His parents wanted him to study engineering, but he liked art and doodling instead.

But, for Erwin Angala, pursuing his dreams of studying art paid off in a big way as he is being hailed within the automotive industry for his innovative designs on the 2008 Cadillac CTS.

In April, the 2008 Cadillac CTS model Angala helped design, was showcased at the 2007 New York International Auto Show. A review by AutoWeek, a trade publication, called the new CTS is fabulous.

“This new CTS is a living beauty; if you were to climb behind the wheel of both generation cars, not a single person would choose the older model. It’s that dramatic,” wrote Dutch Madel, editor and associate publisher of AutoWeek. Another fan of the new CTS is television host, Jay Leno, an automobile collector.

Philippine-born Angala, 34, immigrated to Cleveland, Ohio with his parents in 1978. He was only five when he first moved to the United States with his parents and older brother, Michael. According to his mother, Esther, 65, her children didn’t know they were leaving their cousins and friends behind for Cleveland.

“They didn’t know they were coming to America,” said Esther, who still lives in Cleveland. “We woke them up, got them dressed and were excited to be on the airplane.”

“When we first got to America, I was so excited to see snow and never worn a jacket until we came here,” said Erwin, over a telephone interview with Philippine News. “I didn’t speak English at all and I remember the first word I learned was Hi. I would say it to everyone.”

Angala has always admired cars and recalled, as a teenager, watching them for hours at an expressway in Cleveland. He prides himself on being able to name a car’s model just by looking at its headlights.

“The enthusiasm in transportation stemmed from old transportation,” said Angala, who first admired motorcycles. “I’ve always loved cars since 13,” who also added that he found the sizes of a vehicle appealing.

While attending the Cleveland Institute of Art, where he initially planned to study medical illustration, he accidentally walked into another class that changed his life.

“My parents steered me towards the books,” said Angala, who went to a Catholic elementary and high school like many other Filipinos. “I walked into industrial design and fell in love,” laughed Angala. “I had no idea that you can study automotive design.”

“At first they (parents) thought I’d end up at amusement parks, drawing caricatures,” laughed Angala.

For Angala’s mother, she is incredibly proud of her son, who won an Easter drawing contest at the age of seven. “Erwin is a good exterior designer,” said Esther. “He’s doing good and his employers like him.”

In the beginning of Angala’s career, he interned and gained experience at Ford Motor Company and learned about products for Fisher-Price and Dirt Devil in Cleveland. He started working for General Motors Company in 2000 at the age of 27 and helped with the Hummer H2. Angala currently lives with his wife Cortney in Michigan and occasionally makes time to cook Filipino delicacies.

“I make a good beefsteak, adobo and pancit,” said Angala, who learned to cook from his mom. “I love making Filipino food.”

The young designer has another passion related to cars: racing.

“I love motor sports racing, Formula-1,” said Angala, who doesn’t own a CTS but drives a classic 1949 Chevy truck. “The aerodynamics equals speed in my mind. The CTS is aggressive but luxurious, upscale but has a sporty feel to it.”

According to Angala, he believes his experience as a Filipino helped shaped the choices he made in life.

“I definitely think we have hard work ethics as far as being Filipino,” said Angala, who started designing the latest CTS model in 2004. “I would say that I think much differently than a lot of people. Growing up, we had to make do with what he had, so we had to find clever ways of doing things. It’s this…‘out of the box’ thinking that helps me design around problems.”

Angala also credits his creativeness to his late father.

“My father was the most talented man I’ve ever known,” he said. “He always had an incredible ability to draw. [He] was my biggest influence in art and could just fix just about anything. Almost like McGyver in a way.”

“I would love to see more Filipinos in my industry,” added Angala, who said he is the only Filipino working within the Cadillac department but always feels at home. “We’re very diverse at GM. It isn’t predominantly one race. We’re global and work together.”

As Angala prepares for a new top-secret project, he is not embarrassed to admit that there is so much more to learn in the automotive industry and is very proud to be a Filipino.

“I love being different than everyone else. I love the fact that I have a loving family, even if it’s a family friend, we still refer to them as tita and tito.”

Esther, his mother, couldn’t agree more: “They shouldn’t forget their roots, although they love being American, they’re still Filipino.”

Taken from http://www.gmanews.tv/story/53420/Pinoy-behind-the-Hummer–and-now-the-CTS

Popularity: 9% [?]

