(updated) – At last, Officially moved to my domain (final)

2008-05-19

It’s final. I will no longer be using this page to host my blog/site.

Please visit my site at http://www.martianfootprints.com

That’s where I will be posting starting today. Please update your links, if there are

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2008-05-14

Now the worries start to come. The hosting I initially had is giving me headaches. Yes, this is the free hosting solution of 000webhost.com. I can’t access the site admin panel of WordPress hosted on their domain. I’m sure it has been at least 1 hour of down time, since I have been trying again and again to ping the IP and access the site manually. Last night, I was satisfied with how things are going, because things were going smoothly and the hosting solution they provide “supposedly” is good according to other users. But now, when I was searching if they had similar problems with me, a lot of threads and entries indicate that the down time is indeed somewhat bad if not terrible. So right now, I am weighing my options and I am trying to contact the domain provider I registered with to see if I could arrange something in a day or two. I am hoping that within the weekend it will be solved. But it may take me until Monday to finally fix everything, because weekends after all are no work days. *sigh*

I am still hoping. *crossing my fingers*

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(Please visit my site at http://www.martianfootprints.com

That’s where I will be posting starting tomorrow. It’s still on the works right now, but my old posts are already migrated. Just a few tweaks here and there. No worries.)

Domain Registration

Finally, I decided to register a domain. Wee

My blog will be accessible using the following link soon: http://www.martianfootprints.com

Hopefully in a few hours I will be able to use the domain. Yay!

However, I am still contemplating whether to use wordpress.com or wordpress.org. I already have an existing free hosting just in case I will use wordpress.org. Anyone have any suggestions? I’d like to keep everything intact (the links and stuff). I know I would be able to import existing tags, links, posts, etc. but will the visits and the search engine indexing and other things related to search engine ratings be affected?

What to do, hmm…

Ubuntu!

My desktop PC at home has been on hiatus ever since I don’t know when. Because of the huge pile of books and other stuff on my table, I have not been able to use it again. But three days ago, I cleaned my desk! Haha! I installed Ubuntu on my desktop, removing any trace of Vista…

Installing Ubuntu has been very simple in general, especially if you don’t need to modify any default settings. Just insert the CD into the drive and presto! I have been using it when I’m at home and I find it to be a good operating system to use. One thing about it though is that you might need to have a good internet connection in order to do updates or install some software. Because the CD only contains the basic components, the update system highly relies on the internet for its other needs.

It has a very nice interface, similar to that of the Mac. But some hardware take a lot of effort to install, because they are still not yet supported. Despite that, I’d say it’s worth the try. The community is very helpful and suppportive. There are a lot of forums on the internet on the many How-To’s in Ubuntu, so generally you’ll be fine. And it will be a very good experience on your part when you start learning it

By the way, the link for the Ubuntu site is http://www.ubuntu.com. You can either download it directly from them, buy a CD from somewhere or ask for a free CD from them but you’d have to wait for a few weeks.

Exams Scheduled for Discontinuation

I got an automated mail from Microsoft saying that they have already received my last exam records. Something urged me to log in to the Microsoft MCP site. When I did, I saw that the developer exams will already be discontinued soon, that is, in the next 300+ days or roughly 1 year. Follow the link for the full report from Microsoft. It’s just a recent news, dated March 31, 2008.

Exams Scheduled for Discontinuation

This is something that should be noted for those who are still taking developer certification exams from Microsoft.

Looking into the Past, into the Glipse of the Future that May Have Been

A week into the month of April, a few days after my return back to the Philippines, I still look into the recent past as a memory of what might have been my future, had I been accepted. No, I am not bitter whatsoever. I am just simply worried yet again of what lies ahead.

