i have a new blog

Unfortunately, this would be my last post in this blog.

Don't be sad... Just head on over to my new blog:

The Akashic Field Chronicle

yunlang.

changes

I'm currently updating the look of this blog. Hopefully, once that's done, I'll be able to resurrect it and post on a more regular basis. In the mean time, I'm just gonna tweak the layout some more. Any suggestions would be great.

yunlang.

binibining pilipinas international

First of all, congratulations to Ms. Patricia "Chot" Fernandez for winning the Bb. Pilipinas - International award yesterday at the "Binibining Pilipinas 2008" beauty pageant. :)

It's my first (and in all likelihood last) time to watch a beauty pageant "live". Watching it at the Araneta Center is definitely a unique experience. Even though we could hardly distinguish faces from our seats at upperbox, there's something quite special about being with a bunch of people and cheering madly for a single person (Chot of course).

I guess it would have been fun either way, but having her actually win makes it so much more satisfying. Especially considering our nerves when she wasn't on stage during the "harana" (serenade) intermission number. I think she fainted or something and even had to be escorted to the stage. Well, she did win eventually. So I guess everything ended up ok. Congratulations again.

Also with me there were my T.A. buddies (Mendz, Tanya, and Dean), Friends (Ron, Jaafgie, Anna, Josiah, Roy and Bananie). Most of the others I think are from UPSCA (UP Student Catholic Action), Chot's org.

Honestly, I'm not really the beauty-pageant-watching type of guy (beauty-watching would be much much better :D). I just basically got invited by Jaafgie (Chot's Special Someone). Congrats to Jaafgie too! I have to give it to my "scholastic soulmate" (i.e. classmate since 1st year highschool). He really worked so hard to support Chot. From gigantic tarps, to inviting his friends, giving advances on tickets, and even down to huge painted #2 signs (Chot's number), which from what I heard, he did himself. You're the man!

I don't think I've ever had such a jam-packed Saturday schedule since the semester started. Earlier that day, I had to endure 3 hours of differential equations for my grad subject. Then I was asked to be one of the judges for Squeeeze 2008, UP Circuit's Intercollegiate EEE quiz show. After that, we ate at Volare in Cubao for my friend Wilson's birthday party. Then, straight off to the pageant. I finally got home (bulacan) at about 2am. Whew!

I'll post some picks once I get my hands on some.

yunlang.

my very first cubing video

Here's my first ever cubing video (actually my very first youtube video). We're basically trying to find new and more elaborate ways of procrastinating as grad students. What better way to do that than to spend a few minutes filming yourselves while solving a Rubik's Cube.



I know, 38 secs, it's really slow. So what?!

As most of the folks here in the university has probably noticed, there has been a recent resurgence of this 3x3x3 nerdy puzzle. It has gained so much recent popularity in fact, that the "tambays" and beggars at the footbridge in Philcoa can be seen trying to solve the cube. They sell it for something like 20 pesos or so. That price probably gets you one crappy cube which in all likelihood breaks apart once you go faster than 1 turn/sec. :D

I've been trying to speed my solving up a bit since I saw the Diliman Open held at the College of Science last January. I bought a decent cube from Toys-R-Us and after a few weeks, I've brought down my average from about 1 min to about 40 secs now. Unfortunately, I'm probably reaching the limits of the not-so-efficient corners first algorithm I've been using since high school.

Right now I'm trying to learn something new. In particular, the Petrus method, which they say is quite fast once you get used to it. So far, I suck at it. Probably about 2min for one solve.

So I guess I'll just post another video once I speed up a bit.

yunlang.

happy new year!

Happy new year to everyone. Have a blessed, fruitful, and surprising 2008!
Hoping to get this blog up and running once again. So stay tuned :D

yunlang.

the 10th wonder podcast

Heroes, now on its 2nd season, is the best series ever! If you're like me, and you love watching heroes, then I'd definitely recommend you listen to: The 10th Wonder podcast.

I've been listening to it since halfway through the first season and it's a really really great podcast. The folks behind it really know what their up to (seeing as they also do a Smallville podcast) and they always deliver a jam packed podcast every week (sometimes even twice).

They start up with some news about the show, then on to a recap of the most recent episode, then go into an in-depth analysis of the juicy parts including a lot of theories about what's really going on. Plus, they reserve any spoilers to the end of the podcast so people who want to be surprised when they watch aren't disappointed. It's really quite long, averaging about 40 mins and sometimes even more. But once you get hooked, you'll just think there isn't enough of the podcast!

The folks that do the podcast aren't in anyway affiliated with NBC and I think they just do it for fun. It's really amazing how much effort they put into it. Considering they don't really make any money (maybe just ads and stuff).

So, If you want to hear the low down on everything Heroes, just listen to some of the episodes and I think you'll really love it.

Which gives me the idea of starting a podcast of my own. Unfortunately, I don't have the talents and the gift of gab for such an undertaking, so I guess that won't happen (soon).

To listen to the podcast, you can either subscribe using Itunes (for folks who have ipods), download an episode, or even stream it off the net (not that much bandwidth involved since it's just audio). Personally I prefer streaming it (using the great VLC player). That way, I can check out any websites or blogs that are recommended as I'm listening to the podcast.

Also, check out:

• Heroes Revealed - thanks for the link fed
• Greg Beeman blog - producer of heroes with a really great blog about the show
• Heroes TV Show on NBC: NBC Official Site - of course the official site
• The 10th Wonder - one great podcast (available in mp3 or aac)
  

Happy listening!

yunlang.

advertising my sister's blog

It's my first time to plug another blog on Piece of Pi. I reckon it's ok since it's family and everything :)

My sister just started a new blog and since she's a way way (way^inf) better writer than I am (school paper editor and everything), I definitely recommend that you check it out. So head on to:

http://www.rand0msketches.blogspot.com/

yunlang.