Another social networking site? WTF?! Can’t people get enough of socnets that one pops up every minute? Are people so detached physically that we compensate virtually?

What the heck is Facebook?

Facebook is a social utility that connects people with friends and others who work, study and live around them.People use Facebook to keep up with friends, upload an unlimited number of photos, share links and videos, and learn more about the people they meet.

That was taken from the site’s About page. So, why use it? You can upload an unlimited number of photos, get in touch with long lost friends, and let the world know where you are and what you’re doing. And it’s free. So it’s like MySpace or Friendster, but with a touch of Twitter. Eyng?! One thing it isn’t, it won’t help me take over the world. Or would it? Hmmm. you can also look for jobs using the site, but isn’t that what Geekfinder or Monster is all about? And it displays ads. Not Google ads though. Hmmm.

What the heck is Eskwela?
Eskwela is the Filipino translation of School. Or is it the Spanish translation? I know the Tagalog word for school is Paaralan. Anyway, why use it?

Eskwela is focused on you, the student and alumni. Eskwela was built by Filipinos, for Filipinos in the Philippines!
1) My Classes: who’s that cute chick in Econ 101? How about that sexy guy in CS 101? List your classes and get to know your classmates. You can also review and discuss.
2) Who’s Who: an online directory of your classmates, coursemates, collegemates, batchmates and schoolmates. Enuff said!
3) Unlimited: you can add as many friends and upload as many photos as you want. Absolutely no limits.
4) Exclusivity: you are a part of an exclusive group of people.
5) Tagging: the entire site is built on the concept of tagging, a sort-of built-in search for discovery.

This was taken from the customary welcome email message from the CEO, Terence Pua. How come there isn’t an About page for Eskwela? Beats me. Membership is by invite only. For now, I guess. So what’s different with this one? It shows Google ads. It provides you with a badge, some sort of an ID. It functions like MySpace or Friendster. No Twitter-ism, but you can follow Eskwela’s Twits though.

What’s the difference between the two?
I can’t tell yet, besides the obvious faster loading of Facebook and the user’s “Wall.” And Eskwela’s virtual ID badge. Can someone shed light on this question?

With the advent of Web 2.0 came Social Networking. Another reason for people to stay at home, lose their life (in case they had one), and connect to people virtually. This reminds me of the movie “Powder.”

Donald Ripley: It has become appallingly clear that our technology has surpassed our humanity.
Powder: Albert Einstein.
Donald Ripley: When I look at you, I have hope that maybe one day our humanity will surpass our technology.

Not really a question. Just wanted to know if I should twit. I mean twit actively. In a previous post, I mentioned that

I tried adding Twitter updates, but I later thought, what for? It’s one more thing I have to update, and it needs CONSTANT updating, and with how often I update my blog, I don’t think it’s gonna be worth following. It just makes me scratch my head. Maybe that’s what I’ll input there and I don’t think “Scratching my head thinking of what to blog about…” is very appealing when it’s the only update in there. Besides, why would anyone want everyone to know that they’re feeling gassy at the moment. I think flame wars are more interactive in Twitter than in your post’s comments. But a lot of people are using it. Constantly. So I guess I’ll just have to look into it.

so that’s what I’m doing now. Looking into twitting. Read the rest of this entry »

We’ve all been there. Looking for that Perfect. That perfect car. That perfect job. That perfect wife. That perfect husband. That perfect family. THAT Perfect. Some people refer to looking for that Perfect as “the pursuit of happiness.” It’s what makes people happy. I know I’d be happy if I had that perfect car. For that moment only.

That’s why I don’t call it “the pursuit of happiness.” I call it a “waste of time.” But still, we do dream of that little perfect moment and, oftentimes, we get steered away from that pursuit.

Drought, bills, super typhoons, floods, bills, Dengue and other health issues, did I mention bills already? Anyway, it’s easier to say that living is hard. Some might also say that dying is easy. Can we start asking ourselves if we are living or dying? How can you tell?

