Kumusta na? Ayos pa ba?

It’s been an awesome past many months for me. Although I haven’t been blogging about all that’s been happening in my life, specifically my technology life or “Technobiography”, I’ve been happy being involved in many awesome activities that have been truly life changing.

The typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng crashed through the Philippines. We saw how Filipinos can band together if we choose to do so. I took a few trips to Baguio and I was there right smack between Ondoy and Pepeng. Took another trip to Baguio after Pepeng to document some of the relief activities.

And through all these, I’ve been steadily keeping up-to-date with the goings on through the help of technology. Here’s how technology has helped me help others in the past months.

Keeping posted

When the typhoon hit Manila on September 26, Saturday, I made my way from Quezon City to Makati. I wasn’t expecting the typhoon to cause so much havoc. And as we took one route and then another and then another because we were hitting flooded roads, I finally reached the MRT which was working well. I kept up-to-date via Twitter @ka_edong with the disaster that was unfolding. I access Twitter via a Nokia N82 loaded with TweetS60 . It was good for getting news of the floods around the metro.

Citizen Reportage

As I was making my way through EDSA on the MRT, I started taking photos of the traffing and uploaded them via MMS to ping.fm . I had a photo of what was later re-labelled as “the world’s biggest parking lot” (thanks @jimayson).

As I was tweeting from the MRT, I saw a half submerged bus on the Northbound lane of EDSA in front of Camp Aguinaldo. I circled back because I wanted to share to the world what was happening in the Philippines. I got ready with a mobile video through qik.com.

And now I have my most widely viewed qik video: Half submerged bus .

Half Submerged Bus

Search for missing people through Google Docs

I spent much of Saturday indoors, but braved the floods in the early evening to visit family. My batteries were dead by this time from tweeting and qiking. When I got back home, our condo did not have any electricity. I went to the nearby Mini Stop and charged my phone with the vending machine . Then got myself some tweets.

And then I realized the extent of the flooding. I was seeing tweets from all over asking for rescue in Marikina and Antipolo. People were frantically passing on the appeals for rescue with the hopes that others would be able to rescue. It was heart-wrenching just seeing names and situations of people from the screen of my phone. I had to do something.

There was all this info flying around via twitter, facebook and SMS. It was important to get all this information down pat in one location so that people would have a place to report and rescuers had a reference of where to rescue (of course there was so much help needed, rescuers just went to the nearest place they were needed).

Thus was born the Rescue Hub (http://tinyurl.com/RescueHub) . The Rescue Hub was the very first initiative that organized information about the typhoon, specifically rescue information. I put together a spreadsheet using Google Documents. Created columns which people can populate with their own set of information. It had to be an open document which anyone can edit.

When the spreadsheet columns were in, I sent a google chat to @arnoldmagno first: “Bro, work with me” . It was my first online invitation for BAYANI-han! When I saw Arnold populating the spreadsheet without any questions, that meant the spreadsheet was clear enough. I spread the word via twitter: “Guys, work with us. http://tinyurl.com/RescueHub” .  Then, on the spreadsheet, within just a few minutes, there were more than a dozen people inputting data into the spreadsheet. These were reports of people needing rescue.

It was spine-tingling – nakaka-pangilabot! On one hand, we found a way for people to rally together for the same cause and help Filipinos in need of rescue. On the other hand, it was scary how sooo many people needed so much help. It was doubly frightening when I saw my officemate’s name on the spreadsheet. Seeing my friend’s name on that rescue spreadsheet made this typhoon disaster so real to me.

Once Lost, now Found

The morning after, I logged on to twitter and to the RescueHub to find out how the Philippines was doing. The sun peeking through the clouds but the floods were still there. And Filipinos were just starting to understand the extent of the damage. I saw over the tweets that people were now looking for missing people. I added a new spreadsheet to the RescueHub where people can report missing friends/relatives.

A friend, Franklin Naval, took on the role of mapping out the many addresses that were on the RescueHub. That became a tool for people to understand better visually *where* the help was needed.

Over the next few days, I monitored the spreadsheet from Baguio, cleaned it up when I had the chance and more importantly kept tabs on how many reports were being closed. I wanted to track how many people were being rescued, found or reported safe.

Ka Edong @ BAYANI-han article of Manolo L. Quezon

I was pleased to find out a via Facebook that Manolo mentioned me in one of his articles about how I and many other contributed to the relief efforts, BAYANI-han style. Of course my mom had a newspaper clipping of the article (thanks ma!). Other friends told me that they heard Manolo mention my name on his TV program, the Explainer. Yes, friends, that was me.

Ka Edong on mlq3's Article

ka edong on manolo's Inquirer article

It reads:

There were Edwin Soriano, and others who established another Google document (“Rescue InfoHub Central”) that allowed people to list cases of people requiring help and rescue (an SOS subpage); to the extent that cases could be evaluated (a Missing/Found People subpage) regarding the threat level to life and limb represented by each case, and the progress of rescue efforts tracked, too. With so many people in so many places requiring help, concerned family members and friends could focus their energies on reporting cases, while volunteers could identify where and how they could effectively help (Emergency Numbers and Where/How to Donate/Help Pages).

