Rhetorical eloquence.
First of all, I’d like to start this blog entry by a simple conversation I’ve had with Gwen minutes ago, while I was thinking of what I’m supposed to be writing here. She told me what my intro should be; the four-liner chat log says everything about it:
8:41:36 PM Foster, Gwendelyn: i really don’t know what to say
8:41:39 PM Foster, Gwendelyn: but i want to blog
8:42:52 PM JMacalinao: tapos… (Translated: then…)
8:45:25 PM Foster, Gwendelyn: then say random things
Then random things I shall write! Although my Twitter basically says everything about what’s happening in my day-to-day living, including my replies to other people’s actions, there are also things I haven’t included there.
Like this site, for example. First off, I’d like to thank Mallory for changing my link on her site, without even telling her what my new site is! It’s either she has meticulously psychic powers, or she basically looked at her comments, where coincidentally, I posted one. Second, I got Janine to post my link on her blog, because I basically told her to. That’s three links in total now. Come on, guys, I need a lot of your websites — and traffic — on my site! Heh. (I’m thinking of putting up my host’s link here too. I really have to thank Jonathan for hosting my sites.)
I haven’t thought of how I would implement my portfolio page, but I do know WordPress is going to do the rough job for me, setting up all those page. Structure, and as always, content are the big problems in this portfolio.
Things haven’t been going so well with our software project, EASE@Haven, mainly because of the bombardment of documentations and the lack of development man-power. The interface is almost done with their main functionality intact, but the other part of functionality that we all love, the error checking part, is so difficult to implement in the system, that I had to force myself to use plugins along with the already easy jQuery library. I hope we get everything ready by this Thursday.
Other projects have been bugging me lately, too, like the microprocessors/microcontrollers project. We had to do a bicycle speedometer using a sort of old-ass microprocessor (M68HC11). Since I’m doing all the programming (in freaking assembly code), I shouldn’t have the problem with how I’m supposed to work the program with the circuit. But it seems we haven’t done anything about the circuit itself, which is a bummer.
Oh, and don’t forget all the papers we have to submit in the coming days! They’re falling on us like hailstorms!
As for my iPhone updates, I’ve upgraded it to the recent 2.0.1 firmware. Nothing new. What’s new is the extraordinary theming you can have when you’ve jailbroken it and installed WinterBoard. It’s basically like SummerBoard on steroids, because its theming capability is so amazing. Who knew that you can make a theme that changes — no, animates — your wallpapers in your homescreen! Definitely blown away on this one.
Hmm… Looks like only tech and academics are the only stuff I can brag and/or rant about for today. Other stuff have been full of dullness and false alarms in the past month, although I can’t complain about them now. I’ve already done that in the past five years, and I can’t afford being a broken record. (Yes, being one is a waste of time and money.)
The 8th of August of 2008 is a lucky day, can’t say anything wrong about that. It’s just the case of where the luck is going (or went, since it already occurred to you).
Edit: It’s officially 11:11PM while I’m writing this. I wanna greet my cousin Jacque for her twenty-third birthday today (August 11th). I almost forgot it until my Friendster birthday e-mail alerted me. Hurray for unsolicited e-mails!
iPhone 2.0
A week ago, Apple launched the App Store for iPhone 2.0, and I must say, it’s really not too shabby. I know, I know, there are those unbelievably priced applications that have pretty much no use for me, or have interfaces that don’t deserve to be part of their apps in the first place. But there are some apps that I would really use (or in this case, already using), or that has really cool graphics (like some very impressive games).
Let me start off with what I’m using right now. It’s called WordPress for the iPhone, and it works like magic. Okay, not really, but it’s useful when you’re offline, but still wanted to blog stuff. Like when you’re in some remote place, and you want to rant about how low-tech the place is, this is the app to use. It’s also easy to set up - just enter your URL, username and password, and let the app do its work. Of course, it’s only for WordPress (2.5.1 or later), but have no fear - there’s also one for TypePad (by the TypePad developers, of course). The only thing I’d request for improvement is rich text editing, since I’m quite stuck to putting HTML tags here, and that alone is tedious. But since it’s also a limitation throughout iPhone itself (I mean, without text highlights and selection, it’s pretty much next to useless), I might forgive the WordPress developers - for now.
Next one is Twinkle. It looks so darn nice, it encourages me to post twits over and over again. Other than the new [purple and gold] graphics, and the separate Tapulous profile - its purpose in Twinkle is unknown, probably for backup - the application is similar to its earlier version (0.75), as it’s supposed to be. While the first one has bugs (lots of ‘em, unfortunately), the next revision is already waiting for approval as of this moment. Well, shouldn’t updates be automatically approved?
