Thriving and Living

The Mentor You Need to Succeed

2010-05-27T03:24:00.008+08:00

This post is labeled under Personal Development

As one enters the workplace, new things are needed to learn quickly to adapt on the demands of the organization’s goals. It now depends on you on how you cope with the change around without your usual teachers who helped you during college.

You now acquired the needed skills. Things started to smoothen out and you can do your job fast with ease. Boredom sets in and you aspire to do more than the present demands your position is asking for. You’re determined to spice up your skills and be creative at the same time to gain your boss’ attention in order to get ahead. But who’s going to teach you on how to be competitive?

The author together with his mentors
Ask someone to be your mentor

When I was new working and still learning the grasp of our business, I was usually sent to other department to ask the things to be done to fulfill the needs of our group. Normally, you are referred to somebody in-charge of your needs. This is the time you build relationship with colleagues to get things done easily.

Ask the person responsible on how the system works (paper to fill-in, signatories for approval, etc) so you may do the required tasks on hand. Don’t forget to thank that person for helping out in fulfilling your needs. Tell him/her that you may need to back in the future in case you need to clarify things you don’t understand yet.

On some cases, you see things differently and suggest change. You are not sure on how you will go about it but have a feeling that it will work out. That’s time you seek a mentor who understands fully the effects on system change.

Don’t waste your mentor’s time

Be prepared to study things on your own first. Explain to your mentor on how you understand it and validate through him/her if your understanding is correct. Show interest by asking the right questions connected to your quest. Be an “eager beaver” to show your enthusiasm to produce results.

You will be amazed how helpful your mentor can be when he/she senses your interest to learn. Mentors like to share their expertise on person who does extra mile of learning new things. Be attentive to listen as your mentor discusses details.

When mentoring opens door to new opportunities

As I have worked as technical engineer to a telecomm project, I asked our manager on how to implement the project that seems to be complicated. Fresh from college and just seeing how fiber optic technology works on a telecomm project, my manager sensed my interest and recommended to see the project at the provincial site in Albay, Philippines.

I was sent to that place just to observe, study and be able to recommend what are the things I could suggest to implement the project fast. A week stay there was like a paid vacation and an opportunity to learn at the same time. Not to mention the chance of seeing beautiful places the province offers.

“There’s no one who seems like to help! “

I heard a friend from a distance who complained how her career became stagnant and she does not see any progress of learning new things in almost four years. According to her, the setup of the organization is not geared towards advancement of one’s career. She plans to quit and move somewhere else.

I’ve also reached the point that my mentor (boss) at that time could no longer suffice my appetite to learn new things; the time that I seek out on how I could improve myself under the tutelage of the experts on other fields. I’ve started to read books.

Overtime, my writings improve. I could read faster and the presentation I deliver becomes better. Other bosses in the management started to notice my skills.

Quit complaining. Stop making excuses. Thrive on the situation you are in right now and seek the very first important mentor that will teach valuable lessons on improvement: YOU.

Functional Dependency in Relational Database

2010-05-15T17:07:00.006+08:00

This post is labeled under Software Development

Effective design of relational database follow the principles of relation. Introduced by Dr. F. Codd of IBM during the 70's, relational database became the de facto standard in DBMS.

The following video explains the theory of relation, its properties and dependencies of its attributes. Primary key, foreign key,composite key, and anomalies are also discussed as partial and transitive dependencies are applied.

You may secure the copy of the powerpoint presentation on the link below:

DBMS Relations

MySQL Stored Procedure

2010-04-24T03:57:00.005+08:00

This post is labeled under Software Development

This is the continuation of Laboratory Activity 4. I suggest that you do the said lab activity first (if you haven't done so) before proceeding on this activity. You may visit it here.

You can compile multiple SQL statements into one function or program. With stored procedure, you are no longer restricted to run one single SQL statements but allows you work on as many of statements you need to execute for your requirements.

Stored procedure can be created using MySQL Query Browser. Once created, you may detect its existence on the object browser area along with other tables. You may also edit it later on if changes are required as you pull data from your database.

Activity 5 below shows us a guide on how to work on simple stored procedures.

MySQL Stored Procedure Activity 5

Personality Plus: Live with the Golden Rule

2010-04-02T08:35:00.008+08:00

This post is labeled under Personal Development

This is the continuation of Understand Your Personality to Understand Others. I suggest that you run through the article first (if you haven't done so) before proceeding on this one. You may visit it here.

Have you ever experienced instant connection to a person the moment you meet? Which type of personality resembles yours? Are you the type who hates somebody’s guts but enjoys being with that person no matter how opposite you are in everything?

Let us face it. We select friends to enjoy one’s company. There are people we tried to avoid even though they are not doing any harm to us. What makes people tick?

