Prex J.D.V. Ybasco's Blog, page 3
February 14, 2022
Studying Python for 30 days with Mimo App
As a human being, learning is a must. Since it’s related to my job and it’s a lot easier to provide requirements when you know what they are looking for, I decided to self-study coding. I’ve been casually studying for two years now. As for the choice of coding language, I started with Scratch, CSS, HTML, and most recently, Python. The reasons behind my choices were first, Scratch had a GUI and for a beginner, understanding the logic and structure was very helpful and more meaningful as opposed to memorizing commands. Second, since I can see CSS stylesheets being used in WordPress and I had a high-school level knowledge of HTML and Python, I thought it would be a lot easier to just recall how to use them. Aside from that, Python is a programming language that has withstood the test of time. It’s been decades ago since I last studied it seriously yet until now, it’s still relevant.
How do I study?Studying requires three things for me: purpose, focus, and consistency. This formula makes studying meaningful and efficient.
Purpose: Defining the scope of my learning is one key advantage of self-studying.Since at work I support multiple project teams including data analytics, it helps to know their language or what their problems are about. I may not be the smartest person in the room but it pays not to get lost in meetings when members start discussing attributes, values, and logic. Call me a generalist but at the moment, I don’t need to be an expert at Python immediately but I should at least get the foundations right and work my way up.
Focus: Once there is a purpose behind what I’m studying about, it is easy to focus on it. A paid course may be advantageous but not necessary. A free application that I can access all the time without any time limit can help me set my mind on my goal without being distracted by other courses or options that sound fancy.
Consistency. In order to achieve consistency, I must be able to practice doing something and not get tired of it. The latter is the more important factor. For context, after getting an N5 certification, my consistency in studying Nihonggo dwindled to the occasional Kanji recognition and until now, despite recognizing sentence structures and expressions in anime and manga, I still can’t speak the language. Programming is a skill that requires constant practice. Learning and practicing it for 10 minutes a day can help build a habit that will eventually lead me to recall scripts in an instant.
Why MIMO?This is where Mimo comes in.It is an interactive console that teaches users about programming in bite sizes (allowing users to understand concepts in small chunks) and after each section, gives quizzes. Users select a part or parts of a script that will fit a code block and the app determines if the selected response is correct or not. Aside from Python, a user can select many other programming languages like SQL, CSS, and JavaScript.
I’ve been using it for some months now but not as consistently as I want to. In February, I decided to use the app for 30 days straight to figure out how best to incorporate it into my schedule.
What do I like about Mimo?Though Python has a rich repository of resources (consonance, everyone!), for a beginner, they may be overwhelming. Since using the app, I have learned a number of concepts in Python that I can easily recall aside from
print “Welcome”
The lessons are arranged systematically. It also helps that for each lesson, I get to immediately ‘apply’ in some code blocks what I learn. There’s a short quiz in each section that helps me recall concepts and because of its gamified system, the quizzes are fun, entertaining, yet still challenging.
I’m also responsible for my own learning. Using the app, I can set my own goals according to the “experience points” I receive in a day. These days I have to juggle my personal goals with my professional tasks so getting 400 px per day is enough. It takes me approximately 10 minutes to reach this. Because it only occupies a short period of my day, I do not have any excuse to ‘avoid studying.’ There are days when skipping is inevitable- some days may be extra busy or I just get too lazy- but forming a habit of studying makes skipping a bit unreasonable, and in the end, I just open the app to get rid of that nagging thought.
What I dislike about Mimo?For other users, they see the leaderboard as added value but since I’m using the app for my own learning, I think it’s unnecessary.
Aside from this, I think the app is not sufficient for practice. Perhaps because I’m using the free version and it’s not within its scope, but if I want to practice it, I’ll have to use another console. This is clearly more of a preference concern and for now, the app will suffice since I’m just learning the fundamentals.
What have I learned from this experiment?
It’s nice to challenge myself in studying for even just ten minutes a day. Knowing that each session will contribute to my future self’s improvement is empowering. I also learned that for some reason, I could concentrate better on my Mimo app in between conference calls. It became a welcome break from office work. On the weekends, however, I would usually forget to use the app until late in the evening. Even when I didn’t reach my 400exp/day goal, Mimo still counted those days to my streak. The next time I try this again, I will have to reinforce my objective by counting it a streak when I reach my target.
