chaosplay

The Secret of Monkey Island

Wed, 11 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

It is okay. My 8-year-old son laughed at some jokes more than me. But I hated the ending. I knew it was going to be some joke, but it was just blah.

1/5

As Dusk Falls

Mon, 22 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Rating: 3/5

It’s an interactive, movie-style game, and I really enjoyed it on my first playthrough. However, the game doesn’t let you skip dialogue, and on the second playthrough it became frustrating. Having to sit through the same scenes and conversations again made it tedious and boring. I wanted to explore different paths, but the lack of dialogue skipping killed the experience.

Because of this, I’m giving it a 3/5 rating.

Favorite Video Games

Mon, 22 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Xenogears
Tomb Raider series
Uncharted series
Last of Us series
God of War (new ones)
GTA 5
Syberia
Life is Strange
Dreams
Life is Strange: Before the storm
Life is Strange 2
Detroit: Become Human
Nier: Automata
Horizon Zero Dawn
Until Dawn

Starting a Portrait Photography Business

Thu, 18 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Lessons from launching a portrait photography side hustle — what worked, what didn't, and what I learned.

Photography vs Programming: a Minimalist Perspective

Sat, 11 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Balancing a photography side hustle and a programming career through the lens of minimalism.

What Would You Do When You Retire?

Mon, 22 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Thinking about what you'd do in retirement can reveal what you truly want to do right now.

Lake Tahoe Vacation

Tue, 15 Jul 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Family vacation at Lake Tahoe

LLMs and an old dev

Tue, 10 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000

How LLMs helped an older developer keep up with new tech and extend his career.

Louis Tussaud's Palace of Wax

Sat, 07 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Wax figures and oddities in Grand Prairie, TX

Wishlist of shows and movies

Wed, 07 May 2025 16:24:00 +0000

I keep telling my kids that I cannot wait to watch my favorite movies and shows with them when they are older.

Game of Thrones
The Matrix
Scarface
Last of Us
Black Mirror
Fight Club
Arcane
Fallout

Raising Mentally Strong Kids

Wed, 26 Mar 2025 14:55:01 +0000

Raising Mentally Strong Kids (affiliate link) is one of the better parenting books I have read recently. Highly recommended, 5/5.

A lot of parenting books have the same concepts, but it is good to re-read the same ideas with different perspectives from various authors. It helps reinforce those ideas.

The main ideas are:

Focus on yourself first. Fix your issues, get good sleep, handle stress, do hard things, be a good example.
Physical activity is very important for brain development.
Fight Automatic Negative Thoughts (ANT).
Give kids chores, give them hard things to do, let them fail when stakes are low.
Choose authoritative parenting style. But don't nag, let kids learn from their mistakes and be there for them when they fail.

Circle of Life

Sun, 09 Mar 2025 16:51:23 +0000

Nants ingonyama bagithi baba Sithi uhm ingonyama Nants ingonyama bagithi baba Sithi uhhmm ingonyama Ingonyama Siyo Nqoba Ingonyama Ingonyama nengw’ enamabala Ingonyama nengw’ enamabala Ingonyama nengw’ enamabala Ingonyama nengw’ enamabala Ingonyama nengw’ enamabala Ingonyama nengw’ enamabala (se-to-kwa!) Ingonyama nengw’ enamabala (asana) Ingonyama nengw’ enamabala (se-to-kwa!) Ingonyama nengw’ enamabala (se-to-kwa!) From the day we arrive on the planet And, blinking, step into the sun There’s more to see than can ever be seen More to do than can ever be done There’s far too much to take in here More to find than can ever be found But the sun rolling high Through the sapphire sky Keeps great and small on the endless round It’s the circle of life And it moves us all Through despair and hope Through faith and love ‘Til we find our place On the path unwinding In the circle The circle of life Ingonyama nengw’ enamabala Ingonyama nengw’ enamabala Ingonyama nengw’ enamabala (se-to-kwa!) Ingonyama nengw’ enamabala (se-to-kwa!) Ingonyama nengw’ enamabala (se-to-kwa!)

The Whale

Sat, 08 Mar 2025 15:03:19 +0000

This was a hard movie to watch. Initially, it was hard to find sympathy for Charlie, the main character. He is a slob, and you feel a bit of disgust.

But as you learn more about him, you will love him and root for him.

Recommended. 3/5 stars.

Watcher (2022 film)

Sat, 01 Mar 2025 13:31:38 +0000

This was a good movie. Many reviews online said that this was a pretty basic and standard plot, but I still enjoyed it. Maika Monroe’s acting was amazing. Kept wondering if she was just being paranoid or if there was real danger.

3/5.

Leaving Las Vegas (1995)

Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:37:30 +0000

Depressing and real.

It is a good movie, Nicolas Cage was a very convincing alcoholic. There are some disturbing scenes.

Soundtrack is great too.

4/5

Maid (Netflix)

Thu, 13 Feb 2025 13:12:32 +0000

https://www.netflix.com/title/81166770

Maid on Netflix is a gut-wrenching, emotional show about a woman escaping an abusive relationship with her kids. She has very little money and no social support. As a parent, it was really hard to watch. You will cry at times.

Highly recommended. 5/5

Mo (Netflix show)

Sat, 08 Feb 2025 15:31:01 +0000

The first episode of Mo was so annoying that it took several months to finish it. But eventually the show gets interesting.

Mo is so annoying that it is very hard to love him initially. There were moments when he got into trouble for his immaturity and, instead of feeling bad for him, I felt relieved. I hate shows in which there are no consequences for stupid actions. Here, at least, he had to deal with the consequences of his stupidity.

Hunger (2023)

Wed, 05 Feb 2025 15:28:28 +0000

I saw this movie on Netflix. It started off strong but turns into a disappointment at the end.

The movie is about a street food cook who is invited to join a team of top chefs.

SPOILERS WARNING:

The girl wanted to be the best, and she even ended up opening her own restaurant. But in the end, she just wanted to go back to being a street food cook.

I felt disappointed because the message seemed to be that the pressure of being the best is not for everyone. Her family, instead of supporting her, guilted her and wanted her to quit. There was even a weird cooking competition at a party. And the message of the movie seemed to be: don’t be your best.

The Courage to Be Disliked

Thu, 30 Jan 2025 19:03:35 +0000

Just finished listening to The Courage to Be Disliked by Ichiro Kishimi.

The book is in the form of a dialogue between a philosopher and a youth. It discusses Adlerian philosophy.

The book seems to be written from a Japanese perspective. It talks about “shut-ins”, NEET, and other terms for young people who prefer to isolate themselves. I had never heard of these terms; after some research, I learned that it is a huge problem in Asian countries.

Post Malone – Losers

Thu, 30 Jan 2025 11:40:25 +0000

Lyrics:

(Verse 1)

Last callers, last chancers

9 to 5ers, truckers, dancers

Couple Chuck’s, Ern’s, and Chandler’s

With a whole lotta prayers unanswered

Whiskey by noon, and beer before that

Southbound train on a hellbound track

Might just put two middle fingers up and throw one back for all the

People who ain’t ever felt at home

Just spinnin’ on a rock and gettin’ stoned

(Chorus)

Yeah this one’s for the Losers

Road 96

Wed, 29 Jan 2025 12:57:18 +0000

Road 96 is narrative driven video game. It has old school graphics which was pretty enjoyable.

When starting it, I didn’t read much about it, so had no idea what was going on. It didn’t seemed like an interesting story at first. It was later I learned that game changes interactions & story based on your choices. That was interesting, so I started play with choices and see their impact.

The Best TV Shows of All Time

Wed, 29 Jan 2025 12:48:20 +0000

Arcane
X-Files
MacGyver
Seinfeld
The Office
The Last of Us
Fallout
Friends from College
Dead to Me

Sonic 3

Mon, 27 Jan 2025 17:15:43 +0000

This weekend, I saw Sonic 3 with my son.

I have never gotten into Sonic movies, so this was the first Sonic movie I saw. It was a really enjoyable movie, and Ayden really loved it as well.

From a parent’s perspective, I liked that it used some common phrases such as “make good choices,” which should help reinforce these messages.

Photography in the age of Generative AI

Sat, 21 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0000

How generative AI is changing photography and what it means for photographers.

Former Developers and what are they doing now

Fri, 09 Aug 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Ski Mountaineering Shop

jcborro on HN opened a ski mountaineering shop after 20 years in software development.

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23952057

Realtor

Some developer pivoted to real estate.

For example, poulsbohemian on HN, switched to selling real estate after 20 years in software development.

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23952181

Product Management

Product management seems an easy pivot for many software developers.

Ref: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23959642

Leadership Roles

Some developers switched to leadership roles and started to climb corporate ladder. These roles represent different challenges & skill set and opportunity to keep learning and avoid boredom.

2024 Scribdfest in Vail

Mon, 01 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Company retreat in the Colorado mountains

2024 San Diego

Sat, 01 Jun 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Beach days, zoo adventures, and craft beer in San Diego

2024 Fort Worth Stockyards

Fri, 01 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000

A day at the historic Fort Worth Stockyards

The things you own end up owning you

Tue, 06 Feb 2024 06:46:37 -0600

“The things you own end up owning you.” - Chuck Palahniuk.

I was a minimalist. It was a very easy and stress-free life. I did own many things, but only after careful planning, and I was quick to sell things that didn’t meet my expectations or once I stopped using them.

I also used to live well below my means. I felt free because loss of job or any other financial crisis would not affect me much.

Favorite Movies

Wed, 10 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Parenting is hard

Sat, 30 Sep 2023 17:57:32 +0000

Parenting feels impossible until you fix your expectations.

Credit cards vs Pokémon cards

Sat, 23 Sep 2023 17:32:00 +0000

Ayden: I don’t want to lose my Pokémon cards

Amer: ok

Ayden: Pokémon cards are very important

Amer: how so?

Ayden: they have all the information about Pokémon. They are not like credit cards. They are better than credit cards.

Ayden says

Sat, 23 Sep 2023 17:06:45 +0000

Ayden: After we die if plants are eating our body how will we go to heaven

Amer: Our soul goes

Ayden: And we get a new body

Amer: Sure

Ayden: Can we get different skin

Amer: Sure what color you want

Ayden: Pink

The Highly Sensitive Parent by Elaine Aron

Tue, 19 Sep 2023 18:59:09 +0000

Could you be a highly sensitive person? A highly sensitive person is someone who can get overwhelmed by various stimuli such as noise, smells, or clutter that would not bother most people.

I have two kids, and sometimes they are both crying and screaming at the same time. Their screams cause my neck, shoulders, and arms to get stiff, and I feel tingling or pins all over my arms. This sounds like a heart attack, and I am going to the doctor to have it checked, but a quick search showed that this might be due to high sensitivity to noises or screams. And that’s when I learned about Highly Sensitive People aka HSP.

It is so hard to choose

Tue, 12 Sep 2023 02:36:58 +0000

Ayden deciding his career:

“There are so many cool job, I want to be fireman, goalie, dad, police officer, monster truck driver.”

Backup VPS

Sun, 10 Sep 2023 11:38:32 -0500

Here are simple steps to backup your VPS.

Backup MySQL database

Create a directory to store the backup files. Then run mysqldump command to backup your database.

mysqldump -u your_mysql_user -pyour_mysql_password your_database_name > /path/to/dump_$(date +\%Y\%m\%d\%H\%M\%S).sql

Or you run it as superuser and backup all databases at once.

sudo mysqldump --all-databases > /path/to/dump_$(date +\%Y\%m\%d\%H\%M\%S).sql

To automate this, schedule a cron job that will run this command on a daily basis.

crontab -e

Insert the following line to execute the mysqldump command every day at midnight.

A quick script to build and deploy hugo site on VPS

Wed, 06 Sep 2023 14:06:31 -0500

I had been using GitHub and Netlify for this site but lack of some features such as access to server logs finally got too much. So I decided to move this blog to my VPS.

One thing I really love about using Github is CI/CD and Github Actions. But I wanted something even simpler with less dependencies. So I decided to use a simple bash script to build and deploy the site.

Past Performance Does Not Guarantee Future Results: A Reflection on Human Nature and Trading Strategies

Mon, 07 Aug 2023 19:40:46 +0000

It’s both intriguing and somewhat disheartening to observe how trading concepts often mirror human behavior. Here’s how:

Follow the Trend

In the investment world, the saying “past performance does not guarantee future results” is well-known. Despite this warning, many successful trend followers have found that stocks moving up generally continue to do so, and vice versa.

Interestingly, this concept applies to humans as well. Those who are happy and kind often continue in the same manner or even improve, while those who are miserable tend to spiral downward.

