Progamer to Programmer

Fireworks

2008-04-04T06:38:00.001-07:00

A firework explodes
a dazzling array of light and color
then the moment fades
all is dark once more

Happy Joker Day!

2008-02-28T09:27:00.000-08:00

This year hasn't been good to me so far. My first week back in LB gave me some "bad news". We lost a major Dota tournament. A rat bit my left foot. A giant centipede (around 6 inches) bit my left foot (poor foot!). My computer broke down just before the fair started, forcing me to lose a day fixing it and spend the rest of the week catching up on work (I missed my first fair in years!). A nice valentine I received turned out to be a hoax (meh!). So yeah.

Strangely enough, I'm happy. I feel that something wonderful is going to happen this year. Maybe because it's a leap year.

So enjoy today. It happens only once every 4 years. XD

Work and Play

2008-01-25T01:04:00.000-08:00

Coding and gaming competitively is such a demanding lifestyle. The days are packed and exhausting. It does have its advantages - when I have a bad game, I can cheer myself up by looking at some of the things I've written at work; Likewise, when I feel I'm not doing a very good job, I can recall some games where my team played exceptionally well.

Yesterday we lost against AE. Looking back at the replay, I think we initially played with confidence, and attempted a few ganks, but there were errors in execution that caused a few deaths on our side instead. As the game progressed, I could sense that we became a lot more hesitant to move around the map due to our initial mistakes. In the end, we lost due to being outleveled and outfarmed.

Last night's game was supposed to be preparation for today's tournament. The game was a mixed blessing: it showed us our errors, so that we could learn from them and apply them in the games to come; but it also showed us the meaning of fear.

The competition in the tourney will most definitely be tougher - Mark will be bringing his Manila team. A tournament win will not be very likely for us, but I'm still hoping to aim for second place. Let's see what will happen... XD

The Arc in the Sky

2008-01-12T09:56:00.000-08:00

I was walking across the airport tarmac to where the plane awaited, when I saw the rainbow. It was not an incomplete rainbow of the ordinary sort, but a Real rainbow - bow-shaped, just like the kind you find in children's drawings. What made this one extra special though, were the scattered puddles of water on the ground. The puddles were positioned such that the rainbow's reflection on the puddles joined with the real rainbow to form a perfect circle. It was one of the most moving scenes I have seen in my life.

Now I regret not choosing to get a camera (phone or digital). The ability to take [and show] pictures on demand means that more stories can be told, and the experience gained from having richer conversations may well be worth the price of one camera.

New Year's Resolutions

2008-01-01T07:14:00.000-08:00

I like New Year's Resolutions because it implies a desire to become better.

Year's End

2007-12-30T09:52:00.000-08:00

This was a year of many firsts. It was a good year for me. I'm enjoying my time here in Zamboanga, spending time with family. I don't get to be on the pc as much, but its a good contrast to the rest of the year - where work consists of sitting in front of a computer, play consists of sitting in front of a computer, and "going out" is taking a short walk to a nearby computer shop. ;))

Chase

2007-12-14T12:40:00.000-08:00

I still don't know what I'm supposed to be chasing...

The Little Prince

2007-11-17T17:21:00.000-08:00

The 2007 Komikon was held yesterday. I wasn't able to attend, but this event reminds me of several stories from the previous Komikons. I remember 3 years back, when my Skewed chummers were working on their own independent comic. They were rushing to get everything printed and stapled, so they could sell it (at minimal profit) at the convention.

I thought to myself, "Wow, these guys are COOL! They're actually chasing their dream - little by little - starting with a photocopied and hand-stapled comic book!".

Imagine my surprise when I got to the convention and found out that their comic was simply one of what appeared to be a hundred other indie comics.

That story is similar to the story of the rose from The Little Prince. The prince lives on a tiny remote asteroid, where he keeps and cares for a single rose. A conversation between him and the rose causes him to go on a journey which takes him to Earth. On Earth, he stumbles upon a rose garden, with hundreds and hundreds of roses. It is there that he realizes that his rose is not as special as he believed it to be.

The story does not end there, of course. The prince goes through several more adventures (such as meeting the fox), in which he realizes that his rose is special after all.

I first read this book when I was nine. I found the drawings at the start of the book to be very amusing, but got too bored to even reach the part where The Little Prince appeared. I successfully finished the book when I tried reading it again during high school. The chapter with the tippler (who drank to forget that he was ashamed of drinking) caused me to laugh uncontrollably. The chapter of the fox made me want to cry. I found the rest of the book to be confusing.

I revisited the story again today through wikipedia, and was amazed at the amount of things that I missed! The Streetlighter actually represents those of us who become so entangled with work that there is no time for anything else! I also just discovered the striking similarity between the taming of the fox and the stories that my dad (and other elders) used to tell me about how to court a girl. I want to read this book again, to uncover all of those hidden gems which I didn't find the first two times around.

I'll definitely keep an eye out for this book the next time I visit the used bookstore.

Hair Part II

2007-10-30T15:18:00.000-07:00

When I decided to grow my hair long, it was because I wanted to prove a point. To my eyes, the world seemed to give more emphasis to appearances than to essence. Nevermind that you weren't a jerk - what mattered more was that you looked physically pleasing. Nevermind that you blatantly cheated during exams - what mattered more was that you got high marks. Nevermind that you'd be more qualified for a job - chances are, that job would go to someone who graduated from college [even if he just asked someone else to do his thesis for him].

I realize now that I was probably too focused on the negative side of things. In the end, people would still realize that the jerk was a jerk. The cheater would pass the course without acquiring knowledge and skills. The job hunter would still keep or lose his job depending on his performance. The world is still just [or am I just being naive?]. But I digress.

I made the choice not to cut my hair until I accomplished certain things. My hair first grew to the length where it prickles your neck, and I had a hard time sleeping because of that. Then it grew even longer. I don't think my mom/sisters really liked the way I looked - they'd always bring up some way of making me more presentable. They gave me this hairnet-like thingy, but I never had the patience to put it on properly, and I ended up wearing it like some sort of bandanna. I also took to growing this beard, which made me look like a terrorist. I always kept receiving wisecracks about working for Abu Sayyaf/Al-Queda. I also noticed that people would give me strange looks. Older people would give me these stares, and women walking alone at night would quicken their pace after catching a glimpse of me.

