PUP Google Fest 2012

Google Student Ambassadors (GSAs) from PUP organized PUP Google Fest last December 10 at the PUP Main Campus. We were invited to do some talks about Google technologies.

Anne Olvido, community manager of GDG Bacolod, talked about Google Apps and Google Apps in Education. Wayne Manuel, top Filipino Geo advocate talked about Google Maps API and Google Map Maker. Gino Tria, one of the winners in the Google Apps Developer Challenge 2012 who is also an alumnus of PUP, talked about his experiences in GADC and inspired the students.Chelle Gray, co-community manager of GDG Philippines and GBG Philippines talked about Google+, GDG Geek Girl. Afterwards, I talked about Android and the basics of Android Apps development. Gian Javelona of Orange Apps talked about the PUP Mobile Portal. To end the event, the Google Student Ambassadors narrated their experiences and encouraged the student audience to be part of GSA.

Here is the slides I used in my talk:

It's more fun in Android!

Sanitation Hackathon 2012

In cooperation with World Bank's Water and Sanitation Program and Blogwatch.tv; and with the sponsorhip of Globe Labs, GDG Philippines and GBG Philippines organized the Sanitation Hackathon Philippines last December 1-2, 2012. The two-day hackathon was held simultaneously in Manila and in five other cities in the country: Baguio, Bacolod, Cebu, Davao and Zamboanga.

Sanitation Hackathon is a social good hackathon that aims to develop open technology for sanitation challenges. In the Philippines, there are still sanitation challenges and problem, and the hackathon aims to develop apps to overcome these challenges. The Manila hackathon was held at Globe Valero Telepark (111 Valero Street, Makati City).

There were three winners per city (except Manila with only two finalist). Davao City's Team Comfort (Corden Malinao Naraga and Edith Naraga) from Davao City was judged as the grand winner. The list of all winners is available in the GDG Philippines blog post. You can also watch the video of the announcement of winners(via Hangouts on Air) here.

Pinoy Jokes Chrome Extension

After publishing my Pinoy Jokes Android App on Google Play, I worked on creating an extension for Google Chrome. It took a while for me to come up with the initial version but now the Pinoy Jokes Chrome Extension is now available on the Google Chrome Web Store. I plan to update this as I update the Android App.

If you still haven't installed the Android app, download it now on Google Play.

Radio and TV Interview

Celine and I were invited by Michelle Orosa-Ople of TV5 for an interview last November 10, 2012. Michelle is one of the hosts of the radio program Oplan Asenso (airing every Saturday from 12:00 NN to 2:00 PM) on Radyo5 92.3 News FM. Their topic that day was salaries and deductions. We talked about our Android app Sweldong Pinoy.

Celine and me with the hosts of Oplan Asenso, Michelle Orosa-Ople and Gerard dela Pena

After the radio program, Michelle also interviewed us for TV5 news. This was aired on TV5's Pilipinas News and Aksyon TV's Andar ng mga Balita last November 14, 2012.

GDG DevFest Cebu 2012

Two days after the successful GDG DevFest Bacolod, GDG Cebu hosted the first GDG DevFest Cebu at Quest Hotel & Conference Center. GDG DevFest Cebu 2012 is also the first DevFest organized in Cebu. I was invited to talk about Google+ and the Google+ Platform. Here is the slides I used in my presentation:

Google+ and the Google+ Platform

In the show-and-tell part of the event, we also presented Moochfood. Photos of the events are available at the Google+ events page.

GDG DevFest Bacolod 2012

After the successful GDG DevFest Philippines in Manila last August, GDG Bacolod organized the first GDG DevFest Bacolod last November 5, 2012 at The Sugarland Hotel. GDG DevFest Bacolod was attended by more than 108 developers, IT enthusiasts and students near the area.

I talked about Location-Based Services on Android. My talk included the basics of getting device location and using Google Places API and Foursuare API. Here is the slides I used in my presentation:

Location-Based Services on Android

Photos of the events are available at the Google+ events page.

