A paper worth 20 pesos

It is December 22, 2010 then when I first received the new 20 peso bill that President Noynoy is so proud of. I can say that I like the design. It has a fresh new look. And it looks like this...

Yes, that's it.

Manuel Quezon looks so young in the bill and if his name is not indicated, I will think that he is an actor from ABS-CBN. Maybe Coco Martin? Hahaha!

Compared to the older bills, or the bills in other country, the paper that is used felt like an ordinary paper. It felt like a bond paper with a substance of less than 20 I think. Hahaha! That is the reason why the blog title is like that.

Also, using my powerful eyes, I noticed that there are no period in the above bill. I do not know why but even middle initials and "Jr" do not have a period beside.

Lastly, rice terraces and a palm civet can be seen at the back of the bill.

I tried to sell the bill to my sister for 100 pesos but she doesn't bite. OH WELL!

Cool Facebook page, the easiest way

I've seen a video tutorial in YouTube for the cool Facebook profile. It needs Photoshop but I do not have that software installed in my laptop. The most powerful image editor I have is GIMP. The tutorial make a use of the slice tool which I think GIMP do not have. Because of it, I did not follow the instructions in the video and do it my own way.

Here's how:

1. I took a screenshot of my Facebook page and pasted it in GIMP.
2. I also open my chosen picture there.
3. I lowered the opacity of my chosen picture so that I can see my profile page at the back.
4. I adjust, resize, and rotate my chosen picture for it to suit in my profile page.
5. I then copy each of the portion I wanted to Paint and save it.
6. I uploaded it in Facebook and tag my self in the order it must be displayed.

That's it. It's easy right?

Naaaaaaaaaaah. Because there is an easier way. Or let's say the easiest way. I just found out, that there is a website that will slice your picture for it to be used in your profile page.

The awesome website is ProfileGen.com.

I did it in 6 simple steps but the site will do it for you.

My Facebook Profile Page

I recently switched to the new Facebook profile page just because of one thing. I want to try that cool profile picture tricks in their Facebook pages.

With it, I quickly searched for a picture in my hard disk and found my yearbook picture. I also take a screenshot of my Facebook page and open them both in GIMP. I wanted to use Photoshop but there is no such software in my laptop.

I started with resizing my yearbook picture for it to be properly fitted in my profile page. Then I copy one by one the portions that I need. Pasted it into paint, saved it and the uploaded it.

Now presenting my profile page...

It is easy to do, try it!

Cartoon profile picture. Helpful?

Recently, I changed my profile picture to Son Goku. He is my favorite cartoon / anime character when I was a kid. Just like me, majority of my Facebook friends did the same thing. They changed their profile picture to their favorite cartoon or anime character when they were still young.

Why? It all started with this...

"Change your facebook profile picture to a cartoon from your childhood and invite your friends to do the same. Until monday (Dec.6) there should be no human faces on facebook, but an invasion of memories. This is for violence against children."

I do not know how it started. But the initiators of this knows the capability of Facebook to spread some words. Our thesis also utilizes that capability.

The statement says, it is for the violence against children. And as some people questioned...

How the heck will this sucky campaign will help to fight the violence against children?

At first thought, it will not help. Just changing your profile picture will not help anybody including you. But think some more...

How it will help?

The answer is awareness.

All will start when people become aware. Facebook is nothing then but not until people are aware that it exists. And now look, Facebook is the second visited site in the world.

The campaign or what you call it, just let people to be aware that there is a problem. Yes you may say that awareness is nothing without a move. But there will be no move if there is no awareness. As I say it again, awareness is the start of all things.

This campaign may only be a trip by someone. Or maybe a joke to invade Facebook. Maybe we just fell in a trap. But...

So what?

I like what I did. I think it is cool. And it is from my own free will. There is nothing wrong in changing your profile picture.

Looking back at your childhood days like no other. Sitting down in front of a TV, watching cartoons and animes that do not exist in the present time. Those good ol' days were a memory from a past. And thanks to the campaign, that childhood memory was brought back.

Admit it, characters from your childhood brings some smile right?

Just one problem, it is hard to distinguish the person because of their cartoon profile picture. :D

Si Son Goku at ang aking kabataan.

Ewan ko kung sadya talaga or coincidence lang, pero sa first class namin kanina ay napag usapan ang mga nilalaro namin nung bata pa kami.

Unang nabanggit ang larong Jack and Jill, hindi ko ito nalaro pero madali ko lang itong natutunan kanina. Para lang siyang Nanay Tatay na mas madaling version.

Naaalala ko pa noong nag lalaro kami ng Nanay Tatay noong bata pa kami. Hirap akong laruin ito dahil hindi ko mabilang ang aking palakpak.

"Nanay Tatay, gusto kong tinapay.

Ate Kuya, gusto kong kape.

Lahat ng gusto ko ay susundin niyo.

Ang mag kamali ay pipingutin ko..."

Isa pang larong napag usapan kanina ay ang Charge Shield. Ito ay isa sa mga paborito kong laurin noong bata pa ako, pero kanina ko lang nalaman na may Reflect pala. =)) Kung saan ang kalaban ang matatamaan ng sarili niyang tira, worth one charge ang skill daw na ito :|

Pati ang Chimpoy Champoy na laro ay napag usapan din. Ito ay parang variation ng Jack En Poy ngunit may kasabay na kanta at pag katapos na tira ay may katumbas na aksyon. Kapag ikaw ay panalo, mag sasabi ka ng BEH BEH!. Kapag ikaw naman ay talo mag sasabi ka ng AMEN! At kapag naman tabla ang kinalabasan, mag sasabi kayo parehas ng OINK OINK!