[to be continued]

Hair

2007-10-29T20:28:00.001-07:00

A girl I met along the street lightly touched my hair and said "Ang ganda ng buhok mo a!". I didn't really know what to say, so I just smiled back and continued walking.

.. A bit freaky. Although it still felt good.

Wa! What if she's someone I'm supposed to know?!

Against The Odds

2007-10-28T08:10:00.000-07:00

When you learn that the odds are against you, should you just cry and give up?

No! You dig your heels in and give it your best shot. Especially when it concerns things worth fighting for.

.

2007-09-29T11:16:00.001-07:00

I don't know what I'm chasing.

Tourney Win

2007-09-25T00:45:00.000-07:00

My current DoTA team won a tournament last Friday. I found this win to be the most satisfying one so far because:

We came from a long hiatus. During this break, a lot of other teams had the chance to build up their reputation as 'good' DoTA teams. There was a lot of speculation on whether we would be able to win.

We used an unconventional lineup that contained Omniknight and Leshrac. Unlike previous tournaments, where we'd bring lineups from Manila, this one was developed in-house. I find it remarkable that a lot of players are now studying the use of those 2 heroes.

Our newest, (and who many would consider to be the weakest) player Butch displayed skills that were not to be expected of him. A highlight would be doing a Guardian Angel at the exact moment that the enemy Faceless Void did a Chronosphere. The Omniknight's hands were raised and frozen within the Chronosphere, but the enemy was not able to do any damage.

I'm very happy with my current team. I like the regularly scheduled practices that we have started to hold. I like seeing us grow in skills individually and as a team. I like the fact that we aren't afraid to experiment with different lineups and strategies. I hope that this tourney win is only a herald of things to come.

XD

2007-09-12T18:36:00.001-07:00

I dropped by the used book store yesterday after paying the bills, and hit the mother lode! I walked away with the following books:

The Black Cauldron by Lloyd Alexander (I've always wanted to read this one, but never got the opportunity)

The Call of the Wild by Jack Londer (The compliment to White Fang; one of my favorite books as a kid)

The Folk of the Fringe by Orson Scott Card (No need to explain :)

Pawns Prevail by Douglas Niles (Douglas Niles wrote the Moonshae trilogy, a Forgotten Realms book I read during high school. I picked it up because it was there!)

Shadowplay by Nigel Findley (This is a random Shadowrun book. I also picked it up because it was there)

The good part is the amazingly low price I got for all these books. I paid a total of (take a guess if you want) 142 Php! Incredible. I wonder how that bookstore stays in business. They still had a couple of David Eddings books on the shelf; I probably should have gotten more, but decided to leave some for the next guy. I'm happy enough as it is! XD

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People seemed to enjoy the random link of last blog post more than the blog post itself, so here's another cool link (thanks to Coilnovaswarm) - http://urealms.wittywizard.com.

Music Vids

2007-09-03T15:10:00.000-07:00

Let me post some videos of songs which I like. I'd rather simply embed the songs themselves, but can't seem to find a site that allows you to embed them past the 30-second 'song sample' limit.

The first is my favorite from Enigma's A Posteriori album. I would designate it as the "Ballad"-ish type song of the album. The instruments evoke a haunting atmosphere which fit with the mournful, searching lyrics of the song. I think part of why I like this song is because of its positioning in the album - it comes in the later half of the album, and seems to herald its end. The song also uses some elements which were introduced earlier, and help to narrate the song's story.

The video itself is unofficial - but I'm still impressed at the effort taken to making it. It has an amateurish feel to it (or maybe that's just me being stirred by the word 'unofficial').

The other song I'm going to post is I Want Tomorrow by Enya. This is my favorite Enya song. This song was part of Enya's debut album; I find it surprising that she never made a song in a similar style to this one. The video is weird. It has this part where Enya's eyes glow with an evil light and she makes a car explode! O_O

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Also, let me post a link to a comic that I recently discovered. The cultural references and humor of this strip are definitely win material. Check http://xkcd.com/

Tutor

2007-08-25T21:18:00.000-07:00

I was asked to help someone out with a school programming project. I thoroughly enjoyed it because I didn't feel the need to take the reins; instead I kept asking questions and throwing hints, and eventually we managed to get the thing done. Sharing an 'aha!' moment with your student is really pleasurable. I can see why some of my batchmates decided to become teachers instead.

Crossroads

2007-05-18T10:42:00.001-07:00

Last week marked the end of my existing commitments, and was a great opportunity to change direction if I so chose. I had initially intended to focus the next few months on intensive DoTA for the upcoming ACG, but in the end, decided not to. I think I'll spend those months learning new things (Flash, .NET, and FL Studio come to mind).

When I failed to qualify for the 2004 WCG, I decided that I needed a internet connection to be able to practice daily. The initial reason that I wanted to earn money was to be able to afford DSL. It just seems funny that now that I have the necessary resources at my disposal, I decide to pursue something else.

That's life, I guess. :P I'm excited to see what the future holds!

Celedor
~~Pro~~gaming Programmer

Just 1 More..

2007-05-05T22:21:00.000-07:00

Just 1 more week, then I can take a break! Yey! @_@

(On a sidenote, I figured out a way to emulate the personal journal entries on LJ - simply save them as drafts and don't publish them. :P)

:(

2007-02-15T06:31:00.001-08:00

Kimchi's gone. I hope she comes back... I miss her already.

Procrastinators of the World... Unite!

2007-01-25T15:01:00.000-08:00

Nikki paid me a visit on Wednesday and got me this cool shirt as a belated Christmas present:

Coolness! ^_^

New Year's Resolution

2007-01-15T12:34:00.000-08:00

One of my resolutions was to blog more often (weekly, to give a concrete number). I'm starting a bit late.

This year promises to be an interesting one, with so many things to do and pursue. For one thing, I managed to obtain a copy of FL Studio, which is a music editor. Its a lot more complex than the MIDI editors I used to play with some years back, namely because you have a lot more control over the sounds that you generate. There are tons of synthesizers and filters that you can use to make the sounds you want! I'm having problems arranging the songs into measurable units, and I should look into developing the song alongside a MIDI editor to simplify the process. I hope to have a song out soon.

