Power Failure

Power is an important elementin many aspects in life. Without electric power, all electronic machines including the computer I'm using now will be useless. Our modern way of living will regress to the old means. We are going to see the resurrection of coal-powered irons, large banana leaf fans and typewriters. Cars (even the "luxury" ones) shall be phased out simply because the only available type of power by then is mechanical power. The nation will be more agricultural than industrial.

In leadership, power is the leader's backbone to have influence over others. In my opinion, a leader's power is earned not bought or inherited. A person who act as a leader yet does not get his members respect is someone who is just filling out the void. The word for here is POSITIONAL LEADERSHIP. On the other hand, people who earn respect and influence over others displays the true form of power in leadership.

Listening to the news and reading the newpapers led me to the thought that almost everyone now is virtually powerless. There is the president who appears powerless in the eyes of the opposition, the consumers who will have no power over the taxes to be imposed by the E-VAT Law, the politicians who were most of them are just positional leaders, and most of all many Filipinos who until now do not have the power (or should I say "balls")to make a difference the positive way.

By any means, power is can be earn not bought, increases and deteriorates, when fails but can be renewed again. May the real power be among us.

Rally everywhere

While, reading my newly acquired book "The Alchemist" last night, I heard from a news in DZMM that not only one but more rallies are to be staged starting that evening. A group of farmer, laborers and countryside individuals gathered at SLEX and Las Pinas to marched towards Baclaran to Manila. Another similar group is expected to arrived from the North. North, south, east,west .... what implications these rallies are going to make? We have actually seen one last October 14 when crowd dispersal policemen fired watercannons to the ralliests composed of cleregymen, senator, ex-VP and the usual protesters ("masa" is a popular connotation for this).

News program every Friday nights will be beefed up with stories pertaining to the day's event particularly rallies. The same group I mentioned earlier are going to challenged the GMA's CPR and the temper of the policemen as they are planning to march to Mendiola again. The society's scenario is very similar to movies yet the hazards are real and the effect will not be shown on the audience patronage but on the country's political and economic behavior.

What does a typical Juan dela Cruz like me think of these events??

1. Freedom should allow us to do what is right and condemn what is wrong.
2. There are many sides of a story. It is okay to be cynical on different sides but make sure that to be open-minded.

and finally ....

3. War is a great equalizer. According to a political theory I read, disorganized and quarelling societies (just like ours) can be fixed by a dratic measure in a fair battleground like war. Only then that the society will realized that the nation is so much battled-scarred and there is a need for greater cooperation.

Tomorrow will be another Friday. I must tune in to the news.

Song for a challenged soul....

Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen

Is this the real life?
Is this just fantasy?
Caught in a landslide
No escape from reality
Open your eyes
Look up to the skies and see
I'm just a poor boy, I need no sympathy
Because I'm easy come, easy go
A little high, little low
Anyway the wind blows, doesn't really matter to me, to me

Mama, just killed a man
Put a gun against his head
Pulled my trigger, now he's dead
Mama, life had just begun
But now I've gone and thrown it all away
Mama, ooo
Didn't mean to make you cry
If I'm not back again this time tomorrow
Carry on, carry on, as if nothing really matters

Too late, my time has come
Sends shivers down my spine
Body's aching all the time
Goodbye everybody - I've got to go
Gotta leave you all behind and face the truth
Mama, ooo - (anyway the wind blows)
I don't want to die
I sometimes wish I'd never been born at all

I see a little silhouetto of a man
Scaramouch, scaramouch will you do the fandango
Thunderbolt and lightning - very very frightening me
Gallileo, Gallileo,
Gallileo, Gallileo,
Gallileo Figaro - magnifico

But I'm just a poor boy and nobody loves me
He's just a poor boy from a poor family
Spare him his life from this monstrosity
Easy come easy go - will you let me go
Bismillah! No - we will not let you go - let him go
Bismillah! We will not let you go - let him go
Bismillah! We will not let you go - let me go
Will not let you go - let me go (never)
Never let you go - let me go
Never let me go - ooo
No, no, no, no, no, no, no -
Oh mama mia, mama mia, mama mia let me go
Beelzebub has a devil put aside for me
for me
for me

So you think you can stone me and spit in my eye
So you think you can love me and leave me to die
Oh baby - can't do this to me baby
Just gotta get out - just gotta get right outta here

Ooh yeah, ooh yeah
Nothing really matters
Anyone can see
Nothing really matters - nothing really matters to me

Anyway the wind blows...

Just another manic Monday

It is the first day of the week. There are so many plans that were laid out over the weekend. I hope that I didn't overestimate the tasks in my plan that I need to do over this week. Here it goes:

1. Deploy CEBS in one of our development server. Make sure that the application is bug-free (at least, for now).
2. Consolidate all paper form and manuals related the faculty database I have been doing. Integrate new features and update databases to make sure that everything in the paper form is covered.
3. Finish doing the admin and encoder modules for the Asthma registry.
4. Restore applications and database from the original yet failing server hard disk to a newer one.
5. Begin coding the Professorial Chair information system.
6. Consistently follow up my thesis paper from the thesis panel head.
7. Facilitate papers in order to promote DrBlog in PGH departments via posters and the like.

