Top 10 Things I Learned at Geeks On A Beach 2

As I mentioned in one of my earlier posts, I had just attended my first Geeks on a Beach with my friends in the Bohol startup community. I got so bummed with not being able to go with them the first time so when I heard there would be a group discount for the next one in Cebu, I jumped at the chance and cashed in months early.

GOAB2 with hosts Dave and Albert

Naturally, I learned a hell of a lot while listening to all the talks, most especially during the Breakout Sessions I joined _{(which starstruck me a bit when sitting face-to face with people like Gwendolyn Regina and Mike Prasad)}. A few hilarious and completely embarrassing stories I can share with you regarding the topic of being starstruck was when I had the privilege to greet Janette Toral as she entered the venue. We've interacted before and I helped her with promoting her event once but that didn't stop me from making a fool out of myself in front of her. Same thing when Ravi Agarwal approached me to ask about MLePay, one of Symph's startups, during one of the breaks. I was all "Uhh.. haha.. I umm.. Yeah", being a total dumbass because I couldn't believe these people were taking to me in the flesh. All jokes and embarrassment aside, they were awesome people and were quite forgiving of me at times in our conversation when my brain gave up on me when I needed it most. 

For this post, I will bother you people with the "10 Things Ashley Learned at Geeks On A Beach 2" with the purpose of one, sharing what I learned and two, to keep myself from forgetting said learnings.

GOAB2 venue sans people

1) Portfolio Company 

A portfolio company is a company or entity in which a venture capital firm, buyout firm, holding company or other investment fund invests. All of the companies currently backed by a private equity firm can be spoken of as the firm's portfolio. * 

When put in the startup view of things, portfolio companies are basically the companies being funded or invested in by larger organizations. Like Tactiles and Nyfti from Ideaspace.

2) Bootstrapping Company

A situation in which an entrepreneur is starting a company with little capital. An individual is said to be boot strapping when he or she attempts to found and build a company from personal finances or from the operative revenues of the company. * 

Bootstrapping was what we did when we launched our new office. We did ghetto cut-outs as the office's signage and smacked on a Wordpress theme and did impromptu pictorials a day before opening to the public. Bootstrapping is what many startups do, usually during validation and testing, based on what I've seen so far.

3) Venture Funding

Usually a high-risk/high-return opportunity done by investors for startups with strong growth potential. As a small-to-medium business starts up, some founders feel the need to get an investor up front. Negotiations happen between the startup and the investor as the latter gives a certain amount to help fund the business and in turn, gets private equity stakes.

4) E-Commerce Law

Also known as Republic Act No. 8792, it is

An act providing for the recognition and use of electronic commercial and non-commercial transactions and documents, penalties for unlawful use thereof and for other purposes. *

The law puts the Philippines in the global market, making virtual contracts, online banking and connects all government departments to the internet and provide universal access to the public. More of the law explained in this wonderful post. 

5) Hacker News

The HN concept was quite new to me when I started research on it for this post. I've heard many of my colleagues refer to it when a substantially interesting event happens in the tech world. As it was repeatedly referred to by both participants and speakers, I decided to give it a look.

I honestly found the site very boring at first glance and only came back to it two hours later, but as I finally decided to give it a chance and actually read through some of the links I realized that the site was overflowing with information that actually matters. I should make a note to check what's up everyday.

6) Curating Serendipity

The most fun presentation for me in the whole event.

7) Success in Digital Media = Right Mechanism + Audience + Brand and product

8) Bitcoin Miners

Bitcoin is, for a lack of a better term, virtual money. This virtual money has value though and you can purchase anything with it, from books, clothes to property and real estate. Bitcoin come from Miners that are tasked to approve transactions and solve certain algorithms to generate more Bitcoin in return. Its software is completely free and open-source and, as I browse sign in Coins.ph, seems really interesting and convenient. Will probably make a separate post out of this soon once I've done a few transactions.

9) State of Philippine's Media Culture

In one of the breakout sessions in the second day, I got to hear Kaloy Uypuanco talk about his and his team's effort to revive the Visayan culture in the youth. I felt that this deserved a separate post entirely so I wrote something really quick previously, especially after I got to hear another speaker talks about the same issue at another event.