ANC Alerts Interview

Last October 31, GDG Philippines and Globe Labs representatives were invited by ANC Alerts for an interview about the upcoming DevFests in Bacolod and Cebu. GlobeLabs is a sponsor of both events. Globe Labs Developer Relations Manager Anne Michelle Santos and I went to the interview because I was the only community manager of GDG Philippines who is available that time.

Here is the video of our interview. The name in the display is wrong though:

It was my first time to be interviewed and it was on a live show. I was so nervous!

La Consolacion College Manila Talk

Last October 6, Benjamin Caruncho III invited GDG Philippines to La Consolacion College Manila. I went to the event with fellow community managers Anne Olvido and Chelle Gray. Anne talked about Google Developers Groups (GDGs), Google Docs, Google Forms, Google+, and other Google technologies. Chelle discussed Google Business Group Philippines and "Thesis Ideas: Where to start?" I talked about Android Apps development. After my talk, Geo Advocate Wayne Manuel did a talk about Google Map Maker and conducted hands-on mapping session.

Here is the slides I used in my presentation:

Why go into Android Apps Development?

And here are some important links:

• Google+ Event Page:
  https://plus.google.com/u/0/events/clnutvofhoe11cnadvvlj0g52m4
• Event Notes: http://goo.gl/W7cwK

Run United 3 2012

Last September 16, 2012, I ran at the last leg of the Runrio Trilogy 2012, the Run United 3. This was my third 10k run for the year. I wanted to beat my record in the previous run even if I do not have much training because I've been too busy the past months. However, it rained during the run so I walked more than half of the distance. This was my first run in the rain. After the run, I just got my bag and the finishers' kit and went home.

Based from the official results, which is available here and here, I finished the run in 01:27:58 (Chip Time) and 1:28:59 (Gun Time). The race analysis is also available here.

It was still a good experience even if I wasn't able to beat my previous record. I am hoping this won't be my last run for the year.

Globe Labs Developer Day

Last September 15, 2012, we attended Globe Labs' Developer Day at the Corporate Showroom in Valero Telepark. We went there earlier to help out in the registration.

James Pearce, Head of Developer Advocacy of Facebook, was the speaker for the event. He talked about Facebook App Development, App Center and the Open Graph API. There was also a "Show and Share" portion after the talks. Anne Michelle Santos, the Developer Relations Manager of Globelabs showcased Globe's Facebook Apps. Other presentations include "Alterspace", Eden APIs by Christian Blanquera and Tag Huddle by Nikko Bautista. At the end of the event, Anne Michelle announced that GlobeLabs will be having a MobApp Hunt contest and the details will be posted this week.

Davao Weekend

Last August 11, we flew to Davao for the Google Apps Challenge Meetup held at the PLDT-SMART Ponciano Business Center. GDG Davao community manager Andrew dela Serna, Googler Dan Delima, GDG Bacolod community manager Anne Olvido and I were the speakers in the event. I talked about the basics of Google Drive API and SDK.

A photo of me while giving a talk about Google Drive

After the event, we had dinner at Lachi's Sans Rival Atbp and strolled in SM City Davao. The next day, we had lunch at Delongtes Seafood Grill And Barbecue. I also ordered Durian Shake. Then, I tried the Zorb and we strolled around Abreeza. We went to Magsaysay Park to try durian. After that, we went back to get our stuff, had dinner and went straight to the airport.

The durian we tried

Our weekend in Davao was great! I would love to go back there again soon!

GDG DevFest Philippines 2012

Last August 4, 2012, GDG (Google Developer Group) Philippines, hosted the first GDG DevFest Philippines at AIM Conference Center, the same day and venue as the Day 2 (University Day) of g|philippines (the first Google Day in the Philippines).

Before, DevFests were organized by Google but now they are community-organized. There were speakers from Google, as well as local speakers too. Before the end of the event, some participated in the show-and-tell of their apps.

Singapore Vacation

From July 27 to 30, we went to Singapore for a much awaited four-day vacation. It was the first time for me to travel outside the Philippines.

