best android games of 2012

Here are my personal favorites and what I think are the best Android titles (games category) that were released in 2012.

I would definitely recommend Jetpack Joyride, Clay Jam, Hill Climb Racing, and Zombie Dash in a heartbeat.

Jetpack Joyride	96
Zombie Dash	96
Clay Jam	94
Hill Climb Racing	94
Triple Town	92
Rope Escape	90
Sector Strike	88
iSlash	86
Subway Surfers	86
Music Hero	84
Strikefleet Omega	82
Kick the Boss 2	80
Amazing Alex	75-79
Angry Birds Rio	75-79
Angry Birds Seasons	75-79
Angry Birds Space	75-79
Angry Birds Star Wars	75-79
Bad Piggies	75-79
Chasing Yellow	75-79
Cut the Rope Free	75-79
Icon Pop Quiz	75-79
Radiant Defense	75-79
Samurai vs Zombies	75-79
Swing Shot	75-79
Whale Trail Free	75-79
100 Doors 2013	70-74
Androidify	70-74
Blosics Free	70-74
Flow Free	70-74
Flow Free: Bridges	70-74
GeoQuiz	70-74
GeoQuiz by BrianCafe	70-74
Logo Quiz Philippines	70-74
Math Maniac	70-74
Tetris	70-74
Death Moto	65-69
Drag Racing	65-69
Dragon Fly! Free	65-69
Falling Fred	65-69
Fruit Ninja Free	65-69
Guns N Glory WW2	65-69
Raging Thunder	65-69
Slice It!	65-69
Temple Run	65-69
3D Bowling	60-64
Basketball Mania	60-64
Bubble Blast 2	60-64
Bubble Blast Halloween	60-64
Bubble Worlds	60-64
Burger	60-64
Chess Free	60-64
Jewels Star	60-64
Logo Quiz	60-64
Marble Blast 3	60-64
Paper Toss	60-64
Pinball Pro	60-64
Pool Master Pro	60-64
Random Mahjong	60-64
Unblock Me Free	60-64
Arel Wars2	55-59
Blast Monkeys	55-59
Empire Defense	55-59
Fruit Shoot	55-59
Ninjump	55-59
Rocket Island	55-59
Tank Hero	55-59

Note that most, if not all, of the games listed above have already received excellent user ratings of at least 4 stars out of 5 on Google's Play Store. Personally, I find Google's user scoring system to be a pretty reliable benchmark for Android apps.

In here, I prefer to rank them in terms of replay value, which is really dependent on  the challenges and missions that will make you return daily so as to finish the game.

For other players, it could be about the interesting story arc, solid graphics, or the unobtrusive sound that spells the difference.

Some games got lower marks because they constantly need an internet connection, such as ArelWars2.

Other games were also impossibly difficult to finish if you don't prefer purchasing premium items and in-game goods using real money, such as those offered by Samurai vs. Zombies and Radiant Defense. These apps had very stunning graphics and wonderful gameplay, but I was frustated with the constant string of losses due to lack of 'freemium weapons'.

Here, of course, are screenshots of installed games last year.

 Since then, I've added quite a few good ones this 2013, most notably a Japanese title called Battle Cats. I think it's going to be a huge hit this year.

Also worth the look is the Android version of Temple Run 2, which already has an Apple version just last week. We'll see how this year unfolds for amateur & professional Android developers.

predictions for 2013

i'm no professional, but i'm doing this just for kicks, so that come new year's day in 2014, i can look back and laugh at all this silliness.

1. manny pacquiao will win his congressional seat this coming elections; however he will lose in his next boxing match yet again, and thus quit boxing for good.

2. ms philippines will finally win a title in any of the 4 titles: ms universe, ms world, ms international, or ms earth. successes in the first two will be sweeter since there has been significant drought in those two pageants.

3. some medical school will get 100% in the licensure exam this year; I dare not say which school.

