Thursday, February 28, 2013

2-22 - Rainy Day

It's been raining the whole morning, and our school does not suspend classes yet. At noon, the rain stopped. At around 1:30 p.m. it rained again. Come on, suspend already.

During these days, our school is one of the last schools standing. The problem with late suspension is, we are already stranded when the announcement is made.

In the end, there was no suspension because there was no flood. Good decision of the school.

2-21 - Program IC (PIC)

We learned today in our laboratory how to program ICs. It's very easy!

We used that for basics: Sequence of lights. For next week, here comes the more complicated part... mobot programming!

Now I wonder why programs for Christmas lights are very expensive. Ripoff!

I'm planning to make my own for Christmas.

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

2-20 - Batch Play

Back in high school, the Juniors have a Shakespearean play and the Seniors have a Passion Play. For this year, the Shakespearean Play is Merchant of Venice.

I came a few minutes late so I was not able to start the play. The story was nice. I just did not know if I understood the story correctly. Some parts were confusing. I think I'm reading that on summer.

After the 1st play there was a break, so I went down. I saw s.s. and I told her how boring it was in the balcony (I'm a graduate and I just came back to watch). I don't have batch mates watching.

I asked if I can sit in the area where she was sitting, and she agreed. Then there "he" was and he saw us together, again! I bet he's jealous again.

The Passion Play is kinda boring, but I understand how hard it was to make it not boring. When I was a senior, Our play is 5 people you meet in heaven passion of Christ version. Ours was also boring.

The only Passion Play that I remembered was not boring is waaaay long ago. They made some parts into a musical. That was nice.

2-19 - The Pain of Final Fantasy 3

Final Fantasy III on the DS is just a remake and an American localization. But this remake is not like the other remakes that is easy to finish. This has the same difficulty of the original version, maybe harder.

A character gets killed in the middle of the dungeon. Choose: exit the dungeon and heal; use raise (what if out of mp); use the rare phoenix downs.

This is the first final fantasy where I felt the pain of starting the dungeon again when the party is defeated since it is on an actual DS, not emulators where save states are available. I took that as a challenge.

Thanks to teleport, exiting dungeons are easy (except when white mage is down). The problem is entering the dungeon AGAIN.

2-18 - Major Assignment

For our subject Transmission Media and Antenna, we got a major assignment. We are to answer all the questions on the end of a specific chapter for three books. And the time alloted, 2 weeks.

Great. Less game time for me. As if this is the only subject I have this term. Come on, I have 4 four more major subjects taken this term.

On the bright side, This will be my review for the midterm exams.

Sunday, February 17, 2013

2-17 - Screen Guard?

The screen guard of my 3DS XL kinda sucks. It now has a lot of scratches. I realized that the scratches are now affecting my gameplay when I played Theatrhythm Final Fantasy, When I slide the stylus across the screen, I could feel the rough parts of the screen.

This also kinda affected the visuals of Final Fantasy III. FFIII plays the game on the lower part of the screen, but with the scratches, the visual is affected.

I don't understand. The screen guard I bought was expensive and was from a gaming store. Why would that happen to the screen guard? Maybe DS screen guards are destined to do that.

2-16 - Mad at Me? So What?

I visited s.s. today at her school. (Our school has classes on Saturdays and no classes on Thursdays opposed to all high schools having no classes on Saturdays.)

I met her, and I showed her my 3DS XL. I told her about this last July and how I decided to buy one. The cover page of the card I gave her for Valentine's Day shows a picture of Terra (Theatrhythm Final Fantasy) greeting her. I showed her the game because she wanted to know where the cute picture came from.


I then let her play the game itself. She loved the game a lot. Only there did I realize that she is a lefty like me as she used the stylus. We played some songs, and had a nice time together.

Or did it last?

Some friends of mine says that "he" is very mad at me. I just laughed it off because there is no particular reason for him to be mad at me. Why would he be mad at me? They weren't even together. I know the rule when there is a couple, but this is NOT a couple. "He" just thinks they are.

Then "he" came, and took her attention away from me. My reaction: Come on, can't you even ask me first before you do that? That's so rude! Jealous crazy dude.

My younger sister is with me so I told her to call the sister of s.s. for backup in case "he" decides to argue with me. He just doesn't know the truth yet, and when he does, he'll regret doing all of what he did to separate me and s.s.

First, he ruined my school fair date. Now, he ruined my somewhat post-Valentine's Day date.

I met her sister and told her what happened. Now our plan is in progress. I told her maybe it is the right time to plead to s.s. to stop all these madness. I told her to continue what I have started. I made a good start and now it is in her hands now. I hope our mission will succeed.