Next is the way the DOTA scene is currently developing. Philippine DOTA is improving a lot, and we're seeing a lot of new playing styles. Its now common to see a 3-1-1 lane deployment in games, and a wider range of heroes are being used. Perhaps the biggest change would be the trend of tournaments held in the AP Drafting style (Singapore rules). I would very much like to be at the top, or near it, but I'm pretty happy in the middle, trying to climb higher.

I've also come across a copy of A Game of Thrones, which is the first book of the Song of Ice and Fire (only 70 Php - booksales rock!). Its a good book, and the character personalities are colorful and defined at the outset. The plot ends up twisting this way and that, but that's all part of the fun. Can't wait to get my hands on the second book.

So there, the first post of the year. Not as good as I'd like it to be, but the only way to start is to just do it.

42

2006-10-21T23:00:00.000-07:00

The last 42 hours have shown me the widest range of emotions that I've felt.

Narutarded

2006-08-22T23:29:00.000-07:00

I'm currently addicted to a flash-based multiplayer game called Naruto arena. The game allows you to form your own 3-man squad of ninjas from the Naruto cast, and pit them against other players. Gameplay is somewhat similar to "versus"-style CCGs like Rage or Pokemon. Your ninjas receive chakra, which may be one of four different types - Ninjutsu, Genjutsu, Taijutsu, and Bloodline. They may then execute moves based on the available 'chakra' pool.

To many veteran gamers, the concepts in Naruto Arena will be familiar. It's very easy to draw analogies of the different ninjas to heroes in DoTA (Rhasta, Sven, Centaur, Queen of Pain), or the different 'team' concepts to deck concepts in Magic: The Gathering (Land Destruction, Prospero-Bloom).

The game is currently at a young stage (it started mid-July), and it still has the 'raw' feel of an immature game. It has its balance quirks, although the development team releases frequent updates to try and resolve any blatant issues. At this point however, it has evolved to the point where a game can get pretty interesting.

Me and my housemates (Andrew and Francis picked up this game a few days ago, and have currently managed to ascend to the top portions of the ladder. Hopefully it will stay that way until we get bored. :P

My player card

Top 25 ladder rankings screenie

The timing sucks...

2006-06-21T19:08:00.000-07:00

Why do I have to feel this way at this time? The timing just plain sucks...

Netsuuuuuu!!!!!

2006-05-29T08:08:00.000-07:00

Four days without net, and now its back!

Now, we're back behind the monitor, occasionally bursting out into laughter at... nothing it particular. Jeez, you'd think we were dying of thirst and miraculously found a spring.

.. Combat mode.

(Sorry - senseless post, I'll try not to waste your time with more of these...)

[Edit - since the entire city was down, and we are one of the first to discover that net is back up, it seems we have a lot of bandwidth allocated for us. 300Kb/Sec download anyone?]

Godlike!

2006-04-16T12:33:00.000-07:00

While surfing Angel's blog, I came across a treasure trove of exercises, games, and articles with regard to faith and spiritually. I found it interesting because there was effort to provide information and insight in a "neutral" or "objective" manner. They give some criterion, classify your belief's based on those criterion, then leave it to you to decide which side of the criterion's spectrum is "good" or "desirable".

Some of the exercises which I tried:

Activity: Do-It-Yourself Deity lets you select the attributes or traits that are necessary for "God" to be "God". Those traits are then compared with the laws of our universe as we know it, and the contradictions are pointed out. This one is the activity which I liked the least. It's the simplest of all of them, and the results are either basic, or too semantic to be satisfying.

Activity: So You Think You're Logical? places a set of supposedly "tricky" logical questions for you to answer. Yes, I do think I'm logical, and yes, I aced the exam, thank you. =) I'd be surprised if any CS or Philo student didn't.

Activity: Battleground God is a set of questions which attempt to test your logical consistency in your beliefs. I took a direct hit from Question 15. This activity exposed me to the fact that I have developed a "double standard" - one where I am stricter to myself than to others. I'm not sure whether its arrogance or futility that has led me to adapt this standard, but now that I am consciously aware of it, I will need to reevaluate it. I liked this activity the most. The FAQ to this activity is also an entertaining and enlightening afterword.

Activity: Morality Play looks at how consistent you are in applying your moral values, and attempts to segregate the essential factors which would influence your moral decisions. This one simply reaffirms that I consider the difference between acting and failing to act as a large factor in determining the moral rightness of an issue. I do not believe one is morally bound to act unless it is within the bounds of his duty as a responsible citizen/jobholder.

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I'm currently enjoying the game O2Jam, which is the online version of Dance Dance Revo/Drummania/DJMax and other musical games. The songs are quite catchy, and its fun to play with some of the players. It makes me miss playing the piano... Ah, if only sheet music were as easy to read as the bars in O2Jam. =)

Lazier Blogging

2006-04-07T14:49:00.000-07:00

What's lazier than posting a quiz result?

Posting a link to an event you'd like to blog about, but was blogged first by someone who experienced it with you.

I'd like to say more, but it would break the title of this post. :)

A lot of backblog

2006-03-01T15:52:00.000-08:00

I've recently noticed that my moods are related to my eating and sleeping habits. I am most cheerful and "up" when newly awakened and after my first meal. I previously placed a lot of emphasis on having the correct philosophy and outlook on life. My focus was on being aware that you are capable of selecting how you react to a specific situation, and therefore controlling how happy you can be with your current situation. While this is effective, it still leads to occasional bouts of depression. Eating and sleeping well reduces the frequency of those bouts. I now want to see whether proper exercise will help even more. Heh, common sense makes a lot of sense. -_-

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We recently played a game against Team Martians. They are supposed to be one of the top teams from Metro Manila, having placed Top 3 in some major MM events. It seems news of their defeat spread, since a team from Parañaque actually drove to Los Baños to play us. Wow.

The games were close, and we could have won. I think that we managed to identify the key reasons why we lost. The Parañaque team played better in the lanes than the Martians, demonstrating some concepts which me and Mark have been theorycrafting for quite a while. I hope that our team manages to incorporate those into our game, and practice enough to execute it well. Learning is a good experience.

