So old

By the time that you read this, I’ll have dinner with my relatives in some restaurant in my home city.

I hate to admit this, but I’m old.

Not happy because of Budoy

First, an apology for not telling you that I have autism. Since my toddler years. Now, the real issue.

A few weeks ago, ABS-CBN premiered a teleserye called Budoy. It’s about a young adult with Angel’s Syndrome, played by Gerald Anderson.

Inspirational? Heart warming? Makes people realize that persons with psycho-social disabilities exist? The first two, I’ll doubt. The third? Maybe.

However, I have a different point to make.

During a discussion in a social network, a friend pointed out that Budoy could promote stupidity in the future. A few hours after, I commentated that Budoy is nothing more than a show that feeds on the baser instincts of many Filipinos. A few posts after, an online buddy posted that he has Aspergers syndrome and doesn’t want to be relegated to some theater group for special children, whose productions can only be fully understood by the thinking élite and the participants of the theater group.  In fact, he’d rather be working as a director for a big television station.

As the thread went on and on, one person noted that that teleserye will feed more stereotypes to the Pinoy mentality (which is basically true), while another stated that “Budoy” will become part of a vocabulary of  insults by flippish children and more flippish adults. To conclude the conversation, the future director posted that “competent enough” Filipinos will be singled out and be subjected to name-calling and insults, like Tasyo in that Rizal novel.

Fast forward to yesterday. Someone asked if what’s the thing that made “Budoy” special. Here’s the summary of their answers:

  • Unusual things/persons
  • Stereotypes
  • Appealing actors and actresses
  • More rich versus poor crap (as if we haven’t been thoroughly exposed to that angle)
  • More love triangle schiesse (not again)

Not only that, one posted that superficial stuff matter in Popular media, especially in mentally messed up Flipland the Philippines.

So, what’s it gonna be?

Postscript: Hindi ikaw Budoy. Delusyonado kayo.

Some content from this post were summarized from many posts gathered by the author.

UPDATE: Here’s a gem of a comment from YouTube:

Dapat ganito ang Pinapanood ng mga kabataan kaysa na nakaka gagong Budoy

1 Comment

What to expect in the next four months

Starting tomorrow up to February 29, 2012, I’m going to make at least eight blog entries which have something to do with cartography, certain special events (Christmas, New Year, and Valentines Day) and other stuff. I’ll also slip in a review of the year’s events and a “what I did during my extended summer vacation?” entry. Not only that, I’ll be reviving and/or rebooting projects and entries that were stalled for months, especially a post that has something to do with the application of OpenStreetMap during disasters and a follow-up to “On the Run“.

Also, I’ll try to make a OpenStreetBugs fork within that time period. My purpose for it is to inform people of infrastructure lapses (unlit streets, potholes) so that they can be remedied to prevent future tragedies and crimes from happening. The fork’s initial name would be “Flashlight”

Not only that, I’ll use the almighty form 5a because I’ve successfully shifted from BS Applied Physics to BA Sociology. I’ll use this opportunity to thank those who helped and guided me in the various challenges, those who celebrated my triumphs, and to those who molded me into my present form. Especially my parents, relatives, peers, former classmates and batchmates.

Not only that, I will get a better grade in that subject.

UPDATE (10312011 at 2030 PHT): The initial posts feels “incomplete”. Hence, an update. In the next four months,

  • I’ll release two OpenStreetMap-related posts – one to encourage government offices, entities, institutions and bureaus to use (and contribute to OpenStreetMap), another to encourage OpenStreetMap contributors to improve the data, and to fix (and hopefully prevent) certain kinks on the map, since a good number of Google Maps API users are planning to either shift to or have shifted to OpenStreetMap (due to the imposition of API limits).
  • I’ll reconnect with my online friends, and meet with some of them in real life. Also, I’ll take part in my alma matter’s pearl anniversary sometime in January.
  • I’ll deactivate my Facebook account sometime between November 15 and December 15.
  • Finally, I’ll be updating certain OpenStreetMap-related goals in my OpenStreetMap Wiki userspace.

That’s all for now. See ya and have a Safe Halloween, All Saints Day and All Souls Day.