Hope, wish, dream, what other words? You get the point.

After "he" is gone, s.s. thanked me for showing her my 3DS and Theatrhythm Final Fantasy. She told me she enjoyed the game. Another point for me! XD

It is a nice ending.

Friday, February 15, 2013

2-15 - A Promise

Today I went to my high school to fetch my sister. I was planning to talk to my special someone but with the same problem, "he" won't leave her again. I met my special someone's younger sister and I told her about what happened during the school fair, and last Wednesday (V. Day Phase 1).

I told her about the wrong move that I did, but she told me that it's fine. "He" really is a problem to my special someone (s.s.), and what her sister wants is for me to help her end the problem. She wants me to make him jealous so he would feel hopeless and leave s.s. alone. She sees me as the savior of s.s.

I myself also felt that he is a burden to s.s. I wanted to help her, but I don't know what to do. I feel sorry for her having to be burdened by someone crazy like him.

Her goodbye message to me when she left is, "End it tomorrow!" I replied, "I'll do my best to end it!"

And that is a promise.

2-14 - Phase 2 of My Valentine's Day Plan

Happy Valentine's Day!

First, I gave a rose to my classmate in my first class. It is just a fake rose I bought yesterday because my class is 7 in the morning and I don't think I will have time to buy one without getting late for class. She wasn't expecting it because this is only the second term that we've been classmates and we're not even that close.

Noontime, I was wondering where my P.E. classmates were having their class. I was planning to give them roses by surprise. I saw one of them and asked where the others were. She just told me to surprise the others after their 3-5 p.m. class. She told me the room and who will be there.

I bought three single roses since there are only three girls. I went outside their room at around 4:30. When they went out of the room, I gave them the roses. Of course, only one of them was expecting it. The other two have no idea I was giving them roses. They were really glad because even though we were only classmates for only a term, I never forgot them.

Valentine's Day 2013 Summary:
Total Girls Made Happy: 7

Target for Next Year: More, but heavily depends on money.

2-13 - Phase One of My Valentine's Day Plan

Tomorrow is Valentine's Day, but tomorrow my friends who are currently in high school do not have classes tomorrow, so I planned to give them roses today.

I bought two single-roses, and a 3-piece roses for my special someone. A friend of mine saw that I am holding them. She asked me who the roses are for. Little did she know that a single rose is for her. She wouldn't believe when I gave her the rose. She asked me if I'm serious in giving her that rose. If I'm not serious, why would I be giving her the rose? She wasn't expecting it.

The second single rose I gave to another of my friend. She was busy so I wasn't able to talk to her, but she
thanked me for the rose. She also wasn't expecting it.

The 3-roses I gave to my special someone. She was also busy so I was only able to give them when she was about to leave. The problem is, this guy (see here http://yvanrobin.blogspot.com/2013/02/2-2-school-fair-of-my-high-school.html) won't leave her. I just gave the roses and the card that I made to her in front of him. I think that was a wrong move. She was really happy when she took my gifts. She also was not expecting this. Me and the guy did not talk. I got the feeling that he was very jealous because I was making a move on her.

That night my special someone sent me an instant message saying how much she appreciated the roses and the card (especially the front page of the card). I can't help but smile when I read her message. This is the first time that I felt that my hard work was really appreciated. She was the only one who thanked me more than once.

2-12 - Planning for Valentine's Day

I think this year's Valentine's Day is going to be nice. I was planning to give roses to those people who expects them the least.

Valentine's Day 2011, I gave a stuffed animal to the girl that I like. I gave that to her in front of my block mates. That was an awkward moment.

Valentine's Day 2012, I gave a rose to my teammate in cheering. I even gave her a card and played her a song on my guitar.

None of these girls ended up with me.

This year, I will give a rose to some girls, but there will be a 3-roses and that will be for my special someone. I will even make her a card telling her how much I appreciate her.

Good luck to me!

Thursday, February 14, 2013

2-11 - Internet Browsing on My 3DS XL

Out of curiosity, I tried the internet browser on my 3DS. It works like mobile browsing on a cellphone. The stylus is used to scroll on the pages, tap on the links, and type. Just like how you use the iPad.

I tried browsing on Facebook, and when I posted, it says via mobile. The 3DS is recognized as a mobile device because it does not fully display Facebook the way it is viewed on the laptop. The same way happens to the PSP.

The cool part of browsing, the page is viewed on both screens.

2-10 - Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! Wait, it's not January 1. Well, obviously, it's not! It's Chinese New Year!

We celebrate Chinese New Year the traditional way. There is a Chinese New Year mass. (Philippines has a lot of Filipino-Chinese) People wear red because it is the color of luck. The people receive a red pack also for luck.

