February 2012
33 posts
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STAND UP's Disappointing Mistake
On my routine walk from the NIGS Canteen to the Math building, STAND UP representatives were handing out these fliers to anyone passing by. The first few paragraphs were attention grabbing, but after perusing the contents, I cannot help but be disappointed.
The flier was the epitome of hypocrisy that so marks this year’s UP Student Council elections. It’s a jumble of several ad...
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“My aunt worked several years in what Americans call “sweat shops.” It was hard...”
– Unnamed source, on the hypocrisy many Americans displayed concerning the working conditions of Chinese workers in Shenzen.
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jasonkincaid.net: A Farewell Ahoy — Thanks For... →
jasonkincaid:
It isn’t easy to feel sad when you’re standing in front of a 14-foot ape who’s wearing a polo shirt, a backwards baseball cap, and, for reasons only its designer could explain — no pants. And yet, there I was.
Actually, “sad” would be an understatement. I was downright gloomy. Even the…
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We, the Web kids - a manifesto
by Piotr Czerski (translated by Marta Szreder), originally published in a Polish daily, and subsequently translated to English by Marta Szreder and pastebinned. Contact the author at piotr[at]czerski.art.pl
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There is probably no other word that would be as overused in the media...
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The Best of LIFE: 37 Years in Pictures →
The cream of all the world’s pictures. A nervy assertion — but an assertion repeatedly affirmed by LIFE’s tireless, innovative photographers and the work they produced, issue by issue, week after week, year upon year. World war and peaceful revolutions; Hollywood icons and history-shaping villains; the Space Race and civil rights; Ernest Hemingway’s novel, The Old Man and the Sea published ― in...
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Please Steal These webOS Features | ignore the... →
When Apple introduced the first iPad in 2010, I bought one immediately. I didn’t know what I’d use it for, but I was sure that I would find some use for it. I never did. I played around with it, wrote some code for it, but eventually stopped using it. I would pick it up from time to time to read something or watch a YouTube movie, but even that was a rare occurrence. I have since picked up an...
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The U.N. Threat to Internet Freedom →
On Feb. 27, a diplomatic process will begin in Geneva that could result in a new treaty giving the United Nations unprecedented powers over the Internet. Dozens of countries, including Russia and China, are pushing hard to reach this goal by year’s end. As Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said last June, his goal and that of his allies is to establish “international control over...
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Unlucky Me. Also, Fuck Smart.
It started just this past Sunday, when I looked over the contents of my wallet. The pink receipt from Power Mac Center was missing. This was the receipt for a set of audiophile earbuds that I returned to the Trinoma branch for warranty service. And thus, how would I be able to claim back the said earbuds without the receipt? (I’m hoping they agree to credit card authentication. Any...
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A Trip to The iFactory: 'Nightline' Gets an... →
“Okay.” “Okay.” “Okay.”
The voices are robot feminine and they never shut up, each chirp a surreal announcement that another new iPad is about to be born.
“Okay.” “Okay.” “Okay.”
The factory floor is spotless under the bright fluorescent lights and with hypnotic rhythm, thousands of hands reach into a conveyor belt river,...
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No Wonder The Kids Today Are So Anxious « Thought... →
Picture this. You’re sitting around your living room with some friends and someone comes in, an acquaintance perhaps, and starts filming you. You’re not sure why. Do you do exactly as you were doing before the camera entered the room? Or has your behavior changed — what you say, do, how you interact with others in the room? Cameras necessarily shift social dynamics. How can they not? They are...
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The Cost of Knowledge →
science:
Science should be open. If you support that sentiment, this initiative is good news. It is a call for researchers to declare a boycott of Elsevier, one of the largest publishers of scientific journals in the world. Elsevier makes enormous profits off the free labor of scientists all over the world. Scientists do the research, write the papers, do the editing and peer-review, and then...
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Content Everywhere, But Not A Drop To Drink
parislemon:
This morning, I woke up and read Nick Bilton’s weekly New York Times’ column. Nick is a friend and one of the best bloggers/writers/journalists out there. But with today’s column, he was way off base.