Zygo: Finally listen to everything while swimming

Mon, 10 Jul 2023 15:58:09 +0000

I love swimming but it is hard to swim for more than 30 mins, not because I get tired but because it gets boring.

I had been looking for headphones for swimming but almost all of them are essentially mp3 players. That is because Bluetooth doesn’t pass through water very well. You need to pre-load songs or mp3s. Which would be fine if you only care for music. But I am mostly listening to news or audiobooks. It seems like too much work to use those headphones for anything but music.

undefined method xxxxx' for #< Hash:0x00000 >

Wed, 14 Jun 2023 15:54:46 +0000

This error in our Rails application drove me crazy. The error was like this:

undefined method xxxxxx' for #<Hash:0x000000001234>

The problem was that I was calling a method like this: a_method(var: var)

And the method definition was like def a_method(var: var) which resulted in something called variable shadowing and caused clash between variable passed in the method and local variable being defined.

The fix was to change method definition to def a_method(var:)

Minimalist and Maximalist

Mon, 12 Jun 2023 14:58:27 +0000

In my view, horizontal spaces should be minimalist and vertical spaces can be maximalist. This way you will have a lot of horizontal space to sit at, write on. And walls covered in art to entertain you and also reducing echoes and creating a quieter space.

Fake Plastic Plants

Sat, 20 May 2023 14:58:05 +0000

To me fake plastic plants mean that one is too lazy to take care of real plants but they want to pretend to be someone who they are not.

Nothing wrong with not wanting to take care of real plants. But why not decorate your place in a way that reflects who you are.

How to find the other end of deck drains?

Mon, 15 May 2023 21:13:18 +0000

In our backyard lay a series of deck drains that perennially harbored standing water. Despite my best efforts, tracing the end of these drains proved to be an elusive task, seemingly due to the fact that it was compacted and buried beneath layers of earth.

I even ventured to employ a drain snake to address the issue, but the screws securing the drain covers were victims of rust, rendering them immovable.

Favorite Movies

Mon, 15 May 2023 19:19:38 +0000

My favorite movies in no particular order:

Matrix
Automata
Lion King
the Pursuit of Happyness
The Social Network
Jobs
Scent of Woman
John Wick
Wild
Hangover
Apollo 10 1/2
tick, tick, BOOM!
taare zameen par
The Founder
My Octopus Teacher
Hachi

Script inherits from native type 'RigidBody2D', so it can't be assigned to an object of type: 'Node2D'

Fri, 28 Apr 2023 21:47:32 +0000

Getting this error while following this tutorial in Godot v4.0.1.

In my case, I had added Node2D. The fix was to right-click on the problem node under Scene and click Make Scene Root. And then delete Node2D.

Here is what diff looked like:

diff --git a/2d-game-tutorial/Mob.tscn b/2d-game-tutorial/Mob.tscn
index 9eb1630..e720d7f 100644
--- a/2d-game-tutorial/Mob.tscn
+++ b/2d-game-tutorial/Mob.tscn
@@ -48,20 +48,18 @@ animations = {
 radius = 36.0
 height = 100.0

-node name="Mob" type="Node2D"]
-script = ExtResource("1_73gb4")
-
-node name="RigidBody2D" type="RigidBody2D" parent="."]
+node name="RigidBody2D" type="RigidBody2D"]
 collision_mask = 0
 gravity_scale = 2.66454e-15
+script = ExtResource("1_73gb4")

-node name="AnimatedSprite2D" type="AnimatedSprite2D" parent="RigidBody2D"]
+node name="AnimatedSprite2D" type="AnimatedSprite2D" parent="."]
 scale = Vector2(0.75, 0.75)
 sprite_frames = SubResource("SpriteFrames_c1yjy")
 animation = &"walk"

-node name="CollisionShape2D" type="CollisionShape2D" parent="RigidBody2D"]
+node name="CollisionShape2D" type="CollisionShape2D" parent="."]
 rotation = 1.5708
 shape = SubResource("CapsuleShape2D_h1pjc")

-node name="VisibleOnScreenNotifier2D" type="VisibleOnScreenNotifier2D" parent="RigidBody2D"]
+node name="VisibleOnScreenNotifier2D" type="VisibleOnScreenNotifier2D" parent="."]

Zayn's Words

Sun, 05 Mar 2023 16:41:02 +0000

Dada - Dolphin

DoDo - Shark

Kaka - Orca

Meow - Cat

Moo - Cow

Kaykey - sticker

How to Advance in Your Career as an IC

Mon, 06 Feb 2023 16:52:36 +0000

Interesting post and discussion at Hacker News about advancing as an Individual Contributor. Still debating which way to go.

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34662394

How much can you really get out of a 4$ VPS?

Mon, 06 Feb 2023 16:23:58 +0000

I am a big fan of cheap VPSs. I start many personal projects, bring up a VPS, play around and then wipe it. Never have to worry about accidentally running up a bill in 100s or 1000s of dollars. I run this blog on a $4 server.

So this was interesting to read how far can a cheap VPS go.

Blue Thunder and Moon

Sun, 01 Jan 2023 18:01:06 +0000

Ayden was a curious and adventurous five-year-old boy who loved nothing more than riding in his favorite monster truck, Blue Thunder. He spent hours each day practicing and perfecting his skills, always dreaming of one day becoming a professional Monster Jam driver.

One day, as Ayden was practicing his jumps in the backyard, he suddenly found himself soaring higher and higher into the air. Before he knew it, he was hurtling through the atmosphere, leaving the Earth far behind.

American flag is better than Texas flag

Mon, 28 Nov 2022 16:56:37 +0000

Ayden: Baba, American flag is better than Texas flag.

Me: How come?

Ayden: Because it has more stars!

Every day is a vacation

Wed, 23 Nov 2022 18:22:14 +0000

I think a lot of people would love to live their life as if they are on a permanent vacation. Before I was married, I didn’t make a lot of money but felt like every day was a vacation.

For me, vacation means:

Eating out/not cooking
Not cleaning
Spending time outside
Not working
Ready to travel

Eating out is cheaper than cooking, if you are not picky. I ate mostly fast food. Of course, it is not healthy but it is vacation. Also it is still better than overeating home-cooked meals.

Time to plant

Tue, 08 Nov 2022 16:52:19 +0000

Yesterday, I ordered some tissue culture and planting supplies.

The indoor plants market is huge. There is a lot to learn. There are new terms, new communities to join. But it is pretty exciting.

The main reasons I decided to explore this space is because:

It is slower paced. Cannot pull an all-nighter to make plants grow faster.
My kids should enjoy it. And I can get them involved.
There are interesting methods to master, like creating a perfect environment for optimal growth, growing exotic plants, etc.
It can be scaled to more commercial operations, renting a greenhouse or something similar.
Plants are good for the planet.
If it fails, I will have plants for our home.

Heroes

Mon, 07 Nov 2022 17:01:16 +0000

Follow up to my last post, the people I admire the most are usually startup founders or business people. And then creators of open source software.

This weekend, I also met my engineer turned entrepreneur friend and saw Jobs movie. It seems I know what I should do.

I want a business that gives a lot of freedom, especially freedom to be with my kids. If I can involve kids in the business, it would be even better. Would love low stress business but it is not a requirement.

What you should do with your life

Sat, 05 Nov 2022 16:33:13 +0000

“What should you do with your life?” This is the question I almost ask myself daily. I am still not sure what my long-term goals should be.

I have gone back and forth between pursuing my hobbies as a career, focusing on corporate career, and starting businesses.

Recently, I learned a simple question that can provide you insights into your deeper aspirations. The question is:

Who are your heroes?

Ask yourself who are your heroes, who do you feel inspired by, who do you read about, and who were your heroes when you were a child.

My heart is growing bigger

Sat, 29 Oct 2022 14:10:29 +0000

Driving to Ayden’s first Monster Jam show, as the AT&T Stadium came into view, he was getting excited. His heart was probably beating faster, and he could probably feel it. He said the cutest thing ever, “Baba, my heart is growing bigger.”

Why Midlife Crisis?

Fri, 23 Sep 2022 00:00:00 +0000

I am not sure if women experience midlife crisis but I know several men who have experienced or are still in the middle of a midlife crisis. I have a theory that every 20 years, men need a big change.

Usually, there is a big change in 20s, people are moving out of their parents’ homes, going to college or starting their careers.

And when people turn 60, they are getting ready to retire. Downsize their homes.

Don't buy the house

Thu, 22 Sep 2022 00:00:00 +0000

We just recently bought a beautiful single-family home. Before this, we lived in a townhouse. And before the townhouse, I had lived in apartments. Buying a townhouse was a big step, but buying a single-family home is a whole new beast.

First, buying a house is probably a sound financial decision. There are plenty of articles and research that shows people who own homes are financially better off.

But very few people talk about negatives of homeownership. And I think because of the lack of that information, a lot of people make incorrect decisions and end up regretting their home purchase. I did. I had huge buyer’s remorse the day we moved into our new home. I am still getting over it.

Oven Baked Beef Ribs

Fri, 02 Sep 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Found this recipe online, modified it a little, and it is our favorite food right now.

Ingredients

3 lbs meaty beef ribs, (grass-fed)
2-4 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon cajun seasoning
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon paprika
2 teaspoons oregano

Instructions

Rinse ribs and dry COMPLETELY with paper towels.
Lightly coat ribs in olive oil.
Mix together seasoning and sprinkle generously over ribs, front and back.
Place the ribs in a large ziplock bag or covered bowl and marinate in the fridge for 1-2 hours.
Preheat the oven to 250 F.
Place the ribs on a foil-lined baking tray in a single layer.
Add another piece of foil on top to create a pouch for the ribs to cook in. Be sure to seal the edges of the foil so that it’s tight and steam won’t seep out.
Bake on the middle rack for 3 1/2 to 4 hours.
When the ribs are done to your liking, drain off the excess fat.
Serve hot and enjoy!!

via https://divascancook.com/easy-oven-baked-beef-ribs-recipe-bbq/

10 Years Goals

Mon, 11 Jul 2022 00:00:00 +0000

There is a saying that we overestimate how much we can do in days but underestimate how much we can achieve in years.

Nothing makes a father as proud and happy as his children. My biggest guiding principle for my long term goals is to provide Ayden and Zayn with an environment where they can grow to be happy and successful. Also, it is important to realize that I cannot make anyone happy or successful. The only thing I can do is create an environment for them to grow in.

Digital Minimalism

Sun, 26 Jun 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Just the other day, I happened to skim a blog post, “My awakening moment about how smartphones fragment our attention span.” It struck a chord, and I realized that I’m in the same boat. It’s been ages since I’ve properly read a book. Even when I have audiobooks on, I’m doing something else and hardly ever genuinely enjoy them.

I’ve got this habit too, of kicking off loads of projects and then ditching them once it’s time to roll up my sleeves and do the detailed work. Setting up a new project is a rush, but finishing something? That’s a snooze fest.

It's What I Do: A Photographer's Life of Love and War by Lynsey Addario

Mon, 20 Jun 2022 00:00:00 +0000

“It’s What I Do” by Lynsey Addario is probably in my top 10 favorite books. As someone who always wanted to be a serious photographer who would use images to make the world a better place, I felt a real connection while reading this book. While reading it, I imagined myself being in the situations that Lynsey was in and I really don’t know if I would have been able to handle those situations.

Nightmares of a 4-Year-Old

Fri, 03 Jun 2022 00:00:00 +0000

We are in our house on the second floor. There is a giant lobster outside.
There is an Amazon delivery truck. There is a package. There is a car. The delivery truck is crushing the car and possibly the package.

Be the people that Evan's be

Mon, 23 May 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Last year, Ayden got into Minecraft thanks to Evan Storm’s channel.

So we bought Minecraft on PS4 and started to play. I preferred to play in first-person perspective, but Ayden preferred third person. But he didn’t know how to ask me to change the perspective. So he would say, “Be the people that Evan’s be.”

Can you bring toys back home?

Mon, 28 Mar 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Tonight, I was reading the Puss in Boots bedtime story to Ayden. The story begins with the Old Miller dying.

Ayden asked me if people die in real life. I was not ready for this conversation, but I also didn’t want to lie. I said yes and hoped we could move on quickly.

Ayden’s eyes turned teary. In a crying voice, he asked, “Why?”

“It’s just the way it is,” I said.