We went to NAIA Terminal 1 on July 27 for our early flight on Tiger Airways. We had a little delay due to air traffic congestion. We arrived at the Budget Terminal of Changi International Airport at past ten in the morning. Even if it was a small terminal, it was a little bit better than NAIA. We rode a free shuttle to Terminal 2 where there is an MRT station. I purchased an EZ Link ticket and loaded some more credits into it. We boarded the train to Chinatown Station. At Smith Street, which is walking distance from the station, is Beary Nice Hostel, the place where we stayed. We dropped off most of our stuff, had lunch at a nearby Tak Po Hongkong Dimsum restaurant and went to the Google Office. On our way to there, we saw Lau Pa Sat Festival Market and decided to look around and grab some snacks. We went to the Google office and had a tour there thanks to Miss Cathy Candano. After the Google visit, we went to see the Merlion at the Merlion Park and walk around the Marina Bay Sands area. Then, we had dinner at Maxwell Foood Centre and went back to Beary Nice to sleep.

Photo taken before leaving Lau Pa Sat

On our second day, we had a vegetarian breakfast at Chan Chan Heng Eating House before going to the Arts and Science Museum for the Harry Potter Exhibition. We were able to see some of the original props and costumes used in the movies. After the tour, we also bought some souvenirs to bring back home. Our next stop was the Gardens by the Bay. Because of the heat and hunger, we were only able to tour a little part of the area. We had lunch at Tekka Centre in Little India and visited two temples nearby, Shree Lakshmi Narayan Temple and Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple. After that, we went to Botanic Gardens, walked around around and enjoyed nature. Then, we went to Fort Canning Park and almost got lost. To end the day, we had dinner again at Maxwell.

Photo taken before going inside the Harry Potter Exhibition

Some of the food/drinks we tried on our second day: On the left is fresh coconut juice and special chendol, the drinks we had at lunch, on the middle is a chocolate ice cream with wafer we saw (and tried) on the streets on the way to Fort Canning while on the right are different flavors of Yakult (orange, grape, apple and original) we bought (at 7-11) on the way back to the hotel

To try the Hianese Chicken of Tian Tian Hianese Chicken at Maxwell, we had lunch there first. Afterwards, we went to HarbourFront Centre to go to Sentosa Island via the Angry Birds Cable Car. That was my first time to ride a cable car and it was a great experience! After alighting, we visited the Cable Car Museum and started walking around the island. We went to the Merlion Plaza. inside the Merlion, and walked around the nearby areas. Our next stop was Universal Studios Singapore and we rode the monorail to get there. Inside, we went to the sound and effects place, rode the Galactica: Humans, Revenge of the Mummy and Treasure Hunter. We also watched Donkey Live, Shrek 4D. At around six in the evening, we had some snacks and waited for the parade to start. After all these, we went back to Chinatown to buy souvenirs and had dinner at People Park Food Centre.

On the left is a photo of me while at the cable car during transit and on the right is a photo of me near the Merlion Plaza

We woke up early on our last day in Singapore. We went to the Chinatown Heritage Center and at the Singapore Coins and Notes Museum. After that, we also visited the Masjid Jamae Mosque and went back to People Park Food Centre to have lunch and buy jerky at Bee King Heng. Then we went back to to get our stuff and rode the train back to the airport.

Photo taken at the Singapore Coin and Notes Museum

Our four-day vacation in Singapore was a great experience for us. We visited a lot of places and tried different kinds of food. If only we could stay there a little bit more. I want to get back there again or at least have another vacation soon. It would be better if it's abroad again to see other places in other countries.

Bacolod Weekend

Last weekend, we were at Bacolod for the Google Apps Challenge Meetup on July 21. Anne Olvido, community manager of GDG Bacolod invited me, JM Ibanez and Clair Ching as speakers for the meetup.

Early morning of July 21, the four of us flew in an Airphil Express flight, which also happen to have Anne Curtis too, who we later found out will be having a concert there in the evening. After dropping off some of our things in the hotel, we went to the venue, 21 Restaurant. Clair talked about the Google Apps Challenge competition then JM talked about Google Apps API. I was the last speaker and I talked about Google Drive API, the same one I had in the Manila meetup.

