Thursday, August 31, 2006

JLPT

I have yet to decide whether I shall be taking the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT Level 4)this coming December. The exam may be months away, yet the deadline for registration is already on September 5.

Actually, Jap 12-13 prepares us for this level 4 proficiency in Nihonggo, level 1 being the highest. By that time, I should have "mastered the basic elements of grammar, knows about 100 Kanji and 800 words and has the ability to engage in simple conversation and to read and write short, simple sentences."

My personal reservations on not taking the exam are: (1)It's an investment of Php500 and I would reap the reward (if I pass) only by March 2007.
(2) Exam is on December, and this semester ends in October. Meaning, my practice of Nihonggo stops there. By that time, my Nihonggo may be rusty if I no longer practice. Remember, it costs Php500.
(3) I still am not sure about my plans for next semester. For sure, I'm still stucked in UP. Probably, I may get some work, which would mean I'd be busy from it and acads.
(4) I think I'm the class goat. Can I pass the test?

If I do pass, I'll have bragging rights... hmmm...

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posted by ScIoN 9:40 PM |


Wednesday, August 30, 2006

UP Engineering Marketing Congress 2006

We had already submitted our marketing proposal for this year's Marketing Congress last monday. About 26 teams are competing and only 8 teams shall be chosen in the qualifying round.

I'm really not that positive that we're going to make it to the finals. We had written our proposal only during the day of the deadline. We should have started it earlier. Imagine, it was at 12am (monday) when we started to brainstorm about our paper. Our product is a promising one as it (well, something similar) had previously won in last year's MIT PESO for best in IT. Regrets thanks to ningas cogon.

Adding salt to our injuries, we passed our paper 40 minutes after the deadline. This makes our paper a candidate for a whopping 10% deduction. Most teams also submitted late, reportedly, only 8 teams submitted on time. I really think 10% deduction is too much. There would be a high probability that the final 8 would be those who had passed early. Most of those whom I think are top contenders for the top prize were also late in submitting the paper. Perhaps, only a slot or 2 remains for us to compete in with. Luck.

Our product is rooted on Despi's thesis project on thin clients. Thin clients are mini-computers which are less powerful than the standard desktop. However, thin clients are capable of doing common tasks in large workplaces such as that of call centers. Common computing workloads such as internet browsing, data and resource management, etc does not require powerful desktop systems. We propose to replace those general-purpose computers with thin clients and connect the network via a central server. This setup provides low-cost solutions such as outsourcing businesses and the e-service community.

Since our paper was rushed, I'd say it was half-baked. I like the name of our product, iThinC, pronounced as "I think". Like that of the iPods and iMacs, it stands for "Intelligent Thin Clients". Funny thing is, the marketing portion of the paper was not fully developed. I guess we spent more time thinking of how we introduce our product (and giving it a name) than focusing on our marketing plan. The hell, it is a marketing competition after all. Good luck to our team for that.

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posted by ScIoN 11:13 PM |


Sunday, August 27, 2006

Just Another Weekend

I forgot to tell you guys that I was offered to go to Baguio this weekend, to cover for the MADC event (Microcontroller Applications Design Competition) and to accompany Sir Mong, currently the MOBOT head. This may be part of my work as the IEEE PS webmaster, since my main task deals with web content. So, am I blogging in Baguio now? Nope.

It was sir Richard who asked me if I am free to go to Baguio this Saturday. First, I thought that the faculty and/or sir Richard's friends would have a Baguio getaway and they wanted me to be their tour guide. I really didn't like the idea of being thrown into the company of my 'superiors' (faculty) because I don't like to feel 'out of place'. In the end, I had just said no; I have an exam next week. Well, when I asked, "Sir bakit, tour guide"? Sir Richard answered, "Hindi, sa IEEE".

