Look what came in the mail today...

A friend of ours had asked me to write an article for one of the sections of the Philippine Star (The only paper you read from cover to cover...just had to mention that) and yesterday, it was published.

Wee!

Here it is:

The Laptop Lifestyle

Troy Limbago

I've never been a fan of laptop computers. See, I'm one of the very few people I know who still call them that, while everyone else calls them "notebooks".

As a true blue technotard whose knowledge about computers is limited to browsing websites (Facebook, Friendster, Myspace, etc.) and using email and office applications, I have gotten used to and have been perfectly fine with my bulky but trusty desktop computer that I've had for about 2 years. It was only recently, back in December of 2007, that I got my first (laptop) notebook. I didn’t want to get anything fancy or techy, at least that much I knew. I didn’t even think that I needed one at the time. In fact, I’m almost quite certain that I got it based on the following formula: media hype + peer pressure + a bit of need = notebook.

So I ended up with an MSI unit whose model I don’t even know. All I know is that it is, well, black, and runs on a 2.0 gig processor, has an 80 gig SATA hard disk and a video and audio accelerator good enough for me to play Sim City. Sans the attempt to sound like an expert, it’s a simple black notebook with a shiny logo of MSI on the cover. It comes with 4 USB ports (one for the mouse, another for my modem, another for my thumb drive and the last one for the cooler where my unit rests). It also has a CD-drive whose eject button is yellow-green in color. The way I just described my unit is clearly an elaboration of my knowledge of computers.

Photo courtesy of : http://www.dfcomputers.com/store/images/uploads/msi_laptop.jpg

Let’s see, a desktop computer and a basic notebook. Hah! I didn’t think a home could have more than one computer. When I was younger, this picture would have been unacceptable, ridiculous even. But oh, I forgot to count the notebook that my partner uses for work. Sure it’s company-issued but it still comes home to and sleeps in the same room as the other 2 computers. So that comes up to 3.

For a while, things were quiet. We were happy with what we had. I used my basic MSI notebook for my basic computer needs and he uses his techy, high-end HP notebook for, well, his techy and high-demand needs. He brings his unit to work on a daily basis. I, on the other hand, only let my unit take a breath of fresh air whenever I go to my parents’ home in Fairview on certain weekends, and whenever I decide to go to the mall or coffee shop just to use fast (and free!) WiFi connection. There! If there was one thing that I’m thankful for a notebook’s mobility for, it’s the free WiFi connection I get because our darn apartment, while located in Makati (Kalayaan), is unable to pick up internet signal (or is that even what you call it?). We’ve tried everything from WeRoam, to Visibility, to Globe, and Smart, but there’s just no 3G signal. So to keep my friendster friends from worrying why I have not been online for more than 24 hours, and to keep my internet needs met, I go out. Hah! Beat that desktop computer!

At the end of the day though, and after much ranting, we both come home with them, after a long days work. Usually after dinner, and after the usual conversations, we watch T.V. together…all 4 of us with our two cats.

But as technology continuously evolves, manufacturers just wouldn’t stop. They keep getting smaller. 5 months after getting my own notebook, my partner started to drool over mini notebooks. Never mind that he's already using a spanking high-end notebook with cutting edge specs, he wanted something smaller, something like the Asus EEEPC 900 or the MSI wind. He had plans, great plans for a mini notebook.

I tried to keep him from buying, reasoning that, well, 2 people with 3 computer units under the same roof doesn’t make much sense as it is. What else would he be using the extra unit for, right? Wrong. While walking along the Cyberzone area of SM Megamall one weekend, we saw a mini notebook whose specs (and price) were unlike any others we’ve seen. It was a Blue (the brand) mini notebook with (here I go again) an Intel Centrino processor and tiny 10-inch screen. Most of the other notebooks we saw use Intel ATOM or some other processor. Not that I’d know the difference but for the price of 22 K, let’s just say it caused another dent in our finances.

