I came across an entertaining blog post titled "life way below Orly Andico."
The anonymous blog poster (who I do not know) made a small list of my putative accomplishments and said that sleep is for the weak, he'd have to stay up to "catch up" with me.
Most of the accomplishments he cited are ancient history for me.
After following the fellow's links, I had a little side-trip down memory lane, like this one. Long before Linux was mainstream, there were those of us who wanted a real "enterprise" database to be ported to the Linux platform.
The first major vendor to step up was Informix, which had not yet been acquired by IBM at that time. Before Informix, the only players other than MySQL and PostgreSQL were some unknowns like SOLID.
I was one of the official beta testers for Informix Standard Edition on Linux, so my name is in lights (the IIUG credits) in the link above. I even had a talk at Linux '99 about how to compile and use Informix SE with PHP and Perl on Linux. I can still remember reading the source code for that first release of an Informix driver for PHP. It used embedded SQL!
Those were the days. I also was on the beta testers list for Oracle 8.0.5 for "Linus." Yup, the CD's that Larry Ellison's mega-corporation sent me were mis-printed.
The blogger guy also managed to unearth my nascent FvwmCDE project. It wasn't actually a window manager, but rather a module for the Fvwm window manager which emulated the CDE panel, including the pull-out drawers and blinking LED when you launched an application.
I spent many hours getting that blinking LED working correctly (catch "Window Open" event to start the blinking). Very similar conceptually to the "busy mouse" we are familiar with nowadays. Back then the standard "busy mouse" was this big, black-and-white XBM hourglass.
FvwmCDE looked very much like the real thing. We didn't have free UNIX for PC's back then (by UNIX, I mean something with Motif and CDE) and I wanted the Solaris look on my PC.
When I was doing FvwmCDE, my main psychological competitor was Oliver Fourdan, who wrote this thing called Xfce. Back then, my FvwmCDE looked better than Xfce (if slavish copying of the CDE panel was the benchmark). But if you look at Xfce now, it's a full-blown window manager, file manager, and widget-galore handler. Poor FvwmCDE got left behind at version 0.02 or something.
That GTK-based MP3 player? that was actually my second iteration. The first one was written using XForms (like FvwmCDE). It was just a GUI front-end for mpg123. I also remember hacking "maplay3" by Tobias Bading (which predates mpg123, and from which mpg123 derives some code) so that I could play back MP3 on a 486 Linux box. Check out the link, it's on IBiblio, which back then was called "sunsite.unc.edu" and was one of the most famous Linux mirror sites.
I also earned an entry in the "Linux Sound-Playing HOWTO" for that feat.
All that was ten years ago. Literally.
Now I find myself reading about the new generation of developers using Spring and Hibernate and Java Server Faces. And I can't help but think that time has left me behind, that my best years are behind me.
And I haven't even turned thirty-two!
Oh heck. Time to prove that an (old-ish) dog can still learn new tricks.
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Panorama Tools
I'm still having fun with the triumvirate of Hugin, Enblend, and Autopano.
The combination of these three tools provides really fantastic panoramas, much better than what one would get from Canon's Photo Stitch tool, which is among the better ones out there.
A view from the offices of Oracle Indonesia in Plaza Senayan 1.
SIA 777 at Changi. Here the panorama tools screwed up (see the doubled crate in the center of the image).
The combination of these three tools provides really fantastic panoramas, much better than what one would get from Canon's Photo Stitch tool, which is among the better ones out there.
A view from the offices of Oracle Indonesia in Plaza Senayan 1.
SIA 777 at Changi. Here the panorama tools screwed up (see the doubled crate in the center of the image).
Monday, June 18, 2007
Free Programming Books
Bruce Eckel's famous Thinking in Java series are available online, legitimately, with source code.
Check it out!
Apparently, they have been for a while. I've only finished the first chapter, but already I feel somewhat object-y. Old-school C programmer that I am.
Check it out!
