Toxicity III

What to do.. what to do..

1. Span 10-11: I need to review right from the start just like when learning a programming language. Sheesh.
2. Pol Sci 14: My class has tons of reports to listen to, we don’t know yet if we’ll be exempted in the finals exam (how i really wish) and that will only be answered during the 3-4 day extensions (Yes, during the finals week! Ouch!)
3. Nat Sci 1: I have just taken my 2nd exam and I hope that it had gone well.
4. LIS 62: Projects and Finals! All due next week!
5. LIS 160: Let’s see.. I still don’t know the results of my job. After all, it’s my first time to lecture and deploy such a tutorial all by myself, including the installation and configuration of the environment. Unfortunately, some PCs (yes, it is dual booted with Wind0ze) get bonkers maybe at the rate of 1-2 machines every 2 weeks. Oh well.. if only the lab wasn’t located in such a very high place..

Others? These are the stuffs due for the semestral break:

1. Learn More Java Stuff!
2. Continue building OpenOffice 1.9X (I hope that OOo shall have their stable version released by that time.)
3. A plan to backup and make a fresh reinstall of my Fedora Core.
4. Learn JSP and other related components.
5. Continue being a technical support in the helpdesk.
6. Watch a lot of TV series episodes.
7. Get a life. (life == girlfriend?) Nope, just kidding! But who knows?
8. break; /*Yes, I need a break.*/

Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt

FUD? Nah.. the week has passed and I’m still confused on the tasks to do for next week. But at least, I don’t have the trouble which the usual local Internet-rental shops have nowadays. Reading this article from INQ7.net, I noticed a humorous part which was: “Why have they not informed us of these raids? Do we need to get a new license of Microsoft Windows 98? We don’t know what they require from us to comply. We heard that the BSA, with the OMB and NBI, has been conducting raids this week. They said that they are requiring shops to only buy from PC Express [a local PC distribution shop] and Windows XP Professional Service Pack 2,” the Internet shop owner said.” -> this was like.. “Duh, you should have known this (software ethics) beforehand especially when establishing such kind of business.”

Chikka on Gaim!

New discovery? I was only notified of its existence in my eBNC forum when a thread about Chikka on Linux was started. Javalite will still work but the port number can not be set. So Chix was suggested by one of our moderators. After a few readings of the manual and the normal ./config, make, and make install, i restarted my Gaim, and poof! The accounts settings had already included the Chix modules/libraries as a plugin! I had tested and it really worked. The feature that I’ll be looking for in the future is the presence of PC to PC mode (and that’s why the version is around 0.99-1.0). This one’s really HOT! WD!

Y4IT Days

[root@Tifa:~] tail /var/log/y4it

At last, Y4IT ended today! The event was great for it was similar to the Sun Tech Day event where I had volunteered with the Dilnet SAs before. The venue was heavily jam-packed and both the participants and staffs were sort of mixed up due to the confusion or inconvenience that the rain has made. For me, it was very memorable because I considered it as a geek day and is unforgettable for some 'mysterious reason'. Obviously, it was unforgettable because I met a lot of friends and sort of increased my network. Just like the required time for the volunteers in the Sun Tech Day event, the Y4IT 2005 Congress needed staffs by 6am because the registration starts at 7am. I learned some potential tactics on lecturing although the gist of the topics are already in the event guide. It was great to be assigned (sort of) to the UP JEDI booth because it was the first booth at the entrance and it was where participants claim their prizes or drop their raffle tickets.

Hopefully, I will have my bag (and freebies!) on the party this coming Saturday.

import *

From the Apple training, I learned some of the basics of AppleScript. Some sample codes include:

display dialog “OPTIONS:” buttons {“say”, 2, 3}
set x to result
if button returned of x = “2″ then
display dialog “you pushed 2!”
else
display dialog “not pushing 1″
end ifAND

display dialog “key in text” buttons {“Cancel”, “Say”, “Display”} default answer “”
set x to result
if button returned of x = “Say” then
say text returned of x as string
else
display dialog text returned of x
end if

which are compiled and executed in the script editor. The script editor even includes a recorder of sessions and even writes/shows the codes as you move the window/s or browse menus throughout the desktop. Xcode was also introduced in the presentation. Some sample scripts are found here.

