Filipina Open Source Developer is the New VP of the Apache Archiva Project

During the awarding of PSIA Honor Award
Speaking infront of PSIA members about Case Study on IP

Making the news in the IT field these past few days is a Filipina named Ma. Odea “Deng” Ching. She made a big feat by being elected as the Vice President of Archiva, a community based Open Source project of the Apache Software Foundation. Deng, as she is fondly called is a Developer at Exist Global, a company founded by Filipino IT Venture Capitalist and Serial Entrepreneur Winston Damarillo.

Apache, for the benefit of the not too techy inclined is the popular free Web server that runs on an estimated 60+ % of all the websites in the Internet.

Women might be considered lesser in number compared to men in the IT world more so in the Open Source arena, but the good thing is, a lot are being recognized and are excelling in it.

Words of wisdom from Deng

1. Invest on Experience
2. Hold on to your Values and Ethics
3. Don’t be afraid to give your opinion or to take a stand

Very well said, again Congratulations Deng!

For more info, kindly visit my fave techno blogger/reporter Erwin Oliva’s video interview on Deng at http://www.inquirer.net/vdo/player.php?vid=728&pageID=1

Sources:
http://blogs.exist.com/bporter/
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/infotech/view_article.php?article_id=134493

Technorati Tags: apache, asf, archiva, ewin oliva, odea ching, winston damarillo, exist, open source, filipina, pinay

Unite For Sight Volunteer Abroad Opportunities

Calling all people who has the passion to volunteer and help out other people in need.  This could be one of those rare chance for you to experience adventure and at the same time do good deeds to your fellowmen. Who knows, maybe helping out other people restore their eyesight might also be the road for you to gain more insight about life. Good luck!

Unite For Sight Volunteer Abroad Opportunities: As Featured Weekly On CNN International and Recently in The New York Times

Volunteer Abroad in Summer, Fall, Winter, or Spring: http://www.uniteforsight.org/intl_volunteer

WITH THE ASSISTANCE OF VOLUNTEERS LIKE YOU, UNITE FOR SIGHT RESTORED SIGHT TO 10,062 PATIENTS AND PROVIDED EYE CARE TO 300,000 IN 2006 AND 2007

How Do I Apply? The application as well as complete details about Unite For Sight’s international opportunities are available at http://www.uniteforsight.org/intl_volunteer/

Who Is Eligible To Volunteer Abroad?: Volunteers are 18 years and older, and there is no upper age limit. Volunteers range from undergraduate/college students to medical and optometry students, public health students and professionals, business students, filmmakers and photographers, nurses and nursing students, social workers, physician’s assistants, teachers and educators, opticians, optometrists and ophthalmologists.

Unite For Sight welcomes volunteers who may not have previous health or eye care experience. Volunteers receive all necessary training from Unite For Sight so that they are able to assist eye doctors with community eye outreach programs. Unite For Sight also welcomes volunteers to participate as photographers and filmmakers.

What is Unite For Sight’s Mission? Unite For Sight is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that empowers communities worldwide to improve eye health and eliminate preventable blindness.

Unite For Sight’s work to prevent blindness and restore sight is featured weekly on CNN INTERNATIONAL from September 2007-August 2008.

What Do Volunteers Do?: Volunteers receive hands-on clinical experience while assisting doctors in remote, rural villages. Volunteers learn about international health and eye care, learn clinical skills while working with patients and doctors, and, in one program location, have an opportunity to practice cataract surgery on a goat’s eye.

The goal of Unite For Sight and its partner eye clinics and communities is to create eye disease-free communities. Unite For Sight’s volunteers (local and visiting) work with partner eye clinics to provide eye care in communities without previous access. The eye clinic’s eye doctors and Unite For Sight volunteers jointly provide community-based screening programs in rural villages. The clinic’s eye doctors diagnose and treat eye disease in the field, and surgical patients are brought to the eye clinic for surgery. Patients receive free surgery funded by Unite For Sight so that no patient remains blind due to lack of funds. Volunteers immediately see the joy on patients’ faces when their sight is restored after years of blindness. These memories last a lifetime.

