Brainstorming With Factoring

In the last post I described how I sometimes describe a problem with a matrix, and then look at the matrix transpose to see if it gives me new ideas. Another technique I use is to look for a factoring.

In algebra, factoring transforms a polynomial like 5x² + 8x - 21 into (x + 3)·(5x - 7). To solve 5x² + 8x - 21 = 0, we can first factor into (x + 3)·(5x - 7) = 0. Then we say that x + 3 = 0 or 5x - 7 = 0. Factoring turns a problem into several easier problems.

	x	3
5x	5x²	15x
-7	-7x	-21

Let's look at an example: I have six classes, File, EncryptedFile, GzipFile, EncryptedGzipFile, BzipFile, EncryptedBzipFile. I can factor these into a matrix:

	Uncompressed	Gzip	Bzip
Unencrypted	File	Gzip(File)	Bzip(File)
Encrypted	Encrypt(File)	Encrypt(Gzip(File))	Encrypt(Bzip(File))

Using the Decorator pattern (or mixins), I've turned six different types of files into four components: plain, gzip, bzip, encrypt. This doesn't seem like much savings, but if I add more variations, the savings will add up. Factoring turns O(M*N) components into O(M+N) components.

Another example comes up when people ask me things like "how do you write linear interpolation in C#?" There are a lot of potential tutorials I could write:

	C++	Python	Java	C#	Javascript	Rust	Idris	…
Interpolation
Neighbors
Pathfinding
Distances
River maps
Isometric
Voronoi
Transforms
…

If there are M topics and N languages, I could write M*N tutorials. However, that's a lot of work. Instead, I write a tutorial about interpolation, someone else writes a tutorial about C#, and then the reader combines knowledge of C# with knowledge about interpolation to write the C# version of interpolation.

Like transpose, factoring only helps sometimes, but when it applies, it can be quite useful.

Bodyweight--Best Exercise? (Monday Musings 60)

BJ Gaddour's Your Body is Your Barbell

Please scroll all the way down for TL/DR to save time!

Sorry for being a day late for this Monday Musings! I was spending the weekend with my parents, then worked on my friend's CV so was pinched for time!

INTRODUCTION 
I purchased BJ Gaddour's Your Body is Your Barbell, as I noticed that even at the relatively inexpensive price of Planet Fitness, the fact that it's less than 1 mile from my house (0.9 miles per Google map), staff and members are friendly and fun to talk to, AND it's open 24 hours/7 days a week, I still wasn't consistently attending. 

The fact that I don't have nearly as many responsibilities as most people, and still can't go to a gym that's so pleasant and convenient (technically I can walk to the gym), I now know why so many people end up not using their memberships.

Indeed, how can someone who is way more busy than me, one who has a family with children to take care of, with full-time work, make it to the gym 4 to 5 times a week? Especially if the gym doesn't have baby sitting?

Therefore, I researched into home gyms, and the key concept I got regarding home exercises is to use your body weight, instead of purchasing clunky and expensive gym equipment such as benches, squat/barbell racks and the like. I fell upon this book after reading many Amazon reviews on the subject. I wanted to find a set of exercises that you can do anywhere at anytime, with no special equipment.

I believe that a lot of users recommend Gaddour's book because it's so easy to follow, and he has a weekly program that you can follow without thinking!

There are only 8 exercises that he lists, but for each one, he lists ground zero through superhero, and by these variations, you can make things harder or easier. At any fitness level, you can be sure that you can do the easiest. If you can't do the easiest exercise variations due to pain or significant weakness, you must see your doctor to evaluate and treat.

On the flip side, for those who are able to do the hardest variations of all the exercises listed possible with perfect form, without batting an eyelash, then you should move to getting a gym membership to incorporate weights.

To get to that point, you have to be extremely dedicated, consistent and have enough time to get that strong. Surely, if you're at that level, having a gym membership will NOT go to waste and you'll be spending your money wisely.

Indeed, if you're truly that strong and/or want aesthetics, and you have the time, dedication and resources, the ideal situation is to join a gym, incorporate body weight exercises along with free weights, barbells and machines to supplement, as per all the professional body builders' recommendations. But for the average person with children, school and work, who has the time and dedication for that? 

