Saturday, June 28, 2008

UPLISSA Saturday Bonding




June 28, 2008. Lagoon Race. Shakeys. Katips. Most of the pics weren't taken by me. Only the cam went to the lagoon. Post-process and crop lang ako. Inuubos nyo battery ng cam ko!

Thursday, June 26, 2008

UPSLIS Acquaintance Party 2008




'LIBerated: Make a Difference: Break the Silence'
June 26, 2008, SLIS Rms 3 and 4

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

UPLSAA - UPSLIS Alumni Mailing List

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/uplsaa-mailinglist
Mailing list to aggregate all UPSLIS alumni. Better than having one per batch (I think there are 5 to 7 mailing lists floating out there). Join up. :D

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

SLIS Lecture Series 08




SLIS Lecture Series on June 24, 2008 entitled "General information Literacy Developments".

Speaker: Grace F. Bulaong, Library Director, New Jersey City University
Venue: UP SLIS Rms 3 & 4
Time: 10:00 AM

Thursday, June 19, 2008

SLIS Lecture Series 2008

Start:     Jun 24, '08 10:00a
Location:     UP SLIS Rms 3 & 4
"General information Literacy Developments".
Speaker: Grace F. Bulaong, Library Director, New Jersey City University

UPLISSA Open Tambayan




2008-09 kick off, UPLISSA Open Tambayan, June 19, 2008.

Monday, June 16, 2008

LCSH for free

Von just posted this at his blog while attending the SLA2008.
You might want to read his post here.

Main Lib Amnesty

Got this from Ms. Eimee...
====================
Start:     Jun 18, '08
End:     Jun 20, '08
Location:     UP Diliman
The University Library, in celebration of UP’s Centennial, is granting amnesty to all overdue books and unpaid fines, from 18-20 June 2008.

All unpaid fines will be written off, and all returned overdue books will not be charged fines within the period. Visit the library to clear your account and take advantage of this opportunity!

Saturday, June 14, 2008

Friday, June 13, 2008

UPSL - Noypi




UP Singing Librarians singing Noypi during the UPSLIS Welcome Program, June 10, 2008.

Youtube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7DGHKES2GI

Thursday, June 12, 2008

Knee-Jerk, a flooded UPSLIS Computer Laboratory

I've been talking about emotional knee-jerk reactions the whole day yesterday (June 11) with different people. How was I to know that the day would end with a communal collegiate knee-jerk. 

It was a harrowing day org-wise for me. But class-wise I took my time. You know me, I don't jump in head first on the very first day. It was all introductions, the way I've always started semesters. I ended both of my classes early, the rains were coming and I wanted to beat the downpour. Yet somehow, somewhy, time and circumstances dragged on and I was still in the UP SLIS (School of Library and Infromation Studies) at 4:30pm. Then the rains poured.

I decided to let the rains pass since I knew I'd end up being stuck in Quezon Ave. on my way home. Then it started.

You know that feeling you get when impending doom is coming. It was just like that, only in slow motion that played itself out in fast forward in a matter of minutes.


Center of the hallway, the rains really battered hard. I bumped into Michael, the janitor, who was just doing his usual thing. Then, one after another, people started calling out to him. First it was Ate Cora, the SLIS library ceiling was leaking. Michael attended to that. I heard the faucet-strong leak of the SLIS female CR roof. Nothing out of the ordinary when it rains. Michael was through, SLIS Lib remedied. Didn't really get to know what he did to solve it since Ma'am Tin came along, SLIS faculty room ceiling was leaking, Ma'am Vyva's table was getting drenched. Michael sauntered off to attend to that. The sinking feeling of doom I said a while ago? This was when it hit.



I inched my way into the SLIS Computer Laboratory, dropped my backpack onto the table and looked around. Nothing  much happening, really. Some drips and drops, nothing monumental to write home about. Then the rain got stronger. The drips and drops were more pronounced. There was one weak faucet-like leak near the 3-PC cluster on the far side of SLIS Computer Lab Rm 1. Then there was a mini-waterfall near the 3-PC cluster and aircon breaker on the far side of SLIS Computer Lab Rm 2. Think of it as getting a pitcher of water and slowly pouring it against a wall, that's how it looked like. It hadn't made it near the aircon breaker at this point.


