Busy, Busy, Busy (Again)

Can't post much these days. Lots of school work to do. I hope to be back very soon.

Washing Machine Hassles

Purchasing appliances like washing machines can be really a headache at times. This is what I had in mind when we replaced our old washing machine weeks or months ago. We had to return and have it delivered not only once, not only twice, but thrice!

Here's the thing. During the first delivery, the manual was missing. We couldn't possibly allow that especially because the warranty card was included in the manual. Allowing it just to pass might give complications in the future. So it was redelivered the next day. The manual was there and so was the warranty card. That night, however, my aunt found out that the timer was stuck, so the washer went on running indefinitely. We reported the case that day in the appliance center, where the customer service representative rescheduled yet another delivery.

Moral lesson: Inspect your goods well when they are delivered--especially when they are washing machines. Haha.

Turn on Me by The Shins

I'm increasingly becoming fonder of The Shins, thanks to Yko for introducing their music to me. Sometimes, however, I wonder, is it the music that I like or is it just the weirdness of the members' ideas? Probably both. Haha. Here's one of those awkward videos from this indie band.

Trade Shows

Marketing a product can really get a lot of money out of your company's coffers. Getting recognized by your target market is not as an easy task especially if you are a new player or the market you are in is already a matured one. This is the reason why companies hire marketing professional to do the job. You can't just waste your marketing money, can you?

There are many ways you can market a product. I can't be sure about all of them, but way you can do so is through trade shows opened up by certain associations for a specific event. While this is not cheap at all (having the need to set up trade show booths, banner stands, pipe and drape, and hire somebody to man the booth), it lets anyone interested in your product to directly ask questions about it.

Application Ongoing. Join UP ACM Now!

The Association for Computing Machinery - UP Student Chapter is now open for membership application and renewal.

(from UP ACM)

The Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) is the world’s oldest and largest educational and scientific computing society. It is a major force in advancing the skills of computing professionals and students in more than 100 countries in all areas of industry, academia, and government worldwide.

It was founded in 1947 for the purpose of advancing the sciences and arts of Information Processing (IP), promoting the free inter-change of IP among specialists and the public, and developing and maintaining the integrityand competence of IP practitioners.

The Association for Computing Machinery - University of the Philippines Student Chapter is a University-wide Computer Science organization. It is the country’s first ACM Student Chapter.

A four-time winner of the ACM Chapter Excellence Award (Activities, 2007, Community Service, 2005, 2006. Recruitment Program, 2005), it currently consists of 136 undergraduate members from various departments and colleges throughout UP Diliman.

You may fill up this online application form and submit the other requirements to a UP ACM member (like me).

UP Centennial and Firefox 3 Download Day

This day, June 18, 2008, marks the 100th founding anniversary of the University of the Philippines, representing 100 years of academic excellence. Happy Centennial, UP!

Coincidentally, today is also the official Firefox Download Day. It actually started at around 1 in the morning here but I didn't bother waiting because the download site is bound to crash. True enough, it did crash, according to Yuga. Hehe. Not being so excited does pay off, doesn't it? You can download the new Firefox here. I'm still in the process of trying it off.

Bum, Bum, BUM!!!

Despite the fact that I am such a home buddy, rarely going out of the house for non-academic purposes, I am someone you'll rarely see knowing a lot about my home. I do not know what's the best home furnishings (My aunt does the dirty work haha). I am hardly the man of the kitchen, I hardly know how to wash clothes, and I do minimal chores. I do like to work, as long as it does not involve a lot of muscle straining like, say, encoding some stuff. The funny thing is that I already declared this since I was a child. I know it isn't good, and it's obvious from the way I look but, hey, it's school time once again and I now have to do some hard mental working!

Do you love to WRITE? Parser needs you!

The UP Parser, the Official Student Publication of the Department of Computer Science, is in need of:

STAFF WRITERS

* Qualifications: Good command of English, and a passion for writing.
* Requirement: Write an article/piece, depending on which section you wish to be part of:

o News – News article* about any CS event (e.g. Joomla! Day, CS4S, et cetera. You may opt to write about an imaginary event if you haven’t been able to attend any CS event yet for this academic year)

o Feature – Feature article* about yourself and/or CS student life

o Literary – Poem with at least two stanzas, or the first episode of a short story

o Technology – Review* of any gadget/technology

*At least 250 words



FEATURES EDITOR

* Qualifications: Creative writing skills, leadership skills, and commitment!
* Person who submits the best feature article (See above) will be chosen.