February 5, 2022
PBN 30-day Book Challenge Day 11: Literary Character You Want to Have Dinner (or Drinks!) with
As in my other responses, I have a list of characters for this prompt. Having dinner or drinks with someone entails a conversation or an exchange of ideas so choosing a person or people to spend time with, albeit fictional, is difficult.
Aragorn (The Lord of the Rings)
Viggo Mortensen brought him to life in the movies but book Aragorn is another character-man- of his own. He remains to be the epitome of a knight in shining or bloody armor for me, not the kind Disney pushes to children. He is powerful, learned, experienced and his feat would definitely be welcomed in any dining hall.
Holden Caulfield (Catcher in the Rye)I would be lying if I didn’t include him in this list. Until now, I’ll still argue he’s overrated– waaaaay more than he deserves. However, having a quiet dinner on a train or having drinks in a forgettable bar with this fictional character, occasionally exchanging thoughts, seems fun in its own way. You’d never know who’s picking whose brain.
Fred and George Weasley or the Marauders (The Harry Potter Series)
These guys are so chaotic that they’ll definitely keep the conversation going. Even when they don’t drink nor eat but only entertain themselves with their own stories or gags, I’m sure I’d have a lot of fun with them.
Fifteen minutes to an hour is such a long period to spend talking about the weather. With the characters I’ve chosen, I don’t think my time would be wasted.
February 4, 2022
Read with me for 30 Minutes – Blood of the Lost Kingdom | Prex Reads
I received an ARC of Kristin Ward’s Blood of the Lost Kingdom from The Write Reads. It’s the second book in her series, Daughter of Erabel. Anticipate my review on March 1st.
Don’t forget: Krulan rocks!
January 30, 2022
What I read in January 2022
It’s been a while since I did this, I even forgot how to do it. After my December project fiasco, I decided to just take a break (as if I haven’t been doing that in a while) and just recalibrate. There are moments when a person needs to have a soliloquy and ask himself about the purpose of doing things. Since I am not consistent in posting about things I read, rather than be stressed by it, maybe I shouldn’t do it at all? Should I even write in the first place? That’s just encouraging me to be lazy. It’s nice to have such thoughts but I have to be careful not to entertain them. Otherwise, my writing career won’t go anywhere.
Why Nasa is exploring the deepest oceans on Earth (BBC)What is it about: This article is NASA’s response to those who ask why such big budget is alloted for space exploration when there is so much unknown in the depths of our oceans. Challenges include preparing the equipment against underwater pressure, submarine earthquake, heat, and communication problems.
What I think about it: To explore how underwater creatures that don’t need sunlight can withstand the pressure of the depths of the ocean and survive before sending creatures to the moons and planets that have signs of liquid water makes so much sense.
What existed before the Big Bang? (BBC)What is it about: In order for a state to exist, there must an opposing state– a state of nothingness could have given way to the state of being.
What I think about it: It may be simplistic but reading the article reminded me of Sheldon and Amy’s Super Assymetry theory. What makes this article interesting is the argument regarding endless new cycles. Imagine that prior to what we call the Big Bang, there was one Earth-like planet with its own living ecosystem. Those creatures attempted to uncover the truth about the universe, just as how human beings have been doing it for some time, only to be wiped out. Are we leading to the same direction? Learning something about the universe only to be eradicated to give way to another Big Bang? In another century or two, humans will have been able to create spacecrafts to travel from one planet to another or to design a technology that will solve Earth’s problems with pollution. In a thousand years, advance humans will have been able to device a way either to help our own planet or get away from it and live in a new one. But will these new stuff help them survive the next Big Bang? It does make one think that what we are doing now is futile. Then again, with reference to time, I may be thinking about millenias and I will have been long gone. It’s just a thought. Then, there’s no reason to leave something such as this blog behind, is there?
The people who claim to hear the Northern Lights (BBC)What is it about: Northern Lights having an audible sound is debatable since there is little evidence and replicating the experience may only happen during violent auroral displays.
What I think about it: “How could I have missed this article in October? How? ” was the first thought that popped into my mind. The second is, though I haven’t seen an aurora, I think there is a foundation to this claim, more than the auditory illusions such as whooshing sound of meteors. Sound is made when there’s vibration or disturbance in the air, isn’t it? Since there’s interaction between solar particles and the Earth’s gas molecules, that disturbance may cause vibration. What we’ve learned from seeing lightning several seconds before hearing the booming thunder is we can’t dismiss this claim. We might not hear thunder at all or immediately, but it doesn’t mean it isn’t there.