Jeez, it was getting stronger. All I could do at this time was pull the 2 long PC tables of those 3-PC from the far wall and move them toward the center of the rooms. This was the time I think I saw Kat pass by the lab twice. Then Michael came in and saw me. Then all hell slowly broke loose.


Water.. water... and not a drop to drink... We started to see slow trickles of water slowly making their way down to the switches in the front enclosure of Rm 1. The weak faucet leak at the far side of SLIS Computer Lab Rm 1 was now about as strong as a water delivery hose. We moved the monoblock chairs out of the way. It was getting bad. Michael ran for a large pail.


In the meantime I improvised by getting the small blue wastebasket to catch the water. I knew that would only be good for about a few seconds before it fills up. I checked the breaker, expecting the worst. The pitcher of water and slowly pouring it against a wall? It was now a water delivery hose too, pouring against the wall... AND THE AIRCON BREAKER...


Michael came in with the larger pail for the Rm 1 leak, it was of little use. In about 2 seconds it was full... Then the water broke through the roof.
 

A lot of the other blog posts as well as online and offline comments mention a state of disbelief or "tulala" at one point or another during this whole incident. Mine came at that time. So helpless. Force Majeur. At the mercy of nature. And, like what Charm said, it takes a while to realize that there was a flood starting on the third floor.


The flow from water delivery hoses I see is about 2 to 3 inches in diameter. When the water broke through the roof, the flow was about 8 to 12 inches in diameter. Michael was faster than me. Before I could shout "Breaker!", he had already thought of it and was 15 ft ahead of me and out the door. Years ago, it was Mang Fred who I usually saw running to the breaker to turn it off, today Mang Fred was out, probably stranded carrying all the paperwork that would finally make it on top of our desks. The main electrical switch for the SLIS wing is in that small glass an wooden divider enclosed room behind the original Oblation. I was a couple of steps behind Michael and he just tore open the metal door of the electrical box and flipped the switch to turn off the power. We could here the collective "AYYY!"s of the SLIS peeps as the lights went out (and wifi signal levels going kaput and pages being accessed going blank). The SLIS went dark.

We rushed back to the Computer Lab. People were starting to gather to see what the fuss was all about. Michael and I were already drenched, and we were already kicking around water. I didn't see how deep water was on the floor, maybe it didn't reach an inch. The porous wooden floor probably gobbled it up fast. The waterfall that was about 8 to 12 inches in diameter lasted probably for only a minute. But by this time all the leaks were making the far side of the SLIS Computer Lab like a dirty shower.

Everything was a blur from this point on. Crash course in disaster management. All I could remember were Dan, Darrel, Eli and all the others relocating the monitors and desktops ("Tangal!"-"Buhat!", like a well-oiled machine), Arthur helping cover the switches (yes, they're switches, not servers) with plastic, Geexie and Kat with candles, and Grace taking pics (Ang tindi, lumulubog na Computer Lab e may nakapag-kuha pa ng pics para sa blog. O_o;; Request, can you give digital copies to Ate Shelly? I think they'll show it to Chancellor Cao when he visits).


Michael handed me a flashlight, I just placed it under my collar on my shoulder miner-type. Forgot that I did that, only remembered when I saw Charm's pics (grabbed the one above from her). I remember someone saying "Ingat... Ingat sa AVR at UPS! Baka may kuryente pa rin yan!" This while 3 people already had AVRs and UPS's tucked under their arms. Some looked at him (Arthur? Dan?) as if to say "Gee, thanks for telling us right about now when we're already holding them... O_o;;" Another thing I overheard was "Teka, teka! Basa na yan! Baka nakasaksak pa! Tapik-tapikin nyo muna para ma-check nyo kung may kuryente pang dumadaloy! Pag na-shock ka wag mong hawakan." O_o;; Which is something I really wouldn't recommend on a normal day...
 
When all was said and done, everyone had to go home. The SLIS had to close down for the day, no night classes. It was too dangerous electrical-wise.

Things haunted me through the night. Wet gorilla couldn't sleep.


The next day (June 11) proved me wrong and that my worries were unfounded. Power was back up before lunch. Dr. Roel Ocampo of the Computer Center had paid us a visit. There's still some water between the switches, maybe even inside. Those have to be dried up. Things would be back to normal as soon as we get things dry before powering up. Sir Roel assured me that it happens, even in newly-built buildings, that hurts even more because you don't expect it to happen.