Further, all we ever really need in life is functional strength, so body weight exercises are more than adequate. We may never be Mr. and Mrs. Olympia following this book's program, but who cares?

If you can do the books' program which includes self-assisted single-arm handstand push-ups and pull-ups, single-leg squats with perfect form and controlled breathing, and so forth, you can negotiate anything that life throws at you.

The fact that you can do all of this at home with no cost, there's really no excuse. Further, he even recommends NOT wearing any shoes, so you can stand with more awareness of your weight being equally balanced on your large and small toes, and heels (tripod foot position). It's easier to shift your weight appropriately when you're barefooted rather than with shoes.

In other words, you can do these exercises the first thing you do when you wake up, since you don't need shoes.
 RECOMMENDATIONS
First, read pages 38 to 43 to make sure you have good posture.

The general gist is to do controlled movements, 4 seconds up and 4 seconds down. 

Mr. Gaddour lists many types of programs that you can do that suits your need, but the easiest one to start out with (no planning needed) is on page 192. This is the Level 1 Ground Zero program x 28 days, advancing up to Level 5 Superhero. Each level is 28 days.

For the pull-up exercises, Gaddour recommends using your door, and putting something underneath for support. However, that seems like it may rip the doors off your hinge if your hinges aren't strong enough. I think you can just grip your door frame's jamb. In fact, being able to do a pull-up with just your fingers gripping this thin ledge is much harder than wrapping your fingers around a bar.

However, I can't even do a proper hang with my finger tips, so I invested in a bar like this years ago (no assembly required which is a plus), that you can place over door frame. It's $25.28 on Amazon, which is the cost of 2 months basic membership at Planet Fitness. I believe most Americans can afford, but if you can't, you'll just get stronger than the rest of us using finger tip grip to do pull-ups!

For parents with children and working full-time, don't be a perfectionist! You can squeeze in 1 minute of one of the exercises, throughout the day. There's really no need to do all 9 exercises x 3 cycles in one sitting! I'm sure you can find 9 minutes during your waking hours which will cover one cycle of all the exercises he mentions (including calf raises).

I mentioned 9 exercises (instead of his big 8), because I think calf exercises should be included in the book, which they weren't. I would add calf raises which you can easily do on stairs. I would do 20 each, alternating legs for 3 sets, if time permits. One set is perfectly fine.

Indeed, doing something is better than nothing, and if you seriously can do pull-ups x 1 minute straight even just one cycle, I would say that you have functional strength.

The book recommends doing the routine every other day, such as Mon, Wed, Fri.

Alternatively, you can do an 8-minute workout on pages 212 to 213 if you have 8 straight minutes to spare. Again, Mr. Gaddour has multiple programs to suit your needs.

As for aerobic exercise, go to page 258 for a 20 minute workout, which includes 8 full-body movements such as jumping jacks and other movements that don't seem to stress the knee. I can see people finding jumping jacks might cause some knee pain, in which case, you can skip that and double up on one of the other 7 exercises. 

Because of studies that show 13 minutes of moderate cardio reaps 90% of the cardiovascular benefits of 30 to 45 minutes, you can even reduce this 20 minute workout to 13 minutes. Or take fast walks with your children up and down hills/stairs.

If you have toddlers, merely running after them will do the trick, bypassing any need for routine cardio sessions. I was out of breath running after a toddler who bolted out of my office and into stairwell, and that was just one of many incidents that you'll face as a parent.

With infants, when they're napping, you can squeeze in a cardio session.

Even if your gym membership is $10/month, it still saves $120/year. If $10/month doesn't sound like much, it can pay for 2 Twitch subscriptions of your favorite streamers!

After I finish the Level 1 Ground Zero program (4 weeks), I'll update in terms of results! 

(However, since I'm fortunate enough to have a stepmill bought about 15 years ago--probably my best purchase decision--I'll be substituting that as it's easier to just go on the machine and listen to music).

