Gusto ko lamang

Gusto ko lamang sa buhay ay yakapin mo ako
Hindi naman ako milyonaryo
Basta't araw-araw yakap mo ko
Feeling ko ang yaman yaman ko

-itchyworms

Configuring Prepaid Globe Tattoo in my Ubuntu Linux 10.04

I bought Prepaid Globe Tattoo several weeks back.  However, it would not work in Ubuntu Linux out of the box. I found this thread in the internet and the guys there can't find a solution either.

I finally made Globe tattoo work.  It turned out that the Globe dongle I have is by default in mass storage mode.  A quick lsusb shows the following information.


me@me-laptop:~$ lsusb


Bus 007 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 006 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 005 Device 003: ID 09da:000a A4 Tech Co., Ltd Port Mouse
Bus 005 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 004 Device 002: ID 08ff:1600 AuthenTec, Inc. AES1600
Bus 004 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 003 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 002 Device 004: ID 064e:a103 Suyin Corp.
Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 001 Device 003: ID 12d1:1446 Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub

The product ID is 1446 (mass storage mode) and not 1001 (modem mode).  I simply have to switch to modem mode!  To do this, I have to install usb-modeswitch program, which quite easy to do using apt-get.

me@me-laptop:~$ sudo apt-get install usb-modeswitch

After which, the next step is easy. Switch to modem mode using the following command!

me@me-laptop:~$ sudo usb_modeswitch -H 12d1:1446 -v 12d1 -p 1446 -R -V 12d1 -P 1001

I ejected my Globe Tattoo and reinserted it.  I now works wonderfully.  In fact, I'm using Globe Tattoo now in my trusty Ubuntu Linux box. 

Btw -- of course you still have to do the usual mobile broadband configuration.

Making Epson T10 work in Ubuntu 10.04 Lucid Lynx

I have been using Ubuntu Linux since October 2009 as my main OS (Windows 7 is still available though on top of VirtualBox OSE).  I can't print however using Epson T10 even if I already installed the gutenprint library and cups-driver.

For three days, I searched the net for instructions on how to install the correct driver for Epson T10. Not one worked except for this post I got from Pinoy Computing Tips & Tricks.  It turned out that I have to downgrade libgutenprint2 v5.2.5 and cups-driver-gutenprint v5.2.5 to version v5.2.4.

Here's a procedure that worked for me (I'm using 64bit Ubuntu Linux 10.04):

1. Remove the existing gutenprint packages:

sudo apt-get remove libgutenprint2 cups-driver-gutenprint

2. Download the 64bit version of gutenprint v5.2.4 packages:

libgutenprint2 v5.2.4 (64-bit)
cups-driver-gutenprint v5.2.4 (64-bit)

3. Install the library.  Double-click libgutenprint2_5.2.4-0ubuntu2_amd64.deb file and click the Install button.

4. Install the cups-driver. Double-click cups-driver-gutenprint_5.2.4-0ubuntu2_amd64.deb file and click the Install button.

5. Lock the v2.5.4 version. Run Synaptic Package Manager and search for the gutenprint packages installed. Select each package and click Package ->Lock Version.

To Gie -- our colleague in teaching

She's someone who will never give up in any challenge.

She's my first Senior Project advisee back in the late 90s. If I'm not mistaken, she's the first one to finish the Senior Project requirement in the history of the Department of Computer Science of Ateneo de Naga. She's also the first editor of the Computer Science student publication named Bits and Pixels. She's the first CS graduate who accepted a teaching position in the Department of Computer Science. She's the first Region 5 Chapter President of the Philippine Society of Information Technology Educators.

She's a well loved teacher and a well loved colleague in the College of Computer Studies. She's a well loved daughter, sister, wife, mother, and friend to us. We will surely miss her.

There's no more fear, no more pain. When you surrendered your soul to God Almighty, only love remains -- love that we will remember in our hearts.

New Posting for 2010!

It's been a long time since my last post.

Hello Blogger! I'm here again.

End of vacation

Tomorrow is the start of the classes after the mid-semester vacation. Two weeks of vacation should have revitalized and prepared us to work ahead.

I would not exchange for anything else the time I spent with my family.

That was a vacation well spent.

Starting the year

I welcomed 2009 with my wife and kids in our new home in Cavite. We watched the fireworks in the neighborhood and feasted on pasta, chicken lollipop, glazed ham, roll, and salad. The most important thing is that we spent the media noche as a family in the new house.

Happy new year to everyone!

The year is almost over

This year has been a roller-coaster ride and I'm glad my wife is always here with me and I with her. We finally have a new home! There are still a couple of things to fix and furniture to buy though. Also, we never anticipated the inconveniences of following up documents and paying dues -- from the Engineers to the people at the City Hall to the utility companies.