Blood Brothers

Phlegmatic and Melancholy get along each other. Both of them are introverts. They enjoy the solitude, peacefulness and orderliness of things. Phlegmatic person listens to melancholic woes and does not affected that much. These types of personality are often considered pessimists and see how things tend to go wrong and have little room for taking chances to avoid risks.

Choleric and Sanguine personalities admire the positive qualities of one another. They love to learn and want to see everything in action. You cannot involve them with too much analysis. To them, taking risk pumps up adrenalin; too much analysis paralyzes it. According to certain study, only 20% of the entire population is optimist. Both of these types belong to this group.

Opposite attracts

Phlegmatic person sees self inadequacies. So, one tends to accept that a need for a partner who will lead in taking actions. Because a choleric person enjoys someone who easily accepts direction with not so much questions, he/she jibes instantly with phlegmatic.

Melancholic person admires people-person quality of sanguine. Both of them are emotional. Sanguine gets upset but easily forget it later; melancholic holds grudges in days. Sanguine admires the orderliness of melancholic and wishes to have that positive quality. One thinks: “if he/she loosens up a little bit, life will be more enjoyable.” Melancholic says: “oh, what he/she says is no true at all; saying all those craps and still manage to get away with it. I wonder how he/she does it?”. Melancholy wants to know how charm works.

Don’t take it seriously

I once discuss the Theory of Personalities to my father. He just laughed and commended my effort to know people. According to him, I don’t need to be bothered with what personality a person has as long as I follow the golden rule: treat others as you want to be treated. Having lived and experienced talking with different kinds of people my dad has, I follow his advice. To this day, I adhere to that rule and not much on what personality books say.

People are tender

As I experienced it, choleric person tries to avoid depressing moments so he/she won’t breakdown. Crying for a choleric person is a sign of weakness. My mother once said: “You cannot afford to break down when every one gives up. Someone needs to be firmed and knows how to handle the situation.”

Sanguine becomes the comforter. He/she senses when the need to say kind words in the middle hopelessness. A sanguine person rolls up the sleeves to cheer up the group.

We are who we think we are

Though some experts say there are dominant attitudes that engulf our personality, the four types of personality are present to each one of us. We play different roles as the situation dictates it. “Being the right person on the right time is what every one needs”, so to speak.

Learn to adapt. Follow the golden rule. You’ll never go wrong.

Understand Your Personality to Understand Others

2010-03-26T09:28:00.009+08:00

This post is labeled under Personal Development

From years of working and dealing with friends, I often get frustrated when people fall under my expectations. Some needed few instructions; others needed detailed tasks to get things done.

After reading the book of Florence Littauer’s Personality Plus, I have learned how to approach different people and appreciate more of their strengths. Have you ever wonder what are the best ways to deal even on difficult people?

People can be categorized into four main groups (or combination of these groups). Let us look at them closely.

Courtesy of Randomnista.wordpress.com

Sanguine: The Life of the Party

The type of person who every body wants every time there is a gathering of sort. He/she effortlessly cracks joke. This person enjoys center stage and people’s attention becomes his/her adrenalin. He/she talks too much and people love it. You will never experience dull moments when sanguine person is around.

You can sense if your friend belongs to this group if he/she likes wearing colorful clothes, cheerful and has good disposition about life. Sanguine people gets easily upset (and they show it) but never holds grudges for a long time.

I have a friend who was very upset when we are about to attend a party. While inside the car, she pours her heart out (in tears) about the heartache a guy caused her. I made some advices and was wondering if attending a party is a good idea after all the sadness she feels. The moment she steps out of the car and meets her friends, she was giggling and jumping with fun as the party starts: a typical sanguine personality.

Melancholy: The Perfectionist

This person plans perfectly. To upset this guy, all you need is a chaotic situation to distract him/her. Deep thinker, thoughtful, artistic, sets high-standard are few of the qualities of the person. You will never experience injustice with this person because of deep concern on other’s people feeling.

Melancholy persons wear neat and tidy clothes. They are perfect to be best-friends because they are faithful and devoted but very selective on people whom they like to be with.

Gap ensued when I failed to greet a best friend on her birthday. I remembered that I greeted her many times on that day but still felt upset for almost a week. She was not talking to me. Upon checking with her, she was upset because she was expecting that I will be the first person to greet/call on her birthday. She was expecting that I would call her exactly 12:00AM the day of her birthday: a perfect time for a perfect moment.

Choleric: The Born Leader

I had a chance working with a German boss on a telecom company. He seldom smiles, a man with few words. He is assertive and enjoys witty conversation with anyone who challenges his decisions. He points out clearly that he is right and you need to follow him.

Powerful choleric is a doer of actions. Give him/her puzzles or anything difficult, he/she will gladly thank you and provide you with solutions immediately.

