Lair of Indolence

When I was studying at my fifth grade, several of us were chosen to undergo this literacy program specifically with reading. No, it's not that we were not doing well at class, but we needed improvement specially in our English comprehension. Most of us were Asians in the said program. I guess the said program aided me a lot molding me to the person I am now in the forte of comprehension but this will not be about the over-all program but one story that I have read during the sessions there. I forgot about the book title but remembered the story well.

The plot was all about these group of men and women in doing a certain book or research of sort at a university that was also due in the next month to come. In each day that came, each member from the respective groups gave their part of the research. With the group of men, they did a lot of work as each day came but quarreled often with certain flaws of the submitted works from their members leading to a handful of revisions. On the other hand with the ladies, alike with the first, there were also flaws in the research but the only difference is that they took the time to always attend such criticisms with a suggestion on how to improve their work. With the deadline approaching, the group of women's research was already ready for presentation whilst the men's where still under heavy revisions. When the deadline came, the work of the ladies were submitted and was honored as part of the university research program and the one done by the group of gentlemen, I guess you know what happened.

I guess you know what I want to point out? In my years of being a student, I have always encountered people who would talk non-stop of the flaws they see in certain things and when I ask them of possible solutions, they would pause for a moment and change the topic while majority would not post a certain suggestion after it which really is infuriating. You can give a paragraph of criticism but cannot elaborate a sentence worth of suggestion?

Now, here's my suggestion: be constructive in your criticisms. To wrap this up, let me quote a few words related to Abraham Lincoln:

"Bakit si Rizal?"

Nung panahon na gumawagawa kami ng thesis, kailangan ng mga substantial reference para mapagtibay ang isinasagawang pag-aaral. Nagpunta kami kung saan nakalagay ang mga latest na theses para humanap din ng tungkol o malapit sa salitang kasaysayan at kung paano nakakatulong ang paggamit ng computer sa nasabing pag-aaral. Nahirapan kaming humanap. Kadalasan ng mga theses na nandun ay tungkol sa matematika, agham at sales and inventory, et cetera. Pumunta kami sa library para duon maghanap at swertehan na nakahanap kaso nagawa pa ang nasabing akda nuong mga 1996 at 1998 at tungkol ito sa Philippine History. Napaisip kami kung ayos bang gawing reference ang halos isang dekada ng tanda na pag-aaral? Di kaya parang outdated na ang mga paraan at pananaw na ginamit nila ng mga panahong 'yon? Sinuri kong maigi ang pedeng makuha sa nasabing mga akda at kahit papaano'y nakakuha naman kami ng mga positibong bagay tungkol sa paggamit ng computer gamit sa pagtuturo ng kasaysayan.


Ano ang gusto kong ipahayag sa nasabing talata? Simple lang. Mas madaming lumikha ng mga pag-aaral tungkol sa mga nabanggit ko sa unang talata pero iilan lamang sa kasaysayan. Ngayon, hindi ba't ako ang mas dapat magbato ng tanong na "Bakit tungkol sa Ingles, Matematika o Agham, sales and inventory system, etc. e sobrang dami na nyan at parang nire-revise nyo nalang ang mga naunang pag-aaral sa ibang paraan gaya na lang ng paglimita ng pag-aaral sa mga fetus lang o di kaya sa six-month old na baby? Bakit hindi ganito, bakit hindi ganyan?" Walang basagan ng trip. Mas pinili ng grupo namin na piliin si Rizal dahil sa una, akala namin ay kami ang una pa lang na pag-aaral tungkol sa kanya ngunit meron na palang isa pa pero ibang istorya yun at mahaba para ilagay ko dito. At isa pa ay gusto naming makapagbigay solusyon sa problema na kaonti pa lang ang nagawa para may sense ng uniqueness kumbaga, fulfillment. Di ko naman inaalis na "unique" ding matatawag ang bawat pag-aaral na ginawa sa kani-kanilang paraan gaya na lang ng pagtawag sa atin ng mga magulang natin na maganda o gwapo tayong mga anak.


Pagtapos ng paghihirap sa nasabing pag-aaral, sa di inaasahang pagkakataon ay nakuha ng grupo namin ang ikalawang pwesto para sa "Best in Thesis: Computer Science Category" dahil na yun sa mabait ang panelists namin nung defense at siguro masasabi mo rin na maayos naming nasagot ang mga tanong nila. Pero ibang istorya na nung sa software. Wala kami sa top dahil na rin sa inihinto namin ng isang semestre ang paggawa at kung sakali man ay di talaga kami qualified dahil na-redefense kami dahil sa isang major-major problem. Masyadong mahaba din ang istorya para palawigin. To cut it short, nakapasa kami at gumradweyt kahit papaano.