TL/DR: If you're crunched for time and just starting out, I recommend reading the section on proper posture on pages 38 to 43, and then start your exercise program right away by going to page 192. Add calf raises to do on your stairs, 20 reps each leg x 3 sets (or 1 set if you don't have time), alternating legs.

You can spread out these weight lifting exercises over the course of the day. But if you have the time to do them in one session, that's ideal. Try to do these weight lifting activities three times a week such as Mon, Wed, Fri.

Alternatively, you can do the 8-minute body weight program listed on pages 212 to 213.

Go to page 258 for your cardio workouts x 13 mins minimum.

The How of Happiness Review

Persona 4: Golden, The Famitsu Interview (Part I)

Translator's Note:

This is my first attempt at translation of an interview from Japanese into English. I couldn't find an English version of this Famitsu published anywhere, but if anyone knows of such, I'd be curious to see their take. This is an interview conducted by Famitsu's Keiji Kawashima, asking questions to Altus' head translator, Yu Namba, about the long process of localizing Persona 4: Golden into English.. I am by no means an expert in Japanese or translation, so as expected, this interview may be riddled with errors, and should be taken with a grain of salt. If anyone has any constructive criticism for me, leave a comment below or hit me up by email at sansuthecat@yahoo.com. All this being said, I very much enjoyed the interview, and I hope you do, too.

- Joseph Erobha




Persona 4: The Golden's Reasons For Popularity In America. An Interview With The Head Translator, Part I.

A Game With A Setting In The Japanese Countryside...What Gives?

Even though the setting of Persona 4: The Golden is in the Japanese countryside, North American gamers valued it very highly. We heard from the head translator at Atlus the reasons why this is so.

Persona 4: The Golden is a unique blend of RPG that simulates everyday high school life with battles that use the Persona, the power of one's heart. Even though the game is set in the Japanese countryside, North American gamers thought rather highly of it. For this article, the information editor of our weekly publication, Keiji Kawashima, who had played the North American version, spoke with Atlus's head translator. Kawashima greatly loves the Persona series. Even here in Japan, he often plays the best-selling game's North American version. He has but one reason for this: Playing a game you like once more like playing it for the first time. For this RPG, that includes hearing the characters speak to themselves in English, obviously, but the graphical and production aspects undergo change as well. There are numerous secrets and experiences to discover. This time, we overflowed with anticipation for the North American edition of Persona 4: The Golden (abv. P4G) and we heard from Yu Namba, who is responsible for translation and localization at Index Digital Media, Inc. (Atlus's North American counterpart).


Kawashima: "First of all, tell us how the West values P4G."

Namba: "Two months since its release (1/24/2013) the North American version of P4G has recieved a high score of 94 out of 100 on the aggregate review site, Metacritic. It's also number one in the PS Vita category and is on its way to becoming number one in the genre. The PS2 version was also highly revered in North America, but P4G added many elements of quality and variety that further enriched the game's content. So it were as if from the start these natural inclusions were ready for warm reception."

Kawashima: "North American gamers also accepted a story that unfolded on the Japanese countryside."

Namba: "Whenever I read a comment on the content like, "The Japanese setting was irrelevant, I could intimately embrace and empathize with the story and characters", I think that the development team, the localization team, and the voice actors came together as one to wrestle with the North American version, and I'm happy that they could release such a wonderful game. The Persona summons, 1-more turn, and All-Out Attack also contributed to the highly rated battle system. Additionally, scooter attacks and costume changes were brought in as new elements, so I often see opinions that say, "The battles are a lot better. As such, the modes of everyday life activities and dungeon crawling also had a major impact. In every part put in by the gamer, they can get very absorbed in playing the role as protagonist, and I think that the heartstrings of Western gamers were touched by game that allowed such a high degree of choice. "

Kawashima: "Can you tell us about the heavy use of vocals on the background music?

Namba: "Overall, the background music was also highly well-received. I think that the reach of the Western versions of had a role in PG4 and Persona 3 adopting English vocals in even the original Japanese titles. That's a little interesting, isn't it?"

Kawashina: "A lot of other elements also added to the popular reception, right? For instance, the PS2's title was "Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4", but the "Shin Megami Tensei" title wasn't in the Japanese version. Is there a reason for that?"

