Category Archives: Geekdom

The 9:26 Train (of Thoughts)

10 Thursday Jul 2008

Posted by in Geekdom, Japan Stuff, Life Oh Life

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“This platform is made of cement. I wonder how it would actually feel if you fell face-flat on it — from, say, about 100 meters above ground level.”

I can’t compute the Vf right now but if this stays in my mind, I might just solve it when I reach the office.

— o —-

“Here comes the 926. Is this car gonna be near the stairs at Shin-Yurigaoka? I should have known this a long time ago but I just really have no idea.”

— o —-

“Doors … closing doors … opening doors … knocking on doors … answering the knocks on doors …”

I’ve started reading “Neverwhere” by Neil Gaiman and I hope I’ll finish it so I’d have something more concrete to say about Doors. It’s a promising story though so I SHOULD really read it. Blah, I said that about The Hours and look at me now — not even halfway through the blasted thing.

“Events are cowards. They do not occur singly … instead they would run in packs and leap at you all at once.”

— o —-

[EXT. HOTEL MONACO – FRONT SIDEWALK – DAY — CONTINUOUS]

(Standing down below on the sidewalk in front of the Hotel Monaco, GRISSOM looks up at the roof and speaks into the walkie-talkie. Behind him, a large crowd of spectators gather just beyond the crime scene tape.)

GIL GRISSOM: (to radio) All right, Nick, standing by for Operation Norman. Let him fly.

(The first crash dummy “body” flies off of the rooftop and crashes to the
sidewalk in front of GRISSOM with a thud.)

SPECTATOR (MALE): Oh!

(The large crowd of spectators applaud. GRISSOM looks up and around at them, surprised by their reaction.)

(The second crash dummy flies off of the rooftop and onto the sidewalk below. The crowd cheers.)

(The third and final crash dummy flies off of the rooftop and lands with a thud. The crowd applauds.)

(GRISSOM raises his hand and acknowledges them as he walks toward the dummies.)

GIL GRISSOM: Yes, yes.

(GRISSOM raises his camera.)

GIL GRISSOM: Norman “pushed”.

(He takes pictures of the dummy. He turns to snap photos of the second dummy.)

GIL GRISSOM: Norman “jumped”.

(GRISSOM takes pictures of the third dummy.)

GIL GRISSOM: Norman “fell”.

SARA SIDLE: (o.s.) Wouldn’t you if you were married to Mrs. Roper?

(At the sound of her voice, GRISSOM puts the camera down. Behind him, SARA puts her bag down on the ground, a huge grin on her face.)

GIL GRISSOM: I don’t even have to turn around. Sara Sidle.

SARA SIDLE: That’s me. Still tossing simulation dummies? There are other ways to tell, you know?

GIL GRISSOM: How? Computer simulation? No thanks. I’m a scientist I like to see it. Newton dropped the apple, I drop dummies.

SARA SIDLE: You’re old school.

GIL GRISSOM: Exactly. And this guy was pushed.

— o —-

Season 1.

Episode 2.

“Cool Changes”.

It’s actually the first time Sara Sidle appears in CSI.

— o —-

Kaito Nakamura. Lying on the ground. Bloodied after a hooded someone ran at him and they fell off the rooftop ledge together.

Heroes. Season 2. Episode 1.

— o —-

“What are you doing?”

“Something unexpected.”

– Claude, Peter (Heroes Season 1, Episode 16, “Unexpected”)

— o —-

“When we embrace what lies within, our potential has no limit. The future is filled with promise; the present rife with expectation. When we deny our instinct, and struggle against our deepest urges, uncertainty begins. Where does this path lead? When will the changes end? Is this transformation a gift or a curse? For those who fear what lies ahead, the most important question of all: Can we ever really change what we are?”

– Heroes Season 1 Episode 13 “The Fix”

— o —-

“You threw me off of a thirty story building! If I didn’t regenerate, I’d be dead!”

“You could’ve flown! Listen, if you hadn’t worked this one out, you’d’ve been hopeless anyway. And I’d have defused the biggest bomb ever.”

– Peter, Claude

Season 1 Episode 14 “Distractions”

— o —-

Figurative toss coin.

Heads — I’ll continue reading Gaiman.

Tails — I’ll succumb to the call of Morpheus.

Flip.

Tails.

Oh well. I hope someone (Ish? Just?) wakes me up in Shin-Yokohama.