4. tv5 will gain significant audience share that it will almost overtake the #2 spot in megamanila currently held by abscbn.

5. a girl will win american idol season 12 (after a string of guys in the past few seasons).

6. Amour (from Austria) will win best foreign language film in the Oscars this year.

7. by the end-of-the-year, PSEi will have reached 6000 or more. there is significant resistance at 6500, support at 5500. overall trend is bullish.

8. given the cyclical nature of forex, USDPHP exchange rate will not breach the $1:P40 barrier, but will have strong support at $1:P47.

9. nadal will have a strong comeback, my good ol' fed will have a lackluster year, and murray will win wimbledon (after what happened last year).

10. by then there will be more female senators in the 16th Congress than there is now (only 3)

11. star trek will hopefully gross higher than man of steel and iron man 3; an animated movie will be in boxofficemojo's annual top 5

12. there will be at least one storm that will pass through the mindanao landmass again, with maximum winds reaching at least tropical storm status, but hopefully it will be less devastating and the townsfolk will be more prepared by then

13. Ateneo will not win UAAP basketball this year, and fans will mourn

14. UP will remain the highest ranking university in the Philippines according to QS and/or THE, but DLSU and Ateneo will be a few notches up in the Top 500 compared to last year's ranking

15. sports dominance in the SEA Games in Myanmar this year will be a toss-up between Thailand and Vietnam; the Philippines will finish lower this time around at a dismal 7th

i will probably write a second set of predictions after this :))

plans for 2013

my horoscope for 2013 tells me this:

Taurus

Your commitments to others will deepen and you will come to realize how much you truly value your loved ones... Saturn will show you which ones are worth hanging onto and which ones you have outgrown. 

Change comes hard if ever in the life of a steadfast and loyal bull, but alas this is your year to let go, let go, let go... You are about to learn powerful lessons in how resourceful and resilient you can be when you finally relinquish your need to possess and control.

This is the year to use that restless energy and take a risk to merge your passion and your work... You're never one without a backup plan, or two. It's not about doing something reckless but it is about doing something deliciously daring.

I'm already anticipating a major overhaul coming my way this year. What with the thought of clerkship looming and a-secret-plan-I-dare-not-say keeping me awake at night, I'm terribly excited for all these things.

I'm quite saddened that I have to let go some of my commitments outside medical school from the past year. I realized after going through my short rotations in Obstetrics, Pediatrics and Surgery this year that balancing workloads was already difficult during my ICC year - aka junior clerkship. The real clerkship this year will demand extra time, as this will be the real deal, and I have to prioritize that in due time.

Nonetheless I've really learned a lot from my experiences, particularly from the amazing people I've met in 2012 who've dedicated their time and effort to the various causes we strive for: ms. paula, mr. gohary, and all my GV lingua teammates; mr. zyrus, ms. cipres, and all my tedx friends; dr. adamic, dr. caffo, mr. cairo, dr. pagano, dr. cook, all the teaching staff who taught me useful things through the internet, and the fb friends who shared their answers to difficult homeworks.

Anyway, I'm not planning on leaving hurriedly; I'll take each step carefully. I'm thinking of resourceful ways to pass on the responsibilities to those with capable hands, in due time.

Most importantly, of course, I will eagerly anticipate for that day when that secret-plan-I-dare-not-say will come into fruition.

Cheers to 2013!

epidemiology from the bible

 Book of Daniel 1:11-15
New International Version (NIV)

11 Daniel then said to the guard whom the chief official had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, 12 “Please test your servants for ten days: Give us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink. 13 Then compare our appearance with that of the young men who eat the royal food, and treat your servants in accordance with what you see.” 14 So he agreed to this and tested them for ten days.

15 At the end of the ten days they looked healthier and better nourished than any of the young men who ate the royal food.

empowering the future generation

Medical students should not just aim to become competent clinicians, but to see themselves as educators and social mobilizers as well.  Our group, the University of the Philippines College of Medicine Class 2015, together with the Department of Community Medicine, was given a unique chance to educate high school kids at the ERDA Technical and Vocational Secondary School in Pandacan, Manila.

