2012 is my startup year.

2011 is really a great year! But I know 2012 will be a better year.

Next year will be my startup year. I will start or pursue some startups this 2012. I hope one of my startup plans will push me through success.

What will happen?

To be continued...

Really. 2011 is a great year.

It's December 4 today. Coincidentally, it's been exactly 11 months since I said why 2011 is a great year. You know what? 2011 is a great year. Really!

According to my blog post 11 months ago, I am looking forward for some few things. Amazingly, they happened!

First, graduation. I recently graduated. I still didn't blog about it but I am planning to. I now have my Bachelor of Science in Computer Science with specialization in Software Technology degree. Good right?

Free times. I enjoyed my free times this year. I am with my friends in majority of those free times. With it, our relationship becomes better. Also, I became close with a friend. And our relationship was taken to the next level. See below. :)

Boyfriends for my girlfriends. This partially happened. It is because not all of my girl friends got a boyfriend. I think my friend that now have a boyfriend is very lucky! HE HAS AN AWESOME BOYFRIEND! Well, they are both lucky. My friend is also awesome and very cute too! :)

Company, business, or job. I am pursuing my MS degree, but I have a job. They are providing us scholarship and stipend. It is a hassle sometimes to study while working, but it can be managed. I am also going there to have a business or company. Few more months and I think I'll be there.

Girlfriend. I now have a girlfriend. 'Nuff said. She's my friend that I told above. Teehee!

Sooo, I will just reuse the ending of my blogpost 11 months ago...

That's it. 2012 is a great year. So replace your calendar. Leave all your sadness behind. And turn your life into the new page.

2011 is a great year, but I am sure that 2012 is a greater year!

Even though it is maybe the end of the world. Enjoy!

Pisay

I just watched a video on my friend's Facebook page. It was about Philippine Science High School. The video shows random students with random questions. Some questions are striking, but some are funny like...

Bababa ba?

Lumilipad ba si Jollibee?

I think the video is about curiosity and promoting the school.

Well as the video ends, application date for Pisay was shown. Then, I remembered back in those days where I am searching a school for high school. Philippine Science High School was one of my choices. I managed to passed the first exam but unfortunately not in the second screening.

Before, it was nothing to me. I did not know about Pisay back then until I reached college.

"Sayang at di ako naka pasa sa Pisay." That always came up in my mind whenever I know a student from Pisay. They always excel in class. They know what to do. They are bright students. I admire those students from Pisay. They are very good.

Yes, such a good life.

You may want to ask what is happening to my life.

Well, I recently graduated with a BS Computer Science with specialization in Software Technology. Such an awesome course right? Yes it is, and I really learned a lot. About my graduation, I will just blog about it in later time.

Currently, I pursuing into graduate school taking up MS Computer Science. Why? Of course, to learn more and also because of the scholarship. Yes, I am studying right now for free.

How? I'm working for Dimension Data. They are paying our tuition and also giving us a stipend. Yes, I am earning money. How much? Let us say that it is more than I need.

Awesome right? Yes.

Sooo, I am still 19 years old. I am currently studying to broaden my knowledge. I am earning more than I need. I have a girlfriend. I have a happy family. Yes, I am living a good life.

And, I'm not done yet. I still have dreams to finish and plans to pursue.

Coke Light

Maraming version ang Coke. May regular, may zero, may light at may cherry pa nga ata. Ang pinaka favorite ko sa mga yun ay ang Coke Light.

Ang lasa ng Coke Light ay tamang tama lang para sa akin. Yung tamis ay sakto lang, na may konting tabang. Kaso ako lang ata ang taong may gusto sa lasa nito. Sabi ng aking mga nakakusap, ang tabang daw. Parang walang lasa. Pero yun nga ang gusto ko dun! Di kasi ako mahilig sa masyadong matamis, kaya okay sa akin ang medyo matabang.

Kaso nga lang, hindi ata lahat ng restaurant ay nagtitinda ng Coke Light. At yung ibang restaurant pa ay expired ang natitindang Coke Light. Sa limang restaurant ata na napuntuhan ko ngayong linggo, tatlo ang may expired na Coke Light. Di ko naman sila masisisi. Talagang walang umoorder ng Coke Light kaya naiiwan lang na nakastock sa kanilang refrigerator at naeexpire.

Buti nalang, nung kumain ulit kami sa restaurant na nakitaan ko na expired na Coke Light, hindi na expired ang naibigay nila sa akin. *clap clap clap* Siguro nung sinabi ko na expired na ang Coke Light nila ay tinapon na nila yun lahat at bumili na ng bago. Tama lang.

Oo nga palaaa, alam ko ang lasa ng expired na Coke. Pero hindi pa ako nakakatikim ng expired na Coke Light. Nalalaman ko lang talaga na expired sila. Instincts kumbaga.

Kaya kung balak niyong umorder ng Coke Light, tingnan muna lagi ang expiration date sa ilalim ng lata.

NullPointer.ph

I've been searching for tech startups here in the Philippines. Using some resources, I managed to find a handful of startup information here in our country. An awesome thing that I discovered is this NullPointer.ph.