Namention din ang mga larong tulad ng Piko at Chinese Garter.

Natigil lang ang usapan namin nang dumating ang aming teacher. Akala ko ay tapos na ang usapan, ngunit nag patuloy ito habang kami ay kumakain ng lunch.

Dito ay napag usapan naman ang mga laro tulad ng Langit Lupa, Ice Ice Water, Agawan Base, Patintero, at iba pa. Napag usapan din namin ang mga laruan noon tulad ng Turumpo, pati ang mas high tech version nito na Bey Blade, nabanggit din naman ang Yugi-Oh cards, Tex at Pogs na kung ano anong picture ng anime ang nakalagay, pati ang Crush Gear at mga Tamiya race cars.

Hindi parin pala dun nag tatapos ang lahat. Pagkabukas ko ng aking Facebook account sa bahay, nakita ko na ang karamihan ng profile picture ng aking mga Facebook friends ay mga cartoons o anime noon. Nakita ko sila Voltes V, Card Captor Sakura, Charmander, Vincent, Alfred, at napakarami pang ibang karakter noong kabataan ko.

Natuwa ako kaya pinalitan ko ng Son Goku ang aking profile picture.

Pagkatapos non, ay nakipag palitan ako ng wall post sa aking kaibigan na para bang nag lalaban si Son Goku at si Voltes V. Pinagdedebatihan namin kung sino ba sa kanila ang mas malakas.

Basahin niyo mula sa ilalim.

At sa huli, sumuko din siya. Talagang mas malakas si Son Goku kay Voltes V. =))

Ranking a semordnilap

Ever heard of semordnilap? As Wikipedia says, semordnilap is also known as volvogram, heteropalindrome, semi-palindrome, half-palindrome, reversgram, mynoreteh, reversible anagram, word reversal, or anadrome. It is basically a word that spells another word backwards.

What's cool about it?

Semordnilap spells Palindromes in a mirror. It is Palindrome when spells backward.

Semordnilap, as differs in palindrome, forms two different words. Two different words in one set of letters. Basically, they are both equal in the sense of word length. But frequently in computer science or programming, words must be treated to have a mathematical value.

As defined, semordnilap forms two different words and obviously, they both have different mathematical value. But how will semordnilap be ranked?

It is easy. Alphabetical order. The conventional way. Which ever comes first, must be first and always be first.

So let's take an example. Peek and Keep are words that are semordnilap with each other. So which ranks first? Which must be treated first? And as we all know...

K is always first than P.

K comes first in alphabetical order than P.

Thus, when ranked, Keep will come first than Peek. And it will always be like that if alphabetical order is in.

But if not the conventional way is used, the ranking might be different. Peek might comes first than Keep. It is just based on the ranker's own perspective.

Hey, it might be alphabetical order in descending order is what the ranker prefers much. And we can't do anything about it. :)

But again, semordnilap. Two different words. One set of letters. But one must rank higher than the other.

Taylor Swift's concert ticket prices

The ticket pricing for concert of the Taylor Swift is posted below.

VIP - P12,000

VIP Lower Box - P7,500

Lower Box - P5,500

Upper Box A - P3,500

Upper Box B - 1,500

General Admission - P500

Patron is not yet available.

So, will you go and watch Taylor Swift's concert? Are you willing to pay with such an amount?

If I will watch, maybe I'll buy Upper Box B or even Upper Box A. It depends on my willingness to consume such an amount.

Well, as expected, ang mahal ng tickets. :(

Mr. Facebook on Friendster

Friendster, where it all started. The trailblazing website that made a name for social networking websites. I watched how it grows, and saw how it falls. I also thought that it may come back again when they changed their layout.

Almost all of us have Friendster. Ordinary people have Friendster. And back in those days when Facebook is still not used as a word, Mark Zuckerberg also has a Friendster.

You can go to his Friendster page here.

In his Frienster page, you can see few of the Facebook staff when it still did not exist.

Read more about it here.

@facebook.com. Are you ready for change?

Email is a very convenient communication tool nowadays. It is like the pen and paper mail system but is implemented electronically. Through the years of email, I registered an address several times. My first email is created when I was in grade school. jolobalbin18@yahoo.com is what I think it is. Friendster is so popular back in those days that my inbox was flooded by numerous updates from Friendster. Yes, I still do not know how to turn off those notifications back then. If I was not mistaken, I did not managed to open it for more than four months that it was somewhat deleted.

Now, I have this email account, also in Yahoo that I used and maintained since high school. With that email, I also have three other email accounts. I have a Gmail as a formal email address, I have the DLSU mail that I seldom use, and an email in our own domain.

Facebook era has emerged and they are taking the world not by storm, but by innovation. They launch many features in the past and they are again launching a new feature, the Facebook mail. I think, there core idea for it is integration. Integrating all your messages into one place, the Facebook. Your text messages, chat messages, email messages and all other messages into one inbox. How cool is that? I still do not know. I still do not know how it will affect our daily lives, our daily work, or even our daily bread.

Facebook will giving each interested users with their own @facebook.com. Still, they say that it will not replace emails. They describe it as more of a conversational type of communication, maybe like instant messaging.

All messages in one place just like your letters that was kept in a box. Bringing the past to the future with a twist of technology, it is what the Facebook mail brings.

I imagined texting through Facebook. Or just texting will be replaced by Facebook-ing.

See the official Facebook post here.

You can also read here some advantages and disadvantages of the Facebook mail.

Group hug before thesis defense like no other

We have the thesis signing like no other last November 3 and you can watch it here. Our thesis group is so cool that we also have a group hug before thesis defense like no other.

And you can watch it here.

