The Alaska Aces are the 2013 PBA Commisioner's Cup Champions

The Alaska Aces swept Barangay Ginebra in the recently concluded best of five Commisioner's Cup Finals. The aces won game 3 with a score of 104 - 80. Rob Dozier was heralded as the Best Import of the Conference. But Dozier credited his teammates for the award. And rightly so, since for Alaska, the chemistry was evident between the team members the entire conference where the Aces stayed on top of the Conference standings.

Notable performances from the Aces players can be attributed to Calvin Abueva, Sonny Thoss, and JVee Casio. Abueva, despite being subjected to "The Jordan Rules" - tough physical defense - made famous by the Detroit Pistons, was undeterred in contributing well so that the team might finish off Barangay Ginebra. He relentlessly attacked the basket and showed no fear despite the opponents intentions of making him "hit the deck" and dive to the floor at every drive. Truly, man is fearless when he is young. But I hope Abueva takes care of his health since Alaska needs to have someone like him to stay competitive in the future.

Thoss was unstoppable in the second half and had his way under the basket. Cyrus Baguio and Don Don Hontiveros also contributed in terms of hustle and intangibles.

But Casio was the leader of this team, and made sure that the team was always composed and unrattled. He even caused a pull-up 3-point jumper that created a 4-point play in the 4th quarter. This led to Alaska's double digit lead and the Aces haven't looked back since that time.

Kudos to Coach Luigi Trillio who finally has a win under his belt. He had some semblance of Tim Cone when he was asking for the Technical foul after Cyrus Baguio was hacked. The commentators have also mentioned that aside from the new players - and trading LA Tenorio for JVee Casio, the familiarity of the players with the coaching staff and system allowed this team to quickly gel together despite being young and only playing with each other for a short time.

Once again, congrats to the Alaska Aces, winners of the 2013 Commisioner's Cup.

xtranormal: create 3D animation online

This is a sample of what you can do on the website xtranormal in a matter of minutes. It's probably amature-ish but I only spent 5 minutes making it. I suppose if I put in more time, it could have turned out better.

I think this kind of tool can be useful for people who want a quick sample of how their storyboard could progress if say, they were producing a show.

If you want to try creating your own story, to upload to Youtube or simply post on your own site, then xtranormal could just be the tool you need. There are several payment plans, but for someone trying it our, the free account will always be the first choice. Check it out!

Star Trek Into Darkness 2013

Warning: Spoiler alert! It is advised that you watch the movie before reading ahead.

So, should you watch the movie? The plain and simple answer is "Yes!"

Things I liked about the movie:

• Bringing back one of Star Trek's greatest villians, Khan played by British Actor Benedict Cumberbatch - the one who plays the main role of Sherlock in the modern TV mini-series revival of Arthur Conan Doyle's classic character
• A glimpse into what the world could look like two centuries from now. Star Trek has always been about potential technologies in the future. Today's tablets like the iPad and Samsung's Galaxy pad are modern realizations of tech ideas in Star Trek: The Next Generation (TNG). This movie shows us what fashion, cars, buildings, bars, medical facilities, and warfare could be like on Earth by that time.
• Showing us what the Klingons looked like during that time. Their ships look a lot like the TNG versions of the Bird of Prey. The Klingons in this movie seemed more organized and acted like a SWAT team compared to the portrayal of the Klingons in TNG where they even fight amongst themselves. And the Klingons in this movie surprisingly don't have long hair.
• I don't know if this is the first time I've seen a ship battle while travelling at warp speed, but that was cool. Wonder if things are supposed to get sucked out though...
• This is also the first time I've seen a starship crash into a populated city.
• Ambassador Spocks explanation of beating Khan before at a great cost. He was of course referring to his death in Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan. Just remember, this is an alternate timeline.

Things I didn't like about the movie

• using the Enterprise as a carnival ride - It seems that J.J. Abrams is running out of ideas on how to entertain us. Kirk and Scotty's race to the radiation room can be described as kiddie entertainment. I suppose we have to have that for a family oriented film. And I guess the only way to make a machine work sometimes is to beat the $h!t out of it. But really, there could have been other ways to make Kirk sick or radiation poisoning so that he can be revived later on by Khan's blood?
• explaining that they could not teleport a person because of  a lot of movement but being able to teleport someone in free fall during the first film - seems like a contradiction
• I'm not sure the Enterprise should be able to land on a planet, much more stay under the ocean. I think the Voyager was the first ever starship to have the capability of landing on a planet's surface. And the Enterprise does not have cloaking technology which would make them visible to the planet's inhabitants during descent.

Anyway, despite the things I dislike, the movie was entertaining. And with Superman and Wolverine nowhere in sight as of yet, this is the summer movie to watch at the moment.

