Two Pinoys beat 160,000 students worldwide in online Artificial Intelligence course

Two Filipino software engineers -- Tommy Lim Jr. and Jesu Petar Maglutac -- beat nearly 160,000 students worlwide in a free Stanford University-style Artificial Intelligence (AI) class.

According to a press release of Orange & Bronze Software (O&B) Labs to Yahoo! Southeast Asia, Lim had a grade of 98%, finishing at the top 10% of the class, while Maglutac received a grade of 87%.

Lim, 47, was a former professor at the De La Salle University. He has been a senior software engineer at O&B for almost five years.

O&B is a Filipino software development firm known as a Google Enterprise partner in the Philippines.
 
Meanwhile, Maglutac, 21, recently resigned from O&B as associate software engineer. He transferred to Acuity Technologies, Inc. as senior developer.
 
The 11-week course, which kicked off in October last year. teaches the basics of AI, such as machine learning, probabilistic reasoning, robotics, and natural language processing.

The class was handled by Google Director of Research Peter Norvig and Google Fellow Sebastian Thrun, a Stanford research professor of computer science.
 
O&B noted that a class in Stanford University can cost up to $8,000 or Php 338,400. -- VVP, GMA News

CNN hero Robin Lim: Mothers are the 'real heroes'

Filipino-American midwife Robin Lim, the 2011 CNN Hero of the Year, said mothers are the real heroes for raising their children.

“The real heroes are the mothers who are in labor right now and their families and their husbands rubbing their back, even those who are outside the hospital hallways crying thinking what is happening in the (birthing) operation inside,” Lim told reporters earlier this week.

Lim was cited as the CNN Hero for 2011 because her Bumi Sehat foundation provided “birthing sanctuaries” for Indonesians who need maternal and general health care. 

Lim is currently in the country as she wants to celebrate International Midwife Day on May 5 in the Philippines as homage to her Filipino-Chinese mother.

“I will be sharing May 5, the International Midwife’s day here in the Philippines to be with my sister midwives in my mother’s country, which is really important to me, especially, this year after becoming the CNN hero of the year,” Lim said in a press conference on Monday.
 
“We will have a general assembly in General Santos City and we are gonna share (our experiences)…with 500 or even up to 700 Filipino midwives,” Lim said.

Lim plans to build birthing sanctuaries in the Philippines, and her chosen pilot area is Baguio, her mother’s hometown and also the place where the CNN hero was born.
 
“In 2010, we have started to brainstorm about a community-based clinic in Baguio… and in Quezon City near the dump but let us see. We need businessmen to support our cause,” she said.

“The difficult thing [in putting up birthing sanctuaries] is making it sustainable or keeping the ball rolling. We want the centers to be culturally appropriate for the Philippines,” she added.

About being named the CNN hero of the year, Lim said she never expected that.

She said the one who helped her win was CNN Hero of the year 2009 Efren Peñaflorida, also a Filipino, who was cited because of his Kariton school project, aimed at educating the street children.
 
Lim said Peñaflorida's group made sure that every person in Indonesia and the Philippines that has a computer will vote for her.

Her advocacy: breastfeeding
 
Aside from building holistic birth centers, Lim has been advocating for breast feeding versus infant milk formulas.
 
“Lives will be save just by breast feeding. Do you know that infant-formula fed babies are 300 times more likely to die during their first year against the babies who were breast fed?” she asked.
 
Confessing that she was a teenage mother, Lim revealed that she breastfed all of her four sons and two daughters for a minimum of four-and-a-half years.
 
“Breast-fed babies are happier and healthier… If we could have all babies closer to their mother through breast feeding, we can build peace -- one baby at a time,” she said. 

Lim said she counts the late President Corazon “Cory” Aquino, mother of the incumbent President Benigno Simeon Aquino III, as her personal hero for defending breastfeeding.
 
“Many years ago Corazon Aquino defended the right of Filipino babies to be fed from the breast, even though the Bush Administration said to her that this is a blockage of free trade of infant formula,” Lim said. 
 