Last February 11 to 16, 2008, I was fortunate to be among the 16 Filipino hopefuls for a position in one of the most prestigious global countries in the world today – Toshiba Corporation. I was fortunate to be able to travel to Japan even for a short time for the final screening. I was fortunate to stay for one week and be able to visit the places that I have been during that time. I was fortunate to have met new friends whom I have shared this experience with. Having said that, I miss the company of the Toshinoys

A few days into March, I was one of those who were eagerly waiting for the results to arrive in our inboxes. Some received theirs, and a majority of us still were clueless. After a few more days, hope that I might still be chosen is slowly fading away. From that point onwards, I said to myself, “que sera sera.” Despite being bombarded with things from both school and work, I had to leave for a scheduled trip to the United States. During that time, I was only worried about one thing – keeping up with all the problems and need-to-dos. March 15 was the day I left the Philippines, the Saturday before Holy Week. I spent time with my relatives in California during the first week, and went to the East Coast the week after. The last two days of my stay were devoted for the last minute things to buy and preparations for going home. March 28, I finally received the long-awaited letter from Toshiba. It said congratulations for going that far into the screenings but I was not accepted. I was calm, since it was very expected. Then it began to sink in. My cousins noticed that I was quiet, and gave me words of advice. I told them in response,

“I am not sad because I am not accepted. Actually, I was already prepared for this. At least I know they spent time to deliberate my case, and that’s enough for me. What’s bothering me is that I still don’t know where I should be after this is over.”

I began looking back to my visit to East Coast. I loved New York and I thought I’d like to stay in Boston. I didn’t want to go back home. But I had to go home. After all, it was just a short vacation. March 31 came, and it’s back to reality for me.

Another People Power Revolution?

For the past years, the Philippines had few or none of what we would like to call glorious moments in government leadership. Blunders upon blunders have piled. Faces have been lost; and lives, threatened if not taken. With the continuous (not continual) cases of graft and corruption, human rights violations, and neglect for the people’s welfare, the Filipino is drenched in his own blood. Up until now, we have never been spared by the conquistadors. The only difference is that now, we have Filipino colonizers – colonizers who take advantage of others to gain wealth, power and fame. The Filipino has succeeded before as in the time of the overthrowing of the Marcos regime in the 1980’s. The feeling of fulfillment and success once again faded into the shadows as leaders who are greedy and selfish continue to be elected into position. Now, the Filipino is once again put to the test.

Now, we are seeing the two faces of the government – the “truth” and the “lie”. Which is which? Different sectors have different stands on the matter, but one thing is evident. The government is certainly not staying silent on the attacks hurled into it. More and more people begin to march the streets and fight for truth. But what is the truth? Who is telling the truth? The administration? The opposition? For all we know this is just one of those unending wars between the pros and the antis. We cannot say for sure that one party is clean. Both parties are tainted. It is just that one looks less tainted than the other, because one is in position, and the other is fighting for a change in governance.

Many issues and scandals have befallen the current government, since it started after the pseudo-people-power-impeachment-incident of Erap. The climax of which is the NBN-ZTE broadband deal, where the Filipino has found a “hero” in the person of Jun Lozada and has slowly mustered courage to stand up once again. The different sectors including the church and the students, have began making their voices heard – leading to what many say as the rebirth of what happened 22 years ago in EDSA. It may well be. It may well be another people power revolution. Will it succeed? Only time will tell.

Right now, for the majority of the people, it is already evident who is guilty, because of the actions being done in response to the situation. If it would be proven that Lozada and company are telling the truth, then the government will not be able to hide behind “no conclusive evidence”. The cast being accused as guilty are already acting in a very suspicious manner, leaving little room for the people to have the benefit of the doubt. Words may be hurled from one place to the other, whether to accuse or to defend, but in the end, all that matters is for the Filipino to survive, be safe, and have a good future, where leaders lead with their hearts, and not their love of money.

As one radio broadcaster has mentioned, maybe having the guilty government officials accountable for their wrongdoings (by being imprisoned or sentenced to a grave penalty) is the only way for the future leaders to behave and act for the welfare of the Filipino.