Keith, our newest member and former Starcraft Progamer (hailing from Korea and having played Boxer during his career), took the loss very seriously and left with tears in his eyes. I guess the biggest barrier is the fact that his English is limited, so conveying the plan to him can become difficult. I hope he does not go too hard on himself.

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Sometimes I wonder whether I'm spreading myself too thinly. I want to become better at DoTA, programming, normal Warcraft, playing the drums, the piano, as well as mastering whatever happens to be the "game of the month" (currently Imperialism, which I can now finish at Hard mode without any "save/load" cheats).

I'd probably laugh at any build order or strategy that involves getting everything that can be got. The same should probably apply in Real Life(TM) as well. I should make choices as to what to pursue. Or maybe be more patient and not expect to become top-of-the-line at everything at once. Either path, the journey is bound to be an exciting one.

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My Johari and Nohari windows. Fill it up if you like. =)

Lazy Blogging....

2005-10-03T15:44:00.000-07:00

You are a
Social Liberal
(70% permissive)

and an...
Economic Conservative
(76% permissive)

You are best described as a:

Libertarian

Link: The Politics Test on Ok Cupid

Finals Week

2005-08-24T08:42:00.000-07:00

*twitch*

Should I have expected simpler?

Backblog

2005-08-09T09:17:00.000-07:00

This is a bit late, but still... now that I have time to idle.. [heh]

three names i go by:
1. Cel
2. Celsius
3. "Alex"

three screen names you have had:
1. celedor_ph
2. ShindouHikaru
3. meklar_mage

three physical things you like about yourself:
1. dexterity
2. eyes
3. slim build

three physical things you don't like about yourself:
1. low physical endurance (especially when it comes to staying up late)
2. weak stomach
3. physically weak [relatively..]

three parts of your heritage:
1. ilocano
2. bisaya
3. chinese

three things that scare you:
1. Fading to insignificance
2. Dying - well, not really afraid, but I would definitely dislike dying before accomplishing everything I want to - which is a lot.
3. Rejection

three of your everyday essentials:
1. computer
2. reading material
3. head-band

three of your favorite musical artists:
1. Enigma
2. Barbie's cradle
3. L'arc~en~Ciel

three of your favorite songs:
1. How Long (Barbie's Cradle)
2. Siren (Asian Kung-Fu Generation)
3. Almost Full Moon (Enigma)

three things you want in a relationship:
1. A naturally shared goal.
2. Love.
3. Easy communication.

three lies and truths in no particular order:
1. I'm gay.
2. Benjie is gay.
3. I have kissed a guy before.
4. I am still a virgin.
5. I have cheated on an entrance exam.
6. I'm typing this butt-naked.

three physical things about the opposite sex that appeals to you:
1. Eyes.
2. Face.
3. Voice.

three of your favorite hobbies:
1. DoTA.
2. Drums. (DTX)
3. Reading.

three things you want to do really badly now:
1. Qualify for the TCO.
2. Get a DTXtreme set.
3. Finish what I'm currently working on...

three careers you're considering/you've considered:
1. Progamer
2. Programmer
3. Entrepreneur

three places you want to go on vacation:
1. japan - good food!
2. france - they say they have good food...
3. zamboanga - no place like home. (no place like home cooking either...)

three kid's names you like:
1. Wind
2. Nynaeve
3. Soul

three things you want to do before you die:
1. Go to another planet.
2. Have children.
3. See this country counted among the strong ones.

three ways that you are stereotypically a boy:
1. It doesn't bother me to do things alone
2. I'm not very particular about bathing.
3. My oral articulation needs work.

three ways that you are stereotypically a girl:
1. Cockroaches scare me.
2. Books/movies make me cry.
3. Being capricious.

three celeb crushes:
I don't know their names. ^_^

three people that i would like to see take this quiz:
1. nikki (still hasn't answered the call)
2. seth (must really enjoy filling these out)
3. chico (is unlikely to actually fill this out)

Sleep Synchro

2005-07-08T08:54:00.000-07:00

The last three books that I've read:

Frankenstein by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley - Everyone is familiar with the stereotypical Frankenstein's monster that grunts, walks around like a zombie and goes on a killing spree. I was a bit surprised when I read this classic, and the monster turned out to possibly be the most eloquent speaker of all the characters in the book.

Apparently, Frankenstein's monster is so hideous that you lose all reason and loathe him deeply as soon as you lay your eyes on him. The monster's physical appearance overrides all his speaking eloquence and he ends up with a Charisma attribute of -18.

The predominant theme that I found in the story were the problems that could be compounded due to closed-minded and rigid views, together with the lack of communication. Most other literary works that cite this story usually focus on the "created being turns on his master" theme, and how "some things were just not meant to be studied/harnessed". Both of which I disagree with.

Caves of Steel by Isaac Asimov - by a strong coincidence, I picked both books up on the same visit to a booksale store (this one was picked up because it only cost 12 Php). The story is about a detective who is forced to solve a murder by working with a robot detective in a society that hates robots.

The reason I call it a coincidence is because the Introduction discusses the origin of Asimov's concept of robots, and the "Three Laws of Robotics". Frankenstein is cited as a book that embodied the general sentiment of Asimov's time period: "there are some things Man was not meant to know".

A very nice passage illustrates Asimov's view of the situation:

Even as a youngster, though, I could not bring myself to believe that if knowledge presented danger, the solution was ignorance. To me, it always seemed that the solution had to be wisdom. You did not refuse to look at danger, rather you learned how to handle it safely.

That served as a very nice afterword to Frankenstein and a good transitory to Caves of Steel. The story itself is a bit outdated, though, and I like his Foundation series more.

Harry Potter IV: Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling - Each book gets better than the last. Details should probably be left out for now, since the moving is coming up and people are probably interested in remaining spoiler-free.

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DoTA tournament tomorrow! Typing this entry was a good way of remaining awake so that I can sleep (and wake) at the proper times. =) GL HF!

Keep-Alive Heartbeat

2005-07-04T09:53:00.000-07:00

Work cures depression. I always get into a good mood after having completed a task at hand. Maybe its the combination of relief from any deadline pressure, and the feeling of being productive and contributing something. Even the state of being immersed in the current problem is enough to make me forget any blues.