Avicii - Wake Me Up

Fri, 25 Mar 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Lyrics

Feeling my way through the darkness
Guided by a beating heart
I can't tell where the journey will end
But I know where to start
They tell me I'm too young to understand
They say I'm caught up in a dream
Well life will pass me by if I don't open up my eyes
Well that's fine by me
So wake me up when it's all over
When I'm wiser and I'm older
All this time I was finding myself, and I
Didn't know I was lost
So wake me up when it's all over
When I'm wiser and I'm older
All this time I was finding myself, and I
Didn't know I was lost
I tried carrying the weight of the world
But I only have two hands
Hope I get the chance to travel the world
But I don't have any plans
Wish that I could stay forever this young
Not afraid to close my eyes
Life's a game made for everyone
And love is a prize
So wake me up when it's all over
When I'm wiser and I'm older
All this time I was finding myself, and I
Didn't know I was lost
So wake me up when it's all over
When I'm wiser and I'm older
All this time I was finding myself, and I
I didn't know I was lost
I didn't know I was lost
I didn't know I was lost
I didn't know I was lost
I didn't know

Songwriters: Egbert Nathaniel Dawkins / Michael Aaron Einziger / Tim Bergling

Junoon - Main Kaun Hoon

Fri, 25 Mar 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Lyrics

Jab aasman girnay lagtay hain
Aur zameen jalnay lagtee hai
Aik chhupa huwa khwaab janam leta hai
Sehraon main awaaz aati hai

Mein kaun hoon
Tum kaun ho
Mein kaun hoon
Tum kaun ho
Gham geen hoon
Aur tum mazloom ho

Jab bhook nachtee gaatee hai
Aur nafratein jashan manatein hain
Aik chhupa huwa khwaab janam leta hai
Sehraon main awaaz aati hai

Mein kaun hoon
Tum kaun ho
Mein kaun hoon
Tum kaun ho
Majboor hoon
Aur tum bay naam ho

Aik chhupa huwa khwaab janam leta hai
Sehraon main awaaz aati hai

Mein kaun hoon
Tum kaun ho
Mein kaun hoon
Tum kaun ho
Gham geen hoon
Aur tum mazloom ho

Tum kaun ho
Mein kaun hoon
Tum kaun ho
Gham geen hoon
Aur tum bay naam ho
Tum kaun ho
Mein kaun hoon
Tum kaun ho
Majboor hoon
Aur tum bay naam ho

Poet: Sabir Zafar

Swedish House Mafia ft. John Martin - Don't You Worry Child

Fri, 25 Mar 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Lyrics

There was a time
I used to look into my father's eyes
In a happy home
I was a king, I had a golden throne
Those days are gone
Now they're memories on the wall
I hear the songs from the places where I was born
Up on a hill across the blue lake
That's where I had my first heartbreak
I still remember how it all changed
My father said
Don't you worry, don't you worry, child
See heaven's got a plan for you
Don't you worry, don't you worry now
Yeah
Don't you worry, don't you worry now
Yeah
Don't you worry, don't you worry now
Yeah
There was a time
I met a girl of a different kind
We ruled the world
I thought I'd never lose her out of sight
We were so young
I think of her now and then
I still hear the songs reminding me of a friend
Up on a hill across the blue lake
That's where I had my first heartbreak
I still remember how it all changed
My father said
Don't you worry, don't you worry, child
See heaven's got a plan for you
Don't you worry, don't you worry now
Yeah
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh
See heaven's got a plan for you
See heaven's got a plan for you
See heaven's got a plan for you
Don't you worry, don't you worry, child
See heaven's got a plan for you
Don't you worry, don't you worry now
Yeah
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh
Yeah

Songwriters: Steve Angello / Sebastian Ingrosso / Axel Hedfors / Martin Lindstrom / Michel Zitron / John Martin

Ask HN: What book changed your life?

Wed, 23 Mar 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Saw this post on Hacker News. A lot of interesting books to read.

Book	Links
The Stormlight Archive (series) by Brandon Sanderson	https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30739083
Jacob’s Room, Virginia Woolf	https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=thatjoeoverthr
Dune
Man’s Search For Meaning
How to Practice: The Way to a Meaningful Life - the Dalai Lama
Surely you’re joking Mr. Feynman
Gödel, Escher, Bach: an Eternal Golden Braid
Debt: The First 5000 Years
Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking when Stakes are High by Kerry Patterson
Difficult Conversations: How to Discuss What Matters Most

Luther Vandross - Dance With My Father

Sun, 13 Feb 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Lyrics

Back when I was a child
Before life removed all the innocence
My father would lift me high
And dance with my mother and me and then
Spin me around till I fell asleep
Then up the stairs he would carry me
And I knew for sure I was loved
If I could get another chance
Another walk, another dance with him
I'd play a song that would never ever end
How I'd love, love, love to dance with my father again, ooh
When I and my mother would disagree
To get my way I would run from her to him
He'd make me laugh just to comfort me, yeah, yeah
Then finally make me do just what my momma said
Later that night when I was asleep
He left a dollar under my sheet
Never dreamed that he would be gone from me
If I could steal one final glance, one final step
One final dance with him
I'd play a song that would never ever end
'Cause I'd love, love, love to dance with my father again
Sometimes I'd listen outside her door
And I'd hear how my mother cried for him
I pray for her even more than me
I pray for her even more than me
I know I'm praying for much too much
But could you send back the only man she loved?
I know you don't do it usually
But dear Lord she's dying to dance with my father again
Every night I fall asleep and this is all I ever dream

Wheels and Engine Sound

Fri, 28 Jan 2022 17:40:43 +0000

Last year, we took Ayden to a monster truck show. We didn’t know how loud these trucks could be. So we bought ear protection headphones for him. He was still feeling a little scared.

Later he came up with the idea that the sound of the engine comes from the tires. He would keep telling me that monster truck tires are loud, or that they made it louder after he put on his headphones.

How to backup Kubernetes' Config

Thu, 20 Jan 2022 20:45:36 +0000

The easiest solution seems to be the following script by Stack Overflow user, Timothy Perez

  <pre style="color:#f8f8f2;background-color:#272822;-moz-tab-size:4;-o-tab-size:4;tab-size:4"><code class="language-bash" data-lang="bash">#!/bin/bash

# NAMESPACED EXPORTS
 for  ns in  $( kubectl get ns --no-headers | cut -d " "  -f1 ) ;  do
  kubectl --namespace = " ${ ns} "  get -o = json bindings,cm,ep,ev,limits,pvc,po,podtemplates,rc,quota,secrets,sa,svc,controllerrevisions,ds,deploy,rs,sts,localsubjectaccessreviews,hpa,cj,jobs,leases,ev,ds,deploy,ing,netpol,rs,pods,netpol,pdb,roles,rolebindings |  \
       jq '.items[] |
     select(.type!="kubernetes.io/service-account-token") |
     del(
         .spec.clusterIP,
         .metadata.uid,
         .metadata.selfLink,
         .metadata.resourceVersion,
         .metadata.creationTimestamp,
         .metadata.generation,
         .status,
         .spec.template.spec.securityContext,
         .spec.template.spec.dnsPolicy,
         .spec.template.spec.terminationGracePeriodSeconds,
         .spec.template.spec.restartPolicy
     )'  >> "./ ${ ns} .json"
 done

# NON-NAMESPACED EXPORTS
kubectl get -o = json cs,ns,no,pv,mutatingwebhookconfigurations,validatingwebhookconfigurations,crds,apiservices,tokenreviews,selfsubjectaccessreviews,selfsubjectrulesreviews,subjectaccessreviews,csr,psp,nodes,psp,clusterrolebindings,clusterroles,pc,sc,volumeattachments |  \
       jq '.items[] |
     select(.type!="kubernetes.io/service-account-token") |
     del(
         .spec.clusterIP,
         .metadata.uid,
         .metadata.selfLink,
         .metadata.resourceVersion,
         .metadata.creationTimestamp,
         .metadata.generation,
         .status,
         .spec.template.spec.securityContext,
         .spec.template.spec.dnsPolicy,
         .spec.template.spec.terminationGracePeriodSeconds,
         .spec.template.spec.restartPolicy
     )'  >> "./cluster_non-namespaced_export.json"

Script copied here under CC BY-SA 4.0 license

Crispy-Skinned Baked Chicken Drumsticks

Wed, 19 Jan 2022 23:21:28 +0000

Ingredients

8 (4 oz each) skin-on chicken drumsticks (about 2 lb. total weight)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/4 teaspoon chilli pepper

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and arrange the drumsticks in a single layer on the parchment.
Make the seasoning paste: In a medium bowl, use a fork or a spatula to mix the olive oil, salt, pepper, and spices.
Using a pastry brush or your hands, coat the chicken pieces with the seasoning paste.
Bake the drumsticks uncovered until their internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F, about 40 minutes.
Baste the drumsticks with the pan juices using a clean pastry brush. Serve immediately.

via https://healthyrecipesblogs.com/wprm_print/22974

Avicii – The Nights

Sat, 01 Jan 2022 07:22:12 +0000

Lyrics:

Once upon a younger year
When all our shadows disappeared
The animals inside came out to play
Went face to face with all our fears
Learned our lessons through the tears
Made memories we knew would never fade

One day my father, he told me
"Son, don't let it slip away"
He took me in his arms, I heard him say
"When you get older
Your wild heart will live for younger days
Think of me if ever you're afraid"

He said: "One day you'll leave this world behind
So live a life you will remember"
My father told me when I was just a child
"These are the nights that never die"
My father told me

When thunder clouds start pouring down
Light a fire they can't put out
Carve your name into those shining stars
He said: "Go venture far beyond the shores
Don't forsake this life of yours
I'll guide you home, no matter where you are"

One day my father, he told me
"Son, don't let it slip away"
When I was just a kid, I heard him say
"When you get older
Your wild heart will live for younger days
Think of me if ever you're afraid"

He said: "One day you'll leave this world behind
So live a life you will remember"
My father told me when I was just a child
"These are the nights that never die"
My father told me

"These are the nights that never die"
My father told me
My father told me

Kubernetes not passing full path to Nodejs

Wed, 29 Dec 2021 21:23:42 +0000

I spent hours troubleshooting why the url path was getting stripped from requests in our Nodejs/Expressjs based app. The reason was this line in Kubernetes’ Ingress:

nginx.ingress.kubernetes.io/rewrite-target : /

Removing it fixed the issue. Check the Kubernetes documentation

for more details.

Ask HN: Those making $500/month on side projects in 2021 – Show and tell

Fri, 24 Dec 2021 04:30:18 +0000

I love these kind of posts. Here are some interesting ideas for side-gig:

Books. There are quite a few books there, books for babies, books about iOS dev etc.
Mining Cryptocurrency. This comment got a lot of attention.
Apps. Too many but was glad to see Mac apps generating decent income.
Music. Decent income from YouTube content ID payments according to this comment.
DIY biologist. Seems fun.
A lot of SaaS or content sites.
Flipping items from thrift stores on eBay.

ROI when using your primary residence as rental too

Thu, 02 Dec 2021 16:28:21 +0000

Calculating rough ROI on rentals is easy:

For example, let’s say one buys a $500,000 single-family home and rents it out for $3000 per month. Since it is an investment property, they will need to make at least a 20% down payment. On $400,000 loan, their monthly payment would be about $2750 at 3.25% interest rate, with $10,000 in property taxes per year and $2000 yearly insurance.

($36,000 - $33,000) / $100,000 = 0.03 or 3% return.

Ask HN: Software Engineer hitting 40: what's next?

Wed, 01 Dec 2021 17:46:18 +0000

Recent thread on Hacker News, https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29360119, was very interesting for me especially since I turned 40 this year.

Programming is something I enjoy and am pretty good at it. I’m still not at the top of the salary range for programmers but this is a tough question. I can get into FAANG but there is still a ceiling of how much one can earn as a software engineer.

This comment

says it best:

Hotel California

Fri, 19 Nov 2021 16:02:08 +0000

Hotel California is such a beautiful song. And its deep meaning can apply to pretty much any situation. I have been especially thinking of the last line, “You can checkout anytime you like, but you can never leave.”

A lot of people think this song is about drugs and Hollywood life that is hard to leave. But it can apply to anything. One can never leave their corporate life, they are stuck there forever because they got bills, family, and fear of going on their own. So they can mentally checkout anytime they like, but they can never leave.

Ayden & Simba Go to the Moon

Tue, 26 Oct 2021 15:23:00 +0000

Once upon a time, there was a little boy named Ayden, and he had a little dog called Simba.

One day, Ayden and Simba were playing outside when they saw the moon. “Let’s go to the moon!” said Ayden. But he didn’t know how.

Then Simba remembered their friend — Rocky the Red Rocket. Rocky could take them to the moon!

So Ayden and Simba went to Rocky’s house and knocked on the door. But no one answered. “Let me find him,” said Simba. “I can find anyone by sniffing their smell.” Simba sniffed and sniffed and sniffed — and found Rocky swimming in the pool.