We supposedly have our thesis defense last Friday, but it was rescheduled for today. Luckily, it went well. The verdict for us is CP or conditional pass, which is the best possible verdict that we can get. OH YEAH!

We recorded our thesis defense but it is so lengthy to upload.

For the MOTA!

Magkaribal. Ano nga ba ang nangyari?

Natapos noong Friday ang isa sa mga palabas sa ABS-CBN, ang Magkaribal. At kahit patapos na ito, ay nag iwan pa ng isa sa mga pinakamalaking misteryo sa larangan ng Philippine television. Nagtapos ito ng may mala-Inception na ending. Ano nga ba ang nangyari? Namatay nga ba si Gelai?

Hindi ko ito masyadong nasubaybayan, pero alam ko ang storya. Napanood ko ang simula nito at alam ko kung paano nagkahiwalay ang magkapatid. Si Gelai na ginaganapan ni Bea Alonzo at napunta sa mahirap na pamilya habang si Victoria o si Gretchen Barretto sa totoong buhay ay napunta naman kay Papang.

Mababasa ang buong kwento sa Wikipedia link na ito.

Hindi ko rin masyadong natutukan ang pag tatapos nito, pero napanood ko ang part kung saan pinatawad na nila si Vera at nagiiyakan na, classic Filipino shows. Umakyat si Vera sa stage at naglakad sila papuntang backstage. Bumagsak ang chandelier sa taas nila at di na nalaman kung ano ang nangyari pa.

Bago matapos, pinakita muna ang mga nangyari sa cast. Natapos ito sa dalawang bata na nangangarap tulad sa simula ng palabas. Sinundo sila ni Victoria at pinakita ang isang billboard kung saan nandun ang malaking picture ni Gelai.

Pinakita ang lahat ng cast maliban kay Gelai. Kaya ano nga ba ang nangyari sa kanya? Namatay ba siya?

Para sa akin, ang sagot jan ay hindi. Hindi siya namatay. Simple lang, paano siya magkakaroon ng billboard kung patay na siya? Hindi naman nila siguro gagawing endorser ang patay na.

Pero hindi rin ako sigurado jan. Baka nga. Abangan nalang natin sa book 2, kung meron man.

Basta ngayon, ang sagot sa totoong nangyari kay Gelai ay mananatili paring misteryo.

MagLaBa Interpreter

Meron kaming isang subject last term na kailangan gumawa ng programming language at ng isang interpreter para dito. At ang interpreter na iyon ang aming final project para sa COMPILE, ang subject na tinutukoy ko.

Step by step ang paggawa namin ng interpreter. Pinaggawa muna kami ng CFG o Context Free Grammar para ipaapprove. Ang grammar na ginawa namin ay nasa Filipino. Ang mga halimbawa nito ay:

simula = main

numero = int

lutang = float

sinulid = string

tauhan = char

para = for

Medyo hinaluan namin ng kalokohan ang aming grammar. Tulad nalang ng float, ginawa naming literal ang pag translate nito sa Filipino kaya naging lutang.

Dahil nga ito ay isang project lang tulad ng Pinoy Henyo namin, hindi ito kumpleto sa features. Wala itong switch statements at hindi siya nakakagawa ng isang executable file o isang class file. Tumatakbo lang ang sinulat mong code gamit ang aming interpreter, ang MagLaBa interpreter.

Pero kahit na ganun, naexempt kami sa final exam at nakakuha ng 4.0 dahil sa subject na ito.

Dalawa ang natutunan ko sa subject na ito...

• Mahirap gumawa ng IDE.
• At mahirap gumawa ng programming language.

May tanong ako.

Alam niyo ba ang paradox? Ayon sa Wikipedia.org...

"A paradox is a true statement or group of statements that leads to a contradiction or a situation which defies intuition."

Isa sa mga nakaka mindfuck na paradox na nabasa at nasabi ko sa mga kaibigan ko ay eto:

"Kapag ba sinabi ni Pinocchio na nag sisinungaling siya, ay hahaba ang ilong niya?"

Alam nating lahat na humahaba ang ilong ni Pinocchio kapag siya ay nagsisinungaling. Pero paano nalang kung sinabi niya na nagsisinungaling siya? Kung nag sisinungaling nga siya, dapat ay hahaba ang ilong niya. Pero kung hahaba ang ilong niya, ibig sabihin totoo nga na nagsisinungaling siya. At dahil nag sasabi siya ng totoo, di dapat hahaba nag ilong niya. AY EWAN. Ang hirap isipin. Ang hirap alamin. Di natin alam ang sagot.

Tapos may isa pa siyang paradox...

"Ano ang mangyayari kapag sinabi ni Pinocchio na hahaba ang ilong niya?"

Teka, ano nga ba? Kapag totoo ang sinasabi niya, hindi siya nag sisinungaling at hindi hahaba ang ilong niya. Pero ang sinabi niya ay hahaba ang ilong niya at kung nag sisinugaling nga siya, hahaba ang ilong niya.

NAKAKALITO ANO? ANG HIRAP ISIPIN. Ano nga ba talaga?

Thesis signing like no other

The deadline for the submission of thesis documents was yesterday, November 3. And it is also yesterday when our adviser, Sir Borgz signed our document.

I first thought of taking a picture of the title page of our document. But on second thought, recording it is way better! So as a remembrance, we record it in a video and you can watch the memorable moment here.

Yes, our first thesis document is signed and ready for defense next week. Good luck to us!

By the way, you can watch it in 720p HD!

And lastly, the title page that was signed by Sir Borgz in the video is not the one that we submitted. We found a last minute error in the name of Excel and printed it again. Well, the signing of the new title page was not recorded because we are in the office.