“She’s my hero. She is long gone but what she did for the Philippines by defending breast feeding is still saving lives today, so we should all thank her,” Lim added.

Science and tradition
 
Lim, who merges science and folk herbal traditions, said she owes a lot to her grandmother Lola Vicenta, a hilot.
 
“[We provide] holistic health care by using indigenous herbs. My Lola was a hilot and the herbs she used were quite effective… She even got my first baby at home,” Lim said.
 
Lim claimed that her Lola cured her kidney problem using only the corn hair.
 
Lim, who has an American father, was supposed to be brought by helicopter from Baguio to Manila because of a bad kidney problem.
 
“My Lola kidnapped me and made me drink tea from corn hair. In a few days, I was well like nothing happened,” Lim recalled.

Aside from herbal medicines, Lim said the best medicine in her bag of tricks was "love."
 
“Love conquers all… When you are given a hug, energy instantly flows. And it is also medically proven how oxytocin helped our bodies.”
 
Filipino heritage
 
Meanwhile, Lim mentioned that she appreciates her Filipino heritage.

“I think the greatest Filipino attribute that I embody is love and respect for my father and mother. They weren’t easy, a mixed marriage, believe me,” Lim said.
 
She detailed how her mother remained devoted to her father even after suffering from war-related trauma.
 
“When my father came from the Vietnam War, it has been so hard in their marriage. He would sometimes choke my mother because he thought she was an enemy. He suffered from Vietnam-stress syndrome. [Though he had the trauma,] ‘till the day he died, she never gave up on him,” Lim said.

On what she loved in the Philippines, she mentioned food.

"I really have to tell you Filipino food rocks… It is really the best cuisine I the world,” Lim told the media.
 
She said her favorite Filipino dishes are dinuguan and sinigang.

Arnel tells Jessica: Keep on rockin' America!

SAN FRANCISCO - Journey frontman Arnel Pineda congratulated Filipino-Mexican-American Jessica Sanchez for making it to the top 4 of American Idol on Thursday night (Friday morning in Manila).

Interviewed at a film screening of "Don't Stop Believin," a documentary about his rise to fame, Pineda said: "Jessica, rock out the whole America! I'm with you!".

People flocked to the Castro Theater in San Francisco, California Thursday night (Friday morning in Manila) for the film about the iconic American band, Journey, and its lead singer Arnel Pineda's difficult but inspiring path to success.

From living a life of poverty in the Philippines, Pineda has come a long way and is now a bona fide rock star.

Pinoy nurse bags top prize at NHS quality award

LONDON - Francis Fernando won the first prize at the NHS Clinical Leaders Network AQuA Henderson Quality Awards in the UK.

He is the first Filipino and the first nurse in the UK to win the award.

Fernando is a trauma and orthopedic nurse at Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust who headed a ten-member team for his project dubbed as ‘Striving for Excellence in the Care of Elderly Patients with Hip Fracture.’ 

The project introduced a successful implementation of service improvements for elderly hip fracture patients leading to specialist medical care and early rehabilitation of patients. It also offered a holistic approach for the physical, emotional and psychological treatment of elderly patients who suffered from hip fractures.

“I just felt very proud that a Filipino nurse has won the award for the first time and a nurse has won this for the first time. I also felt relieved that we could highlight the devastating effect of osteoporosis not only in the UK but also in the world and show the excellent preventative measures that we could implement,” said Fernando. 

The father of three received the award during the Clinical Leaders Network 2012 convention recently.

“The ultimate winners of this award are the patients and their families because in the end, they receive the best possible care from us,” he told ABS-CBN Europe.

The CLN-Aqua Henderson Quality Award

The award is aimed at recognizing the work of clinicians who have produced ‘successful projects that have led to both tangible clinical improvements and made a real difference to patients' lives.’ To qualify for the competition, candidates must be able to demonstrate elements of quality in their projects and how these have led to greater productivity within their service area.