A photo taken during the meetup.

After the event, we had our dinner at Pepe's and on the next day, we had food trip experience here and there. We triedcakes at Calea and Felicia's and had lunch at Aida's in Manokan Country.

The food we had at Aida's

The Calea cakes we tried

The food we had at Felicia's

GDG Devfest and g|philippines

Next month, GDG (Google Developer Group) Philippines, will be hosting the first GDG DevFest. DevFests are now community-organized but will still be a great and free developer event where you can learn a lot about Google technologies and more. There will be speakers from Google and some Pinoy developers this year. GDG Devfest will be on August 4, 2012 at AIM Conference Center. To sign-up, visit the official blog at http://gdgdevfestph.blogspot.com/.

Meanwhile, the first annual g|Philippines in Manila will be on August 3 and 4, 2012.  Day 1 will be for Business, Marketing, and Entrepreneur and the second is University Day. The venue will also be at AIM Conference Center. For details, check the site at https://sites.google.com/site/gphilippines2012.

Google Apps Challenge Manila Meeetup

Last July 6-7, 2012, GDG Philippines organized a meetup/hackaton for the Google Apps Developer Challenge 2012 at the CodeFlux Inc. office. The event intends to give introductory talks about Google Apps and Google Drive APIs especially to those who are planning to join the competition.

During the meet up, I gave a basic talk about Google Drive API. Here is the slides I used:

Introduction to Google Drive API

View more presentations from Jomar Tigcal

My slides also got featured on SlideShare's homepage last July 13, 2012.

Run United 2 2012

To accomplish my goal of running in the three legs of Runrio Trilogy this year, I signed up for Run United 2 2012 in the first or second week after it was announced. I wasn't really excited; it's just that during those times, I was already processing some papers and stuff for my work transfer.

When I registered at Toby's Sports SM Mall of Asia, I was disappointed with the automated registration system of Runrio. I had to restart filling up the form because of a limitation of the system, which to begin with is not user-friendly. Anyway, after paying, I only got a singlet and was advised to go to Run United Race Expo whose venue is yet to be announced.

A few days or weeks later, the venue for the Race Expo was set at Bonifacio Global City. Since I now working in Alabang and it closes at eight in the evening, I just decided to go on Saturday, which is the last day of the expo and also the day before the run. As I was near the venue, I realized I forgot to bring my receipt. Good thing I still remember my code in the receipt and got the race bib and the free race belt. I also took a look inside the stalls in the Race Expo and bought myself a running shorts.

On the day of the run (June 17), it was raining because of Typhoon Butchoy. I thought this will be my first run in the rain. However, when the gun start is already near, it is no longer raining nor drizzling. I was a little nervous on the run because it has been months since I last ran. I've been too busy with work and the transition that I had not been able to have some time running. With this in mind, I decided to just run and not force myself to finish it.

After more than 5k, my body started to feel pain. Good thing there was bananas in a hydration station. It was the first time for me to eat a banana in a run and it felt good. Slowly, the pain I'm feeling started to go away. I finished the run in 1:12:50 (based from My Tracks).

Update: Based from the official results, I finished the run in 1:08:17 (Chip Time) and 1:09:54 (Gun Time). The race analysis is also available here. Not bad! I actually beat my record last Run United 1 by a few minutes although I was unable to be near my 10k record (1:02:48) last year at the Takbo.ph NightFest.

Google Apps Developer Challenge 2012

Last week, Google announced the Google Apps Developer Challenge 2012. Using Google Apps and Google Drive APIs, entries can be submitted in any of the following categories: Enterprise / Small Business Solutions, Social / Personal Productivity / Games / Fun, and Education / Not for Profit / Water / Food & Hunger / Health. The submission of entries are due on August 24, 2012. Prizes include Chromebooks and up to $20,000 USD. There are also special prizes for students and female developers.