NullPointer.ph is like a StackOverflow that is localized in our country. It is also a question and answer site that also runs in Stack Exchange engine.

Well, they have a decent community in which you can ask different programming topics, or technology related stuffs.

Why no try it now? Register, and ask question!

Employees?

Facebook started with less than 5 employees.

Twitter started with 4 founders.

Tumblr currently has 50 employees.

Instagram was developed by 2 people.

Foursquare has employed 70 people.

Posterous got 9 employees.

Dropbox was first coded by a single person.

Bitcasa has 5 people working on it.

Kiip has 15 plus their 19 year old CEO.

They have few people working but still considered as successful. Then it is not about the workforce.

Big companies are vampires?

This! So having a startup is better.

Picture from Stuff No One Told Me.

The Tales of Not Being a MOTA

Guys, hindi pala tayo nag MOTA noh. Boo to that. Yung mahigit isang taon nating plano at pangarap, hindi natin nagawa. Malapit na tayo eh, natitikman na natin ang ginto. Pero certificate lang ang naiuwi natin.

Oo, masaya naman ako na nakaabot tayo ng ganito kalayo. At nakaabot tayo dun dahil sa mga paghihirap natin. Nanominate tayo eh. Ninominate tayo ni Sir Borgz at ng ating mga panelists dahil tiwala sila sa nagawa natin. Take note, nagawa natin.

Di ko na masyadong inusisa kung bakit wala tayong nakuhang award. Ang sabi niyo lang sa akin ay hindi nasunod ang testing na gusto ng mga judges. Well, wala na tayo magagawa dun. Hindi tayo nakakuha ng award hindi dahil mali ang ginawa natin, kundi dahil di natin nasunod ang dapat na gusto nila. Wala tayong maling ginawa. May hindi lang tayo nagawa.

Ang laki, ganda at possibilities ng system natin ay parang hindi nakita at nabali wala dahil sa hindi natin nagawa.

Sayang. Pero hindi natin kawalan yun. Sayang lang at hindi nila nakita ang mga yun.

Kung mapapansin niyo, hindi ko sinasabi na natalo tayo. Kasi una, hindi naman competition yun. At higit sa lahat, sa tingin ko ay hindi naman talaga tayo talo. Ang laki, ganda, at ang daming possibilities sa system na nagawa natin para sabihin na talo tayo. The mere fact na nagawa natin yun in just a year ay panalo na.

So paano tayo mas magiging panalo? Nacriticize ang testing natin. So malamang sa DOST, icriticize din yan. Pero subukan parin natin.

Ako. Dun ako sa hindi na masyado icriticize ang testing natin. Susundin ko ang pangarap ko. Mag startup ako para sa system natin. Ipapagamit ko ang Hotchpot sa maraming tao. Sa tingin ko ay hindi naman masyado kailangan ng ganun kahirap na testing para gamitin ng mga tao. Sabi niyo nga, walang testing ang Facebook. Kaya hindi rin yun makakakuha sigurado ng award for MOTA. Boo you too Facebook. Walang sense ang Twitter. Kaya wala rin siyang award. Boo you three Twitter. Pero asan sila ngayon. Ayun sila. At gusto ko sila sundan gamit ang ating Hotchpot.

Kayo. Tara, gawa tayo ng company. Tayo nalang ang kulang. Naaalala niyo ba yung mga panahon na nag iisip tayo ng startup idea? Eto na oh!! May idea na tayo. Ay hindi pala, may system na tayo. Hindi na natin kailangan iimplement pa from scratch. Konting changes nalang. Less work. Less hassle. Eto na oh!! Hinihintay nalang tayo ng Hotchpot.

Natatakot kayo baka walang mangyari. Isipin niyo, pag walang mangyari, anong mawawala sa atin? Bata pa naman tayo. Wala pang masyadong masasayang.

Oops. Masyado pa tayong bata. Tama lang. Ulitin ko, bata pa nga tayo. Wala pang masasayang. Kailan niyo gusto? Pag tumanda na tayo? Pag may asawa't anak na tayo? Mas mahirap yan, ang dami ng mawawala sa atin.

Wala pa tayong nalalaman? Kaya nga. Experience is the best teacher diba. Kaya nga papasok tayo sa startup para maexperience natin ito. At magkaexperience dito.

Teka, pero paano naman kapag may mangyari? Wow!! Pumatok ang Hotchpot. Ginamit ng maraming tao. BOOM!! Ayan ang BOOM ni Kenneth. BOOM!! Just do the math of our gains.

We have almost nothing to lose but we have everything to gain.

Hotchpot Ltd.? Hotchpot Inc.? Hotchpot Co.? Nandiyan na yan. Tayo na lang ang kulang.

Co-founder title. Alam ko gusto niyo.

Business Entities

Recently, I've been searching for business entities for a future startup. I first checked Wikipedia and learned the types of business entities there. I then go to the link for the Philippines and discovered what are the entities here in our country.

I noted few entities and do some searches about them.

First in the list is the sole proprietorship. As I understood, this entity is of course consists of a single person. It is owned by one and of course controlled by one. A downside in this entity is that the liability of the owner is unlimited. I really do not know what it means but it is said that the owner and the business have the same treatment.

