls-new-lows Any thoughts on this?
  122. Andy D.

    Thesis questionnaire [Algo Trading]

    Submitted
  123. Andy D.

    The perils of deskwork

    BBW - I hope you enjoy the book! Yes one trend mentioned in it was the low consumption of meat products. I'm pretty much a Veggie myself these days - just got to cut down on the Donuts and Ale next ;)
  124. Andy D.

    How many programmers are on Quantnet?

    Ok: Job: Software Engineer Languages used at work (in the broad sense of the word): PHP, MySQL, HTML, JavaScript, XML, XSLT, CSS, Perl, some C# (an area I am new to) and Java. Other tech/roles: Linux Admin, PBX support.
  125. Andy D.

    The perils of deskwork

    I read a book called the Blue Zones last year. It looks at lifestyle and links to living to a ripe old age. The areas with a lot of folks living to 100+ also tend to see those communities living more active lifestyles and generally working well into old age...
  126. Andy D.

    How an undergraduate math exam in the US looks like?

    Yeah I think that's what I will do. Get the easier questions done and then try aiming for a First after that.
  127. Andy D.

    How an undergraduate math exam in the US looks like?

    BBW - Yep that sounds about right on the plug and chug in section A (incidentally where I am hoping to gain most of my marks ;) ).
  128. Andy D.

    How an undergraduate math exam in the US looks like?

    bigbadwolf - Just checked the paper I have here. Section A consists of 6 questions at 10 points each, and section B of two questions at 20 points each, all of which are compulsory.
  129. Andy D.

    How an undergraduate math exam in the US looks like?

    Here is a copy of the syllabus of Mathematics 1 module I've been taking (it is only a half module mind), I'd be interested to hear how this compares to the intro course anyone else is taking at undergrad?
  130. Andy D.

    How an undergraduate math exam in the US looks like?

    OK so you have around 8 questions, some of which have subsections. That is about the same as the LSE exam papers I have here - also a two hour time frame. They cover slightly different areas though (Matrices, Integration by parts, Lagrange multiplier, Profit functions, geometric series, curve...
  131. Andy D.

    C++ course (community college)?

    I just noticed my local community college has a 5 week program this summer in the evenings. It's OOP C++ and runs for 3 hours an evening, 3 days a week. It's been about 10 years since I last touched the language, so thought a refresher course might be a good idea, it is also only $480 which...
  132. Andy D.

    The precariat

    Glad I could be of service ;).
  133. Andy D.

    NYC Drinks - QuantNet meet up?

    Sounds like you all had a blast!
  134. Andy D.

    The precariat

    Swansea is in Wales ;).
  135. Andy D.

    Bieber avatar

    My protest avatar is up \m/ thank god for Iron Maiden
  136. Andy D.

    A Goldman Sachs programmer was found guilty

    I'm pretty sure Leeson's victims saw it as a bank robbery as well ;). I agree, he didn't go out and actively steal something, but he did a hell of a lot more damage. Alain bring up some very good points above as well.
  137. Andy D.

    A Goldman Sachs programmer was found guilty

    8 years - that's a pretty heavy sentence. I think Leeson only did 6 years in prison for the Barings Bank meltdown.
  138. Andy D.

    Best Programming Language for Finance

    I wonder what percentage of the PHP programmers are also developing in C. If I need to write PHP extensions I write them in C. I think the Zend framework was originally written in C.
  139. Andy D.

    UK - Final details of curbs on overseas students to be announced

    I presume so, I also wonder if it makes it easier to get a good job in Asia for a British company e.g. HSBC?
  140. Andy D.

    UK - Final details of curbs on overseas students to be announced

    Novak - BUNAC visa lengths depend on your country of origin and you don't have to be a student in most cases, just under 30. I used them when I was younger as did a number of other people I know. We went to Canada, Canadian employers had no problem hiring us with these and sponsored a fair...
  141. Andy D.

    UK - Final details of curbs on overseas students to be announced

    No it isn't contradictory at all. It states the same thing effectively. Tier 1 is closed and students can stay to work if they are offered a job of 20k+. I'm not so sure on this. For a start some Commonwealth students are eligible for BUNAC visas anyway. All they would need to do upon...
  142. Andy D.

    UK - Final details of curbs on overseas students to be announced

    http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2011/mar/22/number-foreign-students-to-be-cut The cut backs have been announced, here are some key points: and for those of you looking for jobs: So MFE students should be OK!
  143. Andy D.

    UK - Final details of curbs on overseas students to be announced

    ... actually scratch that maybe it doesn't go to a vote.
  144. Andy D.

