Finally, Zenfone 5 kitkat rolled out!

I was suprised today as I turned on my wifi. The long awaited and highly anticipated software upgrade for the Zenfone 5 has finally arrived!

And so far I think this update has finally solved the lingering problem of dropped wifi. Thanks for this one Asus! Please let us taste Android L in our Zenfones!

Calculate Age in Google Sheet

Problem

Several times I have personally encountered this problem and I did not pay any attention to it since I do not really need an exact information. But weeks ago I needed to solve this same problem for an event which uses current age to find out if their applicants are qualified on or before the event's date.

Below is a table containing individuals with different birthdates. Let's say the date of the event is April 23, 2014. If one tries to calculate the age of the participants by merely subtracting the current year and the birth year, only those individuals which have already celebrated and are celebrating their birthdays will have the valid answer. Below, the higlighted cells are wrong since Lina, Paulo and Annerle's birthdays are beyond or after April 23.

Some details about this table: Columns A, B, C, D, E (Name, Birthday, Date, Current Age(Current Year - Birth Year), Current Age) and Rows 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 (Name, Bernadette, Luigi, Kathrene, Lina, Paulo, Annerle). So Name is in A1 and Bernadetted is in A2. The birthday of Annerle is in B7.

Name	Birthday	Date	Current Age (Current Year - Birth Year)	Current Age
Bernadette	1/5/2000	4/23/2014	14	14
Luigi	4/22/1990	4/23/2014	24	24
Kathrene	4/23/1990	4/23/2014	24	24
Lina	4/24/1990	4/23/2014	24	23
Paulo	8/5/1988	4/23/2014	26	25
Annerle	10/11/1987	4/23/2014	27	26

So how do we solve this? We need to implement relational operations (>, <, =, etc.) as well as use a nested if statement. Luckily, google sheet allows us to extract the date, month and year given a complete date (mm/dd/yyyy). The following functions were used to extract information from the dates given in the table:

1. month(mm/dd/yyyy)
2. year(mm/dd/yyyy)
3. day(mm/dd/yyyy)

We use the functions listed above together with the if statement to calculate the current age. The if statement has the following syntax: =IF ( test, then_true, otherwise_value ). It is just similar to the usual if(test,then,else) statement.

The Solution

If we are to calculate Lina's age then we need the following code:

=if(month(B5)>month(C5),(year(C5)-year(B5))-1,(if(month(B5)<month(C5),year(C5)-year(B5), (if(day(B5)<=DAY(C5), year(C5)-year(B5),((year(C5)-year(B5))-1))))))

Now let's dissect this small piece of code.

1st part:

=if(month(B5)>month(C5),(year(C5)-year(B5))-1,

We'd like to be sure that once the given birth month exceeds the event's month then the current year will not be counted in the calculation of the age. Since Paulo's birth month is August, which is greater than or after the month of April, then we make sure that we do not count the current year in the calculation. Thus, in the second argument of the if statement a year is subtracted.

2nd part:


(if(month(B5)<month(C5),year(C5)-year(B5),

In the previous part, we made sure that all individuals with birth months after April have their age calculated correctly. Now we'll go to those who spent their birthdays prior to the month of April. Notice that this if statement is already the else part of the first if statement. Since their birth months are prior to April, the age of each individual can then be calculated easily by subtracting the birth year from the current year (current year - birth year).

3rd part:

(if(day(B5)<=DAY(C5), year(C5)-year(B5),((year(C5)-year(B5))-1))))))

Now we'll go to the third and final part. We've already established the correct syntax for those whose birth months are before and after the month of April. What's left are those individuals whose birth month is precisely April. Notice that this third if statement is the else part of the second if statement. This means that since we've established the age of those who were born before and after April, this else part (3rd part) already refers to the month of April and all we have to do is to establish the operations on the DAY of birth. So if the day of birth is less than or equal to the event's day, then by simply subtracting the current year and year of birth (current year - birth year) we'll come up with the correct age. Else (which means if the day of birth is greater than the event's day), the age is simply calculated by using (current year - birth year)-1 since they still haven't celebrated their birthday yet.