10) 10 Internet Facts by the World Startup Report

Google is a monster, overpowering all the world's tech companies together that it had to be put in a separate pie chart. The ranking of countries in slide number 5 shocked me so much that Andrius, Lead researcher of the World Startup Report, had to reassure me.

Want to know more about our Internet Hall of Fame Research? Ask us anything on Reddit: http://t.co/I4apcjMtYV
— World Startup Report (@WorldStartupRpt) June 16, 2014

One last funny story to tell you is that Movenpick Hotel, the venue of GOAB2 has these fancy rooms by the lounge. I needed to use the restroom and the concierge gestured to a room hidden away at the corner. I went in and thought:

Where am I?

I then noticed the drier and went around looking for a sink but didn't find any. Then I saw a door handle and lo and behold,

This is the bathroom??!!

So yeah, those green tube-like structures were the sinks and water came down on your hand like a waterfall. The experience was similar when my family and I went to hong Kong and I got to experience sinks with sensors for the first time.

It was good to see old friends again and I definitely had fun at the event, especially since I got to help the organizers on occasion. Cheers to Techtalks.ph and on to the next event!

One of the very few decent selfies I take for #goab with the Bohol + Joseph team @benskelton @jaypaulaying pic.twitter.com/4nvdFbJBYg
— Ashley Uy (@mashleyuy) August 21, 2014

Reaching Goals and Setting New Ones

Last year, I set a goal for myself. 

"Do something great before I turn 20."

 It was a very vague goal, with no measurements or events that would let me know if I've definitively achieved it, just "something great". I found out a few month later, however, that setting a goal so figuratively wasn't the best practice one should use but i decided to run with the idea and, with or without me knowing, the decisions I made from then on would lead me to achieving this goal a year early, at least in my standards.

Ideaspace #Technopreneur Bootcamp Bohol 2014

Just recently I had had the privilege to once again work with the wonderful startup community that led me to this path. Our friends at Ideaspace, after witnessing the success of Startup Weekend Bohol, wanted to hold Bohol's first Ideaspace #Technopreneur Bootcamp. Naturally, the local tech community and organizers of Startup Weekend Bohol _{(i.e. the TechTalks Tagbilaran community)} were contacted and tasked to be field organizers and prepare the group before Ideaspace arrived from other engagements.

Meeting New Friends

Much like our experience in organizing SWB, there was a deep low on the number of participants. Working with my friends in TTTagbilaran was clear as a whistle as everyone had the right connections and drive to push through all the technicalities and logistics needed for the event. Giving it our all, we only managed to get 15 to 20 pre-event submissions. 

Ideaspace arrived, the venue was set for an assumed 115 participants and the TechTalks Tagbilaran team were internally screaming. But lo and behold, 135 participants showed upa nd idea submissions bamfed up to 41 before the mentor's Cafe started, which immensely delighted our friends from Ideaspace. "You seemed like you weren't worried at all! You were so relaxed!" One organizer said to us, core organizers, referring to our mental and emotional state a day and a few hours before the event started when things looked grim. We awkwardly laughed and replied "It's because we couldn't do anything more to make the situation any better."

Startup Weekend Bohol 2014

The situation was just as grim in before Startup Weekend Bohol opened a few months ago with a high number of "free" participants and a low number of "participants who would pitch". Mentors and Judges, both local and international, were there at the opening night looking forward to hearing Bohol's bright ideas while the organizers and I looked at each other in the sidelines with weary eyes about the number of people we expected to actually go up front. Much of our efforts in pre-event bootcamp sessions were, although fun, only attended by a handful of people. We thought the event would be a bust since nobody had an idea to share but the people of Bohol thought otherwise. One stood and pitched, then a group of two then a third and the next thing I knew half of the seats were empty because everyone wanted to stand up and share!

My first ever Press Conference

So much to say, the experience of going out there and engaging with the local community opened my eyes and taught me many lessons. To never underestimate the ability of people and to never ever give up when a challenge has been put in front of you.

Hanging with the big leagues

Being able to organize two such prestigious events was such a mind-blowing thought to me when I realized I had actually reached my goal. Hopefully, I am proven wrong and another bigger chance for me to "do something great" presents itself in the following five months but basking in the afterglow which was the Symph experience, I just wanted to look back at the things I was able to do in just a year following my decision to make myself better and man did I do a lot.