For the MOTA!

Help us by answering this survey.

Can you help us by answering this survey? It is about the posts in your Facebook wall.

It is a Facebook application and you can go to there through here.

February 19, 2011. Taylor Swift live in Manila

And now a date. February 19, 2011 is the said date. From rumors of October then November and now, a date is set.

The concert is brought to you by Ovation Productions. And it will happen in the Big Dome, the Araneta Coliseum.

Tickets will be available at Ticketnet outlets on November 8, 2010. A date so soon.

Tara at manood tayo!

Source here.

Firework.

New year is near. We might see fireworks everywhere in just few months. But before we see our first pre-new year fireworks, Katy Perry launched a firework of her own. And that firework I'm talking about shoots out from her boobs. How cool is that!

She did it in her newest music video. Firework is a good song, but the music video is definitely a must to watch. See the video here...

Firework is a song that will boost your confidence.

"'Cause baby you're a firework

Come on, show 'em what you're worth

Make 'em go, oh

As you shoot across the sky"

For me the song tells you that you must do what you need to do and show them what you got. It is like the Nike's "Just do it."

Katy Perry in the video of Firework

And by the way, Katy Perry's purple highlights is love ♥.

Twisting like a twister fries

Twister Fries of McDonalds exists again. I don't know how many times it comes back and forth in the tables but McDonalds are again selling Twister Fries.

So Twister Fries is back in action, and my friends are like craving for it. I did not know why and I am curious to know why. So that curiosity leads me to try it. I bought a regular meal in McDo plus that 58 pesos Twister Fries.

It was my first time to try Twister Fries and it tastes like KFC fries with a twist. Yes, literally with twist because it is Twister Fries. It has the same color like those in KFC but it is so curly. And it is a little bit salty than those original fries that McDonalds sell, I think.

"Twister Fries - ang nagpakulot na french fries."

Hindi ko ito naubos dahil nag sawa ako, ang dami eh.

I do not have much to say about this fries. I did not say that I don't like it, but I'm just not a fan of french fries.

Try it and judge that taste of it. Is it really worth craving for?

GET TWISTED AGAIN! Twister Fries.

Globe's new balance inquiry

The balance inquiry of Globe is the same I think since I started using a celphone.

Before, you must call the number 222 to know your load balance. Then, it was simplified to just texting the number with any content you want. Most of the users text "bal" and send it.

After I changed phone last year (see my blog about it here), I do not text 222 anymore. I just go to the Globe services in my phone then choose Prepaid Services and Balance Inquiry. It will automatically send a message to 222 requesting for my load balance. It never fails.

A while ago, I requested for my load balance and received a slightly different balance message. It was better. See it below.

This picture was taken from my iPod Touch 4G. :D

The new balance inquiry message still contains the current date and time, and of course your load and free texts. But the latest addition is the load's date of expiry.

For me, it was a great add on because I oftenly left my load to expire. I do not have that much to text.

My friends said that balance inquiry of Smart is much better. They said that it provides more about their load and other necessary information. Fortunately, Globe made a move about it. They might not be the best yet, but they are better now.

Taylor Swift's concert on February

There is so much talk about the Taylor Swift's concert here in the Philippines. Araneta Center announced it back then in a UAAP game and said it will happen this October. Instead of the concert to happen, that just became a rumor.

Yeah we all thought that Taylor Swift will come here in Manila and sing "You Belong With Me" to us. But don't be sad, Taylor do not want us to be sad. Because there is a news! Or let us say it as a scoop. You can view it here.

The news is...

Taylor Swift's concert will still happen. That's a great news right?

"According to Ovation Productions’ Renen de Guia, promoter of the hugely successful concerts in Manila (of, among others, Lady Gaga, Usher and Tears For Fears) and now the officially confirmed promoter of Taylor Swift in Manila, Taylor’s concert has been scheduled for Feb. 2011 and cannot be on an earlier date as the tour has been carefully planned to come after the release of her new album, Speak Now, which according to MCA Music (Universal Music Philippines) marketing director, Wilson Cruz, is set to be released worldwide this Oct. 25 and in Asia the next day."

As the news said, the concert will happen early next year. February 2011 is the said month. Let's just wait and see. There is no harm in hoping that this news is true. Right?

Again, like what I said before...

Tara at manood tayo!

Source here and here.

Time machine!

Let's go inside the time machine and go back in time!

Oh look at this very nice picture of me. Two photos taken from two distant years.

The first picture, the one on the left, is my first graduation picture. It is me when I was in Nursery, with so cute and cuddly cheeks.

Then the second picture, the one on the right, is my recently taken yearbook picture. It was me in this days, in college.

It was 1995 back then when I first entered school. I was 2 years old and more than a month to go before my 3rd birthday. And after almost a year in Nursery, my first graduation picture was taken dated back 1996.

So look now... After all those years, just remove my eyeglasses in the second picture and it looks like almost nothing has change. :)

A very epic picture!

I like it on anywhere

This couple of days, I noticed same status messages from my Facebook contacts that are girls. They almost have the same status saying,

"I like it on *insert anything here*."

I saw a status saying, "I like it on the bed." There are few that stated that they like it on a chair.

I thought that their status messages are about a certain song, so I just disregarded it until now. I now find it weird that almost all of my female Facebook contacts are liking the same song, the I Like It On song. So I used the most powerful tool in the internet right now to find some answer. I go too Google and searched "I like it on the chair" with having some guess that a lyric of a certain song will appear.

But it's not a song, and it is cool that the first result that appears is this from Yahoo Answers, asking the same question that I wanted to be answered.

So why? Why the girls like it anywhere?