What's a Chinese New Year without the firecrackers, the lion dance, and the dragon dance? No one celebrates Chinese New Year without these.

2-9 - Guitar

It's been a while since I last played the guitar. Since engineering life is hard, there is not much time to do something else.

I loved playing chords from the songs of Taylor Swift. Well, the main reason why I play the guitar is because of her songs.

Learning to play the guitar is hard at first. When I finally got the hang of it, I would play just any song by Taylor Swift. When I got addicted to the soundtrack of Final Fantasy series, I would search tabs of these songs.

For some special events like Valentine's Day, I would play it for the girl. Here in the Philippines we call it "Harana".

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

2-8 - Reporting

In our class, environmental science, we are required to report on a topic.

Now the flaws of most students who report is, they only read their powerpoint presentations. This is a big no-no. Only reading the presentation shows unpreparedness. Since I'm experienced at this, I already know how to avoid this.

I avoid putting long paragraphs in a slide because it shows that the student did not summarize anything, unless the whole paragraph is an important quotation. I prefer just using bullets as a summary.

Explaining what is in the slide is very important. Just reading it is very negative.

I reported today and I think I did well. I hope I got a high grade.

2-7 - TFF on 3DS VS IOS

Before I played Theatrhythm Final Fantasy on the 3DS, I played it on the iPad. When I got my 3DS, I played TFF immediately. I noticed a lot of differences.

  • Rhythmia - This is not present in the IOS version. Rhythmia is collected so you can unlock more stuff. 10000 Rhythmia even makes you play Chaos Shrine while fighting Chaos.
  • Equipping skills and items - The IOS has set abilities for a character depending on the level, and only 2 abilities are active for each character.
  • Event music - Also not present in the IOS, a lot is lost without this one around.
  • Character stats - The stats are only represented by ranking letters, not precise numbers. I felt insulted when I leveled Terra to 99. Her stats suck. A rank D for attack, SS for magic, and B for agility and luck. No fair! The 3DS version has B for attack, a star for magic (rank higher than S), A for both agility and luck. Even her skills are not that useful.
  • Stoic mode - Not present in the IOS version, stoic mode is a challenge where no skills and items are active but a 2 million points bonus will be awarded (3DS version only has 7999999 as highest without stoic)
  • Dark notes - Where the fun starts. Dark notes features a lot of songs with different notes for each song. It's a nice challenge for those who get tired of playing the same scores again and again.
There could be more because I haven't fully explored the game.

Monday, February 11, 2013

2-6 - My Reaction to Expensive Phones

Smartphones are very famous nowadays. A lot of companies are already making them. The question is, "Are these worth it?"

I own an old phone, Nokia X3. It's been with me for 2 years and 4 months. Several smartphones are now cheaper than my phone. I don't plan on selling it anymore because it is not sold in the market anymore. I spent my own cash on it. I'm not giving it away.

I can say that my phone is not the most functional phone around, but I still love it. It performs the basic functions that I am looking forward to: A phone, a music player, and a camera.

I did not like most smartphones because of one reason: battery. Lose all the battery power in a few hours and you're out! Battery is one of the advantages of Nokia phones that's why I prefer them. My Nokia X3 feels like it's designed for being heavy duty. It can last for several days.

I love insulting people who buy very expensive iPhones. Why would you buy an iPhone when you can buy iTouch and a separate phone? You can save more money that way.

I have my thoughts on buying an iTouch but this time, no. I just bought a 3DS recently and I have no money to spend.


2-5 - Taking Care of My 3DS XL

Today I went to the same store where I bought the games for my 3DS.

I did not buy any games today. Instead, I bought a screen protector kit. The kit includes a carrying case, three game card cases, earphones, two spare stylus, two wrist straps and the screen guards. It was totally worth it, for a branded one.

It was kinda expensive, but I'm keeping them until I become a parent. Then it might go to my children. It is mine anyway, so I get to keep it.

2-4 - Annoying Things on Facebook

I log on to Facebook almost everyday and there is not a single day that I will not see those stories that people spam by sharing.

Posts include "Like for God", "A sick person with 1 like 1 prayer or whatsoever", "1 like 1 respect", "Share this story blah blah blah" and etc.

What do I do with these? I simply ignore them but come on! Seeing them EVERYDAY is really annoying. Idiots just fall for that, and attention seekers would abuse them.

There are also instances people will message you saying "Please like for a friend". What do I care? Do I know your friend? Are you really my friend outside of Facebook to ask me that?

Seriously, please stop these morons!