To know more about the contest, you may check out the official website at http://www.google.com/events/gadc2012/index.html and follow the hashtag #gappschallenge on Google+.

And as Google Developer Groups are partners in the challenge, GDGs will be conducting workshops and/or hackatons. In the Philippines, the target venues are Manila, Bacolod, Cebu and Zamboanga. More details about this will be posted in the GDG Philippines blog and Google+ page.

Update:
The Google Apps Meetup organized by GDG Manila will be on July 6-7 at the Codeflux office. More details can be found here.

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Transitions

In the past weeks, I have been into some major transitions in my life.

I have moved to a new company and am now working as a mobile apps developer. I've been doing some Android apps before but this time, it is for full-time. Despite this, I'll still continue with the other non-mobile projects I have been working on.

As I transfer to my new work, I have to move from Makati City to Alabang, Muntinlupa City. As it still is far from where I live, I looked for a boarding house in Las Pinas City.

But still, the most major adjustment I am facing now is using the Macbook work laptop. I haven't really used a Mac and it's totally different from Windows and Ubuntu. Even the keyboards have differences so I cannot use the keyboard shortcuts I know.

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Cebu Weekend

Last May 5 to 6, 2012, we went to Cebu for the Pre-Startup Weekend Bootcamp, in preparation for the Startup Weekend Cebu on May 11-13, 2012.

On May 5, 2012, we went to the ILC-AVR of University of the Philippine Cebu for the event. Mark Abella, lead organizer of Startup Weekend Cebu gave a talk about Startup Weekend Cebu. Vanessa Orendain, community manager of GBG Philippines talked about Pitching, Marketing, and Monetization. Albert Padin talked about HTML5 Development while Rico Sta. Cruz discussed Turning Ideas into Buttons. Anne Olvido, GDG Bacolod community manager, Jerome Locson, GDG Zamboanga community manager and I talked about Android Development.

The speakers and participants (photo from the GDG Philippines blog)

After the event, we took a rest, went to Cebu IT Park and had dinner at Chicken & Beer. We went to a bar afterwards but then we transferred to a karaoke bar. The next morning, I went to Tabo-an Market to buy danggit, pusit, longganisa and some keychains. I went back to the hotel and had to change my clothes because I smell fishy. We then had late lunch at Balamban Liempo in Ayala Center Cebu. After lunch, we had a smal tour around Ayala Center and SM Cebu. We bought some pasalubong at the SM Department Store and had dinner at Mooon Cafe. Then, we went to the airport to fly back to Manila.

Even if weren't able to roam around much and I wasn't able to try Lechon Cebu, the experience was good. I would love to come back there again, especially for vacation.

Lechon Cebu!

GenSan Weekend

Magandang GenSan! Last weekend, we went to General Santos City for the Mindanao Leg of the Map Maker Summit. It was my first time to ride a plane and to be outside Luzon.

We left Manila at around 7:30 in the morning of April 20. After arriving in GenSan at about 9:30 A.M., we went to East Asia Royale Hotel to check in and unpack our things. Then, we had our lunch in Ranchero's Grill. There, we met Filipino actor Gerald Anderson. After having lunch, we went to the city hall and met the mayor, Darlene Antonino Custodio. We went to STI College General Santos, the venue of the summit, to have an ocular visit. We also went to Robinson's mall to check out Manny Pacquiao's store, Team Pacquiao. Then, we had cakes at Blugre Coffee, which is owned by Jinkee Pacquiao. We went to the hotel's Royale Lounge to start the planning for the summit. We made the food stubs and printed them. After the long day, we slept so we can wake up early.

The next day was the day of the Map Maker Summit. It was attended by almost 140 participants. There was a wide diversity of attendees: there were students and teachers, IT professionals and bloggers, policemen and policewomen, and even a nun. After the event, we had dinner at Grab a Crab.

On our last day at Gen. Santos City, we wake up early to have breakfast and go to the fish port. There, we saw how the tunas are being unloaded, weighed and packed. We also went to Pick Me up store and KCC Mall to buy food and souvenir items to bring home. After having lunch at Giacomino's, we went to the airport and went back to Manila. The weekend experience in GenSan was so good. I am hoping I can go back there soon.