How to conduct an OSM SkillShare event?

A few months ago, I’ve conducted an OpenStreetMap Skillshare event in my home city. The bad news: no one bothered to show up. To make time go fast, I made a checklist-slash-guideline on how to host an OpenStreetMap Skillshare event.

Initial stages

Ask the nearby contributors if they’re cook with the skillshare event. If yes, proceed. If not, take your time. Maybe they’re too busy with IRL stuff.

Announcing the event

First, announce the skillshare event on the right mailing list. If nearby OpenStreetMap contributors use certain social networking sites/tools/platforms, invite them using those services. Checking your userpage in OpenStreetMap for nearby contributors won’t hurt either.

When making an announcement, take note of the time and date of the planned event. Make sure that you announce the event 2-3 weeks in advance to give you (and other organizers and participants) enough time to prepare and scout for a place where you can hold the event. If possible, as the other contributors for other possible meetup sites.

Scouting for locations

When looking for the right place, take note of the following:

  • A good internet connection
  • Plugs for laptops and other gadgets
  • Ambiance/feel of the place
  • Smoking areas
  • Accessibility (fire exits, wheelchair access)
  • Consumables offered (food, drinks, etc.)
  • Mode of transportation used by contributors
  • Distance of the place from contributors
  • Public safety and the surrounding environment

As much as possible, visit the sites at least 1-2 weeks before the event.

Items to bring in the Skillshare event

  • Laptop with OSM-related tools & programs (JOSM, Merkaartor, Mapsource, Maperitive)
  • Batteries for laptops and/or an AC connector
  • A GPS device or a mobile phone with GPS capabilities
  • Miscellaneous writing materials
  • Promotional items (leaflets, tarpaulin, stickers, pins & business cards just to name a few)
  • Camera and/or mobile phone with in-built camera
  • Some examples of OSM Maps

Announcing the event, part 2

Now that you’ve initially announced the event time and date and scouted for initial sites (and made a decision whether to select one place or another), it’s time for you to  announce the location of the Skillshare event on the mailing list and other social sites/tools/platforms.

Final preparations

Here are some questions that will guide you in the final preparations for the Skillshare event:

  • Have you create a checklist containing things to bring in the skillshare event?
  • Have you visited the place? Have you made any reservations (if required or necessary)?
  • Is the area safe enough?
  • Have the participants confirmed their attendance (or non-attendance) to the event?
  • (For retail areas) Will big events [mall tours, sales] affect the ambiance of the event? Are you willing to postpone it for another day?

If you’re done with the final preparations, then it’s time for you to host the event [and hope that nothing wrong will happen on that day].

The event itself

When meeting mappers, introduce yourself, and vice versa. After the introduction, have a brief chat. [Possible discussion points: What brought you to OSM, did it change your life, were you diagnosed with OCOSMD] Once the chat is over you may want to make an intro that the Skillshare event has started.

To start the Skillshare event, introduce yourself to the participants, then explain to them that they’re attending an OpenStreetMap Skillshare event (it’s an event where experienced OpenStreetMap contributors give hands-on tutorials to newbies mapping techniques and other fun things you can do with OpenStreetMap data). After that, explain to them what is OpenStreetMap, its origins and the evolution of the map in various places – London, Berlin, Paris, Atlanta, Kibera, Gonaives, Sendai, Tandale, and your local area/s.

Once you’re done with explaining the origins of the map, explain and expand the reasons why we should use OpenStreetMap. Below are my suggestions – you can freely add your own.

  • It costs less and has less copyright restrictions compared to other maps
  • Anyone can contribute to it
  • It’s crowd-sourced and community-based
  • The data in the map can be improved

Once we’re done with the reasons part, go to the part where you’ll explain the challenges met by OpenStreetMap contributors. You can add more concerns, if needed.