The answer is... And I found it here. The "it" from I like it on is their purse, or something maybe the same like that.

What is that for?

It is for the Breast Cancer Awareness, their status is about their favorite location to put their purse when they got home. And as said in the link above, they intended it for the men to feel puzzled.

But hey, I'm just curious and search about it. Sorry! :)

Own domain, BerdugoLabs.com

We just recently bought a new domain. The site is still on progress but you can always visit it here. http://berdugolabs.com/

Why Berdugo Labs?

Uhm, it's a hard question but one time we are thinking of a new team name to replace "eMeSPee Coders". We just want it to be simple, easy to remember, and also Filipino-ish. We also wanted to have a team name that has Labs on it. We quite suggested a few names like Anahaw, Sinigang, Adobo, etc etc. And I do not know what came to their mind that they suggested Berdugo. Berdugo Labs.

But it is still not over, we did not all agree to it at first because the word Berdugo is somewhat scary. In English, it is the so called Executioner.

It was just recently approved when we are thinking of a domain name. We spent hours of thinking a good domain name ranging from any words you may think of. We also tried to generate a random word in the internet through here. But still no domain name that fits to us.

Berdugo Labs came to our mind again when we thought about our University.

We are from DLSU.

DLSU's color is green.

Lasallians are often said to be green blooded.

Green blood in Filipino is Berdeng Dugo.

Berdeng Dugo when shorten is BerDugo.

And that's how Berdugo Labs is born!

With the creation of Bedugo Labs, I now have a new email address. You can email me through jpbalbin@berdugolabs.com

You can also visit this blog through jaypeebee.berdugolabs.com.

Ang malaking titik O

At ang kanyang nerd side.

Una kong narinig ang malaking titik O nung ako ay nasa elementarya pa lamang.

"Malaki ang titik O, titik O, titik O."

Kinakanta namin ito sa tono ng "Mary had a Little Lamb" bilang isang ice breaker. Ngunit sa hindi ko inaasahang pag kakataon, ang malaking titik O ay muli kong narinig.

Noong 3rd term ng aking ika-unang taon sa DLSU, sa class na DASALGO ay may topic kaming Big O. Na kapag ay tinagalog ay "Ang malaking titik O".

Ang Big O o ang malaking titik O ay ginagamit sa Computer Science bilang isang representasyon ng performance o kaya naman complexity ng isang algorithm. Ito ay ang worst-case o ang pinakamalala na maabot ng isang algorithm.

Ang malaking titik O pala ay hindi lang isang ice breaker o joke. Ito pala ay may mas komplikadong kahulugan. Actually, sobrang komplikado. Ang mga algorithms ay may Big O. Tulad ng mga sorting algorithms na...

• Bubble Sort - Big O of n squared. O(n^2)
• Selection Sort - Big O of n squared. O(n^2)
• Insertion Sort - Big O of n squared. O(n^2)
• Merge Sort - Big O of n log n. O(n log n)

Ang malaking titik O ay muli ko nanamang nakakasalamuha ngayon sa CSC755M o Design Structures and Algorithms (not sure kung tama ang pangalan) na subject. At muli nanaman niya kaming pinahihirapan.

Madaling kantahin ang malaking titik O.

Pero sa computer science, pahirap ito.

Presenting Lasalista Girls!

A song about Lasallian girls based on the Katy Perry's song. It is like "California Girls" but "Lasalista"!

Hear it here...

Great job guys! Thumbs up for this song.

Let's play a game of LSB!

I have here below an image with a text inserted in it. Least Significant Bit or LSB is used to put the text through the image. And it is up to you to know what is it. Can you do it?

So here is the image.

Just save the image and make sure that it has 352kb.

I used our Machine Project for CSC766M or Cryptography to do it. The LSB Insertion algorithm is coded by Kenneth.

As a clue, the image contains the complete lyric of a song. And if you managed to know what song is it, just comment below. Good luck!

And 41 school weeks left till we graduate.

Yes! We only have 41 school weeks left until we graduate. It is because a term is composed of 14 weeks, and we only have three terms left. So 14 * 3 = 42. And the 1st week just ended, therefore we only have 41. Say YEY to that!

They say counting the numbers before it happens is bad. But hey, I am just excited about it.

We only have three terms and a summer.

Three terms of pure academic related stuffs and a summer of mainly thesis works.

We need ten terms for us to graduate.

And we are more than halfway. Seven terms just passed and it feels like yesterday is our high school graduation.

50 units and PERSEF3 to go!!!

Good luck to us.

Dreams are not enough. Action must follow.

I seldom read long articles or posts, but this blog post that I recently stumbled is different. The title "That Advice Saved My Life" is very catchy. It is about people who always procrastinate.

Six years ago he walked into my dorm room on the verge of tears.

“I can’t take it anymore!” he groaned. “I’m just running in place! I aim. I sprint. I leap. I fall. I get nowhere. Nowhere!”

His desperate eyes stared into mine, hoping… searching for an answer.

Read the whole post here. It is such an inspiring post. And maybe, it can also save your life.

Because of that post, I just thought of a quote...

"Dreams are not enough. Action must follow."

Share it to Facebook or just tweet it!

I recently add a feature in this blog. You can see it in the sidelines.

It is a couple buttons where you can share my blog or my posts through Facebook or Twitter. And it also counts how many times it was shared or tweeted. Coz' it was cool like that!

Try it and share or tweet my blog to others! :D

Hello again 4.0

After four terms of 4.0 drought, I finally got again a grade of 4.0. And it's not just one, or two just like those in my first two terms in DLSU. I got three 4.0 this term. And it feels goooooooood.

Ooooooh. How I miss it. Look!