Blue Bus and Yummy Apples

Mon, 25 Oct 2021 15:23:00 +0000

One day, Blue Bus wanted to eat yummy, yummy apples. He looked in the fridge — but there were no apples. So he went to Target to buy some. But Target was out of apples too!

Then Blue Bus went to Red Bus. But Red Bus was out of apples too — she had just eaten the very last one.

Next, Blue Bus went to Green Bus’s home. But Green Bus was out of apples too.

Broken Dreams/Bheegi Yadein by Junoon

Sun, 24 Oct 2021 15:20:00 +0000

As I turn back, my eyes dampen

When I realized my incomplete life

My life became clear to me

Broken promises

Deserted dreams

Broken promises

Seek time's tender shade

Yesterday too, was in ruins

Now is deserted as well

Life asks for a moment of support

Damp memories

Won't let me sleep due to grief

Damp memories

Won't let me live.

By Junoon

Yellow Bus and Red Car

Sat, 23 Oct 2021 21:19:00 +0000

Once upon a time, there was a Yellow Bus. Yellow Bus was very fast — but there was a Red Car who was even faster. One day, Red Car challenged Yellow Bus to a race.

They decided to race from Dallas to Houston. It was the longest race ever! All the cars gathered along the highway.

The referee said, “1… 2… 3… Go!”

Yellow Bus went zoom zoom. But Red Car went zoom zoom zooooom! Red Car was faster, and Red Car was winning.

A Poem by Mirza Ghalib

Fri, 22 Oct 2021 21:17:00 +0000

Translation — my English rendering of Mirza Ghalib’s original.

Mirza Ghalib was the one of the greatest Urdu poet from 19th century. I translated this poem for a school project.

I look at the joys of this world, as I look at the dust.

Crying used to give me pleasure but now my eyes have gone dry.

When I am dead, wind might take my dust to my destination.

I

Thu, 21 Oct 2021 21:15:00 +0000

Who is that is I

Still lost in my mind.

Trying to find my purpose,

When there might not be one.

The first thing was writing

Can words truly change anything?

Why should I write,

When there is so much noise

Are you in that house,

Or are you out here.

I will give up now,

This desert is just too vast.

My voice will not reach you,

Is this even a language.

A poem by Mir Taqi Mir

Wed, 20 Oct 2021 21:13:00 +0000

Translation — my English rendering of Mir Taqi Mir’s original.

Stop crying, this is just the beginning of love.

Hold on and see what will be next.

In the morning, there were voices in the caravan.

Let’s move on and let the sleeper sleep.

On this ground nothing can grow.

Please stop planting seeds of hopes in your heart.

These are marks of true love, they remain forever.

It is not possible to wash them away from your heart.

A Poem by Mir Dard

Tue, 19 Oct 2021 21:12:21 +0000

Translation — my English rendering of Mir Dard’s original.

It was a school or temple, or was it Makkah or a church. We were all guests, only you were the host.

Oh! How sad it is. I found just before death. It was only a dream, what I saw. It was only a fairy tale, what I heard.

How sad it is that autumn is in the garden. There was some grass, which was my friend.

A poem by Allama Iqbal

Sun, 10 Oct 2021 16:29:00 +0000

Translation — my English rendering of Allama Iqbal’s original.

You are neither for earth nor for the heavens.

The world is for you; you are not for the world.

This garden is the place for pain and prayer.

Not for picking flowers or building a nest.

How long will you stay in the rivers of Ravi, Nile, and Farat?

Your ship was built for infinite oceans.

It was nothing, what we have exaggerated.

About

Sun, 10 Oct 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Amer Khalid — software engineer, photographer, and dad. Writing about tech, AI, fatherhood, and the entrepreneurial journey.

Oneness of Humanity

Sat, 09 Oct 2021 16:28:00 +0000

Translation — my English rendering of Josh Malihabadi’s original.

O my friend, a heart does not need hate. All love good but do not even hate bad. Who does not want the softness of flowers? But do not be afraid of sharpness of thorns. There is same blood in the veins of the thorn. It is brought up by same evening breeze of the spring.

Do not throw away dying flowers. Yesterday, they were the glamor of the garden. Once they were also part of the world of perfumes. O passerby! Do not kick dust on their leaves. Though they are no longer in the feast. They were raised in the laps of same morning breeze.

Cigarette

Fri, 08 Oct 2021 16:25:00 +0000

Feeling so empty, and hollow inside, Cannot believe I am writing a poem to a cigarette, but I feel so unsatisfied, unfulfilled, like this poem, half-finished.

Once I Fell in Love

Thu, 07 Oct 2021 16:24:00 +0000

In this hot desert heat,

you were a cool breeze

gone in a moment just as you came,

left me behind to wonder if you will ever return

to mess up my hair,

to touch my thirsty lips softly

you were a sweet dream,

vanished with the stars in the morning

leaving me to wake up in the blinding sunlight,

to look for a shade where there are no trees

Stars & Moon

Wed, 06 Oct 2021 16:23:55 +0000

Translation — my English rendering of Allama Iqbal’s original.

This poem was written by my favorite poet Allama Iqbal. I translated it for my English class during my freshman year.

“The view up here is the same as ever.

We are tired of shining and shining.

Our work is to walk, day and night.

Walk and walk and walk forever.

Everything in this universe is anxious.

Peace, whatever it is, does not exist.

think hard

Thu, 30 Sep 2021 18:31:00 +0000

The other day while putting Ayden to sleep, he looked as if he was intensely thinking. I asked him, “Are you thinking something?”

“Yes,” he replied.

“What are you thinking?” I asked.

“I don’t know what car to play with in the morning, baba!”

Simple Man – Lynyrd Skynyrd

Thu, 30 Sep 2021 05:07:00 +0000

Lyrics

Mama told me when I was young Come sit beside me my only son And listen closely to what I say And if you do this it’ll help you Some sunny day oh yeah

Oh take your time don’t live too fast Troubles will come and they will pass Go find a woman yeah and you’ll find love And don’t forget son there is someone up above

And be a simple kind of man Oh be something you love and understand Baby be a simple kind of man Oh won’t you do this for me son if you can

Fast Car

Thu, 30 Sep 2021 03:59:00 +0000

Lyrics

You got a fast car
I want a ticket to anywhere
Maybe we make a deal
Maybe together we can get somewhere
Any place is better
Starting from zero, got nothing to lose
Maybe we'll make something
Me, myself, I got nothing to prove

You got a fast car
I got a plan to get us out of here
I been working at the convenience store
Managed to save just a little bit of money
Won't have to drive too far
Just 'cross the border and into the city
You and I can both get jobs
And finally see what it means to be living

See, my old man's got a problem
He lives with the bottle, that's the way it is
He says his body's too old for working
His body's too young to look like his
My mama went off and left him
She wanted more from life than he could give
I said, somebody's got to take care of him
So I quit school and that's what I did

You got a fast car
Is it fast enough so we can fly away?
We gotta make a decision
Leave tonight or live and die this way

So I remember we were driving, driving in your car
Speed so fast, I felt like I was drunk
City lights lay out before us
And your arm felt nice wrapped 'round my shoulder
And I-I, had a feeling that I belonged
I-I had a feeling I could be someone, be someone, be someone

You got a fast car
We go cruising to entertain ourselves
You still ain't got a job
And I work in a market as a checkout girl
I know things will get better
You'll find work and I'll get promoted
We'll move out of the shelter
Buy a bigger house and live in the suburbs

So I remember when we were driving, driving in your car
Speed so fast, I felt like I was drunk
City lights lay out before us
And your arm felt nice wrapped 'round my shoulder
And I-I, had a feeling that I belonged
I-I had a feeling I could be someone, be someone, be someoneYou got a fast car
I got a job that pays all our bills
You stay out drinking late at the bar
See more of your friends than you do of your kids
I'd always hoped for better
Thought maybe together you and me would find it
I got no plans, I ain't going nowhere
So take your fast car and keep on driving

So I remember when we were driving, driving in your car
Speed so fast, I felt like I was drunk
City lights lay out before us
And your arm felt nice wrapped 'round my shoulder
And I-I, had a feeling that I belonged
I-I had a feeling I could be someone, be someone, be someone

You got a fast car
Is it fast enough so you can fly away?
You gotta make a decision
Leave tonight or live and die this way

Wealth Lab Pro Earning Play Screener

Wed, 29 Sep 2021 16:12:14 +0000

This is a quick script that I use to find options to buy or sell.

 using  System;
 using  System.Collections.Generic;
 using  System.Text;
 using  System.Drawing;
 using  WealthLab;
 using  WealthLab.Indicators;
 using  Community.Components;

 namespace  WealthLab.Strategies
{
	 public class  MyStrategy  : WealthScript
	{

		 protected override void  Execute()
		{
			DataSeries maFast = EMAModern.Series(Close,  50 );
			DataSeries maSlow = EMAModern.Series(Close,  200 );
			DataSeries maFast_1 = EMAModern.Series(Close,  10 );
			DataSeries maSlow_2 = EMAModern.Series(Close,  50 );
			DataSeries ma = EMAModern.Series(Close,  10 );
			DataSeries maFast_3 = EMAModern.Series(Close,  10 );
			DataSeries maSlow_4 = EMAModern.Series(Close,  50 );

			PlotSeries(PricePane,EMAModern.Series(Close, 50 ),Color.Red,LineStyle.Solid, 2 );
			PlotSeries(PricePane,EMAModern.Series(Close, 200 ),Color.Green,LineStyle.Solid, 2 );
			PlotSeries(PricePane,EMAModern.Series(Close, 10 ),Color.Blue,LineStyle.Solid, 2 );
			PlotSeries(PricePane,EMAModern.Series(Close, 50 ),Color.Red,LineStyle.Solid, 2 );
			PlotSeries(PricePane,EMAModern.Series(Close, 10 ),Color.Blue,LineStyle.Solid, 2 );

			//for(int bar = GetTradingLoopStartBar(201); bar < Bars.Count; bar++)
 			 int  bar = Bars.Count -  1 ;
			{
				 if  (IsLastPositionActive)
				{
					Position p = LastPosition;
					 if  (p.EntrySignal.Contains("Group1|" ))
					{
						 if  (CrossUnder(bar, maFast_3, maSlow_4))
						{
							SellAtMarket(bar +  1 , p, "Group1" );
						}
					}

				}
				 else
				{
					 if  (maFast[bar] > maSlow[bar])
					{
						 if  (maFast_1[bar] > maSlow_2[bar])
						{
							 if  (Close[bar] < ma[bar])
							{
								 if  (EarningsDate.InWindow( this , bar, "earnings per share" ,  7 ,  0 ))
								{

									BuyAtMarket(bar +  1 , "Group1|" );
								}
							}
						}
					}

				}
			}
		}
	}
}

I Took a Pill in Ibiza

Wed, 29 Sep 2021 03:55:00 +0000

Lyrics

I took a pill in Ibiza
To show Avicii I was cool
And when I finally got sober, felt ten years older
But fuck it, it was something to do
I'm living out in LA
I drive a sports car just to prove
I'm a real big baller 'cause I made a million dollars
And I spend it on girls and shoes

But you don't wanna be high like me
Never really knowing why like me
You don't ever wanna step off that roller coaster and be all alone
You don't wanna ride the bus like this
Never knowing who to trust like this
You don't wanna be stuck up on that stage singing
Stuck up on that stage singing
All I know are sad songs, sad songs
Darling, all I know are sad songs, sad songs

I'm just a singer who already blew his shot
I get along with old timers
'Cause my name's a reminder of a pop song people forgot
And I can't keep a girl, no
'Cause as soon as the sun comes up
I cut 'em all loose and work's my excuse
But the truth is I can't open up

Now you don't wanna be high like me
Never really knowing why like me
You don't ever wanna step off that roller coaster and be all alone
You don't wanna ride the bus like this
Never knowing who to trust like this
You don't wanna be stuck up on that stage singing
Stuck up on that stage singing
All I know are sad songs, sad songs
Darling, all I know are sad songs, sad songs (hey)

I took a plane to my hometown
I brought my pride and my guitar
All my friends are all gone but there's manicured lawns
And the people still think I'm a star
I walked around downtown
I met some fans on Lafayette
They said tell us how to make it 'cause we're getting real impatient
So I looked 'em in the eye and said

You don't wanna be high like me
Never really knowing why like me
You don't ever wanna step off that roller coaster and be all alone
You don't wanna ride the bus like this
Never knowing who to trust like this
You don't wanna be stuck up on that stage singing
Stuck up on that stage singing
All that I know are sad songs, sad songs
Darling, all that I know are sad songs, sad songs

Be As You Are

Tue, 28 Sep 2021 03:49:00 +0000

Lyrics

Virginia Woolf and poetry
No one seemed to notice me
Being young was getting so old
Cheap beer and cigarettes
Life was like a movie set
And I seemed to be given no role

But in times of trouble
I can turn to my mother
And I know that she gon' understand
So at age 18
I cried to my mother
And she told me, "young man"

"There are moments when you fall to the ground
But you are stronger than you feel you are now
You don't always have to speak so loud, no
Just be as you are
Life is not always a comfortable ride
Everybody's got scars that they hide
And everybody plays the fool sometimes, yeah
Just be as you are"

They played me on the radio
And everything was changing, so
I thought I was all the way grown
But I can still remember in that cold November
When I realized I'm all alone

But in times of trouble
I can turn to my mother
And I know that she gon' understand
So at age 22
I cried to my mother
And she told me, "young man"

"There are moments when you fall to the ground
But you are stronger than you feel you are now
You don't always have to speak so loud, no
Just be as you are
It doesn't matter if you become some star
Life is better when you open your heart
You don't always have to act so hard, no
Just be as you are"

"There are moments when you fall to the ground
But you are stronger than you feel you are now
You don't always have to speak so loud, no
Just be as you are
It doesn't matter if you become some star
Life is better when you open your heart
You don't always have to act so hard, no
Just be as you are"

Oculus Quest 2 Review

Mon, 27 Sep 2021 14:51:01 +0000

I was debating between PS5 and Quest 2 (Affiliate link), and yes it is like comparing apples and oranges, but in the end Quest 2 won. I will likely buy PS5 at some point though. But before I buy PS5, I need a new TV with 4K and HDR. It seems pointless to play PS5 on 1080p TV from early 2010s.