Well, if you’re dying, you’re just waiting for the Grim Reaper to reap your soul (for those who believe they have a soul) or just sitting in an old porch withering your cells away until it becomes fertilizer. You’re doing nothing. Which equates to “letting everything happen around you with you not giving a f*** about it.”

If you’re living, you’d be doing something. Like paying the bills. Gots to eat, some would say. At least you’re enjoying what you’re having, and a little later on, regretting the amount you had to pay to enjoy something.

So does it all boil down to how much greenback you have that would let you be happy?

If it were that easy, we’d all be happy, but rich people aren’t happy. Heck, they aren’t even contented with what they have. What do powerful people want? More power. But I digress.

So would having all the money in the world make one happy? Of course not. Why, if you have all the money in the world, who do you think people would go to to ask for money? Or worse, money won’t matter anymore. (Was that the richest man in the world shuddering?) So the answer is NOT having all the money in the world.

Would having enough money make one happy? Maybe. If you had enough for food, clothing, shelter, to get you by for the rest of your life, that would be okay, right? Well, for me, it is. If you had enough money for tech gadgets, teh lightning fast Intarnets connection, and the best apparel you can wear, that would be so much better, right? Hell, yeah. BUT there’s the off-chance of you getting greedy also, that wanting more would, in time, mean wanting it all. And the chances of becoming greedy happening is very high since you, as well as all of us, are, after all, human.

So how do you solve this dilemma? You set a bar. Not just any bar. THE BAR. That bar would be your limits. Limits to your lifestyle. Only half a pound of meat in a day, only one movie within two weeks, only half a pack of cigarettes in a day, to cite a few examples. The only way to be happy is to have a lifestyle you’re happy with.

So that takes care of the first part of the title.

How do you “Get A Gazillion Hits For An Introvert’s Website And Start Making Serious Money?”

Read the rest of this entry »

Ever had one of those “slow” days? Like when someone tells you a really good joke, but then you don’t get it, and then two days later you finally realize what was funny about the joke, but it’s already too late to laugh and all you can do is scratch your head? Well, this is one of those days…

Judge Dale Kimball rules in favor of Novell with regards to SCO filing a lawsuit for slander of title.

…the court concludes that Novell is the owner of the UNIX and UnixWare Copyrights

Last 2004, SCO filed the Slander of Title lawsuit against Novell as it claims to be the owner of UNIX. Nice. As we all know, Novell now owns Suse Linux and has both commercial and open-source versions of the operating system. Of course, the open-source version includes some UNIX code as Linux is (partially) based on UNIX.

Microsoft then helped ensure that SCO could mount the fight, by providing major financial help at least twice in 2003.

So Microsoft helped SCO to sue IBM, then consequentially, Novell. Then in 2006, a shocker made the web shiver.

Microsoft and Novell had partnered to deliver Windows and Linux interoperability.

This is great. But. What. The. Fuck.

SCO’s claims for UNIX ownership get dismissed. Darl McBride must be turning in his grave. He’s not dead?! He should be. So that he won’t feel the pain.

Channel-surfing earlier, I landed in Discovery Channel’s Greatest Ever program and lucky me, they featured what I dream of having someday. Sports Cars. Super Cars. Whatever. It’s something I will have someday. Hopefully, while I’m still breathing and still able to see the road and have enough strength to step on the gas pedal and floor it.

Not really a fan of the vintage sports cars, but they do pave the way for the engineering marvels that we have today.

Read the rest of this entry »

Would you consider having a death in the family a “lame excuse” to miss a deadline?

You might not, but Dr. Paul Buchanan, a (former) senior lecturer of Auckland, New Zealand, does. Why? Because he thinks the student asking for the extension would never pass the class anyway, even if he gives her all the time she needs.

But here’s the rub: In response to the student’s request, he mentions that the reason the student needs the extension is “culturally-driven.” Ah, the racial stuff. I will be treading lightly here, I assure you. I am not branding, and will never brand someone a racist. Unless it’s pretty obvious.