What a a nice way to end this epic term. Yes, I'm a dean's lister for the second time. Too bad, it is still second honor DL. I know that it is because of the low grade I got in ADVANDB. Kung nakikinig lang ako sa mga discussions dun, ede sana first honor ako.

But I never thought that this hard fought term will be my best term in terms of grade. Yes, that term GPA above is my highest so far.

Tomorrow... Hello new term!

And three terms to goooooooooo!

Check you grades via text!

YES YOU CAN! Just text...

"DLSU GRADE *your ID number*"

Example: DLSU GRADE 108*****

Then send it to 2333.

It works like magic. But wait... 2.50 pesos per text. :|

Best blog posts in my blog

I reviewed the blog posts in my blog and chose 10 of the best and meaningful posts in this blog.

So here, presenting the best posts in my blog...

• Game programming. Anyone? (link)
• Pathfinding. Different paths, unknown ending. (link)
• Crush - Isang ambigous na salita (link)
• Nation Driver. (link)
• Jeje language to a slightly normal / readable text... (link)
• Pinoy Henyo! The computer game. (link)
• Pwede bang manligaw? (link)
• Salitang Kalye. Alam mo ba? (link)
• Bestfriend of opposite sex. (link)
• About me. (link)

There. They are the best blog posts since the start of this blog. They still do not have a ranking, and the order is just based on the date posted.

Taking some time to read them is really appreciated. :)

Edit your grades in MLS!

Have you ever wanted to see a term where your grades are all 4.0 like the image above? Yes, it is statistically and humanly possible. But there is a fact that only the so called "IMBA" student can do it, kahit pamigay term ay mahirap maka-straight 4.0.

So for some DLSU students out there, you still can see an all 4.0 grades in your MyLaSalle account. How?

1. Go to you MLS account.
2. View you grades by clicking the View Grades link.
3. Delete the URL in the address bar.
4. Paste this in your address bar. "javascript:document.body.contentEditable='true'; document.designMode='on'; void 0"
5. Edit you grades!

HAHAHAHAHA. See? Just a note, you can just edit it for your viewing pleasure. No changes will affect you real grades. It will not affect your grades in your transcript. HAHAHAHA. YOU WISH!

But still, seeing an all 4.0 in your grades can be very nice. It can be a very good joke too...

By the way, the grades above are my own edited grades. Cool huh? And it's not photoshopped.

PS. I just saw this cool trick roaming in the Internet.

Despicable Me!! Funny at start and till the last drop.

What a good way to end this hell of a term. We (Me, Excel, Kenneth, Gwenie, Pau, and Shiela) watched Despicable Me at Mall of MOA and it is such a nice experience. We watched it in 3d and it is worth it.

The movie is funny at start and if you expect, like any comedy movie, that the fun will lessen as the story continues, you're wrong. Despicable Me is no ordinary comedy movie, the fun will increase as it goes on and on. You will still laugh even during the credits. And I think, that credits scene is one of the funniest scene in the movie.

All hail to the Minions!!

The Minions are so cute and they speak like this...

Minions: abugiuhlnagekjbeyaeBAAABOOOOOOY!

They remind us of those little green aliens in Toy Story, but yellow.

And of course, the cutest of them all... Agnes... Her cuteness never fails, and it does not count as annoying!

Watch Despicable Me!! It is worth watching.

Funny at start and till the last drop!

And it has a sequel!

Mine of Taylor Swift and Stars of Callalily

I've been hearing Mine for quite a few times now. Mine is the new single of Taylor Swift. It will be in the album Speak Now to be released on October 25, 2010.

But I noticed something after viewing the recently launched music video of it.

Hear the intro? It sounds familiar for me. The intro for some sort sounds like the Stars of Callalily.

Hear it? They have some similarities.

Another thing. I think they also have the same length. 3:51 it is.

The buzz of Taylor Swift live in Manila

The October 22, 2010 once in a life time event is still not in the TicketNet. But the fact that Araneta Center announced it two months before the said date, in a game of Ateneo-DLSU by showing it in the scoreboard can be very reliable.

Imagine announcing it in a sold out UAAP game, Araneta Center should not be lying about it. I did not managed to take a picture of it, but I saw it for about three times.

The event is also not in the upcoming appearances and performances in Taylor Swift website.

Taylor Swift live in Manila.

October 22, 2010.

Three days before the album Speak Now release in stores.

A once in a life time event.

Announced by Araneta Center.

Still unconfirmed!

Taylor Swift live in Manila

Nakita ko sa big screen or sa scoreboard sa taas dun sa Araneta during ADMU-DLSU game.

October 22, 2010.

Taylor Swift live in Manila.

Ticketnet has still no link for ticket reservation in that said event. Pero sa tingin ko sure na ito dahil Araneta na mismo ang nag announce.

Tara at manood tayo!

UPDATE: The concert will push through on February 2011. More about it here.

Maganda...

Ang hirap mag kagusto sa maganda.

Daming nakapaligid, daming kakompetensiya.

Pero a real civilized person doesn’t go with the crowd, sabi nga ni Dr. Hila.

Kaya sa pangit ka nalang pumunta.

At akin na ang maganda!

A poem in a minute. :D

You can change the word "maganda" to any name that ends with 'a'.

PS. Know more about Dr. Antonio Hila here.

Game programming. Anyone?

So you want to take Computer Science. But let me ask you first this question, why? Did you ever ask yourself why will you take that course for college? If not, ask now. Because there are various reasons students choose that course. Some choose it because their parents want it, or it is an in demand in the industry. But one thing stands out among those reasons. They take Computer Science because they want to make a computer game.