Philippine Computing Science Congress 2008, UP Diliman

Last Saturday, Feb. 23, I attended the Conference in UP Diliman. It was a good thing my mom and I did not get lost in the labyrinth-like road network in UP (no offense ). I arrived at the venue right before 9:00 am. I was resigned to the fact that I would be alone the whole time. Thank goodness I found Ms. Yamie (Dr. Suarez now ) and I stayed with her almost the whole time. Registration was not very organized. Actually, most of the things were not organized, I am sorry to say. I saw Mr. Henry Adorna, who asked me if our adviser would be coming. (I found out later that he is my adviser’s adviser, cool.) I said he wasn’t, because he is leaving for something he needed to do. He said in not the exact words, ‘babatukan ko yun eh, dapat kakausapin ko siya’. Hehe. Oh well, Sir Bart can’t be around at that time after all.

On to the NISMED auditorium where the start of proceedings took place. Introductions were made, blah blah.. And more of the “unorganized-ness” shown. I remember around during this time Ms. Yamie whispered something to me (unfortunately I can’t share). I expected that by this time, I will start to feel sleepy, because I really lacked sleep and I am so stressed. However, that was not the case. Surprisingly, I was keen at listening to the speakers, which was odd, since I should be thinking about how tired I am. Haha. I guess one of the factors was that Ms. Yamie was beside me. But on another hand, I guess that’s not it. Haha. One thing I got from the speaker was – when you have nothing to do, or you are simply bored, start thinking of optimizing the sorting algorithm, since there is still an open problem, that is to make the sorting at least .44n more efficient. Really something to ponder upon, but which I won’t do.

The talks were somewhat interesting, but very complicated in nature, since they are not really my specialization. But nevertheless, I somehow understood what they were trying to say. On another note, It took me some time and talking before I was able to get my temporary receipt for the conference (apparently, they either ran out or forgot to bring enough receipts to the venue). During the first snack break, I was introduced to Darwin from DOST. Fortunately, I did not need to walk to the Computer Science building for the afternoon sessions, since I was invited, together with Ms. Yamie, to ride in Darwin’s car . However, Ms. Yamie and I were not able to count the number of steps, if it will really take 500 steps to go from NISMED to the CS building as the hosts said.

Since we rode the car, we arrived at the CS building pretty early, leaving enough room for chatting and being among the first to line up for the food. When we got back to the seat, we met with twins, both teachers in Ateneo de Naga. They talked about their experiences and their work, specially their system, which is the Test Checker and Item Analyzer and Statistics for Beginners. They explained that they were promoting their work in the various regions in the country and selling books and CDs to help the teachers in their work, especially in teaching statistics to high school students. I was really amazed when I saw the book and their presentation materials. I can say that learning statistics during high school is really very hard and coming up with this kind of program or software to aid both the students and teachers is really brilliant. Everything is packaged into the system. What I am amazed more is the fact that they are sponsoring their own travels and publishing costs, just to promote their work. They said they had been to numerous conferences and at least 100 schools to give talks and seminars. Amazing indeed. (Follow the link to see their work – http://sili.adnu.edu.ph/~czar)

During the afternoon sessions, we parted ways with them and went on with the rooms for the parallel sessions. Most of the talks were about systems to aid in aspects of learning. Before that, Doc Caslon talked about graphs and 3D map traversal. After the afternoon break, Ms. Yamie had to leave. Good thing, the other DLSU professors arrived already – Sir Joel, Sir Clem, Sir Rigan, Sir Pants, Ms. Rhia (hope I did not forget to include anyone). In the room where I stayed, Doc Caslon, Sir Clem and Sir Joel were there. We were lined up one after the other. During my turn, at 4:30pm, I talked and talked and talked, and after 8-10 minutes, I was already finished and was already entertaining questions from the audience. The questions they asked were very interesting, only to prove that they were listening to me. Haha thanks goodness. After that, I felt lighter, as if a needle was removed from my body.

