Carol of the Bells

Hark, how the bells, sweet silver bells
All seem to say, throw cares away...

Throw cares away?? I just can't, not especially this very Christmas. So many things to finish. The thesis simulation application is not even half-finished. And considering that I'm doing the half of our group's thesis, I have just finished almost one-fourth of the entire thesis. I just hope that my other two groupmates are doing well.

And then there's still the schoolpaper layout, which I can't finish because of the lack of resources (articles, pictures, other important instructions), the Filipino-lifestyle-themed photography assignment for Humanities 101, and a freakin' PowerPoint presentation for Internet Technologies class. WAAAAA!!! Merry Christmas indeed!

Well, at least I'm enjoying programming the most important of them all, which is obviously the thesis, Chemical Bonding Tutorial and Simulation. As I've mentioned, I'm doing almost half of the system, which is the Simulation. I love OpenGL and my newfound programming language Visual Basic, designed for user-interface-oriented and lazy programmers like me. I just have to make sure that I'll not be too spoiled by VB.

What the hell am I still doing here?? I should be opening the VB workspace and work my ass off.

By the way, the following is my new favorite Christmas song, Thrice's revival of the "Carol of the Bells." It sounds mysterious and dark, which I like. Ironic for a Christmas song, huh? The video version I've found in YouTube shows Full Metal Alchemist clips. I like both the anime and the song, but they seem weird when they are together. There's not even something Christmasy in the video clips, except for the snow...

The Very Christmas to Me

:( Ateneo Fiesta Week will be officially over by the end of this day. I have to refill my academic vehicle's tank with academic fuel so I can drive it, bringing this academic burden without dropping it lest I fail to reach the finish line that is graduation. *sigh* But hey, it was the start of December just yesterday! It's the month of Christmas! We have actually decorated just last week.

But honestly, I have not been excited and eager for this coming Christmas and also for the other Christmases during the past few years. Even though I've been receiving some gifts during this season, it doesn't feel like the Christmases in my childhood. I can still remember those times nearing December when I constantly ask my mother if it was Christmas season already. I just couldn't wait then to bring out the Christmas tree and all the other ornaments from their 10-month storage above the bedroom closet and release them throughout the house so that the spirit of the Holidays would manifest. But the college Christmases were... blaahh... Perhaps it's because there are no forced Christmas parties anymore, with manito-manita. Yes, they may be forced, but a classic Christmas party is one thing that makes me feel it's really Christmas. Kris Kringles were exciting 'coz you get to collect clues for who picked your name, and you also get to think creatively such that your mark is concealed in your gifts.

*sigh* Those childhood and high school Christmases were quite different from the past few Decembers, which were also the times when our old Christmas decorations were deteriorating, actually. We were not supposed to decorate for Christmas this year because we realized that we don't invite Holiday visitors anymore anyway. So who else would marvel at the decorations but us? However, my sister in the States sent us money and insisted us to spend it on new decorations. So there we go - a new Christmas tree around six feet tall, and some Christmas balls and other ornaments to hang around it and around the house. We also recycled a few old decorations that still look decent. But... they didn't revive the Christmas spirit. Hmmm... maybe the decorations cannot find the spirit's remains anywhere in the house.

Therefore, I would just have to look for and revive it myself, and attempt to feel each Christmas as the "very first Christmas to me." Reminds me of the hilarious 'Christmas Who?' episode of Spongebob Squarepants. I like the musical number in it, which fortunately is available in YouTube and is embedded below.

I wonder at what exact age I discovered the very first Christmas to me. I hope I wasn't as overenthusiastic and naive as Spongebob was during his.

It's shaping up to be a wonderful holiday,
Not your normal, average everyday.
Sounds like someone killed my old coral tree.
Spongebob, Patrick, why'd you do this to me?
The world feels like it's in loverly.
Go away before I harm you bodily.
This Christmas feels like the very first Christmas to me.
There'll be shopping, decorating, and plenty of snow.
Hey, Patrick, who's that under the mistletoe?
What? Who, me? Would you look at the time, I should go!
People seem a little more brotherly.
Here's a little something to you from me.
Even all the trash on Christmas it smells so sweetly.
This Christmas feels like the very first Christmas to me.
La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la (x many times)
What do you want? Can't you see that I'm busy?
Step outside, we've got something for you to see.
Spongebob, take this stuff down immediately!
Chestnuts roasting and burned to the third degree.
Tonight things are as good as they seem to be.
A star on top will complete all the scenery.
This Christmas feels like the very first Christmas to me
This Christmas feels like the very first Christmas to me 

The False Prophet

False prophets are sent by Satan to mislead people; to derail them from the path of righteousness where God calls them to constantly walk on. Well, Mr. Horned One will not be happy with my first job as a false prophet.

“All I say is thanks to the God…” said Manny stupidly when he was interviewed after winning his third match with the humbled Erik Morales, “Erik is big to me…” Get an interpreter or an English tutor, imbecile!

One of the Filipino commentators during a television coverage of their fight remarked that it was “a proud moment to be a Filipino.” Yes it was a proud moment for me too. But there is just a little pride in that ‘coz I find that same moment to be embarrassing too - more embarrassing actually. Imagine the Para sa ‘yo song was played for the entire coliseum to hear while Manny was approaching the ring. Sin verguenza! Erik Morales must’ve been giggling while he was listening to that. I remember El Terible commenting in an interview with Diane Castillejo that Manny’s singing was terible [as in Spanish for ‘terrible’]. Erik even mimicked Manny’s singing voice and it was hilarious! Erik sounded like a ghost saying “Ooooohooohoh,” or an old dog howling with a low tone after being hit by a baseball bat. It is really terrible… and terrifying… and embarrassing, at least for some people like me. Some Filipinos are Pacman-fanatic, considering Manny as a great singer. I have cotton buds at home for cleaning your ears, mga bingengat kayo! I remember Manny in a show being interviewed about his then upcoming concert. He joked, saying something like, “Baka mawawalan na ng audience ang ibang banda [Other bands may lose their audience].” The nerve of him, telling that joke! It wasn’t even a joke. A joke has a grain of truth in it. That wasn't a joke - it's an absolute lie! It’s blasphemy! A sacrilege of Truth! Crucify him!

But it’s too late. He won the fight. More will be deafened, corrupted by his crappy singing. And his new mansion will have a recording studio! This will be the shrine where he will inject subliminal messages in his songs – subliminal messages saying “Manny is f**king gorgeous! Manny is the greatest singer. He’s even greater than Sarah Geronimo. Let’s demand that he will sing the national anthem himself in all his coming matches. He is the greatest! Oh Manny, f**k me! Give me a bastard child like what you did to your mistress!”

In conclusion, Manny, I would like to thank you for winning this fight. You make me proud. *a trembling smile forms on my face*

Idle Hands Are a Devil's Workshop

I noticed that lately I have been slutty - I mean SLOTH-y with everything, from my academic life to even the mundane activities, like blogging. At last, now I have finally picked the enthusiasm up for posting another set of musings, for now. But still, I feel my hands are idle. Hmmm... But where's the Devil? I don't see him anywhere in my hands... Oh my God! Maybe I am the Devil! *LOL*

OK, I have to update about the thesis proposal. My last post about this was like ancient! BlueVoice is a great concept, yes. But guess what happened? I apostatized it and transferred to another where I think I can work better. Surprise! Right after that conversion, I did not even bother to blog about it. I mean, it's like a significant, not to mention risky, decision in my unstable university life. I guess I was lazy to blog then. The change was not about what was the better, safer thesis. It's all about where I can work better and with more enthusiasm. The second semester of my hopefully last year in college, which means the hopefully very last semester in college, has finally started just last week. I and my new groupmates should be working on programming the application. But so far, as far as I know, we are in the process of hunting down the three proposal panelists for their coveted signatures for approval. I did hear from one of my groupmates that she's learning Flash. I should be learning that too along with Visual Basic and OpenGL for backup.

So much to do but I am still not motivated. Get out of my hands, Devil!

Joke Time!!!

More text jokes that I have to delete from my cellphone inbox but I choose to remember here. Note: Text words are converted to their proper spelling.

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From Joval
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You're the perfect person that I know.

So sweet, so nice, so kind

Always on my mind

And very special for me

But there's something wrong...


Wrong send ako! hehehe :)
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From Grace
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MRS: Musta po asawa ko?