Some of the photos during the weekend:

• Photos from Celine's tablet
• Photos from the photobooth during the Map Maker Summit
• Photos from Avel during the visit to Mayor Darlene Antonino-Custodio
• Photos of the Map Maker Summit from Aileen Apolo
• Photos at the Fish Port from Ms. Aileen

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Pre-Startup Weekend Manila Bootcamp

Last April 14, we helped organized Pre-Startup Weekend Manila Bootcamp at MINT College. Google Technology Users Groups worldwide are conducting Pre-Startup Weekend Bootcamps as part of the partnership of Google and Startup Weekend.

Some of the pictures of the event, taken from my phone:

For more details about the event, please check out this blog post of GTUG Philippines.

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Sweldong Pinoy

A few months ago, Celine asked me to make an app she can use in computing the taxes and statutory deductions based from a specific salary. There wasn't an existing app yet for that purpose. Since it will not only benefit her (and me), but a lot more too, I decided to start developing the app. However, due to time constraints and because of the complicated processes in computing the taxes and deductions, it took a long while to develop the app.

Last week, I have finished the prototype of Salary Calculator. It is an online tool for Filipinos that they can use to compute their net pay, withholding taxes and contributions to SSS, Philhealth and PAG-IBIG. Users just need to provide their basic pays, and allowances (taxable and non-taxable allowances), as well as the rate (semi-monthly, monthly or annual). Then with just a click of the "Compute" button, the app will display the gross pay, withholding tax amount, net pay and the deductions for PAG-IBIG, SSS, and Philhealth. The withholding tax was computed based from the monthly taxable income using the BIR Revised Withholding Tax Table. The computation of the other deductions are based from PhilHealth Contribution Table, SSS Contribution Table, and Republic Act No. 9679 (for the PAG-IBIG contributions).

The app can be accessed at http://sweldongpinoy.tigcal.com and is still a work in progress. Try the app and please give comments and suggestions.

Update: The app is now called Sweldong Pinoy and is now also available on Chrome Web Store. We've also made an Android app which can now be downloaded on Google Play.

Update (December 19, 2012): The app is now at http://www.sweldongpinoy.com. The previous URLs redirect to this website now. We'll also be publishing an update to the app in connection to the increase in the PhilHealth contribution (see PhilHealth Circular 11 s. 2012 for details). For updates, you may also follow @sweldongpinoy on Twitter. Thank you very much for using the app!

Update (March 28, 2013): We already have a blog at http://blog.sweldongpinoy.com. We'll be posting news and updates about the app there.

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April Events

Map Maker Summits

After the Google Map Maker Manila Workshop last March 17, Google will be conducting Map Maker Summits this April in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. The summits will be conducted in Bacolod (April 12), Baguio (April 14) and General Santos City (April 21). To signup in any of these summits, you may visit GTUG Philippines' blog post. You may also join the Mapping the Philippines group.

Startup Weekend Manila

Startup Weekends are 54-hour events where developers, designers, marketers, product managers and startup enthusiasts come together to share ideas, form teams, build products, and launch startups! This year's Startup Weekend Manila will be on April 27 to 29 at MINT College in Taguig City. You may register for the event here. If you are a member of GTUG Philippines and want to avail of the 20% GTUG discount, send an email to gtugphilippines@gmail.com.

Pre-Startup Weekend Manila

Because of the partnership of Google and Startup Weekend, GTUG Philippines is organizing a Pre-Startup Weekend Bootcamp. It will be held on April 14 at MINT College also. There will be technical and non-technical sessions to prepare the attendees for the Startup weekend. To find out more details and to register, check out this blog post.

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Run United 1 2012

To achieve my goal of running the three legs of Runrio Trilogy this year, I registered for Run United 1 which was held last March 4 at SM Mall of Asia. I chose to run in the 10k category.