In my work as linux help support, I managed to fix almost everything except a bug in OpenOffice.org 2.0 on Mandriva. I had just assumed that the package is not yet upgraded atlhough I had not researched about it yet.

Gmail: Mga Bagong Katangian!

Gmail has added a new set of features which include a language support for Tagalog.

Picture on the right is captured by using KSnapshot on Fedora Core 3 and enhanced using GIMP.

Every geek indeed has its day++.

It is a day++ where there is political stability and a great freedom day++ for geeks. Software Freedom Day is on the loose as well as a lot of fantastic events in the coming weeks.

while(day == geekday) {
print:
1. Software Freedom Day Philippines. You may register here.
2. Philippine Youth Congress in Information Technology 2005. For more info on the schedule of events, visit this.
3. Developing Apps using Open Source tools on the Mac.
4. LinuxWorld Conference and Expo Philippines
}

So.. where do you want to go for tomorrow?

Memories..

Finally, I managed to get back my bugged 512 MB RAM and it is now in the state of testing/observation mode. From XFCE I returned again to my usual theme which is Gnome with MAC OS X interfaces.

[root@Morpheus:~] ps -ax | grep -i entertainment > Lower House

At this time, I’m wondering if Rep. Cayetano used Wind0ze in his presentation and if it’s licensed/legal as well. I got strucked by one of its flashes: “Kung naayos na ang butu-buto, bakit pa tumawag kay Garci?” I would really like to ask the same question to him and see his reaction about it. The question seems to be contradicting itself. (Isuntok na lang niya ito sa buwan)

Another thing, how could a letter be simply authenticated and be used as an evidence? It is actually one of the easiest ways to create false truths. I just can’t help but drink a glass of water after laughing for minutes although being pissed too simultaneously. There was also an issue that was pointed out – the Senate is already unfair if it would be considered as a judicial body.

Panic? Yes! Mr. Paras was like having tantrums, screaming “Mr. Speaker, Mr. Speaker, MR. SPEAKER (shouting), Why don’t you recognize me?!?!” For goodness sake, there might be some people that increased their blood pressure in the process.

Well, the people might be afraid of what the President could do because of her power as the chief of the army, but I’m more afraid of people that I do not know and just interfere with other people’s lives, and destroy it for no reason at all.

And lastly, for the funniest part: “Chug, chug chug chug chug..” Guess who? Secret.

Ang Pikon ay Talo!

Napanood ko ang YSpeak kanina at hindi na ako nagtaka kung bakit ganoon na lang kagulo ang mga usapin. Andun ang astig na si “Way Kurat”, Miles, Guingona, isang ADMU student at isa naman PLM. Nakakatawa lang na pagmasdan ang debate dahil sa aking pananaw, kitang-kita na pikon ang mga nasa oposisyon o mga pro-impeachment. Kahit mga simpleng batas ay hindi masundan ng mga nasa pro-impeachment sa YSpeak. Sumasabat sila kahit wala na sa kanila ang ‘focus’ o ang ‘mikropono’ at sa halip, nagmistulang kabastusan, katangahan at pagkapikon ang naroon. Ang mga nasa ‘anti-impeachment’ (mahirap sabihin na anti) ay pinagbibigyan lamang ang mga nasa oposisyon na sumabat kahit hindi ‘turn’ nila na magsalita. Kapag ang atensyon naman ay nasa oposisyon, nananatiling tahimik ang mga nasa ‘anti-impeachment’ na side ng YSpeak – ipinakikita lamang nila sa isang simpleng maayos na paraan na hindi sila pikon. Sabi naman sa panig ng ‘pro’: “Ganito, ganito ang nangyari sa amin noong Martes. Hindi na nagkakaliwanagan at parang ganito rin na nakatayo si Way Kurat. Siguro rin naman ay magwwalkout rin kayo (ang panig ng ‘anti-impeachment’) kapag hindi kayo napakinggan.” Syempre, may sumabat na isa “Hindi ah, hindi kami magwwalkout (dito sa YSpeak)”. Sa aking palagay, 2 lang siguro ang pwede kong maisip sa pagwalkout ng minorya: (1) Talunan sila at sila’y napahiya. (2) Pikon sila na ayaw pa rin magpatalo.