— o —-

“Shin-Yokohama desu … Shin-Yokohama desu …”

I wake.

Oh crap, is it Shin-Yoko already?

Ugh.

— o —-

Credits: Images and Quotes from Heroes Wiki. CSI belongs to whoever owns it.

Debounce!

03 Thursday Jul 2008

Posted by in Geekdom, Life Oh Life

≈ 10 Comments

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(1) Debounce (v) – To remove the small ripple of current that forms when a mechanical switch is pushed in an electrical circuit and makes a series of short contacts. [ Source ]

(2) Electrical contacts in mechanical pushbutton switches often make and break contact several times when the button is first pushed. A debouncing circuit removes the resulting ripple signal, and provides a clean transition at its output. [ Source ]

Switches can do some really odd things. Most engineers learn this dirty little secret soon after connecting a switch or a relay to a digital system. Switches don’t make and break cleanly on the time scales of digital systems. Instead, a typical switch makes multiple transitions during the tens of milliseconds required to open or close, due to effects that include age, operating inertia, mechanical design, and the microscopic condition of the switch-contact surfaces. Commonly called “switch bounce,” this behavior is an inescapable fact of life. [ Source ]

Now, those damn bounces can be easily taken care of using Software Debouncing (never mind the overvoltage spikes, electostatic discharge, and other transients). I remember we did this in CoE 115 (ya know, that subject that rendered me sleepless for many many nights) before. You have to introduce some sort of delay (say, a few milliseconds) before getting the voltage value of the switch. That way you’re sure if it’s the right value and not just some transient one.

Anyway, it’s like this: sometimes a switch is flipped or pressed in your head and a thought is suddenly there. That thought may be a temporary one (transient) or maybe it’s just an impulsive urge or whatever. Or maybe it’s the real thing — the one that infinitely loops inside your head and you forgot to put a “break;” statement in there somewhere so it’s there, just there, floating in your always-low-programmed-mind and it’s never-ending. The only way to make sure that that thought is real is to wait it out (for like 5 to 10 minutes — yeah, that works with me, coz I’m like fickle-minded as hell). Now, if that singular thought still lingers after a day (or a week, or a month, or God forbid — many many many months!), then maybe it’s the real value, maybe it’s The Real Deal.

Errrr, having said all that … sooooooo … … what now?

Hahaha. I say, DEBOUNCE, Kilcher, DEBOUNCE!

#################

EXAMPLE DESU:

Sa train, papauwi:
[#] Parang gusto ko bumili ng desktop.
[~] Go.
[#] Pagkauwing-pagkauwi mag-customize na ko.
[~] Hay naku, dapat pagkatapos mo, orderin mo agad.
[~] Pag pinapatagal mo, di natutuloy eh.
[#] Eh sorry namaaaaaan. Fickle-minded. At saka maiksi ang attention span.

Pagkauwi ng bahay, nagcustomize na agad, hanggang sa antaas na ng presyong inabot:
[#] Naku, impulse ito.
[=] Hindi yan, bumili ka naaaa. Diablo 3 rin yan no.

After 15 minutes…
[#] Lumipas na ang urge.
[=] Bili ka naaaa.
[#] Di rin naman ako makakapag-Diablo 3. Wala akong oras.
[=] Magkakaron ka niyan ng oras.
[#] Hindi na muna siguro…

The next morning…
[=] Alam mo, makakamura ka kung mag-assemble na lang.
[#] Hmmmm…
(Pause)
[#] Oo nga ano …

Lumagpas na ng isang araw, iniisip ko pa rin. So what now?

Hahaha. I say, DEBOUNCE, Kilcher, DEBOUNCE!

PS — Marami pang examples, hindi lang yan. Meron pa ngang months na ang Δt no 🙂 Pero ayoko na isa-isahin kasi hindi ako matatapos for sure. Basta ang masasabi ko lang ay …

DEBOUNCE, KILCHER, DEBOUNCE!

Kwentong Giving-Up

26 Thursday Jun 2008

Posted by in Geekdom, Life Oh Life

≈ 2 Comments

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“oi!”

tumigil ka sa paglalakad, kumawala sandali mula sa kapit ng iyong sariling mundo, at lumingon-lingon. hinahanap mo ang pinanggalingan ng tinig na yun. saka mo lang nawari na gwakanangshet para kang na-time-space-warp.

ang setting: velasquez road malapit sa college of science lib, up diliman. mga alas kuwatro ng hapon. circa early 2000-something. papaano kang napunta sa setting na ito?