Run United 1 2012 is my first Runrio-organized run. There were enough hydration although the staff in the stations are overwhelmed by the number of runners. There were even some who fills up their own cups to have their drinks. There were trash bins but there are still a lot of plastic cups thrown on the road. This might be because the trash bins were too near the hydration stations when some of the runners drink their waters a few steps away. There were also some stations that gave away bananas but this also meant more banana peelings on the route which is dangerous for some runners.

Overall, the experience was great. I finished my run in about 1:14:28 (based from the timer in the finish line). I am looking forward to Run United 2 and 3. Hopefully, I will beat my own time in the next runs.

Update: Based from the official results, I finished the run in 01:10:35 (Chip Time) and 01:14:37 (Gun Time). The race analysis is also available here.

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IT Olympics 2012

Last March 1, 2012, the College of Computer Science of University of Makati (UMAK) hosted Intercollegiate I.T. Olympics 2012. I was invited by Ragde Falcis from JuAndroid and also a faculty member of UMAK to be one of the judges for the Android competition. The other judges were Chelle Gray from CodeFlux Inc, my co-manager of GTUG Philippines; Alfred Ocon, the developer of the Pinoy Henyo Android App and an alumnus of UMAK; and Ronillo Ang, my officemate and the developer of the BlueMine Android App.

The IT Olympics are for some universities from NCR and some from nearby provinces. There are two categories for the Android Competition: Game and Productivity. However, only 4 apps were submitted and presented to us. The apps in the Game category are Mnemosyne, a multi-player Memory game with a twist, and Bartendroid, an alcohol drinks mixing game (This app was started during the GADC Manila). For the Productivity category, the apps are TechnoDock, an app that can launch apps for easier access, and Monchi, a parental monitoring app for their student childrens.

It was my first time to judge in a contest and it was a great experience. The apps presented are great and promising. After judging the apps presented in the Android Competition and having lunch, I was also invited to join the Board of Arbiters in the IT Quiz Bee. With me are Johmar M. Requilman from Taguig City University and Marlon B. Castillo from Don Bosco Technical College.

The winners in the Android Competition are Jerone M. Altura, Jerard Joseph M Buencamino and Daryl Edward R. Dela Cruz of Polytechnic University of the Philippines (Mnemosyne) for the Game category and Louis Michael Concepcion and Gabriel Antonio Aguila of University of Makati (Monchi) for the Productivity category. In the IT Quiz Bee, the champions are John Carlo M. Caruncho, Merrich Ann Maitim and Jordan Balintac from Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Pasig.

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A Year of Running

My first recorded run was last February 12, 2011. It has already been a year since then.In one year of running, I had joined four running events and finished my first 3k, 5k, 10k and 16k runs. The results of these runs can be found here. Based from my Daily Mile statistics, I had ran a total of 241 kilometers and burned 6 pounds in doing so.

This year, I am hoping to finish the three legs of Runrio Trilogy. I had already registered for Run United 1 on March 4. By next year, my goal is to finish my first half-marathon (21k). For now, I should maintain that I run at least once a week.

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Pinoy Jokes Android App

Sometime late 2011, I have been looking for a jokes app on the Android Market, specifically a Filipino one. I found only one and before you can read jokes, you have to pay. I wanted to make one but I did not have much time to code for it then.

Last weekend, while waiting for my officemates to get back, I planned to spend some time developing an Android App. I checked the Android Market and found out there are still no new Pinoy jokes apps so I decided to finally develop it. I used HTML5, CSS, Javascript, JQuery Mobile, and of course, Java and the Android SDK.

After a few hours, the result was Pinoy Jokes Android App. Its initial version was uploaded in the Android Market last January 30. The day after, I also did a quick presentation of the app in the show-and-tell meetup of GTUG Philippines. The latest version of the app now allows users to view random jokes and share jokes.

To download the app, go to the Android Market or scan the QR code below:

Pinoy Jokes Android App also reached the following accomplishments: Top Free Apps #15, Top Free Applications #7, Top New Free #5 and Top Free Entertainment #2.

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