Partnership is another entity. I think a partnership can be general or limited. It must be consists of two or more person. Based from what I read, the profit is divided among the owners or members. Also, the liabilities in a general partnership is also unlimited like those in the sole proprietorship. On the other hand, limited partnership has one or more but not all members has a general partnership and the others have a limited liability up to the amount of their contribution.

I also read about Incorporated (Inc.), Limited Liability Company (LLC.), and Corporation (Corp.). I did not manage to really understand all of them but I hope to some time.

I still do not know what entity to pick for a startup. I do not want to be a solo proprietor, so maybe partnership is a good idea. Inc. and LLC. can be a choice too.

First honor DL!

Yeees! Gagraduate na ako. At sa stay ko, naka kuha ako ng dalawang second honor Dean's Lister. Akala ko yun na lang dahil patapos na ako. Pero yun pala...

BOOM! Hello first honor Dean's Lister.

Akala ko hindi abot. Kasi nung lumabas ang grades ay may 2.0 akong grade sa isang subject. Hindi ko ineexpect ang ganung grade. Kaya pumunta pa ako ng grade consultation day. Tiningnan ko ang ang breakdown ng grades kaso di ko nagawang mapataas ito. So okay na ako sa grades ko at tanggap ko na.

Pero kinabukasan, tiningnan ko ulit ang grades ko. Tumaas ng 1.0 ang grade ko dun sa subject na yun. Mula 2.0 ay naging 3.0. Yun pala ay may maling computation ang teacher namin. Ang laki ng tinaas. At ang saya!!

Oo nga pala. Hindi lang yun ang tumaas. May isa parin akong subject na tumaas mula 3.0 naging 3.5. Pwede na!!

Swerte.

Ayun, first honor DL ako sa last term ko sa DLSU! :)

Thank you text.

I received a text yesterday that made me smile. Look!

It is a text from a tutee that I and Excel helped in her COMPRO1 and BASICON course.

I really appreciate this small things. This thank you text is really appreciated. :)

Road to MOTA

Tomorrow, we will have a meeting with Sir Borgz. It is not an ordinary meeting because it will not be in school. I think we will meet at Shangri La mall and talk about our Most Outstanding Thesis Award presentation.

I am excited for our MOTA presentation this Wednesday. We will try to market our thesis (Hotchpot) to some panelists. I really want to present our thesis alongside Ian, but too bad, only one must present it. He will have a keynote style speech for our Wednesday presentation.

Wish us luck! We are aiming for the Gold award. And I hope we can get it.

Gusto ko, pero di ko magawa.

Ang dami kong gustong iblog. Ang dami ko pwedeng iblog. Ang dami lang talaga.

Pwedeng tungkol sa pagtapos ng thesis namin, pwede din namang tungkol sa nalalapit kong graduation. Ang daming topic sa isipan ko pero hindi ko alam kung paano ko ito isusulat. Ang daming magagandang nangyayari sa buhay ko ngayon pero wala man lang akong maiblog kahit isa dito.

Gusto kong magblog, pero di ko magawa.

Hotchpot, anyone?

So what is this Hotchpot?

Hotchpot is a summarizer, a Facebook application, and a framework.

Hotchpot as a summarizer

Hotchpot is a summarizer for Senate bills in the Philippines. It summarizes them through extraction. It extracts the most important sentences in the explanatory note of the bill. It also uses several features to score and rank each sentences. These features include sentence length, sentence position, title, word frequency, and such. The top five sentences will be the summary and represent the whole bill. The summary that is created by Hotchpot is an indicative summary. It is not a replacement for the original bill. Instead, it is a short preview of it for readers will know what the bill is about. The summary is like the text at the back of a book. It does not intend to replace the book, but it is a sneak peek of what the book contains.

Hotchpot as a Facebook application

Hotchpot uses Facebook to disseminate. It is a disseminating tool for the Senate bills that were summarized. It also utilizes the Facebook API and its social graph. Through this application, the bills will be disseminated based from the interest of their users. The category of the bills will be matched to the interest of the Facebook users. Hotchpot enables people to easily access the Senate bills. In this application, people do not need to come to the bills, the bills will just come to them. The Facebook users can also vote for the bills if they like it or not. They can also comment and express their ideas about the bill. Hotchpot will increase the awareness of the people to what is happening in their government especially the Senate.

Hotchpot as a framework

Hotchpot is a framework for summarizing and disseminating. It is not just a summarizer specifically for Senate bills. It is a summarizer for any documents without any much changes. Only a few modification is needed for it to summarize other documents. Business articles are tested in Hotchpot and it works with a good result. Articles or documents that are summarized can then be also disseminated through Facebook. Interest of the users will be matched to the category of the documents. Through this framework, documents will be easier to read and accessed.

Hotchpot is a system that can do those said above. It is not just created to be use by the people. It is created to make a difference to the people, to the technology, and to the government.

To use Hotchpot, just go to this link.

Defense.