While helping the community, volunteers are in a position to witness and draw their own conclusions about the failures and inequities of global health systems. It broadens their view of what works, and what role they can have to insure a health system that works for everyone and that leaves no person blind in the future.

What Do Volunteers Say?:

“During my volunteering experience, I realized that Unite for Sight’s service is a campaign for the salvation of humanity that allows the light of compassion to shine through each of us. I believe it is this display of altruism and commitment that makes the organization’s service so virtuous and treasured by both volunteers and patients. After all, making a difference in the world is not so difficult if only one would care enough to sacrifice a part of oneself in order to change the world for the better. My experience as a Unite for Sight volunteer has inspired me to dedicate my future career to serving underprivileged communities around the world.”—Chiwing “Jessica” Qu, Yale University Undergraduate Student, Unite For Sight Volunteer in Chennai, India

“I can honestly say that everything I learned in 3 years of medical school paled in comparison to the 3 week experience I had in Accra (Ghana) in October 2007 as part of Unite For Sight. The program provides volunteers with a unique and hands-on involvement – being able to help out to the level of your training and comfort. My experience taught me that Ghanaian people are the friendliest people I have interacted with anywhere in the world, that ordinary people involved with Unite For Sight are making extraordinary differences, and that sitting in a classroom receiving a world-class education cannot match real life experiences while volunteering.”–Varun Verma, UMDNJ Medical Student, Unite For Sight Volunteer in Accra, Ghana

“While in Ghana, I worked with an ophthalmologist (Dr. James Clarke), two eye nurses (Robert Dolo, Kartee Karloweah), an assistant (Bismark Boryor), and a coordinator (Seth). Working with the Unite for Sight team on these outreaches in service to these wonderful people of Ghana was the single most rewarding work I’ve done in my life. The people of Ghana are some of the friendliest and most thankful of anyone I have ever met. Overall, the experience has changed the way I view the world, my own country, and my role in the world forever. The only way to understand the way 4/5 of the world lives is to go yourself and get involved. The staff I worked with that are the heart and soul of Unite for Sight in Accra were some of the brightest and hard working individuals I have ever met. They are accomplishing feats few ever accomplish in their lives, and I am truly blessed to have had the opportunity to work with them and now call them my friends. I look forward to future work with Unite for Sight as an Ophthalmologist. The task at hand in Ghana, and I’m sure in all of Unite for Sight’s locations throughout the world, is enormous. The more people that get involved, the more accessible services will be to these wonderful people. Plain and simple, the more we help, the more people can see the world they live in!”—Brian Fowler, Medical Student at University of Virginia, Unite For Sight Volunteer in Accra, Ghana

Hundreds of volunteer narratives, volunteer diaries, as well as videos of alumni volunteers and partner eye doctors are available on the Unite For Sight website: http://www.uniteforsight.org/intl_volunteer

Thanks to Jennifer Staple for the information

CALL FOR EXAMINEES: Linux Professional Institute (LPI) Certification Levels 1 and 2 Examinations

CALL FOR EXAMINEES: Linux Professional Institute (LPI) Certification
Levels 1 and 2 Examinations
07 June 2008 (Saturday)
8:00AM to 12:00 noon
Lecture Hall, Department of Computer Science, University of the
Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines

The ASEAN+3 Node of the International Open Source Network (IOSN) together with the University of the Philippines Manila-National Telehealth Center in cooperation with the Diliman Interactive Learning Center are holding examinations for LPIC-1 (101 and 102) and LPIC-2 (201 and 202).

The examinations will be given at the Lecture Hall, Department of Computer Science, University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines on Saturday, 07 June 2008, from 8:00AM to 12:00 noon.

The examinations are open to all interested individuals living in the Philippines and those coming from other countries. However, the organizers are not obliged to shoulder accommodations and transportation expenses that the examinees will incur during the scheduled examinations.

Please CLICK THE LINK BELOW for the ONLINE LPIC EXAM APPLICATION FORM.

IMPORTANT THINGS TO REMEMBER AND WHAT TO PREPARE FOR THE LPI EXAMINATIONS:

1. Register online at the LPI website for your LPI ID. Registration for LPI ID is free. Please click the link provided at the bottom of this page to register for your LPI ID. REMEMBER your LPI ID number.

