The metro has been suffering from sweltering heat the past few days. That's why this sudden heavy rainshower is severely welcome.
My mother says all the people in the metro must have been praying for rain -- the shower is rather fierce.
Sweet glorious rain.
Monday, May 09, 2005
Sunday, May 08, 2005
CSS-Based Design
A while back, inspired by the CSS Zen Garden, I modified my Blogger template to use entirely CSS-based design. That is, I can know update the layout instantly simply by replacing the stylesheet file used by template (like now!)
The new layout uses up a wider screen space, but I think it's neat. The lighter colors are easier on my tired, computer-strained eyes. Hopefully, this new CSS-based design allows me to do more experimentation and improve my ability to design web UIs.
Speaking of web UIs, I only recently saw the new look for Yahoo Groups. Similar to the change for the main Yahoo site, it focuses more on lighter colors now, and has significant usage of font coloring to show important points. I like it. Maybe they'll improve the Yahoo Mail layout next.
The new layout uses up a wider screen space, but I think it's neat. The lighter colors are easier on my tired, computer-strained eyes. Hopefully, this new CSS-based design allows me to do more experimentation and improve my ability to design web UIs.
Speaking of web UIs, I only recently saw the new look for Yahoo Groups. Similar to the change for the main Yahoo site, it focuses more on lighter colors now, and has significant usage of font coloring to show important points. I like it. Maybe they'll improve the Yahoo Mail layout next.
Wheel of Time 10 - Crossroads of Twilight
Haven't read Robert Jordan in a while. Someone gave me Crossroads of Twilight as a gift, so I read it and hope that his pacing has improved. It has not. He writes well enough, dialogue is nice, descriptions are more than adequate, but I expect some things to happen in his books! He has so many plots running at once, he should at least resolve two or three per book. Perrin, Mat and Elayne get a lot of chapters, but they barely get anything done. Rand al'Thor himself barely gets one chapter, and I'm thinking it was just put in 'cause people would be pissed if he didn't actually appear in the book. Egwene at least had the good sense to go out and try to do something. Not that she got anywhere sensible of course...
I swear, with so many things going on, it will take him forever to wrap up this series. And while that may be good for him, I wonder how many people will bother following the books for so long? Especially when they're more of the same...
I swear, with so many things going on, it will take him forever to wrap up this series. And while that may be good for him, I wonder how many people will bother following the books for so long? Especially when they're more of the same...
Monday, May 02, 2005
PIMP MY RIG -- we test parts for you..
Pimp My Rig is a hardware review side associated with a friend of mine from high school. Yes, I was asked to help promote it. :D
I haven't worried about hardware issues in a while, since I usually ask my kid brother to handle most hardware purchases/setup at home. So, I don't really know much about the latest and greatest hardware but this site looks helpful enough to be given a try, especially if you're the sort who enjoys putting together his own PC. Check it out.
On an unrelated note, whenever I try to type the word "rig", I find myself unconsciously typing "right." Deep inside, I don't think I accept "rig" as a word. :p
I haven't worried about hardware issues in a while, since I usually ask my kid brother to handle most hardware purchases/setup at home. So, I don't really know much about the latest and greatest hardware but this site looks helpful enough to be given a try, especially if you're the sort who enjoys putting together his own PC. Check it out.
On an unrelated note, whenever I try to type the word "rig", I find myself unconsciously typing "right." Deep inside, I don't think I accept "rig" as a word. :p
Weekend Status Report
I only had three tasks laid out for me this weekend:
1. Watch season 4 of X-men Evolution. I realize that X-men Evo was not as popular as some of the other superhero series such as Justice League and Teen Titans, but I mostly like it anyway. It's more of a light-hearted version of the X-men universe , really. (Presidential hopeful Senator Kelly of canon is merely Mayoral hopeful Principal Kelly here!) It gets campy at times, but hey, Adam West's Batman was the epitome of campiness, and I enjoyed that too. This task was successfully accomplished.