Hindi talaga related yung talata na nasa itaas. Gusto ko lang isama para may kaonting yabang factor at humangin ng kaonti dahil sobrang init ng panahon. Ang gusto kong sanang ipunto dito ay hindi mo kailangang pagdudahan ang pag-aaral na ginagawa ng isang indibidwal o grupo kung puso naman ang batayan nya sa paggawa nito bukod sa mga mahahalaga na citations na galing sa libro. Okay namang gumawa ng pag-aaral sa agham, matematika at Ingles para sa grades 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, first year high school/college, second year high school/college, third year high school/college, fourth year high school/college, mga system na para kay Company A-Z o kahit kanino pa man dahil pagkakatangi nyo yan, isang karapatan kumbaga. Karapatan mong gumawa ng pag-aaral kahit saan o kanino pa ito patungkol dahil ikaw naman ang magde-defend nyan at kung makapasa ay grupo mo naman ang gagastos para magpabookbind. Hindi yung mga tao na pinagdududuhan ang inyong pag-aaral pwera nalang kung sagot nung tao na yun ang mga gastos para sa nabanggit.


Siguro ay di pa rin malinaw sayo na nagbabasa nito kung bakit nga ba si Rizal. Simpleng-simple lang naman talaga ang gusto kong isagot bukod sa isang teknikal na kasagutan na masyadong nagpahaba sa blog entry na to. Gusto ko lang ipakita na may mga tao pang natitira sa mundo na gagawa ng pag-aaral na may kinalaman sa bansa at kultura natin na makakatulong din sa paraang teknolohikal sa pamamaraan ng paggamit ng kompyuter para sa mga darating pang estudyante sa hinaharap na makakalimot sa end of the world sa June 19, 2011. Kung ayaw mo pa rin sa explanation na yan, ganito na lang, gumawa ka ng sarili mong pag-aaral at humanap ng ilang tao na magsasabi na bakit ganyan ang naging topic mo at mag-explain din sa kanila gaya ng ganito.

Today is exactly a month after graduation and majority of us, if not all, are now and still part of the 11.3M unemployed Filipinos in accordance with the latest survey of the Social Weather Stations, commissioned by the BusinessWorld. But first, what is an unemployment rate? According to Social Weather Stations, "the new official definition has included the concept of availability for work; it subtracts those not available for work, even though looking for work, and adds those available for work but not seeking work for the following reasons: tired/believe no work is available, awaiting results of a job application, temporarily ill/disabled, bad weather, and waiting for rehire/job recall." That is still high according to comments of economists in the country one of whom is UP economist Raul Fabella and was quoted as saying that the unemployment rate will rise in June as college students who graduated end of March normally do not immediately get work. And yes, he predicted that right.

Several people may have been giving out their inquiries on what are we doing as newly-graduates and what are the ways we ought to do as to not be part of the booming statistic of the unemployed here in the country. Several of my friends have been going to job fairs, submitting their resumé and patiently waiting for a possible interview and examination from the companies. It may be easy for someone who already has a work to say just keep on applying until one calls for a certain interview but with the competition out in the market, it would really mean competition. I would like to recommend a post by Sean Gregory of TIME.com with his article entitled New Rules For the Job Interview. It may give additional information on the already to-do list we already have when it comes to such concerns.


Going back to the competition, a study by Rutgers University showed that college graduates are having a hard time finding a suitable job and those who may have one are being paid less than what skill they can offer. The said study maybe of a foreign setting but considering that it is still correlated with college graduates trying to find a suitable job still has relevance with what we are experiencing now. According to a survey conducted by Manpower, they said that the problem is within the education system that is leading future job candidates into wrong professions that the industry nowadays really need and I quote, the global skills shortage is worsening, with more than one-third of companies reporting difficulties filling positions because of a lack of talent – the highest level in four years. . .


In the local setting, we can see that there are not enough jobs to fill-in the unemployed. If there were job openings, it usually leads to underemployment in the future due to lack of industry growth, few job openings and a bunch of people out in the competition for job availability. Fresh graduates like us can't be choosy with the work to apply for as long as it will compensate our daily financial costs, it would be a suitable job now that everyone is up for a competition. It's always up to you on how you'll sell yourselves during interviews.