And there were thousands of Filipinos who stepped up and just helped, without question, without asking for anything in return. I continue to hear stories of heroism from so many people.

Now, where do I find a non-political page where Pinoys recognize the heroes among us? Which website is it? I want to read more!

Proud Pinoy!

That is why I am so proud to be a Filipino! Because there is something great in us and nobody can take away the greatness in us.

“I prayed to God that Filipinos recognize their greatness! And then God gave us Ondoy! Awesome God!”

ka edong

Two weeks ago, I went to Makati and found that they’ve upgraded the ticketing system for street parking. In the past, they used to issue pre-printed receipts with hand-written time-in.

Now they have electronically printed receipts. The device has a simple touch-screen Liquid crystal display PDA. It has a software running behind it where the parking officer enters time in and out. Upon clicking “print”, the thermal printer coughs out the receipt that is issued to the car owner.

When the parking time is expired, the PDA starts to beep alerting the parking officer to watch out for the owner of cars with overdue tickets.

I’ve seen similar devices in the past. First in Australia (2005), second in a bus from Tagaytay (2007).

Glad to see the Makati local government is taking-up the technology.

Other benefits …

The mobile ticketing device allows the parking system to get more accurate data about parking trends (how long people park their cars, which areas are hot, turn-over of cars, how many go overtime etc.) . All this info can, theoretically, be gathered in a database for data processing. I don’t know if they actually do this.

Further, collections are less subjective. There’s an electronic record of the transaction, thus it is less vulnerable to human … what’s the word … dagdag-bawas.

Keep up the innovation and technology uptake!

ka edong
temporary parking

Oh, Iron chef … Boy was I slow!

Got this email from a reader, Ramon Manzano III of HardwareZone Philippines Corporation.
Here’s sharing their event with the rest of my readers.

The event is for computer technicians. Pagalingan mag-screw! mwahahaha!

This reminds me of a computer technician we had at a former employer over at Boni Avenue. Our friend’s name was Gadprey. He would buy the computer parts from greenhills then assemble them right before our eyes at the office. I was fascinated how he did everything like clockwork. I remember he had a heated discussion on whether the foam between the motherboard and the chassis was supposed to be removed or retained. He explained that in his previous work, all of the PCs that had the foam caused them problems. From then on, he would remove the foam through a hole in the chassis.

Oh well, enough of my stories. Here’s the press release from HardwareZone.

Dueling With Screwdrivers

MSI

Who Can Cook Up The Best Rig In The Iron Tech?

Even if you’re not a chef, we’re sure you’ve heard of that Japanese cooking friendly death match show with the funny dubbing brought to the Americas. Hardwarezone and MSI is having their own cooking competition – the Iron Tech 2008, and it’s not going to be on a kitchen with fresh and lavish ingredients – it won’t involve food in any way and there won’t be any taste testing, they promise. The cooks – er.. DIYers will be wielding screwdrivers, gloves, and welding tools (we’re pulling your leg on the last one), will be working on workbenches, and will be choosing from a fresh and lavish set of PC components to build the best PC rig. Participants will be overclocking their rigs, too. How the contestants outwit each other with their rigs – is part of the thrill.

The semi-final battle for the Philippines’ representation is going to be on September 14, 2008 with the Grand Finals at Singapore on October 12, 2008. There are many MSI heavy-weight prizes to be won in both the semi-finals and grand finals – like an MSI GTX 280 card and Intel’s Core 2 Quad Extreme QX9770 processor.

Think you’re THE enthusiast who should be representing the country? Then you better head over to www.hardwarezone.com/irontech and register for qualification. Registration is only open until August 24, 2008, and remember, you must have a valid passport to join in the fray.

One shall stand, and everyone else falls… Fight!

Take note of the Aug 24 deadline. Lapit na yun!

Fight!

ka edong
iron man

We dropped by Goodah at Tandang Sora, Quezon City last week.

Aba aba aba!! What is dis?! Asenso na ang Goodah! Erkondisyon! At ano ito?! May WiFi pa!

Hahahaha! It was fun seeing the technology adoption of what used to be (still is in most branches) a karinderia.

Take a look, WiFi hotspot at Goodah…

Closed-circuit Television at Goodah:

More info

Goodah is beside the SEAOIL gas station along Tandang Sora between Himlayang Pilipino and Tierra Pura (yes, I know, mahaba yun, pero di ko na alam kung paano ko pa made-describe yung location na yun).

Visit the Goodah website

Related links:

• Google search: CCTV, Closed-circuit television, WiFi, Carinderia , Goodah

In 2005, I wrote about Sydney Train konduktors (aka “On-board Customer Service Officers”) who issue on-the-spot-printed tickets unlike our Pinoy konduktors who give you a torn-out piece of paper.

