HYPERAXE

I just did another upgrade on my blog since WordPress released version 2.3.1 about 4 days ago. I’m glad I somehow got some time to do the upgrade since I just finished my required working hours for the week.

I still haven’t looked into all the changes and bug fixes included with the new WP release but in a brief there were around 20 bug fixes including a fix on the Microsoft Live Writer bug, which honestly speaking I am not aware of as I am not using it.

The upgrade was very simple as I just need to backup some files and then overwrite most of the files in my old version. But I’m planning to try out the subversion way of upgrading WordPress once I get enough time to try it out. I’m very curious about this new upgrade method and it’s something new to learn, so I plan to make use of this on the next release.

Oh well, I guess WordPress  just keeps getting better and it’s fun to keep up with it.

Today would be one of the most awaited day of Mac Users worldwide as this would be the day MacOS X Leopard would be launched. The long wait is finally over, and one of the best OS upgrade Apple has to offer is finally here. There would even be a launch party at PowerMac Center in Greenbelt 3 Makati  (6PM). It was also announced that the first 50 buyers of MacOS X Leopard would have Apple freebies. The price of the OS upgrade would be around 6K for the single license and 10K for the family pack (5 licenses).

But then, I decided not to upgrade just yet. I think I’ll let this hype of being one of the first Mac user to experience Leopard to pass me by. Aside from still thinking if spending that much right now would be well worth is as MacOS X Tiger is still doing a good job for me on both work and play, I’m also thinking of waiting for comments from the first users on just how stable Leopard is. It’s not that I’m doubting Apple, but as someone from the software development industry, I am well aware that no matter how hard we try to make an application stable, there’s always a chance that some bugs would come up once the users get their hands on it. I’ve also seen the 300+ new features of Leopard and I don’t think I would be able to use all of them or even enjoy every new feature it has to offer. Honestly speaking, I am still finding my way with Tiger as I had only been a Mac user for around 2 months. I think I had just scratched the surface of Tiger and still had a lot to learn about MacOS. Tiger still excites me for now, and as I’ve said it’s doing a good job on helping me with my daily tasks both professionally and personally so I just don’t see why I should be itching for the upgrade right away. Well, I plan to ugrade either December or early next year depending on how Leopard users would comment on this latest OS upgrade craze for Mac. For now, I’ll just growl with the Tiger.

Some of my ex-colleagues had been constantly complaing about their work. Some are saying it’s boring, monotonous, too stressful, or simply they just feel too lazy to work. I must admit that I had felt and at times still feeling the same way they do but my secret for overcoming such feelings or situations is always having “something to look forward to”.

It doesn’t have to be something very complicated or grand, but the little things in life can give you more joy than you can ever think of. You can look forward to things on a daily, weekly, or even on a monthly basis, depending on how you want to overcome boredom or stress at work,. Take for example, wherein I feel so stressed out during a daily programming routine, and just can’t seem to make it through the day. When this kind of feeling arises, I usually just take a deep breath and think about my family waiting for me at home. I just try to think the playtime with Aphilo and the kids, or that simple relaxing moment drinking beer under the stars, or even the simple romantic moment of a bedtime cuddle with Aphilo. Then I start feeling good, and gain that enthusiasm again to finish the day right. At times when a week would definitely be a slow one, and stressful, I think of that early Saturday morning I can have coffee at my quiet corner while waiting for the sun to rise. Or that relaxing evening at my parent’s house wherein I can have a drinking spree with my dad, my friends, or alone again in my quiet corner and just simply let time pass me by and wash away all my worries and fatigue. Then my days pass by not only swiftly but also productively. Things would be a lot better if there’s a weekend celebration or a gimik with friends. Does it make sense? Well for me, it does and definitely had been helpful for me. Just give it a try and it might work for you as well.

For this week, what really hyped me up is looking forward to this Saturday evening jam with my old bandmates. We plan to bring along some instruments at my parent’s house, and reminisce the old days, and try to remember our original song compositions. I just can’t wait for Saturday to come.

I’m sure my dear readers would remember about my current post on my insecurities about my current job, entitled “Feeling Smal“. Well, things have changed since then and now I’m slowly gaining back my confidence and finally finding my place with my current job.

Through some turn of events with a very important project for our company, I came to realize what I am able to offer and that I am definitely good in my own little ways. To make the long story short, my colleagues looked up to me in one of the technologies used in the project, which is JTA and XA enabled transactions. It’s not that they don’t know about it but for some reasons, they turn to me on major issues encountered as well as to ensure our compatibility to the specs. It’s was more like to it that I had given ownership of such technology and my opinions are well respected. Honestly speaking, I am also not an expert on these things but somehow I know the ins and out of such technology based on what I had worked on and learned for the past few months.

