a record of thoughts

The South Trip (Set 2)

140 Photos

The South Trip (Set 1)

87 Photos

INTRODUCTION

Before December begins, I should have used all my vacation days from work. It was the last two weeks of November. Usually, I spend my vacation in the overseas, but this year, I opted for a domestic trip with Frances.

I did not plan the trip ahead of time like I usually do things. Planning a trip most of the time does not work for me because things happen in between. I’ve been irking to go south this time, especially to Texas. It has been in the back of my head. Only financial burden and fear was pinning me down. That’s another thing why I don’t plan my trips; I get over the fear. So during the weekend when I picked up Frances from the airport (she came from Las Vegas, but originally from Vancouver, BC) I was thinking about the trip while driving. From there, I decided to do it. Face the music later. (more…)

I will not be preaching or discussing the current state of world economy. It’s still happening and I’m not an expert in it. The point I will be relaying in today’s entry is the sense of being economical in projects.

I am currently developing an application in a few spared hours of my dull life. I’m a few months delayed because of improper planning. The application I am developing requires massive information storage. Information that is improperly organized is simply garbage in a storage bin. Therefore, I will be using a database to organize the information. According to my projection, I can’t afford to use flatfile or filebased database system. I need an engine to run and manage the database system. There only a few RDBMS out there that’re stable enough to handle megabytes of information daily.

If you are talking about software, which company would first pop-up in your head? Microsoft. Since we are all used to Microsoft’s softwares, a programmer would easily decide to use MSSQL Server. In my case, I’m very picky when it comes to database management. I am not loyal to anyone because I choose according to my needs. However, I would avoid MSSQL.

The few reasons I have for ignoring MSSQL Server are (1) there’s a cheaper solution that can offer the same or superior quality, (2) difficult to use [not intuitive]. I can’t say never, but I don’t overestimate my needs because they cost a lot. I’m a Filipino and Filipinos always (not often) believe that the more expensive the product, the more superior it is. I don’t value something because it costs a lot. In database management system industry, it surely is not true. I always use MySQL for my large scale database needs. It’s free, easy to use, portable, and you have unlimited support from the community. And if you are upgrading to enterprise-scale data, then you can purchase an enterprise version for a handsome cost.

I honestly believe that’s economical. At work, I have MySQL deployed so that I can store needed information anytime I want without asking for a budget. The reason why I wrote this is that I’m running source install on my Western Digital MyBook and it’s been hours since I sent a Make command. It’s my way of killing time I guess.

We all know that the two World Wars brought stability to dying economies of their era. Before the bombing of the WTC and the war on terrorism, US economy wasn’t so good. George W. Bush was elected and was made a scapegoat for the slide of US economy. So here 9/11 was a perfect opportunity to improve the spiraling economy. On the side note, it’s not being ruled out that Pearl Harbor was of the same opportunity to get out of the Great Depression. The American government was rumored to have known the threat, but created an excuse to halt the isolation and enter the war. Gawd! I love American politics! (more…)

Kalam is a public service documentary by a Philippine television network GMA. The episode discussed the rice shortage facing the world and especially the Philippines. The show was very thorough in discussing the causes and possible outcome of the crisis facing the world today. I will discuss and give my two cents on some of the issues. (more…)