DOC: Sorry ma'am! Mula ngayon, ikaw na magpapakain
& magpapaligo sa kanya kasi putol na kamay at paa
niya!

MRS: Di nga?

DOC: Hehe, joke lang! Patay na siya! :)

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Heto ako iniisip ka.
Nakatunganga, nakahilata,
Mag-isa,
Nananalangin,
Humihingi ng himala
Na sana nandito ka..

Dami ng hugasin!
Tambak labahan!
Gulo ng house!

YAYA! I miss you na..:)

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Kung nag Gay Language sana sila GMA at Garci, eh di
walang scam!

GMA: Hallow Gracia!

Garci: Plangush mother! Na chenilyn de kimberlyn ko na
po yong mga chuva ek ek!

GMA: Bonggacious! Eh yung mga chenes chenes, carry na ba?

Garci: Winnie santos mama, wiz na worry eclavou na ever!
Na chorva na!

GMA: Ang tarush! Malditah ka talaga. Eh di windra na
naman watashi!?

Garci: Anufi Ate...

GMA: Oshah babush na... Rarampa pa ang lola! :)

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Isang lasing may nakitang madre..
Biglang sinuntok, tinadyakan at binalibag!

Bugbog-sarado ang madre..

Tapos tumawa yung lasing at sinabi..

"Wala ka palang binatbat,
BATMAN!!"

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Man and wife were out on an African safari when suddenly
a lion sprang out of nowhere and dragged the wife with its
jaws.

WIFE: Shoot! Shoot!

HUSBAND: I can't! Wala na akong FILM!

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From Kat
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"Danbe fuld badaraks datay gat..
Emstel, emstel, jinepram dablak..."

Ulit-ulitin mo lang.. Magegets mo din yan.

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One day, a sadist, a masochist, a murderer, a necrophile,
a zoophile and a pyromaniac were talking in a psycho ward.

SADIST: I'm bored, why don't we torture a cat?

ZOOPHILE: Yeah, We'll torture it and then f**k it!

MURDERER: We'll torture it, f**k it and then kill it!

NECROPHILE: We'll torture it, f**k it, kill it and f**k it again!

PYROMANIAC: Yeah, then we'll burn the cat!

(sudden silence)

Then everybody asked the masochist,
"Hey, why didn't you say anything?"

MASOCHIST: Meow! (",)

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Erap in school...

Teacher: Who knows what minimize is?

Erap: I do ma'am!

Teacher: OK, use it in a sentence.

Erap: Minimize is the girlfriend of Mickeymize.

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(Accordingly) a poem nominated for the best poem of '05,
written by an African kid.

When I born, I black.
When I grow up, I black.
When I go in the sun, I black.
When I scared, I black.
When I sick, I black.
And when I die, I still black.

And you White fellas,
When you born, you PINK.
When you grow up, you WHITE.
When you go in the sun, you RED.
When you cold, you BLUE.
When you scared, you YELLOW.
When you sick, you GREEN.
And when you die, you GRAY..

And you calling me COLORED?

- the kid has a point!

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Entertaining God

submitted on 09/25/06 as reflection paper for the religious-philosophical movie Dogma
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“There’s a million questions I wish I could ask, most all questioning what I'm sure is your great plan, and that would be really arrogant of me, I know. But there is one I'd like to ask, and I'm sure you get it all the time. But how many opportunities like this will I get?” Bethany inhaled deeply and then exhaled, preparing to hear the ultimate answer from someone infallible. “Why are we here?” The childlike woman stared at her for a while. Then she leaned forward and poked Bethany’s nose. The woman, who happened to be the latest embodiment of God, smiled at her and walked away. “Didn’t I tell you She was funny?” Metatron, a Seraph and the Voice of God, told Bethany matter-of-factly.

That was an excerpt from the ending scene of the film Dogma. I thought the scene was just amusing, and a little confusing, while I was watching it for the first time. However, it struck me just when I realized what it really meant during a class discussion. Although the film does not explicitly state it, it seems to imply that God created all of existence because of His sense of humor.

Dogma does not just exemplify God’s omnipotence and omniscience, but also His unlikely but very probable purpose of human existence. God is omnipotent that He can transform into one of us here on Earth. The problem is that He has to lose His omnipotence and omniscience to be human. Being human means being mortal, vulnerable to physical pain and death. His embodiment’s death can release Him from mortality to His original and true state. However, He may be trapped in His temporary body during a comatose, as exemplified in the movie. In this case, as human, He would be influenced by time. That then would give anyone the chance to prove the infallible God wrong, thereby reversing Him and all dependent existence to nothingness. But after some reflection, I learned that it may never happen. Remember that God is all-knowing. Although He lost His omniscience as a human, He still had it before He became one. Before turning human and thus losing His omniscience and omnipotence, He must have used it to ‘see’ if everything would be fine while he would be embodied. In Dogma for example, before becoming the human ‘John Doe,’ God knew that He, as human, would be beaten up and fall into comatose. But He also knew that He would eventually be saved by Bethany, the Last Scion. Thus, knowing this, He confidently allowed Himself to be human.

Now the bottom line question is: why did He have to create us? Wouldn’t it be the same if God decided to exist without us? God does not need the free man for truly responding love or for entertainment simply because He is perfect. He can never feel unloved or bored. He does not need anything else to sustain Him. So why do we need to exist? Perhaps there’s something wrong with the question. Maybe God did not need to create us – He wanted to create us.

God knows He does not need to create anything. If he was only serious, He should have not created us, thinking that, “I don’t need them anyway. It would be useless.” But He cannot be limited to being serious and boring. Since He is perfect, He must also have a sense of humor. And perhaps, as a result of being funny and playful, He created us – as His toys. As a perfect being, God cannot be entertained because he cannot be bored in the first place. Then He must have decided to be man so that He may experience human boredom and thus be truly amused when He frolics down here on Earth. It’s just like God built a small Legoland and shrunk Himself in it so He can enjoy playing with it more.

“Why are we here?” Perhaps we are here to entertain God, not because he needs amusement but he wants it. And since He is omnipotent, He gets what He wants. Now wouldn’t it affect my faith knowing that I exist as one of God’s playthings? Probably not. If we are God’s playthings, God would be like a child who would love and protect his toys. Thus, we are safe as God’s toys. If it did affect my faith, it added more amazement rather than fear in the funny God.

I must sharpen my sense of humor some more. I’d like to really amuse God in case I meet His embodiment one day. And I’d let Him poke my nose as many times as He would like.

In Defense of the Divine Architecture

submitted 09/25/06 as Reaction Paper for Philo 104: Philosophy of Religion
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The teleological argument, as Ernest Nagel wrote in The Case for Atheism, “is based on what purports to be empirical evidence,” which makes it different in character from the cosmological and ontological arguments. From the intricate natural systems we see around us and even ­in us, the argument from design claims that the complex existence must’ve been created by a divine architect, not by random chance. The argument is popularly compared with the case of a found watch, whose finder assumes that the watch with its elaborate mechanism was made by someone intelligent and much less likely by arbitrariness.

Ernest Nagel criticized the teleological argument with two counterarguments. The first one asserts that the idea ‘watch is to watchmaker; world is to world maker’ is a faulty analogy. Accordingly, the watch is not similar to the “innumerable animate and inanimate systems with which we are familiar.” Furthermore, the way the parents ‘make’ their offspring is not the same with how the watchmaker makes a watch. The author’s second counterargument claims to altogether crush the teleological argument because the rival hypothesis, the Darwinian Theory, is a “better supported assumption.” It “explains the diversity of biological species in terms of chance variations in the structure of organisms, and of a mechanism of selection which retains those variant forms that possess some advantages for survival.”

As a ‘follower’ of the teleological argument, I am relieved that I still haven’t encountered a very good and striking criticism to it even after reading Nagel’s article. It is now my turn to lay down my counterarguments for each of his counterarguments.

First, the watch and watchmaker may not be exactly the same with the world and world maker. However, they are proportionally similar. Yes, the overwhelmingly intricate universe is very much greater than even all the watches there are. It is because the world maker or intelligent designer is also very much greater than any watchmaker. This world maker must even be the greatest since He made the universe. It even supports the nature of the Creator. Although we can comprehend certain mechanisms of existence, such as our bodily functions, we cannot grasp the universe as a whole. It is unfathomable and mysterious, and so is its architect and maker. On the issue on the dissimilarity between parents making babies and watchmakers making watches, I don’t even know why mating came up in his arguments. The teleological argument compares the watchmaker with the world maker, not a baby maker. Moreover, in that analogy, the method of creation is not the concern; it is the purpose or cause of the creation. It suggests that the watch’s existence is only possible with a purposing will, and so is the universe’s existence. How it is created is not that essential.