Ate Josie, Michael and Mang Fred went up to the roof to see what caused all this. As it turned out there was a plastic cup noodle bowl firmly stuck in the downspout nearest the lab. And leaves from the nearby tree had covered it all up. Water, which seeks lower levels, had nowhere to go. So it found its way down to the little once-in-a-lifetime, 207th wonder of the modern world waterfall that is the SLIS Computer Laboratory. They cleaned it all up and things are flowing smoothly now.


All in all I was just thankful. Thankful that things all turned out okay and nothing too bad happened... Thankful for the people...

But my knee hurts from all the jerking.

And I still hate Wein...

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

UP SLIS AY '08-'09 welcome program




Orientation day at the USLIS

UPLISSA - I Will Survive




Random acts of madness in 03:32 minutes...

A homage to Gloria Gaynor and her song, the 70's and the kung fu movies of the era, Miguel Mas' JC video, the ending credits of Meet the Spartans...

A bunch of weapons, a PSP, a stuffed dog...

In a way dedicated to Marlon (since we know you'll like the song)... Really, just random acts of madness on a Saturday afternoon...

UPLISSA AY '08-'09 Welcome Program / Orientation Video Presentation.

Public Domain Countdown Leader: Technicolor Corporation, (1960) from the Prelinger Archives. (http://www.archive.org/details/Countdow1960)

Youtube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gyUCgb2GDPc

Sunday, June 8, 2008

WWE Generations

Another quick WWE post.

Naaliw lang. After The Rock, Umaga, Randy Orton, Carlito, Cody Rhodes and D. H. Smith, 2nd or 3rd generation wrestlers all, it was a pleasant surprise that some other wrestling legend children have entered the arena this past month. There's Nataia Neidhart, the dughter of the Hart Foundation's Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart; and Ted Dibiase (Jr.), the son of the "Million Dollar Man" Ted Dibiase.

So, it's basically a family thang. :D

Blue... Blue... My world is Blue...

Blame it on co-teacher Iyra. :D

We've been talking about getting laptops for the past year since the other faculty members already had theirs. She got her Compaq Presario (B1200?) during the enlistment period for her thesis work. I've been using my PSP as sort of cue cards for lectures in the form of PDFs or CBRs. I've been harping on getting a netbook / UMPC (Ultra-Mobile PC) / nanobook for basic stuff, eg. surfing, ftp, writing, spreadsheets, email, rss feeds, web stuff, etc. Not really looking for one to accomplish heavy graphics work, I do that at home on a desktop. Never really was heavy into gaming. I wanted something small, light and simple. Something 14, 12-inches or smaller. I did look at the Compaq Presario B1200 for a while, but choose against it since Iyra already has one.

Yugatech has a comparison of 7-inch UMPCs. Based on that plus lotsa trips around the malls and comparisons over the net, I ruled out the Redfox Wizbook, Neo eXplore X1-branded Intel Classmate PC, and Asus EEE.  There's just something about them that didn't seem right for me (Weak processor? Low RAM? The look? It was one of those at one point or another). I narrowed down my choices to the Everex Cloudbook, Astone UMPC CE-260, Deep Blue H1 and HP Mini-Note 2133.

Didn't realize it early on but my choices turned out to have either a VIA C7-M 1.2 Ghz or a VIA Esther 1.0 Ghz  processor. I didn't like the space between LCD and the keyboard of the Cloudbook and the Astone. The Mini-Note is priced too high for me at the moment (It's higher than PhP25k... Maybe next time?). So I got the Deep Blue H1 (around Php17k).


Specs:
  • VIA Esther 1.0 GHz
  • 1GB DDR2
  • 7.0-inch TFT
  • 40GB HD
  • 2 x USB 2.0
  • 10/100Mbps LAN
  • 802.11b/g Wireless
  • 1.20 kg
  • 0.3 megapixel webcam
  • 4-in-1 card reader
  • touchpad
  • reportedly up to 4½ hours battery life.



OS isn't much of a concern for me since I believe I could change distros if neccessary. The Deep Blue H1 comes with Linpus Linux ver. 9.4 Lite. Sounds wimpy, I know. I'd perfectly understand if the Linux mascot was a cat, but it's a penguin, and it makes him look like a wus (or in this case a pus). But so far things are running fine.