2. Fix the home network LAN. Previously we had a problem where the other computer could not use the internet through the gateway machine. Looks like ZoneAlarm was the culprit, as apparently, the free version of ZoneAlarm does not support Internet Connection Sharing. I got the internet working by installing Sygate Personal Firewall instead, although this led to the new problem of the other computer not being able to access shared files/folders on the network. We're keeping it at this state until I can figure out a better solution. This task was successfully accomplished, with complications.
3. Solve this Rubik's UFO puzzles (it is already solved in the picture):
Of course, instead of actually devising a solution to the puzzle, I merely used my google-fu to find a website to help me solve it.
All three tasks completed! (Mostly)
I also managed to sneak in a good part of Crossroads of Twilight (Book 10 of Wheel of Time, more on that in a later post), and two movies: Shrek 2 and the Incredibles. Yes, I had not seen either movie before. And actually, I didn't see them in whole today either. I saw more than half of Incredibles, I think. And most of Shrek 2. Quick reviews, Shrek 2 was the better movie by far. Rib-tickling. I didn't bother seeing it before because it didn't really give me a feeling of being too good, but I was wrong.
1. Watch season 4 of X-men Evolution. I realize that X-men Evo was not as popular as some of the other superhero series such as Justice League and Teen Titans, but I mostly like it anyway. It's more of a light-hearted version of the X-men universe , really. (Presidential hopeful Senator Kelly of canon is merely Mayoral hopeful Principal Kelly here!) It gets campy at times, but hey, Adam West's Batman was the epitome of campiness, and I enjoyed that too. This task was successfully accomplished.
2. Fix the home network LAN. Previously we had a problem where the other computer could not use the internet through the gateway machine. Looks like ZoneAlarm was the culprit, as apparently, the free version of ZoneAlarm does not support Internet Connection Sharing. I got the internet working by installing Sygate Personal Firewall instead, although this led to the new problem of the other computer not being able to access shared files/folders on the network. We're keeping it at this state until I can figure out a better solution. This task was successfully accomplished, with complications.
3. Solve this Rubik's UFO puzzles (it is already solved in the picture):
Of course, instead of actually devising a solution to the puzzle, I merely used my google-fu to find a website to help me solve it.
All three tasks completed! (Mostly)
I also managed to sneak in a good part of Crossroads of Twilight (Book 10 of Wheel of Time, more on that in a later post), and two movies: Shrek 2 and the Incredibles. Yes, I had not seen either movie before. And actually, I didn't see them in whole today either. I saw more than half of Incredibles, I think. And most of Shrek 2. Quick reviews, Shrek 2 was the better movie by far. Rib-tickling. I didn't bother seeing it before because it didn't really give me a feeling of being too good, but I was wrong.
Sunday, May 01, 2005
Tired
One thing about spending a free day at home. The temperature in my room gets really high during the afternoon, it's quite uncomfortable. Especially since I'm used to wasting away most of my daylight hours in an airconditioned office.
It's good to spend a couple of days away from the office though - God only knows I've been so damn uninspired with work lately. For the past two weeks or so, I haven't had much heart for my work. Most of the time, I code while wondering if I should file for half a day's sick leave and head home. Except that I don't know if boredom is a valid excuse.
(Madness, despair and self-doubt lay ahead, uncharacteristically. You have been warned.)
I don't know why. I guess I'm just tired. Tired of overly complicated modules. Tired of badly designed data models. Tired of losing two hours every day to commuting. Tired of the heat. Tired of all the people. And maybe, just maybe, tired of trying to figure out how to win her attention. Just her attention mind you. I would be satisfied with just her attention for a good while, and that says a lot.
Or maybe I'm just losing my sense of belonging. I like the people at work, I really do. I have friends there. Close friends, even. People whom I've opened up to, shared secrets with, confided in. I don't think I've had any new close friends since the original zu crew. And I like the job, or I wouldn't have stayed this long. And I am quite sure that I am quite good at what I do. So why do thoughts of resigning keep coming up?
