My UP Baguio Computer

I'll never have a setup as nice as this:



Yes, its three monitors. A center 19" with flanking 17" monitors.

Well, its not really a single computer. The middle and right monitors are attached to a single computer (twinview in X11, 2560x1024 resolution), and the left monitor on a separate system.

Why only one keyboard and mouse? Well, a friend of mine found a nifty opensource project on Sourceforge called Synergy which allows a single keyboard and mouse to be shared across three computers via the network. And it doesnt have to be just linux, my friend's setup is a linux computer + a windows computer + an iBook laptop. In fact, my own computer has a 4th monitor attached to a WinXP computer a few desks away.

And the configuration is so simple! Take a look at my synergy configuration file:

section: screens
    amuyao:
    amihan:
    habagat:
end
section: links
    amuyao:
        right = amihan
        left = habagat
    amihan:
    left = amuyao
    habagat:
        right = amuyao
end

(amuyao is a mountain in the cordilleras, amihan is the northeastern monsoon, habagat is the southwestern monsoon, so its like west, mountain, east)

To basically access another computer, all you have to do is move your mouse pointer to that computer. Of course you cant drag applications across computers, but you do have a shared clipboard.

Why do this? Well, aside from the answer because i can ;), my thesis involves distributed computing. So instead of physically getting off my seat to program on a remote computer, i just push their monitors together, configure synergy, and just move the mouse to work on the other computer!

Just two more shots, for anime fans out there, here's my themed wallpaper, the three Rayearth girls.



And of course, nothing beats the absolute coolness of my screensaver. ^_^

In the trenches

No updates lately. Been very busy with thesis.

You know you've been very busy when the days seem to blend into one another. A few days back I went to school and was weirded out that there werent any people, turns out it was a Sunday O_o. If i didn't have a window, i'd lose my biological clock too.

Classes dont help, i pulled a lot of strings so that when the time came that i'd be busy with thesis, i have my students working on projects so i wouldn't have to meet them. So no more classes of a sort. Even though its still 4 weeks left.

I listen to NU 107 via streaming (see eradioportal) and there was someone who requested a song cuz she's working on thesis and the DJ asked how can someone work on thesis on a weekend?

My answer: For people doing their thesis, there are no such things as nights, weekends, vacations, or holidays.

Champion

I've never been a sports fan, but I go out of my way to watch Manny Pacquiao fight. The two last fights I watched at home, the first one against Morales I watched despite the endless commercials. Learning from that experience, for the next fight I simply set the VHS to record the 6 commercial filled hours of the event, and watched it on fast forward. Got to see the best parts over and over.

But this fight i watched with a crowd gathered around a projection screen at Malcom square at the bottom of Session road in Baguio. Never mind the 2 hour commercials, or the fact that you might get mugged, or that in the 5th round of the obviously delayed telecast, the FM radio that the event organizers tuned to during the commercials broadcasted that Manny already won... It was an unforgettable experience.

Rapt with attention, everyone was hooked on every action happening. The startled gasps when Manny got hit, the cheers when he delivered those powerful blows, the roar of the crowd when Morales finally fell to the ground. You could really feel it, the excitement, the rush, the emotions of the crowd overflowing.

I guess this is what happens during any game, like the PBA (one Ginebra vs Alaska i watched at the Araneta) or the UAAP... But this time I knew it was special, because when they sang the National Anthem at the start (even if the singer slightly botched in the end), I found tears in my eyes. And i was cheering my heart out when they were waving the flag triumphantly at the end.

I realized that day that there is no greater song than that of your National Anthem; no greater sight than that of your flag being held high, when it is over a foreign land. It was great to feel a connection with everybody, that for one brief shining moment, this splintered country was cheering for the same team. You could feel it; the collective consciousness of 80 million people focused on a single man, feeling his pain, and his triumph...

Can't wait for the next fight! XD

How machiavellian are you?

You Are Somewhat Machiavellian

You're not going to mow over everyone to get ahead... But you're also powerful enough to make things happen for yourself. You understand how the world works, even when it's an ugly place. You just don't get ugly yourself - unless you have to!

How Machiavellian Are You?

I thought i was more evil than that though. ^_^