Chilling at Geeks On A Beach 2

One of which "lot of activities" I got to do was attend my first ever Geeks On A Beach at Mactan, Cebu. I met new friends and reconnected with old ones and once again learned so much that my experience at GOAB2 deserves a separate post on its own.

All the reflection and self-praise aside, being exposed to these events and communities of such crazy and passionate people, you get to look deep into yourself and makes you think about what part you play in all of it. Saying that, I think it's time to set another goal for myself, with output i can actually measure this time so I can't cheat.

"Symph has to be a purely startup driven/developing company before I turn 23. By then, I also have to be an expert at Rapid Prototyping and reliable at Growth Hacking. " 

And when I say "purely startup driven", I mean "purely startup driven". No client projects, no odd jobs, just purely the team around a table working together to solve the world's problems.

That was quite an intimidating dream actually and I'm very tempted to change it, but setting such a high standard for myself will only benefit me in the end, I think. "It won't be too bad, I hope", says the idealist me as I type this last sentence sealing my fate to this three-year commitment.

Developing Startups and my Internship

It has been five months since Clint and I joined Symph as their newest Creative Interns and I have to say, it's been one hell of a ride. As I'm writing this, my time with Symph as their newest intern is ending. And in this post, I'd like the future me to know that whatever might happen, after I graduate university or when I seriously pursue my career, that my experience here in Symph had been a great one.

My story with them started two years ago in my first ever Startup Weekend Cebu. Dave, one of the Symph founders, approached me after my team mate, Lawrence _{(who ended up being my co-intern two years later)}, presented on Sunday Night. I vaguely remember Dave asking me if I did the graphics for our team and if I was still a student or not. Ever since, I've kept in contact with Dave and Albert and some of the Symph team members in some way and, if they ever knew it or not, they've continuously given me a source of motivation and inspiration to keep on doing what I was doing and to strive for the best.

Team Symph on their way to Team Lunch

Getting accepted into Symph the day we applied was like dream come true to me _{(statement justified by my reaction)} and it's hard to believe it's been five months since then. I can justify that the time we spent with them weren't all fun and games though. On the first day we officially entered the then old Escario office, we were tasked to help with data entry in one of the Wordpress sites the company was developing at the time. I was already familiar with it's interface, being in charge of media during Startup Weekend Bohol, so I was pretty ok with the task, as opposed to my friend who had looked at the dashboard for the first time.

Francis and Kai shenanigans

The following days were Albert, one of Symph's founders, getting us to learn Git, Python and Google App Engine and how it all plays out together in development. Clint opted out of the program and decided to focus on his design, working with Dan, the company's Chief Design Officer. A lot came out of that study for me. I learned how to apply what I learned in a working environment and I got to understand what it takes to be a developer in a startup _{(at least a taste of it)}. Albert assigned to me one of the old startups the company used to work on as my project for this internship. Askbuildshare is basically a list of problems and possible solutions that the public can access and validate or possibly help solve.

It started out that way at first but then, after a long talk, pivoted to a tool to help manage thesis projects for teachers and then pivoted again after testing to the original idea. The direction we wanted to take was that the higher ups in the academe would approve of the system so students can use it as inspiration for their thesis works. I went through the whole process myself from the development to the testing, leading up to the launch.

A lot happened in those months from staring at code for a whole weekend, trying to fathom where that id led to, to ending up deleting two months worth of code only to go back to phase one. The lessons I learned in that process were immeasurable though and I wouldn't change any of the challenges I faced then even if I could.

We are OKr

Of course, the fun part about working with a startup is the ability to see it grow and work on other projects that could possibly make the company big. Clint and I witnessed one of the company's milestones when we upgraded from the Escario office to the The TIDE, we've seen co-workers and friends come and go in the past few months and more importantly, we've got down and dirty with Symph's most recent startup, Outdoin.

We've obviously upgraded ourselves, practiced, watched tutorials, lazed around by ourselves or with other co-workers and just generally bonded with the team. I learnt so much in my stay with them and only hope to extend my experience with the company once I've graduated. A lot can happen in one semester and I can only hope Symph will miss me as much as I'll miss them. Thanks, guys v(=∩_∩=)ﾌ

GDays Mandaue 2014: Musings on Innovation

Overview of GDays Mandaue here.

The first speaker up for the event was Wilson Ng of Ng Khai Development Corp. It was really inspiring for me to hear all the efforts he and his team made to pursue their desire for innovation.