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Bokeh

15 Sunday Jun 2008

Posted by in Geekdom, Life Oh Life, Photo Blog

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bokeh | uploaded by kilcher

From wikipedia:

Bokeh (from the Japanese boke ぼぁE “blur E is a photographic term referring to the appearance of out-of-focus areas in an image produced by a camera lens. Different lens bokeh produces different aesthetic qualities in out-of-focus backgrounds, which are often used to reduce distractions and emphasize the primary subject. The effect itself is the circle of confusion, an image of the aperture convolved by the image itself.

So what now?

Well, I dunno. My head aches everytime I think of blurry and undefined parts in the daily grind — literally and figuratively. I struggle to give definition to everything. I want to categorize, define, and put everything into its own place. I want clarity. I can’t help it, it’s like my factory setting or whatever.

But sometimes I ask myself, why am I not interested in looking at the blurred parts? Why does it feel too mendoukusai for me to wade through the undefined things in life and just enjoy the whole process while it lasts? Why is it too taxing to take in a, let’s say, a metaphor and think about all its possible meanings? I know that most of the time things are not WYSIWYG and that most of the time the most interesting and important things happen in the blurred parts, in the hidden source code, in the background that no one seems to pay attention to. There are no edges, there is no clarity, and everything seems to just fade or merge into each other. There is a challenge in there somewhere, looking at a bokeh photo, I mean. You will find yourself asking questions like “what is this person trying to hide anyway?” and “omg, am I ever gonna recognize what those blurred little circles are?”

Anyway, yeah, so bokeh photos are fun and I used to be able to enjoy looking at the blurred parts. But lately, I can’t seem to push myself to make an effort in trying to imagine what those blurry shapes might be. I just can’t. I dunno, did I just suddenly lose my interest in it? Or did my attention span just finally reach its limit? Or did I just suddenly don’t care anymore? I dunno, but right now, I just can’t. No, not anymore.

————————

Note: I’m still hankering to buy that 50mm f1.8 lens though. Sa literal na bokeh, masaya ako 😀

Note 02: Walang sense ang entry na to. Bokeh rin siya. 😀

Forces! Forces! Ugh!

12 Thursday Jun 2008

Posted by in Geekdom, Life Oh Life

≈ 7 Comments

Ahahahaha! Nahilo ka ba? O malamang naasar na at di na lang pinansin itong post na to (pero kung ganun eh di hindi mo na nababasa itong mga daldal ko na to)? Ako rin nahilo eh. Isang malaking imahe na lang siya sa akin, wala akong nakikitang mga formula or hieroglyphic symbols. Para na lang siyang painting — abstract painting, to be exact.

O di bale, linisin natin ang ang image, tanggalin ang mga computations, at itira ang mga free-body diagrams.

Haha, wala pa rin. Puro arrows na lang nakikita ko. Arrows representing forces. Forces that need to be resolved into a single resultant (with magnitude and direction ^_^).

Kasi ganito yan, wala namang mga pangyayari pero pakiramdam ko andaming nangyayari (potek kahit ako nalabuan dun ah). Pakiramdam ko lang. Feeling ko lang. OMG, Virginia Woolf mode ba ito (hanggang ngayon di ko pa rin tapos basahin ang The Hours)? Enihu, andaming forces papasok, nakakaloka, hindi ko alam kung saang direksyon ako titingin, magpo-pokus, magbubuhos ng pansin. Andaming forces din papalabas — napakarami kong gustong gawin, pero walang oras, parating pagod, at madalas nang sumakit ang ulo ko ngayon.

Naalala ko tuloy yung mga Free Body Diagrams noon sa ES 11 (Statics of Rigid Bodies) at ES 12 (Dynamics of Rigid Bodies). Andami-daming arrows na nakaturo sa, let’s say, isang box, or isang slab of rock, or isang kotse, or whatever. Tas ire-resolve mo yan, magkakaron ng resultant force that will make the body move (ES 12) or mahahanap mo yung isang unknown force na makakapag-balance sa body na yun at makakapagpanatili sa kanya sa equilibrium (ES 11). Potek, ano kaya ang pakiramdam nung box na yun (or slab of rock, or kotse, or whatever)? Nagugulumihanan din kaya siya habang ang tagal-tagal nung estudyante (ako at ang sanlaksang mga eng’gots na olats sa ES) i-solve yung tinginingining na problem sa problem set or exam? Haha, teka bakit ko ba pinoproblema eh wala namang pakiramdam ang box or slab of rock or kotse or whatever? At hmmmm, pwede ko palang ihalintulad ang sarili ko sa box or slab of rock or kotse or whatever wahahaha.