Second, the Theory of Evolution only explains the existence of animate systems. How about the inanimate systems? How is the system of seasons or the organized planetary movements possible? Did they also adapt to the “mechanisms of selection?” No, because only living creatures can adapt. Besides, these inanimate systems are the mechanisms of selection. The system of seasons, for instance, forces the bears to hibernate during winter and the ants to gather and store as much food as they can during summer. Those that cannot cope would have to perish. It seems that nature has its laws. But since nature is inanimate, it cannot decree on its own. Only something similar to a purposing mind can explain the inanimate structures in existence. The Darwinian Theory is still plausible. But it must be integrated with the teleological argument to support it thoroughly. Perhaps the one who not only created but also governs the universe ‘designed’ the inanimate systems from where the animate systems were adapted and formed. And since Darwin cannot determine the source of all evolving organisms, the teleological argument patches the leak by offering the idea that only a divine architect and creator can create the very first organism from where all evolution sprang from.

According to the Prophet Jan Carlo

I have, again, been oblivious with my blog. I have to post something now. So here it is - a prophecy:
Ye, Filipinos, shall despair. Thy self-proclaimed, not to mention grotesquely ugly, hero shall fall before one of the Mexicans he has been assassinating. He then shall lose his commercial endorsements, singing contract (which he doesn’t deserve!), bragging rights, and, thank God, his fantasies of being a drop-dead gorgeous guy, which is the opposite of what he really is!

Oh Fate! Please don’t let me be a false prophet. I want all this torment to end. Just recently, I heard from the news that Morales is sure that he will win his third match with Manny Pacquiao. He did sound like the arrogant bastard that he is. But I do hope he has palabra de honor. I have this feeling that Manny will lose this time. I can’t wait to witness the chain of consequences after his defeat.

I don’t want to see him in ice cream (”O mga bata, mirinda na!”) and fast food commercials (“Papara-Pacquiao!”) ‘coz it curbs my appetite!

I don’t want to hear another “Ixtrem Magec Seng” song from him ‘coz it forces me to waste time in changing channels until that commercial ends.

I don’t want to see him working out shirtless with his sons in another vinegar commercial ‘coz it’s simply disgusting (and corny)!

I don’t want to see his wife endorsing ointments just ‘coz she’s Manny’s woman!

And I don’t want to see him trying so hard to speak in fluent English to impress people in press conferences ‘coz it insults me as a Filipino! If he finds English hard, why can’t he be just like Erik Morales who speaks in his own language in front of the international public with an interpreter?

Intelligent Design

Below was my reflection paper for my Philosophy of Religion class. The teacher asked each of us to pick one of the pro-God arguments, fully explain it and relate it with us and our God. The candidate arguments are: religious experience, cosmological, ontological, teleological, and Pascal's wager. As explained in the paper, I chose the teleological argument or argument from design. I just realized, after rereading it after it was graded and returned, that the fourth paragraph was unnecessarily lengthy. It explains why it's implausible to think that the universe was created out of chance or random combination. I was just making sure that this claim would be totally refuted so that the intelligent design argument can easily be defended. *sigh* Whatever. The important thing is the paper was marked with a satisfying grade. :)

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INTELLIGENT DESIGN

Before, it was called creationism. Religious groups, especially the Christian ones, pleaded with their secular governments to include this argument in educational curriculums. However, this argument was deemed not exactly as an argument, a logical argument that is, but a spiritual belief. And basically, spirits or souls and the like are banned by law to be formally taught in schools unless these schools or the state itself is sectarian. Besides, creationism as a theory is incompatible with Darwin’s scientifically acknowledged and widely accepted theory of evolution. Thus, it is not appropriate for both arguments to be preached alongside with each other.

Not long ago, I have encountered an online article about intelligent design, which sounded scientific and interesting to me. But as I was reading it, I discovered that intelligent design was just creationism renamed. The coining of the new name was an attempt to make creationism appear philosophical and scholastic so it may be acceptable for inclusion in the secular curriculum. But it was a futile attempt. Whether it is creationism or intelligent design, it still points to the belief that God created the universe.

Intelligent design, also called the teleological or design argument, states that man, nature, the world, and the rest of the universe, with all their harmonious intricacies, must have been purposely “designed” and created by an intelligent being. The body’s different organs working in unison, an ecosystem where various organisms are interdependent together with the environment, and the fact that no two or more inanimate planets are placed in a single orbit are just some of the fascinating phenomena operating with uncanny patterns and elaborate mechanisms. The teleological argument explains that these detailed arrangements in nature are possible only with an “intelligent purposing mind” that planned and created them. Since this intelligence is responsible for the existence and behavior of everything in the universe, it must then be the most superior intelligence belonging to the most powerful being above all. And this being is God.

Suppose that you have never seen a watch. One day, you saw one on the ground and picked it up. You observed that they were made of glass and metals, which are materials familiar to you. You saw the two main hands pointing at two of the 12 numbers around them. You later discovered that it was a device that tells time. You pried the watch’s back open and were amazed by the different tiny components. You inspected how these minute parts work together so that the hands point at the right numbers at the right duration to refer to the exact time of the day. You then wonder how this very complex object came to be. Since every component of the watch is inanimate, they could have not possibly come together and arranged themselves to form this time-telling device. Perhaps these components did come together and were assembled, not by their own will however, but by coincidence. Out of the innumerable possible combinations of different metals, glasses, ink (for printing the numbers), and other materials, one of them has successfully produced the watch and its intricate mechanism to serve its purpose. But such process would take billions or even more years to take place. Furthermore, such process only produced this single watch along with the other rejected combinations that eventually ceased to exist since none of them served a purpose. In this case, each object in the universe was a product of random combination; that among the countless combinations, only those that have purpose can be allowed to exist. By the law of probability however, if everything in the universe was a result of random combination, then the number of all combinations of atoms made to accidentally create the present universe must have been much, much greater than the already incalculable number of all existing objects in the universe. Furthermore, the occurrence of these relatively few successful combinations, which resulted to the existing universe, has an extremely low probability. For these successful combinations to certainly exist, infinite time should be given for all the innumerable random combinations to take place. But infinity is implausible. The finite number of all existing objects must have been created within a finite time.

After that lengthy analysis, you then conclude that the watch that you just picked up could’ve not been accidentally created by pure chance. The only feasible explanation is that the watch must’ve had a maker. Only another intelligent being could be the reason behind the watch’s existence, its intricate characteristics, and its purpose. Maybe you have not met the watchmaker and seen how it was created. But you can be certain that at some time and some place, the watch was being directly created by an intelligent watchmaker, who didn’t have to tediously try all arbitrary combinations.

Similarly, the universe must have had a maker. Man alone is made up of clever mechanisms to survive and protect himself. The Earth itself contains numerous systems in natural phenomena, such as in the change of seasons or the process of producing rain. The rest of the universe moves in an organized manner such that collision of heavenly bodies is at least minimized, if not completely prevented. The existence and synchronization of everything there is can not be possible with utter randomness. Only power and will can create an object out of nothing and stir up events. Only intelligence can devise the intricacies of the harmonious universe. Only goodness and love can decide the Earth’s purpose, which is to support human life. This power and will, intelligence, and goodness and love can only belong to an existing being – God.

Having a sceptic disposition, I was not satisfied with a faith based on sheer dogma. I was more comfortable with owning beliefs and convictions that I can rationally defend. Seeking a logical argument as a strong foundation for my faith in God was difficult. I can easily think of refuting replies to all the arguments, which I have so far encountered, for His existence, except one – the design argument or intelligent design.

I thought at first that intelligent design was no match for the evolution theory. The idea of man as a result of evolution brought about by the need to adapt to the changing environment is more comprehensible, and thus more acceptable, than the belief that an unseen creator crafted man and everything else out of void. It was mentioned in the aforementioned online article that even the Roman Catholic Church favoured evolution over creationism in formal education. Now as a follower of that church, how can I defend the Genesis? In the first place, how the Bible stories and revelations happened is much less essential than the message they imply. As my church preaches, the Bible should not be taken as a history book that must correspond with reality. Instead, as mushy as it sounds, it should be taken as compiled love letters from God expressed in symbols and riddles. The story of Creation was simply a figurative way of saying that God made everything out of purpose and love. Perhaps what actually happened was that God indirectly created man by altering the environment of selected monkeys so that they were forced to “mutate” into intelligent, less-hairy primates that could stand straight. Evolution itself must also be part of God’s design.