Yesterday is one of the biggest day of our thesis life. Thesis defense. Kami ang unang sumabak sa thesis defense battlefield. Halo-halong emosyon ang aming nararamdaman habang papalapit ang aming pag depensa. May kaba, takot, excitement, at marami pang ibang mga di mapaliwanag na pakiramdam.

Sa mga panahon na yun, kasalukuyan din kaming nag kacram. Gumagawa ng technical manual at user manual na hindi naman nagamit, at pati ang presentation na gagamitin namin.

May mga tanong din na umiikot sa aming isipan. Papasa ba kami? Kaya ba namin? Handa na ba kami?

Handa na nga ba kami?

We are ready for defense!

Di namin alam ang kakalabasan ng laban pero wala na kaming magagawa kundi harapin ito ng aming buong lakas at loob.

Last push.

We are now in the last part of our thesis. Having some last push. K. Thanks. Bye.

Alone.

Nakakalungkot mag isa. Hindi ba?

Awesome desktop

I found an awesome desktop wallpaper few months ago. Unfortunately, I didn't able to download it. I checked the site again yesterday and the site is now available.

I managed to download it, and it contains a shelf wallpaper with different background colors and resolutions. Check it out.

Just arranged your icons where you want to place them in the shelf. I'm currently using the shelf with the pink background.

I also renamed my desktop icons into a blank character (Alt + 255). It's awesome, right?

If you want it too, check this Lifehacker entry.

Updating my resume

Hello. I'm spending this night updating my resume for tomorrow career chuva orientation.

It's so hard for me to update my resume, I do not know why but it takes a lot of time.

Honestly, I do not believe on resume that is printed on paper then submitted to a company. As for my course, I think resumes are inappropriate.

Computer Science students or graduates must have a website that contains their contact information. Achievements, portfolio and projects can also be added to it. To view my website, just click the link in the header.

Sooo, this is just a short and slightly meaningless post. Conserve trees, don't print your resume. They are not needed. I really feel that companies will not read it.

Spicy Ice Cream?

'Nuff said. The title stated everything. Here it is...

So you will ask me how does it taste like?

Obviously, it tastes like chocolate. Every taste is chocolate, but with a twist. As you enjoy the chocolatey taste of the ice cream, sooner or later the spicy thingy will be in the after taste.

I didn't buy the ice cream, I only tried the free taste of it. I don't know what the spicy thingy feels when you eat a whole scoop.

Try it!

Coupon deck of McDo

Nung tayo ay bata pa, meron tayong Pokemon o kaya naman Yu-Gi-Oh cards. Marami tayo nito at nakakabuo ng isang deck. Meron din namang tinatawag na deck of cards para makapaglaro ng Tongits, Pusoy Dos at marami pang iba.

Pero kanina, kakaibang deck ang aming nahawakan. Naglalakad lang kami sa labas ng McDo DLSU, nang makita namin na may nagpapamigay ng coupon para sa mga discounts sa McDo.

Syempre, nanghingi kami.

At binigyan naman kami, binigyan naman kami nito...

O, deck of coupons sa McDo. Gusto mo? Malaki rin ang matitipid sa double cheeseburger plus Coke Float.

Syempre, sa dami, pinag hati hatian namin. Hinati namin sa apat ang coupons na para bang nag lalaro ng baraha.

Sooo, sino gusto kumain sa McDo? Discount ko gamitin niyo!

May dadalhin ka na ba sa pasukan?

Frosh tips ba ulit? Gusto mo malaman ang mga dapat dalhin sa pasukan? May picture ang Santugon kung ano dapat ang dalhin sa pasukan kapag frosh ka.

Hindi naman ganun karami ang sinasabi nilang kailangan dalhin. Sa katunayan, ayon sa naaalala ko, yan din ang mga dala ko nung frosh ako.

Importante ba silang lahat? Oo.

Kailangan ba silang lahat? Oo.

Pero kailangan ba silang lahat sa first day? Hindi.

Para sa akin, ang index cards at pictures ay hindi pa muna kailangan sa first day. Dahil sa first day palang manghihingi at magsasabi ang mga teachers kung kailangan. Pero dahil frosh ka, ready ka.

Ako, ano nga ba ang dadalhin ko sa first day of my last term?

Ballpen at notebook lang. Nakalagay sa bag ko na gamit ko na muka pa nung grade 5 ako. Yung ibang kailangan? Manghingi nalang sa katabi. That's what friends are for.

Sa katunayan, ang laman ng bag mo ay "inversely proportional" sa tagal ng stay mo sa school. Habang tumatagal, kumokonti ang laman ng bag mo.

Pero malamang, darating sa buhay mo na ang libro mo ay hindi na kasya sa bag mo. Hello TC7!

Sundin niyo ang payo ng Santugon, walang mawawala sa inyo.

Uso ang frosh tips ah

Next week na pasukan. May mga frosh na naman na gagala gala, mag iipon ipon sa hallway at haharang sa daan. Yes, yan ang ilan sa mga bad impression sa mga frosh. Kahit ano pa gawin mo, hindi mo maitatago sa iba na frosh ka. Siguro, maitatago mo sa kapwa mo frosh pero sa upper batches, malamang obvious kayo. Bago mukha niyo eh.

