HlaMin

Month: May 2025

  • Checkers, Chess and Go

    Checkers Program

    Arthur Samuel (IBM) was not a renowned Checkers player, but he developed a system (algorithm and data base) to play against human opponents (with rising level of competence). His program remembered “bad” moves and “good” moves. Over time, the program was able to beat a reasonably good Checkers player.

    It was one of the early projects for Artificial Intelligence (AI).

    Computer Chess

    Chess Programs

    Deep Blue was developed by IBM to compete against Gary Kasparov, World Champion in Chess.

    Chess has many more possible moves than Checkers, but IBM hired three Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) graduates who developed Deep Thought (Computer Chess Champion that outplayed other chess programs). One graduate designed and implemented a special chip capable of fast multi-level pruning. The other two, who are knowledgeable in Chess, helped with the software (e.g. database of games and strategies).

    Computer History Museum (CHM) had an exhibit on the evolution of Computer Chess and a panel discussion including AI experts and Computer Chess Pioneers.

    Go Programs

    The complexity of “Go” — which surpasses that of Chess — challenged AI researchers (e.g. Deep / Machine Learning) to develop “Go” systems capable of beating experienced human players.

  • U Yone Mo

    by U Wynn Htain Oo (M72)

    U Yone Mo
    Pon Tu of U Yone Mo
    • Sayagyi U Yone Mo is RIT’s first Rector and our Rector.
    • For us he is more than a Rector because he is the father of our Mech72 Kyaw Moe. We treat him like our uncle. He was a very gentle and kind gentleman.
    • One evening during our school days, two of my “notorious” Mech72 friends were joyfully swimming in the Circle Pool in front of the main building, when they were suddenly caught by the Rector. Naturally they were very much afraid.
    • But SAYAGYI just told them, “You young gentlemen, this is not the swimming pool. There is the University swimming pool and if you want to swim please go there” and left. That’s all. You can see how much those notorious Mech 72 friends were relieved.
    • We love our Rector and remember him ALWAYS.

  • Social and Reading Clubs

    Rangoon University used to have Social and Reading Clubs.

    BIT Social and Reading Club

    BIT S & R Club

    In the 1961 – 62 academic year, the Faculty of Engineering moved to the Gyogone Campus and became known as Burma Institute of Technology (BIT).

    U Yone Mo served as Dean of BIT. U Sein Hla served as Registrar.

    Saya U San Tun (M59) provided a photo of the BIT Social and Reading Club (1962 -63).

  • Swel Daw Yeik

    Swel Daw Yeik Foundation

    SDYF
    Founding of SDYF

    Forever Swel Daw Yeik

    SDYF Pamphlets

    Meetings

    • SDYF Meetings were usually hosted by U Khin Maung Tun (T78, President).
    • U Khin Maung Tun led by example. He has donated and/or pledged K1500 (or more) Lakhs.
    • There was an abundance of food. Sometimes, “carry out” was provided to the attendees.

    Annual Medical Check up of eligible RIT Sayas


  • Industrial Revolution

    First Industrial Revolution

    • 1765
    • Steam Engine
    • …

    Second Industrial Revolution

    • 1870
    • Factory
    • Automobiles
    • Air planes
    • …
    Computer Chess

    Third Industrial Revolution

    • 1969
    • Pervasive use of computers
    • …

    Fourth Industrial Revolution

    • Ongoing
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Machine Learning
    • Internet of things
    • …

  • Myee

    None of my four grandparents were around when I was born. So, I cannot directly relate to them.

    “Thar ah chit. Myee ah hnit” goes an old saying.