PS — Ang gulo ko haha. Umulan kasi (huwaaaat?). Ganun yata kapag walang tulog (hello, insomnia) at saka nababasa ng ulan, nagiging monster, well scratch that out, nagiging MALABONG MONSTER. Raaawrr!

PPS — Naku, kung nagganito na ko dati nung ES 11 at ES 12, hindi sana ako nabuwiset nang malala at naburaot sa kakairitang mga subject na yan.

PPPS — Ugh. Kelan ba matatapos itong phase na to? Ayoko na mag-discuss ng mga konseptong ganito pero di ko mapigilan.

PPPPS — Hindi ko na maalala kung san ko nakuha yung first two images. Nag-google lang ako eh. Hehe.

Density and Focus

11 Wednesday Jun 2008

Posted by in Geekdom, Life Oh Life

≈ 7 Comments

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In physics, density is mass (m) per unit volume (V), the ratio of the amount of matter in an object compared to its volume.

In case of a homogeneous substance, the formula for density is:

where, in SI Units:

ρ (rho) is the density of the substance, measured in kg/m3
m is the mass of the substance, measured in kg
V is the volume of the substance, measured in m3

Density can also be defined as concentration — the spatial property of being crowded together.

Pero keber diyan sa formula na yan. Panggulo lang yan hahaha. What I really want to talk about is a person’s being dense. As in, tipong nasa harapan na niya yung isang bagay na dapat ma-gets niya, hindi pa rin niya nakikita. Dense. Ganung tipo. Iyung sobrang oblivious to subtle hints, hindi maka-recognize ng mga ginormous signs even if those signs danced naked in front of them.

In a way, pwede pa rin i-relate yung formula. Sabihin natin parang screen siya in front of the person, pang-filter kung baga ng light na papunta at pabalik sa eyes, pang-limit ng kung gaano ka-clear ang nakikita. The more mass over unit volume, mas maraming particles na nagsisiksikan, lumiliit yung spaces in between, para mas matakpan yung mata. Ergo, lalong lumalabo yung tingin nung tao, lalong hindi niya nakikita, lalong hindi niya narerecognize yung mga signs na dapat naman nakikita niya. Mas dense, mas bulag. Keri?

Anyway, walang point ito haha. Gusto ko lang uriratin ang sarili ko. Ang alam ko kasi, hindi naman ako dense. May kung anong warning bells akong super-sensitive kapag may kakaibang pangyayari na sa paligid ko. Like may isang pangyayari noon, I could see the whole bloody scenario months bago pa naging klaro ang lahat (hindi ako dense or sadyang feeling lang talaga ako — I’m picking the former :P). May kung anu-anong passive-aggressive tactics pa akong ginawa nun para lang ma-ward-off siya. Kasi nung nakita ko na agad yung signs, dapat nip the whole thing in the bud pa lang before everything gets ugly, di ba?

Focus – maximum clarity or distinctness of an image rendered by an optical system. Also the adjustment of the distance setting on a lens to define the subject sharply.

Eh pero minsan din kasi, sa iba rin tayo naka-tingin, sa iba ang focus natin, kaya minsan mayroon din tayong namimiss. Parang focusing lang yan sa photography eh. Kapag sobrang taas ng aperture value mo (mababang f-stop, like f/1.4, for example), isa lang yung pwede mo i-focus. Either yung nasa likuran, or yung nasa harapan. Ako pakiramdam ko sa malayo ako naka-focus, hindi ko nakikita yung mga bumubulaga sa harapan ko. Hindi ako siguro dense talaga, baka I’m just busy looking at the big picture kaya I’m missing the significant little details. Or baka rin it’s the other way around, I’ve been trying to concentrate all my attention and energy on something kaya I’m missing the big picture.

Ah ewan haha. Ang gulo ko na naman. Hindi na ako magtataka kung walang maka-gets neto. Kahit ako hindi ko rin naiintindihan eh. At kumusta naman, patapos na itong entry na to, hindi ko pa rin mapagdesisyunan kung dense nga ba talaga ako or nag-de-dense-dense-an lang. Aaaaaarrrrggghhh, wala akong makitang kung ano. Baka dense nga talaga siguro ako.