Choleric person shakes insecure people. Anyone who does not see his/her way is considered “dummy”. This guy tends to look down on people who can’t follow instructions.

You will never expect a choleric person to be around on sick people longer because weak irritates him/her. As long as you follow the choleric person’s lead, you are a powerful ally.

Phlegmatic: The Peaceful Negotiator

Though you seldom sense excitement with them, they are fun to be with because phlegmatics are easy-going and relaxed persons. They tried to avoid conflicts and happily reconciled to life.

This type is good as a negotiator. Most of them are not easily agitated that is why they handle conflicts smoothly. They prefer to be on the sidelines and keep a low-key personality.

You can easily earn their trust. But once they sense you betrayed them, it is hard to regain the confidence they had invested on you before. Once they give up, you can never change their mind.

My mother is often the choleric type. Every time my mother and father have marital fights, mom, guns blazing, uses all the big words to blow you into pieces. Dad, a phlegmatic type, never answers back and just listens intently to mom’s litany of woes. Mom feels frustrated because dad fails to show emotions as if no concern at all. When the dusts settle down, that’s time dad explains his sides.

It is a fun rollercoaster ride whenever I see these 4 types of persons collide during conversations. Sometimes, I never utter a word but still had fun observing them knowing the predictability of their emotions.

But how do you effectively talk with all these type of persons and how do you handle their temperaments? Expect answers on the next issue.

MySQL Query Browser Using JOIN

2010-01-05T13:45:00.005+08:00

This post is labeled under Software Development

This is the continuation of Laboratory Activity 3. I suggest that you do the said lab activity first (if you haven't done so) before proceeding on this activity. You may visit it here.

One of the interesting aspects of SQL is the connection of relational tables. The following activity below explains how to issue a SELECT statement that joins multiple tables.

It starts with the connection of two tables. As you understand the concepts of connecting tables, it will take you to the next step of connecting multiple tables using JOIN, LEFT JOIN, RIGHT JOIN or simply using a WHERE clause.

This activity expands further our knowledge of MySQL Commands and Basic Queries. As with our previous MySQL tutorials, this promises an easy-to-follow format. An exercise is included to check understanding of the concepts.

MySQL Query Browser Activity 4

MySQL Comparison Operators

2009-12-08T19:54:00.006+08:00

This post is labeled under Software Development

This is the continuation of Laboratory Activity 2. I suggest that you do the said lab activity first (if you haven't done so) before proceeding on this activity. You may visit it here.

Comparison operators in MySQL are used parallel with WHERE clause to limit records or row selections. Relational operators such as ,less than, less than equal, equal, not equal, greater than, greater than equal ( <, <=, =,!=, >, >= ) are used to filter out rows depending on criteria set.

On this exercise (see below attached text), the use of IN, NOT, LIKE, GROUP BY, HAVING is also introduced as we expand our SELECT statement criterion.

MySQL Activity 3

Activity 4 of this MySQL Tutorial series will present connection of tables within the MySQL Database and establishing its relationship.

MySQL Query Browser Tutorial

2009-12-01T01:09:00.011+08:00

This post is labeled under Software Development

One of powerful MySQL Tools available is Query Browser used as Graphical User Interface (GUI) in administering an SQL Database.

It can serve as another alternative to MySQL Command Line Prompt if user opts for the drag-and-drop style in issuing a statement. It is packaged with Table Editor where you can easily set metadata for columns of the table.

Below is a 3-part video tutorial condensed in 23-minute period frame. This is the version of the written tutorial document attached that you could see at the end of this blog.

You may view the following document. This document was designed to go through to the step-by-step MySQL tutorials and easy to follow format. At the end of the document, you are asked to check your understanding on the topic as set on the objectives.

MySQL Activity 2

Database Management System Concepts

2009-11-20T00:02:00.009+08:00

This post is labeled under Software Development

Database becomes an integral of any organization. Effective information management systems lead companies to profitability by analyzing past data that generate trends and create new markets.

Stock market relies on online data that are vital in making buy or sell decisions on shares at stake everyday.

Doctors and health experts use patient data history to diagnose correctly chronic illnesses and provide better cure in formulating new medicines.

All of these are made possible due to effective and well-managed database systems we are using today. Below is a video blog discussing the basic concepts of a database management system (DBMS):

How do JK Flip Flops Work

2009-09-20T22:00:00.004+08:00

This post is labeled under Digital Design

JK flip flops are the most versatile among other types. Flip flops are used in sequential circuits, counters and act as memory storage on some cases.

The 7473 JK flip flop is shown below. This IC package is composed of two independent JK flip flops with independent clear inputs. Notice the small circle in series with the clear and clock inputs. This means the outputs are reset when the clear input is low. For the clock, this means the clock is negatively edge triggered.