    UK - Final details of curbs on overseas students to be announced

    Andy - I believe so, I'm not sure if this has to be voted on Parliament, if so there may be a late session. I believe then the Lords get a say on whether to delay the legislation or not, in which case it may go back to vote again. Unfortunately we are seeing political point scoring at its worst...
  145. Andy D.

    UK - Final details of curbs on overseas students to be announced

    atreides - Exactly! Unfortunately the press plays up the negative stories as if they are the norm.
  146. Andy D.

    How to choose Oxford MCF, Chicago MSFM, Columbia MFE and Cornell MFE

    Lonely - Having worked in both countries (UK and US) I have to disagree with you somewhat in the case of the UK. My experience of working in say Brighton was that my office could have taught the UN a thing or two about people from different nations working together. We had people from England...
  147. Andy D.

    How to choose Oxford MCF, Chicago MSFM, Columbia MFE and Cornell MFE

    London is an incredibly cosmopolitan city so I wouldn't be worried too much. The biggest problem you are likely to encounter is not what race you are, but what school you went too!
  148. Andy D.

    UK - Final details of curbs on overseas students to be announced

    Dominic - Unfortunately in the UK there is the perceived problems with immigration - which often bear no realty on the truth - and the actual problems with immigration, which bar one important area are generally very very small. The one important area I'd suggest is really land cost and space...
  149. Andy D.

    UK - Final details of curbs on overseas students to be announced

    Dominic - Spare yourself the pain of reading the comments section, it'll only ruin your day and raise your blood pressure.
  150. Andy D.

    UK - Final details of curbs on overseas students to be announced

    From the Guardian today: "Cabinet finalises plans to reform student immigration amid warnings ministers risk 'crippling' an industry worth £40bn a year" http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2011/mar/22/final-details-curbs-overseas-students-announced
  151. Andy D.

    OOP is out of the CMU Computer Science Introductory Curriculum

    No you'd be the PM BSing the customer ;).
  152. Andy D.

    Which Language - C or C++?

    I agree, time is often the deciding factor. However as for the other points you raised - I actually think they are good reasons to learn both :).
  153. Andy D.

    Databases and SQL- where to start?

    roni - If you want a gentle introduction and are not bothered about learning a little PHP you could download WAMP. If you install this on your Windows machine (or XAMP for mac I believe) you'll get a small Apache based dev environment with MySQL server, where you can build databases and build...
  154. Andy D.

    OOP is out of the CMU Computer Science Introductory Curriculum

    Well from my experience of software contracting OOP is used everywhere, from ActionScript through to Java and PHP. Regardless if you use it or not, a hell of a lot of code out there is written using OOP. I think most employers expect you to understand OOP.
  155. Andy D.

    Which Language - C or C++?

    robbry - How about both? Learn C then build upon that with C++?
  156. Andy D.

    OOP is out of the CMU Computer Science Introductory Curriculum

    It seems to me a bit short sighted to remove OOP from the course IMO. Going into the job market with no knowledge of it is a slightly scary prospect, how many employers are going to just throw your resume straight in the bin?
  157. Andy D.

    OOP is out of the CMU Computer Science Introductory Curriculum

    In my opinion as a Software Engineer - I think you need to learn both. I think teaching OOP alongside C++ and Functional programming alongside Haskel would be a good introduction for any CS student. It would certainly give you the basic tools to tackle everything from Java to C# , Lisp and...
  158. Andy D.

    What do I do?

    Hi all, I need to make a decision, need you guys help. I am a Firsct Class with Distinction in Computer Science but have a deep interest in maths and finance, in short, very much interested in financial mathematics. I had applied to a score of colleges. I got acceptances from CASS (MTFE) ...
  159. Andy D.

    A Goldman Sachs programmer was found guilty

    Well first of all I wouldn't ;). I would have also thought that the security experts at the bank would have been on the look out for exactly this type of thing. I know of one case where something similar happened and both employees involved were sacked (I'm not sure if it ended up in court...
  160. Andy D.

    Poker Bots Invade Online Gambling

    I'd like to join the study group as well, I think it will be a good academic exercise!
  161. Andy D.

    A Goldman Sachs programmer was found guilty

    Alain, it never ceases to amaze me that people who are obviously sophisticated programmers can do such obviously dumb things - crazy!
  162. Andy D.

    Bloomberg Plans to Hire 500 Techs in NYC and NJ

    I've had 4 different recruiters email me about the same job at Bloomberg. I did consider applying, but not sure I fancy the commute at the moment whilst studying in my spare time. I'd also imagine I'd have to give up some of my consultancy I do in my spare time which would be a bit of a shame...
  163. Andy D.

