The Akashic Field Chronicle

Click here to read other Pick-of-the-Week (POW) entries

As promised, I’ll be trying to blog with a little more semblance of regularity. I figured, what better way to get back into the zone than by bringing back a regular blog segment. Fortunately, I had just the thing in my archives, the AFC Pick-of-the-Week (P.O.W)!  But a weekly segment seems completely unrealistic at the moment. Perhaps bi-monthly sounds a little more practical (we’ll see). Anyway, it’s still a week and I still pick something, just not every week, so there.

This week, I’m picking…

Beamer

LaTeX Beamer to be exact. What’s Beamer you ask? Well technically it’s just another LaTeX package, but a pretty awesome one if you ask me. A friend introduced it to me while I was doing my MS at  UP Diliman and I’ve been a huge fan ever since.

It’s basically a package (i.e. an extension) to LaTeX in order to make presentation slides using standard LaTeX syntax. If you already write papers or dicussion notes in LaTeX and you’re familiar with its syntax then Beamer is definitely for you. If not, then it’s a perfect opportunity to start learning LaTeX. I previously wrote about how useful it is in this post, and I still believe so.

Why Use Beamer

Here are some reasons why I’d recommend using it:

• LaTeX – It’s built on top of LaTeX and if you think LaTeX is great (esp. for rendering math) then this reason is pretty self-explanatory.
• It Looks Great – It’s hard to sell this claim, esp. to people who are obsessed with PowerPoint. But you have to see it to believe it. Here are some great Beamer examples:
  • A Sample Presentation by Till Tantau (creator of the Beamer class)
  • Demo of different features
  • My MS thesis defense presentation (ok, maybe it’s not great, but it has sentimental value)
• Portability - A Beamer presentation is essentially a PDF file so it will work almost anywhere (and preserve ‘animations’).
• Reusability - the LaTeX code in your paper, discussion notes, book or whatever, is exactly the same code used in Beamer. Including the structure (section, subsection, etc.). This means formulas will render perfectly whether you originally used it on a paper or a presentation. If you’re cramming a presentation, you can even make it straight from your paper (just put \begin{frame} … \end{frame} on certain segments)
• Structure - Beamer, without messing with the nitty-gritty, enforces a certain style to your slides as you will see if you look at the examples I have above. Some PPT users might see this as very limiting, but after a while you begin to realize that this actually forces you to adhere to certain rules (font size, image placement, margins, etc.) that actually make your presentations look very professional.
• It’s Free - and not the ‘illegal’ kind of free

Did I mention they look great?!

Who Should Use Beamer (and who might not want to)?

If you regularly write research papers and make presentations (Faculty, Grad Students, Researchers, etc.) then I definitely recommend you at least try it out. If you’re already familiar with LaTeX then I recommend it even more. Also, if you find yourself rendering mathematical formulas very often, then the LaTeX equation rendering is the best there is.

Still, there are some who might not see the point of using Beamer and might not necessarily benefit from the things I listed above. These include:

• People who can’t invest time learning LaTeX - I admit, the learning curve is a little steep and for some people it just isn’t worth it.
• People who want their presentation to focus on the animations – although beamer has some animation capability, it won’t give you that nasty ‘Swivel” animation. Sorry.
• People who need their content to  be accessible to their superiors - and by this I mean, people who are expecting their bosses to re-purpose their hard work to please their respective bosses (you know who you are). You can’t expect the bosses to learn LaTeX. Sorry.

How can I learn?

I won’t go into a tutorial of Beamer, much less LaTeX. Fortunately, Google is your friend. To save you a little effort, here are the tutorials I really like:

• A Beamer Quickstart – this should get you started real quick (huh? wait?)
• Beamer v3.0 Guide – the most comprehensive one I’ve found besides the user manual (also, it’s made with beamer)
• Beamer User Guide – the manual
• LaTeX Tutorial – by Eudean Sun, presented (using beamer!) in a seminar sponsored by the UCLA Graduate Students Resource Center. Specially targeted to Grad Students.

So there. Start making professional looking presentations and make your adviser think you’re actually making progress on your research

Click here to read other Pick-of-the-Week (POW) entries

Oh my! Talk about a blogging break. Lots to write about since my last post on August 3, 2009 (Which according to the site stats is currently the most read post in TAFC to date). The short of it is:

1. I’m done with my MS
2. “Fund the Pinoy” was successful beyond my wildest expectations
3. I’m here at UCLA doing my PhD
4. and, I survived my first ever quarter.

Now, for the long version…

Fund the Pinoy

Knock and the door shall be opened to you. When I went to The Interwebs and asked for Php 364,000 (~$8,000), I knew it was a long shot. Never in my wildest dreams, (those who know me well would probably say this isn’t such a hard feat), would I have imagined such an overwhelming response to such a simple call for help. I could honestly say that this has been one of the most amazing surprises/blessings/experiences I have ever had in my entire life.

In the first night alone, a few hours after posting my plea, I was able to raise more than half the amount. In a few weeks time the total pledges have exceeded my target (although eventually I got exactly what I needed). It was simply amazing how ready people were to help. I was even helped by complete strangers (oh the power of social networking).

So I would like to take this opportunity to thank these people who have given me so much. You know who you are (and of course I do too, since I owe you big time), but I won’t ruin it with a list. If you didn’t get my make-shift certificate on your inbox, please inform me at fundthepinoy-at-urriza.net. It is my wish that your kindness will not go unrewarded and that any hopes you might have for this undertaking of mine be satisfied in due time.

UCLA

The place is gorgeous (which is a lot more than I could say for the rest of LA). I have been here for a little over 3 months (1 quarter) and the place is simply amazing. They say a picture paints a thousand words so:

UCLA Powell Library

This is a picture of the undergrad library which I think is stunning on the outside (wait until you see inside). Here’s a picture of where I live:

Weyburn Terrace (Grad Student Housing)

Unfortunately, I don’t have the luxury of taking that many pictures. Apparently, I also do not have the luxury of blogging for too long . So I will have to cut this one short and continue it some other time. Anyway, I’m staying here for the holidays (sad, I know) so I’m thinking I’ll be able to blog a little more in the next few days.