To fully understand the operation of this flip flop, please check the experiment below to simulate its operation on how do flip flops work:

JK Flip Flop Experiment 9

555 Astable Multivibrator Timer Circuit

2009-09-20T11:50:00.004+08:00

This post is labeled under Digital Design

One of the essentials in designing sequential circuits such as counters, memory circuits is to understand how a clock signal is generated.

Typical application of 555 Timer is to generate a square-wave oscillation signals needed by digital circuits. The following experiment generates a regular train of pulses that act as clock pulses. It also gives a glimpse of how capacitors work to explain how charge and discharge take place in the circuit.

555 Timer Experiment 8

7-Segment Display with 7447 Decoder

2009-08-31T18:35:00.005+08:00

This post is labeled under Digital Design

One of the simplest projects you can do for digital design class is a 7-segment display with a 7447 decoder driver. The students are introduced on how binary coded decimal is actually designed as you use the segments display.

The experiment below also discussed the use of resistors which limits the flow of current going to the circuit. It will also help the student how to read resistor color coding in determining its resistor values in ohms.
7-Segment Display With Decoder Experiment 7

Bridging the Gap of Gender Differences

2009-08-20T12:04:00.004+08:00

This post is labeled under Personal Development, Career Move

One can no longer discount the contributions of women in a workplace. They already occupy some powerful positions few years ago only men do. Some of their decisions become the lifeblood of the ever evolving economy.

As a teacher where I observe a considerable amount in increase of female students taking up technology courses, I feel obliged to give advice to my students any means possible to thrive in an Information Technology (IT) business where the arena is still dominated by men.

Men, on the other hand, must know how to penetrate women’s world, learn their language and mingle with ease especially if the environment is ruled by women.

Women as the weaker sex

Studies show that women need to take an extra effort to be taken seriously when talking to a group of people or making a presentation. Dr. Deborah Tannen, on her book You Just Don’t Understand: Women and Men in Conversation, talks about the unexplained perception about crises women face in a men’s world.

Dealing with different “specie”, a woman must be choosy on her words when she conducts business with a group of men. She must be direct and sure of herself to project authority on the message she wants to convey. She will not employ a “girls’ talk” approach to win over a men’s conversation.

Men should not treat women as their buddies

Though a woman sees a man as someone in authority, she still prefers a man who can simply empathize with her feelings and appreciate her thoughts. Domineering approach as proven effective with other men, is a no-no with women. Women despise a man who does not care hurting someone else’s feeling in public.

Women have definitely crafted the fine art of softening the impact no matter how difficult the situation is. They are good negotiators and pacifiers. Men should learn from women in acquiring these skills.

When saying “sorry” means a different thing

Often times, you hear women saying sorry for a situation gone wrong. As from a men’s perspective, this means an acceptance of fault or wrong doing. If you validate the intention of a woman saying sorry, you will find out that she is not really seeking an apology but simply empathizes with the messy situation you are in right now.

Women should know when is the proper time to say an apology especially if you are dealing with decision makers who take seriously every task on hand. You never like to be considered a wimp, do you?

Synergy in diversity

There is no real conflict between genders. One should only learn to appreciate what the others can do. We can live harmoniously with almost anyone as long as we learn to respect each other perspectives.

So, the next time you talk to someone, write a letter, or in any ways you communicate, spread those radars first. Be sure you are on the right level where you can easily be understood effectively.

Here’s to your thriving career!

Magnitude Binary Number Comparator

2009-08-19T19:10:00.003+08:00

This post is labeled under Digital Design

Applying further the principles of Boolean Algebra theorems, Truth Tables and K-maps, we could create a magnitude comparator in designing a circuit.

Magnitude comparator is a combinational circuit that compares two numbers A & B to
determine whether A > B, or A = B, or A < B. n in Figure 1 represents the numbers of bits A and B have. Exactly one of the outputs will be set to 1 (HIGH) and the two other outputs should set to 0’s (LOW).

74LS85 IC chip is a 4-bit magnitude comparator commercially available normally produced by semiconductor company such as Fairchild Semiconductor. Cascading this chip can create magnitude binary comparator higher than 4 bits.

Below is an experiment on how to design a 2-bit binary number comparator.
Magnitude Comparator Experiment 6

Using K-map in Full Adder Circuit

2009-08-18T06:14:00.006+08:00

This post is labeled under Digital Design

One of best examples of implementing a circuit design using Karnaugh map (K-Map) simplification is a full adder.

Full adder is just a combination of two half adders where the second half adder has an input variable that serves as the carry in of the lowest significant carry bit. This can be derived by the use of truth tables. Further simplification can be done by apply boolean algebra theorems.

Special emphasis was given to Exclusive OR gate (XOR)to simplify the logic operation and plotting of the circuit in the experiment below.