Naging frosh din naman ako, kaya nagawa at naranasan ko na rin yang mga yan. Been there, done that. At dahil nga tapos na ako sa pagiging frosh, sa katunayan ay tatlong taon na ang nakalipas noong naging frosh ako, may mga tips din naman akong maibibigay. Ang mga tips ko ay para sa mga incoming CCS lalong lalo na ang mga ComSci froshies ngunit pwede rin naman sigurong magamit ng mga ibang colleges.

Madali lang ang ABC, kahit nursery kabisado ito. Pero sa CCS, iba ang ibig sabihin nito. Ang ABC ay Algebra, BASICON, COMPRO1. Ingat ingat lang. Delikado sila. Wala akong masyadong sasabihin tungkol dito, ayaw ko manakot. Ang masasabi ko lang, abangan niyo sila.

Ang mga teacher niyo na nakalagay sa EAF, kadalasan ay mga pawang kasinungalingan lang.

Magpasikat agad? Wag. Mag lay low muna kayo ala ninja. Bakit? Ikaw ang magiging tanungan ng assignments lalong lalo na sa programming. Gusto mo bang maexperience sa YM ang...

"Classmate! Ano mali dito sa code ko?

printf("Hello World!")"

Yan ang madalas mangyayari sayo pag nagmadali kang mag pasikat na para kang nasa Showtime. Hindi ko naman sinasabing wag ka tumulong, pero kasi pag paulit ulit mo nalang na sinasabi na wala kasing semicolon sa end ng statement niya, diba nakakaasar na?

Magagaling ang mga nerds, pero hindi gaano, at hindi lahat sa kanila ay matalino. Kadalasan, wala sa mukha ang talino. Minsan, ang makulit sa klase, ang kasamahan mo sa pag hanap ng chicks, o kainuman mo sa GP ay ang tunay na mag eExcel sa inyong batch. Trust me on this.

Hindi lahat ng nag aaral, pumapasa. At hindi rin lahat ng hindi nag aaral ay bumabagsak. Kaya minsan, mas mabuti naring hindi mag aral.

Di na kailangang lumayo pa. Nasa Gox na ang lahat, malapit sa Agno, may lobby o study area na minsan ay mainit, may computer lab, at may GAPA (Gox All Purpose Area) na dating GEA (Gox Eating Area).

Pwedeng gawin halos lahat sa GAPA, kaya nga tinawag na all purpose area eh. Pwede dun kumain, tumambay, mag kwentuhan, mag ingay, mag laptop (wala nga lang WiFi), o mag PDI kung di kayo nahihiya (wag lang papahuli sa DO).

Di mo na kailangan mag suot ng bonggang bongga pag CCS ka. Halos lahat ng tao dun ay simple lang. Kadalasan nga, ang bongga mag damit ay hindi talaga para sa CCS.

Sumama sa tamang barkada, isa ito sa susi mo sa tagumpay. Ito mahirap, dahil hindi porke't nag doDotA araw araw ang mga kasama mo, o umiinom sa GP, kahit nga nag kacut sila ng class ay masamang barkada na sila. Suriin mo nalang mabuti at kilalanin ang sarili.

Para sa akin, wag muna masyadong idedicate ang sarili mo sa mga orgs. Dadami ang free time mo pag hindi ka na frosh.

Santugon o Tapat ka man, parehas lang yan. Hindi ako member ng dalawa na yan pero sa tingin ko parang pamilya ang turingan nila sa isa't isa. Medyo busy at kakainisan nga lang sa panahon ng election, pero okay sila.

Ang mga yan ay ilan sa mga naisip kong tips, iupdate ko ito pag may naalala pa ako. Opinion ko lang naman ang mga ito. Pero kung may tanong, reklamo o komento ba sa mga nasabi ko? May comment box naman sa baba.

Excited ka na ba pumasok? Kita kita tayo sa pasukan.

I'm a surfer dude

Last weekend, we went to San Juan, La Union to enjoy the last bits of vacation. The place is considered to be the surfing capital of the Northern Philippines. Therefore, we went there to surf.

We stay in Kahuna Resort which is only a walk away to the beach. We spent almost two days there.

We arrived Saturday noon, checked in and eat lunch. We then head to the beach after.

We start our surfing adventure through a simple tutorial. Then after few minutes of it, we tried it in the beach. It was not that hard to surf but it is exhausting.

I tried surfing again the next day without an instructor. At start, I can't get the hang of it.

But after some waves and falls, I'm gliding like a surfer dude.

Yeah. It's FUN FUN FUN!

I want to try it again next time.

Angry Birds in a browser!

Want to play Angry Birds? No iPhone or iPod Touch? Do not want to download a desktop application?

Well, you're lucky. You can still play Angry Birds without any of those above. You just need one thing, and it is the same thing that you use in reading this blog.

Yes, you only need your browser!

Just go to this link and enjoy playing Angry Birds.

Tayo na sa Antipolo

Yesterday was my grandfather's birthday, and we went to Antipolo to attend the mass in their church.

It was just a short travel from Quezon City. When we arrived, the earlier mass just ended and we are just in time for the next mass. After that, we took some pictures and below is a synthesized image through the use of my Potosint.