Easier way to disable other dynamic views in blogspot and select only one

Google has given us a great option of how we want our blogspot blogs to appear with different selections of dynamic views. One flaw though is that despite selecting only one type of dynamic view template we still find a dropdown menu containing all the other dynalic views. This maybe okay for some, but for many who use dynamic views this seems to be an annoyance.
I have tried the method from southernspeakers.net and it worked on my other blog but for some reason after deciding to use Timeslide dynamic view, I cannot get rid of the Classic view. Luckily, I found an easier method to remove the dropdown menu containing the views from suresolution.blogspot.com while adding just a little CSS code which can also be found in southernspeakers.net's post on this topic.

The method:

Go to DASHBOARD and then navigate to TEMPLATE. Select the dynamic view that you want as default and you want to be maintained. Now, go back to the TEMPLATE option and click CUSTOMIZE then ADVANCED and then Add CSS. Add the following CSS code and dont forget to press enter after the code:

#views{
display: none !important;
}
 
#header #pages, #header #pages:before{
border-left: 0px !important;
}

Done! Enjoy your dynamic view!

Google it - like a boss!

Found this floating around and I really find it interesting.

Philippines garner top spot for selfiest cities in the world

258 selfie-takers per 100,000 people - that's what made Makati and Pasig City the selfiest cities in the world according to a study by TIME.

258 selfies made Metro Manila (Makati and Pasig) as the selfiest place in the world.

Makati and Pasig are component cities of Metro Manila. Makati is known as the financial district of the Philippines with most of the known multinational and local companies holding offices in the area. Pasig city is also a major financial district in Metro Manila which houses the Ortigas district where companies such as San Miguel and ADB have their main offices in the area.




The availability of major smart phone brands in the Philippines such as Samsung, LG, and Apple as well as influx of cheaper alternatives in the form of China phones made it possible for Filipinos in every socio-economic class to have a smartphone in their hand. This could be one of the major factors why the Philippines topped this study. This is likely also influenced by cultural factors. Filipinos are known to be light-hearted, photo-lovers and internet-active citizens. That is why it is not unusual for us to take alot of pictures as well as selfies.

Mapping selfiest cities. Time's study on selfies with a geographical sense.

No. 2 on the list is Manhattan ,New York and no. 3 is Miami, Florida. Philippines has another representative on the list of top ten in Cebu city at no. 9.

For more information you can visit Time's map on the Selfiest Cities in the World.

App review: Textra

Over the course of years I was able to try different sorts of alternative for the native sms/mms messaging android app. Clearly at some point I am discontent with the native app and here are some of the reasons why:

1. Ugly

Honestly, I think alot of us think that the native sms app is ugly. I think it really is ugly. Though it packs the most basic and essential features, it lacks basic customizations such as color changes of the conversation bubbles as well as a popup tool for easy reading and reply composition.

2. Slow

Now I believe that everyone notices this one. Every now and then when you open your sms through your native sms app you have to wait for awhile for it to load. Some users are also experiencing auto close behaviors. Other users will say that you have to delete some or all of your messages so that the native app will not take ages to load but not everyone wants to delete their messages, right?




And then, weeks ago I finally hit a gold mine when I found out about Textra. Before that I also tried Handcent SMS, Chomp SMS and Hello SMS. So what separates Textra from the rest? Here are the reasons:

1. It really is a substitute to the Native SMS app.

Other SMS apps also feature free sms through wi-fi or if you buy credits from them. That feature is absent in Textra but honestly, I don't care at all. All I need is an app which can dethrone my native sms app and no more, no less.

2. Customizations

There are alot of customizations in Textra. The default state is having a white background but if you want to let your juice run up a little more then you can choose to use night mode which is also pretty nice. Other customizations include bubble colors as well as signatures.