Full Adder Experiment 5

Iglesia Ni Cristo Day

2009-07-27T00:00:00.003+08:00

This post is labeled under Personal Development

Today, July 27, 2009, marks the 95th anniversary of re-establishment of Christ’s church at the far eastern part of the globe. We take pride as members of Iglesia Ni Cristo (Church Of Christ) of reaching its present glorious stature as God’s blessings to us.

I will not discuss our doctrines / beliefs here but give you a glimpse of Iglesia Ni Cristo as a people and a few qualities adored about us.

Iglesia Ni Cristo Central Temple, Quezon City, Philippines
Brotherly love

Iglesia Ni Cristo comes from different 102 races and covers 90 countries and territories from the six continents of the world. We members may belong to different cultures but we act as one to fulfill man’s primary duty to worship God.

Though sometimes misunderstanding arises amongst us, we seek no court of law to settle our disputes. We proceed first to our church elders who provide us wisdom and suggest actions that will maintain peacefulness and brotherly love within us. We respect the wisdom of our leaders that strengthens the relationship of living harmoniously with one another.

Sacred duties

Every member of the church is bound to fulfill one’s duties in glorifying God. That is why you could observe members attend worship services religiously. We do not do this to please anyone nor to display holiness among men. We are bound to carry on with this duty till the end.

We find solace attending church worship services. Our chapels serve as refuge as we say our fervent prayers and find God’s comfort. Fulfilling our duties does not burden us but gives strengths in battling the challenges of daily living. Words of God feed us hope and advise us to have a meaningful life.

Church Administration

Brother Erańo G. Manalo, Iglesia Ni Cristo Executive Minister, attends to the needs of the church. He continuously devotes his life serving God’s ultimate purpose of His church. He never ceases to think how to uplift the spiritual condition of every member of the Christ’s church.

Most of his time is spent in preparing lessons based from God’s words. He teaches us to seek God, the sole Provider of solutions to any problem. He encourages us, above all, to devote more time serving God and never lose of that focus against gaining material wealth.

Members of the church respect Ka Erdie’s (as brethren call him) decisions and directives. We find no fault on his decisions for we know he protects the Church from harm. He continues to build magnificent houses of worship through out the land. He assures the needs of the Church by joining him always to ask God’s blessings in prayers. Just like a pastor herding his flock, he makes sure everyone is safe as soon as the Master returns.

An Invitation

We invite everyone to attend our religious rallies, “pamamahayag” (grand evangelical missions), and worship services near to your place. You may ask any of our members and will gladly to take you to our chapels to know more about our faith.

Church ministers and workers will answer any of your questions so you may know other qualities our church has that bewilder “experts” the way the church progresses even on the most turbulent times.

Happy 95th Anniversary to all members of Iglesia Ni Cristo (Church of Christ) worldwide!

Thrive: Improve Your Writing Skills Last Part

2009-07-25T08:31:00.002+08:00

This post is labeled under Personal Development, Career Move

This is the last portion of my post in improving writing skills. If you haven’t read the first part, you can visit it here.

Success in writing sometimes comes in correct way of packaging. I have read memoranda, technical manuscripts of which you think you are reading a judge decision on a criminal court. Avoid lengthy words/paragraphs that make the reading material heavy and hard to digest.

Plenty of white spaces is one of the techniques present writers use to create an impression that the article is short and easy to read. Writing short paragraphs is much effective than lengthy one. But you still need to follow the rules in dissecting paragraphs e.g. change of topics, mood, place, and focus.

Formal vs. Non-formal

I was once criticized by my American boss when I was still working as an analyst in a back-office setup. “Jerry, can you make your email short? No one here bothers to read long emails”.

That’s why sometimes you would see the core of the message at the subject line; typical with business counterparts that come from America and Europe. People on the go prefer short message which immediately tells what you want from them.

Words of caution: You need still to adhere the correct way of writing a formal/business letter to convey seriousness of content especially if the recipient prefers the old-fashioned way. Putting smileys on your messages is a big no-no.

Depending on the culture of the business environment where you at, learn to adapt immediately which styles you need to apply. The important thing is, formal or non-formal, they get the message.

Sacrificing Clarity with Brevity

One of the struggles of bloggers like me is how to present our content with at least 500 words or less. On some occasions I even violate this rule when compression of thoughts is no longer possible. This just has to show how ironic, with all forms of communication we have today, our readers’ attention span is becoming shorter.

Business letter prefers brief; personal longs emotions-filled message. I remember when I was young and writing love letters, how a girl looked forward to in writing her letters even though I would seen her everyday. I suspect personal letter pours out detailed emotions which ordinary talks fail to deliver between a girl and a boy.

Same goes when writing friends, relatives and loved ones. I’m not saying you need to write long personal letters. What I mean is, have a freedom to say what you feel. Short or long letter will not defeat the thought of taking time to write and making the connection.