(Press Release I received from my HS Filipino Professor, who is now at Ateneo)

Mga Diplomat ng Mehiko at Pransiya, panauhing tagapagsalita sa Sawikaan 2007: Mga Salita ng Taon

Ang Embahador at Unang Kalihim ng mga embahada ng Mehiko at Pransiya sa Filipinas ang ilan sa pangunahing tagapagsalita sa Sawikaan 2007: Mga Salita ng Taon na idadaos sa Pulungang Recto, Bulwagang Rizal, Kolehiyo ng Arte at Literatura, Unibersidad ng Pilipinas, Diliman, Lungsod Quezon City sa Agosto 2 & 3, 2007.

Tatalakayin nina Embahadora Erendira Araceli Paz Campos at Unang Kalihim Georges-Gaston Feydeau ang dinamikang lingguwistiko at panlipunan-politika ng mga wikang Mehikano at Pranses.

Naglingkod si Ms. Paz Campos bilang Pangkalahatang Kalihim sa United Nations hanggang maitalaga sa kasalukuyang posisyon sa Maynila noong Marso 2005. Nahirang na siya sa iba”t ibang kapasidad kabilang ang pagiging Konsul sa Konsuladong Mehikano sa Texas, USA.

Si G. Feydeau ay eksperto sa diplomasyang pangkultura, konsular, politikal, economiko, at militar. Mula 2001, Diputado siya ng Embahador sa Filipinas at nangangasiwa sa mga palihan, kumperensiya, at ugnayang konsular. Naglingkod na siyang direktor sa Hapon, Indonesia, Somalia, at Gran Britanya. Sa presentasyon ni G. Feydeau, tutulungan siya ni Bb.. Alix Lavaud, ang linguistic attache ng Embahada ng Pransiya.

Inaasahang ang kaalamang makukuha ng mga kalahok sa panayam ng Mehiko at Pransiya ay magpapalawak sa kanilang pananaw sa wika at makatutulong sa pagtataguyod ng kilusan para sa wikang Filipino.

Pawang kahanga-hanga din ang mga panauhing Filipino. Bubuksan ang kumperensiya ng kauna-unahang babaeng pangulo ng Unibersidad ng Pilipinas, si Dr. Emerlinda R. Roman. Tatalakayin naman ng mga iskolar na sina Dr. Florentino Hornedo at Dr. Ruth Elynia Mabanglo ang tema ng kumperensiya “Ang Wikang Filipino Bilang Wikang Global.”

Propesor sa Pamantasang Ateneo de Manila si Dr. Hornedo na eksperto sa kulturang Filipino, bantog na kritiko, at awtor ng maraming libro, kabilang ang tungkol sa kulturang Ivatan. Si Dr. Mabanglo ay kilalang peministang makata at kasalukuyang puno ng programa sa wikang Filipino sa University of Hawaii.

Sa ikapat na taon ng Sawikaan, ang librong Sawikaan 2006, antolohiya ng mga papel sa nakaraang tao, na inedit nina Galileo Zafra at Roberto T. Añonuevo, ay ilulunsad sa tulong ni UP Diliman Chancellor Sergio S. Cao. Ang mga ilustrasyong ginamit sa libro, magagandang print na likha ni Pandi Aviado, ay itatanghal sa galeriya katabi ng pulungan.

Napiling mga salita sa taong ito ang “party list,” “telenobela,” at “miskol” dahil sa matingkad na epekto ng mga ito sa kamalayan ng bayan, lalo na sa aspektong politikal at sosyal sa mga Filipino.

Ang iba pang salitang may katulad na halaga at katangian ay “videoke”, “extra judicial killing,” “make over,” “friendster,” at “roro.” Roro ang pinaikling roll on-roll off o ang sistema ng transportasyon sa mga pulo na inaasahang makapag-ambag sa pambansang ekonomiya.

Mahigit sa limampung salita ang isinumite pero ang walo lamang ang pumasa sa pamantayang itinakda ng FIT (Filipinas Institute of Translation). Para sa taong ito, reserbado ang apat na papel para sa mga salita mula sa rehiyon, kasama na ang “oragon” ng Bikol.

Itinaguyod ng National Commission for Culture and the Arts at Blas Ople Foundation ang Sawikaan 2007, at pinangangasiwaan naman ng Filipiinas Institute of Translation.

Bukas ang kumperensiya sa mga guro, estudyante, at iba pang interesado sa wika. Kontakin lamang sina Ms. Eilene Narvaez (9244747) o Prop. Romulo P. Baquiran, Jr. (9221830), Filipinas Institute of Translation, Rm. 2082, Bulwagang Rizal, College of Arts and Letters, University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City, o mag-email sa filipinas.translation@gmail.com.