Apparently, they have been for a while. I've only finished the first chapter, but already I feel somewhat object-y. Old-school C programmer that I am.
Discovery Shores Boracay
Discovery Shores is at Station 1 on Boracay Island, and is listed in Small Luxury Hotels. It's a development by the same company which manages Discovery Suites in Ortigas, and is considered a "six star" resort.
On the outbound flight, we took a BAe-146, a small four-engine turbofan aircraft.
That flight took 20 minutes. They don't need cargo-handling trucks at Caticlan Airport! everything is strictly human-powered. You can forget about luggage conveyors, too.
The return flight was on this:
De Havilland Canada Dash-7, the four-engine evolution of the famous Twin Otter, with four Pratt & Whitney Canada PT-6 turboprops. That flight took over an hour. The Dash-7 is supposed to be one of the quietest planes flying, but it didn't seem that quiet to me.
Discovery Shores provides shuttle service from Caticlan Airport to the boat dock, a 500-meter trip. There, we were picked up by their dedicated shuttle boat,
with twin Volvo Penta marine engines, air conditioning, and a flat panel TV. From the Boracay quay, they also provide shuttle service to the resort proper which is more than three kilometers away.
The famous Boracay sunset:
and the sky after sunset.
On the outbound flight, we took a BAe-146, a small four-engine turbofan aircraft.
That flight took 20 minutes. They don't need cargo-handling trucks at Caticlan Airport! everything is strictly human-powered. You can forget about luggage conveyors, too.
The return flight was on this:
De Havilland Canada Dash-7, the four-engine evolution of the famous Twin Otter, with four Pratt & Whitney Canada PT-6 turboprops. That flight took over an hour. The Dash-7 is supposed to be one of the quietest planes flying, but it didn't seem that quiet to me.
Discovery Shores provides shuttle service from Caticlan Airport to the boat dock, a 500-meter trip. There, we were picked up by their dedicated shuttle boat,
with twin Volvo Penta marine engines, air conditioning, and a flat panel TV. From the Boracay quay, they also provide shuttle service to the resort proper which is more than three kilometers away.
The famous Boracay sunset:
and the sky after sunset.
Sunday, June 17, 2007
Six Days in Singapore
I was in Singapore for six days, beginning 6 June, for my employer's FY08 ASEAN kick off. Our fiscal year begins in June, so there was a lot of rejoicing over targets met, and confidence-building measures for the tougher targets this year.
Lalai flew to Singapore on a different flight so that we could be together. Also, I had left her alone for the good part of a week when work took me to Jakarta, so it wouldn't have been fair to leave her at home again so soon.
I created this panorama below, taken from Marina Bay, using the free software Hugin, Enblend, and Autopano. This was because my Canon Solution Disk got damaged and I couldn't use Canon Photo Stitch. That was a good choice! because the open-source tools do a far better job than Canon's offering. And they are available for Windows and require no end-user manual adjustments.
As we arrived a day early, we went to the Singapore Zoo and the Night Safari.
A flying pelican at the zoo:
Bonobo gamboling at the top of a tree:
Bonobo and Lalai:
Elephant hat trick at the elephant show:
White Sumatran tigers; where's Siegfried and Roy when you need them? oh, right, in physical therapy.
The famous babirusa. First heard of (by me) in Jules Verne's Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea. Jules Verne's protagonist has a pet babirusa which he has to leave before departing on his sea monster hunting expedition.
A pelican at the sea lion show.
Small penguin, took the photo through glass:
My prize photo from the Night Safari "Creatures of the Night Show."
This is a jungle cat caught in mid-air as it jumps for a meaty tidbit. Very grainy photo, as it was taken at ISO 1600, around three stops under-exposed, with the slow (f5.6) 18-55mm kit lens.
Polar bear mama, in her refrigerated bunker:
Extremely-grainy shot of an elephant on the Night Safari tram ride.
Note to self: ISO 1600 still doesn't cut it, if using the kit lens. Have to use a much faster lens to get anything.
