Echo Binary

I love landscapes so I like the new Google map view, terrain, which highlights physical features of landforms like mountains, valleys and even the vegetation.

Using this view, you can appreciate the elevation of the mountains and highlands even more. Looking at the Central Luzon area gives you more idea how flat it is. I think that the darker the green patches are, the more vegetation or forestation there is. At Central Luzon, looking at those darker green patches gives you a bird’s eye view of a large agricultural farm around San Luis, Pampanga. In mountains — the darker the green area, the denser the forest.

Just looking at how jagged the road and mountains surrounding Baguio City gives you more trill especially when you haven’t been there.

After seeing a number of mountain terrains in Google maps, I suddenly had an urge to go hiking!

Gizmodo compares Amazon Kindle vs. Sony Reader. They have many differences and I don’t think none of them is the perfect e-book reader, for now.

If I pattern this to my trend in buying gadgets, I won’t purchase any of these until a 2nd-generation model comes up or it has become terribly cheap. I like books on paper and reading e-books on LCD monitor isn’t that bad either. I just think that this kind of e-book reader will be popular when marketed to gadget-frenzy people who likes reading books as well. However, I don’t see these gadgets appealing to bookworms. I’ve asked many friends before — they all prefer novels in paper. My girlfriend for instance, won’t read e-books unless it is the last resort. On the other hand, my colleagues like e-books for reference materials and IT publications. The convenience of search and multiple bookmarks is very useful for such of type books.

Now, I don’t want to spoil your reading so you might as well head to the source of the article.

Link: Amazon Kindle vs. Sony Reader

I’m terribly annoyed when a borrower returns my stuff broken. They could have been more careful. Even worse, I have encountered some borrowers who didn’t tell me they have broken my stuff while on their possession — and still claim they didn’t break it even if they were the last person who used it. What a shame. I admit that I have broken some things I borrowed from my friends and my relatives in the past; however, before I returned the broken items, I tell them the truth no matter what the consequences were. It’s my fault after all. Some people however, prefer keeping their dirty little secrets and claim that they returned the borrowed item in perfect working condition. When the hapless owner is about to use the borrowed item already, he or she will be utterly surprised that it was broken. It’s a pity, really.

Here are the things that I suggest you do when someone want to borrow your belongings, whether at school, office or neighborhood:

1. Lend your belongings to trusted person only. When you have doubts, get a collateral (just like what most lending companies do)
2. When the person borrowing has no collateral and you don’t trust the shit out of him, but you still want to act like a good Samaritan — pray hard that he will even bother caring for your stuff. Don’t expect he will even care. Actually, you shouldn’t be expecting anything in return since you’re a good Samaritan.
3. Be selective. Don’t lend anyone who has a reputation for being irresponsible. It’s harsh but you rather be selfish so you don’t have to worry about your things being broken.
4. Whenever you decide to lend your belongings, always test the item before lending it to the borrower. Then, after the borrower return your stuff, test it again in front of him to check that your stuff is still in good condition. This acts as a proof that the item works fine when you lend it and when you received it back.
5. Finally, when you discover that the borrowed item was broken, tell the last borrower right away. It’s better when you work on #4 so you can act sooner. You certainly don’t want that person to get away so easily. As much as possible, make a bold statement that you lent the item in good condition and pressure him to act responsibly to the problem. In the end, you don’t want to compromise your belonging just because it was returned broken. When you let that happen, you’re being too kind or just dumb.

There are a handful of good Samaritans out there willing to lend you their stuffs whenever possible. However, not all of us are meant to be good Samaritans. I tried being a good Samaritan before. It initially feels good. When people begin abusing your goodwill you start to realize that lending whatever-you-have is not always a good idea. You have to set boundaries.

You have to be practical. Otherwise, leechers will simply suck the very last marrow out of your bone until you have nothing.

If you’re reading the news yesterday, it was reported that an Antarctic ship called M/S Explorer hit an iceberg and nearly sank at the Antarctic ocean. Luckily, all the passengers were safe and were rescued.

I know that this sort of accident is not funny. However, you can’t help but notice the name of the ship. What a coincidence! People across the internet made puns out of the ship that “crashed” at the Blue Sea of Death (BSod).

It’s typical that MS Explorer (as in Microsoft Explorer) to crash once in a while and that is NOT unusual when you use Windows. IMHO, these comments are generally inspired by unhappy Windows experience and some of them (certainly not all) are made by Linux enthusiasts.

Some of the jokes at Digg:

• MS Explorer crashes. Outlook not good.
• One Note, Access to such treacherous waters should be limited to ships which Excel at breaking through icebergs.
• I wonder if the penguin had any thing to do with this?
• This story made the Frontpage of cnn.com, their Publisher added it last night.
• Luckily no-one ended up in the Blue Sea Of Death
• This is what happens when you try and take M/S Explorer into penguin infested territory.

… and at Reddit:

• The captain gave the Word to Excel, but they crashed. Now they have no Access to shore.
• This Explorer crash may not be on the FrontPage of reddit yet, but it’s all over the .NET. I saw it on MSNBC too - according to their anchor (a hot male), the Outlook looks pretty grim for the ship: the Sea is very Sharp this time of year in the antarctic.
• Him and his Entourage obviously weren’t heading to the right MapPoint

Note:
M/S means Motor Ship.
All puns about penguins are pertaining to Linux.

Stricken Antarctic ship evacuated [ via Digg and Reddit ]

I really can’t fathom why the Lancer badge/sticker/decal at the back cost more than the side window visors. I bought the 4-piece visors this afternoon for only P1,500. Then I asked how much is the “Lancer” sticker at the back because I wanted to replace the worn-out letters. To my surprise, it costs more than the visors! P1,900.00 for a damned simple sticker. Then I asked if I can just buy the “L” and the “E” — nope, it’s impossible. One must buy them as a set, told the sales person. Whatever material that sticker is made off, I’m pretty sure that the reflective shiny material makes it expensive or it rather makes the sticker look expensive. But then, it is still a sticker for crying out loud! Why does it costs more than a set of 4 visors? Is it because the stickers have 6 letters? Six is greater than 4. WTF.

Why bother replacing it when I can just peel it off…