Nick Cave on Creativity, the Myth of Originality, and How to Find Your Voice (The Marginalian)What is it about: Nick Cave posits that creativity cannot exist from a blank state. Anything one creates is a combination of multitude experiences and influences.
What I think about it: In this era of influencers, being inspired to do something – a trick or a prank seen on a social media platform – is widely accepted as a form of creativity. I can go as far as claim that this is the realization of what Nick Cave says. Then again, I remember a very simple formula an old English teacher taught us: an output requires an input. The output even is a byproduct of the input, not the 100% replica, processed, recreated, made better or worse.
Those are some of the articles I read in January. Most of the ones I read were related to my work and I’m still not convinced I need to write about those anytime soon.
See you in my next article archive.
January 15, 2022
Planning my 2022 Journal and using productivity tools
This is a 15-day late post but I’m uploading it anyway. This is how I setup my 2022 journal- nothing fancy but it works for me. I’ve already seen a number of journal / planner setups using Notion and another app I can’t remember but I have opted for a free journal app and other productivity tools that seem to cater to my needs.
The application I’m using is Microsoft OneNote for a number of reasons. One of them is it is free. Having my information be used for one reason or another is a risk I’m willing to take for being a cheapskate. I’m pretty sure their privacy statement contains all the relevant information that I’m too lazy to read. I like the convenience of being able to access the app using my phone, tablet, and laptop. The other reason is its simplicity: I can have multiple notebooks, sections, and pages so I can keep a number of notes in it and customize them according to my needs.
My 2022 Journal has the following parts:
Monthly view – I got the Cream and Black Simple Typographic Business Wall Calendar template from Canva. It’s a no nonsense calendar and I can simply put images on it for that photojournal feel. IG is there for a reason but there are some photos I don’t want to share to the world. Weekly view – To be honest I don’t think I’ll be needing this section but I have alotted a page. I can remove it anytime I want anyway.Daily view – The embedded video shows how my template for my Daily Journal.I don’t intend to use my Monthly view section for planning. I use Trello for project monitoring including content creation since I prefer such activities to be tracked e.g. how much time I spent creating a blogpost or a video, how many times I changed the schedule etc. As for my routine/ habits tracker for activities like exercising or language learning, I use Habit and Google Calendar Goals.
Of course, distractions are inevitable so I’m also using Forest, “a focus timer for productivity”. I like seeing my trees grow the more I concentrate on an activity.
What apps do you use for journaling or planning? Do you use Notion or Microsoft OneNote?
January 11, 2022
Unboxing: J.R.R. Tolkien’s Tales from the Perilous Realm
I received this as a Christmas present – hurray for wishlists!
Two things I noticed:
It was securely wrapped: bubble wrap+ box+ foam film . That’s a plus, kudos! With books we can’t afford them to get wet or damaged because of delivery issues but I think Fully Booked can still probably opt for a more eco-friendly packaging next time. The receipt was stuck to the front cover with a tape. This gave me more stress than my tasks for the week. I wouldn’t know what to do if I damaged the book’s glorious front cover.I won’t be reading this book anytime soon as I still have a couple in my TBRs. I won’t commit to a schedule for now since we know what happened last time I started a project.
January 4, 2022
Catching red herrings in NS Ford’s “We Watch You” #TheWriteReads #BlogTour
DISCLAIMER: THE WRITE READS PROVIDED ME A DIGITAL COPY OF THE NOVEL WE WATCH YOU BY NS FORD IN EXCHANGE FOR AN HONEST REVIEW. Summary I got from Goodreads:FOUR FRIENDS. THREE ENEMIES. TWO TRAGEDIES. ONE TERRIBLE TRUTH.
A small English town is rocked by the disappearance of a local woman, Tina. As the search continues, someone is targeting her former best friends for revenge. Lauren, Jess, Claire. They all hide secrets. Who knows what they did? Who’s watching them? The truth is stranger and far more sinister than they can ever imagine.
A dark, twisty thriller which will grip you until the very last page.