Teaching is good but research is kind of faltering in the sense that there are few research opportunities. -- I'm glad though that our 3 year research proposal to DOST is approved. Hopefully we get the research fund early next year. I am under the impression that our research grant is a very small part of government budget devoted to research.

My undergraduate thesis advisees have been very diligent -- hopefully they will finish their projects on time.

Building our dreams - bit by bit

We wished to have our own home for a long time. Late last year, we finally started building one. The groundbreaking went without fanfare. The "trabajantes" even asked us if we are to celebrate the groundbreaking with lechon and pancit. Since we don't have any money to spare -- we have to disappoint them.

Our architect -- vis-a-vis -- our project manager is very efficient. The second floor of our house is already partitioned. Next week, our house will have roofing. Possibly, the stairs will also be in place next week.

Building a house, we realized, is not easy -- even if a husband and wife have decent jobs. You have to cough up a huge amount for house-bonds and for starting up the construction. In fact, the bank will not release your loaned money until X percent of the construction is done. I envy those OFWs who have the dollars to have their houses built. I have been thinking lately, that if -- a big IF -- I stayed a little bit longer in the US, I might have the money to finance the house construction without resorting to loans. Now, a substantial part of our net pay goes to mortgage.

Hopefully, we can transfer to the new house before the summer vacation.



State of construction, late December 2007



Planning for the construction, November 2007

Merry Christmas

My wife and kids are here with me in Naga today. What could be merrier?

Merry Christmas everyone!

Striked!

I commute daily. Others like me are affected by the transport strike today. Students commuting from outside Naga City will surely miss classes.

The Duke Superbowl

Duke U is known for excellent college basketball program but not in college football. Their weekend match with notre dame, a traditional college football powerhouse, however upped the desire of Duke fans to win. Duke and ND are both 1-9 in football standings (that is 1 win and 9 losses). There is a big possibility of Duke winning it -- a rare opportunity in a lifetime. :-) For a more humorous story, visit http://www.dukesuperbowl.com/

A new life!

Congratulations to daddy Manny and mommy Girlie. A 7-plus lbs baby will now make their nights memorable. We are very happy for them!

Close gamin'

... 65-64! That's how close the game was. A rubber match is forged between the Blues and the Greens.

---

From http://www.hoopaddict.com/livescores/
...
63-58 DLSU
Rico Foul on Baclao 2PF
Baclao 0-2 FT
JV RB 2:12
Long blocking foul 1PF penalty
JV 1-2 FT
64-58 DLSU 2:10
ADMU TO on inbound
JV miss
ADMU RB 2:00
Tiu 3
64-61 DLSU 1:45
JV missd 3
Ty RB 1:30
Walsham missd 3
ADMU RB 1:08
Tiu airball 3
Long RB
Rico Off Goal tending on Arao shot 51 sec
64-63 DLSU
Bader miss
Baclao RB 25 sec
Tiu drive 7.3 sec
64-65 ADMU
Timeout DLSU
Bader missd 3
End of 4th Quarter
64-65 ADMU

Successful defense

Jen, Jasper, Katkat, and Sha all successfully defended their senior thesis! Congratulations!

Metaphor of absence

Last friday, a faculty's cubicle is empty. Nobody bothers. Another faculty declares that it is not unusual. For a long time, she's quite hard to find whenever it's her birthday.

This time however is different.

She's migrating with her husband and kids to Canada this October. Her absence last friday is a foreshadow. I think the college will miss a friend. The college will miss a faculty who for a long time worked hard in keeping the department intact and running smoothly. The college will miss a faculty who always submits her grade reports on time (actually, most of the time earlier than the due date). She mastered teaching discrete math with linear algebra and computer-aided statistics. She always come to class prepared. There was a time I worried that she's working too hard and that her blood pressure might shoot up because of n concerns in the department (btw, n approaches infinity).

I wish her and her family all the best in their adventure at the other side of the world. I have been there and life there is quite good.

1 point

.. and that my friend seals the fate to meet the tigers. hehe

UPDATE: The blue eagles (69 pts) won the knockout game vs the tigers (64 pts).

Time out

It's nice to play bowling with Rey, Josh, Froi, and JP. We even made it to the final round of the competition. We are assured of 3rd runner-up. heheh.

1-1

The hokies were simply overwhelmed by the tigers. In 2002, I saw how the hokies embarrassed the then nationally ranked tigers by winning 26-8. It was the first time I watched a football game at the Lane stadium. Today, the hokies just managed 7 points against the tigers's 48. Game recap is here.

Get Real J!

Just saw this at www.phdcomics.com. I'm not quite sure if I'd laugh or not. ;-D



Teaching is a real job. .. right? heheh.

...and I'm quite happy here.