Revision X

To this programmer, there is nothing that sores the eyes more than a never-ending cycle of revisions. It's like changing lines of code of something you thought was finished. Can you relate? It's like homework that needs to be rewritten.

To me, that sucks. I don't mind starting from scratch. In fact, a new program would be better to do than to "fix" an old one.

Fact is, there's not much to fix in the program-to-revise. A week ago, a complete version of the program was accomplished. Later on, a revision was asked to allow filtering. This enhancement will then make it easier for the user to view data by filtering the entries.

FACT is, that it is difficult to continuously revise a program just to make things easier for the user. Imagine this: Day 1 - Version 1 completed; Day 2 - Revise data entry, change from radiobuttons to checkboxes; Day 2, 2 hours later - Version 2 completed; Day 3 - Revise data entry, change reference from XXXX to XXXXXXXXXX... and so on...

But the fact that WE programmers exist is to make things easier for the end users. It is our DUTY to ensure that our end users will have a hassle-free work. It is our OBLIGATION to lighten the load.

Okay... time to transport 'zfi_rep_aging' once again...

Project '73 Lancer - Part 2: Save-Your-Money Phase
 
Today is a bad day at work. My mind is just not working right, and I've made very little changes to the programs I'm writing. The only achievement I did today is to get my own username at our SAP R/3 system (guess I'll be staying here a little longer... like 3 years...).
 
And then I figured that I needed P30,000 for Project Lancer. I know I still have problems with garage space (as I could imagine my parents protesting while I drive an old, hopefully-not-so-rusty car into the garage), but isn't it nice to just plan out things?
 
So how would I get thirty grand? Let's peek into my salary: P6,200 per payday. It'll only take me six paydays if I manage to spend only P1,200 per payday. I could spend P30 on food for 2 weeks (baon, of course), and P500 per week on fuel (95-octane gas only, hehe...). Therefore, I only have a free budget of P170 per biweek.
 
However, I also have to get the car to run. That'll mean more cash to earn, then burn. *sigh*
 
Moral lesson: Dreams can wait... *sigh again*
 
But I guess I can start saving P4,000 per payday. That'll get me moving... somehow...

Welcome, 23!

Welcome, twenty-three! Darn... I'm starting to get old. Oh well, life happens.

Two days ago was my birthday, and it was a great day! I got to be with my girl Katrina all day, chow at Super Bowl of China (food is great, and plenty...), watch Spiderman 2 (it really is a comedy...), and blow my mango birthday cake with her and my family.

I hope I could fulfill my dreams this year... or be closer to them...

Belated happy birthday to me!

Old Friends

There's something about despedidas that make me feel warm inside. Well, for one thing, I got to meet up with all my high school buddies again (well, aside from playing basketball with them once in a while... but then again, it's been quite a while since I last played...).

The despedida was for my former classmate John Garcia. As to what I've heard, he's bound for the United States of America to live-in with his girlfriend, thanks to the request of the girl's parents.

There were more than fifty guests (I guess); half of them were half of my high school class (it's one big barkada). There's lots of alcohol (I took sake, a Japanese rice wine), lots of food (since they cooked too many chickens, I managed to eat two whole ones and take home another two!), and lots of talk.

It's pretty cool what months apart can do. For instance, when I walked in, one of my former classmates walked up to me and said to the entire group, "Dyan muna kayo! Akin na muna si Johnny!" I also managed to find out that one of them also had a BMW M3 displayed at the previous Trans Sport Show. I also found out that my best buddy is starting to feel at home with his work.

I don't know if I miss high school or if I'm just touched or if I had a great time (especially that long debate... made me laugh a lot... they're good, but funny too!). But in case something like it happens sometime sooner or later, I want to be there.

Project '73 Lancer - Part 1: Research Phase

I saw a '93 Honda Accord parked by La Legende on my way to work. It wasn't like any Accord I've ever seen, and the first impression it gave me was, "What a piece of shit."

There was chrome everywhere! Headlights, tail lights, fenders, bumpers; they were everywhere! It also had stickers of various aftermarket brands, but... it was plain awful. I don't know why the owner placed all that weight on that car, not to mention the I-don't-think-that-works rear wing.

No, it ain't even stylish. To add insult to injury, the "dressed-up" car added extra weight.

Weight, as you may know by now (I guess), is the enemy. Let us recall our physics, shall we? According to Newton's Law of Acceleration, force is directly proportional to the product of mass and acceleration; therefore, acceleration is inversely proportional to mass and directly proportional to force.

Let's focus more on mass (or weight). A greater mass, or I should say a heavier car, requires more force to accelerate. This means needing a more powerful engine to propel it equally as compared to a lighter car. This means more fuel being burnt to propel the car at the same rate as compared to the lighter car.

Heavier cars also require more force to stop. Hint: braking is negative acceleration; therefore, braking is still acceleration. See observation number one - replace fuel with brake pads.

Heavier cars also require more force to turn. Hint: steering is sideways acceleration; therefore, turning is still acceleration. Again, see observation number one - replace fuel with tires, springs, and dampers.

And therefore, I reiterate: "Weight is the enemy."

Which is why I have come to phase one of my project car: research. As I've learned earlier, it is the lightest production Lancer ever. 865 kg (1903 lbs) with a 1.6 liter engine. Not bad.

That means it's 60 kg lighter than the EG Civic hatchback (which many folks here already consider as a light car). That's equal to 132 pounds - just like having an extra passenger.

Let's take the '93 Accord I saw earlier. At stock, it weighs 1220 kg; that's 355 kg (781 lbs) heavier than the '73 Lancer. Add the accessories, and you get more crap.

Let's now see the power-to-weight ratio. At stock, the '73 Lancer has 81 hp; ergo, 81 hp / 865 kg * 100 = 9.36416. The '93 Accord has 115 hp; ergo, 115 hp / 1220 kg * 100 = 9.42623.

Theoretically, if the two cars had the same gear ratios, acceleration would almost be the same! If I manage to increase the output of the '73 Lancer to 110 hp, the power-to-weight ratio is now boosted to 12.71676! That's enough oomph to leave the Accord behind.

Right now, I'm studying Mitsubishi's engine codes. I'm trying to find what engines can fit in Project Lancer.

Next stop: find a car for sale...