Author’s Bio:N S Ford is a book fanatic, blogger and cat lover who lives in the UK with her family. She has a First Class degree in English. When not reading or blogging, she juggles her writing time with parenting, working in heritage and playing the piano.
Blog: https://nsfordwriter.com/Twitter: https://twitter.com/nsfordwriterInstagram: https://instagram.com/nsfordwriterGoodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/nsfordAmazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/N-S-Ford/e/B09B1CPKDF/The Red Herrings in We Watch You
The IFODRed herring is a literary device used to lead the audience often to the wrong conclusion, creating a sense of mystery or suspense in a creative work. It’s not dissimilar to how hounds are misled by the scent of a real red herring. With that said, what’s a thriller without one?
We Watch You contains a number of these misleading clues that entice and frustrate readers. Just when a fisherman thinks he’s got one, another tastier herring appears. Then he asks himself, “Am I in the right fishing spot? Maybe I should move. Should I move? Am I only fishing for herring?” (Ok, enough of the fish metaphors.)
I’m only going to be enumerating a number in this review but feel free to add more.
The novel opens with the bad news of Tina’s disappearance. Ridden with anxiety and ‘guilt’ that will only be revealed in the later chapters, her former best friends take it upon themselves to investigate only to have misfortune befall them.
This sparks the questions: Is Tina dead or alive? If she were dead, who killed her?
Red Herring 1: Ray, the Stalker – He looks and acts the part. I haven’t had a stalker but in my head, a stalker who tells you he is one is creepier than one who doesn’t. It means he’s got nothing left to lose. Ray isn’t essentially hiding. In fact, he tends to be everywhere: in The Polka Dot, at Lauren’s place, at Tina’s place. Yet, Lauren doesn’t report him to the police because he hasn’t done anything apart from acting suspiciously. His reports suggest
Red Herring 2: TJ’s Mind Space – The greatest reference only visible to the reader from the beginning that will only be discovered in the later chapters confounds the readers one blog post at a time. In the blog, Tina shares about her depression and anxiety and attempts at medication. She even gets a good engagement.
Another batch of questions arises: Did she take her own life? If she were alive, where was she?
Lauren’s neighbor hints that a “lady has just popped out to get milk”. Is that Tina?
Red Herring 3: Lauren’s recollection – First-person narration of events is often subjective and Lauren’s view isn’t different. There’s a hint of guilt here and there when she reminisces about her group’s long-lost friendship with Tina. She even unintentionally paints her in bad light: a depressed woman who loathed anyone who tried to reach out to her, who resited to make amends with her friend even after a heartfelt apology, who associated herself with bad people to earn money.
At this point, another series of questions pop up: Given Lauren’s descriptions and Tina’s blogposts, did Tina actually stage her disappearance? For what? To seek revenge? Revenge for what?
Suddenly, Jess, Claire, and Lauren get involved in a series of mishaps giving the impression that someone -or thing – out there (Ray? Tina?) is about to get them for what they did some years ago. The suspicion intensifies.
Only for the novel to wrap up in an unexpected way- far from what those big clues have been hinting. There must be some other hints embedded in the novel overshadowed by the aforementioned clues. If that doesn’t successfully spell “suspense” or “thriller”, I don’t know what does.
My thoughts on We Watch YouI appreciate the literary devices employed in the work which made it a good thriller apart from the ones I already mentioned. Fans of flashbacks, false death, and MacGuffins will probably enjoy piecing together the clues leading to Tina’s disappearance.
I do think the characterization at the beginning is a challenging read. Bouts of childhood adventures disrupt the foundation of dread. Instead of walking through a dark tunnel, it is more of taking the subway, enjoying the stops, going through the dark tunnel, and getting off a stop again. The first-person narration is heavily affected by this format. Does Lauren think like this because of her condition? Does her condition justify this state of mentality in the middle of a crisis? Given how the plot of We Watch You is laid out, I’m convinced the characterization could have been done better.
Finally, I think those who appreciate Shutter and how the ghost is revealed may appreciate that “one terrible truth” presented in the novel and that is all I’m going to say about that.
December 21, 2021
PBN 30-day Book Challenge Day 10: A Book that Makes You Cry Happy Tears
If the book you created with your own hands does not make you cry happy tears, you’re out of your mind and you have a heart of stone- I don’t make the rules.