CARTOONISTS/ARTISTS

* Qualifications: Artistic talent and creativity (Humor is a plus)
* Requirement: Sample artwork (e.g. One panel of comics, or a drawing)


PHOTOGRAPHERS

* Qualifications: Technical knowledge of photography/digital photography
* Requirement: Sample photograph with title/caption



WEB ADMINISTRATORS

* Qualifications: Knowledge and experience with HTML, CSS and PHP with mySQL
* Requirement: URL to previous/current work



TO APPLY FOR A POSITION:

* Submit the requirement, together with your name and mobile number, to editor.in.chief@upparser.com on or before June 30, 2008.
* Please attach articles/literary pieces in TXT/RTF/DOC/DOCX/ODT/ODF/PDF format only (In other words, we can open it using Notepad/Wordpad/Microsoft Office/Open Office/Adobe Reader), and scanned artwork*/photographs in any universal image format such as JPEG or GIF (No esoteric image formats please!).

*If you are unable to scan your artwork, contact us (See contact information below) so that you can submit your artwork personally.


For questions/whatnot, please contact Beatrice at 09177010616.

The UP Parser is the College of Engineering’s first and foremost department-based publication. Carrying the motto “Analyzing Life the CS Way”, Parser aims to be the voice of the Department of Computer Science (DCS), a mediator between the department and student body, as well as an outlet for skilled programmer-journalists.

We don't just write programs... We write!

Weblog Travels 5: Kawit, Cavite

A portrayal of the declaration of Philippine independence from the Spanish colonizers on June 12, 1898
Maligayang araw ng Kalayaan!

Since today is the Philippine Independence Day, we might as well go back to my mother nation--specifically, to the place where the independence of my country was declared--the municipality of Kawit, in the province of Cavite, Philippines.

Kawit is a first-class municipality of Cavite and the province's oldest one, established in the latter part of the 16th century. Like most of Cavite, the municipality has a relatively large income because of its historic value (that attracts tourists) and its proximity to Metro Manila. It is near the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, the country's main international gateway, making it very accessible for foreigners who want to see it.

Perhaps the most famous spot in Kawit is the Emilio Aguinaldo Shrine, the birthplace and home of Emilio Aguinaldo, the first President of the Republic. Historians say that the Philippine flag was first waved and the country's national anthem was first played in the balcony of his house, drawing a multitude of people from the province and nearby areas.

Another famous site in Kawit is the St. Magdalene Parish Church. According to Lawstude, the Church was erected in the 1600's by six Filipino families from the towns of Maragondon and Silang. What's most note-worthy about this place is that this is the church where Aguinaldo was baptized. In 1990, the Church was renovated to give it a new look after all the centuries that it endured.

Check out this website for information on Kawit and its history. (Photo of St. Magdalene Church taken from the Wedding Announcer)

New Soul

Here's another song that had me singing over and over again. It's entitled New Soul and it was sung by Yael Naim. Coincidentally, it is the same song used for the TV advertisement of Macbook Air (see previous post). Lolz.

Wanna Win a Mac Air?

I know you do! Well, someone here is generous enough to give not just one, but TWO Mac Airs plus an additional one thousand dollars. I dunno what got into their heads, but Mike and Michelle, authors of Bloggin-Ads.com, a site full of blog reviews, will be throwing away these prizes to the lucky participants. Who knows, you might be one of the lucky winners (with me winning one of the Mac Airs, lol). So visit their site now and check out the details. :D

Weblog Travels 4: Cape Town

Panoramic view of the Cape Town CBD
This is long overdue. I was kinda busy with my enrollment these past few days and I couldn't keep up with blogging. Anyway...

We are now going to another continent as I am pretty sure you are starting to sense my bias for Eurasia. Haha. We are now in the city of Cape Town, South Africa.


Table Mountain and the city of Cape Town as seen from Bloubergstrand.


The Clock Tower

Cape Town is one of South Africa's three capital cities, with it being the legislative center (The other two are Pretoria and Bloemfontein). It is the capital of Western Cape, as well its manufacturing center. But despite its reputation as a manufacturing city, it still remains as South Africa's most popular tourist destination. This is due to the fact that Cape Town has a climate comparable to the Mediterranean--you know, a very calm one. Behind the urban jungle are mountains, most notably Table Mountain, that form as a background to the city and gives it a postcard-worthy look from afar. Architecturally speaking, Cape Dutch buildings proliferate the metropolis, which is not surprising since South Africa was a former Dutch colony. Just expect more visitors when the World Cup 2010 begins.