2. Examinees need to bring the following on the exam day: (a) Valid ID with photo (passport, driver’s license, GSIS, SSS); (b) Pencils and an eraser.

3. Examinees are expected to arrive at the testing venue thirty minutes (30) before the scheduled time of the exams.

4. The exams will be conducted by an LPI-authorized proctor and all examinees will be subject to LPI guidelines and regulations on taking examinations.

5. Bringing and using of mobile phones and other communication and image capture devices are strictly prohibited inside the examination room.

6. The exams can be taken at no particular order as long as there will no overlap in the schedules. However, applicable LPIC Certification from LPI Canada will be earned only upon passing of BOTH exams under each certification level (LPIC-1 or LPIC-2).

7. Examinees will be notified with the results directly by LPI Canada approximately 30-45 calendar days after the date of the examinations. IOSN ASEAN+3, its affiliates and partners are NOT recipients of the exam results.

LPI EXAM INFORMATION:

Date of certification: 07 June 2008 (Saturday)

Venue: Lecture Hall, Department of Computer Science, University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines

Length of each examination: 90 minutes

Time: LPI 101: 8:00 AM - 9:30 AM LPI 102: 10:00AM - 11:30 AM
LPI 201: 8:00 AM - 9:30 AM LPI 202: 10:00AM - 11:30 AM

Examination fees will be charged at a minimum to cover for materials and administrative costs.

EXAM FEE: Php 2,950.00

IMPORTANT:

A NON-REFUNDABLE Reservation Fee of Php 1,000.00 for each exam is required. This amount will be deducted from the total cost per exam applied for.

Payment should be made ON or BEFORE 05 May 2008 (Monday) via WESTERN UNION addressed to:

MS. MYRA JILL SIASON
c/o RCPI, UP SHOPPING CENTER 34, UP CAMPUS DILIMAN
QUEZON CITY, METRO MANILA, 1100

Money transfer transaction charges are under the examinee’s own account.

Please e-mail to majill@gmail.com the Western Union MTCN (Money Transfer Control Number) to facilitate processing of your application.

You will receive a confirmation e-mail from IOSN ASEAN+3 upon receipt of payment.

ONLY APPLICATIONS WITH PAID RESERVATION FEES ON OR BEFORE 05 MAY 2008 WILL BE PROCESSED.

PLEASE APPLY EARLY.

You may also contact Ms. Myra Siason at landline 920-9556 or mobile 0906-472-7390 for further inquiries.

Thank you very much.

IMPORTANT LINKS:

LPI EXAM APPLICATION FORM:
http://iosnasean3.wufoo.com/forms/iosn-asean3-lpi-community-exam-application-form/

LPI ID NUMBER REGISTRATION PAGE:
https://www1.lpi.org/en/register.html

Contemplative Seminar by the Dominican Sisters of Regina Rosarii on May 17-18, 2008

One of the best things I’ve learned last year is the proper way of  Contemplating.  I haven’t perfected the skill yet but still it has been a good help in my daily struggles and challenges.  It keeps me calm and be in control of my emotions and not the other way around.  If you want to enjoy silence amidst the busy society we are in today, joining the Dominican Sisters of Regina Rosarii in their Contemplative Seminar is a choice you surely won’t regret.

The Dominican Sisters of Regina Rosarii

in cooperation with the

Regina Rosarii Contemplative Association (ROCA)

invite you to a weekend of blooming and becoming,

through a Seminar on

Midlife Journey,

an Invitation to Deeper Contemplation

includes Myers—Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)

During the second half of your life, you are invited to take time to listen, take time to discover the beauty of the NOW.

One way to find answers to your questions is to enter into a Spirituality where you will be more accepting, aware, alert, and alive… Shhh, be quiet, enter into

Contemplative Prayer

May 17-18, 2008, 8:30-5:00 pm

Venue: Regina Rosarii Center for Contemplative Prayer

Barangay Laging Handa, Quezon City

Registration: Saturday, 8:00 am

Registration Fee: Php1,000.00

Mass, Sunday– May 18, 2007 at 4:00 pm.

