/* My Journey to the Cloud */ http://vasia.posterous.com Random thoughts, notes I keep, things I've heard, people I've met. posterous.com Wed, 31 Oct 2012 10:36:00 -0700 Early survey conclusions... http://vasia.posterous.com/early-survey-conclusions http://vasia.posterous.com/early-survey-conclusions

How to write a MapReduce-related paper:

1. Find a feature of MapReduce which is terrible for a *specific* setup or class of applications

Tips:

  • Read the motivation of the MapReduce system
  • Specify set of goals, set of target applications and set of appropriate physical setups for MapReduce
  • Choose *anything* outside those sets

 

2. Change this feature using the simplest solution

Tips:

  • Download Hadoop 
  • Locate the class with the corresponding functionality 
  • Write your own implementation 
  • Build

 

3. Perform evaluation against vanilla MapReduce, using *only* the setup and applications your version was built for.

Tips: This is probably the hardest step...

  • Find the optimal configuration for your system, i.e. number of nodes, data sizes, data formats, etc.
  • Use default configuration for Hadoop
  • Keep tuning the configuration until your system outperforms Hadoop

 

4. Publish

Tips:

  • Find a cool name for your system 
  • Write a long, descriptive paper 
  • Focus on the limitations of MapReduce that your system overcomes 
  • Include a colourful architecture diagram, showing your system as an additional layer to the Hadoop stack (even though it's only a couple of modified classes)
  • Publish

 

Do research they said.. it will be fun they said.. it will be novel they said...

 

V.

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Fri, 30 Sep 2011 06:20:00 -0700 Sorry, I can't accept your Greek ID! http://vasia.posterous.com/sorry-i-cant-accept-this-id http://vasia.posterous.com/sorry-i-cant-accept-this-id

Well well!

It's already been two months I'm in Sweden and a bit more than a month studying and living in Stockholm. A lot of interesting things have happened so far and I've been always in the middle of something preventing me from posting here. But today I found myself in a situation I'd like to share.

 

It's the end of the month and I rushed this morning to pay my rent on time. I asked my neighbour where she pays hers and found out that I could pay at an exchange office near my place. So, I went there and when it was my turn I gave the invoice to the employee. I asked to pay with my credit card and she asked to see my ID *. So, I gave her my Greek ID and she started looking at it, making several weird faces while trying to understand what was written on it. Then she turned at me and said:

- I'm sorry, I cannot accept this. Don't you have a passport?

Well, I do, but I didn't have it with me at the moment. I tried to explain to her that this is an EU ID and that it is valid, but she wouldn't listen. What really stroke me as odd though, was the fact that I was in a *bank* and I was trying to *pay* and the bank was *refusing my money*. I mean, it's a payment, who cares if it's me paying it or someone else? That's really the first time in my life I come across such a situation. Anyway, I got quite pissed off and went to a tobacco place next door where I payed without any problem (apart from the fact that I had to pay in cash).

 

I don't blame the girl at the exchange office for not accepting my ID. In fact, I don't even know if she had the right to do so or not. In the beginning I got really angry but I quickly realised that I do understand her. The truth is that Greek IDs are really awful. Mostly written in greek with some fields written also in latin. Easily confuses anyone. And to think that actually my ID is quite new, as I had to issue it again just last year, after losing my wallet in Barcelona.

My previous ID had all the fields -- wait for it -- handwritten!

I've never had any serious problems with my Greek ID inside Europe before (leaving UK airports apart). Usually people are just surprised by the looks of it but recognise it and accept it. They might ask where to find the date of birth or issue date but up to that.

 

The sad thing is that none of this would have happened if I had my Swedish Personal Number already. But I don't and I applied for it more than a month ago. There, at the tax office I had a similar story to share which I found funny at the moment. Not having this number not only creates problems like the one I've just described but also prevents me from opening a bank account here and therefore receiving my salary! So, apart from not being able to pay and I can't get paid either!

I don't know why it takes so long to issue this number and to be honest I am quite disappointed by the Swedish public sector bureaucracy. When visiting the tax office I couldn't but compare my experience to the one I had in Barcelona last year for the same purpose. Yes, I admit that the queue was much longer and that I had to wait for hours, then sent to another office, then pay some fee and then come back and wait in the queue again, but at least my Spanish Personal Number was issued the same day!

 

I'm just hoping I get the Swedish Number soon and not having any more similar adventures :)

 

Cheers,

V.

(note: my credit card is PIN protected and I am never asked for ID whenever I perform transactions with it)

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Fri, 01 Jul 2011 01:00:00 -0700 Little girl on the beach http://vasia.posterous.com/little-girl-on-the-beach http://vasia.posterous.com/little-girl-on-the-beach

Isn't it scary how life seems so easy sometimes?

Don't you feel lucky and don't you feel terrified?

P6280090

 

Isn't it scary how easy it is to forget?

Doesn't it scare you?

P6280092

 

The storm that's approaching...

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Mon, 16 May 2011 06:16:00 -0700 Εδώ και 125 χρόνια.. οι πιστοί συνιστούν Sacre Coeur! http://vasia.posterous.com/125-sacre-coeur http://vasia.posterous.com/125-sacre-coeur

P5150369
Sacre Coeur, Paris. Χωρίς λόγια..

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Mon, 16 May 2011 06:10:00 -0700 How much does your prayer cost? http://vasia.posterous.com/how-much-does-your-prayer-cost http://vasia.posterous.com/how-much-does-your-prayer-cost

P5140314
Notre Dame, Paris

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Fri, 22 Apr 2011 09:53:00 -0700 Athens Metro Punctuality http://vasia.posterous.com/athens-metro-punctuality http://vasia.posterous.com/athens-metro-punctuality

I've always liked Athens Metro. It's new (more or less 10 years old), it's clean, it's fast. People like it, use it and respect it. Another thing I like is that the archaeological artefacts dicovered during the excavations are exhibited in many stations for the public to see, thus turning stations like Monastiraki and Panepistimio into small museums (more info and some pictures are available here).

I won't comment on the recent ticket price increase. I will just state the fact that when I first moved in Athens in 2004, the ticket cost 0,80€ (0,40€ for students) and today it costs 1,40€. And that since 2004 until today 3 or 4 new stations have been added.

Anyway, last week I used the metro after several months. And there I am, Saturday night in the crowded station of Syntagma. As I was a bit late (influenced by the Spanish sense of time or maybe this is just the excuse I used later :p), I rushed down the stairs to check the sign on the platform: 1 min for the metro to come. Just perfect!

I pressed Suffle on my iPod and smiled as "Pluvius Aestivus" started playing. I waited enjoying the song and watching more and more people filling the platform.

After the song finished, the metro hadn't come yet. I was sure the song lasted more than a minute. I raised my eyes to the 1 min sign. It said 30 seconds. People kept coming and coming... Long story short, the metro came somewhere in the middle of Russian Circles' "Enter". But it was so full I couldn't "enter". I finally managed to board in the next train, just as "Post Blue" by Placebo started playing.

So, here it is, tonight's playlist provided by Athens Metro.

Enjoy:


 

 

I should have walked...

V.

 

 

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