Let the fun begin

My former German boss often calls me every time he needs to write a memo or draft a formal letter to this boss or client. Even though he had his own secretary who composes his letters, he lets me see the draft if it was written with effectiveness.

Soon other managers often teased me as someone as next-in-command as they see letters and memo we sent. Over time, my boss dragged me along with his meetings and I coordinated things in-lined with his responsibilities. Managers and clients, who had misunderstanding with my boss, often talked to me first so I could mediate; an opportunity that widened my influence and made things done fast never before.

So, start hitting the keyboard (or pen): write. No one can say where it will take you as opportunity breezes with your writings.

Thrive: Improve Your Writing Skills Part I

2009-07-18T18:31:00.002+08:00

This post is labeled under Personal Development, Career Move

Few of the skills often neglected by people who are on technical professions are their writing skills. I’ve seen professionals and students who were technically in-depth but were poor in presenting an idea they have.

Skill in writing is one of the few criteria often looked for candidates for promotion. It is not enough that you are well-good on your craft but be able to present, persuade to people an idea or suggestion on hand: one of the qualities that must-have by managers and leaders.

I am no expert of writing. The fact is, up to now, I’m still trying perfecting this craft to be effective in practicing my professions. But with the materials I have read through times, I can easily sense if the material is badly written or passed on a good taste of writing.

Courtesy of http://institutechildrenslit.net
To be or not to be

You do not need to be a playwright to draft a good reading material. Writing good content starts by asking why the need to write. Do you need to convey information or persuade other people to act? Having a clear purpose of writing achieves establishing a clear sense of direction.

I admit that writing is a rare talent not everyone possesses. Struggling writers (like me?) start by organizing our thoughts first before hitting the pen (or keyboard). You compensate the lack of talent with preparedness. I used Mind Map technique by Tony Buzan in order to have a clear picture of what particular interest should I present on my writing. You can see a sample of that on this post.

Keep It Sweet and Simple (KISS)

The purpose of organizing or outlining your thoughts is to avoid saying unnecessary as you write. Make your statements straight to point. Beating around the bush often misses the thing you want to emphasize. Have a habit of revising your statements in a clear, concise manner. That alone saves time on the part of the reader.

Correctness of grammar and spelling is a sign of respect to the reader especially if your target audience has achieved a level of education who conforms to the correct way of writing. Show respect first to gain respect from others.

Read Today Write Tomorrow

Reading does not only make you exact but imaginative as well. Sometimes it’s hard to convince my students to read. With the proliferation of visual effects on movies and even on games, most people find no fun reading “boring” texts. What often people miss is imagining all the emotions poured as one writes in each statement. How many times did you ever read the hidden messages the writer wants to convey? Reading between the lines offers a good laughs which visuals miss in subtlety.

You need to be exposed to a lot of reading to gain organizing your thoughts. Start on materials that fall on your interest. Schedule and make a habit of reading. I offered few tips on my past post Read to Improve Skills to complement good writing. Little by little you will notice the confidence you gain as you draft your prose.

“Blogging” makes perfect

Like with any other skills, you need to practice to gain mastery of the craft. People ask me on what they should write and where. Begin with your interest to start the ball rolling. You may create a blog of your interest to let the world knows what’s on your mind.

Never fear committing mistakes: that’s part of the education. Be thankful to those who criticize your writings because they offer insights for you to become better.

How about styles in writing? Is there an effective way to make your article fun to read? Expect answers on the next (last) part of this post.

Boolean Algebra Theorems in Digital Design

2009-07-18T18:05:00.003+08:00

Boolean algebra theorems are effective in simplifying circuit designs. Engineers and scientist alike used boolean algebra expressions in order to save and simplify the logic of the design.

On some instances, circuit designers may lack AND or OR IC packages on their circuit project. They employ De Morgan's theorem to convert a AND circuit to OR circuit and vice versa with the use of boolean algebra complement.

This post is labeled under Digital Design
The following laboratory document used experiment to further understand the principles behind boolean algebra identities. It helps explain the duality of the circuit, distributive law, absorption law, and De Morgan's theorem to name a few.
Boolean Theorems Experiment 4

Feel free to add comments if you find this document useful.

The Joy of Discovering and Creating New Things

2009-07-13T18:03:00.002+08:00

This post is labeled under Personal Development

With so many distractions available today, sometimes we may lost focus on the important things we want to do in our lives. Life indeed is stressful. As some psychologists theorized, the more we are stressed the more we need to fill in the void. Unfortunately, we often opted to use distractions.

Our world is full of consumers. Those who are willing to produce new things are often rewarded with a meaningful life. Instead of spending your leisure time in watching endless dvd movies/popular tv season series, playing new psp games/network games, malling, why don’t we go back to those simple things we often enjoy and do. Living on a hi-tech world sometimes gives us smile when suddenly we remember how things were simply done once.