Quest 2 is not my first experience with Virtual Reality. I tried PSVR about 2-3 years ago but the mess of wires really turned me off with the idea of VR. When I found out that Quest 2 is completely wireless, I got interested in it again. I was not very excited about needing Facebook account to use it though.

To Sufi by Allama Iqbal

Mon, 27 Sep 2021 03:37:00 +0000

Translation — my English rendering of Allama Iqbal’s original.

I translated this poem in my freshman year for my English class.

This is a world of miracles for you.

But for me, this is the world of randomness.

The world of fantasies is poor,

But poorer is the world of births and deaths.

It is no wonder that your gaze will change it all,

The world of possibilities is calling you.

Bulla ki jaana main kaun

Sun, 26 Sep 2021 03:26:00 +0000

Lyrics with Translations

Bulla ki jaana main kaun Bulla ki jaana main kaun

Na main moman vich maseetan Na main vich kufar dian reetan Na main pakan vich paleetan Na main andar bed kitaban Na main rehnda phaang sharaban Na main rehnda mast kharaban Na main shadi na ghamnaki Na main vich paleetan pakeen Na main aaabi na main khaki Na main aatish na main paun

Bulla ki jaana main kaun

New Career Direction

Sun, 26 Sep 2021 03:19:34 +0000

Today Ayden said, “Jack (his friend) wants to be firetruck driver and I will be ambulance driver. Jack will put out fires. I will take people to hospital. It will be so much fun.”

Father & Son

Sat, 25 Sep 2021 00:40:46 +0000

Lyrics

It's not time to make a change
Just relax, take it easy
You're still young, that's your fault
There's so much you have to know
Find a girl, settle down
If you want you can marry
Look at me, I am old, but I'm happy

I was once like you are now
And I know that it's not easy
To be calm when you've found
Something going on
But take your time, think a lot
Think of everything you've got
For you will still be here tomorrow
But your dreams may not

How can I try to explain?
When I do he turns away again
It's always been the same, same old story
From the moment I could talk
I was ordered to listen
Now there's a way
And I know that I have to go away
I know I have to go

It's not time to make a change
Just relax, take it slowly
You're still young, that's your fault
There's so much you have to go through
Find a girl, settle down
If you want you can marry
Look at me, I am old, but I'm happy

All the times that I've cried
Keeping all the things I knew inside
It's hard, but it's harder to ignore it
If they were right I'd agree
But it's them they know, not me
Now there's a way
And I know that I have to go away
I know I have to go

Growing Up by Macklemore

Thu, 23 Sep 2021 16:38:41 +0000

Lyrics

They say boys don't cry
But your dad has shed a lot of tears
They say I should be a strong man
But baby, I'm still filled with fear
Sometimes I don't know who I am
Sometimes I question why I'm here
I just wanna be a good dad
Will I be, I have no idea
They say girls shouldn't be tough
And moms should raise their kids at home
But baby, I know that that isn't true
'Cause your momma's the toughest person I know
I wanna raise you to be like her
And watch you show the world how to do it on your own
I'm still tryna figure out who I am
I don't wanna mess this up or do this wrong
I'm gonna be there for your first breath
I don't know if I'll be there for your first step
I can promise you that I'll try to work less
But the tour's routed, and I got this album
Put in so many hours, and I just want the outcome
To be something that I can look back and I can be proud of
Don't wanna be a dad that's living in FaceTime
But I've got a world to sing to and you at the same time
I won't spoil you, you can trust that
For your sweet sixteen, you get a bus pass
Had your heart broken, been there, done that
I love you and I can't give you enough of that
Get back to community that raised you up
Read Langston Hughes, I suggest A Raisin in the Sun
Listen to Sam Cooke, a change gon' come
You put the work in, don't worry about the praise, my love
Don't try to change the world, find something that you love
And do it every day
Do that for the rest of your life
And eventually, the world will change

I'll be patient, one more month
You'll wrap your fingers round my thumb
Times are changing, I know, but who am I if
I'm the person you become
If I'm still growing up, up, up, up
I'm still growing up, up, up, up
I'm still growing up

I recommend that you read The Alchemist
Listen to your teachers, but cheat in calculus
Tell the truth, regardless of the consequence
And every day, give your momma a compliment
Take your girl to the prom
But don't get too drunk hanging out the limo
Slow dance with your woman in your arms
Sneak her in after but boy, you better tiptoe
Don't wake your mom up, do yoga, learn 'bout karma
Find God, but leave the dogma
The quickest way to happiness learning to be selfless
Ask more questions, talk about yourself less
Study David Bowie, James Baldwin and 2Pac
Watch the sun set with best friends from a rooftop
Wear a helmet, don't be stupid, jaywalk, but look before you do it
If it snows, go outside, build a jump, get some help
Get a sled, thrash the hill with your friends, 'til it melts
Go to festivals, camp, fall in love and dance
You're only young once, my loved one, this is your chance
Take risks, 'cause life moves so fast
You're only young once, my loved one, this is your chanceI'll be patient, one more month
You'll wrap your fingers round my thumb
Times are changing, I know, but who am I
If I'm the person you become
If I'm still growing up, up, up, up
I'm still growing up, up, up, up

I'll be patient, one more month
You'll wrap your fingers round my thumb
Times are changing, I know, but who am I
If I'm the person you become
If I'm still growing up, still growing up, still growing up
If I'm still growing up, still growing up, still growing up

If I'm still growing up
I'm still growing up, ooh
I'm still growing up
I'm still growing up

What do you want to be when you grow up

Sat, 17 Jul 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Yesterday, after I picked up Ayden from his daycare, he said he didn’t know what he wanted to be. I guess they asked him this question in his class. I told him he has plenty of time to figure it out. There is no rush.

Then later at night he said, “Baba, I know what I want to be. I want to be a Tow Truck Driver.” He said it would be so much fun to tow cars.

Importing plotly failed. Interactive plots will not work.

Wed, 02 Jun 2021 16:27:00 +0000

Fix:

pip3 install --upgrade plotly

Docker in 5 minutes

Mon, 17 May 2021 16:09:00 +0000

I have been using Docker and Kubernetes for several years now but never really took any time to really read about it. There were a lot of gaps in my understanding of how Docker works and what really is possible with it. Just recently my employer started to offer a Udemy subscription, so I took the Hands on Docker course. Here are some of the important things I learned in this course.

Json_error_ctrl_char

Mon, 10 May 2021 11:12:00 +0000

I was using mcrypt to encrypt json_encoded data.

On the other side, mcrypt was able to decrypt data but json_decode was not working. It would throw JSON\_ERROR\_CTRL_CHAR error.

However, without mcrypt, json_decode worked flawlessly.

After some trial and error, I found that applying trim function after decrypting data would let me use json_decode without any issues.

Find Large Directories on AIX

Sun, 09 May 2021 21:19:00 +0000

I usually run it from under a partition which is running out of space. It can take a while.

du -g | sort -n -r

Error Xcode Select Error Tool Xcodebuild Requires Xcode Active Developer Directory Command Line Tools Instance

Sun, 09 May 2021 21:17:00 +0000

Playing with Cordova, I was getting this error when building iOS version:

Error: xcode-select: error: tool 'xcodebuild' requires Xcode,
but active developer directory is a command line tools instance

Even full install of Xcode didn’t fix this error.

The solution was to run the following command to use full Xcode instead of command line tools version that I had installed earlier:

sudo xcode-select --switch /Applications/Xcode-beta.app/Contents/Developer

Setup Outgoing Email on Lightsail Ubuntu VPS

Sun, 09 May 2021 21:10:00 +0000

I followed instructions here: https://www.digitalocean.com/community/tutorials/how-to-install-and-configure-postfix-as-a-send-only-smtp-server-on-ubuntu-18-04

Everything seemed okay but emails were not getting delivered. Logs showed me that smtp connections were timing out:

tail -f /var/log/mail.log
May  3 12:28:10 postfix/smtp[3160]: connect to gmail-smtp-in.l.google.com[172.217.197.27]:25: Connection timed out
May  3 12:28:10  postfix/smtp[3160]: connect to alt1.gmail-smtp-in.l.google.com[2800:3f0:4003:c00::1a]:25: Network is unreachable
May  3 12:28:40 postfix/smtp[3160]: 4984C41A1E: to=<xxxx@gmail.com>, relay=none, delay=3246, delays=3186/0.01/60/0, dsn=4.4.1, status=deferred (connect to alt2.gmail-smtp-in.l.google.com[2a00:1450:400b:c00::1a]:25: Network is unreachable)

However, I could ping any of the above ip addresses just fine.

Files Empty in html form?

Sat, 08 May 2021 21:15:00 +0000

Put enctype="multipart/form-data" in your form tag.

hsts Neterr_cert_common_name_invalid

Sat, 08 May 2021 21:14:00 +0000

Without full understanding, I had enabled HSTS on amerkhalid.com with option includeSubDomains. I had a subdomain that was used as “Custom Domain” to SmugMug site. After enabling HSTS, these subdomains started to throw NET::ERR_CERT_COMMON_NAME_INVALID.

The fix is of course simple, don’t use includeSubDomains. But that opens up your top level domain to man in the middle attacks.

For now, I decided to follow the best practices and leave includeSubDomains enabled. And decided to not use a custom domain for my SmugMug site.

TypeError: require.extensions.hasOwnProperty is not a function

Sat, 08 May 2021 21:07:00 +0000

While playing with https://github.com/alexa/interactive-adventure-game-tool, I ran into the following error:

> interactive-adventure-game-tool@1.0.0 start /Users/amer/alexa/interactive-adventure-game-tool
> node node_modules/gulp/bin/gulp.js

/Users/amer/alexa/interactive-adventure-game-tool/node_modules/require-dir/index.js:97
            if (!require.extensions.hasOwnProperty(ext)) {
                                    ^

TypeError: require.extensions.hasOwnProperty is not a function
    at requireDir (/Users/amer/alexa/interactive-adventure-game-tool/node_modules/require-dir/index.js:97:37)
    at Object.<anonymous> (/Users/amer/alexa/interactive-adventure-game-tool/gulpfile.js:1:85)
    at Module._compile (module.js:660:30)
    at Object.Module._extensions..js (module.js:671:10)
    at Module.load (module.js:573:32)
    at tryModuleLoad (module.js:513:12)
    at Function.Module._load (module.js:505:3)
    at Module.require (module.js:604:17)
    at require (internal/module.js:11:18)
    at Liftoff.handleArguments (/Users/amer/alexa/interactive-adventure-game-tool/node_modules/gulp/bin/gulp.js:116:3)
npm ERR! code ELIFECYCLE
npm ERR! errno 1
npm ERR! interactive-adventure-game-tool@1.0.0 start: `node node_modules/gulp/bin/gulp.js`
npm ERR! Exit status 1
npm ERR!
npm ERR! Failed at the interactive-adventure-game-tool@1.0.0 start script.
npm ERR! This is probably not a problem with npm. There is likely additional logging output above.

npm ERR! A complete log of this run can be found in:
npm ERR!     /Users/amer/.npm/_logs/2018-01-02T05_12_24_832Z-debug.log

The solution was to update require-dir to version 0.3.2 in package.json and run npm install again.