So we now end up with 4, yes 4 computer units under the same roof. So how has it been like so far? Well for one I really thought things like this only happened in movies or T.V. You know, when couples living together use 2 different notebooks and work from home on the same dining table (yes our dining table doubles as a work table) working on two very different things. That’s what happens now, exactly.

In a way, I think its great that we have different units because it allows me to do my thing (update Friendster, MySpace, Facebook and occasionally check work mails), while he does his own tinkering with spreadsheets and project plans and software testing. While others might see it as totally impersonal and may even seem cold, I think that it brings, to some degree, a warm fuzzy feeling to it. Maybe it’s just me.

One thing’s for certain though, gone are the days when households live with and survive perfectly with one PC. Today, it’s not uncommon, if not almost always that homes have more than one unit of computer, where at least one is a notebook. Call it hype, a trend or a fad; owning mobile computers have definitely changed the way we do things at home and almost quite certainly, as in my partner’s case, the way others do business too.

From the very beginning

This article has been staying for quite sometime in my drafts folder. I had intended to start this blog with this entry since I have been a staunch supporter, as a trainer, of Adult Learning Principles. 

I initiate, develop, and implement different types of training programs for the company I am affiliated with. It ranges from client-specific training to management development training. My personal favorite are the trainings the develop the supervisors and trainers, especially the newly promoted ones, if only because I'd like to think that I, somehow, in some small way, become influential in their development as leaders.

For most of the programs that I have conducted, I usually spend the first 2 hours, at least, discussing adult learning principles because I know that if, at the very least, supervisors and trainers knew the fundamentals of how adults learn and assimilate the information, everything else will be simpler. 

So what is it exactly that I want to drive? And why do I spend two hours talking about it?

Well, to begin with, and as discussed in many training books, trainers (and supervisors who coach) tend to deal with their audience in the same way that they were brought up. This means that unless the supervisor has prior experience in dealing with adults, he/she is bound to deal and coach his agent like an elementary or a high school teacher would...pedagogically. That said, unless the trainee has had absolutely no experience in life, then that method would most likely be less effective than if he was dealt with more andragogy.  

There are at least 6 basic principles, from what I learned, that govern adult learning. And I say basic because if we were to get down to its specifics, then it definitely can be further broken down. 

I will post more of the principles but I will end this entry with one of the most common "aha" moments my trainees get in class. 

Adults are practical. In many interactions, be it coaching or training, some trainers/sups become to elaborate in the discussion of the topic without covering the practical side of things, the "why will i do what you are telling me to do" part of the training/coaching. If participants don't see the practical bit of your interaction, then the approach becomes less effective. 

Take Away

So, next time you deal with a trainee/agent, ask yourself: "Why will I, if I were my agent, do what I am telling him to do? And how do i make sure to cover it?"

A facelift

Fine, it's been a while since this blog was created and I haven't really posted anything that made sense. I didn't know what to write about. Plus there was work that kept me busy.

So what do I do for a living? I'm a corporate slave. I work for a mulitinational company to do their bidding. Fine, I exaggerate, a bit. I really am a corporate slave and I really do what my bosses, take note of the plural form, ask me to do. But my realm only covers and spans the training components. 

Anyway, a few weeks back, I was online looking for perspectives from different training practitioners through blogs. I wanted to know what other trainers, training coordinators and training managers were up to, their side of town. Thinking that google had the answer to life's biggest questions, I searched using the words: training, blog, and Philippines. I didn't find any substantial result. 

So does that mean very few, if any, trainers maintain blogs? And if so, why? 

In the end, I decided to give this blog a face lift. I want to spread the word, my word, to the rest of the training community. 

Let's get it on

Ah yes, the sweet smell of something new. It's just like buying something new from a store and savoring the sweet smell of a new purchase.

Of course there are more serious reasons why I created this page, but who wants to hear that? Seriously.

I will be cross-posting periodically from my other page just to make sure that I share a piece of my mind.