"A businessman isn't necessarily an entrepreneur. An entrepreneur is someone who creates new wealth through innovation."   -Wilson Ng

He first talked about how innovation starts businesses. What are your consumers' unmet needs and how do you, as an entrepreneur, fulfill it? For me, that guide question is something I've been mulling about for at least a year now. Starting my own business has always been at the back of my mind and I know, in time, I can do it, but what would it be about? An Internet Cafe? That'll be okay I guess but let's save that option as a last resort. An IT Solutions Company? Plausible. I mean, I know a few people I can work with if it comes to that but there are a few _{(abeit underground ones)} popping up here in Bohol and there are a ton in Cebu so it isn't something that hasn't ever been done before _{(in the two given provinces at least)}. I want to start something new, something fresh, something I'll love doing, but everyone wants to do that now, don't they. I guess I'll have to give that question 5 more years to think about.

"Open yourself up because business opportunities will come and go." -Wilson Ng

That is so true. I look two years back and I couldn't have gotten this far if I hadn't opened up to my first StartupWeekend or, if I look ever further, took the responsibility of being the Web Developers' Guild president, the opportunities that I got today, all the entries of this blog actually, wouldn't have happened. So thank you WDG :)

Mr. Ng mentions that there are two ways to do business: 1) Use proven techniques and 2) Try to do something new. Obviously, an idealistic person _{(such as myself)} would pick number two but is it really that easy? To do something no one has ever done before? The challenge isn't only the "how" but the "what", too. What hasn't been invented yet these days. You have to have a special mind _{(not a Beautiful Mind because that's just creepy if you get the reference)} to be able to think ways out of the box. Because face it, we use the phrase "think out of the box" all the time but do we actually know where the box is in the first place? Yeah. Think about it.

One misconception about innovation is that we think it's something totally new but in reality, it can be a marriage of two different ideas or the alteration of an existing idea where you can add or subtract something from it. The fact that you took time on renewing an existing business model or product to make it better is already a feat in and of itself. But just don't get it too over your head and end up actually making the product worse than it already was. That'll completely defeat the purpose.

And that's it for my musings on Innovation. Big thanks to Mr. Ng on giving us a "4-month course in 40 minutes" and for really getting my attention. This post will forever be in my "references for future life situations" column in my brain.

I suck at ending my write-ups.

GraphiCon Davao 3: Inspired or De-spired?

Okay first off, let me just talk about the hour we had to go through to get into the cinema. We were outside the mall, assuming an event organizer would be there to assist us since it wouldn't be open for another 30 minutes but nope didn't find one. I wasn't complaining at first, we all have that bad day but I was truthfully a bit disappointed_{(me and my friend, Clint, if you remember him from my SWC3 experience, who came along with me, were really tired from the travel)}.I had high hopes for the event and was pretty excited when we got there so the entry process really put me off. There was this mall manager I presume, who was really stingy, getting mad at us for bringing cameras since we were going to a cinema, as if we were going there to pirate a movie, and even scolding my friend for wearing shorts. Really?! It's as if she didn't know what we were there for! Which I assume was the case. Then the event had to start an hour later than the announced time and the mall air conditioning wasn't even on when we were made to wait and etc etc.

Yeah, reading through that first paragraph makes me sound like a bitch doesn't it. I guess I was just really put off by the initial situation. I could say VISUAL 2013, which I attended last February 9, 2013, fared better with the flow.

But when the event started though. I didn't even want to stand up to pee else I missed anything.

The speakers were fun, inspiring and really talented, the hosts were engaging and overall, although not perfect, the event was a success.

And best of all, they were local!

Special thanks to Paolo who was really accommodating and made me not as bitter as I originally was _{(along with some UIC yearbook staffers that were in front of us as we lined up for entry to the cinema. Awesome meeting you guys!)}.

Here are the speakers and some highlights I really liked during their talks:

Alduane Maño

"I finished an engineering course but I followed my heart and pursued my passion for art and design"  -Alduane Maño- 

HE DOES SOME WORK FOR FREE and for a cause! That's what really caught my attention during Alduane's talk. I mean I guess I can understand some designers doing work for free _{(like me for instance)} for portfolio or networking purposes but wow. That amount of quality and detail and it's for FREE!! He does it for various causes, mostly humanitarian reasons, I forgot which specifically, and does it with so much HEART.