What I’m considering is the Doctor’s reputation. Or at least what is expected of him. He is, first and foremost in the eyes of his peers and subordinates, an educator. I’d like to think of him as one, too. The expectations are high, but attainable. However, to keep delivering what is expected is, of course, very challenging. I’m wondering, “How could this guy of this stature say something, documented in an email, that is NOT expected of him?” The only logical answer is, he is, after all, only human.

This late in his life, one would think he has set his priorities straight and knows exactly what to do, how to react, what to say to anyone asking for an extension on a deadline. And yet, he is misguided. Well, that’s the only word I can think of that is lighter than the word “f*ck*r.”

Dr Buchanan said yesterday that he should not have sent the email.

He said he had sent it at 7.24pm after a day in which he had argued with a colleague, Associate Professor Steve Hoadley, about a course which Dr Hoadley runs to prepare overseas students for post-graduate studies in international relations.

“He and I had had an exchange about the poor quality of the students being admitted to his degree programme,” Dr Buchanan said.

“It was hurting us in our graduate classes because these people were badly under-prepared and in some cases had no background in political science whatsoever.

“It’s extremely hard to teach at graduate level when you have people who literally do not know the language of instruction.”

Dr Buchanan said he was recovering from bowel surgery at the time and was affected by a university decision in the same week to stop funding the New Zealand Centre for Latin American Studies, of which he was acting director.

Pissed off at a colleague, frustrated in his students, bowels malfunctioning, and losing funding, no wonder he’s edgy. I guess it’s how he was raised that he thinks deaths in the family are lame and to use it as an excuse is just culturally-driven. Just another one of those bastards.

Source: The New Zealand Herald

Ok, I give up. The MyBlogLog widget is now in there. So, what else is missing? Not anymore.

Recently upgraded to WP 2.2.2. Took less than half an hour. With no FTP client to boot. And my theme did not break. Yay.

I’ve been looking at my blog and see how I designed it. It’s close to what I have in mind. Very close, but still, at the back of my mind, there’s a thought nagging me that something’s missing. Do I add a MyBloglog (MBL) widget? Do I add Twitter? Is that it?

I tried adding an MBL widget and it was fine. However, it makes the page load slower because it tries to get all those beautiful pictures of people who I deceptively lured to my site. Do I really want it that way? Next question please.

I tried adding Twitter updates, but I later thought, what for? It’s one more thing I have to update, and it needs CONSTANT updating, and with how often I update my blog, I don’t think it’s gonna be worth following. It just makes me scratch my head. Maybe that’s what I’ll input there and I don’t think “Scratching my head thinking of what to blog about…” is very appealing when it’s the only update in there. Besides, why would anyone want everyone to know that they’re feeling gassy at the moment. I think flame wars are more interactive in Twitter than in your post’s comments. But a lot of people are using it. Constantly. So I guess I’ll just have to look into it.

Does it need more color? Well, I’m not really keen on displaying a lot of colors. Especially bright ones. Blackle by Heap Media launched a darkened Google to save energy, because they think it, well, saves energy.

Maybe it’s the lack of posts that is missing. Hmmm. Maybe. So what do I write about? A friend’s recent ordeal with being robbed? That’s his post, not mine.

Anyway, I came across this post thru Mike Villar and I have to say that I have to react.

I can’t say I agree with all of them because I use some of the things that “uglify” my blog. My long blogroll is there to let my friends and acquaintances know that I appreciate their content and that they are worthy to read, not because of the linkback. I’d link to them even if they don’t link to me. My tag cloud is there for SEO purposes, whatever the heck that means. My XHTML/CSS buttons are there because I’m proud of the theme that I (re)designed. The 80×15 buttons are there because it shows the bigger sites that linked back to me, in which I am honored, and to remind the reader that my work is protected by a Creative Commons license. And the ads, they are there in the hopes of monetizing my website. I guess some people just don’t like money. Blah, blah, blah.

P.S.
Whoever downloaded and installed any of my Wordpress Themes, I suggest you leave a comment somewhere in this site so there’s a linkback to your site also. If you’ll notice, “yesfollow” is activated on comments. It’s the least I can do for people who took the chance of downloading, installing, and still using my theme.