My Journey to the Cloud

I've been working with a lot of paperworks in my workplace lately which in the end I needed to print and having no flash disks (yes I do not own one for at least the past four years) I resorted to sending the files I needed to print to my own e-mail. At first the process I was going through was easy but not until I needed to print a lot of papers that finding the files in my laptop, attaching it to an e-mail and then sending it to my own e-mail address became too cumbersome.

And so, a few weeks ago I decided to try out free cloud services. I know several names of cloud services that I encounter from time to time such as Dropbox, Microsoft Skydrive, 4shared's 4sync, Amazon Drive and Google Drive. I'll try to review each and everyone of these based on my knowledge and a few experiences with them.

CLOUD (an overview)

Note:

• I am always hooked into a proxy server so setting up the proxy through Internet Options is a must almost all of the time.
• The comments I make below are from my own personal perspective and based on my own personal experience.

1. Dropbox

Dropbox is quite nice but the 2Gb initial free cloud space is not so appealing though you can invite friends to try it out earning 500Mb for each successful referral. The limit goes upto 16Gb and you can download a desktop program which sets a certain folder (Dropbox folder) wherein everything contained in it will automatically be synchronized to your virtual Dropbox cloud storage. Maximum possible free space whoops upto 25Gb according to https://blog.dropbox.com (dropbox blog). You can earn the above maximum free storage by completing "quest" of some sort.

2. Microsoft Skydrive

Hmmmmm...what can I say? Skydrive looked so promising at first but the upload speed of the files just kills me. It offers 7Gb of cloud storage which in the present standard for initial free storage is not that bad. Microsoft should improve the way the files are synchronized because I've downloaded the desktop program which also sets a Skydrive folder and upon putting files inside the folder and watching the sync progress from time to time I know that it is not the cloud service for me, well at least for the mean time.

3. 4sync

This cloud service offers free 15Gb file storage and it is directly synched to one's 4shared account. I tried installing it a few days ago but I was not successful in setting up the cloud. I think the initial set-up of 4sync requires only direct connection since I'm not successful using it with a proxy server. But still worth exploring since 15Gb is not a small amount of storage.

4. Amazon drive

I loved this at first. The fact that you can just drag and drop your files to the amazon desktop application is very handy. Amazon drive offers 5Gb of cloud storage but it does not offer you a direct view of which files are already in the cloud or will be in the cloud since this is a drag, drop and sync app. You can view the files and the changes in the Amazon drive website. What you drop in the Amazon drive app is directly synchronized in the Amazon cloud drive. At first handy but being able to monitor the files in your cloud directly through a desktop folder like Dropbox and Skydrive is, for me, a better way to use cloud services.

5. Google Drive

I love this cloud and compared to the other four, I find this cloud very easy to use since it's the same concept as Dropbox and Skydrive wherein you have a folder and any files that you copy or put in it is directly synchronized to you Google Drive. It also preserves the folder and subfolder organizations (the same as other cloud services) plus in my own experience, this Cloud is the fastest among the three Clouds (I had a hands on) in terms of upload speed. I do not want to sound biased but Google has really nailed it since this service can easily be found in your Google App list plus it's just very minimal - just the way people needed it to be. This is very important for me since my main e-mail is under Gmail and just a few clicks away I can already access the synched files in my Google Drive.

My verdict goes to:

Google Drive

Simple and without any unnecessary complications. Just the way it needs to be - a drive. Faster synchronization and fast download of the files from Google Drive cloud to PC. I will let Google get away though, with its meager 5Gb storage. I hope Google increases the free storage in the future which is I believe is highly probable.

Lessons learned from Mt. Marami

Two years ago I went to one of the highest peaks of Cavite, Mt. Marami. Out of the ten or so people who went up the mountain that day, I was among the few who will be conquering their first mountain. We trailed and climbed for almost four and a half hours to reach the summit. At about 1:30PM we were at one of the highest points of Cavite. The trail towards the summit was challenging, at least for a newbie like me during that time. The organizer of our climb found out prior to our trip that the trail was confusing so we opted to hire a local guide plus none of us has ever climbed Mt. Marami before. It was the month of June at that time so the rainy season was slowly taking the throne away from the hot summer days. This became evident as we passed muddy trails at least ankle’s height. We passed creeks and rivers, which according to our guide could swell during hard rains.