    • Did not know much about the world when I was young
    • Modern day kids — whether they are born in Myanmar, USA, or else where — seem to be highly intelligent
    This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is g-and-j-1.jpg
    Two Myees
    • My “Myee Ma” (granddaughter) would say, “I will take care of GP (Grand Pa) a lot. I will help him exercise. Have massage. … I have a doctor’s bag.”
      She is in Fourth Grade.
      Her hobbies include Reading, Writing, Painting, Riding Bike, Singing, Dancing, Swimming, Gymnastics and Taking photos.
    • My “Myee Htee” (grandson) understands both the spoken language and the body language (even when he was a toddler).
      When told to “Nann“, he will kiss my cheeks.
      He has a sense of when we are coming [to visit him] or when we are leaving. He will hug and give a flying kiss.
      He is in First Grade.
      His hobbies include Video Games, Kung Fu, Soccer, Swimming, Playing the Piano and Hiking.
      He is athletic : dribble a basketball for 30+ seconds, kick and shoot football, swing a baseball bat, and race with remote control cars.
    This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is csn-a.jpg
    Myee Gyi
    This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is g-and-j-2.jpg
    Myee Lay
    This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is g-and-j.jpg
    My Myees
    • Perhaps the same can be said of “Myees” everywhere.
      
    • We are somewhat lucky that we don’t have to take care of our “Ah Hnits” 24 by 7.
      
    • As one alumni jokingly said, “Myees should just be Myee [tasted]”.

    Sayama Toni wrote :

    My myees were not around me much, only for visits, but now in their 20s, they care for me in their own way. Myee-ma lay Thitsa got a pay raise recently and ‘ka-dawk-dare’ me with money. She does that now and then. The recent one, I’m saving for grand father’s yearly donation of his death. The myee-yauk-kyar lay, Ye Htut, loves to cook and I used to complain abt my clean kitchen messed up. But, he washes everything and cleans the kitchen. So, I enjoy them in a way. Ye Htut will be here for a couple of months before he returns to college, so I let him do as he pleases.

  • Data Compression

    Rationale

    • In the early days, it was expensive to store and/or transmit data (e.g. text, sound, picture) in raw form.
    • Compression techniques were developed and used to reduce the size of the data.
    • “Lossless Compression” requires that the original data can be recovered without any loss.
    • “Lossy Compression” techniques are used to reduce the size of the data as much as possible (e.g. by stripping off minor details). The original data cannot be recovered fully. The recovered data would have some loss (e.g. in quality).

    Messages

    Telegraph messages (and subsequently SMS messages) have limits on the number of words (or characters). So, it makes sense to compress a message by

    • leaving out some letters in a word
    • combining words into a phrase
    • using abbreviations and acronyms.

    For example, the following were first used by the military to report situations:
    SNAFU (Situation Normal. All Fouled Up.)
    FUBAR (Fouled Up Beyond All Recognition)

    Examples of Data Compression

    • Run Length Encoding (RLE) is a simple and straight forward way to encode characters. A string of repeated characters can be represented by a pair (Character, Number of consecutive occurrences).
    • JPEG and MPEG (e.g. MP3, MP4) are commonly used to compress video and audio files.
    • Sadly, compression of Burmese words — for smart phones and messaging — had been taken to such an extreme that some no longer know or care about the correct spelling and usage.

    U Khin Maung Zaw (KMZ) wrote:
    Our good friend Htay Lwin Nyo (EP74, UCC – GBNF), told me when I met him after he moved to SJSU, San Jose State University, that he made some killings either selling or licensing the data compression algorithm. Neither did he elaborate nor did I ask him more details at the time.

  • Data

    Classification

    There are several ways to classify data.

    • Structured Data
    • Semi-structured Data
    • Unstructured Data

    Data Types

    • Private
    • Public
    • Personal
    • Shared
    • Internal
    • External
    • Secret
    • Confidential
    • Classified
    • Top-secret
    • Streaming Audio
    • Streaming Video
    • Image
    • Raw
    • Processed
    • Information
    • Knowledge
    • Encrypted
    • Statistical
    • Census
    • Metadata
    • Mark up
    • Abstract Data Type (ADT)
    • Object
    • Big Data

    U Khin Maung Zaw (EC76) wrote :

    Couple of most sensitive data categorization are ‘Top Secret Ultra’ and SCI, ‘Sensitive Compartmented Information’ as defined in government/intelligent services.

    In the business world, one of the most critical category is PII, Personally Identifiable Information. According to the NIST, National Institute of Standards and Technology, listed quite a few data as PII and possible PII, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personally_identifiable_information.