I have done only one of the seven tasks today. It seems that I need to take more vitamins to accelerate. :D

Earlier this day, I noticed that there were only few buses populating the street. This is a result of the new road policy implemented starting today by the MMDA to help on decongesting EDSA and to lessen if not eradicate the colorum buses. I will have a firsthand experience on effects of this "brilliant" policy later on. No, I am not a bus driver but rather a plain, struggling commuter.

Quote for the day: "Stay fool, stay hungry" (from the speech of Apple's Steve Jobs in Stanford University's commencement exercise this year)

Midweek Contemplations

It has been over 5 days since I wrote my last entry here. It is because of the toxicities in life I am having right now. Last Saturday, I consulted my thesis' final paper adviser to know if he had already seen and checked my paper. Unfortunately, he did not even read the paper at that time and gave me an uncertain answer on when can I consult him again. The lesson I realized here is that "Patience is a virtue until you run out of it" :> But somehow, my then "would-be" unproductive visit to school over the weekend had changed. Thanks to Pam for making that Saturday afternoon worthwhile. It has been a mentally stimulating experience exchanging insights and ideas with her about CHITS, IT stuffs, her PGH rotation experiences and some personal matters over cups of McDo's McFlurry.

Sunday was as usual as the past ones. Rest, eat, sleep, exercise and program. I conditioned by self then to be as productive as I can be for the incoming week. Then came Monday. My CRAMMING INSTINCTS and CAPABILITY were somewhat tested. And it is still being tested until now.

Tuesday was a system administration day. I got the chance to chat with Eric Pareja, UP Manila System Administrator and discussed some solutions on how to further improve the performance of a resource scarce server. As a novice sys ad, it was trully an empowering experience getting solutions and help from a respected Linux sysad like Eric. While the solution done was for short-term basis, it bolstered the performance of CM's server significantly. No further discussion on the technical details in a public forum like blogs (a paranoid sysad's rule).

Today, Wednesday, there is nothing new as well. But I am very optimistic that everything shall end well for the day. Btw, I am almost done in doing 1 of my three priority projects. At last, the beast is starting to be unleashed!

Weekend random thoughts ...

Random thoughts kept running on my mind as the week approaches its end. I really don't have a stable mind lately due to some unresolved conflicts. I am usually looking forward to a nice weekend rest but today is different. I just want to take a nap upon arriving home and work in the time when most people are asleep.

As what the popular says, "Rest if you must but don't you quit". This is what I intend to adhere starting today.

It is around 5:03 PM in my PC's clock when I started writing this blog entry. Another day in office shall going to pass. In as much as I wanted to extend the day, I cannot. There is this new ruling on all goverment office to vacate after oficial office hours to conserve energy. It seems a promising idea and idealistic ambition to save government's money. There was even a group made to make a random visit to offices to ensure that the policy was well-observed. If I heard it right from the radio, they are ENER COPS. Are they related to the Bioman, Mask Man or Power rangers?

Anyway, who would I want to extend office hours while many would are leaving offices as early as they can. Here are my reason:

1. I'd rather be challenged mentally first by doing my usual programming tasks than be challenged physically in LRT commotions.
2. The aircon every late afternoon is more relaxing and cozy than the earlier part of the day. Btw, this is not a fact but just a subjective observation.
3. The internet connection improves dramatically because most users in school have already left.
4. I love the feeling of being alone and hoping that a supernatural creature will help me in my task.
5. I value solemnity too much.

Thanks to the policy, I cannot have these simple luxuries anymore. Anyway, there will always be a tomorrow (except for Fridays and Saturdays).

Burn out or rust off??

Am I burning out? Am I rusting-off? I am not so sure. Yesterday, I went to Malibay health center to fix their disconnected LAN. The cause of the problem is not new anymore. The server failed to start the DHCP daemon and it happens unpredictably. Restarting the process and making sure that it will always run had somehow fix the problem. But for how long? I think until when the time Malibay calls up again to report the same problem. To make sure that this won't happened again, I gave them an basic instructions on how to troubleshoot a networks. My definition for RUSTING-OFF: Doing the same thing that you should not be doing over and over again. And that is the case for this experience.

Due to large amount of time given to finish my Special Problem (thesis), I honestly say that I have neglected ongoing programming projects in work. That is three project to be exact. Now, October came and I got no choice but to literally cram to finish this stuffs. First in line is a Course Evaluation counter program, next is an Asthma Patient Registry software and third, Professorial Chair Information System. There is no rest at all after finishing my SP. My definition for BURN-OUT: taking great amount of workload due to time constraints and work attitude and having difficulty to decide which task should be given first priority.

The answer in my opening question is that I am torn between to cruel self-inflicted situations, partly burn-out and partly rusting-off. But my personal belief is that it is more ideal to be burn out than rusting off because it brings out the best of what I can give off. My term for this is CREATIVE CRAMMING.

Last quarter hurray

   Year 2005 is on its last quarter already since October commenced. I have many memories, but good and not so good, that had happened in October. While in college, I considered October as the start of two-week hell due to a barage of examinations scheduled. It was also in October, as I recall it right, that I crammed for a programming project while listening to the Chavit Singson jueteng probe in 2000.

   One year ago (that is October of course), I was deeply troubled about not finishing my SP. Now, I am again troubled as the last few days of being in college is fast approaching. With the fact that everything comes so fast, the only feasible thing I can do for now is to work as if there is no tomorrow. I am just grateful that everything is falling into pieces. Nothing should stop me from graduating this sem. The great killer blow will be unleashed very very soon :D