Forgive the profanity! my throat's killing me. it's no longer hard to pretend to be sick if you are really one.

so far, i haven't done anything decent regarding my main short term goal, that is about my Masters thesis for UP. to make matters worse, when i analyzed for updates my infamous "10 things that I would like to accomplish in before I leave Japan", I come to realize the virtual "NP-hardness" of performing those tasks. I've written them down:

Update on the 10 things I want to accomplish before I leave Japan

(in no particular order)

1.      Get a US Visa. At least 1 year Multiple – Earliest: April 2006 year when I get extension of my scholarship. Plus about 20万。

2.      Achieve 2 Kyo Japanese Proficiency Level　– Earliest: 2008. Right now, I might even fail 4 居。

3.      Finish my MS Mathematics degree in UP, thesis option　– Earliest: August 2005. This year or never. Most feasible if only someone would cooperate.

4.      Skii Level 4 - Suicide hill in Nagano – Earliest: December 2006. We have to wait for the next, next winter since I’m just starting to fare out well on beginner’s level.

5.      Climb the top of Mt. Fuji at least twice – Earliest: July 2007. This year doesn’t promise even 1 full climb, and schedule might conflict on Goal #3.

6.      Travel to Okinawa and perform the sand-bottle-romance legend –Travel within Japan means a lot of cash and Goal 1’s should be prioritize not because of importance but of mere chronology.

7.      Finish the novel I’ve been writing for 3 years – I’m an artist so I can’t possibly force myself on this. Although, I can manage to squeeze this if only I can purchase a new dvd drive for my notebook.

8.      Have a serious relationship with my sweetie – Latest: February 2006, after then he might move to a new apartment or worse return to the Philippines. Better act fast and strive harder than before.

9.      Conceive our kid – This is only one night, I wonder why it’s NP-hard to occur. Again, watch out for the biological clock.

10.  Get married – Hmmm, Accomplish #9 and by some luck this goal comes like a toy in a happy meal. But for the sake of nobility, I won’t resort to that yet. The prime number challenge is still on and 23 is my figure to beat!!

Streaming thoughts: I've read a forwarded e-mail about a former UP Math Prof named Edgar Escultura, and the internet- hype about his refutation of Andrew Wiles' proof of FLT.  More importantly, he disproves even  the most fundamental concepts in Mathematics like the Trichotomy Axiom and Axiom of Completeness. I understand the waves of controversy it created and it doesn't surprise me that my friends from the Philippines are relentlessly forwarding such mails to colleagues.  

Well, on the surface I admit that I felt proud to be a Filipino. But as an amateur Mathematician who used to have so much flair for Mathematics (before I came to Japan  and become fucked up), I doubt whether to even consider such news as earth-shaking, whether if he's correct or not.  

I mean, suppose you are playing some kind of a sport, without lost of generality let's say that it's basketball. We know that rules of the game have evolve through time. Suppose that some curious player and high-leaper named FFclaimed that it is impossible to dunk from the 3-pt. line. Of course, a lot of other players have tried to dispute FF and tried their luck in dunking (Jordan, Vince Carter, etc...) but failed. It seems impossible because nobody can show a dunk from the 3-pt line but nobody can say that FF is correct because some other super player might be able to dunk in the future.

And then came wonder boy Andrew who studied intensively on biometrics and other hard stuffs. No, he did not attempt to dunk from the 3-pt line but instead showed that it's impossible because of blah, blah, complicated physiology, physics, blah, blah. Only intelligent players understood him but he's proclaimed to be correct, anyway.  

But from out of nowhere, an Edgar from some obscure 3rd world country, who wants to do a Nash (I'm referring to my Steve, not schizophrenic John ) made controversial statements about the invalidity of the rules of the game and in particular something about the 3-pt line. If he's correct then necessarily Andrew must be wrong.  

For me, I daresay not. At least, not necessarily. Even if Andrew would concede so. Because, Andrew played using the 'rules' of the game, while Edgar tingled with the 'rules' and by doing so, found faults on Andrew's work.

 I would vote to stay with the 'known' rules even if it's not so perfect, cause afterall we've been playing and enjoying the 'game' for centuries and we've managed to lived arduously with that.  

I'm sorry but that's just my opinion  and I have nothing against Prof./Dr. Edgar Escultura, to rightfully give him back his title.

 -mG

 

   

Currently listening to: Saving All My Love For You by Whitney Houston
Currently reading: Algebraic Number Theory by A. Frolich, M.J. Taylor
Currently feeling: nauseated

i have considered the idea a long time ago..　i'd figure that it's slowly becoming an addiction and it's already on that point when i cannot control myself from visiting the site and do plain and pointless surfing. i have exhausted all kinds of benefits like keeping track of friends and classmates from the past and ever since just becomes a habit to check and update and answer surveys which more or less is trashed by other users.