ManpowerGroup president Jonas Prising says that for college graduates, the main problem isn't that they don't have skills; it's that they have the wrong ones. Furthermore, he also iterated that, "Liberal arts skills are in over-supply, and that's an education issue. Being a college graduate doesn't mean you're work-ready."


Whoever is to blame with the unemployment issue, we are the only ones who will be able to help ourselves in finding a job that will compensate as well with the skills we have to offer. To my friends who are still job hunters, ask yourselves what do you really want to get in a job. Is it the salary or the experience? In my opinion, you should go for the latter which is experience. When you have experience after six months or a year, you can start your demands and everything follows. Regarding the job offerings out there, do not be so choosy as the competition is high but the market offers few jobs that makes an offset for us fresh graduates. Just be yourself, be marketable and show them how you can be an asset to your preferred company.

A super post-graduation message. A translation in English is to be carried in the near future when the author's idleness wearies.  DO NOT DELAY.




April 28, 2011. Araw na pinakahihintay naming mga estudyante - graduation. Araw kung saan matatapos na ang paggawa ng mga projects na kinabukasan ang pasahan, cramming mastery pagdating sa mga final examinations at syempre, ang pagtatapos ng buhay estudyate at pagpasok sa mundo ng mga unemployed. Pati rin pala ang mga magulang namin ay masaya sa kadahilanan na nakapagtapos sila ng kanilang anak at syempre, menos gastos na dahil wala na silang babayarang matrikula sa pasukan.


Ang graduation message na ito ay iniaalay ko sa mga ordinaryong estudyante na nagsipagtapos sa abot ng kanilang makakaya. Sa mga nakaranas na makakuha ng tres at singko, sa mga tumigil dahil sa kakulangang pinansyal at sa mga tao na kailangan pang sumali sa co-curricular activities sa school para sa scholarship o di kaya magtrabaho para maipagpatuloy ang pag-aaral pero kasama ko nung April 28, 2011 sa Philippine International Convention Center at nagsitapos din. Gaya nyo ay marami din akong pinagdaanang hirap at muntikan na rin na di maka-graduate sa takdang oras pero may mga taong sadyang may likas na kabutihan kahit na kailan pa lang nila kayo nakilala. Anyway, saludo ho ako sa inyo at sa determinasyon nyong makatapos.


Sino nga ba ang dapat pinagsasalita sa mga commencement rites? Yung taong nakamit ang pinakamataas na grado sa apat na taon nyang pag-aaral o yung tao na dinaanan ang totoong hirap ng buhay estudyante pero gumradweyt dahil sa sikap at determinasyon? Para sa akin, doon ako sa huling nabanggit. Bakit nga ba sila ang ninais kong magsalita sa harap ng maraming estudyante e nakakuha na sila ng singko sa ibang subjects, mga pasang-awang grado at kung ano pa? Simple lang, naranasan nila ang hirap na dinanas ng karamihan sa makikinig sa kanila. Ngunit di ko naman inaalisan ng karapatan na magsalita ang taong nabansagang pinakamatalino sa batch na yun. Karapatan nya yun pero karapatan din ng ordinaryong estudyante yun. Mas pinili ko lang ang isang ordinaryong estudyante dahil sa mas makaka-relate ang mga estudyante na nakaupo sa loob ng silid na yun. Pero walang ganun sa tunay na mundo at kung meron man ay piling-pili lang. Mas laging pansin ang mga nakatataas sa iba. Iba na ang matangkad. Growee lang naman ang katapat o siguro alagang Bear Brand sila.


Sino naman ba ang mga dapat pasalamatan? Para sa akin, ang unang dapat pasalamatan ay ang mga magulang natin na nagtaguyod sa ating pag-aaral. May ilang porsyento sa atin na nasa ibang bansa ang mga magulang para magtrabaho, para may maipangtustos sa atin pagdating ng pasukan. Pangalawa ay mga piling professor na bukod sa naging educational medium ay naging pangalawang gabay natin sa buhay sa di lang mga pang-eskwelang suliranin. Saktong sampu ang mga professor ko na iniidolo pagdating sa kanilang propesyon. Hindi lang sila tumayo bilang mga tao na binabayaran kada-oras para magturo pero sila yung tipo na di ka talaga lalabas ng classroom na wala kang natututunan sa akademya at sa buhay. Sana mas dumami pa ang mga gaya nila. At ang huli ay ang mga tunay na kaibigan. Kailan ko pa bang palawakin kung bakit?