Disable Ping in Linux

Sat, 08 May 2021 02:31:24 +0000

echo 1 >/proc/sys/net/ipv4/icmp_echo_ignore_all

Troubleshooting Kubernetes Ingress

Tue, 04 May 2021 18:58:09 +0000

Setting up Ingress is an easy process but when it doesn’t work it gets really painful. First, make sure you have Ingress Controller setup correctly. This is in addition to Ingress resource and should be automatically setup by your cloud provider. When I was trying to setup a Kubernetes cluster on IBM Cloud, I ran into a lot of issues. It seems due to my permissions level something went wrong during provisioning of Kubernetes and Ingress Controller was not setup correctly. I went through a lot of steps including recreating alb , ingress resources, etc. The final fix was to login to IBM Cloud as superuser to change Access Policies for the cluster. Once I did that, everything just worked magically.

WordPress to Hugo to WordPress to Hugo

Wed, 23 Dec 2020 00:00:00 +0000

I moved all my blogs back to Hugo. I have gone back and forth between Wordpress and Hugo several times. WordPress makes it really easy to write and publish content. On this domain, I was using WordPress as a bookmarking service. With PressThis plugin, I was able to use a bookmarklet and publish a new post from any page on the web. But that plugin has not been updated in a while and it seems with every new WordPress release something would break. A few times, I was able to hack it to keep going. But lately, I cannot keep up with it. I will have to figure out a better way to bookmark but for now, I didn’t want to deal with WordPress. And easy bookmarking was the only reason why I was using WordPress.

Watch "Pharrell Williams – Entrepreneur (Official Video) ft. JAY-Z" on YouTube

Thu, 27 Aug 2020 00:21:54 +0000

https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=bTOoY5MIkvM&feature=share

Expiring vs. Permanent Skills · Collaborative Fund

Fri, 14 Aug 2020 14:53:04 +0000

Robert Walter Weir was one of the most popular instructors at West Point in the mid-1800s. Which is odd at a military academy, because he taught painting and drawing. Weir’s art classes were mandatory at West Point. Art can broaden your perspective, but that wasn’t the point. Nineteenth-century West Point cadets needed to be good at drawing because cartography was in its infancy. High-quality maps of the United States – let alone, say, Mexico – were scarce, if they existed at all. Military officers were expected to draw maps on the fly and record a battlefield’s topography. It wasn’t a niche; it was vital to war. Weir’s favorite student, who passed the time at West Point drawing river bends and mountain ranges, was Ulysses S. Grant. West Point no longer offers drawing or painting classes. Its sole cartography course emphasizes mapping software and technology, as you might expect. Drawing was an expiring military skill. Critical in one era, diminished in the next, unmentionable thereafter. A lot of things work that way. Every field has two kinds of skills: Expiring skills, which are vital at a given time but prone to diminishing as technology improves and a field evolves. Permanent skills, which were as essential 100 years ago as they are today, and will still be 100 years from now. Both are important. But they’re treated differently. Expiring skills tend to get more attention. They’re more likely to be the cool new thing, and a key driver of an industry’s short-term performance. They’re what employers value and employees flaunt. Permanent skills are different. They’ve been around a long time, which makes them look stale and basic. They can be hard to define and quantify, which gives the impression of fortune-cookie wisdom vs. a hard skill. But permanent skills compound over time, which gives them quiet importance. When several previous generations have worked on a skill that’s directly relevant to you, you have a deep well of relevant examples to study. And when you can spend a lifetime perfecting one skill whose importance never wanes, the payoffs can be ridiculous. Anything that compounds over decades usually is. A few permanent skills that apply to many fields: Not being a jerk. Being a jerk offsets being talented one for one, if not more. They don’t teach this in school, but it’s the single most important career skill. Part of this includes empathizing with jerks who are being jerks because they’re dealing with stress. The willingness to adapt views you wish were permanent. Accepting when expiring skills have run their course. A lot of what we believe about our fields is either right but temporary, or wrong but convincing. Sam Arbesman’s book The Half-Life of Facts makes this uncomfortably clear. “Medical knowledge about cirrhosis or hepatitis takes about forty-five years for half of it to be disproven or become out-of-date,” he writes. “This is about twice the half-life of the actual radioisotope samarium-151.” Getting along with people you disagree with. Equally smart people can come to different conclusions. And as Larry Summers once noted, “There are idiots; look around.” Some of these people can be avoided. Many can’t. You have to deal with them diplomatically. People who view every disagreement as a battle that must be won before moving on end up stuck and bitter. Getting to the point. Everyone’s busy. Make your point and get out of their way. Respecting luck as much as you respect risk. Acknowledging risk is when something happens outside of your control that influences outcomes and you realize it might happen again. Acknowledging luck is when something happens outside of our control that influences outcomes and you realize it might not happen again. Staying out of the way as much as you offer to help. You can add as much value by getting out of people’s way and minimizing your burden as you can by actively helping. This is especially important for two groups: new employees eager to get involved, and senior managers eager to get involved. Accepting a certain degree of hassle and nonsense when reality demands it. The ability to be comfortable being miserable. Frances Perkins, Franklin Roosevelt’s Secretary of Labor, said the most remarkable thing about the president’s paralysis was how little it seemed to bother him. He told her: “If you can’t use your legs and they bring you milk when you wanted orange juice, you learn to say ’that’s all right,’ and drink it.” A useful and permanent skill in a world that’s constantly breaking and evolving. The ability to distinguish “temporarily out of favor” from “wrong.” Endurance is key because every industry is cyclical, and putting up with its dark days is the only way to ensure you’re part of the good ones. Gracefully exiting when you realize that whatever fueled past success doesn’t work anymore is also key. Warren Buffett says his favorite holding period is forever, then dumped $7 billion worth of airline stocks based on a few weeks of data. That might lo

Because I'm afraid of it

Wed, 29 Jul 2020 05:22:41 +0000

“Have you ever watched Inside the Actors Studio? The host, James Lipton, invariably asks his guests, “What factors make you decide to take a particular role?” The actor always answers: “Because I’m afraid of it.””

— The War of Art by Steven Pressfield https://a.co/byFeRJx

Heaven and Earth are meeting in a storm

Sat, 25 Jul 2020 22:03:36 +0000

“Heaven and Earth are meeting in a storm that, when it’s over, will leave the air purer and the fields fertile, but before that happens, houses will be destroyed, centuries-old trees will topple, paradises will be flooded.”

— Aleph by Paulo Coelho https://a.co/cfOu5ja

When a sense of dissatisfaction persists

Sat, 25 Jul 2020 21:56:46 +0000

“When a sense of dissatisfaction persists, that means it was placed there by God for one reason only: you need to change everything and move forward.”

— Aleph by Paulo Coelho https://a.co/0J87Lcb

You've got to leave in order to return

Sat, 25 Jul 2020 21:49:46 +0000

““You’re not here anymore. You’ve got to leave in order to return to the present.””

— Aleph by Paulo Coelho https://a.co/6FWXQN3

Go and re-conquer your kingdom

Sat, 25 Jul 2020 21:48:54 +0000

““There’s no point sitting here, using words that mean nothing. Go and experiment. It’s time you got out of here. Go and re-conquer your kingdom, which has grown corrupted by routine. Stop repeating the same lesson, because you won’t learn anything new that way.””

— Aleph by Paulo Coelho https://a.co/6b8GNXf

What you do in the present will redeem the past

Sat, 25 Jul 2020 21:47:05 +0000

“In India, they use the word ‘karma,’ for lack of any better term. But it’s a concept that’s rarely given a proper explanation. It isn’t what you did in the past that will affect the present. It’s what you do in the present that will redeem the past and thereby change the future.”"

— Aleph by Paulo Coelho https://a.co/0hVgS5H

It's doubt that drives a man onward

Sat, 25 Jul 2020 01:17:37 +0000

““I’m filled with doubt, especially about my faith,” I say. “Good. It’s doubt that drives a man onward.””

— Aleph by Paulo Coelho https://a.co/6r1XVVl

My search for wisdom, peace of mind

Sat, 25 Jul 2020 01:13:33 +0000

“My search for wisdom, peace of mind, and an awareness of realities visible and invisible has become routine and pointless.”

— Aleph by Paulo Coelho https://a.co/hT3kZXY

What's hard is sitting down to write

Sat, 18 Jul 2020 14:43:20 +0000

“There’s a secret that real writers know that wannabe writers don’t, and the secret is this: It’s not the writing part that’s hard. What’s hard is sitting down to write.”

— The War of Art by Steven Pressfield https://a.co/6sJg1aj

My experience with Open Water Scuba certification in Dallas

Mon, 29 Jun 2020 15:11:20 +0000

This year I crossed off one of my bucket list items: I got my Open Water Diver certification. I had done scuba diving before in Honolulu. It is among my top 3 best experiences. Ever since that vacation, I had been wanting to get into diving more seriously.

But since we live in land-locked Dallas, I didn’t think it was possible or worth it. Then this year in February I saw a Groupon from International Scuba, and I decided to just go for it. I think the Groupon was for $250, but then there was fine print which said we needed to buy our own mask, fins, snorkel, and boots. I bought all this gear from International Scuba as they offered free gear rental for checkout dives. But this added about an additional $200.

You will not get rich quickly by day trading

Mon, 29 Jun 2020 00:54:36 +0000

“In my opinion, the most important lesson that you can learn from reading this book is that you will not get rich quickly by day trading.”

— How to Day Trade for a Living: Tools, Tactics, Money Management, Discipline and Trading Psychology by Andrew Aziz https://a.co/fmI1u8k

iPad Pro as main machine after 2 years

Fri, 26 Jun 2020 16:24:00 +0000

I got my iPad Pro at the end of 2017. Before buying it, I had read many blog posts by various developers who were using iPad for programming and web development. But soon after I bought it, I realized that serious web development on iPad is hard. The biggest issue was debugging JavaScript and CSS without web tools. At first, I was having buyer’s remorse but I loved the form factor of iPad and loved drawing on it. I am used to reading on Kindle and iPad was just too heavy for long reading sessions but it was a very decent reading device for quick reading sessions. So I kept it.

The things we really want to do are…

Wed, 17 Jun 2020 01:41:44 +0000

“The things we really want to do are usually the ones that scare us the most. The things you’ll not feel conflicted about are the choices that leave no one hurt.”

— What Should I Do with My Life?: The True Story of People Who Answered the Ultimate Question by Po Bronson https://a.co/izynNz8

Ask HN: How do I start my own consulting firm? | Hacker News

Tue, 16 Jun 2020 16:43:11 +0000

Here are some things to consider about consulting:Sales/Selling is the last thing on your list and salesperson is only a maybe. Reverse all of your priorities because selling and relationships are the most difficult things to master for a consulting company and you will die without those skills.In consulting, tech talent < sales/relationship talent. In fact, if you’re great at the latter go ahead and get started now because there are lots of great tech people who don’t want to do it and will come work for you on a nice contract rate.To give you an example of this I once worked with a consultant who was a technical rock star, and another consultant who was supposed to be technical but was actually pretty below average. The below average guy was more successful because he was great when talking with the customers and they loved him. He knew enough to talk through problems at a high level, explained things well, and made them feel comfortable that things we’re on the right track. If he didn’t know something, no problem, he just went and found someone with the answer.Besides those soft skills he knew how to set and manage expectations. You may be used to the best results winning, but if you don’t manage and then exceed expectations it doesn’t matter. People love you when they expect 80 out of 100 and you deliver 88. They will not be happy and often fire you if expecting 100 out of 100 and you deliver 92. You will wonder how you just lost to a competitor who is not “as good” as you.Even if you have pretty good soft skills, do you want to spend time constantly using them? I thought you liked the tech side? If you like both then great because someone has to spends tons of time doing it to sell, maintain, and expand the work and your success depends on how good they are at it.For many people this will all be hard to believe, or they think it’s exaggerated, or that it’s easy to just hire someone to do it. That’s fine, I hope you have great success. Drop me a line in a couple years to say how things turned out.