Startup time from power button press till usability takes about 47 to 50 seconds.



Tried doing stuff I would normally do. Linpus has:
  • Internet: Firefox (net), Thunderbird (email), Filezilla (ftp), Pidgin (im), Liferea (rss), plus shortcut links to Youtube, Googledocs, Wikipedia, Googlemaps, Windows Live Spaces.
  • Productivity: OpenOffice Writer (doc), Calc (spreadsheet) and Impress (presentation), Stardict (dictionary), Linpus Calendar, Text Editor and Calculator
  • Media: Tux Paint, Adobe Reader (PDF),  FBReader (ebook), SMPlayer (video), Banshee (mp3), F-Spot (photo), Linpus Image Viewer, Webcam Viewer
  • X Windows System Desktop Environment: Default Gnome, can be switched to XFCE

Power-down from onscreen button press with no apps running takes 10 to 11 seconds.

So far so good.
  1. Was able to access my accounts on mutiply, youtube, gmail, stickam, etc. without squinting too much. :D
  2. Got to test pidgin by chatting with Iyra (who had this inkling that I was online testing this little baby and buzzed me).
  3. Opened and edited documents, pdfs, etc
  4. Watched a video.
I'm a happy gorilla. :D

The only cons I've encountered so far were:
  1. Liferea keeps hanging on me. Maybe importing my long opml rss feed list was too much for it. So that means I may stick to Bloglines in Firefox.
  2. Bottom heating up. May be normal but will buy or fabricate a notebook cooler just in case.
  Blue... Blue... My world is Blue... :D
 

Friday, June 6, 2008

UPSLIS Poi People 2




Another lull in the UPSLIS enlistment with poi to while the time away. Ah, my dear friend Marlon, in your hands poi become deadly weapons. Si Eli naman kina-career. Dan naglalaro. More Marj-Randolf scandal (w/ Ted).

ICDL - International Children's Digital Library


http://www.icdlbooks.org/
Got this from Carina.
Hmmm... I wonder what CMS / digital asset repository system they're using to run this. Hmmm....

Thursday, June 5, 2008

UP SLIS Thesis Title Search


http://upslis.info/thesisearch.php
Basic author, title, year and program listing of the theses submitted to the UP School of Library and Information Studies, Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines.

Still under development. Not much really, though, but hope it helps those taking up 199, 200, 290, 299 and 300.

SLIS 1st Sem Enlistment 08-09 pt.2




Mainit... Parang sauna... may pansit... may coke... may rubiks... may poi.. may papparazzi... may jollibee...

UPSLIS Poi People




JR, Mennie, Eli and Efren playing poi during a lull in the UPSLIS enlistment deluge. Wasn't able to take pics of Wee and Aaron. :(

Wednesday, June 4, 2008

Tuesday, June 3, 2008

Some UP updates

Just passing it on. Got it from emails of Ma'am Grace and Ms Susie.

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

Deadline for filing of applications for UPCAT is June 18, 2008 for Metro Manila schools and June 2, 2008 for schools outside Metro Manila. Visit their site at:

http://www.upcatonline.up.edu.ph

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

UP College of Science Library is urgently looking for 4 Student Assistants. P25/hour maximum of 100 hours service per month. For those interested kindly contact Ms. Jessica Babaran at 426-6606 or 981-8501 loc. 3808


Monday, June 2, 2008

JEEZ, RKO injury

JEEZ! Randy Orton broke his collarbone during the WWE One Night Stand! No blood, though. No bones breaking out of the skin, but JEEZ! His left shoulder and left back muscles were out of whack when the cameras came in for a close up! Guy's an okay heel, so sad that he was injured legit. Really just a legit, freak, bad fall. Much respect, man. You are not unappreciated.

I blame Rain and that Chipmunk-sounding Kung-fu-fighting Man-boy for this!

Kung Phooey!

Okay...
Was talking with some of the guys during SLIS enrollment day lunch...

The Clear RAIN rant during wrestling shows has now been just replaced...

By the Pipsqueaky Voice of that Man-Boy singing "Everybody was Kung-Fu Fighting!!!" for the Kung Fu Panda movie ad.

Jeez... Why-o-why-o-why?!?!?!?!