    [Job] Entry level quant, Associate, Model Quality Review

    Congrats to the lucky pair who landed the roles!
  164. Andy D.

    NYC Drinks - QuantNet meet up?

    Joy - sounds a great idea. I can always jump Metro-north into Grand Central, so once I get May out of the way you can count me in.
  165. Andy D.

    NYC Drinks - QuantNet meet up?

    I would like to but I am currently in revision mode and up to my eyes in the day job as well. However host an event in May (maybe you could hve a monthly meet-up?) and I would most definitely enjoy the day/evening out in the city.
  166. Andy D.

    Poker Bots Invade Online Gambling

    That article was fascinating, and actually something of a challenge to us software engineers out there ;).
  167. Andy D.

    Trust

    bigbadwolf I couldn't agree more. I once engaged in thoroughly futile argument trying to explain the difference between the concept of the financial intermediary - and the actions of a an individual bank. They couldn't separate the two - if a bank did something bad, the whole system was...
  168. Andy D.

    UK Govt to abolish student work visa

    I think that entirely depends on your perspective to be honest.
  169. Andy D.

    $150 /barrel Oil anyone?

    Dominic, To be fair, Rowan Williams is a man of some serious academic caliber when it comes to languages. I fear he is far too liberal for 90% of the Anglican communion outside of the UK and US though.
  170. Andy D.

    Master reading list for Quants, MFE (Financial Engineering) students

    I've just picked up this: An Introduction to Information Theory It's a great introduction to the topic for those interested (especially for those interested in Algo-trading I'd imagine).
  171. Andy D.

    How to build a High Frequency Trading system

    Thanks for the link Andy, I'll check it out.
  172. Andy D.

    How to build a High Frequency Trading system

    Yep I agree, it is a small amount in the grand scheme of things. However even a GPS clock isn't perfect it would seem and I would imagine people boot strapping their own system at home would probably put off (rightly or wrongly) splashing out on hardware until it was necessary. Maybe someone...
  173. Andy D.

    How to build a High Frequency Trading system

    Since reading this, I've been doing a fair bit of digging around on HFT development - it seems like an incredibly interesting area to be working in. I found this especially interesting: Unfortunately the link is broken which is a shame.(Edit: just tested it again and it works) I wonder how...
  174. Andy D.

    UK Govt to abolish student work visa

    Of course one of the problems with the EU, unlike the US is that it isn't really a huge single market yet. Britain, Germany, France and a few other countries take in the vast amount of immigrants, primarily because that is where the jobs are and secondly because in the case of Britain, France...
  175. Andy D.

    Demand Slows For H1B Visas

    Certainly the problem we have found is when it comes to hiring somebody for a position that nobody in house has a lot of knowledge in. So for example hypothetical project A comes along. A portion of that project is in technology B. Our in house guys only have a basic knowledge of the...
  176. Andy D.

    Demand Slows For H1B Visas

    Well even within QA roles (at least at the firms I have worked at) the testers were familiar with bash scripting, sillenium smoke tests etc. I guess if it is bog standard QA, link clicking etc. well then yeah I could see how you can blag that. Also bigbadwolf I experienced the above first...
  177. Andy D.

    Quant interview questions you should always expect

    I've been playing around with Haskell recently and Wikipedia has an example of the concept of the sieve of Eratosthenes done in said language (known as Turner's sieve), for those interested: primes = sieve [2..] sieve (p : xs) = p : sieve [x | x <- xs, x `mod` p > 0] It's rather simple and...
  178. Andy D.

    Imperial MathFin Imperial Msc Finance

    I guess it depends what you are doing. A lot of software contractors I know in the UK make very very good money in the City and Canary Wharf. Some do 6 months in the City and then take a few months off to travel and do lower key jobs. One chap I was talking too was charging 900 pounds a day for...
  179. Andy D.

    Employee Poaching On The Rise On Wall Street

    I've def noticed an upswing in the number of recruiters contacting me over the past 2 months. A lot of these jobs are for NYC based financial firms. Whilst I'm happy not making a move at the moment, it seems like there is a lot of jobs starting to pop up. One guy was telling me he's having a...
  180. Andy D.

    Demand Slows For H1B Visas

    Rajan, An Indian colleague of mine was telling me the same scenario as you outlined above. I wonder though, these people must have been feeling out of their depth when thrown into the deep end with no experience yet a fabricated history of working on complex projects?
  181. Andy D.