Though contributing to the map is interesting, many contributors have faced many challenges in their mapping experience. Some of them are:

  • The lack of high-resolution imagery.
  • Not enough contributors
  • “Broken edits” done by some contributors. To quote a more experienced OpenStreetMap contributor, “You spilled the milk, you wipe off the liquid with a cloth. If you notice it, email the concerned user.”
  • Contributors who aren’t active
  • Places that can’t be mapped. Some countries like Israel and Russia have strict rules when it comes to cartography-related concerns. For example, military installations, power generation and distribution facilities and other places are omitted on some maps due to security-related issues.
  • Misconceptions. From comparison with Wikipedia to association with other companies (CloudMade, MapQuest) to data inaccuracy. Fortunately, they can either be clarified or corrected.

“Despite the challenges, I believe that they can be overcome through patience, trial and error, cooperation and consensus. Besides, we all want OpenStreetMap to succeed.“

From this point, you’ll explain some reasons why should people contribute to OpenStreetMap. Again, you can add more examples.

  • Tourists, backpackers, and other travelers will use it to find their way towards their destinations and related facilities.
  • People from the education sector can use it to teach cartography, point out the notable places in their local area, and increase the awareness of their respective neighborhood and communities
  • Persons employed in service and logistics-related companies can use it to aid their delivery of various goods and services
  • Businesses can highlight their online presence [without resorting to online advertisements] and put the neighborhood/s that host them on the map

Now that we’re done with the benefits part, explain to them the process of contributing to OpenStreetMap.

  • Create an account on OpenStreetMap.org
  • Edit [will be discussed in a few moments]
  • A more experienced mapper introduces you to the local OpenStreetMap community
  • You’ll learn from other mappers and vice versa
  • You’ll improve your mapping skills and have a somewhat unique editing style
  • Your work will be featured in OpenStreetMap, for the right reasons
  • You’re contributing to OpenStreetMap! Keep up the good work!

Once we’re done with that, go ahead to the part where we get GPS traces and uploading it to the OpenStreetMap database

  • Open your GPS and/or a GPS-enabled phone
  • Get a reliable signal
  • Go to your destination
  • Take notes
  • Extract GPS traces from your device
  • Clean them using Mapsource or JOSM
  • Upload them to OSM for tracing

Once we’re done with this part, you’ll teach them how to get POI’s using their gadgets.

  • Enter waypoint
  • Take notes
  • Extract waypoints
  • Convert to GPX if necessary
  • Upload to OSM for tracing

To be fair with those who don’t have a GPS [as in the case of some OpenStreetMap contributors], introduce to them the concept of “Walking Papers”

  • Go to walking-papers.org
  • Scroll to the “Make a Print” section below
  • Go to the area where you want to map
  • Once satisfied, choose the orientation (portrait or landscape)
  • Once done, click on “Make”. It will take you to a page that you to a page that says “Preparing your print”. Don’t worry, you can bookmark that page and re-enter that site in 15-30 minutes.
  • Once you re-enter that page, you’ll notice that there’s a link that says “Download map PDF for print”. Click on that link, then save it. After saving the PDF file, print it.
  • Once you’re done printing, go outside and map!
  • If you’re done mapping, scan the map as a JPEG file with a 200+ DPI resolution. You’ll use that JPEG file to edit OpenStreetMap.

Once you’re done with the waypoint/POI/note/trace gathering part, it’s time for you to introduce the editing part.

First, introduce to them a basic yet powerful OpenStreetMap editing tool – Potlatch2. [For more details go to the Potlatch2 Primer on the OpenStreetMap Wiki] After that, introduce to them a more powerful (yet memory intensive) editing program – JOSM. [For more details, go to the JOSM page on the OpenStreetMap Wiki. For the guide on how to use JOSM, go here.] You may also discuss other editors (like Merkaartor and Mapzen), if time and enthusiasm permits.

If you still have the time, invite them to participate in the talk-ph mailing list (http://lists.openstreetmap.org/listinfo/talk-ph). If they are not part of it, then invite them. You may also invite them for another meetup or a mapping party in the near future. If they need more help (which tag to use, how to fix errors), send them the link to the OpenStreetMap help page (http://help.openstreetmap.org/)

And remember: Be friendly and courteous, even if some of them messed up a huge part of the map at some point.

Sources:

  • http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Philippines/Events/SkillShare
  • http://walking-papers.org/upload.php
  • http://walking-papers.org/about.php