The RubeTube

I just got my first online Go victory! After getting creamed by an average of 82.5 points in my first two online games, I finally achieved sweet success on my third try. (What they say about it being a charm, well it's true.)

My two defeats were against non-beginners. I was devastated in my first game by a 10-kyu player despite a 9-stone handicap, and found similar failure in a no-handicap game against a 22-kyu player. Finally, I managed to score my maiden victory against a fellow beginner, "Alfa" from Indonesia. Here's a record of our game, in SGF format. It wasn't a pretty game at all; it looked like an authentic beginner's match, characterized by huge chunks of territory. But in the end it turns out that I was somewhat less of a beginner than my opponent; I won by 38.5 points! Here's what the board looked like at the end (I was playing white, click for a better view):


If you're looking to get started on Go, you can check out PANDA-glGo. Right out of the box, you can use it to edit and view games. But if you want to play Go against the computer, you'll have to get GNU GO as well and configure PANDA-glGo to use it; you can find the latest release on PANDA-glGo's download page. On the other hand, if you're itching to play against human opponents, you'll have to go to IGS-PandaNet and register for an account. There's also a Go tutorial on the site if you want to learn the rules of the game.

Watch out for me if ever you go online; my handle is "punzki" (as usual) and I'd be glad to have a match. It'd surely be more fun than always losing to the computer!

Labels: :D, board games, go, software

I've been spotted on YouTube! Our team in the 2005 ACM-ICPC World Finals (held in Shanghai) is in the freakin' thumbnail of the video below. We're the three guys in the bright Ateneo-blue shirts. From left to right, that's Allan Espinosa, myself, and Miguel Arguelles (who's actually hidden in the thumbnail). That's 0:46 into the video (or 0:48 from the end). Watch our 2 seconds of YouTube fame!


And here in this second video, I've been spotted again! This time, from the 2006 ACM-ICPC World Finals in San Antonio. I have a cameo role for another 2 seconds starting at 0:59 into the video (1:32 from the end).


...Yes, I am absolutely sure that those are my hands that are on the keyboard, and that that is my watch. I confirmed it by observing how my wrists and hands look like while typing. At first I was doubtful that it was me because I usually take my watch off during programming competitions (it gets in the way, you know). But then again, them hands were typing quite slowly so I figured it could've been during the practice session or in the Java Challenge (we placed 6th!) where we weren't in any rush.

Labels: ACM-ICPC, Punzki, videos, YouTube

My dad's finally home! He arrived from Singapore this afternoon along with my sister. He doesn't look like he's skipped a beat. The doctors said he shouldn't do anything strenuous for at least a month, but otherwise he looks like he's back to normal...

...Except for the fact that he's on a health crusade now. There seems to be no end to the advice he's picked up from the doctors in Singapore. Look for all our meals to undergo a mandatory health inspection from now on. But it's for our own benefit too so all's well and good.

I'm very, very happy that my dad's back.

Labels: :), family, health

Two of the more popular posts on the RubeTube (in terms of being stumbled upon from search engines) are "How to restore the Server service on Windows XP" and "The most unorthodox way to install IIS (and how to serve FLV files)". One of the reasons why I started this blog is for me to have a venue where I can share more tidbits like the ones on those two posts. I wanted to document even the tiniest things that I learn in my journey as a software developer. Sadly, I've been a bit negligent in doing so, but I've made a resolution to be more diligent in documenting my discoveries.

So without further ado, I'm starting a new series on the RubeTube called TechBits (presumably short for "technology tidbits"). TechBits will contain code snippets, how-tos, and other cool and awesome discoveries, even if I just picked them up from other blogs (I'll acknowledge them of course). The first TechBit is coming soon. You'll be able to view all TechBits here. Enjoy!

(I thought about starting a new blog but I'm not very good at maintaining multiple blogs. I haven't even been able to update the other series, Pick of the Week. Should be making another PoW soon.)

Labels: RubeTube, TechBits

The Microsoft JobsBlog is running a coding contest. The grand prize? A chance to work at Microsoft! Read more about it here.

The first winner of the contest is now a Microsoft employee. I think he still had to pass his interview though.

(If you are having difficulties with their email system, you might want to read this.)

