I came, I saw, I love Davao

Nitong nakaraang linggo, nagkaroon ako ng chance na makapunta sa lunsod Davao. First time ito mga katoto. In anticipation of the deployment and training that we'll doing, maaga ako naghanda. Sa sobrang aga, muntik ko nang makalimutan ang mag-print ng e-ticket. Sari saring isipin ang umiikot sa puro hangin kong "gray matter". Assertive daw ang mga audience pag dating sa pag-introduce ng isang health information system. Di ko alam kung ikakatuwa ko ito dahil na din sa magkahalong maganda at di magandang experience sa mga assertive audience. Pero higit sa aming official tasks, iniisip ko kung ano ang hitsura ng Davao. Ito ang aking mga impression at narinig na related sa Davao:

1. sentro ng durian
2. disiplinado ang mga tao dahil sa mahigpit na papatupad ng batas
3. terror na mayor
4. malinis na paligid
5. may davao death squad (nyiii..)
6. maraming ka-look alike si juliana palermo
7. official mode of tranpo ang passenger motorcyle o "habal-habal"
8. province ni ricky davao (weeeee..)

May premonition na yatang hindi maganda dahil 40 mins delayed ang flight namin. Paglipad ng Flight PR 809, natulog lang ako sa eroplano at nag-take ng pictures ng stratosphere tulad ng nasa ibaba:

Lumapag kami sa Davao international airport ng bandang 7:30 nang umaga. Itutuloy ...

Shock and Awe

Sa patuloy na opensiba ng AFP laban sa mga Abu Sayyaf, sunod sunod nang napapatay ang mga "heavywieghts" na mga myembro ng ASG. Nauna nang minalas si Abu Solaiman o ang tinaguriang "The Engineer". Di lang dahil sa siya ang chief planner sa pagpapasabog (ng mga bomba) kundi isa din siyang licensed civil engineer. Yep, you heard it right.
Nakakaawa nga lang na dahil sa misdirected principle ni Eng. Abu Solaiman, maaga siyang kinuha ni Allah. Ang susi daw sa matagumpay na operasyon ang information na mula sa ilang US advisers. Amerika nanaman!

Di ko maiisip na bagamat napakaliit na lang na grupo ng Abu Sayyaf, wala pa ring kakayahang tuluyang masupil ito ng AFP. Kunsabagay, ang "working together with the US" na sinabi PGMA ay lalo lamang mapapatibay sa pangyayaring ito. Kung nagtatagumpay ang "working together" sa mindanao, hindi siguro dito sa manila. Kamakailan lang ay nagtangkang sugurin ng League of Filipino Students ang US Embassy upang i-protesta ang pagkakalipat ni Lance Cpl Smith. Sa UN Ave pa lang, nagka-engkwentro na ang mga pulis at mga estudyante. Kawawa iyong ipinakitang protester na tinamaan ng dulo ng shield ng isang pulis. Talagang knock out sa kalsada.

At kasama ako sa nasampolan ng paranoia ng US embassy. Hindi ako nahampas o na-harass pero parang pinaramdam sa akin na parang may ginawa akong masama. Masama kayang kumuha ng litrato ng logo ng embassy? Oo, simpleng pagkuha lang ng picture ay in-interrogate na ako ng mga SG's at kinuha ang contact details ko. Di ko masasabing may rule na nilabag dahil wala namang nakalagay na bawal kumuha ng picture at out of inocence and curiosity lang ang action. Muntik nang sinira ng sitwasyong ito ang araw ko.



PS: Buti na lang at natapos ang araw sa pinakamainam na paraan na maiisip ko. Ang sarap ng chicken curry!

Hacking JS regular expressions

Hindi talaga ako fan ng regular expression. Kahit sa automata class, isinusuka ko ito.Kundi nga lang sa isang requirement, di ako ma-appreaciate ito ng lubusan. Napakahalaga ng form validation sa client-side using javascript para makabawaw ng error-check sa server. I am glad to finally implement a not so complex regex in JS dahil most of the filtering I am used to are in PHP (server-side).

tID = /^[0-9]{3}-[0-9]{2}-[0-9]{3}[^IO(a-z)]{1}$/;

What a way to end a day. Buong araw ko ito inisip....

Kaleidoscope World

One great song. The song reminds me of the good old memories. Saan kaya makakakuha ng kaleidoscope? Suggestions are very much appreciated.

Kalaeidoscope World

So many faces, so many races
Different voices, different choices
Some are mad, while others laugh
Some live alone with no better half
Others grieve while others curse
And others mourn behind a big black hearse
Some are pure and some half-bred
Some are sober and some are wasted
Some are rich because of fate and
Some are poor with no food on their plate
Some stand out while others blend
Some are fat and stout while some are thin
Some are friends and some are foes
Some have some while some have most
Every color and every hue
Is represented by me and you
Take a slide in the slope
Take a look in the kaleidoscope
Spinnin' round, make it twirl
In this kaleidoscope world
Some are great and some are few
Others lie while some tell the truth
Some say poems and some do sing
Others sing through their guitar strings
Some know it all while some act dumb
Let the bassline strum to the bang of the drum
Some can swim while some will sink
And some will find their minds and think
Others walk while others run
You can't talk peace and have a gun
Some are hurt and start to cry
Don't ask me how don't ask me why
Some are friends and some are foes
Some have some while some have most
Every color and every hue
Is represented by me and you
Take a slide in the slope
Take a look in the kaleidoscope
Spinnin' round, make it twirl
In this kaleidoscope world

Of Man Whores and Tribesmen

Last Saturday (1/6/2007), I was able watch two consecutive movies together with a dear friend (hi ma'am!), HBO's Deuce Bigalow - The European Gigalo and a pirated copy of Mel Gibson's Apocalypto. I can't help but to make a not-so professional movie review and observation from these two flicks. Here are my observations:

1. The protagonists: The lady-sympathetic character of Deuce made the movie more hilarious without even uttering a single word. Imagine his face dancing together with a woman who has a penis ingrown in her face due to radiation cause by Chirnobyl explosion. Apolypto's Jaguar Paw uses a variety of facial expressions to convey fear, determination, pride and weariness from the adversities. Great use of facial expressions and non-verbal signs!

The status quo of the protagonists are opposite though. Deuce was a center of mockery and joke among the man whore population while Jaguar Paw was respected and admired by his tribe due to his hunting prowess.

2. The setting: European Gigalo was set in a modern day European city while Apocalypto was filmed in a jungle and an ancient Aztec city.

3. The conflict: EG's conflict arises from a series of man whore killings in the city. Deuce' friend TJ Hicks was wrongfully accuse of the crime and should be proven innocent. Deuce later on discovered that the killings was an action of a man who was kicked out of the man whore university (whatta school). Apocalypto shows the life during the times when men and animals thinks almost the same: survival of the fittest. Jaguar Paw's tribe was ravaged by a group of marauders. The shows Jaguar Paws attempt and struggle to save himself and the future of his tribe.

4. The resolution: EG maintain its reputation of having a caption at the end of the movie to relate what happened to the characters. The antagonists was jailed and Deuce married the leading lady. Their 2 sons became man whores. Apocalypto ended when the chase between JP and the barbarian encountered a fleet of Spanish armada.

5. Lessons learned: EG - never underestimate the inferior. Apocalypto - "the strong shall survive and the weak shall perish".