Nostalgia...

2005-06-03T21:02:00.000-07:00

A second Trend contest has been announced. It used to be an event that I was looking forward to - why didn't they put this out a few years ago?

Seeing this again brings back memories. I still remember the time when we participated in the first one. Half the preliminary round took place during the EDSA 2 - the period of Erap's ousting. During this time, two of our team members were valiantly fighting the crusade for Philippine democracy. It would not have made a large difference if they chose to stay; we only had two computers to work with: One was a laptop, and the other was a desktop with a squeaky hard disk (the hard disk would squeak and hum - and occasionally pause for a long time).

Maybe their presence would have made a difference. We divided our sleeping schedule such that there would always be someone chugging away at the computers. The team consisted of myself, Jae, Frank, Aidz, and Marseille (Nikki also hung around the house to watch and keep everyone's spirits up ;).

We did run into some problems, like there not being enough bits to accurately represent the actual amount of disk space after an interrupt call to retrieve the disk space (if my memory serves me right). We also had problems communicating with the SMTP server to email the report (pity we didn't know of JavaMail then), and if I recall correctly, we even had to recreate our own data structures.

What was remarkable was that we were a crazy bunch that made hell for our lab instructors. I still recall the time when we were taught Structures in Basic, and the most creative use I came up for it was to create a beautiful naming scheme - All my variables ended up being called "www.avariable.com", and "www.anothervariable.com" (and got points deducted for writing garbage).

This "craziness" carried over to what we wrote for the contest: Our versioning system consisted of changing the error and log messages that were being displayed by the program - an old and incomplete version would mispel some messages: "Bisk Space Remaining: ". And then you had the code itself - where else would you find code like:




Shipment drugs = new Shipment();

...

if (drugs.ready()) {
    drugs.ship();
}

As the deadline grew nearer, we came to realize that we would never be able to finish it on only two computers. Jaemark generously offered to fund our renting out a nearby computer shop so we could all work simultaneously. We managed to finish a few hours early - and after spending the remaining time testing and integrating our application (And changing "Bisk space" to "Disk space"), we managed to submit with ten minutes left on the 1-week contest period.

Contestants were allowed to attend during the testing and review process, where Trend would evaluate each submission that was made. Jaemark and Frank were present to witness our submission being tested. Our submission failed a test case - and we were given a chance to fix it on-the-spot - by changing one line of code. Jae and Frank immediately went to reading the source code, hoping to spot the error. You can imagine their dismay when "Bisk Space remaining" flashed in the log - somehow we had screwed up our integration and ended up submitting an old version of our project!

Still, we made it to sixth place - which meant that if another team did not show up for the finals, we would get the spot. We came early, hoping to spot another finalist and jump them - but we weren't fortunate enough to meet anyone enroute. The finals was full of familiar faces from high school... It was a bit unfortunate that we did not make it, but I was happy enough to have worked with my teammates - it was a good learning experience.

I hope this year's participants find it to be interesting too.

I Exhibit Too!

2005-05-28T03:18:00.000-07:00

Me, Seth and Brian went to Glorietta last Thursday since Seth wanted to celebrate her birthday by treating everyone out to Star Wars. We ended up spending a lot more time at Percussion Freaks. It's definitely a lot more fun on the actual drums than on the PC Version.

We saw this middle-aged Chinese guy who looked like he could be some company executive, and he played mean drums! He kept doing a cool trick where he would bang the sticks together in the middle of a drum roll for a nice effect. It was very surprising to see such a performance coming from someone unbecoming.

Managed to find the DTX File for Haru~Spring, from Drummania 2. Coolness.

----

Sith Sense reminds me of the 20 questions AI game we used to play during ACM practice breaks (or maybe I should just say ACM practice :). For some reason, its a lot weaker than on the simple web version. Still, its fun to see Vader taunt you.

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Mark points out a blog entry regarding the Cringe Factor. This basically states that certain outstanding tasks remain outstanding because of reasons that makes us not want to do it; In other words, some sort of inertial barrier that keeps us from going into motion. The article then goes on to specify some steps on how to get it done.

I definitely agree with the contents of the article. I will also go on to say that if you find yourself consistently facing tasks with a high Cringe Factor, you should start reconsidering either your outlook, or your line of work. Taking the problem head-on and getting it done is a micro action that cannot be avoided in some situations. Putting yourself in the position where such micro is minimized constitutes the macro part.

Also, above all else, do NOT swear not to do anything else until your large Cringe-Job is done. A lot of opportunities may pass you by if you fail to micro properly.

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Wow. Blogging is pleasurable.

Masturbatory Blogging

2005-05-17T15:48:00.000-07:00

Andrew (Armi's younger brother) has just launched his new blog; The design is impressive, though it still suffers from font colors contrasting with the background. I wonder if Ruben will be inspired to do the same..

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I was trying to come up with several ideas/topics to post in this semi-dormant blog, when Seth brought up the topic that blogging is masturbatory. If that's the case, then I'd rather be a voyeur than an exhibitionist. :)

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Have to get a blogroll up...

Dotdotdot

2005-04-20T18:47:00.000-07:00

Had a splashing good time last Saturday. Never thought it would be so much fun away from the computer monitor. :P It was enjoyable to be buffetted around by the waves, and it was fun pretending to be a water wheel. The rides were also good, if only they weren't so short. I wanted to do the more-than-1-person-to-a-rubber-tube ride, but it never crossed anyone else's mind so...

Sometime during the morning, Po quoted to Gaebril that "The supply chain is determined by the weakest link.". To which Gaebril replied "Aren't all chains like that?". You know what's scary about it? Yeah, check out Po's blogger name and see. ;)

Lunch took the longest time, due to the hordes of people lining up. It took 30++ minutes just to line up, and another 30++ for the food to arrive! Chico's treat, which surprised me a little. But then I recalled the times when I did decide to treat, and realized that indeed, Chico's 4-11 birthday was most likely happy.