Popularity: 15% [?]

.. But just for around 5 hours only .. went home earlier than usual yesterday as I had already been experiencing difficulty in breathing later that afternoon .. just minutes after dinner, I felt that something is pinching inside my left chest, then I found it hard to speak, nor to move .. they had no choice but to rush me to San Juan De Dios Hospital .. after the doctor gave me a shot of pain relievers, my condition got well .. both the ECG and XRays revealed nothing .. first time that I was actually given oxygen to help ease my breathing .. Was sent home minutes before midnight .. First on my agenda today: Go to my doctor and have a 2D echo.

Popularity: 5% [?]

Formerly known as “Vienna”, sources at Microsoft said that it is now called as Windows 7.

Launch date: sometime 3 years from now.

(Image take from http://www.donnarosenartists.com/artists/dale-rutter/big-art/minority-report.jpg)

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I’m just wondering why do the COMELEC have to do the testing in Singapore pa? If you’re confident enough that you can implement a hacker-proof system, why not do it here in the Philippines (PI Flashbulb, are you there?!)
~~~~~~~~~~
Taken from http://www.gmanews.tv/story/51247/6000-hackers-to-try-to-break-into-poll-computers

Some 6,000 Filipino hackers based in Singapore are set to try to break into the Internet voting system that the Commission on Elections will pilot-test in the said country on July 20.

Comelec Commissioner Florentino Tuason said Monday that the Filipino information technology experts based in Singapore have signified their interest to try to hack into the system “in order to strengthen it and to prove that the system is secure.”

“We met with them and they said they are 6,000-strong and most of them will try to hack the system,” Tuason said, adding the IT experts will be doing it “professionally not for personal gain or personal advertisement or personal upliftment.”

The Comelec official said Filipino IT experts will send a written report if they penetrated the system and to provide proof that they did.

Tuason added that he International Foundation for Electoral System funded by USAID will also provide auditors before, during and after the pilot test of Internet voting.

“The important phase would be to check the penetration aspect of the system. In other words if there can be hackers to go into it…to hack the system,” he said.

He added the auditors will determine the strengths and weaknesses of the system.

To further test the system, the embassy will allow non-registered voters to try to vote through the Internet.

Tuason expressed confidence in the system which will be implemented by Scytl, a Spanish conglomerate that specializes on election security features. Scytl’s system is being used in the United States and Finland.

“In fact they have already secured a contract, twp contracts, for the 2010 presidential elections in the US. They will participate in the 2010 presidential elections in certain states involving particular group of voters,” he said.

Prior to the formal launching of the pilot study of internet voting in Singapore, a demonstration of the project will be held on Tuesday afternoon at the session hall of the Comelec office in Intramuros, Manila.

The commissioner said after the pilot test, he will prepare a report on the system that will be sent to the Comelec, the Office of the President, and Joint Oversight Committee of the Overseas Absentee Voting which is composed of lawmakers.

“It is up to them to determine whether they will implement it in the 2010 elections,” he said

He added the Internet voting cannot be used in the coming barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections because the system was really fitted for overseas.

Tuason earlier said some P23.5 million or $470,000 has been appropriated for the poll computerization project. -GMANews.TV

Popularity: 9% [?]

Most of the trojans, worms, and “viruses” that infects our portable devices when plugged in to PCs at the Multimedia Labs are triggered by allowing AutoPlay to run when we hook our techie stuff at the USB ports. Now, one way to avert the spread or even activation of these menaces is by turning AutoPlay off. How?

Download TweakUI from http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/downloads/powertoys/xppowertoys.mspx. Once installed, you will see under the My Computer list in it AutoPlay. Uncheck all of the drives. This will prevent AutoPlay from being executed when you plug a USB device, say a flashdisk or portable harddisk in to your PC.

Another option is to hold the {Shift} down while plugging-in your USB device. But this may sometimes be difficult, as there are times when you need two (02) hands to plug your devices at the USB port.

Popularity: 10% [?]

Last Friday, I accompanied my wife for her bi-monthly checkup. Her OB made a scan of her tummy, known as ultrasound. A month ago, her OB told us that most probably (75% sure) it will be a boy. And it was confirmed last Friday.

Yesterday, my wife insisted on bringing her to In My Womb at Park Square, Ayala Center Makati. We signed-up for an ultrasound package that will produce 2D (black & white), 3D (sepia-toned images), and 4D (movie file) images of our baby. When asked what will be name of the child when born (so that it may be encoded on the computer), I replied with:
