August 18

Bottomfeeder out, Zempt in

Good riddance Bottomfeeder, I have already found what I would replace you with when I am in windows. Zempt is currently not available in Linux but according to some reports (I did not subscribe to their mailing list and I cannot find information on their webpage) it will be available in other platforms as well. If it does not then drivel is still there.

I cant say that I will miss bottomfeeder because it was more temperamental than I am. Good thing I am a web-wanderer or else I would not have stumbled on Zempt. And it is not based on .NET which is good since I dont need to install additional libraries.

ciao!

Category: Garbage | LEAVE A COMMENT
August 17

Exasperation on Distance Learning

This is my reply to a recurring trend on my experiences with being a distance learner at the University of the Philippines Open University. This was triggered by the recurring theme of not getting enough time slice from the faculty-in-charge(fic), especially for an information system project…

< rant mode on />

Another thing that confuses me is that the course guideline talks about masteral research and the likes but the course catalog description is 

        IS 295a   Information System Project I (2 units)
                    Design of an information system 
        IS 295b    Information System Project II (2 units)
                    Implementation of an information sytem

I know we are masteral students but that description is misleading. In my opinion theses are over-rated since it only proves you are specialized in one aspect of a field. That is the reason why i picked this program, both because i can manage my time and not do a thesis.

At this point in time, introducing an ‘innovative’ addition to the knowledge tree is a tough act considering that almost everything has already been done and tried. You dont believe me? Then try wading through the freshmeat.net site. Almost everything is done at least two ways.

One more stumbling block is that you have to have an organization as your target user and you have to get your proposal approved by your adviser/committee as well. I do not know if that is just me but i have a hard time explaining to a prospective sponsor about the course proposal and then just find out it will be rejected afterwards. Getting them to at least spend the time to evaluating my request for ‘sponsorship’ is hard enough that transforming this into a chicken-and-egg (err. organization-or-adviser in this case) scenario is downright frustrating.

I can only imagine the paperwork piled on top of the FICs but these is already bordering on the absurd. They should have instituted a screening process that only students with pre-approved proposals are permitted to enroll in the course, that way the time of the majority is not wasted waiting for the second coming of Christ.

I am already thinking that we are getting what we have paid for. We paid for an ‘inexpensive’ program and look where we are: a bunch of students trying to find our bearings while being guided by overloaded fics who barely have time to spare for distance-learning students. Prof. Anacleto once told me that he has a personal theory on why the MIS only has 1 graduate so far. I think I also have mine: reality erodes idealism. Bok Apao and the rest who already dropped out are proof of that.

< rant mode off/>

ciao!

Category: Garbage, Rubbish | 14 Comments on Exasperation on Distance Learning
August 16

The beauty of being human

I am fond of fantasy games and novels, as well as fiction works. One theme that goes on a large portion of the works that keeps on popping up is the celebration of the human aspect. The authors might be biased because we are human but it has always something to do about the way humans think, how a small action can be interpreted as good or bad depending on who is looking.

According to the bible, man was born with the weakness gene. They succumb to temptation. They get enticed by the ‘dark’ side. They are enthralled by bodily pleasures. However humans have one saving trait, that which makes them weak are also the ones that enables him to triumph and ascend to greatness.

Each man is unique, with a different set of skills and talents that is formidable especially when taken as a whole. Call it God’s will or just plain Karma, but the sum of a man’s traits balances him out. Nobody is without any problems, and each have their own demons to contend with. The person you admire might not be leading a fantastic life.

I remember watchng a show in MTV wherein they showcase the house and other properties of some famous people. The houses were gorgeous, and the things that they collect and own are something that I can only dream of having. But then I begin to think, what happens when the camera goes off? Are these people really happy? Does their gigantic house really make them happy, or is the spacious caverns of each room amplify their loneliness?