For would be entrepreneurs he calls them wantrapreneurs

Tue, 09 Jun 2020 17:37:36 +0000

“For would-be entrepreneurs (he calls them “wantrapreneurs”), or entrepreneurs who’ve grown a little too comfortable, Noah has a recommendation—ask for 10% off of your next few coffees. “Go up to the counter and order coffee. If you don’t drink coffee, order tea. If you don’t drink tea, order water. I don’t care. Then just ask for 10% off. . . . The coffee challenge sounds kind of silly, but the whole point is that—in business and in life—you don’t have to be on the extreme, but you have to ask for things, and you have to put yourself out there.””

I remember walking out of the station around…

Tue, 09 Jun 2020 17:10:44 +0000

“I remember walking out of the station around midnight. It was up on the top of this mountain, a beautiful place. I remember looking out and just saying, ‘Oh, my God, when am I going to like this? When am I going to really be happy with the work that I’m churning out?’ I look back on that all the time . . . if I could go back and just tell myself, ‘Don’t stress about it, it’s all going to work out in the end.’”

I think we need to teach kids two…

Mon, 25 May 2020 16:51:00 +0000

““I think we need to teach kids two things: 1) how to lead, and 2) how to solve interesting problems. Because the fact is, there are plenty of countries on Earth where there are people who are willing to be obedient and work harder for less money than us. So we cannot out-obedience the competition. Therefore, we have to out-lead or out-solve the other people. . . .”

— Tools of Titans: The Tactics, Routines, and Habits of Billionaires, Icons, and World-Class Performers by Timothy Ferriss https://a.co/62h4x27

What could possibly be more important than your…

Mon, 25 May 2020 16:49:37 +0000

““What could possibly be more important than your kid? Please don’t play the busy card. If you spend 2 hours a day without an electronic device, looking your kid in the eye, talking to them and solving interesting problems, you will raise a different kid than someone who doesn’t do that. That’s one of the reasons why I cook dinner every night. Because what a wonderful, semi-distracted environment in which the kid can tell you the truth. For you to have low-stakes but superimportant conversations with someone who’s important to you.””

Streets Of Cairo – Everything2.com

Sun, 24 May 2020 18:01:13 +0000

_There’s a place in France Where the naked ladies dance. There’s a hole in the wall Where the men watch it all

https://everything2.com/title/Streets+Of+Cairo

Lynyrd Skynyrd – Simple Man – Live At The Florida Theatre / 2015 (Official Video) – YouTube

Sun, 24 May 2020 16:25:50 +0000

Mama told me when I was young “Come sit beside me, my only son And listen closely to what I say And if you do this it’ll help you some sunny day”

“Oh, take your time, don’t live too fast Troubles will come and they will pass You’ll find a woman and you’ll find love And don’t forget, son, there is someone up above”

Cat Stevens – Father and Son, Live 1971 – YouTube

Sun, 24 May 2020 16:19:49 +0000

It’s not time to make a change Just relax, take it easy You’re still young, that’s your fault There’s so much you have to know Find a girl, settle down If you want you can marry Look at me, I am old, but I’m happy

I was once like you are now, and I know that it’s not easy To be calm when you’ve found something going on But take your time, think a lot Why, think of everything you’ve got For you will still be here tomorrow, but your dreams may not

Because most of us say yes to too…

Sun, 10 May 2020 16:29:08 +0000

““Because most of us say yes to too much stuff, and then, we let these little, mediocre things fill our lives. . . . The problem is, when that occasional, ‘Oh my God, hell yeah!’ thing comes along, you don’t have enough time to give it the attention that you should, because you’ve said yes to too much other little, half-ass stuff, right? Once I started applying this, my life just opened up.””

Well I meet a lot of 30…

Sun, 10 May 2020 16:26:00 +0000

“DEREK: “Well, I meet a lot of 30-year-olds who are trying to pursue many different directions at once, but not making progress in any, right? They get frustrated that the world wants them to pick one thing, because they want to do them all: ‘Why do I have to choose? I don’t know what to choose!’ But the problem is, if you’re thinking short-term, then [you act as though] if you don’t do them all this week, they won’t happen. The solution is to think long-term. To realize that you can do one of these things for a few years, and then do another one for a few years, and then another.”

Ask HN: Parents of HN, what are your best sources for evidence-based parenting?

Tue, 14 Apr 2020 15:29:52 +0000

Here is a list of parenting books recommended by members of the Hacker News community. All links are affiliate links to purchase these books from Amazon:

How to Talk So Your Kids Will Listen, and How to Listen So Your Kids Will Talk

One of a few books that are recommended multiple times in this thread. 4.5 stars with 1000+ reviews.

Cribsheet: A Data-Driven Guide to Better, More Relaxed Parenting, from Birth to Preschool by Emily Oster

Another book that was recommended by multiple people.

More research on choosing dev stack for game dev

Sun, 05 Apr 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Last week, I had decided to use Swift/Apple’s ecosystem for initial gamedev. But I wasn’t feeling 100% okay with getting locked into Apple’s ecosystem.

So I spent last week doing more research on developing simple apps using Swift, Xamarin, Flutter, and React Native.

Since I use JavaScript at work, React Native would be the easiest way for me to get started but it feels too much like work and I am kind of tired of js/npm dependencies and build tools. One nice thing about staying in Apple’s ecosystem is that everything has really good documentation and feels more polished.

Baby vs Dog

Thu, 18 Jul 2019 17:47:45 +0000

It is amazing how having your own kids changes everything.

I love my dog, and because of him I love almost all dogs. I hated leaving him home so much that I would not go to restaurants that don’t let dogs in the patio. (With Whiskey Cake being a notable exception.) Every grocery trip, I would buy him a new toy, and many times I had arguments with my wife because he had too many toys. Every vacation we would have a huge argument because I wanted a dog-friendly vacation where we could take our dog.

Real Estate vs Startup

Mon, 15 Jul 2019 16:37:31 +0000

For years, I was working towards my own startup. I always had various side-projects and learned a lot from these side-projects. But at the same time, all these projects were failures.

I never paid much attention to real estate investing. I had some friends who bought rental properties or got into flipping houses. It seemed so much more work and riskier. I can create a new startup for just a few dollars and a few weeks of my time, so why pay attention to real estate.

Developer Hegemony by Erik Dietrich

Tue, 09 Jul 2019 17:33:22 +0000

I am not sure how I found this book by Erik Dietrich. Maybe Google or Amazon recommended it. But I found it very inspiring. There are so many things in it that I agree with and so many new things that I am still having a hard time believing.

As a developer, who is having a hard time figuring out his career, this book provided an interesting perspective. The basic idea in it is that in any big corporation, developers are unlikely to find fulfilment. They may truly believe in their employer’s mission and try to climb the corporate ladder. When they do that, they will get stuck in middle management. They will keep working hard, hoping to move on to executive roles, but very few do so through belief and hard work alone.

What is this blog about anyways?

Mon, 08 Jul 2019 14:25:09 +0000

I have had this domain since 2003. Originally, I wanted to make video games and Chaosplay was supposed to be a video games studio.

But then it was mostly a blog. I blogged about video games and programming. A bit about personal life. Eventually my focus was on photography, so I blogged about photography.

When we became parents, I was blogging about parenting.

I wasn’t a consistent blogger. I stopped blogging many times. Also several times I wiped old posts and restarted blog with clean slate.

National Videogame Museum

Sat, 01 Jun 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Exploring gaming history in Frisco, TX

Git Simplified

Sat, 25 May 2019 13:44:01 +0000

One of the most common technologies that new professional developers struggle with is git.

Many junior developers are eager to start using all of the powerful commands of git and usually end up getting more confused.

Here are a few commands that I recommend to anyone learning git for the first time:

clone

This downloads the entire git repo from a remote server, usually. You will get all revision history and branches.

My Photography Workflow with Lightroom, SmugMug, and iPad Pro

Mon, 22 Apr 2019 16:07:35 +0000

Ever since I bought iPad, I have tried to make it my main computing device. I love the form factor. I love many apps on it. I have really started to enjoy many photography apps on it. Touch screen makes a lot of sense for photo editing. Snapseed, Apple Photos, Affinity Photo are my favorite photo apps on the iPad. But it has been hard to incorporate it in my photography workflow.

So my current workflow looks like this:

Tools of Trade

Mon, 25 Mar 2019 14:20:18 +0000

I use 13-inch MacBook Pro for personal projects and 15-inch for work. My personal MBP would be the last traditional laptop, hopefully. Since most of my work can easily be done on Linux VPS. I have been using a 10.5-inch iPad Pro with Blink shell for most of my side projects. I like the form factor of iPad Pro and I am getting better at Linux administration. Now I am also setting up Docker images so I can bring up new images as needed.

Indian Ocean – Bandeh

Thu, 14 Mar 2019 01:41:06 +0000

My New Photography Workflow with iPad Pro and Lightroom 6

Mon, 08 Jan 2018 10:56:55 -0500

Update: Here is my current workflow.

Now that I have a 10.5" iPad Pro, I am trying real hard to use it as a productive machine, possibly as a main machine. Unfortunately, it has been a challenge. I almost want to return it but I really love the form factor of iPad. I am hoping that in the next few updates, it will be almost usable as a main machine.

For programming, I am in love with mosh shell. Yes this is cheating by doing real work on a VPS but it is actually an enjoyable experience.

You don't need a web developer

Mon, 04 Dec 2017 01:08:41 +0000

Occasionally, when people find out I am a programmer, they ask me if I will build them a website or an app on the side. As I spend all day programming at my work, I rarely have the motivation to continue programming after work.

However, talking to most people, I realize they don’t need a programmer; most of their needs can be met by a simple SaaS solution. Recently, I directed a few friends to WordPress.com, SmugMug, Shopify, etc. They all were happy with the results and ease of use. Also I am glad they talked to me because one guy was ready to spend a few thousands on a developer for a WordPress-based site.

WordPress vs Hugo

Sat, 02 Dec 2017 13:44:01 +0000

Managing WordPress can get time consuming. I have tried to move to static website several times but kept going back to WordPress. But there are several advantages of static site generators, so I finally moved for good. I am also advising a lot of my clients to use Hugo especially when they know that they will rarely ever update their sites.

Here are some of the main advantages of Hugo (or other static site generators) vs WordPress and other CMS.

iPad Pro for Programming & Fun

Tue, 14 Nov 2017 17:10:00 +0000

I finally bought a 10.5" iPad Pro (Affiliate Link). It was mostly an impulse purchase. When I first started to use iPad, it felt blah. It is hard to find good apps or what apps you might want to try out.

My main goal with iPad was to have a really small laptop replacement. So I was hoping for a decent code editor. There are some code editing apps but there is no way to try them out before purchasing. So I am spending a lot of time reading reviews before I purchase any app.

ReflectionException: Class Tests\Unit\Symfony\Component\HttpKernel\Exception\NotFoundHttpException does not exist

Fri, 13 Oct 2017 23:12:25 +0000

Running unit tests in Laravel, I was getting this error:

ReflectionException: Class Tests\Unit\Symfony\Component\HttpKernel\Exception\NotFoundHttpException does not exist

The issue was a missing root backslash, make sure you have expected exception like:

$this->expectException(\Symfony\Component\HttpKernel\Exception\NotFoundHttpException::class);

Working Remotely

Thu, 28 Sep 2017 00:01:19 +0000

As a developer, I am lucky that I get to work from home as needed. But I have never been 100% remote; lately, I have been reading a lot about working remotely, remote first companies, digital nomad lifestyle etc. These are some resources that I have found useful so far:

The Ultimate Guide to Working Remotely - I haven’t gone through the whole guide yet but so far it has been very informative.

Upgrading to PHP 7.0 on Ubuntu 14

Fri, 22 Sep 2017 21:22:20 +0000

I upgraded PHP to version 7.0 on an Ubuntu box. Running php -v on shell would show it as version 7.0. But Apache was still using PHP 5.6. I tried various methods to update settings for Apache but nothing worked until I issued the following commands:

sudo a2dismod php5.6
sudo a2enmod php7.0
sudo service apache2 restart

Source: PHP 7.0 (and 5.6) on Ubuntu | LornaJane

Setting Up Laravel on MacOS

Sat, 19 Aug 2017 15:58:05 +0000

After 3 years, I am using Laravel again at work. Laravel has extensive documentation but sometimes it can be a bit verbose. Here are commands to get you started as soon as possible. This assumes pretty much a fresh install of MacOS.

Install Homebrew

Check the official site for the latest command

/usr/bin/ruby -e "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/master/install)"

Install PHP 7.1

brew install homebrew/php/php7

Install MariaDB

brew install mariadb

Set MariaDB to start as a service at the end of installation.