His style has a unique feel to it. Like a "clean sketch", if you will, with thick outer lines and varying strokes which really make it fun and dynamic to look at. He enjoys making flyers and poster for concerts and lively events, he even does some apparel design and CD covers, if I recall correctly. What I'd give to get a shirt designed by him.. Shaaa~

_{He made a Concert poster for Paramore and got the band to sign some so he could auction it off for the benefit of Yolanda survivors. And I got one usigned copy!! :D}

Words of Wisdom:

"Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with so much"

"Make use of what you have"

"Take risks"

"Put your works out there"

"Surround yourself with people that are better than you"

"Find your identity as an artist"

"Your talents and skills will get you to the top but your character will keep you there."

-Proverbs 27:17 -

Humility is your Best Friend

Megan Palero

I couldn't even take any pictures, notes or any reference material for this blog during his talk. I was just sitting there like

Works that inspired Him:

Metropolis
Fantastic World
Metropolis
La Jeatte
Space Odyssey

I got these at least. I'm planing on watching them myself during the holidays. I've seen Metropolis when I was younger but I definitely need to re-watch to get a better perspective on its story.

Alben Tan

"My dream is to become a great artist and be part of something BIG!" -Alben Tan during his ghost fighter days-

He was really fun to listen to with a bunch of funny stories. He had this easy going inner kid aura that I liked so much and all his topics were both inspiring and helpful. He gave us references he uses and what he used to improve his skills when he first started out like being part of Dave Rapoza's Crimson Daggers, doing CGHub Challenges and posting his art on DeviantArt.

"You HAVE to be at least good enough with a traditional pencil and paper if you want to SUCCEED in digital artistry. Learn the basics again."

Basic tips in starting out or pursuing your dream as a digital painter:

Watch a lot of tutorials (did fan arts)

Apply what you learned

Experiment with brushes

It's all about values (lighting, toning, shadows, midtones highlights)

Take your time

Accept criticisms & failures

Wow rainbow! Such colors! (Familiarize the color wheel. warm and cool colors. Easily set the mood of your paintings)

Always work in 300+ dpi

Fliptops! (Symmetry and proportions by flipping canvas horizontally or vertically)

Practice practice practice!

We all started somewhere

!nodoro

Creative process:
the blood, the sweat, the cheers

Okay as a human female well in her teenage years, I would say !nodoro was the best-looking speaker a the event and I bet most would agree _{(even my perfectly straight hetero friend thought so too)}.

His style of delivery was cool and laid back. Inserting a few jokes here and there. Not as fun as maybe Alduane's or Alben's but just as informative and inspiring. His works revolve more around shapes, texts and out-of-the box mediums of different types of art. He does CD covers _{(some for the group in the picture below)}, apparel designs from FISH18 and various other clients. I really liked how he can play with patterns and mix them together to create something totally unique and out there.

Medicine for Anti-Creative Block/Explore other interests:

Music

Films

Books

Emotions

Beer
Communication

Go Out

!nodoro's Tips for YOU:

Break the Rules
Know your Value

Apprentice yourself in Failure

Never be contented to to what you have accomplished. Aim for growth and development

Embrace Criticism
Embrace your passion. Be aggressive.

Meet with your clients

Dan Matutina

It was a blast listening to him again, hearing his "I like Coffee and Toron" intro put me in a really good mood. He's a great speaker and very fun to listen to, talking about topics he personally in interested in. His art style consists of geometrical shapes with vibrant colors and the signature texture he uses. He can manipulate them into whatever he wants them to look like: humans, animals, landscapes, cartoon characters, anime and anything in between. He animates and illustrates, among other things, and leaves a unique, quirky, story-esque feel to any project he works on. I would love to have a mural by him at my house, if I could.

Dan's Tips for YOU:

Always do your best

Don't forget your dreams

Work harder

have other interests

Be nice to everyone

Take risks

Nicolo Nimor

NICKAUTOMATIC is a pretty popular brand at my college, which isn't surprising. Bold outlines with even bolder colors and outrageous designs, I mean, what teenager wouldn't want to have their very own collection _{(Even I have my very own proud set)}. I got into this brand thanks to Clint, heavily basing his own design work on t-shirt brands that revolve around that genre. And again thanks to him, I found out Nicolo is also putting up his works on Designed by Humans and Threadless, if I'm not mistaken. Nicolo was a laid back speaker, much like !nodoro. He does awesome typography _{(which I plan on practicing on in the coming year)} and even more awesome illustrations in the bold outline style I mentioned above, and a mature _{(not M-rated)} design work consisting of nitty-gritty detail in large hand-drawn subjects.