For more information:

Please call: Sr. Ding, OP at (02) 372-5327

Txt: 0928-754-5475

Email: srdingop@yahoo.com.ph

Mga kathang isip

Bagot:

siya daw ay bagot.. bagot na bagot
di nya naman mawari ang dahilan
busy naman daw sya kalagian
dahilan ba ito
upang siya ay malito
kung ano ba talaga
ang misyon niya sa mundo

sobrang pagiisip
sapagkat siya daw ay naiinip
di niya mintindihan
di niya rin daw alam ang dahilan
para daw siyang napapraning
wari mo ay isang taong may tingkuling

Saan ba nabibili yang “passion”
Tanong niya sa akin kahapon
sbi daw ng iba yun ang solusyon
sa mga taong kung akalain mo
ay parang walang ambisyon

Rice:

Nagmahal na ang bigas
lahat na lang sila tumaas
and every time I buy a rice
I always say “Oh my Gosh”

A day in the Life of a Jeepney rider

Mahilig po akong sumakay sa Jeep
Kasi gustong gusto kong maka-kita ng iba’t ibang mukha
Sa bawat itsura ng pasahero, may istorya kang magagawa
May iba dyan.. medyo katawa tawa
Ngunit meron din naman, super nakakaawa

Natuwa ako kanina
Nang may narining akong istorya
Kunyari tahimik ako..ngunit wari mo’y isa rin akong tsismosa
Sabi ng Ale, “Dialo lang nuway laman el pitaka…”
“Basta nuway lang hente ta anda cubra na Casa”

Siguro takot ang ale sa utang
kasi ang nilalaman ng sinabi nya ay
ang kanyang pagka dismaya sa
pagkakaroon nito, dibale na raw
kahit wallet niya ay walang laman
basta sa kanyang tahanan
walang nainingil ng utang

Changes in Life

Who among you is fond of changes? I believe that those who like changes are brave people, and I am fond of getting insights from those who have enjoyed the twist and turns of life. It’s funny that I am getting to know a lot more about my moods, weaknesses and strengths after turning 30 years old. So who said “Life beings at 40″?  hehehe.  All I have always prayed for these past few years is for me to learn and excel on having self control. Self control is I know what I need in this very changeable world. Knowing oneself and learning how to be flexible to adjust to the current situation is what I will always aspire. It makes life easier to deal with even you are not in control of your environment.

I am undergoing a big change in life now.. I know it, because I can feel it coming. I’ve always been easy to detect if there is a major thing going to happen in my life. All I want, wish and pray for is to have the strength not to be afraid of anything that may happen, to learn how to carry on by doing my best, because in life.. there is no turning back of time.

Filipino Geeks wins Duke’s Choice Awards

Hooray! so proud of our very own Filipino Geeks, Mabuhay!

RP-made app for poisoning diagnosis wins programming award

By Erwin Oliva

INQUIRER.net

First Posted 16:18:00 04/08/2008

MANILA, Philippines–James Gosling, one of the creators of the Java programming language and environment, has chosen a Philippine made Java-based application aimed at helping doctors in rural areas manage poisoning cases as among the most innovative applications from around the world, a University of the Philippines Computer Science professor told INQUIRER.net on Tuesday.

Students from the UP Department of Computer Science who developed the Expert System for Poisoning (EPS), have won in this year’s Duke’s Choice Awards, according to UP professor Prospero Naval of the Department of Computer Science.

The ESP application is a “clinical decision support system for the diagnosis and management of poisoning,” according to the project information that Naval provided.

“ESP was designed to help doctors in the provinces who don’t know a lot about poisoning to diagnose quickly. In cases of poisoning, doctors have to act quickly,” he said in a telephone interview.

Naval and Riza Batista-Navarro guided computer science students Diana Bandojo, Ma. Jaymee Gatapia, and Reggie Santos in the development of the ESP prototype.

Naval said medical expertise and direction were provided by Dr. Alvin Marcelo, director of the National Telehealth Center in UP Manila.

Gosling handpicks winners for the Duke’s Choice Awards, according to the award’s website.

“Winners are selected by James Gosling and the Java technology leadership team. Judging will be based on the innovation and creativity of the Java technology-based applications and services, including web applications and tools, mobile applications and services, games, and card-based applications,” the website added.