Perhaps most of you would say, "saaaayaaaaang!". Well, yeah, if it would be all expenses paid, it is indeed a loss of opportunity. Still, I really have reasons of not coming over for the weekend. This month, we are celebrating the 77th anniversary Beta Epsilon. Part of our activities are the Stag party and the Frat Ball which was scheduled friday and saturday. I planned to attend at least one since I still have work to do (IEEE website) and I DO really have an exam on monday (Jap 13). Not to mention that I have to submit a reaction paper for my graduate subject (UC-Berkeley CS252) and prepare for our Wednesday thesis progress report. So you see, I was not lying that I am busy.

If only the regional event was to be conducted somewhere south via airplane; I would readily agree to go. It's to explore new places that I want, not to have a field trip back to my hometown. Of course, there are still regrets that I could have gone home like a hero. Well, it's the price I am paying for now. Right now, I'm just stucked in this dormitory room doing senseless things such as blogging.

posted by ScIoN 2:47 AM |


Friday, August 25, 2006

I am a "Webnoobie" Soon to be a Master

I know that I've stated earlier that one of my motivations in blogging is to learn HTML coding. We usually deal with HTML when we reconfigure our layout, or better yet when we create a whole new design.

Now I know that I'm right. I am now learning HTML for a bigger cause. I am to be the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineering) - Philippines section webmaster. Sounds cool ei? hehehe...

Nothing to expect much from the site though... since my main task is to update it regularly with news, announcements and stuff. I think 'Web Content Developer' is a more apt term to use. It's not really something big time since this is actually some sort of SA (student assistant) stuff. I still don't know if I'll be receiving any for this; if ever I will, I don't expect it to be big.

How did I get this? Well, Sir Richard and Doc Sison are officers for the local IEEE organization. Since I am an IML student affiliate, I was referred to by Sir Richard himself. It's really but normal to have SA positions in our lab. I'd think that mine is easier than that of the others (ex: research on FPGAs and other stuff).

I am a bit excited with this one since I get to do something new and different. So much with all hardware programming and stuff, this thing's a bit of a challenge too. I guess I'm already tired with academic stuffs.

Can't wait to learn new tricks. woohoo!

posted by ScIoN 1:18 AM |


Wednesday, August 23, 2006

Molave Online

At last, our dorm is back online! Our previous internet connection had some problems with the UP-BCO (Business Concessionaires' Office). They demand that all business transactions involving students should pass first through them. They are even trying to stop our sources of drinking water refills and laundry services. Are they trying to have a cut from the business owners' revenues?

Going back with our internet connection... it's illegal. Which means that the BCO doesn't (shouldn't) know it. Who cares? We don't even feel guilty about it. It's better than waiting for (more) months to come before having a 'legal' connection.

As a result, I may be able to blog more freely and frequently(?). I don't get to blog comfortably in the lab, since I'm supposed to work on our thesis. It's like playing at work, which isn't the right thing to do.

So there.

posted by ScIoN 4:14 PM |


Wednesday, August 16, 2006

Internet Pastimes

Halfway presentations were finally over, and that makes us a bit lax again. Anyway, a time of rest is also needed in order to keep us going and steady. I just recently hooked myself up with internet text-based games since surfing gets a little boring nowadays. The forums site where I get the sources of my movie downloads had also been down lately. I hope it is really just down for the moment, coz I'm getting a bit paranoid on sites that might be blocked by dilnet.

As for 2 of RPG text-based games I play, you can contribute by clicking on the following links...

Get ready to be bitten
Get ready to be recruited

Please click on these 2 links every time you log on the net... it would help on increasing my credits, hehehehe... you can also join if you want to. :)

posted by ScIoN 12:53 AM |


Sunday, August 06, 2006

Halfway Presentation

Halfway-point Thesis Presentation and Defense on August 9...

so help us God.

posted by ScIoN 11:14 AM |


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ScIoN is a former Systems Engineer in Japan who specialized in industrial imaging and digital hardware design. He is now back in the Philippines pursuing graduate studies in Finance at the University of the Philippines - Diliman.



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