I had managed to resolve a couple of issues on transaction state management as well as provide test tools that would allow us to ensure that we conform to the standard JTA specifications. I am also able to integrate Atomikos Transaction Essentials into our product line and work on performance and efficiency issues. All these things were included in our latest release and it felt so good to have been able to contribute to it.

For now, I know where I stand and even though all my colleagues are expert and well respected by the IT society in their own fields, I am sure I also have something to offer to them and our company. Moreover, our boss had always assured me that I won’t be here if I’m not worth it and it’s just a matter of living up to his words, that definitely I’m a “top guy”. 

Last night was a big night for Aphilo for it was the night she had finally heard and saw Josh Groban perform live in Manila. As I’ve said I’m no big fan of Josh or what they call “Grobanite”, but honestly speaking I really enjoyed his concert and I must say that every penny spent was well worth it.

Most people would expect, for someone who’s voice or songs would only fit that of an opera or theatrical plays, that the concert would somehow be stiff or boring for those who are really not into such kind of music. But then Josh Groban managed to give a twist for this common notion, and as I must say he did a wonderful performance that could be noted as far from boring. His songs, voice, playfulness, and of humor really made everyone laugh, smile, feel romantic, and just have a great time.

For Aphilo,  she was star stricken when Josh Groban sang his first song for the night. As if she can’t believe that one of her much awaited moment in her life had finally arrived. She was so ecstatic the whole night, and until this morning her happiness still radiates, and she never stopped thanking me for giving her the chance of a lifetime or a dream come true.

So what is Globe Visibility? It’s actually a service offering from Globe Telecoms that provides consumers of a mobile broadband internet connection that makes use of their 3G network. It also makes use of the fastest mobile broadband technology called HSDPA (High Speed Downlink Packet Access )  or 3.5G that boasts a speed of up to 1.4 mbps. Quite fast as you may, say but wait ’til you read the rest of my review.

Ok, when I started with my work at home stint, I decided to subscribe to a mobile internet connection so I would be able to work anywhere. There were only 2 options back then, namely PLDT WeRoam which uses the Smart Telecoms network and then Globe Visibility which obviously uses Globe Telecom’s network. To make the long story short I decided to go with Globe as I’ve heard a lot of negative feedback about PLDT’s mobile broadband services, and I’ve experienced it as well when I was able to use it in one of my previous jobs. Besides, Globe was so boastful about their HSPDA technology so I decided to give it a spin. So here I am, more than 6 months now, and still paying up Globe around 2K/month for their Globe Visibility Mobile Broadband Internet Service.

When in Makati wherein I usually stay and work, Globe Visibility is quite suitable for my needs as I don’t really download that much stuff from the Internet. With work, I usually just send/receive emails, chat,  and then browse web sites I use for my work. It generally feels like you’re in a broadband connection and it can compare to home users’ DSL services of up to 384kbps. Oftentimes, I get a speed of between 256kbps - 512kbps, but during some lucky days a 768kbps or more bandwidth really makes my day. But just like any other services out there, Globe Visibility also suffers intermittent connectivity problems which spans from having to re-connect once in a while, or you lose your connection from a few minutes or at several occasions even for a few hours. But to be fair with them, seldom does this happen when you’re in an area with good 3G signal. But when you’re in a remote location that just offers EDGE or GPRS,  don’t expect that much as you’ll only experience bandwidth not exceeding that of a dial-up internet connection. As far as I can remember, I only experienced a lot of glitches during the last senatorial election and some of my sources said that Globe’s network was congested since many of the poll centers or election related data centers made use of their Internet services.

I’m sure many would ask, so how is it? To be honest, I don’t think it’s exceptionally that good. First of all, the speed of your bandwidth would depend on the 3G network’s availability in your area which I don’t think is widespread right now. As I’ve said, I am only able to fully utilize its speed in Makati, but never at my house or in some other places I often visit. I usually get strong signal for an EDGE (Enchanced Data Rate for Global Evolution  ) connection and worst just GPRS (General Packet Radio Services) in most areas. So I think Globe still needs to do a lot of 3G network coverage widening job for this. Next problem is, which I mentioned earlier would be the intermittent connection problems you’ll experience from time to time especially on non-3G areas. Well, let’s just say that for Globe Visibility the clich “Nobody is perfect” is true enough for them.

Though it has its pitfalls, I think I’ll stick around with them a bit as I don’t see any major issues just yet that would make me move to another provider.