There were more than 1,000 applicants from the National Health Service (NHS) workforce in the UK. They were shortlisted to 10, then the final 3 were chosen.

Fernando impressed the panel of judges, headed by UK Health Secretary Andrew Lansley, with his project. For bagging the top award, he received a bursary of £5,000 to develop and spread his winning project to other NHS institutions. The two runners up were also granted bursary prize.

Caring, compassionate, innovative Pinoys

Fernando has always believed Pinoy nurses are exceptional and talented. 

“By nature, Filipinos are very caring, compassionate and are also very innovative as shown by this award. I encourage them to do better in their profession and uplift the image of Filipino nurses,” Fernando said.

A graduate of Wesleyan University in Cabanatuan City, he came to work as a nurse in the UK in 2000. His wife and three children have always been supportive of his career.

“I’m a believer in the quality of work of Filipino nurses. Wherever they work they always give their 100 percent, they always work hard and they always think of their family,” he explained.

He also added: “This is not just for myself, this is also for the staff at the hospital and for the Filipino nurses working abroad.” 

Jessica Sanchez now part of Idol's Top 4

MANILA, Philippines (2nd UPDATE) – Filipino-Mexican-American contestant Jessica Sanchez on Thursday (Friday morning in Manila) survived mixed reviews from the "American Idol" judges to join this season's Top 4.

It was a tense results night after host Ryan Seacrest called Sanchez and judges' favorite, country singer Skylar Laine to find out who would join Hollie Cavanagh in the bottom 2.

Seacrest then said Sanchez was safe while Laine was told that she was going home after receiving the lowest votes from Idol viewers.

The two male contestants -- Joshua Ledet, who earned another standing ovation from the judges on performance night, and Phillip Phillips -- were declared safe earlier in the one-hour show, which featured two performances from British band Coldplay and a song from former "American Idol" winner Carrie Underwood.

Mentor Jimmy Iovine, a record producer, said he loved Sanchez's version of Joe Cocker's "You Are So Beautiful" but hated her version of Ike and Tina Turner's classic "Proud Mary," which he criticized as too sexy.

Surprisingly, Iovine also was not that impressed with Laine despite the lavish praise from the judges. Randy Jackson noted that Laine seemed to be peaking at the right time and continues to impress.

Shock elimination

It was a surprising elimination for Laine, who has emerged to become a favorite to win the 11th season of the popular US talent search. Going into Wednesday's elimination, popular magazine Entertainment Weekly selected the young country warbler as its pick to take home the top prize at the "Idol" finale later this month.

"UGH. Wow," the magazine said of the results.

However, Laine has been in the bottom three several times during the season, along with Cavanagh.

Laine was also picked as the "worst" of the Top 5 in an online poll by entertainment website Digital Spy, which was topped by Sanchez.

Despite this, followers of the show expressed shock with Laine's elimination.

"I am sorry, but there is no way Skylar should be in the bottom, and Phillip safe. And the judges are of no help at all, with a complete lack of critical appraisal performance after performance," blogger Rickey of rickey.org said.

Phillips caught the ire of live blogging "Idol" netizens when his falsetto cracked during his performance of The Zombies' "Time of the Season" but was not called out by the judges.

Phillips has not been in the bottom three so far.

"Wow at this point it's anyone's game," a fan commented on Entertainment Weekly's website." I did enjoy Skylar -- she was growing on me. I thought Phillip would have gone based on of his performance last night, especially The Zombies song. Oh well here is to the Top 4."

After Game 2 meltdown, Bulls facing moment of truth

Tom Thibodeau surely has put much thought into the message he must deliver when the Bulls reconvene Thursday after rolling over in the second half of a loss Tuesday to the Philadelphia 76ers at the United Center that knotted their first-round playoff series at one game apiece.

What Bulls fans witnessed during what might have been one of the most disappointing third quarters in team history wasn’t what Thibodeau often describes as ‘‘slippage.’’

The problems that plagued the Bulls are unacceptable in the 68th game of any season — and a playoff game, at that. They weren’t the product of failed execution, poor halftime adjustments or even general weariness. There are suddenly deep cracks in a once-solid foundation.