The main campus of the University of Cape Town (Postcard-worthy!)


The colorful Cape Malay Bo-Kaap


Are you looking for Cape Town hotels? Well, as a tourist city, the city naturally has a lot of hotels like the Cape Town Lodge Hotel. Cape Town hotels are generally fairly charged and caters to people of different travel budgets. It may be too early to say this, but if you decide to go to Cape Town for the World Cup, be sure to have your hotel reservation veeeeeery early. You know how the World Cup crowd can get.

First of June

Tomorrow will be the first day of enrollment for the first semester of this academic year. I'm already a junior student. Goodness. Here comes the days when I will almost always be in front of the computer since majors are already coming in. Anyway, just like the previous semesters, I will have a rundown of my upcoming subjects. Of course many of you do not care, but I don't care about you not caring. lol

CS 135 (Algorithm Design and Development) - Basically an extension of CS 32 (Data Structures), this subject will talk about various algorithm designing techniques, as opposed to algorithm implementations using data structures, as what we did in CS 32. It is said to be another one of the tougher courses in the Department and I am excited to take it as a challenge. (3 units; WF 2:30p-4:00p)

CS 140 (Operating Systems) - This is, I've heard, is an extension of CS 21 (Computer Organization and Machine Assembly Programming), though now quite, as it focuses on the operating system level, hence the course name. I seriously think I'll be doing badly in this one since I performed miserably in CS 21. The grade I got in that subject was a real surprise. (3 units; W 11:30a-2:30p lab, F 12:30p-2:30p lec)

CS 150 (Programming Languages) - I heard this is a fun subject as we'll get to know more, well, programming languages. I am not sure what programming languages we'll tackle because it depends on the professor handling the class. So far I only know how to program in ANSI C, Java, and assembly. I hope to know more languages that I can actually use at home. (3 units; T 3:30p-5:30p lec, Th 2:30p-5:30p lab)

CS 175 (Programming for Competitions) - I'm really excited about this one. I took it as an elective class even though I am supposed to take an elective next year and not this year. But who cares if there's something nice like this one waiting? It's actually the training class for this year's ACM ICPC competition. It's the foremost programming competition in the world. The current Philippine champions are still studying in the Department (after ending Ateneo's domination of the regionals at last), and it would be a good training for me if I get to interact with these people, assuming they take the class. Training will be rigorous, though. It'll take most of my Monday afternoons. (3 units; M 1:00p-6:00p lab; TTh 1:00p-2:30p lec)

EEE 8 (Digital Circuits 1) - Another class with hardcore physics, but specialized for Computer Science majors. I haven't heard much about this subject, but I know that we'll get to play with Integrated Circuits (ICs) in the subject after it, EEE 9, or Digital Circuits 2. (3 units; TTh 7:30a-8:30a lec, F 4:00p-7:00p lab)

Statistics 130 (Introduction to Mathematical Statistics for Computer Science) - It's the only class that I still have not enlisted on. The School of Statistics won't open any more classes! Grr. Well, I still don't know anything about it except that there will be lots of numbers. (3 units)
EDIT: Because the School of Statistics chose not to open another class, I chose to enlist for another elective instead. It's CS 197 that has something to do with Computer Science education. I am not sure. I was just texted by Paolo that there were still a lot of slots available. I was already desperate that time because most General Education subjects were already closed. Thank you, Pao!

CWTS 1 Music - It's the Community Welfare Training Service program of the College of Music. I really had no choice when I enlisted for this subject. I originally enlisted for the CWTS program of the School of Economics but, when CS 175 was opened, I canceled it immediately as there is a conflict between their schedules. When I was accepted in the program of the College of Music, I then wondered what their program is. Haha! Checking out the Internet, I read this article. Apparently, we'll have to teach some art and music stuff to kids. WOOOOOW. I'm one of the least artistic people you'll ever see in your entire life. Haha. So, even today, I am still wondering what will I do. But I'll have to worry about that later since the teaching part is in CWTS 2 (to be taken next term). We'll just have a bunch of seminars until October. (0 units; TTh 10:00a-11:30a)

PE 2 CHL (Cheerleading) - This is another one of those classes that you take because it's the only class available. I was really hesitant at first because I do not want to do things like holding a pompom or something (WAHAHA), but I eventually learned that we will be just required to watch some of the varsity games. No pompoms. Yahoo! (0 units; M 11:00a1:00a)

Looking at my classes makes me feel both nervous and excited. Every semester gets more exciting and exciting. :D