I remember a religion teacher back in high school saying that there should be no conflict between science and religion. Science tells how, while religion tells who, she said. Maybe it’s supposed to stay that way. The belief in a Creator is something spiritual that should not be introduced as something logical in academics. Perhaps I have been wasting ‘thinking time’ for seeking a rational explanation for God’s existence. Human intelligence is limited. Therefore, it may be unsound to use logic from our limited minds to measure and confine the immeasurable and unlimited God with finite characteristics. Maybe, just maybe, God also designed human intelligence to be limited. This way, belief in Him would be based not solely on safe, rigid logic but on mysterious, intuitive trust, which what true faith is.

Paris Hilton's Vow of Celibacy

Only for a year however.

A while after the Stupid Girls blog where I maligned Paris Hilton as if I really knew everything about her, I've been bumping into a few pieces of news from TV and online about Paris' morally upright side. The first one I've encountered was on ET, where she was shown spending time with a devoted fan who had cancer. She said that it felt great helping one of her fans fulfil her dream. Another one was not actually a display of charity, but an implication from her previous controversial relationship with a guy also named Paris. I'm not sure if this was just one of the reasons or the sole reason that Paris Hilton broke up with Paris. All I heard was that she was enraged after discovering, during a dinner meeting or something with her then boyfriend's family, that he has not told his family about their relationship even if they have been together for a long time. It seemed to me that Hilton was expecting a formal relationship where families of both parties are aware of it.

What did I learn from this? A person's whole character should not be judged just by particular/selected things that he did or is doing. It's trite, but I fail to consider it when it comes to dealing with people. At first, all I heard about Paris Hilton is her sluttishness in One Night in Paris porn vid and her stupidity and high-maintenance lifestyle in The Simple Life. Aside from that, I did not care about knowing her beyond that. And that was wrong. This human being has a lot more than that. First impressions do last. But they should not be allowed to last forever.

So below is another 'good news' about Paris Hilton. Yes, a one-year vow of no-sex-but-just-kissing may not make Paris a saint. But at least she did something based on personal ethics. It showed that she's not all about sex. She has a cognitive mind that can develop a strategy to determine whether her current boyfriend loves her or is just looking for sexual experience from the Paris Hilton. She's not stupid after all.

WTF?! Paris Preaches Abstinence

(URL: http://news.yahoo.com/s/eo/20060805/en_celeb_eo/19688)

By Natalie Finn Fri Aug 4, 10:12 PM ET

There's a Hilton that won't be checking in any overnight guests this year.

SEARCH

Paris Hilton--yes, that Paris Hilton--has sworn off sex. For 12 months, anyway.

In an interview for the September issue of British GQ, the star whose oeuvre includes The Simple Life and One Night in Paris set out to dispel rumors that she's a sure thing when it comes to taking relationships to that next level.

"People think I sleep with everyone, but I'm not like that," Hilton told the magazine. "Kissing is all I do.

"I'm not having sex for a year. I've decided...I'll kiss, but nothing else."

The hotel heiress, who seems to change boyfriends faster than shoes, appears excited about the effect her vow of chastity could have on her personal life.

"The reason so many of my relationships don't work is guys are like, 'Hey, what's going on? It's been like four months and I'm only getting a kiss here,' " said Hilton, who was partying with on-again love interest Stavros Niarchos on Sean "Diddy" Combs' yacht this week after attending the rap mogul's annual White Party at the Nikki Beach Club in Saint-Tropez.

While there's no word on what Niarchos has to say about Hilton's new resolution, she sounded as if there's some method to her madness--she has thought this one over and knows exactly what she's doing.

"I feel good about it," the 25-year-old told GQ. "I like the way guys so crazy when they can't have sex with you. If he can't have you, he stays interested. The moment he has you, he's gone. Unless he is really in love with you."

She went on to say that, as far as she knows, she only plans to walk down the aisle once and that, when she goes on dates, she prefers to be treated "like a princess."

As Hilton tones down the sex, her doppelganger is upping the salacious quotient. Professional Paris look-alike Natalie Reid is giving Playboy readers an eyeful in the September issue. Hilton herself says that she has been turning down offers to disrobe for the men's magazine since she was 17.

Oblivion Part 2

I'm back soon, as vowed by me.

So a while after that BlueVoice blog, I was planning to post about the brief change in our group's independent practicum project and about Manny Pacquiao's win (again!) and how much I hated him even more. But it seemed I did not find the timing, or right mood, to blog about it. Perhaps I was too worried of academic concerns and school duties.

Oh by the way, I was "appointed" the president of our sub-department. Appointed, huh? A president should be elected. Then the elected president 'appoints' people to be members of his cabinet. Whatever... I don't even have a cabinet. Just the rest of the officers. It's a good thing that I get along with them easily. Just last Monday, we had a meeting and discussed the annual acquaintance party, which will be held after all. At first, I planned not to have one because it really doesn't serve its purpose and is expensive. But then I realized from the other officers that many (probably most) of the AICG students are looking forward to an acquaintance party so they can get to meet, and perhaps welcome, the first years. I hope this hospitality is genuine.

So I should be moving on to the two things I should've blogged about ages ago.

First about our project. After contemplating on BlueVoice, we decided to look for another proposal. Honestly, I forgot our reasons for dropping BlueVoice. Maybe because it was risky and expensive. So anyway, we were debating on Game of the Generals with higher AI, or Source Code Similarity Detection. I was more inclined to the latter, but the other two were more interested with the game. Even though there was a majority, we still decided to seek for the moderator's recommendation. And she preferred the Source Code Similarity Detection. Victory for me! But it was useless victory shortly afterwards. When we had a consultation for our supposed-to-be-adviser for the source code thingy, he revealed to us that a better existing system, called MOSS (Measure of Software Similarity), is free after all. We thought it was charging. So we had to drop it. No significance, no approval, no project.

We looked into the BlueVoice idea again. We were able to discuss it with a faculty member, who then suggested that it can be worth a project. So we built on that idea, prepared the first draft, and slightly changed its name, to BlueTalk. The moderator said that it can be promising. Only a few things were required to be revised in our drafts. Now, we are working on the final draft of our proposal. Hopefully, it's on its way to full approval.

I'm not in the mood to lambaste Pacman right now. Besides, it would take a lot of words that I can separate them to another post. And that's what I'll do...

Oblivion

Wow. The start of my (hopefully) final year in AdZU was a humongous pain in the ASS that kept me from wasting time on blogging. Well, actually, my layouting "duties" in the college magazine was the royal burden, which cut majorly into my academic and family life. The poky office PC and late articles just made everything worse. At least just last Wednesday, I finally got rid of the printout dummy and CD contaning the Corel file and all the fonts we have in the Beacon PC and sent them to the printing press miles away from here. No major layouting for the next few months...

My problem now is catching up with my studies. So far, I still haven't opened and tested any of the GL files I have ALREADY downloaded ages ago. The same thing with the assembly codes for another class. But I'm more interested with the former. Assembly... is... no words can contain my frustration with it. This primitive computer language is so far the hardest to learn. It has the weirdest syntax and function words, like MOV, INT (w/c usually is a data type in other languages), ah, al, ax, bl, dx, LEA (who the hell is she anyway?!), and other blah blah blah.

I have to pause here. Firefox said that it needs to restart the PC for updating, my Dad is asking me to cook breakfast, and I can't wait to savor another cup of coffee. I'll post soon... ^_^

BlueVoice It Is

The three paths seeking a final project have finally met at an intersection. And at the crossroads was BlueVoice, as coined by one of the group mempers. This project that the three of us will attempt to successfully develop is a mobile application that, if installed on both cellphones, would enable the two users to talk with each other through bluetooth - for free! But the distance is limited however. I've heard that the latest bluetooth technology can wirelessly connect phones that are up to 100 meters away from each other. That's not bad. But it is definitely expensive.

We can test it, however, with the available cellphones that have a bluetooth range of 10 meters. If, a big IF, it works, it may also work with the 100-meter bluetooth range.

