Neural Network Experiences

1. After an exhausting 5 days of work, including a Microsoft word which hang every time I tried to save, gladly glancing at my 6-pages report. Take a rest for half day, then starting the 3^rd question. Copy pasting my code for 2^nd question to 3^rd question. Upon examining the training output, finding out something very weird…
2. … Heart pounding, sweat dropping, and what I can define as nightmare become reality. Lacking of 1 line of normalization code, I need to throw away all my result and analysis of question 2 from the 5 days.
3. Try to find my teammate, but not contactable.
4. My computer starts acting weird. After training for 25 minutes, it will restart by itself, which of course, make my whole result gone. Everytime I restart, the life time becomes shorter and shorter. Now, every time I started matlab, the monitor will become blur and my computer will restart in 10 minutes. Countless time it encounters the blue screen of death. Now I need to depend on 512MB computer lab to do the training…
5. … But it didn’t last long. After the whole night training on Sunday, wake up in the morning only to find out that the computer in lab is absurdly shutdown. The result gone again. Run to lab and figure out that a FYP student is doing a demo in the computer Yes.. we’re sharing computer.. and it’s absolutely not his fault that he logged in. However, his demo including disconnecting the computer from NTU LAN. Means I won’t be able to even open the share folder anymore. Not until his demo on Friday.
6. In whole confusion… going back and try to use my computer. No improvement. Eventually, asked helios to help me setting up the computer from my lab. Then I can remote again! I then quickly tried to run the matlab again. Error. NTU run out of license for neural toolbox. What a short happiness.
7. Teammate told me that she stuck with the learning rate part, which is the first question, first part, first section. There are 3 questions in total containing 3 part each and 5 section each. The deadline is in one week time.
8. I didn’t know what to do anymore, so I went to eat Beef Pepper Steak. (ha?)

I think this is really the worst project management I ever did. I don’t mind the trouble of the long training.. but the fact that I was getting so many useless result due to my own carelessness… is something that I really cant stand with. Too rush to start the training even before I verify the code. Sigh. If I had done a proper training from beginning, the project itself won’t take more than 2 weeks to complete. Really.

After the project is eventually submitted (submitted 2 hours before the deadline) I would now gladly thank these people:

1. Teammate, who had been chased by me everyday until the submission date.
2. Arianto, who had sacrificed his laptop for matlab and training the whole week. I owe you =D
3. Helios, who had helped me set up the computer at lab. It means a lot!
4. Lab executive, who practically recovered the LAN for me. I really don’t know what excuse I should put on when I meet her… “Yes, I’m using the computer lab overnights for 2 weeks. No, not for fyp, but project...”
5. My dear computer, who accompany me in the beginning but leave me when I’m down. Despite of being given a new cloth. Huh! (so u’re put in the last of the list :p)

In conclusion… hmm… ok… experience is always priceless. So I didn’t regret to taste this one. It’s important in training out stress handling approach. But still, once is really enough to get the essence of it.

Bye Neural Assignment. Welcome Neural Lecture recording & Tutorial!

Neural Exam in 10 days,

Erlin.D