#competitive coding

[excludedmiddle]

hey congrats on reaching CM (? wanted to find the post where you mention that to confirm but tumblr search misbehaves). was curious as to how many problems you've solved on cf? I primarily picked it up cause ik it helped friends with interview stuff but I'm 2 months in stuck at ~1200 so wondering if I should be doing things differently. on one hand most problems <1400 are greedy or math so I worry an actual interview will be more "algorithmic" and I'll be unprepared (maybe leetcode is better in this regard?). on the other hand it's soo much easier to fantasise about being good at cp than actually practicing. so. anyway wondering if you had any advice on this? CM in one year does not sound like the journey of your average cf-er. congrats again. cheers!

Thank you!

(full disclosure: I've kind of fallen off with competitive programming - I haven't competed on codechef since January and codeforces/leetcode since April)

My solving totals, ratings, and number of contests are:

Leetcode: 824 problems, 2571 rating, 41 contests

Codeforces: 69 problems, 2000 rating, 14 contests

Codechef: 32 problems, 2046 rating, 4 contests

If you're looking for interview prep I would skip codeforces. Leetcode problems are closer to what you'll get in interviews, and their contests are much less of a time commitment. I also code in Rust on CF/CC and Python on Leetcode, and I much prefer to take interviews in Python.

If you snoop around a bit on reddit and the leetcode forums, you can often find lists of problems people have seen at a specific company's interviews to get a flavor of what you're up against. I really recommend this - the problem I struggled with the most in getting my current job was on one such list for my company and I wish I'd gone through the list. This was before I got really good, though.

I think my rapid growth was fueled by three things:

I did math competitions all the way through college that have a similar skillset

My college classes taught a lot of competitive programming concepts (I learned what a SegTree was in class!)

I had a period of 5 months between graduating and starting my job where I was unemployed and highly motivated, and I did a ton of grinding during that period. Most of my leetcode solves are from that time

If you're looking to improve but don't have a ton of time to burn, here's the regimen I recommended to another asker:

[sirtbhopal]

Department of CSIT, CSE, and AIML are organizing a National level Hackathon CODEENERGIA 2K23

[fullscoreshenanigans]

The little bow of reflection and smile Ray makes as he briefly soaks in the last morning Emma and Norman will be able to carry out their routine as usual knowing the horror they'll endure before night's end.

He knows they'd both prefer the harsh truth over a pretty lie, would hate to think about other siblings suffering the same fate as Conny, Hao, Sadie, Susan, and so many more before them if there was even the slightest chance of being able to do something about it. It's part of what he loves about them; where he had the tendency to give up after years of learned helplessness and self-loathing, they would resolutely say "no" and escape the system they had been born into.

(they are better, they are deserving, unlike him)

He loves them so much he can't help but let some of his fondness show on his face as he savors Emma's reaction to seeing him and Norman, because if that isn't so incredibly her, to love so effortlessly and uninhibited, to live so unabashedly authentic.

It's part of what got him through a life he cursed and part of why he has faith if anyone will be able to do this, it'll be them.

[the-architect-of-ferrari]

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Scuderia Ferrari HP (@scuderiaferrari)

Ferrari admin with this fruity ass post like why are you using an audio from the movie where the two male competitors KISS 🤨🏳️‍🌈

[podkopayayva]

am i dumb or is it literally appalling that not a single senior has attempted to separate themselves from the absolutely massive pool of middling US all arounders by heavily specializing in an event? a single knockout bars/beam specialist - hell, even a bars OR beam specialist - could lock their spot on the team just by virtue of being the only non-simone athlete that could seriously contend for an event gold medal. it's almost like nobody is thinking about any sort of strategy? there's not an ounce of higher level thinking going into anybody's gymnastics? it just feels like a "score as many points as possible by producing generic, solid routines on every single event that fail to make a case for how you differ from any other single gymnast doing the exact same thing" fest. like what the hell is up with that? i've never been so bored in my life by this year's crop of gymnasts and it pisses me off that they dedicate their entire lives to this sport and don't even attempt to view it from any sort of strategic level

[tinfishmeal]

i hate them so much

[suspendingtime]

Anthony yelling out lilies during charades. 💀

[astraeajackson]

imagine your otp in school playing an EPIC dodgeball match BUT they're in OPPOSITE teams and it's a full-on WAR and everyone else is completely TERRIFIED of them

[allmightyscroll-swag]

He got lost and accidentally bumps at you- "Ah, sorry about that!"

@tmntseparatedaucompetition

HI HELLO!! I'm very sorry for my mean son I promise he's better behaved when he's not actively in panic mode

[rotten-vision]

binged season one of code geass and now i have two doomed edgy men with weird masks and weird capes that want a revolution and laugh maniacally my depression has doubled please mom come pick me up i dont like it here

[silentreigns]

I have been reading too much of what people have been saying about Lewis's move to Ferrari recently. And I can't take this honeymoon phase seeiously at all. I genuinely like both Lewis and Charles but I am gonna root for Lewis first and foremost. He needs to take back his 8th championship more than Charles needing to get his maiden F1 championship. I feel like there's going to be a lot of the Lecfosi who are praising LH now will turn against him next year, regardless of if he outperforms Charles or not.

[excludedmiddle]

Sometimes I look through the submissions of the guy who made my algorithms library for inspiration on how to use it better, and I often learn things about the library (or about Rust) that I didn't know.