When it was first suggested to me, I was skeptic. But when my co-members assured that it is possible, I conceded. An engineering teacher even suggested some ideas on voice transmission via bluetooth, which convinced me even more that we can do this.

I'm a little nervous about this. But I feel excitement too. I just hope that this excitement wouldn't be squashed when, just in case, we would realize at the worst possible time (like on the next semester) that the project is implausible. We, especially the skeptic I, would just have to stick with optimism and determination to fuel BlueVoice's successful development.

We still haven't written a formal project proposal, which is due soon. So right now I cannot really say that BlueVoice is it. But I do hope that we will be taking this one.

First Day High! Kinda...

The countdown clock to graduation day has finally started to tick last Tuesday. I just really hope that the clock would end on time and would not delay. But our group still hasn't settled on a final project! At least we did narrow down our options.

No Automated Lumber Species Recognition. Image processing is a field too risky for us to experiement. We feel that a school year is not enough research time for such project. Actually, it would only take less than five months (which comprise the second sem) to program the software; the five months before that, which is this semester, are reserved for proposal and intensive research. Our grades are at stake here!

No Gunbound-like mobile game with networking capabilities. Well, at least for me. I don't want to venture into mobile application development. It's like everyone wants to take a mobile software project because cellphones, especially those MMS-capable, seem to be perpetually the "in-thing." Whatever...

No Sudoku puzzle mobile game version. It might be rejected by the moderator for being simple and not-so-challenging for a group of three. But we may toughen up the rules so that we would be forced to develop another algorithm to solve the puzzle.

But right now, we're poking the Automated Tournament Matching suggested by a Computer Center staff. I still don't know the details so I have to meet and discuss about it with this guy. I heard that the manual tournament matching is tedious, so automating it would be a delight to the slothful modern people. What can we do? The computers are invented to do our bidding and they are here to stay - and keep on upgrading to keep us sedentary.

I can feel school again! And it's not a good feeling. The first two school days has burned a lot of money for photocopying requirements. Ahhhh... the smell of photocopies fresh out of the xerox machine. I miss it. But I loathe it even more.

Blogthings Test

www.blogthings.com

Hey! This site is nice. I discovered this while I was really bored, surfing in Friendster. It's the Fourth Year enrollment day. I have to wait until afternoon for my freakin' scholarship form. Got nothin' else to do but wait. And I'm not patient!

So I tried to entertain myself by taking a few tests in this website. Some results were shocking and exagerrated. But some were kinda true. It's a good thing that the site generates an automatic code of each test result so I can post it here...

............................................
WHAT'S YOUR RELIGIOUS PHILOSOPHY?

You are an Atheist

When it comes to religion, you're a non-believer (simple as that). You prefer to think about what's known and proven. You don't need religion to solve life's problems. Instead, you tend to work things out with logic and philosophy.

What's Your Religious Philosophy?

The Truth: Wow! That's too much! I'm not an atheist. But I'm not religious nor even spiritual. Somewhere between. But I'm more inclined in believing in God because health studies show that believers, especially devotees, have longer life-span . The reason for this is perhaps not the existence of a higher being that rewards them with such, but more on the optimism that faith brings.

............................................
WHAT'S YOUR MONSTER NAME?

Your Monster Profile

Creepy Professor You Feast On: M&Ms You Lurk Around In: Movie Theaters You Especially Like to Torment: Vegans

What's Your Monster Name?

The Truth: Creepy Professor? Why? I don't even have plans to be a teacher. I like M&M's. But I rarely go to the movies. We buy/rent pirated DVDs. The hell with anti-piracy morons! And I don't harrass vegetarians! I haven't even met one. I'm even considering to be one. In the far future. Hehe...

............................................
WHAT'S YOUR JAPANESE NAME

Your Japanese Name Is...

Shigekazu Nanba

What's your Japanese Name?

Reaction: Whatever...

............................................
PENIS NAME GENERATOR

Your Penis Name Is...

Elvis

Penis Name Generator

Reaction: Huh?! Why?..

............................................
HOW SCARY ARE YOU?

You Are Not Scary

Everyone loves you. Isn't that sweet?

How Scary Are You?

The Truth: HAHAHA! Of course I'm not scary. I'm a good boy. When you're nice, I'm nice. When you're a bitch, especially with annoyingly THICK lips, I'm a demon!

............................................
HOW OPEN-MINDED ARE YOU?

You Are 72% Open Minded

You are a very open minded person, but you're also well grounded. Tolerant and flexible, you appreciate most lifestyles and viewpoints. But you also know where you stand firm, and you can draw that line. You're open to considering every possibility - but in the end, you stand true to yourself.

How Open Minded Are You?

The Truth: 72% is not bad. I cannot be too liberated with some topics, like drug abuse, abortion and war. But at least I know and am proud for being open-minded, not like others I know. I noticed too that all of the narrow/close-minded people I've met (some of them are actually my "friends(?)") are really stupid! Stupid, stupid, stupid! DIE, stupid!

............................................
HOW SINFUL ARE YOU?

Your Deadly Sins

Wrath: 60%

Lust: 40%

Sloth: 40%

Envy: 20%

Greed: 20%

Gluttony: 0%

Pride: 0%

Chance You'll Go to Hell: 26%

You will die, after conquering the world as an evil dictator.

How Sinful Are You?

The Truth: Wow. The statistics are kinda true. Anger/Hatred is my most intense sin. I throw it at lot of people. But I can easily forgive. But there are those who are unforgivable. And I wish them death...

Preserving Text Jokes

What a surprise. Just when I thought I'd have to sing or dance for being late, the morning session was cancelled. Thank God! I didn't care that I had to run to the canteen in the middle of the campus to buy a burger so I can have change for tricycle fare just to discover that the vehicle had already left when I returned to the gate. Maybe he misunderstood me by thinking that I was suggesting not to pay him at all because for him I seemed to be rushing because I was late. Whatever...

So finally I am taking advantage of the surprise free time for blogging the text jokes that I just cannot delete from the very limited digital storage and, eventually, from my mind. Thanks to the senders.

------------------------
3 mayayabang na daga:

DAGA1: Kakain ako ng keso sa mouse trap!

DAGA2: Kakain ako ng kesong may rat killer!

DAGA3: Manood kayo...

Mangre-rape ako ng PUSA!

*******
Sender: Grace
15-May-2006

------------------------
BABOY: Hirap ng buhay natin, nuh?

MANOK: OO nga! Lagi tayong nalelechon.
Buti pa 'tong unggoy,
pabasa-basa lang ng TXT!
Tumawa pa!!

*******
Sender: Grace
16-May-2006

------------------------
JOKE OF D DAY

LOLA: Alam mo honey, 'pag katabi kita at
nag-aalmusal tayo, nag-iinit pa rin ako

LOLO: Paanong di ka mag-iinit eh nakalaylay
'yang SUSO mo sa kape!

*******
Sender: Grace
16-May-2006

------------------------
I care for you so much
that if there was only 1 slice of
chocolate cake left in the world..

I'd save you from the fats &
calories & just eat it all by myself..

Sweet ko noh?!..:)

*******
Sender: Grace
24-Mar-2006

------------------------
Minsan 'pag may problema ka, walang nakikialam
pag masaya, walang pumapansin
pag malungkot, walang nakakakita

Pero try mo umutot,
Lahat titingin sa iyo
TITITIGAN KA PA!

*******
Sender: Grace
5-May-2006

------------------------
Musta dyan? Dito bad news kasi may nakitang
putol ma kamay, lapit lang sa house namin,
hindi pa makuha hanggang ngayon,
wala kasing makalapit-lapit dahil


nananampal!...

*******
Sender: Grace
30-Mar-2006

------------------------
TEACHER: Give me colors that begin w/ letter M

PUPIL: Maroon!

TEACHER: Anybody else?

NGONGO: Mlue, Mlawn, Mlak, Mink, Maiolet!

TEACHER: Wow! Mely good!

*******
Sender: Grace
3-Apr-2006

------------------------
Kung ikaw ang nasa
sitwasyon na ito..
kanino ka mas higit
na hahanga?