The movie Begin Again inspired me to self-publish my first novel. As the content of To be Continued was primarily focused on what I wanted to write as opposed to what the general readers wanted to read, I didn’t think I needed a rejection from agents nor publishers that early.
I worked on this novel for quiet some time and being spurred by NaNoWriMo in 2015, I finally got to see the fruit of my labor. Personally and professionally speaking, I don’t think it’s my best work and I’m not saying this to sound humble. I’m proud of my first novel but as an amateur writer, I know I can still do better.
Seeing my name printed on the spine of my book gave me the good chills. It might not be as great as seeing it in a library or a physical store. However, I am taking what I can get. That I can google my Pen-name and novel sustains me and will continue to do so until I write a better one. If the pandemic has proven something, it’s the fact that digital presence is more sustainable.
The reviews of my novel leavelittle to be desired. They were disheartening in the beginning but as a book reviewer myself, I somehow understand the trade.
I do believe that Azalea, Vim and Jasmine will continue to haunt and inspire me. I still reread my work and critique parts I could have done better but there were sparks of genius here and there that make me go, “So I did write this?”
December 19, 2021
PBN 30-day Book Challenge Day 9: Favorite Book to Give as a Gift
I rarely give books since from the few people I can call friends, fewer like to read. The probability that they have already bought books that I can give them is also pretty high. When giving them books, I usually ask them upfront what they want. Why? To that I say, why not?
The best book to give anyone is what they are interested in. There’s nothing sadder than giving a book that, eventually, would be left collecting dust on a bookshelf (well, there might be something sadder than this but you get what I mean). We can always assume what a person likes to read based on the physical copies they carry and the books they review on Goodreads but the same people have backlogs of TBR on their desks or in a digital file folder. Asking the recipients what they want to read or have, in my not-so-humble opinion, is way better to avoid giving duplicates
However, given that the prompt asks for a specific title to provide, here are my recommendations. These are the books I want to receive for myself (even when I get duplicates).
Richard Bach’s IllusionThis brilliant work was one of the books my college Duo gave me. When all self-help books failed to entice me (I’m looking at you, Secret and A Purpose Driven Life), Illusion gave me that much-needed drive during that tumultuous period of practice teaching, translations, occasional paper, and student government activities. Rebellion could have been an easy escape but reading a book that helped give my small world meaning was a lot easier. That was dramatic but until now, I can still count the number of things I regret doing with my fingers. If Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist was one inspiring book many people swear by, this is mine.
Jostein Gaarder’s Sophie’s WorldThis is one of the novels on my re-read list. To me, it’s an indication of wanting to understand the book even further or I simply like it (Hi, Harry Potter!). Sophie’s World has too much to offer as it condenses philosophical theories into one literary material. Remembering who said who doesn’t matter to me as much as why something has been said. It’s entertaining and educational. Who doesn’t like that?
These two novels are worth reading- one is a lot easier to read since it’s only a few pages long, one is more thrilling but both provide key takeaways that help shape a person’s perspective. In my book, that’s the kind worth giving.
December 11, 2021
PBN 30-day Book Challenge Day 8: Series Everyone should Read
You’re probably thinking it’s Harry Potter.
You couldn’t be more wrong.
Lord of the Rings? Chronicles of Narnia? Game of Thrones?
All wrong.
If I were to nominate a series that everyone should read, it’s A Series of Unfortunate Events.
All thirteen novels of it. And the related works, if you can get your hands on them.
Count Olaf’s attempts to get rid of the Baudelaire children and the latter’s close shaves are always fun to read. To me, they look like a battle of wits between a sinister villain and the innocent yet smart children. How can Olaf fool their adult guardians yet the kids can see through his charades?
Why should everyone read it?
Lemony Snicket’s humor is one of the things that made my life interesting and if you haven’t experienced it for yourself, you’re missing out. Look at these wonderful dedications from the series:
Another reason is the series applies to all ages. I like how some words are defined or redefined in the novels without needing a glossary. It helps the younger audience understand the plight of the Baudelaire children and renders the older readers helpless with fits of laughter.
The fact that the series also educates children to recognize red flags in a situation or a person is a plus.
There is no use in regretting that I read the series years after I started having my annual Harry Potter marathon but I can always spare a month to reread the A Series of Unfortunate Events. Looking at it, I can even read one every month. I’m going as far as to say I’m going to read the whole series to my children for their bedtime stories in the future.