NEU Computer Science Students’ Circuit Design In Action

I have nothing against with new technologies. In fact, I believe technologies we have now should supplement to create greater things. We are bound to contribute something to live fully.

You need not be a rocket scientist to build new things. Giving a new twist on how old ways once done is often enough to blow others’ mind away. You ought to be expert on something, aren’t you?

Discovery leads to Creativity

Would you believe that my 65-year old mom was the first person who reminded me to check the opportunity offered by blogging? Of course I knew blogging especially when I read some of it done by my students, other teenagers which are full of angst and slum book info. Call it twist of fate, I happened to check and bought a book about blogging on a local bookstore. After finishing the book, I felt sorry for not knowing the impact blogging it has now on the Internet.

As an educator and an IT practitioner, I look ways to inspire my students who are often lazy to read and rely solely on teachers’ input. After checking professional blogs on-line, I discovered also Scribd and how to embed YouTube videos on blogs. Then I started to have a blog of my own. I reformatted some of my lecture materials and uploaded it at Scribd; giving life to once forgotten materials.

I gained respect to those who are on video editing profession. I learned to cut/edit my own videos and experienced how hard to fit a maximum 10-minute video set by YouTube. Skills I never thought possible that I will gain from blogging.

I started to ask my students to visit my blog and get related materials they need on our subject. I was struck with its results. My students are able to do their assignments/experiments on their own with the expected output. The power of repeating same resource material many times over really made the difference.

To date, I uploaded 7 documents in Scribd. With almost 2,000 views from these documents, 600 were actually downloaded. One document made it on the hotlist of Scribd; another one received 50% downloads from total views. Indeed my audience has become bigger and my developed materials long sitting on my hard disk are now getting attention never before.

Discovering new things is one; connecting the dots is another. The opportunity to see how blogging becomes an ally on my teaching was far off my mind. One thing leads to another. The experience is truly rewarding.

Knowing thy Self is the Beginning

It does not need to be blogging. And you don’t need to do it alone. Have someone who shares the same interest and start from there. I know most women accomplish even more when they are in groups compared to men who often choose to work alone.

Beyond recognition, discovering self and what you are capable of are but a few of priceless rewards one can get from creating great things. It beats stress and boredom. It is a new way on answering why you need to get up excited every morning.

Exclusive OR Gate

2009-07-13T16:58:00.001+08:00

This post is labeled under Digital Design

Exclusive OR gate (shortened as XOR) is a simplification of AND, OR, NOT gates where logic-1 or high output is obtained if its both inputs are high but not the same time. Complement of Exclusive OR is Exclusive NOR (shortened as XNOR) where the output of the XOR is negated.

Although NAND and NOR gates are available with several input lines, XOR and XNOR are typically available with only two input lines. We may avail of using this gates using IC Package 7486.

Experiment 3 provides as laboratory manual on how XOR operates. It provides connection with other basic logic gates. I suggest you visit first Experiment 1 and Experiment 2 and perform the two before proceeding with Experiment Number 3. Some of simplified instructions stated on Experiment 3 were all well-discussed and shown in the two prior experiments.
Exclusive or Gate Experiment 3

There is also a video blog on how to setup a prototyping board experiment. Visit this if you are new on setting up digital experiments.

Exclusive OR is useful in understanding and simplifying half adder and full adder circuits. Knowing its logic operation can be used as substitute in Boolean equations thus reducing the number of gates to use on our design.

Hope this helps and please let me know if you have comments or find it useful.

How to make a Flowchart

2009-07-06T18:44:00.001+08:00

This post is labeled under Software Development

Flowchart is graphical representation of an algorithm. It uses a special-purpose symbols such as diamonds, rectangles, ovals, small circles which are connected by flowlines. Flowlines indicate the order in which the actions are to be performed. Unlike pseudocode (not real code) the algorithm is represented by these symbols.

Creating flowchart is much easier now considering how these flowcharts are incorporated on Microsoft Office applications. Though there are other applications dedicated on this purpose alone such as Visio, it is best to know the basics on how to use it.

Figure 1. Sample Flowchart
Online flowchart applications that float over the internet sometimes charge fee for you to use it. It often has a ready flowchart template that is ready to use. I have nothing against it. For now, all you need is a paper and pen in drafting your first flowchart. Knowing the fundamentals is still best before using any tool for this purpose. You may refer to the following document on how flowcharts are applied.

Flow Charting Fundamentals

Flowchart is one of the effective tools in representing solutions for programming problems. Students gain discipline on how to structure programs properly thus reducing complexity and long redundant codes.

Microsoft Project Video Blog Tutorial

2009-07-01T18:05:00.003+08:00

This post is labeled under Software Development

Managing series of tasks on a given project is a horrendous job if one has no tool to track it. Often, project managers who rely on their skills of guess-timate receive all the blame at the end on mostly delayed, expensive projects.