We were told that these kids were truly intellectually gifted despite the various socioeconomic hardships they have to face; many of these kids depend on external financial aid.

Last September 13, 2012 was just the first leg of a series of workshops that UPCM2015 facilitated for ERDATech students. Our aim for that particular day was to increase the level of awareness about common vices that are pertinent to this vulnerable age group, such as smoking, alcohol drinking, illicit drugs, & internet addiction.

What followed was a very productive day of lectures, role-playing, games, and group discussions; we were very much surprised with their eagerness to participate in the activities.

We were also surprised with ourselves since this was our group's first collective effort to reach out to high school kids. It felt like we were the right people to give advice to these kids, after all, since we understood the peer pressures of youth. It was also our hope that they can tell their parents and relatives about the detrimental effects to health of cigarette smoking, alcohol drinking, drug abuse, and internet addiction, because these are important risk factors that we always encounter in our patients in the clinics.

 In empowering these kids the pertinent values of avoiding these vices, we feel that we have also empowered their individual families. We also feel that we have empowered ourselves somehow with an actualized sense of social responsibility.

We hope that these kids gained some useful insights through the knowledge, skills, & attitudes we've taught them. As this is only just the beginning of our year-long program, we can't wait to see them again this October, and certainly for the next few months in the future.


This post is dedicated to Global Action Day 2012, a global collaboration with this year's theme "The Power of We". Join the conversation using the hashtags #powerofwe, #blogactionday and #BAD12.

the birthday puzzle

how many people in a crowd do i need so that i have a 99% chance of finding at least a pair of individuals who shares the same birthday every year?

the answer, surprisingly, is 57.

read more about this classic birthday conundrum in this NYTimes post, as i can't fully explain to you the math behind it as succintly as that author did.

to fully test this theory, i got hold of UPCM 2015's class list, isolated the first 57 people on that list, and took note of their birthdays on a separate spreadsheet.

January 21, 1989
January 23, 1991
January 28, 1988
February 17, 1989
February 27, 1989
March 10, 1988
March 12, 1989
March 26, 1989
March 26, 1989
March 26, 1990
March 29, 1988
March 5, 1992
April 1, 1989
April 10, 1989
April 12, 1988
May 17, 1988
May 7, 1990
May 8, 1990
June 11, 1992
June 18, 1989
June 23, 1989
June 25, 1989
June 29, 1984
July 1, 1987
July 13, 1986
July 16, 1990
July 20, 1990
July 26, 1989
July 27, 1988
July 31, 1989
July 8, 1990
August 12, 1992
August 2, 1991
August 25, 1989
August 26, 1989
August 4, 1988
August 7, 1989
September 10, 1989
September 11, 1990
September 2, 1987
September 2, 1988
September 25, 1988
October 11, 1988
October 13, 1990
October 26, 1988
October 28, 1989
October 31, 1991
October 6, 1989
November 17, 1989
November 2, 1992
November 24, 1988
November 4, 1988
November 5
December 11, 1989
December 17, 1991
December 30, 1990
December 9, 1989

it turns out that the theory holds water!

coincidentally i was taking a module on probabilities and variances last week, and i only got 57.1% in that week's quiz. guess i need to review my math.

free translation course

The Department of Languages at the British Open University is planning the OT12 MOOC, a Massive Open Online Course on Open Translation tools and practices. The pilot course will run from the 15th October to 7th December 2012 for a total of 8 weeks. Read about the learning objectives of the course through their website.

It is for anyone involved in the translation profession, particularly for English & Spanish language learners. They are inviting professional linguists, translation students, and language enthusiasts to join. At the end of the modules, the participants are expected to:

• appreciate open translation tools and generic translation skills
• develop some useful employability skills in a global perspective
• promote multilingualism and intercultural communication
• appreciate well-established community translation projects such as Wikipedia, TED talks, and Global Voices
• and develop translation skills in subject specific domains through translating Open University's OpenLearn content.