Before I went home, I was fortunate to be introduced to Dr. Naval, who was an expert in image processing. He gave me insights on what I might need to do for my thesis. After that, I went home. We got lost! And we got stuck in heavy traffic! All in all, I was very tired and stressed that day, and I was only able to review for my exam late at night.

Although I already attended other conferences in the past, this experience is nothing like the ones I have been to before. It was really a unique experience for many reasons.

P.S. I shall blog about Japan next. (Hopefully, before Tuesday comes)

PCSC 2008: List of Conditionally Accepted Contributed Papers

We submitted our thesis to the screening committee of the Computing Society of the Philippines for its PCSC 2008 Conference.  I am happy that our thesis was conditionally accepted. Our work surely has gone a long way.Follow the link to see the original post.
RAFFY’S WORLD : Random Notes, Random Thoughts (The Pisay ‘77 Blogger): PCSC 2008: List of Conditionally Accepted Contributed Papers

The list below is taken from the original post by Dr. Rafael Saldaña on his blog as linked above.
In bold is our thesis; underlined are those from whom I know – friends, classmates, “org-mates” and professors.

List of CONDITIONALLY ACCEPTED contributed papers:

1. Characteristics and Collection of Information from Heterogeneous Multimedia Sources with User’s Parameter for Decision Support. Author: Robert Charles, LORIA Campus Scientifique, France

2. University Class Timetabling Simulation by Discrete Multi-valued Particle Swarm Optimization. Author: Kei Wai Cecilia Hung, Ateneo de Manila University

3. A Pi-Calculus Model of the CD95 Receptor Medicated Pathway of Apoptosis. Author: Jan Michael Yap, University of the Philippines-Diliman

4. Design and Implementation of a Vision-Based Hand Mimicking System. Authors: Joel Ilao, Eugene Angelo Fabian, Ivan Or, Lutherford Sosuan, and Glenn Uy — De La Salle University

5. Sonar Beamforming Authors: Clement Ong, Bernice Ceara Go, Marc Jason Keng, and John Paul Yao — De La Salle University

6. Characterization of Hand Glove Data for Letter Sign Language Translations. Authors: Veronica Aguilos, Clinton Jacob Mariano, Erika Bianca Mendoza, John Peter Orense, and Clement Ong — De La Salle University

7. A Computational Study on Oil Spill Dynamics Using Cellular Automata. Authors: Patricia Ann Lorenzo, Rhena Lelleen Plagata, Paolo Nicolo Santos, William Emmanuel Yu, Rafael Saldana — Ateneo de Manila University

8. Improving Spam Detection Using Text Mining and Various Predictive Statistical Classification Methods. Author: Ariel Maguyon, Ateneo de Manila University

9. Serial and Parallel Implementation of Benford’s Law for Fraud Detection. Author: Ma. Daphne Regina Toledo, Jonalyn Valencia,William Emmanuel Yu, and Felix Muga II

10. Towards XML, Template-Based GUI Code Generation for Mobile Applications. Authors: Maria Donna Enriquez, Alfred Timothy Lotho, and Jeffrey Jongko — Ateneo de Manila University

11. Landslide Dynamics in the Philippines: A Computational Study Using Cellular Automata and the Minimization Algorithm. Authors: Timothy James Yusun and Rafael Saldana, Ateneo de Manila University

12. Competitive Online Scheduling with Fixed Number of Queues. Authors: Richard Bryann Chua (University of the Philippines -Manila) and Jaime Caro (University of the Philippines- Diliman)

13. Epsilon: Information Security Laboratory using Virtualization Technology. Authors: Alexis Pantola, Miguel Alberto Gomez, and Solomon Wong — De La Salle University

14. Automated Behavior Analysis of Organisms Using Computer Vision. Authors: Jeremiah Pascual and Vladimir Mariano,University of the Philippines-Los Banos

15. ESP (Expert System for Poisoning): A Clinical Decision Support System for the Diagnosis and Management of Poisoning. Authors: Diana Bandojo, Ma. Jaymee Krisette Gatapia, Reggie Nicolo Santos, Riza Theresa Batista, Prospero Naval — University of the Philippines-Diliman; and Alvin Marcelo, University of the Philippines-Manila