I'm lying to myself of course. I know the reason why it's been so hard to keep a good mood lately. I found out some things I shouldn't have, through methods I should not have used. I did not learn anything I did not already suspect. I had nothing to gain by trying to find out, I knew that knowing these things for certain would shatter me, yet I had to know. So I went ahead anyway. And my heart is paying the price.
I've been a fool. I know this to be true, I've known it all along. I've always hated letting my emotions get the better of me; I should've held myself back this time same as any other. What made me think it would be any different? What made me think I could fight fate? What made me think I had what it takes?
And now I'm tired. I don't know what to do. I don't know whether I have the strength to go on. There's gap there that I don't know how to traverse. A barrier that only grows stronger as I fight it. Common sense and several people in the know tell me that it's alright to quit. I've fought the good fight, there is no shame in surrender. It happens all the time, people try and people fail.
This can't possibly be good for me. Already it's starting to affect my work somehow. And I'm pretty sure that it's holding me back in more ways than that. This isn't going anywhere, and it's making me so frickin' weak. It seems so obvious what needs to be done.
Then why is it so hard to let go?
It's good to spend a couple of days away from the office though - God only knows I've been so damn uninspired with work lately. For the past two weeks or so, I haven't had much heart for my work. Most of the time, I code while wondering if I should file for half a day's sick leave and head home. Except that I don't know if boredom is a valid excuse.
(Madness, despair and self-doubt lay ahead, uncharacteristically. You have been warned.)
I don't know why. I guess I'm just tired. Tired of overly complicated modules. Tired of badly designed data models. Tired of losing two hours every day to commuting. Tired of the heat. Tired of all the people. And maybe, just maybe, tired of trying to figure out how to win her attention. Just her attention mind you. I would be satisfied with just her attention for a good while, and that says a lot.
Or maybe I'm just losing my sense of belonging. I like the people at work, I really do. I have friends there. Close friends, even. People whom I've opened up to, shared secrets with, confided in. I don't think I've had any new close friends since the original zu crew. And I like the job, or I wouldn't have stayed this long. And I am quite sure that I am quite good at what I do. So why do thoughts of resigning keep coming up?
I'm lying to myself of course. I know the reason why it's been so hard to keep a good mood lately. I found out some things I shouldn't have, through methods I should not have used. I did not learn anything I did not already suspect. I had nothing to gain by trying to find out, I knew that knowing these things for certain would shatter me, yet I had to know. So I went ahead anyway. And my heart is paying the price.
I've been a fool. I know this to be true, I've known it all along. I've always hated letting my emotions get the better of me; I should've held myself back this time same as any other. What made me think it would be any different? What made me think I could fight fate? What made me think I had what it takes?
And now I'm tired. I don't know what to do. I don't know whether I have the strength to go on. There's gap there that I don't know how to traverse. A barrier that only grows stronger as I fight it. Common sense and several people in the know tell me that it's alright to quit. I've fought the good fight, there is no shame in surrender. It happens all the time, people try and people fail.
This can't possibly be good for me. Already it's starting to affect my work somehow. And I'm pretty sure that it's holding me back in more ways than that. This isn't going anywhere, and it's making me so frickin' weak. It seems so obvious what needs to be done.
Then why is it so hard to let go?
INTP
The Thinker
You are analytical and logical - and on a quest to learn everything you can.
Smart and complex, you always love a new intellectual challenge.
Your biggest pet peeve is people who slow you down with trivial chit chat.
A quiet maverick, you tend to ignore rules and authority whenever you feel like it.
You would make an excellent mathematician, programmer, or professor.
Got this from Peng's blog. It's a simplified version of the Myers-Brigg personality test, which I've taken before, with the same results.
Well not really, my results sometimes vary from INTP to INFP. Each letter in the result stands for one aspect of your personality. In this case, Introverted iNtuitive Thinking/Feeling Perceiving. I'm pretty sure I'm somewhere dead even on the thinking/feeling scale. I often confuse myself, so I'm pretty sure the test would be confused as well.
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