    People should be careful not to expose his/her as well as anyone’s PII data on Social Media.

  • Obsolescence

    In our younger days, Opal was a decent car. But, when one jokingly calls someone “Opal” (or “O Pei“), then one is obsolete (good to be ignored for getting old).

    There is T.O. (Technical Obsolescence).
    Some artifacts can be found only in museums, antique fairs (by die-hard collectors).

    Some technologies are disruptive.
    Many automobile workers lost their jobs when robotics gradually displaced them. Those, who did not have alternate skills, were hit hard.
    Secretaries (experts in shorthand and typing) found that their skills have been marginalized by the word processors, voice-activated systems and similar advanced tools.

    On the flip side, I would not have a reasonably good memory and a hobby of “connecting the dots” of seemingly diverse topics if I had early access to the wonderful world of Internet, AI, and Gaming.
    Slates, Chalk & Talk, Logarithm tables, Slide rules, Multiplication tables (up to 16), Grammar books, Pronouncing Dictionaries, and most now hard-to-find artifacts trained us to remember (not rote learning per se, but using visualization and tricks).

    Many people thought that I am either “brain damaged” or have an “unusual brain”.
    One said, “You can write backwards faster than most of us can write forward”.

    A few were not impressed.
    A professor said, “You cannot earn money by being an expert in History in general, and History of Computing in particular.”
    A manager said, “What is the use of knowing the Trivia (e.g. hobbies, awards) of your fellow workers?”

    T.O. required me to unlearn some old skills, and to learn new “latest and the greatest” skills.

    For me, it’s easy to remember and too hard to forget. I know thousands of names.
    After procrastinating for several decades, I had a wake up call to dump my Trivia.
    I have posted 3000+ articles and 220+ videos in the past few years.
    There will be few Oldies who remember and appreciate the good old days before the T.O.

  • My Writings

    • I am a Lifelong Learner.
    • I am a Literary Lover.
    • Some of my contributions are presented here.

    Pen names

    • Hla Min, Maung Hla Min, U Hla Min, U Hla Min (EC69)
    • Hla Min (Systems)
      at UCC to differentiate from CO Hla Min
    • Maung Hlaing Phyo
      for translation published in WPD
      I was a novice among the distinguished translators : Tet Toe, MMT, Maung Htin, ZMT
    • တက္ကသိုလ် ဂဃနဏ
      for Set Hmu Thadinzin and Hlyat Sit Sar Saung
    • I also used my sons’ names
      for Veda magazine to write three articles monthly