Imagine this, i have two accounts without even filling half of each. I maintain both accounts with 12 different pictures for each and with profiles slightly distinct. I answer surveys relentlessly, mercilessly making people fed up with my whinings and heartaches.

again, i heard the nagging voice say, "you should make yourself scarce.."

so what do you think? i wish i have the will power to do so.

-mG ω

Currently listening to: Dreamboy starring Piolo and Bea
Currently reading: Ring and Spiral by Koji Suzuki
Currently feeling: worried

(Just to make it clear, it's is no big deal for me; but just to kill time before my class on "Elliptic Curves" at 18:00, I guess I can spare a couple more words regarding this topic. )

I was browsing through the random blogs to pick up writing pointers when i chanced upon an entry regarding the reaction letter of UP Math Dept's to the Manila Times article last May 5.

Sounds family..

I guess, I receive the very same forwarded e-mail from Fidel through one of my correspondences. Of course, the said letter does away with greetings and personal thoughts. "Hi Ping!"

Well truthfully speaking, I've had the same idea even from the start but I don't want to sound as lambasting. For one, unlike him, I don't know Dr. Edgar Escultura personally and I was not old enough at the time when he brought up his ideas more than a decade ago.

Secondly, I don't have the guts to sound as convincing since I'm not well verse with Escultura's so-called theories on Non-Standard Analysis nor I'm expert on FLT. Of course, I have curiously devoured literary materials regarding Wiles' story and Fermat and Galois, but Elliptic Curves until now is beyond my level. (However, I believe I'm still the best student in class despite so )

(i'll be back, it's 5 minutes to 6pm)

lastly, I reckoned that as a Mathematics student, I am also Esculturaish in some sense. I'm the type who would relentlessly fantasize about proving or disproving the most difficult theorems in Mathematics. Last year, I bought a copy of the "The Millenium Problems-the 7 greatest Unsolved Problems in Mathematics" and I have had dreams of shaking the Mathematical Community one day when I give the proof to..  I picture myself receiving a whooping $1,000,000 sporting a hybrid of an Avril Lavigne-type of fashion and Simple Plan attitude. The Fields Medal is also  in the bag (with my kid cheerfully clapping on the sidelights)

Tee, hee, that's just a crazy illusion and I know that now. I feel for Escultura and his fairy tales and I bet there are also a handful of people out there who has that kind of vision of claiming Andy Warhols 15-seconds of fame promise.

But then again, maybe it's just that Fidel and I only agree on 1 thing--and that is to disagree!

-mG

Currently listening to: So it's you by Christian Bautista
Currently watching: Dreamboy
Currently feeling: sympathetic

In the hopes of getting better traffic, I'll fire one last note on the Escultura issue;

that hoax could've been avoided if only we're using digital signatures for our personal web applications! right?

-mG

Currently listening to: The First Cuts the Deepest by Sherryl Crow
Currently reading: A Brief Guide to Algebraic Number Theory by Swinnerton-Dyer
Currently feeling: flirty

After 3 long years of hiatus, Moral ME is back. It's already more than 60 pages long and I have iron out the edges and loopholes I've left before.

The plot is about 4 not-so-typical UP college students. And the not-so-typical circumstances facing them. But even though everything seems not-so-typical, I assure that every reader would eventually feel for each character. The dialogues are plain, witty, and hard hitting.

The main persona is Tony (Antonette). But I'm thinking of changing it to a more feminine name. She's the smart cookie in UP--not so nerdy, but eccentric. She personafies Ms Iskolar ng bayan: poor, family is big, bread winner, DOST scholar. The main twist on her story is that she fell in love with her handsome professor Miguel, who is married, and has a family, and, did I mention famous? He has a past that spells the main difference in the story. (Haha, sounds like HP?)

Then there is Sol (Soledad). She's a single mom because her Chinese boyfriend refused to take responsibility for their child. She strives to be just another regular student in UP. And then she met an attractive guy Arnold. He took a liking to her child and they develop their friendship along the way. Unfortunately, Arnold is a gay! Nothing tragic actually, but Sol's part is very heartwarming.

The third girl is Lani (sorry, i can't find a more apt name for her character). She's got the girl next door looks, but check out her skeletons. She's a little obsessive with her boyfriend Patrick but when the latter dumped her, she cannot let go.

Lastly, we have Tala. This is a very strange hybrid, i would daresay--she's anorexic and she's an activist at the same time. I don't know if you can believe this but whenever I reread her parts, she appears to be very convincing. Later on the story, she would meet a Japanese boyfriend who would change her life.

It is by the way written in Filipino, which is a downside right now since I haven't been speaking that language most of the time.

I'm still in search of an appropriate title, though? Do yo have any suggestion?

-mG

Currently listening to: We fit tigether by O town
Currently feeling: giddy