Namba: "I think that between around 2003 to 2004, the "Shin Megami Tensei" brand name had just been established in North America. Their first title was "Shin Megami Tensei III: NOCTURNE." Ever since, other Shin Megami Tensei series also came to use the "Shin Megami Tensei" name in English."

Kawashima: "And the official North American title for Persona 4: The Golden became Persona 4: Golden."

Namba: "Throughout the year of 2012, we were finishing up the North American releases of not only P4G, but also Persona 4: Mayonaka Arena, and we came to the opinion that if both games used "Shin Megami Tensei", their titles would be too long. Also, for reasons relevant to the original game's release, I wanted the titles to start with "Persona 4." We left the Japanese title for P4A as is, but for the North American version, we played with the title "Persona 4: Complete Edition (Ultimate)", but we figured that Persona 4: Arena would be much simpler to understand for a fighting game. P4G's title was also subject to this, as it also didn't feel right grammatically. So Persona 4: Golden lost the "The" from the Japanese edition."

Kawashima: "The name of Kuma* (the protagonist's friend) is changed to "Teddie", isn't this linked to the word "bear"?

*"kuma" means "bear" in Japanese.

Namba: "In romanji* Kuma's name us spelled the same, but I don't think it would carry over the same meaning in North America, so we used "Teddie" from the "Teddy" in teddy bear. We also decided to drop the verbal tick "kuma" and instead limit him to adopting "bear". As a noun, "bear" can only mean "kuma", but as a verb, it can hold a variety of meanings. After that, we slightly change a word's spelling while maintaining the pronunciation. In this way, for instance, "very" is said as "beary". So concerning Kuma, his naming and speaking came out like fastballs. The jokes were so Kuma-entangled until our brains were fried. Western gamers have accepted Kuma's character, too, so we are grateful for the hard efforts if the head translation staff."

*"romanji" are romanized versions of Japanese letters. e.g., "たべる" becomes "taberu."

Kawashima: "The pet name of Rise Kujikawa (a friend of the protagonist) was also changed from "Risechi" to "Risette"."

Namba: "'Risechi' is really a common pet name in Japan, but we didn't think North American gamers would feel comfortable saying it, so we named her as though she were the singer if a Western band. So an element of French was thrown into "Risette" to make it look more feminine. Since she was originally called "Risechi", the "Risette" pronunciation affected the game, so commands were changed in English to "Push Risette" or in Japanese, "Rizetto (Risetto) moshite!""

Kawashima: "This game's feature system "Community", was also changed to "Social Link" in the North American version, right?"

Namba: "In Japan, "community" is written in katakana*, so the word gives a unique impression, but I think in North America, "community" is a common word so I wanted to make another word. Both "relationships with others" and "the nurturing of bonds" are ideas in Igor's lines, so from there, we took "relationships with others" to equal "Social" and "bonds" to equal "Link", thus making "Social Link.""

*"katakana" refers to one of the three types of Japanese spelling often used for words of non-native origin.

Kawashima: "How did you translate the humorous jargon for words like "Kaere-ru"*, an item for dungeon escape, or "Okan** Rank" for the "Understanding" Social Quality?"

*"kaere-ru" is a pun on the Japanese word "kaeru (かえる)" meaning "return", often in the context of returning home.

**I have no idea what "okan (オカン)" refers to, though I assume it relates to Buddhism. If anyone has any idea, let me know.

Namba: "The transmission of a word's meaning is dependent on the translation, so the nuances are rarely changed. In the case of "Kaere-ru", we took its English meaning "Go home (uchi ni kaeru)" and made it look like "Goho-M." The protagonist's Understanding, in the Japanese version, progresses from "Bodhisattva" to "Okan", but since America is a Christian nation, we changed it to progress from "Motherly (onna no you na)" to "Saintly (no you na)".

Kawashima: "You must make an effort to respect the Japanese version's nuances while also communicating to North American audiences."