The importance of the Bulls playing their brand of basketball was a point of emphasis leading up to the game. ‘‘Just do your job’’ had been Thibodeau’s mantra since Derrick Rose tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee Saturday in Game 1.

Nobody did his job. As a result, the Bulls played a brand of basketball that was foreign to what Thibodeau teaches, which is why he might be facing his biggest challenge in two seasons as their coach.

I’ve been the first to defend the Bulls after rare off nights during the regular season. Those things happen, especially during the death march the NBA announced after the lockout, but this is the playoffs. The Bulls were coming off two days of rest, which is like an eternity during a season littered with back-to-back games.

A collective fatigue, both mentally and physically, shouldn’t have been totally unexpected. But a total collapse was shocking to see from a team that has had so much resolve. Instead of fighting for their playoff lives, the Bulls looked like a team that wanted their long grind of a season to end.

Thibodeau breaks the game down to essential components his team must accomplish to win. Even without Rose, his priorities were achievable against the 76ers. Consider:

1. Defense: The Bulls allowed a 76ers team that shot 45 percent from the floor during the regular season to shoot 59 percent in Game 2. That’s the highest field-goal percentage the Bulls have allowed in 68 games. An average offensive team scored 109 points, which is tied for the second-highest total the Bulls have allowed this season.

2. Rebounding: The 76ers outrebounded the Bulls 38-32 for the game and 22-12 in the second half.

3. Low turnovers: The Bulls committed an acceptable eight turnovers.

4. Inside-out: Thibodeau preaches the ball has to go into the paint, either on the dribble or through the post, for his offense to work. The Bulls were outscored 52-32 in the paint.

5. Share the ball: The Bulls had 23 assists, which matched their regular-season average.

6. Multiple-effort mentality: For one of the few times this season, the Bulls were outhustled and outworked.

The Bulls failed miserably in four of his six categories. Most troubling were the defense and rebounding because they have been staples of Bulls basketball since Thibodeau arrived. The Bulls ranked first in the league in rebounding this season and allowed the second-lowest field-goal percentage in the league.

The loss of Rose can’t be blamed for those wretched stats, either. Low turnovers and sharing the ball are the two areas he would affect most, and the Bulls were moderately successful in those areas.

Don’t misunderstand: The backcourt was a disaster defensively. Evan Turner, Jrue Holiday and Lou Williams combined for 65 points. But what happened in Game 2 can’t be written off as Rose not being on the floor.

This was a total system failure, a core meltdown, a performance that makes you wonder how the Bulls will respond when things get tough in Game 3 on Friday.

Some people claim anything short of a championship means the Bulls have been unsuccessful this season. I disagree. Everyone on the roster, except Rose, improved his game. How can 2011-12 be anything but a success after the Bulls finished tied for the best regular-season record despite their training room looking like a Civil War hospital?

Here’s how: They turn in three more performances like the one they did Tuesday and slink into the offseason.

Internet Usage Predictions [infographic]

I could probably make a generalized statement about this infographic before reading it: internet usage is going up this year. It’s pretty clear that more people have access to computers and the internet is becoming a vital tool to every industry. But exactly how much more the internet is going to blow up is unknown. This infographic states overall internet usage will go up 3% this year, which is a considerable amount considering the massive size of the internet. Who knows, maybe Al Gore will make a breakthrough addition to the internet that boosts usage by 10%?

I personally use the internet almost every hour, checking e-mail and facebook messages to stay on top of school. All of my class documents are located on the internet, and most teachers no longer bring any printouts to class. This is already a significant change from 5 years ago, so it’s not hard to argue the internet is expanding its empire. The internet is so far integrated into our lives, I almost run into people walking on the street who are sucked into the internet on their smart phones. There is now internet on airplanes…the one place I thought was a getaway from the cyber world. Did you know that online bingo is a 1.3 billion dollar industry? I didn’t. [Via]