Computer games are cool. They are fun to play. And as the year increase, games also increase in quality proportionally. Some games are addictive. People play games as a past time, even though some do not. Students play it too. But some are so imaginative that they want to create their very own game. And they think, that they can do it by taking up Computer Science as their course for college. Little did they know, that they are wrong.

Yes, computer games are programs. And you can learn to program via Computer Science. But that's the problem, THEY ARE PROGRAMS. And if you think programming is easy, think again.

Computer programming is not just typing what you think and let the computer do it for you. You must know what you type and the computer must understand it. You just can not talk Filipino to an American because he will not understand you. You must learn their language and not rely on them to learn yours. Learning programming language is just the first problem you will encounter.

I have a known trivia for you. Do you know that computer science has plenty of math. It is because math is the life of computer, and not science. So you must know plenty of math. And many of those you haven't heard before. Finite math? Discrete math? Lambda calculus? Yes, you MUST LOVE MATH.

Let's set aside the broad computer programming and focus on game programming itself. YEY! In my experience, game programming is one of the hardest thing to do in computers. Game programming lets you apply all your knowledge in computing. Why? Because game programming is like creating your own world. Creating what you want, what you think and what you wish. There is no word like impossible in game programming. You can make humans fly. You can wake up the dead. You can see aliens. You can managed you own country. You can change the world. There are limitless possibilities, no boundaries. That's the reason why.

But first, how will you create your characters? Your world? Computer will not do it for you. You will need to create them. You can just draw it and create a 2D game. Or model it for it to become 3D. After that, you will now have a character! YEY! You can now just code it and put it into your game.

Oh wow, your character is now moving. Ow yikes! Your character just go through in a wall. Collision detection. The computer will not do it for you. The computer did not know if that is a wall or that is a space. You have to code it to tell to the computer that, "HEY! That is a wall. The character must not go through it." But how I wish it is just easy as yelling like that. Yelling will not make your code work. I promise.

Are those things overloading your brain? Too much information already? Oh no, you still have more to know. Your character must know where to go. Your character must know what to do. Your character needs artificial intelligence.

There are too many intelligent people. But there are NO INTELLIGENT COMPUTER. You must code intelligence for them. But don't be discouraged, you can learn artificial intelligence in Computer Science.

And that's not it. Some games need physics. Online games need networking. Games need a bit of everything.

Now, you might realize that you will do all things. Yes, because computer is just a medium for you. And according to the definition of computer...

"A computer is a programmable machine that receives input, stores and manipulates data/information, and provides output in a useful format."

- Wikipedia

It just receives input. The computer can not create its own input.

Last piece of advice for you, in Computer Science knowing 1 + 1 is equal to 1 is not enough. You must also know why 1+ 1 is equal to 1. And another thing, 1 + 1 is equal to 1 carry 0 in computers. That is how complicated computer is.

PS. I know some that take Computer Science because they want to create their own game. But some of them are shocked when they learn how to program.

And... Hacking is also hard to do.

Like Nation Driver?

Like Nation Driver? Express it by joining the Nation Driver fanpage!

Still didn't know it? Know about Nation Driver here.

Pathfinding. Different paths, unknown ending.

I'm programming with XNA these few days. And I plan to have a Real-Time Strategy (RTS) game. Few codes after I start, I can now select a character and make it move. But an issue clearly occurs...

Pathfinding.

Yeah, my character moves. But it just moves. Moving without thinking is very wrong. Thus, the program needed artificial intelligence to somewhat move like an intelligent human being. Adding that so called artificial intelligence is a problem to me. I experienced it once. But just once.

So I'm now looking to some pathfinding algorithms. And A* is the most popular as I learned in one of my classes. Still, there are also other pathfinding algorithms out there like Dijkstra and Best-First Search.

These pathfinding algorithms differs with one another. They somewhat take paths different from the other. Some algorithms did not know that they are in the goal state but still finding other states because of uncertainty.

Others did not manage to reach the goal state because at the first place, they took different path, will be stuck there and can not go back.

Luckily, there are good algorithms like A* that is always finding the best or shortest path and reaching the goal in no time.

There are greater chance that you will need an A*. But others can be better too depends on the purpose. It depends on you. I do not know what will fit you and what algorithm are you.

But one thing I know, I am not an A*.

I am not efficient, I waste time. I waste memory. I take different path. And the ending is unknown.

Or maybe, the what I know as goal state... Is not the real goal state.

Happy birthday to me

HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!!

Got 68 wall post greetings in Facebook,

1 greeting via Plurk reply,

received 9 text messages saying "Happy Birthday" with some variations,

And 1 unclassified greeting.

3 people both posted in my wall and texted me.

Conclusion: Facebook birthday notification is very effective.

18 na ako!

Credits to Janine Trogo for the video!

Crush - Isang ambigous na salita.

Crush, ito ang isa sa mga salita na nalaman ko sa simula palang ng aking pag-aaral, na ang ibig sabihin ay pag hanga. My frist ever known crush is noong Kinder pa ako. And I think I still know her name, but not her looks. Through the years, nalaman ko na normal lang pala ang may crush at hindi dapat ito ikahiya. At kapag tinanong ka ng mga kaibigan mo kung sino ang iyong crush at sinabi mong wala ay hindi sila maniniwala. Sasabihan ka pang sira!

Bakit mo nga ba sasabihing wala? Eh meron naman talaga diba? Hindi naman siguro sa kinakahiya mo ang crush mo diba? Kaya nga crush mo, kasi okay siya sayo. Hmmm, siguro dahil natatakot kang malaman niya. At hindi mo alam ang gagawin niya pag nalaman iyon. Baka layuan ka kasi eh noh? Tama tama.

