Aja Lapus

Category: Thoughts

  • Lots’u-pdates~a

    OK. So, I’m craving for pizza.[1] Well, it’s actually Yellow Cab I’m looking for if you’re really interested in sending me some. LOL

    Anyhow, I’ve managed to update my WordPress installation from 2.2.2 to 2.5 yesterday evening, fixed a little about the tag cloud in my templates that will now use the system native to WordPress, fixed some tags whose display contained spaces and/or hyphens, and updated some plugins I am using.

    I was actually watching the CSS Naked Day website around that time along with the UST Online Grades page. Unfortunately, they both weren’t updated even if I try to reload them pages once in about every 5 to 10 minutes. 😛 So, I just slept.

    I really thought there would be no CSS Naked Day this year. Made me sad, really. Dustin’s blog was updated March 9 when I last checked it before today. However, a good morning dawned upon me when I woke up. Someone commented on my plugin page asking me to update it, telling me Dustin moved the CSS Naked Day to the 9th. So, there, I updated it already!

    I have just one problem though. My site coughs up HTTP header errors whenever I try to respond to comments on my blog entries. The comments get posted still, but the errors are still annoying. Is there anyone else out there producing similar errors after updating to WordPress 2.5? Tell me please, and maybe how to eliminate it as well. Thank you!

    Update: Apparently it was the Extended Live Archives plugin I was using that causes the error. I have just tested it using my own comment below. It seems that the problem was already existent even months ago with the 2.3 release because of the database changes, but I already admitted I haven’t been fully aware of blogging news lately. The plugin remains disabled, so you might notice a little barer homepage than before. There seems to be a fix, though I guess I have to do it a little later as I am already tired after a full half day of tweaking with my installation.

    Footnote:

    1. ^ I’m always craving actually. OMG! I have to go on a diet. LOL

  • Blog’s Not Dead

    I’m just too damn busy with everything—organizing my life, school matters, a little bit of work, and, of course, play. Heh.

    For the past month, I’ve been back playing Ragnarok Online since my cousins told me LUG–pRO already has a free-to-play server. I remember the last time I played, Comodo is still new—and that was years ago. While I leave my merchant vending at Payon Town (170, 83), I chat, surf, check my mail, get updates on my online earnings, and download and watch the latest HD fansubbed episode of MS Gundam 00.

    I don’t know if I should blame this to my About page, but my professor in ECE 206, and the coach of UST ECE‘s GIQC team knows I have experience regarding quiz bees. He picked me as one of the team members. Help me God—I’m a bit rusty after 4 years without such mental pressure. And, now, it isn’t only about IT we’ll be dealing with like the last time I entered such contests.

    School itself has been tough, too. I’m just glad even though I couldn’t help but sleep on some—OK, almost all—of my lectures, I could still catch up on the lessons. I currently have a favorite major subject, which is rarely the situation as they are usually hardly fathomable. Guess what subject it is—yep, it’s Computer (Comp 304). Thanks to whoever taught me logic gates during high school. Now, I understand why 1 + 1 = 1 is true—you go figure. n_n

    I think I have one more month to go until I buy my first product of blogging. Earnings are coming steady at around US$200 per month. Should I call myself a problogger now? Not yet still, IMO. I believe I have to improve on my update frequency. Heh. Well, I’m planning to buy an ASUS Eee PC. I know two friends who already have their 4G version. I’m still waiting for the 8G’s release.

    Now, that’s the roundup of the last 1~2 months of my life. I hope I could get back to blogging more frequently. I haven’t even checked my bookmarks in about a month already. T_T

    Partial list of things to do:

    • Read updates within the last month from Engadget, TechCrunch, Gizmodo, Slashdot, XKCD, etc.
    • Update my WordPress theme; minimize AdSense clutter—they don’t sell much anyway.
    • Update my WordPress installation—2.4 is coming soon and I’m still not on 2.3. o_O

  • E-mushiness: Ham or Spam?

    I have posted here interesting things I’ve received as spam, but nothing seems to get close to appear ham like this one. It was nevertheless caught by my spam filter, but its idea is so unusual, I just can’t let it pass. It even has a companion Web site that looks legitimate.

    Quoting the full message (it’s quite long, by the way):

    A man is trying a very unusual way to propose to his girlfriend. He wants people to forward an email to as many people as possible and he hopes that it will eventually get to his girlfriend. Details here: http://www.proposal-to-mary.com

    Here is what he wants people to send by email:

    You could help me a lot to spread my proposal to Mary – it is important that it is distributed as widely as possible so that it eventually reaches Mary. If you would like to support my proposal to Mary, please send the following text by email to a lot of people 🙂

    ————- SNIP (email text follows) —————

    WHEN YOU RECEIVE THIS, PLEASE HELP TO DISTRIBUTE IT TO OTHER PEOPLE!

    For a long time I have tried to find a special way to propose marriage to my girlfriend Mary, whom I know for five years now. I wanted it very special, romantic and memorable, something our grandchildren would still remember.

    And here is my idea: I will send out the proposal to Mary to 50 complete strangers, people I don’t know – hoping, that they will forward my proposal to many people, which in turn forward it again etc. And some day, I hope, it will reach Mary, after it has travelled a very long way. I know, it will take a long time and I am quite nervous…

    From the poem MY Mary will know immediately that the proposal is for her.