    GPA evaluation

    I'm not sure what course you are taking, but certainly in my current undergrad having a good understanding of history is worth its weight in gold. A sizable section of my Banking module is on financial panics and crises and subsequent regulation. Anyone can read the text books and spit back out...
  182. Andy D.

    How to build a High Frequency Trading system

    Andy - This is an interesting blog. It's now being moved to wordpress in case anyone else has been reading it: http://howtohft.wordpress.com/
  183. Andy D.

    Is the City closed for non-EU entry-level quants starting April 2011? - career advice

    Not sure if you have any contacts at the UEA but that might be worth looking into. Norwich (home to the UEA) is twinned with Novi Sad and they have cultural exchange programmes between the cities. The University is also about an hour and a half away from the City of London by train as well so...
  184. Andy D.

    The Algo Trading Pit : A new Blog on Computing

    I'm going to second TBeas here - I love the design of the algotradingpit.com site it's very original (in an ironic kinda way).
  185. Andy D.

    Cracking the Scratch Lottery Code

    Indeed. If you can crack the lottery scratch cards and run a store, you can go through the packs of tickets, take the winners and sell the losers without anyone knowing (unless somebody notices you cashing in the tickets all the time). You'd probably be opening yourself up to some nasty legal...
  186. Andy D.

    Is the City closed for non-EU entry-level quants starting April 2011? - career advice

    Novak - Are there any kind of work visa options available to countries undergoing the EU accession process? You might want to investigate that route in case there are any options that are obscure but may help?
  187. Andy D.

    The underground world of China

    It reminds me of the history of London during the industrial revolution (and Manchester as well). Rapid expansion of urban areas, the country poor moving in (or being kicked of land) to the cities. In London there was the Rookeries for example (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rookery_%28slum%29)...
  188. Andy D.

    The Economist : Don't do MBA

    Also reminds me of the English phrase "Masters of Bugger All" ;)
  189. Andy D.

    10 industries in which the US is no longer #1

    Especially now with ARM chips cornering the mobile device market. Everyone from Apple to MS is using ARM technology.
  190. Andy D.

    The 4-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss

    Andy - I've read it. It's OK but a lot of it is unfeasible for most jobs. Basically here he was selling vitamin supplements. He got rid of the buyers who took up too much of his time for too little money and concentrated on a few bigger clients. he paid for a personal assistnt in India to...
  191. Andy D.

    What laptop do you have?

    I'm using a Panasonic toughbook at the moment, great piece of kit you can take anywhere!
  192. Andy D.

    Amazon cloud?

    Thanks for the feedback. I've been playing around with the cloud on and off for a few months but not used it yet to actually host anything that will be viewed by clients off-site. Since the project will only be up for a few weeks, this seems like a good solution as I can drop it once the review...
  193. Andy D.

    Amazon cloud?

    Is anyone else here using the Amazon cloud for developing/testing/hosting on? I'd appreciate anyone's opinions on whether they think the service is good or bad. As a side note I'll be running a staging environment on it with IBM WebSphere Portal being hosted. Thanks
  194. Andy D.

    How to Get a Quant Job, Advice from Wall Street Executives

    I think you hit the nail on the head there. It's like playing the lottery, if you don't buy a ticket you don't have the chance of winning.
  195. Andy D.

    Very Good Career Guide for finance/banking

    Thanks, this looks like a useful read.
  196. Andy D.

    Jintao on the dollar

    If this is Niall Ferguson we are talking about, he's Scottish and a professor at Harvard (just to be picky about the facts there ;) )
  197. Andy D.

    2nd BSc v Part-time courses

    Andy - I've not graduated yet so not had transcripts through, however the Uni provides the following guide: The Lead College are the member colleges of UoL so Birbeck, Goldsmiths, London School of Economics, University College London etc.
  198. Andy D.

    2nd BSc v Part-time courses

    Andy - I might be able to shed a little more light on this programme. The exams that are sat via the International programme are graded to the same standard as those sat by the students in house. So if your doing Banking and Finance which is an LSE based course, you're being graded to the same...
  199. Andy D.

    Jintao on the dollar

    Indeed. I think these are birthing pains though. You only have to look at the history of currency in the US between say 1800 and 1940 to see the mechanisms that were put in place (and financial crises) that lead to a stable currency. The EU will get its game together eventually but I don't see...
  200. Andy D.

    What is going to happen?

    I'm currently investing looking at the long-term i.e. 5 - 10 years a head. My suggestions are: NOKIA - They took a bit of a drubbing when the iphone and Android came out, however they are investing in other areas of telecoms tech and with Galileo slated for operation sometime post 2013 I think...
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