Google Glass: A Step Closer to an Omniscient AI

For those watching Person of Interest and those who believe that in the future, an artificial intelligence (AI) will try to destroy mankind, a product like Google Glass is a scary proposition. It is adding or rather improving one of the "five senses" that the AI already possesses. 

If the AI was already existing, and I believe that the Internet is its primitive form, sight is the sense that is already well developed, with the existence of both government and private web cameras, and cameras on smart phones. 

Sound or hearing is probably the second sense that is in its early development stage, with conversations over the phone and the internet being recorded in telecommunication companies servers. 

Touch is also another technology that may be in development. We already know that robotic arms are used in industrial plants to perform various mechanical tasks. Will an AI need to feel an object? Not if it simply wants to crush or destroy it. And if the AI were to chase after an enemy, locomotion or movement will be of higher priority, something already achieved by today's robots and drones.

Smell and Taste will probably be the senses developed last. Smell, so that the AI can determine if what it is hunting is human or not. As if heat and motion sensors were not practical enough for "the hunt". 

And even if speaking is not one of the five senses, the ability to talk is already demonstrated by technologies like Siri in the Apple iPhone. Will the AI need to communicate with its prey? Perhaps if it were to explain why it was about to kill its prey, then this ability would be useful.

While Google Glass might seem like an additional product Google sales will benefit from, it is also a way for them to gather more data for Google Maps. So instead of spending on vehicles to gather their map data and update their databases, consumers of Google Glass will potentially be doing it for free. Sure, privacy laws will probably be incorporated, but who can ensure that these laws will be implemented when the control of the technology is no longer in the hands of government. And even those in government probably abuse their privileges on privacy. Knowledge is power.

Can't help but wonder if technologies like this will result in a more restrictive society, rather than opening doors to connecting and exploring.

I would like to see a future where Lt. Commander Data helped man attain his fullest potential. And to reach a stage where an AI is sentient, I believe it's senses must be fully developed for it to explore its environment, then learn, infer, and later on theorize and make decisions. But while technology always has the potential to be used for good, there is also the potential for it to be used for evil. And beyond that door, the Terminator awaits. Asta la vista, baby!!!

Candice Glover is the Winner of American Idol Season 12

Watch the season finale encore. Kree and Candice give a fantastic rendition of House Is Not A Home, and they sing it as though they were not rivals.

America got it right this time. Congrats to the winner of American Idol Season 12, Candice Glover!!!

The 4 Spiritual Laws Presentation on slid.es

You can also link to this presentation via http://slid.es/nathanweisz/the-4-spiritual-laws

slid.es : A Free Alternative to Power Point

Check out the short slide show presentation I was able to create online using slid.es.

The following are the benefits of this app:

• You can easily sign-up for free 
• You can create a slide show presentation in most browsers as long as you have an internet connection
• The presentation is stored in your slid.es account so you can access it anywhere where there is an internet connection
• There are lots of transition effects to choose from
• You can embed your presentation in a webpage

 

Try out slid.es and tell us about your experience.

Cargo Bridge Level 20 Solution

Here's my solution to level 20 of Cargo Bridge. Hope it helps!

American Idol: Amber Holcomb is Eliminated

Amber Holcomb ended up with the lowest votes from this week and last week's combined votes. This means that the top three contestants remaining that will be fighting for the top spot are Angie Miller, Candice Glover, and Kree Harrison.

Despite getting standing ovations from the judges for the past two weeks, Amber still ended up getting the lowest voter turn out. American Idol has proven time and time again that you may be the best sounding singer, but the likability factor is important as well. If people don't like you, no matter how good you are, you won't receive their vote.

Its a shame that this happens in a singing competition. Amber Holcomb should have ended in 2nd Place if not as the season winner. Only Candice Glover can match her in terms of vocal talent among the top four. And if marketing is important in a career later on, Amber Holcomb would be the threat since she also looks good, and has a potential for advertisements, and perhaps TV shows or movies. The beautiful are usually blessed.

But haters are gonna hate. I'm not sure if Amber's fashion sense during the early part of the season was the reason for the low number of votes that she received. Some of the audiences might have seen, as Nikki Minaj would put it, those long stallion legs, as offensive or a ploy to attract a greater part of the male audience. The males in the audience probably appreciated it but their girlfriends or wives wouldn't have. And most voters on American Idol are probably conservative old grandmas  or young girls. In the latter episodes of American Idol, you'll see that they lessen Amber's exposure and try to dress her up conservatively, but the initial impressions probably were already embedded in people's minds.

Still, Beyonce, Rihanna, and even the great Mariah Carey, at some point in their careers, had some questionable exposures in their videos perhaps to sell some records.