Labels: contests, employment, Microsoft

If you had noticed from my last entry, the source code of my "Name Bastardizer" is hosted on punzki.com. Yes, I have finally gotten around to purchasing my own hosting and domain!

Right now, there's absolutely nothing on it, except for links to Fantasy Sports Live (which I'll be moving to punzki.com in the future), and the new the RubeTube's new address: http://blog.punzki.com. Blogger's custom domains are awesome; your blog will still be hosted on Blogspot, but you can have it displayed on your own domain or subdomain. In other words, you get your own URL while still eating up Blogspot's storage and bandwidth. The old address, http://punzki.blogspot.com, will still work and will redirect to the new one (go ahead, try it!). http://www.punzki.com/blog is another alternate address.

Aside from the RubeTube and FSLive, punzki.com will play host to whatever projects I come up with in the future. Also, I have yet to think of an official "title" and tagline for punzki.com, so suggestions are very much welcome! Submissions for an official logo are also needed.

(Many thanks to my host, Philhosting.net, and their really cheap Windows hosting. Just check out their "Economy" hundred bucks a month plan... what a steal! And it's pretty fast, too.)

Labels: :D, Blogger, Philhosting, Punzki, punzki.com, RubeTube

As you can probably imagine, a lot of people (including my dear friends) misspell "Punzki", intentionally or otherwise. This has led to the creation of such monstrosities as "Poonski", "Punsky", and--God forbid--"Funskie".

(I do realize that this is partly my fault because I don't usually spell out my name when I introduce myself to others as Punzki. But you could have asked, right? I don't bite.)

Let's dissect the parts of my moniker and discuss the common mistakes when spelling them:

• F instead of P in Punzki, e.g., "Funzki"
  
  When people do this, they are usually just trying to be cute, but I get irritated with this particular intentional bastardization of my name.
  
  
• oo instead of u in Punzki, e.g., "Foonzki"
  
  Again, not cute.
  
  
• The n in Punzki is mandatory. You absolutely cannot get this wrong.
  
  
• s instead of z in Punzki, e.g., "Punski"
  
  Conditionally excusable. The exception is when you know what my real name is, which has no letter S in it at all, and you realize that Punzki is derived from my family name.
  
  
• Not putting a k in Punzki, e.g., "Punzi"
  
  Partly excusable, because sometimes the strong "z" sound can overpower the "k" sound and you end up not hearing it. On a side note, my brother's nickname/Net handle is "Punzie".
  
  
• ie or y instead of i in Punzki, e.g., "Punzkie", "Punzky"
  
  Acceptable, although "ie" is very close to qualifying as asking-for-it.
  

Now if you are any good in discrete math, you will realize that given these parameters, there are 48 possible ways that you can screw up my name (48 = 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 3). Take your pick, please (the ones in bold are palatable for me, most are toward the end):

• Foonsi
• Foonsie
• Foonski
• Foonskie
• Foonsky
• Foonsy
• Foonzi
• Foonzie
• Foonzki
• Foonzkie
• Foonzky
• Foonzy
• Funsi
• Funsie
• Funski
• Funskie
• Funsky
• Funsy
• Funzi
• Funzie
• Funzki
• Funzkie
• Funzky
• Funzy
• Poonsi
• Poonsie
• Poonski
• Poonskie
• Poonsky
• Poonsy
• Poonzi
• Poonzie
• Poonzki
  
• Poonzkie
• Poonzky
• Poonzy
• Punsi
• Punsie
• Punski
• Punskie
• Punsky
• Punsy
• Punzi
• Punzie
• Punzki
• Punzkie
• Punzky
• Punzy

Of course, I didn't generate those names myself... I wrote a program to generate those. Steal the source code, if you wish. (I decided to use C++ because all I've been doing lately is C# and Java and I was afraid I was getting rusty.) The Punzki nickname generator is pretty flexible, so if you have an oft-misspelled nickname as well, you can change the source code and compile and run it yourself, but be sure to let me know about the results!

Labels: C++, combinatorics, geek, math, names, Punzki

Since my Dad hasn't been at home for a week now, I have had the privilege of being the lone person in the household with a driver's license. In short, the family car is at my disposal. I pay for the gas, of course.

