Aja Lapus

Tag: School

  • UST Web Site Redesign

    I was trying to check the University calendar on the UST Web site for the preliminary examinations schedule when I noticed the redesign and restructure planned for it has already been implemented. Excitedly, I saw some of the things I’ve dreamt of doing for it[1] accomplished on the reboot.[2]

    These include:

    • Porting the site from ASP to PHP; and,
    • Complying with the XHTML 1.0 and the CSS 2 recommendations.

    A very clean design added to its beauty and usability. And, scripting features that makes the layout fluid or fixed, as well as changing the font size according to the users’ preferences, made it more accessible. Two very good steps to have been taken, IMO.

    I remember checking it a day after the said reboot, the news roller was a bit misaligned in Mozilla Firefox, Opera and Safari,[3] but was rendered as desired in Internet Explorer 7. Now, four days later, after browsing it again to continue writing this post, I see they’ve already fixed the alignment problem for the major browsers with the exception of Safari/Win—now I have nothing to rant about the site being made with only IE anymore. Heh.

    The new design also features compliance badges from W3C, which results to only a single markup error that is, IMO, fairly forgivable for an elaborate design and a complex site structure. That error may even be caused by the CMS[4] itself for one of its modules automatically placing a <link /> to a style sheet wherever it was inserted.

    I haven’t seen much improvement in a single reboot for the site as far as I could remember.[5] The move to open source software, Web standards compliance, and accessibility with usability is, IMO, the best direction any Web site could have taken. Kudos to the Webmasters of the new UST Web site!

    Footnotes:

    1. ^ when I volunteered to be a TomasinoWeb member
    2. ^ another term for redesign; from CSS Reboot
    3. ^ all on the Windows platform
    4. ^ namely, Joomla!
    5. ^ with three designs, as of now

  • Christmas Vacation Starts

    I guess you never know the importance of education until the day you were deprived of it. Yes, I go to school to learn, but I usually do not pay much attention unless I really am interested in the topics discussed. Moreover, I sometimes sleep during the length of the discussion especially when it’s freezing inside the classroom and, of course, when I lack having some the night before.

    This second semester, however, made me realize I really like school.

    For one, we haven’t had a week of complete and continuous classes since just a couple of weeks after the start of the semester, the Electronics Engineering Department held the NECES week. Then, the week after that came the devastating storm whose path thankfully did not include Metro Manila, but suspension of classes prevailed for three of my school days. Then some university-wide event took place the week after the storm. I can clearly remember telling myself and my friends with a certain tone of frustration, Magklase naman tayo. (English: Let us have our classes [back].)

    What I really hate is the change to fast-paced lectures when you couldn’t even comprehend with slow-paced discussions. Also, I hate the make-up classes that would most probably take up my Monday weekends. And, of course, the fact that I still haven’t learned anything yet. Imagine taking 12 hours of MECH 301 during what supposed to be is your day off from school. Ugh. I could even sleep in two hours of lecture, what more with twelve?

    I just somehow fall in irony for whenever I listen to an uninteresting discussion, I could float again in endless thoughts thinking about the nearing vacation that has already come a day early.

  • Back to School

    It isn’t the start of the semester or the academic year, but it sure feels like it as numerous school activities, weather mis-forecasts, and just the regular weekends got packed into one hell of a vacation I might as well call a weekendless. Our class of 3ECEA wouldn’t even have our laboratory instructor for tomorrow—though lectures still would take place. But, counting the days since the suspension of classes, it totals to six days of no classes all in all.

    But, I guess I just have to rant some things that I have to get out of my system:

    • The first one would be the devastating effect of the Super Typhoon Reming especially in the provinces. While I was busy having fun because of little rainfall with the suspension of classes, I sadly realized many have been hardly hit by the raging typhoon resulting to many casualties. Let us pray for them.
    • I still haven’t learned much this late in the semester! All those class suspensions and school activities—with examples including but are not limited to the recollection early this morning and NECES week last, last week, with activities almost every morning conflicting with our schedule—consumed class time.
    • All these absent professors/instructors keep me justifying myself for lack of self-discipline finishing certain school work.

    Anyway, I still can’t feel the Christmas spirit. When I was a kid we used to setup the tree within the range of October-November (whenever there’s semester break or before the All Souls’ Day vacation ends), but it’s now December and not even one decoration is up yet. But, hey: For those thinking about what to give me this coming Holidays, I wouldn’t give you much of a hard time trying to find out what to give me—even if you didn’t even greet me on My Birthday Entry. *tee-hee*

    • Computer case: white, ATX form factor, HDD bays in front of a 120-mm noiseless intake fan, and front-panel USB ports as minimum specs 😉
    • Digital SLR camera
    • Apple iPod USB power adapter
    • Better-sounding earphones [or maybe even better-sounding lanyard earphones for 1st gen nano]
    • Internal DVD±R/RW drive, white; and
    • Maybe some original Evanescence CDs 😛

    Yes, yes … I know I could keep on dreaming. LOL

    BTW, I have migrated the formerly Blogger-platformed quote log located at /special, to a WordPress installation in this server. Please visit: x22. The Qlog will be updated soon. 🙂

  • The Aftermath

    Yes, I know this is a story long overdue. I’ve had three very long mornings of derangement and two evenings of sleepful nights—very, very unusual for me. Bagyong Milenyo made sure of that. We lost power the morning of September 28. By the morning of the 30th, we’ve used up all stored water for bathing (since our village relies on water pumps and we do not have a big water tank at home). After going to school, I immediately went to my grandparents’ house in Quezon City instead of going home since their power was brought back just a day after the storm. My mother brought me clothes enough to last me for the weekend, and though electricity came back to our house the night we were on my grandparents’ house, I stayed there for two nights since I haven’t been with my cousins for a long time. Four days without blog hopping and mail checking dented me internally. *exaggerating*

    But that wasn’t the only aftermath I’ve encountered. Guess what the other one is …

    Well, I currently am taking Differential Equations, a Math subject, this semester. After Math? I would still take Differential Equations. Yes, I failed it this sem; my *curses* professor announced it right after the last class of the semester. T_T

    Hmmm … looking at the bright side. I am exempted from taking the final exams since I would still fail anyway. No need to bother studying that right now. *tee-hee*

  • Musing #0005

    Why do minor subject professors (i.e., those teaching English to students taking up an engineering program) think they’re teaching major ones trying to make students give up all their time just to pass their bloody requirements? And, they don’t even teach, they just rail to whoever they want to raise their know-it-all ego, and assume their students look up to them as wise and knowledgeable persons.