Oli, Nikki, Jam, and Aidz decided to play TTT by the arcade machine, and judging by the other players, they were probably the strongest players in the building. A great way to pass the time while waiting for the food I suppose. Jas and Alison had a different idea, and decided to practice their photographic skills on all the attendees. Too bad they aren't posted anywhere online.

Lunch was chicken from Rogers Roasters. Alekos was at my table, and he had an enjoyable heap of sidings - quite an interesting meal. I missed sitting at the Comp. Sci. table (Aidz, Niks, Frank), but I guess that was ok, since the conversation at my table was lively.

Afternoon was a repeat experience of the morning (minus Oli's "experience"). Jas left early, because it was her birthday. We stayed 'till they started closing down the rides and bugging us to leave.

The event was supposed to continue at Rico's place. Unfortunately, I had to leave early to beat a deadline. After dropping by Jam's place, I left the group, waved goodbye, and stepped into traffic hell...

Jam's version of the story.
Po's version of the story.
Part IIA of the story. (Jaemark's rendition)

Dota? Dota?!

2005-03-29T08:16:00.001-08:00

I was planning to make a blog post tomorrow.. but this couldn't wait.

Its too good to be true though. ;)

Get the ball rolling again...

2005-03-21T10:58:00.000-08:00

Strategists

I'm more interested in the answers that you gave for each question instead of the personality type that you were given at the end. Like the question with the painting on it? I want to know whether you even took a pen and paper (or opened your favorite text editor) and actually wrote something down, or just 'imagined' what you wrote and proceeded to the actual question.

Hannah and Mark

2005-01-28T07:20:00.000-08:00

Congratulations to Hannah and Mark on their wedding day!

Oasis

2004-12-27T10:11:00.000-08:00

Various family members have commented upon the simililarity between me and my 9-year-old nephew (Nico). This Christmas vacation has been a fun period to discover them. He has acquired the same taste for books and reading - also preferring to stay at home and read, rather than leave the house to go swimming or whatever. I've taught him Monopoly, and the game appeals to him - I see the beginnings of intermediate game concepts (like denying a color strip to an opponent) in his game. He uses the same manner of teasing his sister as I used to: basically lay claim to something of little importance ("Hey, *I'm* sitting between Uncle and Auntie"), then keep asserting/lording it. He's also acquired an interest in Xenogears, and so we've taken to playing it together. It's been a lot of fun, and has provided me with a small taste of raising a child. It's probably a one-sided experience: few of the responsibilities fall on me - I wouldn't mind if he missed a bath, but my sister (Nico's mom) seems to. The one big issue I see is how much it consumes free time: it's difficult to get some work done while trying to play a game of "Opposite Day". I can only blog because he decided to sleep with his mom instead of with me for a change.

----

Me (aloud; to myself): Where does strength come from?
Nico: From within, I think.

----

Still not as productive as I want to be. Has www.dexterity.com/articles/get-more-done.htm helped? A little. My work style consists of a lot of reflection and pondering - and so I tend to eat up a lot of time on any non-trivial task (in contrast to my gaming style, where snap decisions and battle instincts rule the day). I think the efficiency loss comes from a failure to keep focus during the entire work duration. This probably goes against the concepts being presented in the article.

Restraint

2004-12-18T20:15:00.000-08:00

I haven't been able to get around to updating my blog in quite a while. I suppose its because of the unhealthy amount of restraint that I exercise. Before I go out and actually say something (or write an email, or ask a question - whatever), it first gets evaluated: Is it worth saying? Will it offend anyone? Will it simply waste other people's time to listen/read what you have to say? Most of the time, what I'm about to say doesn't pass this censorship, and has to go through a lot of refining before it becomes "suitable". By the time the refinement process is over, the "moment" for saying it has passed, and it loses the potential value it had in the first place.

I suppose this restraint was learnt quite some time ago, and I suppose it did have a purpose then - my tongue was rash when I was a kid, and I did hurt some people (or at least cause them not to like me ;) because of that. Its been quite a while since that time, and the constraining limits that existed then, may no longer apply now.

I want to try to probe the limits. To see whether time has made all those filters become unnecessary.

----

I've been using the Anti-Mage's ultimate move (Mana Void) for the sole purpose of making a kill. Checking the opponent's health and mana and making quick calculations to see whether using Mana Void will net a kill. Looking at Mana Void with this sole purpose in mind means that a Mana Void that does not kill is considered a failure. This type of thinking leads me to become conservative with the Anti-Mage's ultimate.

But upon reflection, the Mana Void may have other uses; The relatively large drop in an opponent's health may cause him to panic and flee (even if he still had the upper hand - and ultimately net you a kill as you blink-chase him to death), or weaken an opponent enough for your teammates to kill him off.

Again, being conservative leads to a lot of undiscovered advantages being missed.

---

So far, my approach to mistakes have been to replay it and identify the factors which caused failure. Then chalk it all off as a learning experience. This has allowed me to live with my failures. But I haven't actively "tried to make mistakes". Maybe I should.

This type of thinking reminds me of a quote I read somewhere:

"If you learn from your mistakes, then at the rate you're going, you'll divine the secrets of the Universe in no time!"

Strutting around

2004-11-25T14:46:00.000-08:00

We managed to get a Struts project, and I was one of the lucky people to work on it. The last week has been spent eagerly getting acquainted with Servlets, Struts, and Hibernate. The app itself services a mobile client, but all the existing code already uses struts, so I guess it is fine - the same app could later be extended to also service web clients simply by adding presentation code and a few config entries. Great fun!

My initial reaction to Struts is quite good. Most of the cost of Struts is the investment time learning the framework... Once you're familiar with it, you can reap your reward by building more flexible applications - development overhead is quite minimal. Although some people have raised concerns, stating that similar functionality can already be achieved by editing web.xml (basically making Struts useless overhead - both in system complexity and physical resources). I'm not yet very familiar with Java web apps, but this should be something to look into.

----

Defense of the Ancients is a popular Warcraft III-based modded map that has a very good polished feel to it. Each player picks one of two sides, and controls a single Hero. All the "army" management is handled by the computer (in the form of periodically generating troops that blindly rush to the other side, and die once they meet their enemy-peers). The players can affect the outcome of this Continuous Strife by casting spells to weaken the other side's army, or disable enemy heroes, or heal/strengthen their own army.