The air was fresh and the scenery was green. It was a perfect get away from the chaotic life in the metropolis. Such moments cannot be easily forgotten especially for people who are much more used to the complex life in the city. Out in the mountains, life is slow. You take each day one at a time. You will have more time to think of essential things around you. In the city, you cannot wait for the day to be finished. We get stuck in traffics then sleep when we get home and then wake up the following day only to face almost the same routine as we always do.

We stayed at the summit for almost an hour and quickly made our descend towards our jump off point. I thought that going down was easy not until I realized that droplets of water started to appear from the clear skies. I tagged along with one of my closest friends among the pack during our descend. He is in a way a veteran in trail hikes and mountain climbing. We were talking about the climb during our descend as we glided down the side of the mountain which earlier lead us towrds the summit. He told me that life is like a mountain that we have to climb. There are hardships that we have to conquer and we must overcome them to be able to reach the summit. He also told me that in such activities you will see a person’s real attitude. When I thought about what he said I looked at myself and the people around me and realized the truth in his words. After awhile the droplets grew bigger and started to pour from slowly passing dark clouds. The heat during the ascend was quickly subdued by the rain. There were many times that my foot slipped in my own sandals because the friction between my foot and the rubber surface diminished as mud crept underneath my foot. There were times that I have to call on the person in front of me fearing that I might get lost in the labyrinth of trails and because I was being stalled by my muddy sandals. After sometime we reached a river and talking to a local in the area we found out that a spring can be found at the side of the river. After giving second thoughts and realizing that all of us were out of water we finally drank from the spring. My friend, the same one who talked to me earlier, told me how lucky the locals are because they have a very simple life and that almost all of the things essential for survival are already around them. They have food in the form of fruits and vegetables and some of them raise chickens and pigs so meat is not a question. Potable water is also not a problem as none of us complaied days or weeks after we drank from the spring. Thinking about it I realized that city life has made alot of people too complicated and I am no exception. Many times we create our own needs which are not among the essential things in life. We are a complex bunch of individuals while people in the provinces and mountains enjoy the life to the basics and alot of them do not complain and yet live a happy and fulfilling life.

Everytime I go up in mountains I look at the locals and how they live their lives. Often I envy them because they are living a very simple life and I know that a person who has been exposed to a complex urban life may have a hard time coping with the rural setting. Still, it is best to go out from time to time and appreciate the simple life. It is also a time to reminisce some of my childhood years in the provinces down in the south and also a time to think more about the more essential things in life.

Image taken from: http://www.pinoymountaineer.com/2007/09/mt-marami-405.html

Wisdom in Running

First of all, I am not a professional runner nor a gifted running geek. I am not a running athlete who can run ten kilometers in a little more than thirty minutes. I am just a normal guy who runs around in a normal pace. I haven’t run a marathon yet. I only ran in two events as of the moment, a 5K a year ago and a 10K recently. I didn’t believe that joining running events can give me satisfaction. All I care about is running to my heart’s content. I didn’t run for a long time due to runner’s knee. Almost a year or a little less ago I became discouraged. I was blaming my shoes thinking that I am not running with the correct shoe type. I was blaming my posture thinking that my running form was too lame. Not until recently that looking at a mirror I suddenly cannot recognize myself. It was like waking up one day and you didn’t have a clue what happened to you. I gained a lot of mass, around 5-10kg from my normal weight when I was an undergrad. I guess graduate school makes you really fat.

I started running again. I picked up my running shoes and slipped my shorts and dri-fit shirt into my body. I ran in a cool summer morning and realized how much I missed the instances when my feet would land into the road’s surface with what I hope to be an execution of a graceful impact. I missed how the wind blew into my face. I missed how my lungs would grasp for air in an alternating fashion of inhale and exhale with every running stride I make. I missed how my sweat would pour out as if there was no tomorrow because I do sweat alot!

A year ago all I cared about was conquering distances. I was about to run in a half marathon event when suddenly I can’t due to the injury I had. I guess it was a very normal reaction to strive for more and more miles as you progress in running or jogging. I got hooked into conquering distances and it killed my knee and robbed my confidence during running. During my recent runs I realized that running is a gradual routine of varying cycles ranging from easy, moderate and hard then back to easy, moderate and hard and so on and so forth. It is taken one step at a time. Well, that’s what I read from writers who run with Kenyans. The reason for this is simply to let our muscles relax and recover. I will not go into details with this because I am not a sports scientist.