Default Textra appearance

Textra in night mode

3. Fast

Why change your native sms app to a new one if it does not have this feature? Well Textra is really fast. I have no doubt about that. I have tried comparing my native sms app vs. Textra during loading and Textra consistently pops-up almost right away while I have to wait for my native sms app to load for at least five seconds.




4. Other features

MMS

An MMS in Textra

Group messaging

Group messaging using Textra

Plug-ins

Emoji and different plug-ins in Textra

Quick Compose and Quick Reply

This feature is what I love the most. Quick reply is of course activated when you open your incoming sms while quick compose is activated at the notification drawer provided that you checked the option in Textra's settings.

Quick compose

Quick reply

So that's it. We, android users, currently have alot of choices when it comes to sms/mms app. So far for me, Textra worked really well and I do recommend it to everyone who wants to change their stock sms app.

Why did Flappy Bird became a craze and why it was destined to flop

Zomby-eyed and half-awake. That was how one of my labmates appeared when I saw her smiling by herself and tapping on her phone (FYI she just had an overnight doing experiments or maybe busying herself with facebook and movie marathons). I sat in front of a desktop near to where she is and I checked my e-mail. I can hear familiar sounds of kung fu kicks from arcade games and every now and then I can hear Super Mario getting coins from the air and then finally I heard a kick landing into the other opponent. What was that, super mario and king of fighters?

Before going to my area, I was able to catch a glimpse of what she was playing. A colored blob with small wings and pouty lips (it took me awhile to realize that that thing is a bird) paddling in the air navigating pipes and once that thing hit the pipes, oh yeah it's game over! It was a simple game and I was confident that I can outrun my labmate's 79 pipes. I was able to try the game in her phone and it took me awhile to finally get through one pipe.

Fast forward weeks and weeks and weeks after that and that game called "Flappy bird" was nowhere to be found in google's playstore after topping the charts for several weeks. A statement from Dong Nguyen, the developer of Flappy Bird read:

I am sorry 'Flappy Bird' users, 22 hours from now, I will take 'Flappy Bird' down. I cannot take this anymore.
— Dong Nguyen (@dongatory) February 8, 2014

Popular it maybe, the game proved to be a double-edged sword for Dong Nguyen as many users curse the game.




So why in the world did such a simple game became popular?

1. Simple

Flappy Bird game. Just tap to control the fat bird's flight.

The game is simple. Every one who have played the game knows that. It's not as complicated as say PES (the football game I play). Just navigate the pipes and you're good to go. In addition to the simple concept of Flappy Bird, the graphics is also very simple. You have a pixelated and obese bird, a static background and some pipes which have a constant distance between ends but varying heights.

2. A game that does not let you win

We've been used to games that we usually win - racing games, tower defence, RPGs, etc.. All of the       games that we play were designed to have solutions, they were designed to let us win and feel good and for a moment make us achieve something. Just earlier, I thrashed Bayern Munich using Juventus with a five     goal difference in PES 2014. So games really make us win (virtually) and make us feel good and it invites us to play some more to win more. With Flappy Bird, no one wins. There's no second, third, new stage, unlocked series or whatever new. It's just plain and simple and it also makes you crave for that one more pipe to surpass your best record.

It does not let you win. My highest score was 79 in my brother's tablet.

Why was it destined to flop?

Given that Flappy Bird is so simple and it gives you nothing else new, it was destined to flop in the long run. Though many people still play it, myself included, the game's original appeal has already passed. As I've said, the game is simple but the gaming industry has set the standards so high nowadays with mind blowing graphics and exciting story lines and Flappy Bird does not offer such factors.




Flappy Bird is still popular despite the game being pulled out from playstore and itunes. In fact, the game's developer still receive a hefty paycheck due to the ad impressions that the game generates. And if for some reason you uninstalled your Flappy bird, you can still resurrect it since it's in your app list in Play Store or if you were able to sync your apple product to your pc, then it should also be in your app list in itunes.

Tip:

Want to increase your score? Play Flappy bird on tablet. I've seen one who navigated 200+ pipes. I was able to navigate through 79 pipes after playing in my brother's tablet.

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