We have always heard the phrase ‘Money is not everything’ and ‘Money cant buy happiness’ but having some really goes a long way. There are no hard and fast rules about how much money is needed to make somebody happy, or a part of that happpiness. There are people who are filthy rich but are not really happy while there are those who dont have much but are genuinely content on their daily lives. For me the yardstick of happiness is when a person has already decided that he has enough and learns to enjoy what is already in his possession.

Human nature is a wild beast that whole fields of science are devoted in understanding how it work. They have already come up with patterns and other mumbo-jumbo that explains why certain people do what they do at certain occassions. That sounds amazing and all but I dont think man can really understand the reasons why man does what he does. It is one of the greatest X-Factor that is called LIFE. The unpredictability of humans make life interesting. Putting it in a petri dish that can be dissected under a microscope is something like an impossible dream being chased by many. I admire them for their zealousness but I dont want to be them. It is more fun to stay here in the sidelines and just appreciate life as it goes by one moment at a time.

ciao!

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August 12

Uneventful but memorable…

Last night, July 11, the host office invited us inpatriates into the all-hands meeting. I thought there were going to be other inpatriates as well but the 3 of us (Francis, Arvin and me) were the only asian inpatriates present. And the whole Finland FS that attended were less than 50. The future plans in the meeting were very positive, and I hope some of those trickles down to the Manila office so we can have some more opportunities to go back here.

After the meeting, and a delicious LTC sandwich, we walked to the docks for the cruise trip. The weather was slight bad because the rain shifted from a drizzle to a light downpour. The ‘cruise ship’ was not what I expected. It’s looks casts a rather dubious note on its sea-worthiness.

After a few minutes, we were off circling around the Helsinki bay area. There was a dining room at the bottom and we were seater beside the singers. They were singing some western song that I could not easily understand. We did not take pictures in the cabin because it might seem inappropriate. We opened the door to the bow of the boat but some requested that we close it because the wind were entering the cabin. I am the one directly positioned on the door but I am not complaining! ;D

After an hour we (the pinoys) went upstairs on the deck and Tomas (our host manager) gave us a running explanation of the “scenery”. It was cold upstairs (around +14 degrees) with 2km/s winds and a slight drizzle and the skies were dark and damp. We were able to get a couple of shots from our service phones.

As I have said, the trip was uneventful but memorable. Why memorable? Because beer and dairy products never went well with my stomach. I ended up with a severe loose bowel movement that I had to use a nearby portalet on the way home otherwise I was going to dirty my pants right there and then.

This is one story that is bound to appear in drinking bouts and kulitan moments. At least I saw the inside of a Finnish portalet. It was clean enough with adequate amenities, but then again I had to drop 50 cents just to get in. And the toilet seat was very cold. Brrrrr! Good thing I have an adequate supply of the ever-trusty polymagma. hehehe.

ciao!

[edit] You can view the pictures in this album. Nothing much as I was only able to take 3 pictures. 😀

Category: Garbage | LEAVE A COMMENT
August 10

I am agnostic?

Whenever somebody asks me what my professed religion is, I always say that I am a NPC; a non-practicing Catholic. It is a simpler way stating that I believe most of what the Roman Catholic church teaches but not all.

But this quiz about what religion fits you produced the following result that seems to fit me:

You scored as agnosticism. You are an agnostic. Though it is generally taken that agnostics neither believe nor disbelieve in God, it is possible to be a theist or atheist in addition to an agnostic. Agnostics don’t believe it is possible to prove the existence of God (nor lack thereof).

Agnosticism is a philosophy that God’s existence cannot be proven. Some say it is possible to be agnostic and follow a religion; however, one cannot be a devout believer if he or she does not truly believe.

agnosticism
83%

Christianity
71%

Buddhism
71%

Islam
58%

Satanism
58%

Paganism
54%

atheism
54%

Hinduism
42%

Judaism
8%

I think I can use the word agnostic when somebody asks me and see how high their brows arch. Hehehehe. But I am sure my wife is going to skin me alive when she reads this. :twisted-grin:

agnostic-path

ciao!