We headed to Eastwood afterwards to have lunch and celebrate the birthday.

A bail to heat

This is a halo-halo, and this is my bail to heat.

The two thousand words picture

As we all know, a picture is worth a thousand word. But how about a picture with more words in it?

Yeah, I talked about PhotoSynthesis before that applies image filters to your pictures. Then I updated it. Or let's say I completely revamped it, the name, the layout, the page, except the filters.

PhotoSynthesis is now called as Potosint. Why? Check the its About page.

The index page is new too. I think it is better looking than before. Check it out here.

The website is still not complete. I will still integrate it to various social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr for easy picture sharing.

If you think a thousand word for a picture is enough, try Potosint and it will add a thousand more.

PhotoSynthesis?

Ever heard of Instagram? It applies cool filters to your pictures and then share it. It can be shared to various social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr. It is a cool app, but it is still only for iOS.

That exclusivity gives me an idea. I want to create an Instagram like application for personal computers. Therefore, I created PhotoSynthesis. It is a one day chillax (chillax & relax) coding in PHP, scripting language that I still do not know that much.

PhotoSynthesis applies pictures with the preset filters. It is just needs three steps to do.

1. Upload a photo.
2. Select a filter.
3. Save and share.

PhotoSynthesis currently contains ten filters. These filters are Reality, Oldies, Clarysage, Ranee, Bolos, Paolo, Gayi, Hapal, Paulyn, and Shiela. Some of the filters are names or surnames of my friends that gave me three numbers in which I used for the RGB values of the filter.

It is still on construction stage but it is now working and usable. If you want to try, just visit http://photosyn.berdugolabs.com/.

I will blog about PhotoSynthesis again some time with more description about it.

Once again, Ilocos SumVac

We always go to Ilocos, specifically in Candon City, Ilocos Sur every holy week. The past years, we stay there till the Black Saturday or Easter Sunday. This year is different because of some unexpected events. We only managed to stay there till the night of Good Friday.

We arrived in Ilocos the night of Holy Wednesday. We only stayed in a hotel unlike before where we stayed in my father's house. The picture of the hotel looks creepy, but it is not. It is only because of the effect from an Instagram filter that I use.

We went to the beach and traveled to Vigan City the next day, as we always do.

I miss the beach, the waves, and the hot sand. After taking that picture, I ran towards it. Fun fun fun!

Then after going to the beach, we ate lunch and then travel to Vigan. After an hour of travel, we arrived.

Still the same as last time. The old houses of Vigan is still old houses. Yeah, they are old houses but take note, they have Mang Inasal, and even Legacy Super Club with a bouncer sitting outside where you can TUGS TUGS!

And then we ate the Ilokano empanada, with pork, vegetables, and egg inside. After eating, the sun is setting and then we go back home.

Good Friday, we just wait for the "prusisyon" to arrive. We always watched it every holy week.

And every thing has a first time. After the "prusisyon", the electricity was cut. It is our first time to experience a brown out there. Even if, we still walked going to the church, that is just a short distance away.

It is dark inside the church. Only the light of the candles are visible, and thus provides us light. And because of the darkness, we did not manage to kiss the foot of Jesus. We always do it when we are there, but not this time.

We went to McDo afterwards to have some snack, and it is also just a walk away.

After dinner, we pack our bags and we leave. We went to Agoo, La Union to visit our tito and tita and to also have some sleep.

The next day...

We go back home.

A feature for convenience.

During this weekend, I became an "on-call" web developer of my own application. I recently updated the DLSU GPA Calculator that I made a term ago. In the first update, I removed the capability to compute the Cumulative Grade Point Average because of the design overhaul. Yes, in the first two updates, only the Term GPA can be computed.

I exchange a feature for convenience. I can say that the application is now easier to use than before.

For the first release, there is only a drop down box of units that the user can select. 1.0, 2.0, and 3.0 are the units that can only be selected. But then, I received a comment that there exist a 4.0 unit course. I updated it as soon as I can and added 4.0 in the drop down box of units. It became the update two of the application.

The next day, I again read a comment that states that there is a 1.5 unit course, for thesis. Even though we are doing our thesis, I do not know that a 1.5 unit thesis course exists. Our thesis is 2.0 worth of units. And because of it, I remove the drop down box for selecting the units. I changed it into a text field, again. And that is the update three.

Thanks to that update three of the application, it can again compute for the CGPA. To do it, just enter the accumulated units for that term in the unit column and the TGPA in the grade column. The application will take the rest to compute for your CGPA.

And here's the final application after three updates.

DLSU GPA Calculator 2

The grades will be released and for sure, there will be a lot of students that will compute their grade. Unfortunate for some, they still do not know how to compute their GPA. But fortunate to them, their is a DLSU GPA Calculator that can do it for them.

The calculator is an application in Facebook and learn more about it here. As said before, the calculator can also compute the CGPA of the student.

Yes, it is so awesome like that.

To try it, just go to http://apps.facebook.com/dlsu_gpacalc/ and compute your grades!

Or, just like its application page here.

Well, the application interface is different than before. As a matter of fact, I think that it is now easier to use. I just re-tweaked the code yesterday.