I had to take a call at around midnight earlier tonight and I decided to take it at the office where I don't have to bother with using a calling card. Fortunately, I could bring the car to work so I had the flexibility of going home late.

And everyone knows its such a pleasure to drive at midnight, when nothing can stop you on the road. I was able to get home in a mere 20 minutes, from Ortigas to the gate of our house in Sun Valley, Parañaque. It sounds like I drove very fast, but the trip was only 16 kilometers, which means that I averaged a very pedestrian 48 kph.

(Also of note: It was the first time in my four month at HP that I stayed in the office until past midnight. It may sound like a terrible deal to you, but actually I've been quite lucky so far. Many HP-ers experience their first "midnighter" by their first month on the job, including those not on a morning shift. That shouldn't scare you from applying with us though.)

Labels: driving, HP, work

After a successful angioplasty, Dad has been discharged from the hospital. He'll be staying in Singapore (not sure where) for a week to recuperate before heading home. My sister will be accompanying home (I think). (I obviously don't know much of the details... I haven't been able to ask my Mom a lot of questions.)

Thanks once again, everyone, for your prayers and concern.

Labels: :), family

My dad has been in Singapore for a few days now, on a business trip. Last night, over dinner with his business partners, he experienced a mild heart attack (essentially a clogging of the arteries). Fortunately, his partners were there to rushed him to the hospital.

My dad's still in the hospital right now, resting while being monitored and treated. He can still able to talk to us and move around a bit. He is on his way to a full recovery, hopefully.

It's a difficult time for us. Our dad has always been the strong one in our family. Even at his age, he still works long hours, travels a lot, and maintains a healthy, active lifestyle. He's our superhero. And for this to happen to him all of a sudden... it's really painful. The distance makes it doubly difficult. He's always been there for us, and now, we can't be there for him. My sister is flying over to Singapore soon to accompany him back home as soon as he is able. But for the rest of us, we can't just drop by, check on him, bring him fruits, or keep him company.

Although all signs point to a total recovery, the possibility of not being able to see him alive and healthy again is still there. And when I think about that possibility, it breaks me down. I'm doing my best to be strong... or at least to appear strong. Inside, my heart is already grieving.

(Update: Dad had angioplasty surgery today. Mom says it went well, and Dad hopes to be discharged from the hospital by tomorrow. Thanks, everyone, for your prayers and caring thoughts.)

Labels: :(, family

One of the training sessions I went through a few months ago at HP was a brief presentation on diversity and how different cultures have different attitudes and values. Germans, for example, tend to focus on technical details and don't warm up a lot to humor. The Japanese are very particular about polite gestures and language. Australians are very laid-back and take it easy a lot. Americans are fond of catchy slogans and good branding. I'm not saying any of these characteristics are negative; these examples simply illustrate the differences in culture and serve to emphasize the point that we most be sensitive to such differences.

The example of cultural behavior I remember the most from this presentation was how the British have a bit of an obsession with the weather. "How's the weather?" is a question that will most likely pop up when you're chatting to a British person over the phone. Why? Because in non-tropical climates, the weather is quite unpredictable and can in fact kill you if you're not prepared; hence, all the weather forecasts on the news. Here in the Philippines, the weather is not as big a deal. It's always either sunny or rainy, and you can probably tell what kind of weather you'll be having just be feeling the air or looking at the cloud cover.

True enough, a few weeks later--as if to demonstrate a point--I had the opportunity to talk to a British HP employee over the phone and sure enough, he asked me "So how's the weather over there?" I suppose he had good reason to do so because we'd just been hit by a massive typhoon. On our next phone conversation I did the courteous thing; ask the weather question as a means to kick-off our conversation and get down to business.

Why did I blog about the weather all of a sudden? Because it has been unnaturally cold here in Manila the past couple of days. I love it when the weather's like this because of the chilly breeze that accompanies you even as you're walking outside with the sun beating down on you. Tonight was a bit too cold for my taste though; I couldn't even walk briskly enough to keep myself warm! Regardless, I still could get used to this weather. Strike that; I want to get used to this weather.

Labels: culture, diversity, people, weather