Sa taong iniwan ang lahat
para sa minamahal niya..

o..


sa asong lumilipad?:)

*******
Sender: Grace
9-May-2006

------------------------
Farmer ordered a MILKING MACHINE. Tried it
on his penis & had a wonderful orgasm but
can't remove it. He read the manual and
fainted. "AUTO-RELEASE AFTER 10 Liters" :O

*******
Sender: Grace
19-Apr-2006

------------------------
LAWYER: Please describe the rapist

GIRL: Pandak, negro, bungi, balbon,
manada kebak, jutay pututuy..

SUSPECT: OO ya, guilty ya yo! Ta tenta
pa gayod bos! Peste!

*******
Sender: Grace
24-Apr-2006

------------------------
Newly Born Chinese Names

Born Secretly: TINA GO
Born Swindled: LINO CO
Born w/out Light: ANDY LIM
Born Fat: BOB UY
Born Different: EVA YAN
Born Monkey: EDDIE YU!:)

*******
Sender: Grace
8-May-2006

------------------------
Doctor: You look terribly weak and exhausted!
Are you having your meals 3X a day as I advised?

Lady: My gosshh! Doc, I thought you said 3 males a day!!


*******
Sender: Grace
8-May-2006

------------------------
In our life there will come a time
and where we will hate it 'coz of
the things that hurt us but we should
never give the blame to our lives 'coz whatever
Leche hirap mag-english ah!
G'night na nga lang!:)

*******
Sender: Bernie
11-Dec-2005

------------------------
If you see your BF/GF flirting with someone
Lapitan mo siya
Hilain at pagpagin mo damit niya
Sabay sabi: "Ano ba naman
Malaki ka na naglalaro ka pa rin ng basura?
You know na nga na DIRTY yan!"

*******
Sender: Bernie
14-Jan-2006

------------------------
Ang KAIBIGAN karamay mo kahit saan
katagay mo sa inuman
katulong mo sa problema
higit sa lahat
kahati mo sa pagkain

Kya pag may 1 na lang natitirang DONUT
sa mundo

HATING KAIBIGAN

iyo GITNA, gilid sa 'kin.

*******
Sender: Joval
25-Oct-2005

------------------------
A fat farmer was in the CR trying to flush his dump
when suddenly the toilet bowl broke and burst,
the dump flooded into the wheat fields

then 'POOF!'

It became KOKO KRUNCH! eww..!:)

*******
Sender: Joval
30-Dec-2005

------------------------
Matagal ko nang iniisip ito.. Help naman.. Pakisagot nga..

1. Does Jennifer Love Hewitt?
2. Where did Vincent Van Gogh?
3. Is Marvin Gaye?
4. Why is Norman Black?
5. Where did Sandara Park?
6. Is Chow Yun Fat?
7. What did Henry Sy?
8. Why is Alonzo Mourning?
9. Is Lucio Tan?
10. When will Orlando Bloom?

*******
Sender: Kayeh
24-Nov-2005

------------------------
Please pray for me because I just received my medical results.
Ang sakit ko habang tumatanda gumaganda ako,
but don't worry hindi naman 'to nakakahawa pero 'di na 'ko
GAGALING...

*******
Sender: Kayeh
5-Feb-2006

------------------------
In biology exam, the teacher asks the class to draw a female
reproductive organ. One girl feels shy and looks down...
then a boy shouts:
"Maam! She's CHEATINGGG!"

*******
Sender: Jame
15-Sept-2005

------------------------
Each of us is like a butterfly with one wing

The only way we can fly is to hold
each other and share wings.

So if you have no wings at all,


caterpillar ka pa lang..:)

*******
Sender: Sheng R.
7-Dec-2005

------------------------
JUDGE: Hinawakan mo ba ang boobs ng babaeng ito?

JUAN (Ngongo): Hini po, hini po your honor.

JUDGE: Tarantado, hinawakan o hinipo pareho lang iyon! GUILTY!

*******
I stole this message from my Dad's phone.

------------------------

Chaka Niya

At last! I have acquired the full lyrics of my favorite gag song by watching and listening thoughout its music video I've found in YouTube. Where did they get this video? I'd love to have one of my own but videos cannot be downloaded from the website. But at least I can watch it.

The lyrics are more hilarious than I thought. Before, I only knew the chorus. Now I know the rest, and they're funnier.




Chaka Niya
by Ghurang Guneta

Nagulat ako nung unang makita ka
Kakatakot ka, gurang
At ngayo'y napipilas pa
Ang balat sa pisngi
Na binubuni, o ako'y nangati

Kailangan bang sabihin
Lumayo ka na sa akin
Dahil pag sinaksak kita
Magdurugo ka rin

Chaka niyang bading, kakainis
Mukha'y nanggagalit
Chaka niyang bading, kakahiya
Ulong naging nguso
Kung buhay man ang mga papa
Wala ring magtatagal
Ang nagmamahal tumatalon sa tulay dahil
Chaka niya

At sa hatinggabi ay nangingisay na lang
Pag minamasdan ang larawan mo
Pag siya'y humalik sa laki ng nguso niya
Hihikain ka sa buong magdamag

At ang laging sasabihin
Lumayo ka nga sa akin
Pag hataw ko ng tubong ito
Mangingisay ka rin

Chaka niyang bading, kakainis
Mukha'y nanggagalit
Chaka niyang bading, kakahiya
Ulong naging nguso
Kung buhay man ang mga papa
Wala ring magtatagal
Ang nagmamahal tumatalon sa tulay dahil
Chaka niya

(Ha ha ha ha a a...)

Chaka niyang bading, kakainis
Mukha'y nanggagalit
Chaka niyang bading, kakahiya
Ulong naging nguso
Kung buhay man ang mga papa
Wala ring magtatagal
Ang nagmamahal tumatalon sa tulay dahil
Ang nagmamahal tumatalon sa tulay dahil
Chaka niya

Sa Likod ng mga Tala ni Darna

Ooops I did it again. Been dead for a while again. I just cannot think of anything worth posting these past few days. I just had to wait for the first week of Summer IT training to finish so I can talk about something. And here it goes...

At last, after being stagnant from practical programming for three years, my mind was enriched with MySQL integrated in PHP. Finally! Something worth including in the resume. I now know how forums work. We were actually tasked to make our own forums as exercises. It was daunting, but satisfying at the end. There are a few bugs and other imperfections, but we'll learn.

Next week, it's going to be Java. And I really think we shouldn't miss it. However, just a while ago, five of us discovered that we might miss it. We, the five, were chosen to be exposed to the local but real IT industry - the only IT industry in ZC, which is OMED. Our "training" was scheduled up to the two weeks when Jave training will also take place. Are they kidding us?! We can't sacrifice the chance of quenching our thirst for Java for this "training" - a "training" where we will be "trained" to TEST a system that we didn't even create!! What an insult! The school sent the top five CS 312 students to the company just to do the menial job of FUNCTIONAL TESTING?! I... don't want to say anything about this. I confessed this to the moderator just a minute ago and she said it's fine. At least we get the chance to experience the real thing and say, "Ah! Ganito pala ang nangyayari dito..." Maybe I'm prejudging too much. We'll have to see tomorrow.

In the meantime, OMED is trying to fix the schedule so it will not conflict with the Java training. Well they should!

So here is something that is actually related to the post title.



Narda by Kamikazee... When this first came out, I really didn't care about this. But my younger brother always sang it. So I noticed it. It became more interesting when I received this text message joke one night from a friend:

Napakahalay naman ng mga awitin sa kasalukuyang panahon.. Tulad ng Narda ng Kamikazee: "s likd ng mga tala kht sulyap lng darna"

e db may star sa bra ni Darna?

I did not realize that until that night. I thought that the "tala" in the song refers to real stars. But it may mean they wanted to see what is, or rather ARE, behind Darna's stars. Napakahalay nga!

Hmmmm... What if may tala rin sa panty niya...

Two Decades of Living and Learning

It was my 20th birthday just yesterday. And 20 makes me shudder.

Twenty. That sounds so OLD.

Twenty... Twenty...

I don't feel twenty at all. I thought twenty is supposed to be mature and stable. But I don't feel quite like that. However, I've met others who are over twenty but feel that they are younger. Perhaps a high level of maturity at twenty is a myth. *taking a deep breath* Relax...

So yesterday, aside from the usual SMS greetings from friends, we finally purchased another printer. The money spent for it came from the P10,000 that is supposed to be for the "strictly optional" IT educational tour. I've decided to opt out of the tour a few days ago because I thought I might feel bitin with only five or six of us roaming around in Cebu.