Any comments about the app? Just type it below.

Are you graduating? YES!

Yes. I recently enrolled for our last term! And after many times encountering the question and answering "no" to it in our online enrollment.

The question...

"Are you graduating at the end of the term that you are enrolling for?"

is now answered as "yes"!

OH YEAH!

Twitter.

Hello again Twitter.

Just follow me here.

RH Bill summarized!

Well, the Reproductive Health bill is one of the issues being talked about today. The bill is introduced in the Senate by Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago and is called as Reproductive Health Act (Senate Bill No. 2378).

The bill can be read through this link, but I think you will not bother. It is because the bill is lengthy with 16 pages. And that's where our thesis will come in.

Did I mention before that our thesis aims to automatically summarize Senate bills? Yes it is. Our thesis basically shortens the Senate bills by extracting important information in there.

For example, the following is a summary extracted from the Reproductive Health Act:

• This bill compels the state to guarantee universal access to medically-safe legal affordable and quality reproductive health services methods devices supplies and relevant information thereon.
• However this bill does not dictate any form of population control.
• Finally this bill does not promote abortion.
• In fact this bill is "pro-life".
• Passage of this bill is a step towards the attainment of that constitutional guarantee.

Our thesis is not yet finished and still on going. Summarization algorithm is still being optimized. But as seen above, the extracted summary is pretty good. Expect a better summary after a while.

And that is just a part of our thesis. We will also disseminate the summarized bills through Facebook and utilized its social graph. Disseminating it through Facebook answers the question, "Why summarize it if no one will still able to read it?"

Well, in Facebook, the bills will be read.

Ultimate Solution to Tangled Earphones

I just found a solution to tangled earphones and I made a video how to do it!

1. Make a rock on sign. \m/
2. Wrap the cable through your ring and pinky finger using a figure 8.
3. When only a short cable left, wrap it in the middle of the figure 8 a few times.
4. Then insert the jack to any of the figure 8 holes.

That's it! A solution in four easy steps.

I just followed a guide from Lifehacker and my earphones is now tangled free!

Try it and keep you earphones tangled free. It is easy as ABC!

And here is a picture of my Bubble Earphones, tied and tangle free!

Heeeey! It can also use to tie other cables. :)

Conjuct!

Conjuct! is a game by Team Signum Fidei from De La Salle University. It is their entry for the Imagine Cup 2011. Watch the video demo below.

First, we did not join this year's Imagine Cup because of thesis and some lazy reasons. I like to join though but I can't tank the programming to the top.

Second, the Team Signum Fidei is from a group that is from younger batch than us. They are sophomores. Well, we created Nation Driver when we are also sophs. For me, their game prototype is cleaner compared to our first round entry last year. Based on the video demo, the transition is smooth. Their concept is simple. And playing the game is easy even without a training or instructions. It is like a puzzle tetris game.

One point to mention though, the sideline doesn't do anything. Maybe those little people at the sides can be used in a useful way rather than just animation and presentation. A suggestion, maybe they can give power ups.

Ohwell good luck!

About the HTML5 demo

Yey! MichalBe acknowledge my HTML5 demo that uses his tutorial. He also provide a link to my blog. Look!

That's my demo above!

I don't know much about him but you can visit his blog. You can learn about HTML, javascript and CCS there.

RoboHunter HTML5 demo

I found a simple tutorial in the internet to create a HTML5 game. Go to that site here.

I was able to tweak it a little bit and add some of my touches in javascript. I also create and use a Robo Hunter character through Paint and GIMP.

The demo is also suitable to touch devices especially iOS. In iOS, it can be saved as a native app and can be use even offline!

See the demo below.

As instructed, use the space bar to jump or just touch the screen when using a touch device.

Thanks again to this tutorial.

The not so effective pair programming

Last Saturday, we faced another programming competition because we are so nerd like that. In all competitions we join, this is the most different. Because this time, we only compete in pairs. All of our on site competitions and even most of our online competitions were done with three of us in a group. That is me, Excel and Kenneth in the same group.

But this time, only me and Excel competed in UP Cursor's Java Cup. We were named "DLSU Team 1" and together with us were a pair of sophomores. Yes, we compete in pairs. We program in pairs. Pair programming it is. Not at all, we do not have the driver-navigator scheme of the traditional pair programming. We are all drivers trying to solve six problems in two and a half hours.

We try, but we do not succeed. We ended the contest with no problems solved! And as usual, with no shock at all, a UP team won the first place. They solved all the six problems with almost a few sweat.

Well again, the curse of DLSU Team 1 is still alive.

JPB is Jolo Balbin

"JPB is Jolo Balbin" is a simple website I just created for myself.

I have the minimalist design in my mind in this site.

See it for yourself and go to JPB is Jolo Balbin.

Don't date a programmer!

The Valentines day for 2011 is just a Monday away. Do you have a date? Or do you ever experience dating a programmer? Somewhat like a computer scientist. Why try to date one?

Don't date a programmer.

Programmers are geeks. They are nerds. They are anti-social. They are hackers and will just hack your Facebook account. They are self centered. They spent their whole time in front of a computer, typing some weirdo code. They end their line with a semicolon. They are just plain weird.