What makes it such a great game? Here are a few things I can think of:

Continuity - Unlike microwars, or all those other "pure micro" maps, you have a sense of actually building up a character, not unlike an MMORPG. A game lasts long enough to have gotten the good feeling of starting from weakness, and growing to be strong.
Diversity - There are more Hero types than I have fingers and toes! And each hero isn't just a palette swap, and a rehash of skills - each has his own "theme".
Balance - You would expect that amongst the multitude of hero types, for some to be blatantly strong/weak. But that's discounting the synergy that some "weak" heroes can get from simply helping their team out. Think Tekken "balance".
Maturity - The current "official" version is at version 5.84b. I know of at least two people who have maintained the "official" version. Several other versions have popped (and continue to pop) up - good ideas are incorporated into the official version. Discussion forums are set up where people can discuss the strengths/weaknesses of the game, and offer new suggestions. I can make a good guess that v1.0 was nowhere near as good as this map, and it only became this good because of the underlying community.

----

A cool puzzle. One of the levels require you to search for a specific phrase hidden in the game. Google would then lead you through a bunch of clues, that would (with some thinking) bring you the answer. Unfortunately, the puzzles popularity has screwed the page rankings - searching for the phrase now leads you to a walkthrough for the puzzle. Heh. =/

SRM 219 writeup

2004-11-20T13:17:00.000-08:00

Easy problem involved finding the maximum number that corresponds to a certain formula. The tricky portion was making sure the floating point operations did not screw up your solution. My thought here was to brute-force the solution (you could easily compute all feasible numbers in the 8-second time limit) instead of being fancy and try to solve the formula - the idea would have worked, but I got careless with the computations and failed system tests to an easily-avoided overflow. Need to be less hasty and more careful.

Medium problem was relatively straight-forward, asking for the "best" candidate, based on multiple criteria (of variable and ordinal importance - less important criterion are only used to resolve ties). The most elegant solution that I saw used a custom Comparator.

Hard problem was a classic example of the Subset sum problem. The two attempts that were submitted within the 75-minute time limit unfortunately had no optimization and died to timeout cases. I was unable to implement a solution with the time remaining to me. My TODO list should include coding a solution to this problem before the next SRM.

One remarkable thing about this SRM is that my room contained three Filipinos. (yay!) It was nice meeting hotblue and mhykol. Congratulations to hotblue for winning the room! :)

They are also both attempting Component Competitions, so the best of luck to them.

Now's as good a time as any to sign up!

Looks like I'm not the only one who's been busy...

2004-11-16T09:45:00.000-08:00

http://iits.uap.edu.ph/~bryce/scores/index.html

It looks like Ateneo placed second. That is coolness! It goes to show that a rigid training program really helps. Talent goes without saying. ;) And wow, UPLB placed 4th - that is not bad at all (though from talking with some of the peeps here, they placed 10th - so I have to clarify this).

It's very nice to see a scoreboard that isn't dominated by the foreign teams. Seeing something like this is very inspiring, and gives me something new to chase after. Need to evaluate the possibilities...

EDIT:
http://icpc.baylor.edu/icpc/regionals/ViewRegionalStandings.asp?ContestID=707 has results that are consistent with personal accounts of the event. So the statistics from up there must have been generated before the contest was complete.

----

Ack! Left all the TopCoder (placed 3rd - big surprise</sarcasm>)notes I made at home. =( That means that it will have to wait till next week. Sorry... (to whoever is interested).

Japan Intermission

2004-11-14T01:08:00.000-08:00

This is a post from the Narita International Airport. Net access in the US is a bit difficult for someone without a laptop or a credit card. Luckily the airport here has some coin-operated kiosks. (100 Yen/10 min.)

I've got a bunch of stuff written down, but it's not the time to post - will have to wait till a decent net access terminal is available. But I wanted to make a post from elsewhere so... =)

Just had some Cold Soba and Green Tea. The soba itself is tasteless, but comes with some soy sauce or wasabi. Either you dip it in or pour it on the noodles, not sure. But went with dipping. The green tea tastes a lot like... unsweetened green tea (unlike the C2 drink that we have). Total cost was 700 Yen. A rough estimate would be 100 Yen/1 US Dollar. But I figured if Bryan ne-chan is willing to spend binge after a walk to 7-11, I can buy myself a meal after a flight to Tokyo.

They had this cool free game at the Children's play room where you had to wipe windows, using a video camera. But my flight is nearing, so I could only watch. My 10 minutes is almost up so we should wrap up here.

Thanks Everyone!

2004-11-07T13:55:00.001-08:00

Please do not have high expectations. I really messed up the final round. Let's just say that several important factors were missing during the competition week (regular Internet connection/power supply, free time, moral support). It is for this reason that Faye's story attracted my attention in particular. She managed to pull off a win against all odds, and I have to give her a bow of respect for that.
--------
TopCoder's competitions are organized into two categories:

The algorithms category caters to the academic world. Here, fast thinking and analytical skills are needed. The contestants are given a set of problems that test for knowledge in CS algorithm concepts such as dynamic programming, memoization, and graph theory. Code solutions are then graded based on accuracy (you get nothing if you fail a test case), coding speed (the time it takes to submit a correct solution), and running time (you get nothing if your program cannot spit out a solution within 8 seconds).

The design and development category caters to the pragmatic world. Here, elegance and thoroughness are needed. Contestants are given a requirement/component specification, and they have a week to turn it into an elegant design/implementation. Knowledge of how to correctly approach a problem, apply design patterns and good programming habits will definitely help.

I know there are a lot of bright[er] coders out there (as evidenced by last year's ACM), and it would be cool to see more of them on the scoreboards.

--------
Apparently, my small group of friends aren't the only Go players in the Philippines. That's funny, given the fact that we [used to] spend a lot of time on PandaNet. Anyway, if you come across tcceledor (like I'd use ShindouHikaru on a go server ;-), necramirez or dart_mol on PandaNet, you'll know it's one of the LB people. =)

And they actually have Go boards here! Cool!

--------

All Saint's...

