John Jill Navarro

Online 3D game for free.

johnjillnavarro — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 17:36:00 +0000

http://www.instantaction.com

This site is fun. Test your skills against other players in an online 3D game! Sadly, it only works on Windows.

Seeing Motion

johnjillnavarro — Tue, 06 May 2008 15:50:00 +0000

Photography has its limits. I bought a couple of Q Steer RC cars. These toys are really small and are fun to play with (I’m young at heart ). I want to take a picture of them while in motion. Unfortunately, with the equipment I have, it’s impossible. The only solution left is to do a digital post edit using Photoshop. I used radial blur and motion blur filters. After some manual editing I was able to achieve the effect I want.

EDITED PICTURE:

ORIGINAL PICTURE:

Just in case you’re wondering I used the pencil to create the “centrifugal force” effect as the car turns to its left.

It’s a Virtual Whiteboard!

johnjillnavarro — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 08:02:00 +0000

I came across this website: http://www.twiddle.com. It’s pretty neat and it’s like having a virtual whiteboard. If you need to discuss things like graphic design, web design etc… it’s always useful to illustrate it while saying it. Twiddle allows sharing of notes or scribbles over an image or website. It supports online chat and audio. It’s currently free, no setup needed, and is web-based.

Java or Rails

johnjillnavarro — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 14:32:00 +0000

One of the hot topics I encountered at work was the debate on which is better Java or Ruby Rails. This caught my attention a year ago when my colleague told me that the popularity of Ruby Rails is picking up. It also seems that many Java programmers are switching to Ruby Rails. I really didn’t go deep into this; I stopped with the thought that somehow Ruby Rails is easier and is much better than Java. Then a just a few days ago, I watched an interview with Cay Hortsmann, author of the book titled “Core Java”. He talked about where does Ruby on Rails have edge over Java. His blunt answer was it does not have an edge at all. Here are some of his points:
- Ruby is easier to code but would be difficult to debug later on.
- Ruby has dynamic nature that enables one to do database introspection, but argued that this can be also be done in Java.
Personally, I think it’s really a personal preference. If you like something with more control, choose Java. If you like something easier to use, then choose Rails. I really don’t think one is better than the other. Rails is good at some point and Java is good in others.

For now, I would stick to Java, as there’s still a lot to learn and it is still growing. I have made my decision, what is yours?

Touched by iPod Touch

johnjillnavarro — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 19:22:00 +0000

Just a few weeks ago, I was able to acquire a second hand 16GB iPod Touch. Although it’s not new, it cost me more compared to buying a new PSP. Yet, I had no regrets on having iPod over PSP.

One thing I like most about iPod is the vast selection of podcasts available for free.
Here are some of my favorites:
- OnSoftware (video)
- OnOpenSource
- Java Deep Dive
- Discovery Channel Video Podcasts
- National Geographic’s Wild Life
- Cinematech Video Podcast
- Attack of the Show’s Daily Video Podcast

One advantage of having PSP is of course playing video games. It comes very handy especially while waiting for our turn during doctors appointments. Most of the time I just sat down, doing nothing for hours….waiting. Time would fly-by fast if one is occupied with something. Sure, playing games is one of them. However, that no longer works for me. Gone were the days when I spend hours playing games. 3D games that are popular these days, they would have easily earned my interest but then, my head would start spinning if I play more than 30 minutes. Now I kill time by watching my favorite podcasts on my itouch.

I’m just glad I chose an old iPod over a new PSP.

First Baby

johnjillnavarro — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 12:49:00 +0000

God has been very kind to us. He has been giving numerous blessings! The greatest so far, is the birth of my first baby! It’s a boy and his name is Jean Cyril. The name was derived from my name John (Jean in French) and St. Cyrillus. He was born on feb 24 at Saint Luke’s Hospital.

Dave’s Incident

johnjillnavarro — Sat, 09 Jun 2007 05:03:00 +0000

My First Package Design

johnjillnavarro — Tue, 10 Apr 2007 10:17:00 +0000

This is my first package design using Adobe Illustrator. Don’t ask me what the product is…. as I have no idea.

Character Illustration in Adobe Illustrator

johnjillnavarro — Tue, 10 Apr 2007 10:08:00 +0000

I completed my first character illustration using Adobe Illustrator. It took a while to finish, but I’m happy with it.

How Service Can Make/Break my Day

johnjillnavarro — Mon, 19 Mar 2007 10:19:00 +0000

Breaking my day.

There’s this restaurant in the Philippines, which is famous for their cakes and pastries. Aside from cakes and pastries, they also offer other foods and dishes. In addition to their cakes, I’ve grown to love their “Releñong Bangus” (milkfish with the meat taken out, ‘hinimay’ and sautéed with vegetables). Their food is really great and you can expect the same good quality in all the branches of their restaurants. As much as I would love to dine as often as I can in their restaurants, I am gravely dissatisfied of their service. Service crews are grumpy and delivery of orders is very slow. Somehow the quality of their food cannot make up for the poor service that they offer.

Making my day.

One night, I went to Jollibee in Makati to have my dinner. I was working late that night and was very hungry. The service crew took my order, prepared the food, placed it on a tray, and then punched the order to the cash register. I asked for the receipt because I’d be needing it for my reimbursement, unfortunately it got jammed in the machine. I was really very hungry and can’t wait any longer so I just told the service crew not to bother, since I wanted to eat my dinner already. While I was eating my dinner, the service crew approached me and handed me the receipt with a smile on her face. She said, “Sir, eto po yung receipt nyo.” (Sir, here’s your receipt). I wasn’t expecting that. It showed how committed she was to serve her customers properly. Now, that’s service. ☺