But, just yesterday too, I've received news that the tour was finally cancelled. Before, there were only around a meagre seven who proposed to join the tour, including myself. Now I and two or three more confirmed that we are not coming. That would leave only around four students joining the tour! So I think the tour moderator, foreseeing that she will not enjoy a small crowd, has decided to cancel the tour altogether.

I feel that the new parent's consent letter has something to do with this. It seemed to be designed to discourage the parents from allowing their kids to join the tour by exposing the tour's insignificance. And guess who revised it? Moi!

It goes:

Dear Parents,

Greetings!

The students of the Ateneo Informatics and Computing Guild, an umbrella organization under the Computer Science Department, will allow a strictly optional educational tour on May 22, 2006. This activity gives the opportunity for students of CS, MIS and IT courses to be exposed in the actual fields of Information Technology. The tour will be conducted in Cebu, where selected IT companies will be visited.

However, we would like to inform you that this educational tour will not be credited as part of the activity comprising the student’s senior’s project. Hence, it is strictly optional and will not influence the students’ grades. The school, therefore, shall not shoulder the necessary expenses of the students. Solicitation letters will not be provided and will not be recognized by the CS Department. In addition, a moderator from the CS Department will be willing to join the tour given that the students who are confirmed to join the tour will reach a significant number.

The official and, thus, required activity for the senior’s project is a month-long training on currently in-demand programming languages this coming April. Whether the students will prefer or refuse to join the tour, they will still be expected to attend the training. The educational tour serves as an additional benefit where students may be able to grasp the realities happening within a competitive computer company.

Attached herewith is the itinerary and breakdown cost of the tour.

Thank you very much.

The words in blue gives a positive impression of the tour. The words in red, on the other hand, attack it. And they obviously outnumber the blue!

I was just telling the truth. The moderator advised that the tour should not seem to be required and graded so that the parents would not feel obliged to dish out P7500 and some more for pocket money just for the "strictly optional" tour. So what I did was to put as many details as possible telling how the educational tour is NOT mandatory.

Now look at it! The tour plan fell apart. And it's sad because some have been really looking forward to it.

But I shouldn't feel guilty about causing this. This is just a speculation. And even if the new parent's consent was majorly responsible, I did not intend the "end" and "consequence" of my "voluntary human act" to be this. Hah! Words from my Philo of Ethics class, which just ended last month.

Speaking of which, several of those who chose to take the Philo final exam on the conflict schedule were not lucky enough to be properly informed that the last exam hour was moved much earlier. They have been contacting the Philo teacher, and an Ethics teacher at that, to spare them with another exam schedule. In class, he taught that forgiveness is a beautiful moral thing and that life is good because we get a second chance. But in this case, he seems to be oblivious of the students' plea.

Who's unethical now?

*sigh* The ironies of life...

FoxPro Agony

We just finished defending our database application project yesterday morning. It's a good thing that our CS 312 teacher extended the deadline because the RC Marketing Database System is relatively complex. We have been excruciatingly hoping for the friggin' FoxPro to cooperate with what we want it to do. We have been revising codes and layout several times that we cannot even keep track of a numbering system to label the versions of the application.

The ADD ORDER form, in particular, is madness! Error messages came out from everywhere! I have been making excuses like "It'll only work in our computers," and "FoxPro is stupid!" I cannot have the mood to enjoy recounting the chronicles of our attempts to bend FoxPro to our will, except the climax.

On the eve of our defense, the "File must be opened exclusively" devil came back like a nightmare coming true. We were frantically trying out solutions like browsing tables, modifying the data environment, and running the form several times. It was working in our home PC's. Why not in the office computer?! I remember myself stupidly reasoning out, "Baka ayaw n'ya sa computer dito sa office, sa bahay lang..." We were so desperate.

Then we realized that our home computers have something that the computer in front of us didn't have. Administrator account privileges! So we restarted the PC, typed in 'administrator' in the user box, opened the FoxPro project file, pressed the 'Run' button, tested the ADD ORDER form, then here I am typing a post about how finally defending this despicable application is a breath of fresh air!

After all that, our group buried FoxPro several feet below the earth and vowed never to dig it out.

May it never rise to haunt us again...

Nature's Appreciation Part 2 (after centuries!)

I thought I posted the "Nature's Appreciation Part 1" here in Blogger. But I discovered that it has been rotting in my dusty Friendster blog. Oh, poor blog: My Friendster Blog: Nature's Appreciation

So right now, I'm pulling this experience out of the sea of oblivion. Let's pick up from where I stopped in my post (seven months ago!).

So when we arrived at the very remote, very far-flung Tolosa, each of us were assigned a "buddy" that we have to keep an eye on. Before heading off to a rumored oasis in the middle of the dense forest-mountain, we took a break in a local sari-sari store (there's a store in the mountain?!) to buy junk food and, for some girls, to use the comfort room.

And afterwards, the journey started. It was so long and exhausting that I can't narrate it in detail. But I remember fondly our complaints during the search for the hopefully existing oasis:

(1) it just rained the day before so the land was kinda muddy;
(2) since we were on the mountains, we were practically nearer to the sun and tree shades near our path were very rare, which is very ironic because we were in a semi-virgin jungle;
(3) some parts of the path were adjacent to cliffs that were almost vertically steep! I thought that in case I would fall, at least I could hang on to the small, weak tree (or bush) growing out of the side of the cliff;
(4) speaking of steep, we also had to pass through steep paths (of course because we were in the mountains), which led to several slips and stumbles, usually by the girls, including our moderator;
(5) and finally, the worst part is when we had to have our shoes soaked in river-water, which I didn't really enjoy because I hate getting wet when I'm NOT supposed to be wet. At first I thought we only had to CROSS the shallow river. But then soon, we had to pass THROUGH the river! No bridges! I did not anticipate this so I had to endure my squeaking rubber shoes when walking on land. Plus, we were walking against the flow of water since this alleged paradise was upstream.

After all of that, I thought it was all worth it because at least I finally had a rare hiking experience and the oasis was real after all. There were small pools. One of them had a small but strong waterfall and its water could reach up to my neck. Later, our local "tour guide" climed up the coconut trees to bring down coconuts. It was funny watching him crack open the coconuts with a bolo because it reminded me of "Manang Merin and the Top," one of my favorite stories in our Literature class.

Afterwards, our moderator gathered us to give us a spiritual talk about the experience. She said that this was part of the ACIL activities to let us see unadulterated nature that reminds us of God's power and existence. She discussed a lot of other things about journeys. The most striking for me was about going through a journey you're afraid of. She told us about her experience of a sort of vocation for the nunnery. She was afraid of the idea of being a nun and had decided that such life isn't for her. But she explained that undergoing the vocation is not a journey straight to the convent, but a journey of discovering if there is or isn't a calling for her.

That actually made it easy for me to accept the invitation for a Jesuit vocation seminar two months ago. That journey is not a one-way ticket to priesthood. The seminary isn't all about preparation for ordination. It's more of the process of knowing the vocation that God called you to.

You see, we, the Catholics, believe that each of us is destined to one of the three life vocations: matrimony, singlehood, and priesthood. We do NOT CHOOSE; we are CALLED by God to one of them. However, it does not imply the denial of freedom. One can still prefer to resist the calling. But in the Jesuit vocation, a speaker mentioned that you are happier when you walk on the path that God has chosen for you. That's why, the speaker added, some people feel that something is missing in their lives as laymen. And these are the kind of men that the seminary usually encounter.

As for me, I don't think I feel something empty in my life. I admitted, in a group discussion during the seminar, that priesthood is a POSSIBILITY for me and I don't completely close my door to it. But above it, I have many more priorities. And the topmost is career. But... hmmm... I just realized that up to this point, my career plans are still vague. Well at least it's gonna be related to computer science.

But this field is very broad. In the Database subset alone, one may be a database manager, or data or database administrator, or data analyst, or database consultant, etc. I think in Systems Analysis, there's the same number of available jobs with Database. Just replace "database" with "systems," like systems analyst or systems administrator. It'd be okay too if I work in the technical side, like a programmer. But programming is also vague. I have to ask in what field would I specifically spend time programming software. Gaming? Business? Medicine? Government? Shit! More decisions!

Wait... Perhaps this ambiguity in career is a sign of God's calling to a stable and definite life in priesthood...

*ROTFL*

So it's true...