“ROBYN ANDI XEON P. REYES”

The doctor didn’t know how to spell it out correctly (especially the XEON part, she first spelled it as ZION), so my wife gave her the precise letters. Hehehe. However, our baby is not that cooperative yet. It’s either that he will cover his face with his two hands or will face the inner sides of the womb, thus giving us an unclear image of his face. But there was a snapshot wherein the profile of his was seen. Reyes na Reyes. Hahahaha. But the eyes, I think, is of my wife: singkit! Based on the images we saw yesterday, it will really be a bouncing baby boy (weighs 4++ lbs already — still inside the womb).

Popularity: 5% [?]

Three nights ago, my Windows XP machine — my workhouse, the one using Smart Bro — was considered to be technically dead after showing the Blue Screen of Death since afternoon (as reported to me by my brother). I got pissed that I immediately swapped harddrives and installed Windows XP from scratch. After several hours of optimizing my “new” Windows XP machine, it’s back online!

But I had noticed that my Smart Bro connection will simply not go beyond 150 Kbps. Ah, now. I remember. I downloaded TCPOptimizer and set the MTU to 6000. Rebooted my PC and the connection speed improved. Tonight, 72 hours later, here’s my Smart Bro connection speed:

Popularity: 10% [?]

Foreword: I am sure a lot will be happy with this tip (especially my students then and now).

Ever wanted to use two (or even more) Yahoo!Messenger IDs at the same time? With the current setup of your Y!M, it is simply impossible. Now, with having to install an add-on or third-party software, you may actually login to multiple Y!M IDs at the same time:

1. Go to the Start Menu and click on Run…
2. Type regedit {Enter} and the Windows Registry Editor will be activated.
3. Locate HKEY_CURRENT_USER >> Software >> Yahoo >> Pager >> Test
4. On the right pane of the Registry Editor, right-click and select New >> DWORD Value
5. Name the new value as Plural.
6. Double click Plural and enter the value 1. Close the Registry Editor.

Launch Yahoo!Messenger, login to your account. If you want to login with another Y!M account, simply launch another instance of Y!M.

The invention of pda has provided more fun for their customers. If you want to have fun during travel you can use pda accessories. However to protect it from dust you should buy pda cases.

Popularity: 11% [?]

What are the accessibility needs of disabled persons?
by Jojo Esposa

Persons with disabilities have varied specific needs in order to access the Internet. They are as follows:

1. Visually Impaired users – Internet users who have no sight at all require a special software program called screen reader. It reads the content of the web page, specifically, the HTML code of the page, back to them. These special programs analyze the codes and decipher what needs to be read aloud and what should be ignored.

2. Partial/poor eyesight users – In order to see the content of the website clearly, persons who have difficulty seeing need to be able to control the size of the text. You can make the letters bigger without going over the edges of the screen.

3. Color blind users – They are persons who cannot see the difference between specific colors. There are two major types of color blindness: those who have difficulty distinguishing between orange (levels of redness) and green, and those who cannot separate between
blue and yellow.

4. Hearing impaired users – This group includes those individuals who are hard of hearing. Deaf users are able to access the Internet in much the same way as hearing persons except for the audio content. If the information within the website requires a person to hear it, then
the deaf cannot benefit from it.

5. Mobility impaired users – These people may have difficulty or inability to use their hands, including tremors, muscle slowness, loss of fine muscle control, etc., due to conditions such as Parkinson’s Disease, muscular dystrophy, cerebral palsy or stroke.

6. Learning disabled users – These are people who have difficulty grasping information (dyslexia, dyscalculia, etc.), and cognitive disabilities of various origins affecting memory, attention, developmental “maturity,” problem-solving and logic skills.

7. Epileptic users – These people must always be careful to avoid seeing flickering or flashing effects. These may trigger-off epileptic seizures.

8. Senior citizen users – Although they don’t belong to persons with disabilities, older people acquire disabilities as they progress in age. Their eye visibility might decrease. We need to shout to them in order to be heard. They may eventually have limitations in movement.

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My download speed is relatively fast, but the upload is not.

Popularity: 10% [?]

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! On the 7th of July (07-07-07), we had reached the 60,000th hit mark! There’s nothing I can say, but thank you for your continued support on my site!

Popularity: 6% [?]

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Head on to the Ikon Philippines website at http://www.pulse.ph/ikon to vote. Please vote for TrueFaith. Thanks!

Popularity: 6% [?]