But look what I found yesterday when I rode a Crow bus from Tagaytay to Pasay. This konduktor has a nifty gadget slinged round his arm. You tell him where you’re getting off, he clicks on the touchpad of his PDA and out goes the bus ticket printed on thermal-paper.

It’s actually two different gadgets improvised into one. A low-cost PDA (something like the old palm pilot I had in 2004) and a thermal printer.

It’s kewl because a bus company has invested on IT to help them monitor ticket sales, help improve service efficiency. There’s less room for konduktor kalokohan (pocketing some money without issuing a ticket), all transactions are electronically recorded.

That’s pinoy tech for you.

ka edong
Nais maging doktor …. konduktor

Oh, so that’s how it’s supposed to work.

I’ve always passed by Internet kiosks like this in Shangri-La Mall, EDSA. But they’re always either not working or asking for a password.

This kiosk in Filling-station, John Hay provides Internet access to any user, without any login required. It gets the connection via Wi-Fi. This kid is playing an online game — he could have used a stool, lest his heels ache from tiptoeing.

Back in 1980, the only “gadgets” I got to play with in John Hay were the soft-drink vendo machines and the water fountain (I needed my brother to carry me so I could drink from the 4-foot tall water fountain). 

ka edong
John Doe in John Hay

And then there’s this story of an mommy who helps her two elementary-level kids do their homework, and prays together with the kids before she puts them to bed every night.

What’s awesome about this mom is that she does all these through the webcam!

Miko, our webcam Mommy, is an OFW who works in Indonesia. She has broadband internet access while her kids in Manila use dial up. They lengthened the webcam cable so that the kids could take the webcam all the way to their room and kiss their mom goodnight … through the webcam, of course.

Now, that’s an eOFW!

You go, webcam mommy!

ka edong
d daddy

He’s 94 86 years old and he’s got gadgets more than the regular yuppie.

To start, he has two iPods! Two! He uses these sleek white iPods to store more than 3,000 songs ranging from classical, to 60’s music, to Disney, to sound of music etc. He has two sets of mobile speakers for the iPods. He also has a home-made amplifier which helps to make a resounding WOOF that fills the room with his music.

He has a Sony Vaio, 13” widescreen, highly portable, with WiFi. It was the top-of-the-line Vaio when he bought it mid-2005 to replace his previous 3-year-old Sony Vaio.

He needs some help with his eyesight, so he has at least three 18++ inch flat-screen monitors at his office and homes so he doesn’t have to squint too much.

He has a webcam to chat with his children, grand-children and great grand-children.

He has a couple of digital cameras to record his travels, his parties (party on, lolo!) and to remember faces of his students.

He has PLDT DSL in two of his homes, dial-up for back-up, WiFi when he’s at his office or around town. Konti nalang, he just might get PLDT WeRoam for seamless internet connection wherever he travels. (More about PLDT WeRoam in the coming days).

He’s got an ordinary cellphone, the type that comes with the Smart Kid or Globe Gizmo subscriptions (in other words, the “loseable” type cellphone).

And, one of my favorites, he’s got a retractable cane to boot, sleek and silver just like his iPod!

Most people his age are probably idling away their time.
Techie Lolo is spending his time traveling, teaching, writing books, sending e-mails, organizing parties and most especially learning something new everytime! (He started scuba diving at age 80+).

Our techie lolo; At 94 86 years, ripe and old, and always something new up his sleeve.

ka edong

Read: Techie Lola, Techie Grrrrl, More techies

We were at Blue Mountains in Sydney when I saw this 24-hour Tourist Information Kiosk. I tested my EQ and stopped myself from tinkering with it until *after* looking at the real main attractions: The three sisters and the vastness and beauty of the Blue Mountains.

Okay, EQ test is over. I walked to the Kiosk. The souvenir shop where the kiosk was located was closed by that time (after 5pm). So, how can they claim that it’s a 24-hour kiosk?

The kiosk is connected to a plastic numeric pad that is attached to the glass pane. While the tourist views the screen behind the glass pane, the display has various menus which can be selected using the numeric keypad.

That’s my pamangkin, Andrei, who has taken after me being a tech-usiyosero himself. Or… maybe I’ve taken after him, being a kid at heart (and a kid in mind?!).

ka edong
batanda

I’m on a plane 12000 meters above sea level and I’m in the middle of a media glut.

Within reach of my fingertips, I have access to more than 250 movies, tv shows, music albums, games, language lessons, documentaries and audio books to view and listen to. I have access to more than 10 newspapers and more than 20 magazines to read.

I have so many options I don’t have time to surf through the channels. I must browse through an entertainment catalogue and select meticulously which of these media options I must take in.

And as if this were not enough, I take out kurdapia to blog this article, and take out my brother’s camera to snapshoot this media blitz.

Buti nalang they don’t have Internet access in this airplane. At least none that I know of.

Now, which part of this airplane seat do I vaguely recall seeing that LAN port?

ka edong