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August 10

Drivel posts

Posting from drivel was more efficient, and the interface was friendlier. But I really need something that is cross-platform. Maybe my own implementation woudl be in order after I finish IS238. This would be a perfect opportunity to learn Python.

Something to chuck in the back-burner.

ciao!

Category: Backburner, Garbage | LEAVE A COMMENT
August 10

Burned by subtlety: DOM4J vs W3C DOM (Xerces/Xalan)

I was tasked to switch a utility from using the DOM4J API to the W3C DOM API because the DOM4J implementation is transforming Scandinavian characters into garbage wihle the XMLSerializer class in Xerces does it without any sweat.

Sounds relatively easy? Not when you are inexperienced in XML programming, Java or otherwise, as well as in XSL and its likes. Another factor is that the code was deeply embedded in the DOM4J API and not all have a corresponding functionality in the target implementation.

Pass forward to 12 working days later, I have almost completed the porting process but the final output has some element starting markups (‘< ', '>‘) escaped. I searched high and low for an answer as well as played with output format options of the Transformer class but to no avail.

Then Francis helped me understand a little bit of XSL, at least he pointed me to where I should start. One man-day and a few online XSL tutorials later, I found out this link that describes my issues perfectly. It seems the interpretation of the contents of the CDATA section is parser-specific. Where was that link two days ago before I started tearing my hair apart? Grrr…

Lesson of the Day: Google might be your friend, but like any friend it can play a nasty and costly trick on you.

Onward to transforming the CDATA texts into xsl:text elements with output escaping disabled and hopefully complete this task today. I will play the good colleague role and put out a note on each stylesheet so the next person who messes with the parsers wont go through the same grief as me.

ciao!

Category: Laboratory, Technology | LEAVE A COMMENT
July 28

Classroom fun

[Note: The original images were lost after a few webhosting upgrades. I came across replacement but lower quality pictures.]

A little imagination goes a long way in a classroom. I got this in my mail so Im posting it here. 🙂

hadoken

thunder punch, akuma, fatality

I miss the wacky school days but wackiness does not end when you leave the halls of your alma mater. 🙂

ciao!

Category: Humor | 3 Comments on Classroom fun
July 26

I never was a good teacher…

Experience is a hard teacher. And I think I am one of her students who idolizes her way of teaching.

I am never going to be a good teacher. I just dont have the gift. I may be good in some things that I do but that is just about it. I always experience difficulty in conveying my message across and that frustrates not only the student but myself as well.

I have always believed that books only give you theories and principles that you will forget the moment you put the book away. I am a staunch believer that a lesson learned through hands-on experience stays longer on the learner’s memory and has fast recall because it has other memories associated with it.

Warning to those who know me, never make me your teacher, mentor or tutor. I would gladly answer questions but dont expect that I will give you easy answers. I also dislike repetitive questions especially if the person asking did not exert any effort to learn, or if they only exerted the barest minimum. Knowledge should be for everyone, but it is not a package that you will wait to arrive at your doorstep. Like all good things, it is something that we need to strive for in order to experience its wonders.

Don’t learn through me, I am a sorry excuse of an example. Learn with me so that we will both enjoy the journey for I too am yearning for knowledge, no matter how useless they may seem at this time. 🙂

ciao!

Category: Rubbish, Top of my head | LEAVE A COMMENT
July 25

Am strikes back

Once you have it you will never lose it.

Sounds good to be true, but I wish it was not the case with amoebiasis. That is what you get for drinking water from unknown sources, especially in the rural areas. It has been more than ten years and still I am afflicted with this burden. I thought my digestive system was already normal since I don’t get to experience LBM often (I attribute that to the lessening of the frequency that I eat at fast food since I got married) but now it seems that my digestive system needs to adjust to the Finn food sphere, and especially with my cooking.

Good thing I brought two mats of the ever trusty polymagma. I just hope it would work sooner. My bottom is already hurting from the frequent trips. 🙁

ciao!

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