Also took some pictures while walking around, both with Lalai and without her (she had to amuse herself in the neighboring malls while I worked).
Moon and Pan Pacific Plaza:
Conrad Centennial Hotel, where we stayed (and a part of "blonde bimbo jailbird's legacy," a.k.a. the Hilton Hotel chain):
An escalator in Marina Square. The downwards-going one is on the left. I just liked the geometric convergence of lines:
Hotel lobby art:
The complex interplay of light and shadow in the Ritz-Carlton first floor lobby:
Nighttime skyline. Near Clarke Quay.
Lalai and Lamborghini. There are a lot of expensive cars in Singapore, because they're rich and First World, and because COE makes cheap cars expensive. For example: Mazda3 1.6L sedan is S$ 58,000 while Mercedes Benz A170 is S$ 100,000. Not much difference between the entry-level Japanese compact and the entry-level Teutonic three-pointed star.
Esplanade. This is the "durian fruit" theatre.
This is what a troll would see. View from under the bridge, not far from the Esplanade.
View of the cable car and Vivo City, from the Mt. Faber cable car station and Jewel Box restaurant.
One of the Star Cruises cruise ships, photo taken from the Mt. Faber to Sentosa cable car.
The famous Merlion at Sentosa. I was shocked to discover that, like the Singapore Girl, the Merlion is a manufactured icon of Singapore.
Macaws grabbing for nuts at Jurong Bird Park.
Curious lory at the Lory Loft in Jurong Bird Park.
Another curious lory.
Wheen! wheen! wheen! Linda Blair as lory.
This is what S$ 2.00 buys you: a tub of sugar water with which to lure lories.
Pelicans grabbing for fish at the pelican show.
Regrettably, Lalai and I were only able to spend a couple hours at Jurong Bird Park, as we had a plane to catch.
Lalai flew to Singapore on a different flight so that we could be together. Also, I had left her alone for the good part of a week when work took me to Jakarta, so it wouldn't have been fair to leave her at home again so soon.
I created this panorama below, taken from Marina Bay, using the free software Hugin, Enblend, and Autopano. This was because my Canon Solution Disk got damaged and I couldn't use Canon Photo Stitch. That was a good choice! because the open-source tools do a far better job than Canon's offering. And they are available for Windows and require no end-user manual adjustments.
As we arrived a day early, we went to the Singapore Zoo and the Night Safari.
A flying pelican at the zoo:
Bonobo gamboling at the top of a tree:
Bonobo and Lalai:
Elephant hat trick at the elephant show:
White Sumatran tigers; where's Siegfried and Roy when you need them? oh, right, in physical therapy.
The famous babirusa. First heard of (by me) in Jules Verne's Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea. Jules Verne's protagonist has a pet babirusa which he has to leave before departing on his sea monster hunting expedition.
A pelican at the sea lion show.
Small penguin, took the photo through glass:
My prize photo from the Night Safari "Creatures of the Night Show."
This is a jungle cat caught in mid-air as it jumps for a meaty tidbit. Very grainy photo, as it was taken at ISO 1600, around three stops under-exposed, with the slow (f5.6) 18-55mm kit lens.
Polar bear mama, in her refrigerated bunker:
Extremely-grainy shot of an elephant on the Night Safari tram ride.
Note to self: ISO 1600 still doesn't cut it, if using the kit lens. Have to use a much faster lens to get anything.
Also took some pictures while walking around, both with Lalai and without her (she had to amuse herself in the neighboring malls while I worked).
Moon and Pan Pacific Plaza:
Conrad Centennial Hotel, where we stayed (and a part of "blonde bimbo jailbird's legacy," a.k.a. the Hilton Hotel chain):
An escalator in Marina Square. The downwards-going one is on the left. I just liked the geometric convergence of lines:
Hotel lobby art:
The complex interplay of light and shadow in the Ritz-Carlton first floor lobby:
Nighttime skyline. Near Clarke Quay.