Marami pang pedeng banggitin, marami pang pedeng isalaysay, marami pa ding pedeng pasalamatan. Gaya na lang siguro nung isang professor ko tuwing Sabado na bilang lang sa limang daliri kung ilang beses pumasok ng klase sa buong semestre dahil sa mga personal na kadahilanan. Doon ako na-trauma at first and last ko na na Saturday class yun. Sige, ikaw nga mag-review ng lecture na kaka-upload lang nung hatinggabi at kinaumagahan na ang chapter quiz na wala man lang abiso? Di ka ba matataranta nun? Ilang beses pang naulit yun. Ewan ko kung binigyan pa rin sya ng subject load sa kolehiyo namin. Pero magpapasalamat pa rin ako ng dahil sa kanya ay na-enhance ang cramming mastery ko. Natuto akong mag-check ng Student's Portal kahit walang sinasabi ang professor. Malay mo, nag-e-exist din ang mga gaya nya sa regular classes (pero salamat at wala naman akong nakita).


Pero ito seryoso na, sa buhay kolehiyo, marami kang makakasalamuha. Pumili ka ng mga matino at totoong taong miski professor, kapwa estudyante o di kaya yung si ate/kuya na laging mong nakikita na pakikisamahan mo. Maaaring hindi lahat ng iyong nakikita ay totoo, maaaring kabaligtaran. Walang maling desisyon basta kaya mo itong panindigan. Pwede kang maniwala, pwede kang magpalason sa impluwensya ng iba pero sa bandang huli, may sarili kang utak at konsensya - hawak mo pa rin ang desisyon na magpapatakbo sa buhay mo at sa kung ano ang magiging resulta nito.


Ako po si Dave Tan, nagtapos ng Batsilyer sa Agham Pangkompyuter sa Pamantasan ng Silangan nuong Ika-28 ng Abril, taong 2011 -- Maraming salamat po.

Earlier this day at around 1PM, I arrived at SM Megamall to witness PC Buyer’s Guide: ICT Roadshow 2010 and to support a friend representing our school to the PC Builder’s Final Showdown wherein 12 participants from different universities and colleges are to compete. A mini symposium on over-clocking was presented, the same one they did in their campus tour at our University. Raffles were given, and again, the same one’s they gave at their tour that of a Canon Pixma Printer, a myPhone and a stuffed toy.

Before the showdown began, they were taught on-the-spot how to connect the power LED in the USB slot in the CPU they were to assemble. Not being a pain in the ass but in a computer science student’s perspective, this is quite unethical to begin with. Why do you need such an indicator? To see if the CPU is actually working? What if the said LED cannot carry the voltage regulated? It may result to an  overcurrent should there be an abnormal low-resistance connection between the nodes of the LED due to different voltages regulated. Anyhow, that’s only my point of view and it’s their contest, their policy and I am simply stating my opinion.

The power LED occurrence was no biggie at all. The thing that caught my attention is that of how 12 participants’ finishing times will be recorded. I saw only one representative from PC Buyer’s Guide holding a timer and to be exact, it’s a smartphone and they’re using a split timer. When one shouts “I am MSI” with their screw driver held up high, this signifies that they are finish and that one-man timer goes to the place of the participant and records his time through that smartphone’s timer. This is where all it gets screwed up. I was expecting to see those devices that you have to tap and a buzzer gets ringing like those you see in game shows but I was totally wrong. It’s manually done by one man. How accurate can that recording be? Here are some instances, what if two raised their hands at the same time and nobody saw who finished first? What if one contestant was overlooked? Don’t tell me it’s impossible, it just happened earlier wherein our representative should have placed third or fourth instead of fifth. But that’s not the issue, it’s how the recording of time was done. Where’s the ever-changing technology in that?

Second is the inconsistency in the parts given. Some participants were given a structure with a VGA slot and the others a HDMI slot. Personally speaking, I do believe that there’s no difference whether it’s that slot or the other but hey, you’re in a contest and you should provide consistency in each of the participants. I also saw two contestants who lack screws and have to ask the marshals on the duration of the building contest for one. And oh, did I say that the marshals inspected the parts before the event began? Yes, they did and overlooked the screws and each screw and or parts missing corresponds to ten seconds penalty to the total time of the participant.

No cash prizes, no certificates, no consolations.

Well, in my view, I believe that this is a so-so event which needs further amplifications and when I say further, I mean A LOT. Anyhow, congratulations to AMA for being the champion this year with 4 minutes and 6 seconds of total time, St. Paul University for being the 1st runner-up and Ateneo for placing 2nd runner-up.