Pero habang tumatanda ako, dumarami ang nalalaman kong definition ng crush. Ang crush pala ay iba sa tingin ng ibang tao. Hindi pala ito tanging pag hanga lang na tulad ng definition ko. Ayaw kong mag generalized, pero karamihan ng mga kilala kong babae ay hindi lang pag hanga ang definition ng crush.

Para sa akin

Para malaman natin ang pagkakaiba, sasabihin ko muna ang definition ko ng crush. At sa tingin ko ay ito rin ang definition ng aking mga lalakeng kaibigan. Ang crush ayon sa kanina ko pang definition ay pag hanga lang. Meaning, kung may nakita akong babaeng maganda, crush ko na siya. Kahit di ko pa siya nakikilala basta may gusto akong katangian niya, crush ko na siya. Dahil nga hinahangaan ko lang ang katangian niya na yun. Simpleng simple lang diba. Para bang eye candy lang.

Para sa babae

Ayon sa mga kakilala kong babae, ang crush sa kanila ay yung tipong type mo. Para bang ang mga qualities ng type mong lalake ay nasa kanya na. At isa pang malupit na nalaman ko sa kanila ay kapag may girlfriend na ang crush nila... Ay hindi na nila crush! Bakit? Respeto daw yun. Ooooh.

Para sa akin kasi, ang definition na yun ay like na. Or gusto mo na. Girlfriend or boyfriend quality na sa madaling sabi. At hindi na tanging pag hanga lang.

Sa ngayon, base sa aking definition ko, marami akong crush, as in marami. Pero base sa definition ng isang babae, ang crush ko ay wala pa atang lima. Well, kahit sabi nila na isa lang daw dapat ang crush, di talaga eh. Di ko mapigilang magkaroon ng mahigit sa isa.

Sa huli, baka ang mga babaeng kilala niyo ay iba rin ang definition ng crush compared sa inyo. Kaya minsan, ingat ingat lang sa pag sasalita o sa pag gamit ng term. Baka kasi kung ano pa ang masamang mangyari.

Ngayon, ang crush ay isa ng ambigous na salita.

Lasalyano ako! Ikaw?

The picture says it all.

Lasalyano Ako. Ikaw?

Foundation

Kanina, habang pauwi ako, ay napaisip ako. May nakita kasi akong couple at ang ganda ganda talaga nung babae.

Alam niyo ang naisip ko?

"Paano kaya niya napasagot ang isang high-level na babae kahit siya ay isang mid-level na lalake lang tulad ko?"

Sinagot ko rin naman ang tanong ko. Sa katunayan, dalawa pa nga ang sagot kong naisip eh.

Time + Friendship

Unang sagot kong naisip ay time + friendship. Bakit ito naisip ko? Dahil ito ang talagang inaapply ko. Sa katunayan ay inaapply ko ito ngayon. Maganda kasi ang foundation kapag dito nag simula. Pero may downside ito. Maganda nga ang foundation mo. Puro foundation lang naman. Maaaring mapunta ka sa maling direksyon. Sa halip na mapunta ka sa direksyon ng pagmamahalan ay mapunta kayo sa direksyon ng pagkakaibigan. At yan... Ang kinakatakot ko ngayon. Baka dahil sa time + friends method ay walang marating ang love life ko.

Lakas ng loob

Pangalawang sagot ko na naisip ay ang lakas ng loob. ETO ANG WALA AKO! At eto daw ang kailangan ko. Sabi nila, may foundation na daw akong nakatayo. Kaya na. Pero hindi ko pa tinatayuan ng bahay. Siguro ang nakita kong lalake ay may sapat na lakas ng loob para umamin sa babae tungkol sa nararamdaman niya. At maganada lang ang kinalabasan ng kanyang pag amin. Kasi, kaya wala akong lakas ng loob ay natatakot ako sa pwedeng mangyari. Na baka ang gusto mo ay mawala nalang bigla sayo. Hindi maganda yun diba.

Sa buhay, ang tao ay laging may choice, laging may pagpipilian. Hindi pwedeng sabihin na wala ka ng magagawa, dahil sa una palang, ay marami ka ng pwedeng gawin.

At pag sa bandang huli ay wala kang nakuha o napala, hindi mo rin pwedeng sisihin ang iba sa naging resulta.

Japanese Ginger for the pers taym

Ang araw na ito ay puno ng pers taym. Pers taym ko matulog sa isang condo. Pers taym ko magturo sa mga frosh. Pers taym kong kumain sa Teriyaki Boy. Pers taym kong kumain ng ramen. At pers taym kong makakain ng Japanese Ginger.

Unang akala ko ito ay isang raw meat. Tapos tinanong ko kay Ian, at ang sabi niya ay raw fish daw 'to. Kinonfirm naman ni Excel. Oo, isda yan.

Syempre, maniniwala ako. Pero paulit ulit kong tinikman at sa aking panlasa ay hindi talaga siya isda. May pag kamalutong pa. Kaya naman pinatikim ko sa kanila. :| HINDI NGA DAW ISDA. Ito daw ay isang Japanese Ginger. Hindi nila nagustuhan ang lasa. Niluwa pa nga ni Ian ang sinubo niya eh.

Grabe, ang kinain ko ay hindi pala ang pagkain na inaakala ko.

OH WELL. Ganyan talaga, there is always room for first time.

Play Nation Driver now!

Nation Driver Installer is now available for download! You can now play our entry for the Imagine Cup 2010 Game Design category.

You can download it here (link temporarily down, installer bug reported).

Here are some screenshot of the game.

Here are sample videos of the game.

Enjoy the game. And be the best Nation Driver you can be!