16. Hypercube Peer-to-Peer for Resource Location on WiMax. Author: Rhia Trogo, De La Salle Univesity

17. Applying Latent Semantic Analysis to Classifying Relevance of Forum Messages Using Small-Sized Corpora. Authors: Rodolfo Raga (Jose Rizal University) and Raymund Sison (De La Salle University)

18. Identifying At-Risk Novice Java Programmers Through the Analysis of Online Protocols. Authors: Emily Tabanao and Ma. Mercedes Rodrigo, Ateneo de Manila University; and Matthew Jadud, Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering, USA

19. Extending Shape-based Similarity Measures for 3DModels. Authors: Conrado Ruiz, Jr. and Rafael Cabredo, De La Salle University; Levi Jones Monteverde, Citibank Intl Technology Organization (Singapore); and Huang Zhiyong, Institute for Infocomm Research (I2R),A*(STAR), Singapore

20. Grain Classification and Grading Based on Fourier Descriptor. Authors: Faye Moncada and Vladimir Mariano, Universityof the Philippines-Los Banos

21. An Adaptive Compression Technique. Authors: Jose Ronello Bartolome, Nonoy Go, Nathaniel Aaron, Mary Ann Ngo, and Dan Adrian Nelson Pamparo –De La Salle University

22. Design and Engineering of a Supply Chain Management System for Drug Delivery Applications. Authors: Allan Espinosa, Nathaniel Libatique, and Gregory Tangonan — Ateneo de Manila University

23. A Multi-Feature Approach to Smoke Detection. Authors: Maria Charmaine Templado and Vladimir Mariano, University of the Philippines-Diliman

24. Modeling FLASH Participation in CD95-mediated Apoptosis Using Pi-Calculus. Authors: Stephanie Catabul, Elaine Joy Coloma, and Irene Celeste Dare — University of thePhilippines-Diliman

25. Design and Use of an Open Individual and Group Student Model for Learning Object-Oriented Design Using UML. Authors: Miguel Paolo Arellano, Beatriz Tabunar, Reselyn Ann Tan, Enrico Alejandro Tuason, and Merlin Teodosia Suarez — De La Salle University

26. Using Simulation to Update Poverty Maps. Author: Rigan Ap-apid, De La Salle University

27. Building and Benchmarking a New Beowulf Cluster for Grid Computing and Other Applications. Authors: Allan Espinosa and Rafael Saldana, Ateneo de Manila University

28. Schutzenberger’s Guessing Game on a Kolakoski Finite Subsequence. Authors: Marlo de Guzman, Joseph Pasia, and Henry Adorna — University of the Philippines-Diliman

29. On Unambigous Nondeterministic Finite Automata and the Strict Tree Property. Authors: Henry Adorna, Nestine Hope Hernandez, and Rex David Lorenzo — University of the Philippines-Diliman

Stress and Expectations (and an extra)

Stress is beginning to take its toll on me. I have been busy as hell doing papers and researches for both my Computer Architecture and Research Methods/Thesis Courses. Add to that the project I am doing to help a friend (a web application), and the readings and preparations for MCSE. It has really been a rough month. Every time I get to solve something, another problem arises.  It’s hard to think straight sometimes, but I am managing. Slowly, things begin to unfold before my eyes – solutions to problems, opportunities, etc. I may be verbally complaining, but deep inside, no matter how tiring or stressful the things I encounter and do are, I am satisfied. I know that I need these things as well. I miss being busy when I am idle for a long time.

Expectations come in almost, if not all situations. We expect that we will get this and that, but usually we never do. What I learned is to hope, instead of expect. That way, I am able to experience the excitement that something I want to have will arrive, or some opportunity will come, or someone will be there for me, and the like. And if things did not turn the way I hoped them to be, it would not be as hard accepting the truth, rather than if I expected in the first place.