Naval said the ESP prototype is a system that can be handled by trained physicians or health professionals.

After being supplied basic information such as symptoms, the application use a knowledge base of common poisons and a rules-based approach to generate an assessment or set of recommendations, which are then presented to doctors for consideration.

Naval said that the ESP is still in phase one, and could be developed further.

The UP professor said the next step is to develop a mobile phone-based version of the application.

In 2005 alone, there was only one doctor for every 80,000 in the Philippines, according to a presentation of the ESP project.

The prototype has been valided using 50 test cases, where about 82 percent of the actual results consist of the expected result in the first or second rank in the list of possible poisoning types, the ESP presentation said.

Gosling did the “”original design of the Java programming language and implemented its original compiler and virtual machine,” according to his biography on the Sun Microsystems website.

Technorati Tags: filipino, duke awards, java award, programming award, java, james gosling, alvin marcelo, prospero naval, diana bandojo, ma. jaymee gatapia, raggie santos, university of the philippines, sun microsystems, inquirer, erwin oliva

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Analiza Yape - Yan ang Pinay!

Reading this article got me teary eyed. Another touching life story of a Filipina.

Analiza Yape worked her way through high school and college by working as a maid. An orphan since Grade 6, she did not reason out this status in life to stop dreaming and believing. All she wanted was for her and her siblings to finish college and have a better life. She saw problems in life as challenges and opportunities.. she never quitted and focused on her goal instead.

Finally, she is now a graduate of of Bachelor of Arts major in Economics at the Eastern Visayas State University in Tacloban City. When interviewed on how she feels of her latest accoplishment, this is what she said;

“I am happy that, finally, I am now on my way to achieving my aspiration in life – to have a better life and to help my siblings. I have now a college diploma which I hope will open good opportunities for me,” she said.

This made me appreciate more the blessings I am still receiving from God and this article made me a prouder Filipina.

Samar maid works her way to college degree - INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos

Rising above poverty

“I will look for a job so I can help my brother and sisters. I want them to finish their studies for I believe that having a degree will really help us rise above poverty,” she said.

Yape also acknowledged the help given by her employers, as she said determination alone would not have allowed her to reach this far. “That is why, I am so grateful to all of them (her employers),” she said.

But she turned melancholic when she remembered her dead parents. “Whatever struggles that I have encountered, these are all worth it. I am offering my diploma to them and wherever they are right now, I am sure they are proud of me,” she said.

Yape said she would never be ashamed to tell anybody that she had worked as a housemaid just to earn an education.

Technorati Tags: filipina, annaliza Yape, tacloban, pinay, pinoy, struggles in life, poverty, pain, suffering, lessons in life, dreams, ambitions, goal, maid, katulong, samar, opportunities,

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WANTED: ARMM Election Bloggers

Calling all friends who are residing in the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao to help out Janet Toral document the ARMM elections on August 11, 2008. Hoping and praying that it will be clean and that no blood will be shed.

Let’s join in and help out.

Pag Eleksyon, bawal ang Deadma,

kaya mag blog ka na!

Looking for ARMM Election Bloggers

Hello everyone. In preparation for the ARMM elections this August 11, 2008, I am currently looking for bloggers who can contribute inthis blog from Tawi-Tawi, Lanao del Sur, Sulu, Basilan, and Maguindanao.

Expected posts to be submitted includes:

• Congressional seat profile
• Polling booth locations
• Candidates information
  • Financial info
  • Activities (follow)
  • Campaign videos
• Issues monitor
  • What are the critical issues in the upcoming elections?
  • What candidates have said on critical issues?
    • Where do they stand?
    • Where does their party stand?
    • What do they intend to do?
  • Comparative analysis of solutions and financial data by candidates
  • Broad-idea based subjects (technology, financial aid, democracy, ethics, etc.)
  • Election-related news
    • Follow candidates
• Polling or surveys published
  • Find citizens who have participated in polling and share their experience.

Payment is US$100 for every 20 approved articles. Please e-mail me at digitalfilipino (at) gmail (dot) com with your 1 page info, contact information, and sample work.

Technorati Tags: armm election, philippine election, blog election

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