The Ubuntu CDs I have requested from shipit.ubuntu.com have arrived just yesterday. Wow, I cannot believe that they would actually give out free CDs for distribution. I thought there are no free stuff these days. 10 pairs for PC, four for Mac, and eight for 64-bit computers - all free. But my father had to pay P35 for the delivery or something. But then the package itself is free! It's a disappointed though because it was the same 5.10 version as the one already installed here. I expected a new version. *sigh* So much for free stuff. I guess I'd better give them away to "spread humanity to others."

Classes are over... Practicum doom is starting!

I just recently realized that for the next two months, I will never return to the classrooms for anything except exams. Classes are over. Why isn't there an exclamation point after that sentence? Hmmm. What's wrong with me? I should be in a festive mood. Perhaps it's because I feel that I am going to have a hell of a schoolyear ahead. And the warning came just last Friday, during a reserch presentation.

So five groups presented their IT projects: (1) a software to create a movable 3D image of covalent bonding of molecules based on the user's formula; (2) one-player computer game version of the "Game of the Generals" with a "simple" artificial intelligence as opponent (which I'm not really impressed by); (3) a system, named ADZU SMS, that sends students their midterm and final grades to the privacy of their personal cellphones and away from the embarassment of friends, family, etc.; (4) text-to-voice software: cellphone program to vocally dictate text messages to the recipient when he needs it, for example, while driving; and (5) Chi-Ki-Cha mobile game that can be played by two to four players using their cellphones through bluetooth.

Some of the groups were attacked with intimidating questions, leaving some of them stuttering their replies, which eventually led to the practicum moderator defending the projects herself. But if I were the researchers, I'd be hostile in answering their questions. Like there was this one guy who mocked the text-to-voice software as "low-quality" because the voice was robotic, and added that there are "current" cellphone technology that offer better-quality voices. But actually, he was talking about voice messages, and sending them are expensive. Like duh! This country is eternally under economic crisis. Sending a text message is much much cheaper, and the phone itself converts it to voice. If I was one of the group members, I will come up to the mic and say, "Before I answer your questions, stupid BITCH, why don't you return to your doghouse and suck your eight tits while you listen to my replies?" That would have felt so good. But of course I'm gonna do that only in my fantasies!

You see! I'm nervous because we're next! What if our project at the end of the schoolyear would not be successful? At least now we are pressured to come up with something as excellent as possible. But what project? The practicum moderator has actually approached me and suggested a project about determining the type of a cut wood. Her father was able to catch illegal loggers and used cut wood as evidence. The type of wood needs to be determined for the case. However, it was difficult to verify the wood type since the bark and other characteristics of the wood were cut off. The only way to verify the type is to burn the wood because the smoke can tell the wood type. However, the evidence would have to be consumed in flames. Therefore, a software may eliminate the need to burn the wood by capturing and creating a 3D image of the wood and determining its type by the intricacies of its physical form. I currently have no idea how to create such software. I can say that it is similar with the technology that validates thumbprints, but I also have no knowledge of it. Therefore I have to study new concepts, from the uniqueness of each type of wood to 3D imaging.

This project is environmental, and thus a benefit. But I somehow feel that it lacks something in the sense of achievement. Perhaps I think that it is too limited to the environmental sector. But protecting the environment protects everyone, I guess. But if I accept this, I might feel that this is something imposed on me and on whoever my groupmates would be. But (this is the third consecutive 'but') I cannot think of any other project. Game? Too common. Database? Too boring. Software? Too broad. No time to narrow down further. ::sigh::

Decisions, decisions, decisions...

Stupid Girls!

I love Pink. And also her newest video mocking stupid girls like Paris Hilton and Jessica Simpson. Just watch the embedded player below. It's so funny how she impersonates those whores:



Paris Hilton especially deserves this! I hate her and her show "The Simple Life." She makes fun of people who live a simple but dignified way of living. Plus, she's talentless! I haven't watched "The House of Wax," but a friend who have told me that most of her lines were just screams! I also saw her in her new commercial eating a burger while carwashing, wearing only a two-piece bikini with her nipples visible through the bra. What a slutty sight to behold!

I also dedicate this song and video to the stupid people in my life: Baluga, Lady Marmalade, Flayer, Flayer Shaman, and oh so many more! You fuck the hell out of me! Eat these lyrics! (I especially like the lyrics in bold.)

Stupid Girls
Pink

Stupid girl, stupid girls, stupid girls
Maybe if I act like that, that guy will call me back
What a paparazzi girl, I don't wanna be a stupid girl

Go to Fred Segal, you'll find them there
Laughing loud so all the little people stare
Looking for a daddy to pay for the champagne
(Drop a name)
What happened to the dreams of a girl president
She's dancing in the video next to 50 Cent
They travel in packs of two or three
With their itsy bitsy doggies and their teeny-weeny tees
Where, oh where, have the smart people gone?
Oh where, oh where could they be?

Maybe if I act like that, that guy will call me back
What a paparazzi girl, I don't wanna be a stupid girl
Baby if I act like that, flipping my blonde hair back
Push up my bra like that, I don't wanna be a stupid girl

(Break it down now)
Disease's growing, it's epidemic
I'm scared that there ain't a cure
The world believes it and I'm going crazy
I cannot take any more
I'm so glad that I'll never fit in
That will never be me
Outcasts and girls with ambition
That's what I wanna see
Disasters all around
World despaired
Their only concern
Will they fuck up my hair?

Maybe if I act like that, that guy will call me back
What a paparazzi girl, I don't wanna be a stupid girl
Baby if I act like that, flipping my blonde hair back
Push up my bra like that, I don't wanna be a stupid girl

[Interlude]
Oh my god you guys, I totally had more that 300 calories
That was so not sexy, no
Good one, can I borrow that?
[Vomits]
I WILL BE SKINNY

(Do ya thing, do ya thing, do ya thing)
(I like this, like this, like this)
Pretty will you fuck me girl, silly as a lucky girl
Pull my head and suck it girl, stupid girl!
Pretty would you fuck me girl, silly as a lucky girl
Pull my head and suck it girl, stupid girl!

Baby if I act like that, flipping my blonde hair back
Push up my bra like that, stupid girl!

Maybe if I act like that, that guy will call me back
What a paparazzi girl, I don't wanna be a stupid girl
Baby if I act like that, flipping my blonde hair back
Push up my bra like that, I don't wanna be a stupid girl

Not Another PC Disaster!

Whew! I thought I'd have to bring this sick PC over to a computer shop again. I don't know what's wrong with this thing! Just two days ago, the PC mysteriously restarted. It could not normally log-in to Windows then. But the Ubuntu was fine. But I can't live with the latter alone. All my important files are in Windows. Plus, I could not connect to the internet through Ubuntu, which is another mystery, not to mention additional frustration!

Then, when I logged-in to Windows in safe mode, it identified the cause of the problem, which is the video card. So I tried to stupidly fix it by cluelessly altering the graphics adapter. After that, the computer did not start at all! If I had involuntary psychokinesis, it could've been triggered by my steaming fury and blasted my PC to smithereens! I wish I have that and do it on deserving people. But then I'm out of topic.

I went to school still boiling with vexation. But later, I was told that since I changed the graphics adapter to use the On Board VGA or something, I'd have to connect my monitor to the old video card. And just last night, arriving here from school, it worked! Then I returned the graphics adapter to the Add-on one, then voila! Here I am again using the Windows, typing this post.

I just realized how ignorant and negligent I am with computer hardware. But then I don't have to worry because I don't prefer to be an engineer or technician. So software, software, software... but still with little hardware of course.

As a student of Computer Science, I should start researching and building a thesis paper hypothesizing that Windows is a jealous OS that wants the computer all to itself. For the love of God! Ubuntu just has a meagre 4 gig, you selfish bitch!

Ubuntu!

Ubuntu is the ancient African word for "humanity to others." Now I have humanity in my PC!

I just installed a second operating system, Linux Ubuntu, just last night. I thought I only had to do two things: partition and install. But it's a good and safe thing to call a Linux-devoted friend to guide me through the whole process 'coz its sooo complex for me. He made me do these weird things to my computer that I'm sure I'm gonna forget soon. But it was all worth it. I have acquired a "healthy" Ubuntu with the accursed Windows XP still intact. I'm relieved most especially when my old files are still there. Losing them is my biggest fear.

Ok I have to make this quick. Two long quizzes coming up later today. Study, study, study!