On another note, I am totally shocked with the number of visits that my other post is generating – the BPI-DOST Awards entry I posted last Saturday. I never imagined that it will be this huge. I have received various comments from different people, both involved and not on the event (as organizers, participants, friends, visitors, or blog readers). Thanks for visiting my blog. This is just a venue for me to share my thoughts and feelings on certain issues.

This post may not be too coherent – an obvious sign of stress hahaha Till next time.

BPI-DOST Science Awards Best Project of the Year 2008 Aftermath

I just got home from Makati. A while ago, the BPI-DOST Best Project of the Year Defense and Awarding Ceremony was held at the BPI main office (Ayala Aenue, cor. Pasong Tamo). We were there to see the different projects and to support our friend.

Before I continue, I would like to congratulate all the winners. I must say they were deserving. The 1st place went to the girl from UP-Diliman whose project was about green fluorescence from alcyonium to detect cancer metastasis or something like that. The 2nd place went to another girl from UP-Diliman whose project was about a protein coat for preventing bungy top disease on abacas. The 3rd place went to the guy from UST, whose project was on biofuel.

With all the congratulatory words in place, I now move on to my reactions and concerns regarding the event.

From the start of the event, I was indeed hopeful that our thesis might be chosen as one of the awardees. When the introduction of the judges came, I told myself that the judges were indeed capable and “great” in their areas of expertise. But there was one thing I noticed, almost all of them were on the field of Biotechnology (Biology, Chemistry, Biochemistry). I wondered at that instant HOW THE HECK will they judge something beyond their expertise. Onwards to giving them the benefit of the doubt. As the presentations were done one by one, I must say that some of the presentors were very good in explaining their works, but they were not that good in defending it. They had very nice ideas and the future contribution of their work is in a very large scale (i.e. humankind for cancer detection and biofuel, and country economy for abaca disease prevention).

When Mango was presenting the thesis, she did great, although she spoke a little bit too fast The judges were there sitting and thinking about what to ask. The first questions were very relevant and very valid. I (or we) was (were) really annoyed when a judge from UP insisted what he thought when he did not really understand how Computer Science works. He consistently and insistently asked how many iterations did we run tests on the system. When Mango answered him for the last time, that we did 288 runs on the system using different files, he said that it was not enough. He said that Computer Science is a science and that in order to say that the testing was enough, you need to run the same thing on the system many times, not only one time. Yeah, it may be true for other sciences, such as Chemistry; but for Computer Science, hell no. When you input the exact same thing using the exact same parameters and exact same settings, you get the exact same thing. When you input something to a function, no matter how many times you try inputting the same thing into it, it will always yield the same result. Argh! However many times you enter 1 + 1 in the calculator, you will always get 2!

I’m not ranting because our thesis lost. I’m ranting, because of the injustice (this word may be too much, but you get the point) done to our work.

Anyway, here are some suggestions to the committee:
1. Pick a diverse group of judges to be able to relate to ALL the topics submitted.
2. If what they are looking for as the best project is one that really benefits the humankind (in terms of medicine, food, transportation, etc.), then some biases against some degrees/courses may be present. Of course, theses or projects that are in Biology or Biochemistry would have the bigger advantage, as opposed to theses from other science fields. So, if this is the case, then have more categories. Or else, it would not be a fair playing ground for the participants.

Enough with the rants. On a lighter note, I really liked the master of ceremonies. I believe her name is Chell Jacob (Associate Director of the BPI Foundation, I think). She was really fabulous with all those spiels and random jokes. I so, so like her And, another good thing to note, the food was great!

Overall, despite with some major disappointments that I have, I know that this event had a very noble aim, and of course what I was ranting about may well just be indirect effects, and one not meant to happen in the first place. Anyway, this awarding for the best science projects should continue in the future. It is indeed a very good thing to have, not only to discover solutions to existing problems, but also to showcase the Filipino talent and skill.