Having already said what I wanted to say about the Path situation, I debated if I should weigh in again. Then I read Nick’s column again. There’s a way to say what he wants to say,...
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“I would say the thing that annoys me about Android is I don’t think it has...”
– Sam Moreau, director of UX for Windows, on Andoid’s lack of design sensibility.
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WatchI spent four of simultaneously the best and the worst years of my life in this institution. This video brings back so many memories in so many ways, among them the inclusion numerous photos of my own batch’s experiences and happenings. The PSHS experience was unique, from the highly challenging curriculum to the very strong school spirit instilled in every graduate, obvious even now a year...
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“Piracy is new radio. That’s how music gets around.”
– Neil Young, musician
January 2012
22 posts
As Anonymous protests, Internet drowns in... →
ACTA has been receiving a lot of flak recently, but for the wrong reasons. Most of the arguments raised against ACTA by much of the internet - forced ISP surveillance, stifling of innovation in generic medicine - are actually factually inaccurate. The real threats posed by ACTA are not from heavy handed provisions; they actually result from lack of transparency and subtle politicking.
“I think it’s probably true that Mitt Romney is concealing a private doubt, and...”
– David Frum on his frustration with the GOP candidates, specifically Mitt Romney. An interesting take. (via cheatsheet)
“You see, an economy built to last is one where we encourage the talent and...”
– Barack Obama, in his State of the Union Address. I love the fact that he’s siding with technology, with special focus on innovation. I do have some qualms with the fact that some of his other quotes were a bit too conservative.
These comments by a liberal foreigner living in a country half a...
Sinatra Song Often Strikes Deadly Chord | New York... →
Karaoke sessions can be violent in the Philippines, and this 2010 article claims that it is even more so when one sings Frank Sinatra’s “My Way.” Police even has a list of karaoke-related murders dubbed “My Way Killings.” Reasons and justifications range from the Philippines’ inherent macho culture, the lack of clear thought process brought about by...
Thoughts on the Megaupload shutdown
People everywhere are deploring the shutdown of popular file sharing website Megaupload. Analogies abound everywhere; here are two from the comments to an article on Ars Technica:
if you buy a Ford and use it to rob a bank, Ford should be shut down. Just imagine this logic applied everywhere.
Does the Federal government regularly shut down movie theatres when they discover some people are...
Do Great Things | Techcrunch →
Justin Rosenstein, cofounder of Asana, deplores the state of the technology startup scene today in a guest post on Techcrunch. Startups are focusing too much of their resources in adding trivial features to their products and safeguarding their “turf” from other potential competitors. There is little focus on actually changing the world, of disrupting an archaic and stagnant sector of...
Google is now forcing users to make a Gmail...
This means that when you sign up for a Youtube channel, or a Blogger blog, or for those nifty Google apps, all your notifications will be sent through the Gmail account. You have to go through the settings of those services to have those emails sent to your original email address. Also, users who just want to comment on Youtube videos will now get incessant notifications when they search on...
Arvin's New Tumblr (Link) Blog →
This was Tumblr theme before, but I since converted this Tumblr into a personal blog of sorts. However, there’s still that urge to blog about about all things great and inspiring; later on, I realized that a Pinterest board with this theme is simply not enough. Thus, this new blog.
Btw, this is a link blog - a blog with little personal content, mostly containing stuff I stumbled upon on...
In other news, the UPCAT Results are now up! →
After months of constant anxiety caused by such an incredibly tense wait, after all those inaccurate rumors resulting in false hope among the thousands of applicants, the OUR finally posts the UPCAT results online. One hundred thirty pages of the names of those people that will comprise the next batch of our national scholars.
Congratulations!
Tim O'Reilly: Why I'm fighting SOPA | Gigaom →
Colleen Taylor’s interview of anti-SOPA publisher Tim O’Reilly yields some of the most convincing arguments against the institution of the said legislation. Among the most thought provoking are:
People will pay if it is more convenient, and if the price is fair
The people who pirate will not pay even if their illegitimate sources are cut off
The content industry is undergoing a...