But if you still insist and want to take the risk, do some adventure and try it. Try and date a programmer!

Maybe it is an adventure, because a programmer, a computer scientist is no ordinary person. Yes, maybe they are geeks and nerds, but have you ever heard of Chuck?

He's a nerd, just do the math.

Programmers think outside the box. They use their critical thinking skill to formulate some algorithms. It definitely needs going out of the box to do it. Thus it solves the problem of cliche. They are wild thinkers and can execute an outside of the box move. A move that is new to the eyes, definitely not a cliche. Who says proposing using a game is overused?

If thinking outside of their box is not enough, how is thinking inside the other box? How about thinking inside your box? Programmers need rigorous testing for their programs to work well. To do it, the programmer must simulate the position of the projected user and use their program. It is thinking like the other person.

With it, that programmer can see things in your perspective. A perspective different from his, but he will definitely understand the way you think.

They also understand the concept of strict rules. Programmers need to have the correct syntax in their program for it to compile and run. They understand how important rule is and not following it can lead to a bad result.

Unlike some people, they also know that a certain "if" word exist and it can always be there. They know that some things or event might not happen with that "if". Life is full of uncertainty and you will never know what will happen next. When an "if" event happen, they know how to accept it.

Everything happens for a reason, and programmers know it. Every effect has a cause, and every cause has an effect. A small problem that is disregarded might be a bigger problem and may affect later. A problem ignored, is not a problem solved. Programmers also know that perfection is such an impossible to achieve. Because they know, that even though their program is well made, sooner or later, a bug will appear. A problem that needs an update to fix. A problem is better solved than ignored.

Computers do not understand the language of the people, but the programmers can understand the language of the computer. Programmers are flexible. Try to date a programmer and you will not have a hard time fitting in, because they will understand you with ease.

Simple things are appreciated by programmers. And they do not take it for granted. It is because the programs made by them are somewhat taken for granted. The simple interface of the program is just a mask to a much more inside. The complex code that is written by the programmers is hidden to the user unlike the wires and circuits of engineers that can easily be seen by naked eye.

Yes, those are some qualities of a programmer. Programmers that are sometimes stereotyped by misconceptions.

But the fact is, programmers are really cool. Try to date one.

I am a programmer.

Inspired by this post and this post.

My Sassy Amnesia Girl

I do not know when, but I love watching Asian romantic movies back then. I think it is the vacation from 4th year high school to 1st year college when I usually watch an Asian movie everyday. I started liking them when I watched "My Sassy Girl". Yes, the Korean version. I do not allot a time to watch the Hollywood remake of it.

Hmmm... "My Sassy Girl". Who do not like it? I think everyone likes that movie. It was pure awesomeness. Following it, I found out that Crunchyroll back then stream Asian movies for free. I do not know today because I do not visit it anymore. I know watch Asian movies through YouTube or MySoju.

I watched plenty of Asian movies in Crunchyroll. To note some:

1. My Sassy Girl
2. Heavenly Forest
3. Secret
4. Virgin Snow
5. Windstruck
6. and others...

I do not remember the title of some but those above are my favorite listed in order (I think). I also remember that I manage to watch "My Sassy Girl" more than three times. QTV once aired a Filipino dubbed "My Sassy Girl" and I still like it with Jimmy Bondoc singing the Filipino version of "I Believe".

Last week, I again watched an Asian movie with the title of "A Crazy Little Thing called Love". It is a nice movie and worth watching. You can watch it in YouTube if you want, just watch the trailer first.

Filipino movies are also Asian movies right? But Filipino movies tend to be repetitive. Boy meets girl, conflict in the middle and still be in love at the end. There are instances that the girl is the best friend of the boy but will still be them at the end.

A unique Filipino movie that I watched is "My Amnesia Girl". It has a great storyline and a must watch movie. I like "My Amnesia Girl" than "One More Chance" though.

Yes, I am a fan of romantic movies. And I like them more than any other movies.

Para kanino?

Para kanino nga ba ako bumabangon?

O kaya naman para saan naman ang aking pagbangon?

Snake through HTML5

Oh well, I do not have anything to say but I just created a Snake game using HTML5.

I based my code in this tutorial. Thanks for it!

To note one, it can also be use in an iPhone or an iPod touch. You can visit the original site here.

Own TLD fail.

Internet is cooler nowadays. The .com ending of domain names is now boring. Many websites now have the .me as their top level domain. "me" seems like an awesome TLD, but you know what is better?

Your own and personalized top level domain.

Well, I think that jolo.balbin as domain name is cool. But what I really want is jaypee.bee as my personal website address.

So I researched how to obtain that certain domain, and surprised when I learned how. Based on what I read, acquiring your own TLD is hard. It has too many requirements. And that's not it.

Own TLD is a pain in the wallet. The cost is not the same as the .com domain names in which you can pay with such an ease. Obtaining an own TLD can cost you big amount of money. Big amount like $50,000 as a cheap price. Yeah, too costly for a personal website.

Maybe I can just settle for a .me or even the cheaper and boring .com TLD.