Namba: "Certainly. Another time was with the plastic model item "Mass production type Brahman." "Mass production type" was too long and a weak English translation, so we tried to prepare a different word. We came up with naming it "MF-065 Brahman" after a certain mass production type green robot model. Only certain people will understand this enigmatic reference, but there are lots of Gundam fans in North America, too. (laughs)*"

*It's a reference to Gundam's MS-06S Zaku Commander Type II

Kawashima: "The dialogue and the cut scenes were also greatly affected. Nanako only sings "Everyday, young life! Junes!", but the lyrics change slightly in the North American version."

Namba: "The Junes jingle did not work well in English, so it was necessary to change it to sound more like Western supermarkets and department stores. However, the spelling of "Junes" constantly appears throughout the game in the town's graphical background, so we couldn't change the department name. The word originally comes from "Jeunesse" (youth), so we dropped "young life" from the jingle and added "Mainichi saikou! Anata no junesu" which became translated as "Everyday's great at your Junes." I was quite happy when Nanako's voice actress sang it for us so cute.

"Moving on, Chie had a line like, "From generation to generation? Wow, that's just like Kaneda." As expected, I thought that Americans wouldn't know that Japanese detective, so I considered replacing Kaneda with Holmes, Poirot, Marlowe, or Miss Marple, but that wouldn't be Chie. Such novels and films were hardly fresh when we included them, so we used the Kizunoha clan name from another company title. I think that Atlus fans who have played the North American versions of Persona 2: Eternal Punishment and Devil Summoner: Raidou Kizunoha vs The Soulless Army, will understand the reference. Even so, the nuance of the original line, "From generation to generation," is lost in translation. Americans don't understand phrases such as "You wear your uncle's name.""

Kawashima: "When shadows of Princess Yukiko, Kanji Tatsumi, and Rise Kujikawa appear in the dungeons, the production title graphics are arranged like a film production." (Laughs)

Namba: "All of the staff enjoyed making the production titles for the English version. Only the characters changed, while the title decorations themselves were left alone, however, ingenuity was necessary for putting English into spaces where Japanese was written. In fact, the titles unintentionally appear to pop out when you see them displayed as banners during the game, so the time spent on them was well worth it. After that, we made the "Void Quest" dungeon's boss fight resemble a Famicom-era game. I remember the staff referencing NES RPG titles when they made the display texts."

Kawashima: "When you see gamer opinions on the Web, it looks like Kanji's Shadow became a much bigger topic in North America."

Namba: "I think that the Shadow embodies Kanji's dilemma, and though his appearance and behavior are bawdy (laughs), the theme he represents weights heavily since it occurs realistic fashion. The theme of "Can you accept yourself, completely, as you are?" An American gamer who sympathized with Kanji told me that this work's stance of "This is okay" had saved them. This is easy to mock, but that kind of sentiment is flowing throughout the company now. Persona 4 can change a single person's life. I think that's truly wonderful. All of this is due to the enthusiasm of the development team, and the passionate performance of Kanji's voice actor...though I wonder if Kanji's Shadow was a little too passionate (laughs)."

Kawashima: "As a translator, which scene would you cite as having the deepest impression on you?"

Namba: "Since this will be a spoiler, specific occurrences can go without saying. So without spoiling anything in Persona 4, I personally think it's the scene at the hospital. That one. Persona 4 is about high school life and an ongoing, bizarre murder case. Both "the good life" and "the shadow of death" are depicted in this work. Until now, the main characters have lived relatively carefree, but here, the danger lurking beneath is recognized anew. This is a very important moment. I think that we definitely didn't cut corners here. We were all so fired up in handling the writing and voice recording of the script. The superb acting by the voice actors really brought it home, especially the voices for Yosuke and Dojima. Those two overwhelmed us with their bloodcurdling performances. Ever since Atlus USA formed in 1999, we have handled the localization of many various titles. To me, that scene was the turning point, that from now on, we must exceed our objectives."

- End of Part I


The interview in the original Japanese:
https://web.archive.org/web/20141024074917/http://www.famitsu.com/news/201302/02028096.html

The Art of Video Games: Persona 4
https://sansuthecat.blogspot.com/2017/07/the-art-of-video-games-persona-4.html