Lalai and Lamborghini. There are a lot of expensive cars in Singapore, because they're rich and First World, and because COE makes cheap cars expensive. For example: Mazda3 1.6L sedan is S$ 58,000 while Mercedes Benz A170 is S$ 100,000. Not much difference between the entry-level Japanese compact and the entry-level Teutonic three-pointed star.
Esplanade. This is the "durian fruit" theatre.
This is what a troll would see. View from under the bridge, not far from the Esplanade.
View of the cable car and Vivo City, from the Mt. Faber cable car station and Jewel Box restaurant.
One of the Star Cruises cruise ships, photo taken from the Mt. Faber to Sentosa cable car.
The famous Merlion at Sentosa. I was shocked to discover that, like the Singapore Girl, the Merlion is a manufactured icon of Singapore.
Macaws grabbing for nuts at Jurong Bird Park.
Curious lory at the Lory Loft in Jurong Bird Park.
Another curious lory.
Wheen! wheen! wheen! Linda Blair as lory.
This is what S$ 2.00 buys you: a tub of sugar water with which to lure lories.
Pelicans grabbing for fish at the pelican show.
Regrettably, Lalai and I were only able to spend a couple hours at Jurong Bird Park, as we had a plane to catch.
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
The Filipino OFW
Lalai and I got back from Singapore yesterday, she on PR504 and me on SQ918. She had an experience very similar to the one I had when I flew home from Jakarta two weeks ago.
The planes from Singapore had lots of OFW's (Overseas Filipino Workers), and Lalai got to see an OFW making a spectacle and getting drunk on airline wine.
In my case I was sandwiched in between two drunken sailors exchanging pirate tales in between swigs of alcohol. Thank God for the individual LCD monitors and headsets on SIA, even on economy. But I felt embarrassed to be associated with those sailors. Their behavior did nothing but reinforce the stereotype of Filipinos as service industry peons and house cleaners.
I encountered several people in Singapore and Jakarta who expressed disbelief at my being Filipino, they said Filipinos were very dark and spoke bad English. Maybe the maids who hang around at Lucky Plaza with their Bangladeshi "Big Mac" boyfriends. I was told by a friend who works in Singapore that the Filipino maids (married or unmarried) get into relationships with Bangladeshi construction workers, and that they'll put out for as little as a Big Mac, since their employers generally feed them very badly.
Which is a story both sad and infuriating. The world does rely a lot on the Filipino migrant workers. But the world also seems to see OFW's as the lowest class of human.
The planes from Singapore had lots of OFW's (Overseas Filipino Workers), and Lalai got to see an OFW making a spectacle and getting drunk on airline wine.
In my case I was sandwiched in between two drunken sailors exchanging pirate tales in between swigs of alcohol. Thank God for the individual LCD monitors and headsets on SIA, even on economy. But I felt embarrassed to be associated with those sailors. Their behavior did nothing but reinforce the stereotype of Filipinos as service industry peons and house cleaners.
I encountered several people in Singapore and Jakarta who expressed disbelief at my being Filipino, they said Filipinos were very dark and spoke bad English. Maybe the maids who hang around at Lucky Plaza with their Bangladeshi "Big Mac" boyfriends. I was told by a friend who works in Singapore that the Filipino maids (married or unmarried) get into relationships with Bangladeshi construction workers, and that they'll put out for as little as a Big Mac, since their employers generally feed them very badly.
Which is a story both sad and infuriating. The world does rely a lot on the Filipino migrant workers. But the world also seems to see OFW's as the lowest class of human.
Friday, June 01, 2007
Jose Rizal Beats Up Soap Opera Star
This article was in the May 31, 2007 issue of the Jakarta Post. A common tale of jealousy and thuggery, except for the identity of the assailant:
More details in the original article.
A policeman has been arrested for allegedly beating a TV soap star in a fit of jealousy. Jakarta police detective chief Sr. Comr. Carlo Brix Tewu said Wednesday that First Insp. Jose Rizal had been detained at police headquarters.
More details in the original article.
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