2004-10-31T11:25:00.000-08:00

Yay! I actually get a small mention in Sacha's blog. ^_^
------
I've been trying to resolve a ServerSocket problem I've been having. It appears that the fault is in Microsoft Windows - they have limited the TCP backlog queue to only 5 in the Home edition of Windows XP; Giving me a lot of unexplained failures. At least now I know how to explain them. :)
------
My sister arrived today from China! It's a bit surprising how happy I was to see her. The last time I remember feeling like this was back when I was in grade school. Too bad she forgot to get a Go-ban (Go board). It would have been fun to play a 19x19 game that wasn't on a computer screen. Oh well, she goes back on January. I will need to pester her then. =)
------
It's so hard to work away from my "Home PC". All I've managed to do is browse the net and do some reading and research (... and blog). I've read through some parts of the JMX Specification. Surprisingly, it all flows logically now! The last time I tried it, it seemed like some parts had to be memorized... But now, no need to commit anything to memory, since you can simply reason it out. Cool.
------
I have to remember to go through the USACO training course. I want to achieve yellowness, (hopefully even redness), by next year. Then maybe I will actually be qualified to coach in next year's ACM. I'd still rather play than coach. Heh.
------
Finally getting over my horrendous performance at the TCO Finals. It's still an unforgivable sin. But I can at least live with it.

Acquiring a (Non-Immigrant) US Visa

2004-10-30T08:56:00.000-07:00

Acquiring a (Non-Immigrant) US Visa in the Philippines

Requirements:
- A Philippine Passport
- A 2x2 Picture
- Some money (See Expenses)
- A good reason to go to the US. Supporting documents are optional, but a big plus factor.(Possibly replaced by a lot of money/evidence of financial capability)

Steps:
The first step is filling out a Visa application form. The actual application form is freely available over the net (The EVAF). However, a "supplementary information" application form is also required - this form costs a processing fee and can be acquired at specific BPI branches.

The next step is a calling a toll number in order to schedule a Visa interview. Before you are delegated to the actual conversation, you need to listen to some warnings of what not to bring to the embassy (cellphones), a warning issued in a slow but clear voice that the call is being billed, and then the entire thing over repeated in Tagalog ;). A pleasant phone attendant will ask you to dictate all the details of whatever you have written down in your application form. Afterwards, the attendant will read out to you all the details of whatever you have written down in your application form. Then you are asked whether there are any problems with all the details of whatever you have written down in your application form. A booking number and interview schedule will then be provided. Finally, are asked to repeat the booking number and interview schedule to the attendant (just to make sure that you got everything down right).

In the case where the given interview schedule is too late for your travel plans (it is advised to apply at least three months before travel time), you may file an Early Appointment Request Form. Fortunately, it only requires sending a fax to the embassy (if you have a US organization sponsoring your trip, it is advisable to have them send the fax instead - the request will have more weight coming from them). If the Early Appointment Request is approved, you will be informed and you will have to call the toll number and provide all the details of whatever you have written down in your application form. A new booking number and interview schedule will be given. Of course, you need to repeat the booking number and interview schedule to the attendant (just to make sure that you got everything down right :).

On the scheduled day, proceed to the US Embassy (located along Roxas Boulevard near the UN Avenue), and prepare to stand in line. There is a small screening process, where they make sure that you have filled out your forms properly. To entertain yourself, you can either chat with the other people in line, bring a book, or maybe just people-watch. You can be sure that the people coming in have interesting stories behind their trip; But then, interest is a matter of choice, ne?

Finally the interview! The consulate officer will ask you questions regarding the details of your trip, the reasons behind them, some background information. If the officer decides that you merit a visa, it will be granted. You are then directed to a booth where you can arrange for the delivery of your visa (for a small fee, of course).

The Interview:
(Note, this is reconstructed from memory, so it is probably not 100% accurate)
CO - Consular Officer
CO: [looking at application form] So, you've been in school for quite some time, huh?
Me: [smiles]
CO: When do you graduate?
Me: This semester.
CO: So that is this coming... April? May?
Me: That's correct.
CO: Who is this MaryBeth Luce? [Contact person written in my app form]
Me: She is the operations manager. But the letter I've got here comes from Greg Paul.
CO: Show me what you've got.
Me: [Pulls out letter from TopCoder and hands it across the booth]
CO: So you're going to join a programming contest. How did you get chosen?
Me: There was a qualification round for two months, where we submitted programs. These programs were reviewed, and I was chosen as one of the finalists.
CO: What kind of programs did you write? Were they small programs?
Me: Relatively. Yes, quite small.
CO: Could you name some of them?
Me: I wrote a Test Email Server, a Content Highlighter, and... [small pause as I search my head for the remaining component] a Site Validator.
CO: [smiling] I didn't understand any of that, but it sounds impressive.
Me: [smiles]
CO: How long do you intend to stay?
Me: 4 days.
CO: So you don't intend to go sightseeing afterwards or... ?
Me: No.
CO: I see. Got to go to school huh? Do you have any relatives in the US?
Me: Not that I'm aware of.
CO: Do you have any plans after you graduate?
Me: Probably go to work at a software company. Or maybe a Master's degree.
CO: You mean, here, or in the US or... ?
Me: Nothing definite.
CO: Okay, I'll tell you what, you can go take this yellow form and arrange for your visa delivery. And if you win, you can tell us. [Hands over yellow slip and all supporting papers across the booth]
Me: [smiling] Thank you very much. [Traditional small bow after engaging in business]

Expenses:
Visa Application Form: 100$ US (5700 Php - the bank is generous with the exchange rate)
Toll Calls : 16 Php/Minute; Around 5-10 Minutes per call. 2 Calls in my case.
Visa Delivery Fee: 165 Php (Extra for provincial deliveries)

He Qualified!

2004-10-09T17:27:00.000-07:00

Surprisingly, ShindouHikaru has qualified for the TopCoder Open final round in the Development Component competition. I did not have enough faith in him, and so I didn't tell him to get a US Visa earlier this week. This is unfortunate, because now he is going to have problems acquiring one: From Friday's Visa appointment availability date of October 16, it was moved drastically to December 6 today. That means he will have to fill out an early appointment request form. It would be so funny if the Visa problem is what will prevent him from attending the final round.

Blah. What a time to start a blog.