Another app that I can approve is Super Monkey Ball. If you haven’t seen games in the old iPhone firmwares, I really hope you haven’t. The only good ones were Pool, Labyrinth, and Neverball (a spin-off of Super Monkey Ball). This game, along with Enigmo, Bomberman Touch, Tap Tap Revenge (well, not so much, but it’s addicting), and other cool games, they bring the next level of mobile gaming into your own hands, and they bring the best of the iPhone capabilities. I mean, compared with the third-party app Neverball from the previous firmware, Super Monkey Ball is fun, it’s fast, and it has quality comparable to Nintendo DS and Sony PSP games - most likely to DS, though.
That, and other useful apps like Remote, Midomi, and Evernote make up about an eighth (rough estimate) of almost a thousand apps in the App Store, because to be honest, there’s a lot of useless apps out there. I can probably forgive apps that are free of charge, but for a paid app that does nothing? I’ll most likely expect those apps to drop their prices to a dollar, if not free. Of course, I’m not the one to complain, because I’m going to be happy with the real third-party apps since the firmware is already jailbroken. Oh, well. Where’s my video recorder?!
Half-way there!
Two more hours to go.
It was like only yesterday when I first stepped into the not-so-sacred grounds of the university, that I still cannot believe that I actually passed here. All those days where I struggled to pass course subjects, thinking negatively, but in the end, literally shouting out in the corridors because of good news, seems to be repeating themselves over again. I don’t know why that fact is interesting in itself, but heck, it’s fun.
It’s also fun that you forget what you’ve learned. All I know is that Reimann sums are pure bullshit. Exact math, yes. They’re helpful, yes. But the fact that I’ve forgotten them that easily is enough to make me think that it’s bullshit. Correct?
I even forgot how to program effectively in Java! Jeezus! That’s the exact reason why I want MPs.
About the Picture:
Current iPhone homescreen. Used an iPhone application called ScreenShot. Current number of icons in homescreen: 44.
“Home sweet home.”
WRYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY
After three weeks of pure sight-seeing, rental-car-driving (nearly got lost with it, too), roller-coaster-riding and playing Halo 3, we’re finally back home. I already miss being with my stateside cousins. What can I say; I’m undeniably amazed by the place. Take my word for it. It was really fun while it lasted. The three weeks I’ve had is definitely worthwhile.
And it ended on Sunday. Now, it’s Friday, and I’ve been downloading stuff like crazy. Albums and stuff. I’ve been designing stuff too, but I’m putting it off for a while, since there’s no one giving me orders. Yet. And I still don’t feel the urge of creative juices going into my brain - oh, wait, that’s just like when I’m trying to finish Conscientious chapters! Heh. I’ve been commenting on blogs recently (except for Multiply blogs), starting with Gwen CATCH2T10 S11’s president.
I’ve also been eating a lot since I’ve arrived here. Like, come on, I’ve eaten at least three packs of those gummy bears, as you can see at the top left, in the past 24 hours. I’m probably just addicted to gummy stuff, but still, I can tell, that’s a lot. (And I just wish I can replace my obsession to technology to these cuddly, pretty much edible sweets.)
Oh, I almost forgot, I’ve been playing with my iPhone in the past two weeks. It’s like playing (tweaking stuff, blah, blah) with my computer, except on a mobile phone. I absolutely cannot believe that I’d be this bewildered with the phone’s hackability, And look, I’ve already bricked (a term for ultimately messing up a gadget, almost to the point of being dead) my phone once. And for a two-week timeline and a computer-literate brain, that’s fast. I better start taking care of it, and still successfully tweak it. (And yeah, I’m basically paying this phone, by the design stuff I’m doing. I already have money to pay for it in full, it’s just one client doesn’t have sufficient funds to give the full payment. So, yeah, dad’s paid for it for a while.) It’s still a HUGE SUCCESS (yeah, that Portal joke again, I know), nevertheless.
Okay, now that I’m done with this, what else to do… None, I guess. I’ll probably just sit down, visit random sites, listen to music, and open another pack of gummi bears. Yum.
About the Picture:
Taken recently using the teeny-sized camera of the iPhone. Number of bears during picture taking: 28. Number of current bears: 0.
After 5 days in COS…
I still have jet lag. I slept for twelve full hours, and literally skipped dinner. Mom says I was just lovesick, but I don’t know about that; I actually like it here. If only I can stay here forever.
My little brother was able to buy a PSP, and now he’s getting through Burnout: Legends, even without saving it (since there wasn’t a memory stick included in the package). Eventually, I ordered my own iPhone (I’m making a note here: HUGE SUCCESS - Portal joke, pun intended) but I still have to wait for a week. Too many people buying one, I guess.
We were also able to go to the Royal Gorge Bridge and Park, about sixty-five miles away from Colorado Springs. I have pictures of it already - a little bit more than a hundred to be exact.