    Some Contributions

    • HMEE (History of Myanmar Engineering Education)
      Project leader: U Aung Hla Tun
      Member: Hla Min
      Compiled CD Supplement with U Ohn Khine
    • Guardian newspaper
      Chief Editor: U Soe Myint (GBNF)
      Author: Hla Min
    • WPD (Working People’s Daily)
      Chief Editor: U Ko Lay (GBNF)
      Editor : Daw Khin Swe Hla (GBNF)
      Author: Hla Min
    • Forward Magazine
      Chief Editor: Bohmu Ba Thaw / Maung Thaw Ka (GBNF)
      Editor: U Sein Hla
      Author: Hla Min
    • RIT English Association Newsletter
      Chief Editor: Des Rodgers
      Editor: Hla Min
    • Hlyat Sit Sar Saung
      Chief Editor: U Moe Aung
      Member: Hla Min
    • High School Mathematics
      Project leader: Dr. Chit Swe
      Editor: Hla Min
    • Team of System Specialists
      Project leader: Dr. Chit Swe
      Editor: Hla Min
    • Lecture Guides & Manuals for UCC
      Authors: U Soe Paing, Hla Min, Aung Zaw
    • CTK (Children’s Treasury of Knowledge)
      Mathematics
      Project leader: Dr. Chit Swe
      Reviewer / Editor: Hla Min
    • ပန်မဂ္ဂဇင်း
      Author: Hla Min
    • ဇောတိသ​ဝေဒမဂ္ဂဇင်း
      Author: Hla Min
    • စက်မှုသတင်းစဉ်
      Author: Hla Min
    • RUBC 90th Anniversary Magazine
      Chair : U Tin Htoon
      Vice Chair : U Myo Myint
      Secretary: U Htaik San
      Contributing Editor: Hla Min
      Prelude for each section
      Three articles
    • Bawa & Dhamma (by U Aung Zaw)
      Reviewer: Hla Min
      Wrote Foreword
    • Cetana Thi Thar Kan (by U Aung Zaw)
      Reviewer: Hla Min
      Wrote a second on Grandfather’s Advice
    • ICST 30th Anniversary Magazine
      Author: Hla Min
    • BAPS Newsletter
      Chief Editor: Henry Lim
      Contributing Editor: Hla Min
    • RIT Alumni Newsletter
      Chief Editor: Hla Min
    • Dhammanda Newsletter
      TBSA
      Editor: Hla Min
    • Homage to U Silananda
      TBSA
      Contributing Editor: Hla Min
    • Burmese Language Course
      (Reading & Writing Comprehension)
      NFLC (National Foreign Language Center)
      University of Maryland (College Park)
      Reviewer / Language Expert: Hla Min
    • Encyclopedia of Asian American Folklore and Folklife
      ABC-CIO
      Editors : Kathleen Nadau & Jonathan Lee
      Author of 9 articles: Hla Min
    • Swel Daw Yeik Sar Saung
      Chief Editor: U Moe Aung
      Author: Hla Min
    • Swel Daw Yeik Magazine
      Chief Editor: U Moe Aung
      Author: Hla Min
    • Poetic Art Series
      Organizer: U Aung Myaing
      Translator: Hla Min
    • RU Centennial FB Group
      Admin: Dr. Nyi Thet Lwin
      Moderator: Hla Min
    • RIT Updates FB Group
      Admin: Hla Min
    • ex-rit.org (First RIT website)
      Webmaster: U Khin Maung Zaw
      Content Provider & Editor: Hla Min
    • RIT Alumni Info (Second RIT website)
      Webmaster: U Wunna Ko Ko
      Content Provider & Editor: Hla Min
    • hlamin.com
      Paid website
      Owner / Admin: Hla Min
      3000+ articles
    • 220 Videos
      30 minutes each
      Broadcaster: Hla Min

    Editor

    • U Silananda’s Dhamma Talks (Book)
      Transcriber: U Osadha
      Editor: Hla Min
    • Three books by U Jotalankara
      Editor: Hla Min
    • Two books by U Aung Zaw
      Editor: Hla Min

    Translator

    • At Meditation Retreats
      Beelin Sayadaw
      U Lekkhana (Wachet)
      …
    • Articles / Short stories
      U Thu Kha
      Tekkatho Moe War
      Dhamma Beri Sayadaw
      Oakland Sayadaw
      …
    • Speech / Talk
      Ma So Yein Sayadaw
      at Berkeley
      at University of San Francisco
      ….
    • Poems
      Tekkatho Moe War
      Okpo Maung Yin Maung
      Maung Nyunt Htay (Ah Htet Min Hla)
      Maung Sein Win (Padeegone)
      Win Myint (M72)
      …

    May be an image of text that says '"Wake Our Unity grandpa, at explain today camÄ The stars dancing flames While soft breeze whistled played. colourful bamboo dances followed without Lightning struck. Thunder clapped. torrential quickly stepped. brilliant flamel" things you've seen happen People flocked, where grass plains, There peace green clean, harmony. Blood-brothers lived Till when rains come. đone, They settled places life. Defined Who hemselves races Burma's freedom strive. Someday, sometime, races merge theycls solemn vOw orever now, Το defend this golden Mg Hlaing Phyo'

    May be an image of 13 people and people standing

    No photo description available.

    May be an image of one or more people and text that says '"Vine" Only one plant Clinging Vine in my heart Bud- strong, new, fresh Encircling my heart Attachment you may say is like a small vine Though seasons change Proudly stands upright Maung Sein Win (Padigon) Translated by Hla Min (EC 69) ပိန်းတ 2020'