    I have created a homepage (http://www.proposal-to-mary.com) where you can find the current status of my quest. You can use the homepage to check if the proposal has already reached Mary (in that case it is not necessary anymore to forward the mail).

    Once the proposal has reached Mary, I will put a note on these pages. Also I will publish there how many people have read the proposal so that everybody can see how far it has spread and that it is getting closer to Mary.

    And of course you will find there what I am waiting for most: Mary’s answer! I can’t tell you, how nervous I am… Will she accept my proposal? Will she like the unusual way how she got it, through the hands of thousands of messengers all over the world?

    Please cross your fingers for me! And please – help me by sending the mail to your friends to help it spread, so that it eventually reaches Mary.

    And here is my proposal:

    Mary, please forgive me, as you know English is not my native language. And I am not a poet. But I mean it from my heart.

    My angel,

    Five years ago, I will always remember the day
    When fate made us meet, blissful Alaskan moments in May
    Earth spun around us and a journey began
    Love, warmth, happiness, enough the years to span.

    The longer it lasts the more grows our bond
    And with 80 still – of you I will be fond
    Whatever happens, I will stay at your side
    Through good and bad, together let us stride

    No second with you was ever wasted
    You are the sweetest I have ever tasted
    We have spent so many years – why not a life?
    Mary, will you marry me – and become my wife?

    Mary, if you have received that and have recognized me, then give me a sign so that I can continue with the romantic part of my proposal…

    ————- SNIP (email text end) —————

    I do have one friend named Mary, though I can’t see any connections she may have with this German from the United States … or is there, Maple? Heh.

    Anyway, the site claims it makes no money from this, and I could agree—it doesn’t direct emails to a central address, which may then be a harvester, nor does it serve ads on the site.

    So … what do you think? Is this proposal to Mary a real case of e-mushiness, or just a publicity stunt? Or maybe just a new way of creating chain mail that people are (probably) more likely to send? Would you help this seemingly romantic man, if you think other than skepticism? Tell me on the comments below. 🙂

  • Avoid MS Excel 2007

    I’ve just read this news from /. about Microsoft Excel 2007.

    I haven’t tried this myself as I’m usually on Linux and I use OpenOffice.org on my Windows partition as well, but I’ve just asked my classmate who has OEM Vista with Office 2007 to try it on his notebook. He confirms (as well as two more of my friends), MS Excel has a certain multiplication bug.

    The bug could be reproduced by doing multiplication that would result to 65,535 (0xFFFF). Try =850*77.1 on yours. Excel 2007 would have displayed the result to be 100,000. According to one reply:

    Suppose the formula is in A1.
    =A1+1 returns 100001, which appears to show the formula is in fact 100000 and a very Serious problem.

    And if you multiply be [sic] say, 2 you get something else:
    =A1*2 returns 131070, as if A1 had 65535. (which it should have been)

    =A1*1 Keeps it at 100000.

    =A1-1 returns 65534

    =A1/1 is still 100000

    =A1/2 retuns [sic] 32767.5

    A very serious problem indeed.

    There were many speculations about the cause of the bug, but it usually points to the 16-bit to 32-bit internal data conversion since 65,535 is the cap of 16-bit integers. However, some points out to testers and programmers that are just not doing their jobs correctly.

    This issue has been reported to Microsoft already. Consider waiting for an update from Microsoft before installing or upgrading unless you don’t mind valuable data and computations be fscked up 100,000 times more. Downgrade to MSO 2003 or switch to the free OpenOffice.org Calc for the meantime or forever.

  • Energy Conversion Starts Making Sense

    I just came to realize that my most hated subject at the moment, EE204: Energy Conversion,[1] in which I have flunked my exams 2 out of 2, would be useful to me as an aspiring Electronics Engineer. At first, as an ECE student, I thought I’m not going to need this course since I’m not planning to specialize in electric power generation that EEs should be doing.

    While browsing through blogs and tech news sites like I usually do, I’ve read about emerging technologies that deals with the use of hand cranks and similar manually-operated power generators, instead of the conventional way of plugging devices onto a power outlet. I’ve also read about environmental issues concerning electric power consumption and conservation with computer and even search engine usage.

    We still haven’t gone to discuss DC generators as we are just halfway through the course. But, seeing how the OLPC plans to make human-powered laptop computers by means of a crank, a pedal or a pull-cord in the form of XO-1 to be distributed to children on developing countries who have little access to electricity, I got the insight. Furthermore, I just saw a portable media player utilizing the same idea, thanks to Bernie of Talkin’ Tech.

    I know I shouldn’t have been posting this now as our preliminary exam week is just a day away, and the exam on EE204 is first on the list. I am just happy to see current applications of what I am studying theoretically as it gives me more understanding of the subject matter.

    So, let me just ask, what would you say about manually-powered electronic devices that use less power than conventional ones? Would you be seen using it in the future or you would just stick to conventional devices until none of them exists anymore? Hand cranks and pedal generators on the nearest Wi-Fi–enabled coffee shop, anyone?

    Footnote:

    1. ^ a course dealing with the conversion of mechanical energy to electrical energy (as with generators) and vice versa (as with motors)