I'm an aspiring clothing brand, What should I do?

Keep going never stop

Accept failures

Be different from others

Put more idea into your work

Be happy of what you're doing

Be inspired and be an inspiration

"Design is the silent ambassador of your brand" -Paul Rand-

"Think more, design less" -Ellen Lupton-

"Do more of what makes you happy" - Johnny Cupcakes-

The Acid House

This was by far the highlight of the night, as the organizers planned. This is the first time I've heard of  "The Acid House" and I bet this won't be the last. The most whispered quote during their talks was most probably:

"They did that?!" said with awe and admiration. 

 So much work on something that lasts for 30 seconds, THIS TALK IS WHAT MADE ME QUESTION MYSELF. The quality of their work was spectacular, as they were generous enough to show us their most recent never-before-seen works for myincheoftheearth.com, Tigertranslate _{(my favorite)}, MYX and My Movie Channel, and the way how they presented everything was just huuuunggggghhhh. But what got me most was not their spectacular work, but their PERSEVERANCE. I mean hours, days, even months of work on something that will be seen for only a few seconds or minutes. All the little nicks and bugs they have to go through to make everything perfect and not to mention the stress, from the project and the team themselves, they have to go through to get the job done. At my level right now, I can't even TALK to anyone else when I'm working on a simple logo design, so much more a motion graphic for such high-end clients.

I had to say I was really impressed with the stuff they were able to do and I think they should be the standard for any aspiring motion graphics team out there, at least in the Philippines.

The Acid House's Tips for YOU:

Present your ideas clearly and confidently
Get the client to trust you
But do not over promise



Again, the event was a complete success and I was glad I got the opportunity to attend. It was really something. Even though I've seen Alduane and Dan at VISUAL 2013 before, listening to them again was still as refreshing and inspiring as the first time. I just hope I can eventually reach their level, you know? I think everyone at the event felt that way. Should I feel inspired and strive to be just like the awesome speakers or just freaking give up because everybody's so much better than me? Artist issues. GraphiCon Davao 3 was held on December 7, 2013 at Cinema 4, Gaisano Mall of Davao.

I have a few shots of the experience and am working on compiling it into a short video. Again, sorry in advance for the bad camera work. I was using a Samsung Galaxy Duo this time and everything was mostly either shaky or blurry. I need a GoPro to share more stuff with you guys. I want a GoPro for Christmas. D:

From (far)left to right: Alben, Alduane, Megan, Mr. & Mrs. The Acid House, !nodoro, Dan, Nicolo 

Me and Clint at Davao Airport(top left); My Alduane Maño PARAMORE poster (top right); G3 Davao goodies (bottom)

Unexpected Inspiration Boost

Ms. Paola Galan's Comment and Picture that made my day :)

I met Paola at Startup Weekend Cebu 2 last year. I haven't really talked to her for that long so the fact that she's able to encourage me like this and make me do better is something pretty special.

I hope I'll be able to catch up to you guys in the future haha :D I'll do my best and thanks for the INSPIRATION!

Blogging: An Unexpected Decision

I never thought I'd start blogging. Well not blogging blogging, but blogging about myself and about things I personally find interesting. Maybe write editorials or other articles on business, religion and other topics _{(which I might add, are interesting in their own right)} but never anything personal.

I guess it's my unnecessary aversion to vanity. Growing up, I've feared girls and have surrounded myself with a close group of guy friends. I'm not saying I totally avoid all contact with the people of the same gender as me but I grow weary when the "girly-girls" are around. The drama is too much for me to handle, I suppose _{(why make life so complicated?)}. After duckface, hashtag _{(the overuse of it anyway)}, self-shots and the like surfaced, my wariness grew. But we'll get deeper into this topic sooner or later.



_{It's funny 'cuz it's true}

Summary 

Starting up a blog is totally unplanned and hopefully I'll learn a thing or two about the topics I'm interested in. The internet is an endless well of knowledge and unique individuals, after all. I'm looking forward to learn from you lot! Cheers!