Ikaw — ano sa tingin mo?

Always Low : I'm Wired That Way

05 Thursday Jun 2008

Posted by in Geekdom, Life Oh Life, Photo Blog

≈ 18 Comments

Define NEGATIVITY

– the character of the negative electric pole
– characterized by habitual skepticism and a disagreeable tendency to deny or oppose or resist suggestions or commands
– the name given in philosophy to the negative element determinative or definitive of things and all ideas of things, whereby a thing is this because it is not that, and is seen to be this because it is seen not to be that, an antagonism essential to all forms of being, spiritual as well as material, and to all definite and distinct thought.

We can illustrate that using logic gates and the resulting logic circuit would be like:

or as Kaye suggested:

The Input-Output Table would look like:

INPUT OUTPUT
0 0
1 0

That just means that whatever goes in would always go out as NEGATIVE, it doesn’t matter if the input is AFFIRMATIVE or NEGATIVE, HIGH or LOW, the result will always be NEGATIVE || LOW.

I think I have that kind of circuit in my head. Maybe that’s why I always answer half-empty (or fully-empty, if I’m exceptionally negative that day) to that penultimate glass question. Hah. Awesome.

PS — Gabby, di ko rin sure bakit ako nag-ECE, eh galit nga ako sa analog. Puro gray areas (haha, at babalik talaga ako sa topic na yun). Sana pala nag-CoE na lang ako buzet.

Usapang Pagong

03 Tuesday Jun 2008

Posted by in Geekdom, Poetry

≈ 4 Comments

Nasusuka ako.

Hindi ako makahinga.

Pakiramdam ko nilalamukos ang mga baga ko. Piniga’t-piniga ang mga ito hanggang sa maubusan na ng hangin.

Pumlakda na lang ako.

Wala nang lakas.

Wala nang enerhiya.

Ubos na.

Ubos na.

Tapos naisip ko na lang bigla  E

Bilog at iikot pa rin naman ang mundo.

 Epunyeta, hindi bilog ang mundo. Isa itong flat disc na nakatuntong sa apat na elepante na nakatapak sa likod ng isang giant tortoise.

What is the turtle standing on then?

Shit ka.

It’s turtles all the way down!

And turtles are the shit, man. They support the earth and keep it in orbit. Screw the proven fact that the earth is round and fcuk Copernican theory (eh teka — nasa orbit nga eh, so revolving around the sun — ah ewan, ewaaaaan, ewaaaaaaaaaaaaaan). It’s fcuking flat and it is in the danger of toppling over because one of the turtles (the one at the top) decided its work just doesn’t cut it anymore.

Aalis na ang pagong, simula na ang pagguho ng mundo, na naman.
Punyemas na yan, wag niyo na lang kasing guluhin at pigil-pigilan.
Pero bakit nga naman ba mananatili kung para sa wala lang?
Kagaguhan na lang ang hayaan pa ang sarili na masaktan at maguluhan
kaya payagan na lang siyang maglakad kahit na ubod ng kabagalan,
hayaan na lang, utang na loob, na pansamantalang sarili niya’y protektahan.

⇁ESalamat kela Stephen Hawking at Terry Pratchett

==========================

At dahil naka-tengga na naman ang utak ko, wala na akong maisulat. So kalkal na lang from the hidden archives hihihi.

Race Condition

02 Monday Jun 2008

Posted by in Geekdom, Muzzak, Sports, WNBA

≈ 2 Comments

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A race condition or race hazard is a flaw in a system or process whereby the output and/or result of the process is unexpectedly and critically dependent on the sequence or timing of other events. The term originates with the idea of two signals racing each other to influence the output first.

So is there a flaw in the system caused by a race condition? Is there a major critical bug that rightfully deserves all the attention that it craves?

Signal#1 is on the go. Signal#2 mada kangae-chuu  Emaybe yes, maybe no, only one thing though, it doesn’t know what to do. Signal#2 mou shinda.

#################

Seattle beat Houston 64-63 YAY!

Finally, I can concentrate.

♪　♪　♪　♪　♪　♪　♪　♪　♪　♪　♪

He’s the reason for the teardrops in my guitar
The only thing that keeps me wishing on a wishing star
He’s the song in the car I keep singing
Don’t know why I do

Vid under the cut. Read More.

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