The best lesson I got from running is discipline. More than a year in grad school changed my sleeping patterns. During my undergrad I used to wake up at five-thirty or six in the morning because I have classes at seven or eight. Grad school classes are usually in the evening but I do had laboratory classes which started at 1PM. This means that I can sleep until late in the morning which I did. My usual pattern was to sleep at twelve or one in the morning and to wake up at seven or eight AM. Running has forced me to sleep early and wake up at four or five in the morning. That’s a three hour difference between my old and new wake up patterns. It’s hard but if you really want to run, certain sacrifices must be made. The addition of running into my day has also robbed me of energy. So I am left with just the energy I need to carry me through the day. I cannot afford to spend alot of time and energy on useless things on the internet nor to spend alot of hours playing computer games which are counter productive.

Running taught me to focus on the things I do. When I’m out running I do not let my thoughts fly. All I can think about (and I can’t resist this temptation) is what I’m currently doing. It’s just me and the road. My thoughts are directed on the right pace, posture and goal for the day. When pain comes in during running, I need to be focused so that I can adjust to what my body currently needs. Do I need to slow down or do I need to adjust my posture? Do I need water or do I need to completely stop?

Finally, running has given me motivation. I used to run alone though alot of people suggest to run in packs for easier pacing and it gives you alot of motivation. Running alone almost all the time except when my brother joins me has taugh me to be motivated to achieve a goal. Running events have a different environment. Joining a 10K fun run recently made me realize how important it is to join such races. Races put alot of motivation. Passing by slower runners gives alot of satisfaction and being left behind by others gives alot of motivation.

Running has alot of lessons that it can impart. It is not just to break a sweat or to loose fat. It is like a natural tendency towards pavements and roads. It is a test of human physiology (especially when you’re running a marathon) and it is a discipline unfolding.

Taken from: Fred Rohe's "Zen of Running"

How I saw God?

Seeing a proof before believing is my normal tendency and could also be true for alot of people. For the past couple of years I was trained to believe in proof both as a student of applied physics and materials science. I often encounter equations which have great consequences which are mathematically valid and at the same time physically observable. I often analyze X-ray diffractograms to prove that a material exist or has been formed by the presence of crystal planes specific for a material as can be seen from an XRD (X-ray diffraction) graph. Our lives are influenced by what we do and how we think everyday. As such, I often look for a proof of God’s existence.

It has been said that we must see God in every person that we encounter. This seems to be a very heroic act especially when we are in front of an enemy or another person whom we do not like at all. It is a very hard task and based on my experience we often slip into failure.

Blessed are those who believe but do not see. This phrase has often been repeated to us over and over again especially during these days when people need a tangible proof for anything they would want to believe in. Take for example love. One of the most abused words in the dictionary. Love is blind as they say but how about those people whose love is founded on material things or the things which they can extract from their friends, family and partners. Will a man in love be able to justify his love for a woman by taking her to expensive restaurants or buying her expensive goods? Of course not. If I were a millionaire I can easily do that! I could easily hand a Louis Vuitton to a woman. Maybe not just to a single woman but also to another and another and another and so and so. Will a woman justify her love for a man if she were able to give up her body for the guy that she is madly in love with? It may be logical for some or alot of people but I tell you it will not. Sometimes to believe in love we need only to look at other people’s sacrifice. Take for example, our mothers. Fortunately I grew with one if you have none then look at the one who raised you I’m sure he or she loves you so much. A mother sacrifices alot for her child such that it would be impossible not to cite even one sacrifice our mother has done for us. To love is to be able to sacrifice. It is more of an action and it may often not be as tangible as material goods. It can be observed but can be easily taken for granted. Why am I saying this? I saw a blind man participating in the Seven Last Words weeks ago. He came inside the church with a cheerful face and aura being guided by someone whom I think he does not personally know. The blind man could have asked someone to find him a seat. When I saw the blind man I realized that he can only hear and he obviously cannot see. He was lucky that he was deprived of the sense of sight because faith rarely needs sight. Faith need not be seen, it must be heard. He was blind yet I know, I believe that he has formulated a beautiful image of God in his mind. At that time I closed my eyes and I was greeted by darkness with only the sound of the crowd accompanying me. I tried my best to believe and yet I still lack faith like the doubting Saint Thomas but I know that I have seen God that day through the blind man.

Healing of the blind man by Brian Jekel

Image taken from: http://picturesofjesus4you.com/482.html