Sunday, February 10, 2013

2-3 - My 3DS XL

My 3ds xl came last night, but it was already late and I'm already bery sleepy, so I set it aside.

I opened it this morning. At first I was wondering why the box is so heavy. The console itself is weighty, but it is because of the manuals. Thanks to the initial charge on the console, I was able to use it without charging it first. I set up the main settings and then I played Theatrhythm Final Fantasy. It's kinda hard to adjust to using stylus from using fingers to play the game. I then tried the 3d feature in the game. I chose ff7 event music and there we go. The 3d is amazing! The one who made the console is a genius!

My only problem with this, is charging the console. The charger is 110 volts and here in the Philippines, we have 220 volt outlets. I need to use a transformer just to charge it, which means I can't bring the charger to school. For now, I use the 110 volt socket in the computer's AVR. I'm going to need my personal AVR especially when travelling to the province.

2-2 - School Fair of my High School

Today and tomorrow are the dates of the school fair. I'm glad that I have no classes this day, so I accompanied my sister going there. It's always nice to be back visiting your alma mater. I first went to the booth of the Scouting Movement (long story, might be posting about this on another day.) Hanging out there is what I do because I don't want to spend.

After an hour of hanging out there, I decided to have a look around the school. I found a friend of mine whom I, together with other staff, trained last summer. She is with her sister making rounds selling doughnuts and cupcakes. I accompanied them.

We were selling them while making rounds to the other booths an school. After we sold the last of what we have, my friend's sister went back to her booth. I asked my friend to accompany me to eat lunch. She agreed, and we ate outside because the food in the fair is expensive, and is not enough for my appetite.

We ate at a nearby fastfood, while talking about a lot of things. I never get tired being with her, because there is so much to talk about. Back to the fair, we went back to the scouts' booth. We stayed there until the booth closed. After closing time of our booth, we had a look around the booths again.

It couldn't have been better if not for her batch mate who found us.  A sidestory: This guy is someone who thinks he's close to her. I think he's annoyed when he found us together. He tried to separate us, but I think I know what he is up to so I did not fall for it. I am still talking stories to her so separating us won't be easy.

I think he's on to me; he told my friend that he wants to say something in private. My friend told me that, so fine. They left me. My thoughts: you took her from me! Now I don't. Have a companion! I didn't even get to say goodbye to her.

I think he is jealous of me because I'm a nicer person than he is.

That night, she texted my sister. She and my sister are close friends. They were talking about what this guy told her. I think it goes like this, "You don't mind me anymore because he is sweet to you."

I knew it! He is jealous of me!

I think I found the girl whom I will give a gift this Valentine's Day!

2-1 - Valentine's Day Plan

Valentine's Day is fast approaching. I am still planning on what to do, and to who.

For the last two years, what I do is give something to the girl that I like. Then that will be the time I will tell her I like her.

Two years ago, I did this to my block mate. The previous year, I did this to my teammate and I totally regret liking her. (See http://yvanrobin.blogspot.com/2013/01/6-puta-4-reminiscence.html)

After doing these, nothing happened. That is the reason I look for another on the next year.

This year, I think I will do the same thing again, but the question is, who?

I don't think I will try this to someone on my new school, because I am only interested in someone part Chinese. Most of them are pure Filipinos (we live in the Philippines), and those who are part Chinese are already taken.

In my previous school? I don't think so. Same reason, that's it!

Those two girls mentioned are part Chinese, by the way.

Good luck to me finding the girl meant for me. Uh, how many years have I been doing this already?

Saturday, February 2, 2013

31 - The Step One in Project Making

Step One: Make the PCB

We started immediately, because we already got the materials ready. We were the first group to make the actual PCB. We were a step further than the other groups because we already drilled holes for the components. On the next meeting we will just solder them and were done! All that s left to do is to test if it works.

I can say that being experienced is an advantage. Thanks to the tutorial made from my other school, I learned the PCB making before the others did. Well, two terms ago.

30 - Our Project in Electronics 3 (Pulse and Switching)

Our project is to make a programmable IC and make the mobot move. I made the PCB layout of the circuit as soon as possible and uploaded it so my groupmates can see it. Now a classmate of mine, who isn't my group mate, and definitely not a close friend of mine, asked me to make her one.

My reaction: Are you lucky? I worked hard for the layout and I'll make another one for free? We're talking about grades here!

I did not help her in any way.

On another day, she sent me an instant message. I did not reply to her. My group mate told me what her intentions are. She requested that if they would not make a layout in time, they would request to copy mine.

I became even angrier. I would never accept that. It's too much.

The result: I made another layout which is smaller so I gave the other one to my other groupmates.