Visit the OT12 MOOC website to apply for a free slot.

free infographics course

The Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas is launching its first ever online course, Introduction to Infographics & Data Visualization, which begins on October 28 and ends December 08.

you may register via the official web site.

you may read also the press release here.


Introduction to Infographics and Data Visualization from Knight Center on Vimeo.

tedxdiliman 2012

the stage is set for tedxdiliman

urban graffiti defines a strange facet of the city.
photo by benjamin dela pena

the future of human rights according to atty ted te

former senator leticia ramos-shahani describes the differences in distance
of scarborough & spratlys from the philippines and from china

director jose javier reyes postulates that in man's struggle
to be at one with the world, he ends up being just one 

casa de san miguel stirs up the atmosphere with some
gut-wrenching music on strings

rick rocamora displays his knack for visual storytelling

tony oposa reminds us that we have only one earth

jaemark tordecilla explains how the azkals team easily got 1 million pesos
from manny v pangilinan

this was ermita near roxas boulevard during a foregone era

and these stuff are my take-home souvenirs from tedxdiliman 2012 (plushies not included):

tedxdiliman shirt

the cover reminds me of a psychedelic mc escher painting

my nametag is without a last name

forty-third TED translation

Ipinamalas ni Pattie Maes ang "Sixth Sense," ang teknolohiyang sinusuot na babago sa lahat
TED2009, filmed february 2009, postedmarch 2009
Translated into Filipino by Polimar Balatbat
Reviewed by Schubert Malbas

forty-second TED translation

Ang ninuno ng wika, ni Murray Gell-Mann
TED2007, filmed march 2007, postedjune 2008
Translated into Tagalog by Chris S
Reviewed by Schubert Malbas

seryoso na 'to

my spanish is getting rusty again, after 1 month of disuse. ugh

astrobiology & mims

the search for extraterrestrial life & life-saving drugs sit next to each other

i have to thank my pharma elective for teaching me to look at mims to list down the costs of each drug. it was my first time to appreciate such a neat book. looking back, the publishers of mims actually turned me down when i applied for a job at their company as mims researcher/writer.

as for my astrobiology book, it was another rescue sale i did at booksale for only 20 pesos; i consider that as rescuing because they'd rather stay with me and be read, rather than collect fungus on a shelf while no one bothers to purchase them. i've never got past chapter 1 because of the pharma reports last week; we'll see if my schedule this week, together with a bit of clinical work from ortho-rheuma-rehab, can accomodate some geek lovin'.

mga biskwit

nabawasan ng isa dahil kinain na 'yung condensada flavor

mga kape

nagsulputan ang mga 3-in-1 ngayon na parang kabute 

urban water art

This is pretty awesome... I'd say both  awesome and pretty.


Water Light Graffiti by Antonin Fourneau, created in the Digitalarti Artlab from Digitalarti on Vimeo.

The "Water Light Graffiti" is a surface made of thousands of LED illuminated by the contact of water. You can use a paintbrush, a water atomizer, your fingers or anything damp to sketch a brightness message or just to draw. Water Light Graffiti is a wall for ephemeral messages in the urban space without deterioration. A wall to communicate and share magically in the city.

The Water Light Graffiti project is a creation of Antonin Fourneau and his team. The art installation was done in Poitiers, France last July. I can imagine this LED board being installed on the seaside park behind the mall of asia. It's going to be a hit.

rescued some books

some basic tools

¿cuál es correcto, oto-ophtha or ophtha-oto?

books on a long weekend

un mensaje de señor carl sagan

just months before he died in 1996, author & scientist Carl Sagan wrote a message to all the future colonists of the planet Mars. who knew that just about 16 years later, we're celebrating a major breakthrough towards colonizing our neighboring planet.