But sometimes I look at something he's written and I think to myself. Sir I admit that you are better at competitive coding than I probably ever will be. But this cannot be the best way to do this.

[formulanni]

is there any like actual solid reason as to why you think carlos is cringe and why you hate lando?

Idk I think it's a bit harsh

(Not the same anon as the one who asked about carlos btw)

I just… think he’s cringe? I don’t hate him 😭😭 he was one of my favorite drivers for a really long time just idk he icks me out

Also… I don’t have to have a reason? As to why I think something is cringe? Or why something icks me out? It’s not harsh it’s just my opinion and how I feel 😭 I’m not saying I want the guy dead I’m just saying I haven’t been a fan recently.

Um! With Lando! I just don’t like him! For a lot of reasons, mainly the fan base. I’m not gonna go into it bc I don’t want to isolate anyone I’m just not a fan 😳 I think if I didn’t have to hear about him as much I’d like him a lot more

[hazelkjt]

What Type of Villain Are You?

"Come on, get up! Our FUN isn't over yet!"

Sportsmanlike- "You may be a villain with selfish goals, but you recognize that there are rules to this back and forth between heroes and villains. You have honor. Morals. Some may call you old fashioned, but there's tradition to this whole evil business and you'll be damned if you let yourself break it. You offer hospitality to the heroes when you recognize you must, even when it gets in the way of your plans. You play dirty only when absolutely necessary. You honor your word and if you lose, it is with grace and dignity. You consider yourself classy, respectable, and while you realize you may be evil, you're not gonna let that make you an asshole."

Quiz can be found here

Tagged By: @nolanel-corbeaux, tyty!!!

Tagging: YOU, reading this!

Boop

[spiritsglade]

An incomplete list of all the people that Jason Todd/Red Hood killed who (probably) didn't deserve it (in Under the Hood)

DISCLAIMER: I am a Jason Todd fan. I literally only got into Batman comics because of him. My presence in this fandom is entirely, 100%, entirely, conclusively his fault and he could kill 82 people in Blackgate by poisoning the mess and it wouldn't be enough to make me hate him.

There is not really a wider point I am trying to make here, though I have a lot of nebulous thoughts that I'll maybe turn into something coherent someday. I just noticed that Jason kills, like, a lot of people in Under the Hood! As in. So many on-panel and then Winick implies that he kills even more off-panel. So I made a list about it.

Whether someone "deserves" to die or not is really not something I feel like arguing, so just know that this is just me compiling a list of low level henchmen, drug dealers, drivers, etc. People who are not in Charge.

The List

(Issue #2) These guys were hired to move Black Mask's shipment. The shipment contained a wide variety things, including various rogue weapons, Amazo, and 100 pounds of kryptonite. All these guys were unconscious by Batman and Nightwing, and many were in the boat when Red Hood blew it up. Based on previous panels there should also be some knocked out on the dock, though they aren't visible in the second panel.

(Issue #4) Red Hood shoots the four guys who accompany Mr. Freeze with machine gun turrets disguised as nondescript warehouse crates, which is fun! I'm pretty sure he was also trying to kill Freeze here - stuck a little bomb on him - but Freeze's armor was ludicrously strong here.

It looks like he's shooting them with toothpicks but I'm like 90% sure this was meant to be lethal.

(Issue #5) These two delivery drivers. They also mention the other five deliveries "hit" which. Probably means they also got blown up to death.

"I'm telling you I sent two of your better men to take a simple look at a crime scene and now they're missing."

(Issue #5) Potential murder of Jacob and Ryan. Inconclusive.

(Issue #5) General discussion of the sheer unspecified number of people Jason's killing. The people decapitated here were "five runners who worked [...] over by the high school." Jason explains to Onyx that these runners were selling drugs to twelve-year-olds.

(Issue #6) This entire warehouse full of people. He does name three of the people in the room (Marlin Stone - runs "what's left of the east side traffic", Jay Karino - "street muscle" "soldier", Teddy Reese - "pimp", "kiddie porn ring", "narcotics") and calls them all "piece[s] of garbage" and "dirtbags."

Everyone else seems to have been the backup guarding the meet. He killed them all to prove a point to Onyx, at least in part.

"...now he seems to just be dispatching them."

"Oh, so now we've got another Batman? One who doesn't mind the blood?"

"No, sir. The Red Hood is still taking huge cuts from all avenues of business. Drugs, racketeering, prostitution… now…. it looks like he's eliminating the competition."

(Issue #9) Panels speak for themselves. We don't get a clear body count but it is high!

(Issue #9) The blast mentioned here is referencing the rocket launcher Red Hood sent into Black Mask's office window.

Misc other more arguably-deserving kills and tangential thoughts

The infamous duffel bag, containing the head of eight lieutenants.

Li, Black Mask's right hand man, thrown through the window of Black Mask's hideout with a cell phone stuffed in his mouth.

Captain Nazi. (good for him!)

Jason didn't directly kill these guys but he did convince Black Mask to kill all his "second in commands" and "'go to' guys" (6 people total) which was fun.

He blows a lot of things up. Could be a whole separate list.

What was the point of all this? He was doing a lot of killing. A truly astounding amount of killing. So many people died.

I'm tired and I don't trust myself to successfully make a coherent point, but here's a fun little quote that's been bouncing around in my head while I worked on this. In Issue #7, Jason tells Bruce that "Death will come to those who deserve death. And death may come to those who stand in my way of doing what's right."

[ckcomics]

Ink Test: Kill this guy

Based on this comic by @hausofdecline