Bits and Snippets

There are so many things I want to rant and rave about, but since I still have to finish compiling a paper for our class in Design and Analysis of Algorithms (XDESAGO), this will be somewhat of a short and incoherent post.

These are the deliverables and upcoming activities for my different classes for this term:

• Design and Analysis of Algorithms (XDESAGO)
• Written paper for our report on graph theory - November 27 (that's later! >_<)
• Case study program and paper - December 5 (this is still subject to changes though)
• Automata, Computability and Formal Languages (XAUTOMA)
  
• Research paper on Combinations of Finite Machines - November 29
• Finals - December 10
• Knowledge Management (KM)
• Case study presentation - November 28
• Project presentation and paper - November 28
• Case study final paper - December 9

And I still have MCSE exams to worry about. >_<

Despite the stress, here are some things that have made me somehow happy recently:

• Our van finally has a working stereo after around 2 years! :D Although I haven't gone on a long trip with my family in ages. But at least when we push through with our trip to Manaoag this December we'll have some music to listen to again. Yay!
• A good friend introduced me to the music of Yiruma, a Korean composer. It's just so effin lovely!!! You guys should watch his Youtube videos. He's so awesome. I've been downloading his piano pieces so that I can try to learn them.
• I've been downloading themes for my SE G900 phone, thanks to this post by Gel. I keep switching themes now depending on my mood. Hahaha!

Here's to hoping I finish all my deliverables on time. Gah, I can't wait for this term to be over.

It's Christmas time once again...

...and though it shouldn't be all about receiving gifts, one can still wish for them, right? :)) With that, I present to you my Christmas wishlist! Don't worry, though. I'm not asking for much this year, I think. ;) I'm classifying them into categories, so for those who are planning to give me something (as if there's anyone), here's an idea.

VERY SIMPLE BUT VERY MEANINGFUL

1. A sincere feel-good letter. This is actually one of the things I miss getting. I'd rather have a letter without a gift than a gift without a letter.
2. A sincere hug. If I rarely get the first one, this one's even rarer.

EASY TO GIVE

1. Trinkets/jewelry. I actually like wearing these. I just don't have the time yet to buy more.
2. Paulo Coelho's books! I have a lot of them already, but for some reason I want to complete his collection XD If you do want to give me one of these, you have to ask me for the titles I already have.
3. Any book by Bo Sanchez. I think I need to read more of his books. :)

NOT-SO-EASY TO GIVE

1. Clothes and footwear. No one but my mom and cousin has gifted me with clothes that fit me to a T. If someone can give me something that actually fits me without having to ask me for a size, I'd love that person forever. HAHAHA!
2. Super duper nice earphones. I actually plan to save up for this, but if someone really kind would give me this, then thank you! :))

I think that's all I want for Christmas this year. Not that plenty, but if I get these then I'd be uber happy. :)

Is It Time To Move Out?

Before you all start asking questions, I'm not pertaining to moving out of my house and living somewhere else alone. Hahaha! Although I am of legal age, close family ties dictate that I don't leave until I get married. :P So no, I'm not going on solo flight yet.

I'm referring to moving out of Blogger and getting hosted and acquiring a web domain of my own. I know of a hosting+domain package that costs just a little over 1000 PhP a year, which is really affordable and one that I can easily pay for. However, there are some things that I am very unsure of, as well as some things that I need to be familiar with:

1. Apart from a blog, I don't know what my website would (or should) contain. I'm torn between having a professional website, a laidback website, or a healthy mixture of both. A more professional website would probably contain blog entries and articles about Computer Science, Web development and probably even politics. *gasp* The laidback website would probably contain more free stuff for visitors (i.e. website layouts) and less serious blog entries. It would be nice to be able to balance both, though I can't figure out how to do that as of now.
   In relation to this, the content of my website would probably dictate the domain name that I will choose. As of now, I can't think of a name that's catchy enough. O_O


2. I need to hone my skills in Web development. BADLY. By this, I mean ALL aspects of Web development. From layout making using Photoshop to coding CSS, PHP, Javascript and whatever other language is needed. After all, if I do want people to visit my website, I need to give them reasons to do so. Besides, I won't be able to make creative and effective layouts if I suck at making one.


3. In relation to the previous item, I need to familiarize myself with Wordpress. I actually have a Wordpress account, but in order to maximize the power of Wordpress (i.e. manual PHP coding), I need to have my own domain. And I also need to see how layouts in Wordpress actually work so that I'll be able to start making some of my own.


4. I've actually forgotten how to use FTP tools! It's been so long since I last got hosted at a subdomain, and I haven't used a FTP tool since then.

Decisions, decisions. Haha. I really want to do something other than work and study, so this is one of my options as of now. Other suggestions are highly appreciated as well, so if you have one, just click that comment link!