Amber Holcomb has a bright future ahead of her. She just needs to move on from this temporary failure and prove the doubters wrong when she makes it big. A lot of American Idol contestants had bigger careers than past AI winners. Chris Daughtry, Jennifer Hudson, and Katherine McPhee never won but still had music hits or awards later on.

Amber, thank you for the unforgettable performances you did on American Idol this season. Never give up. Show them that you're better and you really deserve to be a star. And as a personal request, stick with classics or ballads - which you are extremely good at. You are amazing!!!

Amansinaya 2013

So you've heard that the Amansinaya resort has a zipline, wall climb, and mudslide facilities. You've also heard about their various sized swimming pools. You've booked one of their promos on Metro Deal. Now what?

Getting to Amansinaya located in Batangas will comprise of several hours of travel from Manila. If you are going to commute, the bus trip from Cubao to Tanauan will take about 3 hours. Then, the jeep ride from Tanauan to Laurel will take another 1.5 hours. You'll be lucky if you can get the jeepney driver to take you directly to Amansinaya, for an extra fee of course. So going as a group might be an advantage. Otherwise, you would probably have to pay for an extra tricycle ride from Laurel to Amansinaya.

The schedule of activities is usually fixed (these three main activities are interchanged if there are many people visiting the resort). 10 A.M. to 12 P.M. is usually reserved for the zipline, wall climb, and mudslide. These activities are all located in one part of the resort. There are even additional military-like obstacle courses like a rope which you can try swinging across over a water/mud filled ditch. There's a 10-feet wall you can try to climb over - different from the wall climbing activity which is about 3 to 4 stories high. There are parallel ropes which lovers or pairs can try to cross by working together. There's even a gigantic soccer ball which can roll over people.

For the wall climb, make sure to wear gloves (bring your own if your a sanitary freak), to protect you from burning your fingers due to the heat of the sun warming the climbing pegs to a very hot level. Some climbers have been unable to reach the top because the pegs are simply too hot to touch.

The resort only has one meal facility and you are forced to pay for it, even if you eat food you yourself have brought. They have a 2000 pesos fixed fee as of the time of this writing which you can consume or just flat out pay, but still eat your own food. Their group meals are okay - an assortment of grilled fish, squid, pork, beef, and vegetables. But since the resort seems to be understaffed, do not expect excellent and responsive service. Most of the time, you'll have to get that glass of water refilled yourself. If the park wants to improve, they might want to invite 3rd party branded food establishments to deal with this dilemma. Then, they can focus more on park activities.

After lunch, you have the option of joining the waterfalls tour - a two hour trek through the forest and rivers to reach the falls seen from their main building, perhaps about two kilometers away. Since I did not participate in this tour, I can tell you about their pools instead. They have a pool about 200 square meters in area with varying depths. One section has been converted to a kiddie area. Another section has a basketball ring where groups can play "water basketball", and still another section has bridges serving as shades against the intense heat of the sun. Food can also be ordered from the main facility and you would probably spend around 200 pesos for a tuna sandwich and 30 pesos for drinks. (Again, prices are as of the time of this writing.)

There are also two hotel like structures across the road from the pools which people can rent overnight. Checkout time is at 12:00 P.M. the next day. Rooms good for 2 people are priced at around 3,000+ per night while rooms for 4 people are priced at around 4,500+ per night. Rooms have air conditioning, TVs, hot-showers and refrigerators. Again, food can be ordered from the main facility.

Shuttles can periodically take your from one point to the other, free of charge. The waiting time can range from 15 to 30 minutes per batch.

Finally, returning to Manila can be a challenge past 3:00 P.M. if you commuted. Jeeps heading back to Tanauan are no longer available after 3:00 P.M. So your only option at this point is to ride a motorcycle to the bus stop at Tagaytay, then take a bus headed for Manila from there. The motorcycle ride will cost 150 pesos per person. The resort will request a group of motorcycle riders to bring the guests from the resort to Tagaytay city. The motorcycle ride can be considered the most "risky" ride of the day. The roads are not all concrete. And there are very steep inclines not for the faint of heart. But the trip will only take about 15 minutes from the resort to Tagaytay. I would only recommend this option for the young and the adventurous. Take this option at your own risk. Otherwise, stay overnight, and leave for Manila the Tanauan route the next day.

From Tagaytay, traffic and travel can be long and monotonous. The bus took about an hour to get from Splendido, the motorcycle drop-off point, to the main part of the town where the Filipino dish, Bulalo, can be availed of. Tagaytay's Bulalo is one of the best I've tasted in the Philippines. So instead of spending hours in traffic, you might want to have dinner first, then sleep on the bus ride to Manila. Even Army Navy burgers and burritos and Yellow Cab pizza are available in the town for those with an unadventurous palette.

Overall, I'd give Amansinaya a 3 out of 5. Decent, but when overcrowded, it just losses its appeal.