Microsoft Project is a project management tool that can generate Gantt charts, Resource schedule/usage and listing of project cost. It is an effective ally to pinpoint critical paths that may affect the overall implementation of the project. Milestones can be clearly highlighted to emphasize important events that serve as the target date to complete.

The video blog comes in two parts. The first part discusses Microsoft Project 2003 initial setup of tasks, milestones, project start date and predecessors. It already discusses a working example on how to use Microsoft Project.

The last part shows how to assign predecessors to task effectively. It includes also how Microsoft Project 2003 adjusts working time and tags holidays in between your working calendar. The video presentation shows also how to print the gantt chart and adjust its views.

You may also view the documentation part of this tutorial. If it is your first time to view document using Scribd, visit this article first to read and download the document below.

Project Management Basics

The post was intended for first timers in drafting their feasible project proposals as managers. Please let me know if the presentation helps you in knowing the basics and can be an alternative way on existing Micrsoft Project tutorials.

Identify Roles in Managing Your Time

2009-06-28T10:23:00.002+08:00

This post is labeled under Personal Development

This article is a continuation of previous post on Time Management. Please visit here if you haven’t read it.

One of the best ways to manage your time effectively is to spread your commitments schedule in a span of a week.

But how do you do it?

The first thing you need to set is the roles you want to play given in a week. Our idea is to spend more time in Quadrant II (Not Urgent, Important) which is more inclined on building relationships, cultivating our interest, and making us whole in every aspect of our lives.

We may belong to different professions but doing professional work is just a part of the whole personal being. A programmer spends 8 hours per day coding programs but as one comes home, he/she immediately transforms to be father, mother, son, daughter, brother or sister. Playing a different role demands different focus and expectations.

Figure 1 is a sample on how to identify roles. You don’t need a computer to do this. All you need is to put your ideas together with the use of paper and colored pens. The roles or activities may vary week after week depending on how you want to spend your time effectively to each and every role. It may be best to plan this at the start of a new week.

Next step is to plot it on a week’s time (see Figure 2). Here, you can manage on which day or hour you will place your scheduled commitments. You may prepare this by using Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. Viewing your roles in a week time identifies days which may stress you out. You may fill in days where you are free to provide flexibility and enjoyment doing your parallel roles at same time.

Recently, my mother got ill because of mild stroke. As I visited her and spent more time with her at hospital (eventually brought her home), I noticed how she aged all this time and how weak she became because of prevailing illness. She now walks slowly and I felt guilty of not spending much time with her on times she feels well.

We may be busy earning a living, building our career with the aim to have a good life. We even promised ourselves and our loved ones that we are all going to be happy as we attain a certain level of success. Often we take for granted little things in building relationships and people that matter most to us. But life itself is fleeting away if you fail to notice it as time passes by.

I remember planning an extravagant vacation our family would enjoy. That plan was put on hold because of the economic crunch and everyone in the family is unwilling to spend much. Sometimes I’m stuck on ideas on ways to make my parents happy especially on times they visit me. I usually accompany my mother to the malls where she buys things she needs. I let her enjoy foods she never tasted before. At the end of the day, I would receive a text message from her thanking for the wonderful time she had with me. Nothing fancy but a pure simple of being together.

We make plans because we want to achieve something; it boils down on events which make our life meaningful. Learn to assess your life early on and re-focus priorities things that matters most.

NAND and NOR Gates Circuits

2009-06-22T15:59:00.002+08:00

This post is labeled under Digital Design

NAND gate represents the complement of the AND operation. Its name is an abbreviation of NOT and AND. The graphic symbol for the NAND gate consists of an AND gate with a bubble on the output, which denotes the complement of the operation.

The NAND gate is said to be a universal gate because any digital system can be implemented with the NAND gates alone. A complement operation is obtained from the one-input NAND gate that behaves like an inverter or a NOT gate (see Figure 1). AND operations requires two NAND gates. The first produces the NAND operation and the second inverts the output signal of the first. OR is achieved using A NAND gate with NOTs on each input. Using Demorgan’s theorem, the inversions cancel out and OR function is the result.

Another universal gate is the NOR gate. It is considered as the dual of NAND gate. The implementation of the AND, OR, and NOT operations with NOR gates can be achieved as seen on Figure 2. One-input NOR gate makes it as a NOT gate just as we did in NAND gate. The OR operation is obtained by using two NOR gates; one NOR gate that accepts the input and another NOR gates that inverts it. AND operation is obtained by having two NOT inputs.

Experiment 2 simulates the operation of NAND and NOR gates. Refer to the step-by-step procedures to learn the principles behind the circuits.
NAND NOR Gates Experiment 2