Si Way Kurat naman ay astig; napatalbog niya ang mga pinagsasasabi sa ‘pro’ side ng YSpeak. Paano ba naman kasi, sabihin ba naman daw ng minorya na “ang pipirma sa impeachment ay pipirma sa katotohanan”?!?! Aba! Sabi nga ni Way Kurat, “Ibig sabihin pala nun, kapag hindi pipirma ay hindi na para sa katotohanan, falsehood kumbaga. Paano mangyayari yun eh iba ang katotohanan ng admin sa oposisyon?” Sumabat si Guingona: “Hindi ata pwede yan, isa lang ang katotohanan, black or white lang”. (Ewan ko ba kung ano ang pinagsasasabi ni Guingona at waring wala siya sa tunay na kalawakan at hindi siya nabubuhay sa panahong ito.) Malamang naman kasi siguro na iba-iba ang katotohanan na pinapaniwalaan ng bawat panig. Tama rin bang sabihin ng oposisyon: “Ang pipirma sa impeachment ay simbolo rin ng isang malinis na konsensya.” Aba! Kalokohan na pala ito e! Sinabi naman ng isang estudyante ng ADMU, “Tama lang na magdabog ang oposisyon, blablabla” na kinontra ni “Way Kurat”: “Teka, wala naman nagdabog ah? Marahil siguro ay nasa eskuwelahan ka at parang hindi mo alam ang tunay na nangyari. Walang nagdabog pero tama bang magkalat/magtapon sila ng papel sa kung saan?” (Tahimik, hehe)

Kung iisipin, lumalabas na dapat ay madali lang para sa minorya ang makakuha ng 79 na lagda. Ngunit bakit kaya hindi nila makuha ang kailangan? Nakakatawa rin na hindi tuluy-tuloy na tumataas ang bilang dahil meron rin mga bumabawi ng lagda dahil marahil sa pagkatuklas ng mga kahinaan talaga sa oposisyon. Ang oposisyon rin ay wala noong Miyerkules kung kailan ay meron silang pagkakataon na magsalita, ngunit nasan sila noong oras na yaon?

Sinabi nga na ang bise presidente ang siyang papalit kung sakali sa presidente. Pero paano kung ang bise presidente ay ayaw rin ng oposisyon? Ibang usapan na yan..

Monopoly, Business Tactics, and Digital Imperialism at its best

This is an example of a corporation implementing and expanding its monopoly throughout the Philippine market through this business strategy of increasing the bulk of digital imperialism throughout the country.Some will say that the consumer/customer is being cheated in the process, but why let oneself be cheated if there are hell a lot of alternatives out there?

There’s also a news that some State may drop Office software and use a new document standard called OpenDocument format that is used in OpenOffice and StarOffice.

Another controversy out there in the wild is that Ballmer vowed to ‘kill’ Google. Some sneakpeeks:In a sworn statement made public Friday, Mark Lucovsky, another Microsoft senior engineer who left for Google in November 2004, recounted Ballmer’s angry reaction when Lucovsky told Ballmer he was going to work for the search engine company.

“At some point in the conversation, Mr. Ballmer said: ‘Just tell me it’s not Google,’” Lucovosky said in his statement. Lucovosky replied that he was joining Google.

“At that point, Mr. Ballmer picked up a chair and threw it across the room hitting a table in his office,” Lucovosky recounted, adding that Ballmer then launched into a tirade about Google CEO Eric Schmidt. “I’m going to f***ing bury that guy, I have done it before, and I will do it again. I’m going to f***ing kill Google.” Schmidt previously worked for Sun Microsystems and was the CEO of Novell.

Oh shucks, what a pity!