The E-Myth Revisited by Michael E. Gerber

Sat, 08 Jul 2017 14:42:52 +0000

My biggest takeaway from this book was that most people start a business to create a job for themselves. For example, a person who enjoys baking may start a cake shop. The problem with this approach is that one is working in the business, not on it. The right way to start a business is with a goal of eliminating one’s job. For example, the person above should figure out a way to hire someone else to do baking.

2017 Puerto Rico

Sat, 01 Apr 2017 00:00:00 +0000

Island exploration and photography in Puerto Rico

The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck

Mon, 06 Mar 2017 15:39:16 +0000

I learned of Mark Manson through his blog, especially this post, 7 Strange Questions That Help You Find Your Purpose. Since then I have been on and off following his blog. He usually has a lot of good advice, so finally I decided to get his book. It makes it easier to have all the information in one place.

I had no idea what The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck was about. It was an impulse purchase, perhaps to support his blog. It turned out to be a really good book. As a semi-regular reader of his blog, I sort of knew what his philosophies were. Still, it was good to read everything in one place.

FTP from Lightroom

Thu, 22 Dec 2016 18:37:20 +0000

I signed up on a few microstock sites hoping to recoup some of the cost of my camera. These sites provide FTP access for easy uploading photos. Lightroom doesn’t come with an easy way to publish or export photos to FTP site.

But Lightroom SDK comes with a free sample plugin that can export photos to an FTP site. It works really well and is very easy to install. I learned this at LightroomSolutions.com.

The War of Art

Wed, 16 Nov 2016 15:43:57 +0000

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I picked up “The War of Art” by Steven Pressfield. It shows up on Hacker News and other entrepreneurs’ forums regularly as recommended reading. Steven Pressfield is a novelist, but this book is popular reading for anyone who is pursuing a goal.

The author’s main point is that the most important and the hardest thing is doing. Whether that be sitting down at a desk to write a novel or software. Once you are at your desk, or at your office, the hard part is done. This can apply to anything: fitness, painting, photography, etc.

2016 Honolulu

Mon, 01 Aug 2016 00:00:00 +0000

Hawaiian adventures and waterfall hikes

Lightroom & Smugmug Workflow

Thu, 03 Dec 2015 18:29:20 +0000

Now that I have a new fancy camera, I have tried to organize my photos better. Over the years I have collected about 70GB of photos. It seems a lot to me but apparently there are many people with well over 1000 GB of photos. The biggest challenge with so many photos is that it is hard to organize them. Upon several recommendations and some searches on the web, it seems Lightroom is the best software for organizing and managing photos.

How to Fail at Almost Everything & Still Win Big

Sat, 18 Oct 2014 14:23:47 +0000

How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big by Scott Adams (affiliate link) comes up on Hacker News a lot. Finally, I had a chance to read it.

This is a little different kind of book compared to my regular reads about ultra-successful business titans. I had no idea who Scott Adams was until I heard about this book. He created the Dilbert comic. He gave a very down-to-earth perspective on how he achieved success in this book.

Magento – Get All Products with Categories in a Flat View

Wed, 01 May 2013 20:11:53 +0000

     SELECT
        w1.website_id,
        w1.name  as  website_name,
        s1.store_id,
        s1.name  as  store_name,
        p1.entity_id  as  product_id,
        p1.sku,
        pname.value  as  product_name,
        url.value  as  url_path,
        small_image.value  as  small_image,
        msrp.value  as  msrp_price,
        price.value  as  price,
        p1.created_at  as  product_created_at,
        p1.updated_at  as  product_updated_at,
        visibility.value  as  visibility,
        pstatus.value  as  status,
         case
             when
                (pstatus.value  =   1
                     and  visibility.value  >   1 )
             then
                 1
             else   0
         end as  enable_flag,
        c1.entity_id  as  category_id,
        cname.value  as  category_name,
        c1.parent_id,
        c1.created_at  as  category_created_at,
        c1.updated_at  as  category_updated_at
     FROM
        catalog_product_entity p1
             inner join
        eav_attribute p_attr  ON  p1.entity_type_id  =  p_attr.entity_type_id
             and  p_attr.attribute_code  =  'name'
             inner join
        catalog_product_entity_varchar pname  ON  pname.entity_id  =  p1.entity_id
             and  pname.attribute_id  =  p_attr.attribute_id
             inner join
        eav_attribute p_attr2  ON  p1.entity_type_id  =  p_attr2.entity_type_id
             and  p_attr2.attribute_code  =  'url_path'
             inner join
        catalog_product_entity_varchar url  ON  url.entity_id  =  p1.entity_id
             and  url.attribute_id  =  p_attr2.attribute_id
             and  pname.store_id  =  url.store_id
             inner join
        eav_attribute p_attr3  ON  p1.entity_type_id  =  p_attr3.entity_type_id
             and  p_attr3.attribute_code  =  'small_image'
             inner join
        catalog_product_entity_varchar small_image  ON  small_image.entity_id  =  p1.entity_id
             and  small_image.attribute_id  =  p_attr3.attribute_id
             and  pname.store_id  =  small_image.store_id
             inner join
        eav_attribute p_attr4  ON  p1.entity_type_id  =  p_attr4.entity_type_id
             and  p_attr4.attribute_code  =  'msrp'
             inner join
        catalog_product_entity_decimal msrp  ON  msrp.entity_id  =  p1.entity_id
             and  msrp.attribute_id  =  p_attr4.attribute_id
             and  pname.store_id  =  msrp.store_id
             inner join
        eav_attribute p_attr5  ON  p1.entity_type_id  =  p_attr5.entity_type_id
             and  p_attr5.attribute_code  =  'price'
             inner join
        catalog_product_entity_decimal price  ON  price.entity_id  =  p1.entity_id
             and  price.attribute_id  =  p_attr5.attribute_id
             and  pname.store_id  =  price.store_id
             inner join
        eav_attribute p_attr6  ON  p1.entity_type_id  =  p_attr6.entity_type_id
             and  p_attr6.attribute_code  =  'visibility'
             inner join
        catalog_product_entity_int visibility  ON  visibility.entity_id  =  p1.entity_id
             and  visibility.attribute_id  =  p_attr6.attribute_id
             and  pname.store_id  =  visibility.store_id
             inner join
        eav_attribute p_attr7  ON  p1.entity_type_id  =  p_attr7.entity_type_id
             and  p_attr7.attribute_code  =  'status'
             inner join
        catalog_product_entity_int pstatus  ON  pstatus.entity_id  =  p1.entity_id
             and  pstatus.attribute_id  =  p_attr7.attribute_id
             and  pname.store_id  =  pstatus.store_id
             inner join
        catalog_category_product ccp  ON  ccp.product_id  =  p1.entity_id
             inner join
        catalog_category_entity c1  ON  c1.entity_id  =  ccp.category_id
             inner join
        eav_attribute c_attr  ON  c1.entity_type_id  =  c_attr.entity_type_id
             and  c_attr.attribute_code  =  'name'
             inner join
        catalog_category_entity_varchar cname  ON  cname.entity_id  =  c1.entity_id
             and  cname.attribute_id  =  c_attr.attribute_id
             and  pname.store_id  =  cname.store_id
             inner join
        catalog_category_product_index store1  ON  store1.product_id  =  p1.entity_id
             and  store1.category_id  =  c1.entity_id
             inner join
        core_store s1  ON  store1.store_id  =  s1.store_id
             inner join
        core_website w1  ON  s1.website_id  =  w1.website_id

OpenShift Error: Layer 7 Wrong Status, Invalid Response

Sun, 21 Apr 2013 20:11:02 +0000

I have been playing with OpenShift for the past several hours. It looks great. But a while back I started to get 503 Internal Server Error.

When I checked logs using rhc tail , I saw this error: Layer 7 Wrong Status, Invalid Response 404.

I spent an hour or so troubleshooting. Turns out the issue was NetBeans had added src/main/web/app/WEB-INF/jboss-web.xml when I ran the application locally on my machine. I committed this file, thinking I might need it. Deleting it from the repo fixed the issue.

How to Tell if a Number Is Whole in Php

Sat, 07 Jul 2012 16:05:03 +0000

if ($num == (int) $num) {
    // It's whole
} else {
    // It's not
}

2012 Vegas

Tue, 01 May 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Las Vegas lights and desert vibes

Filter Some Keys in Multi Dimensional Arrays in Php

Sun, 22 Apr 2012 16:08:09 +0000

/**
 * Cleans up multi-dimensional arrays.
 * 1st dimension is a simple index
 * 2nd dimension includes the desired keys
 *
 * @param mixed $array
 * @param mixed $keysToInclude
 */
public function cleanUpArray($array, $keysToInclude) {
    $returnArray = array();
    $i = 0;

    foreach($array as $item){
        foreach($keysToInclude as $key){
            $returnArray[$i][$key] = $item[$key];
        }

        $i++;
    }

    return $returnArray;
}

Simba

Fri, 30 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Pet portrait session

2011 San Francisco

Thu, 01 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Classic San Francisco landmarks and street photography

4 Hour Body by Tim Ferriss

Mon, 02 May 2011 14:20:18 +0000

Slow Motion Workout

The technical term is 5/5 Cadence (5 seconds up, 5 seconds down). I tried this for the first time on Sunday; it is really intense. Momentum is not there to help you. You will feel every part of your muscle throughout the motion.

Weights

Tim Ferriss showed a simple formula to figure out the starting weight to work out with. Simply do regular sets. If you can do 5 reps, wait a minute & then increase the weight by 10 lb or 10%. When you fail a set, then take 70% of the last 5-rep set and use that weight for the slow-motion workout. You can figure out weights to use by trial and error. This should prevent injuries or wasted time.

MySQL Update If Exist Else Insert Procedure

Fri, 22 Apr 2011 00:54:43 +0000

Are you tired of checking data in your code before inserting? Well MySQL procedures are here to the rescue. This simple procedure shows how you can do that:

CREATE PROCEDURE   ` update_insert_user ` (  IN  uid2 int  )
 BEGIN
 DECLARE  last_login2 DATETIME;
 SELECT   ` last_login ` INTO  last_login2  FROM   `  user  ` WHERE   ` uid `   =  uid2  LIMIT   1 ;
 IF  last_login2  IS NULL THEN
 INSERT INTO   `  user  `  ( ` uid ` , ` last_login ` )  values  (uid2, now());
 ELSE
 UPDATE   `  user  ` SET   ` last_login `   =  now()  WHERE   ` uid `   =  uid2  LIMIT   1 ;
 END IF ;
 END

Codeigniter Creates a New Session With Each Page Load

Tue, 07 Sep 2010 16:15:32 +0000

Just spent 3 hours debugging a session bug in my webapp. CodeIgniter was creating a brand new session with each page load. The issue was a misconfiguration with my config file.

Fix was simple, in /application/config/config.php, make sure the correct domain is set for $config['cookie_domain'].

Codeigniter Out of Memory Error

Sat, 07 Aug 2010 16:12:32 +0000

Query Saving is a feature of CI’s database class that stores the results of every query in memory until the controller is finished executing. As it turns out, in version 1.6.0, the ability to turn this off was added. The addition of the save_queries variable is listed in the Change Log, but as of the latest release of 2.0.0 last week, it still hasn’t made the documentation.

$this->db->save_queries = FALSE;

via Undocumented CodeIgniter | Green Egg Media.

ssh_exchange_identification: Connection closed by remote host

Fri, 02 Jul 2010 01:05:55 +0000

I tried to login to my server tonight but kept getting the following error message:

ssh_exchange_identification: Connection closed by remote host

The fix was simple, at least if you have access to the server via cPanel. Just restart sshd service via cPanel/WHM.

Setting Up Pentaho BI on Windows Box

Thu, 22 Apr 2010 00:53:21 +0000

I am not sure if this works anymore or not. I don’t use Pentaho now but this post seems popular, so leaving it here for now. Contact me if this is incorrect and needs to be corrected or taken down.

Download Pentaho BI Pre-Configured Installation from [http://www.pentaho.org/download/ga.php]
Install JDK5.
Open C:\pentaho-demo\pentaho-solutions\system\publisher_config.xml. Add a password for publishing reports.
Delete all folders except reporting under C:\pentaho-demo\pentaho-solutions\samples.
Delete all .xaction and .properties files under reporting.
Copy JDBC driver for your database under C:\pentaho-demo\jboss\server\default\lib. I used Oracle 10g driver, it is called ojdbc.jar.
Edit .jsp file to change the look of default Pentaho website under C:\pentaho-demo\jboss\server\default\deploy\pentaho.war\jsp.
Add path to your JDK in start-pentaho.bat located under C:\pentaho-demo. For example, set JAVA\_HOME=C:\Program Files\Java\jdk1.5.0\_11
Double click on start-pentaho.bat.
Open C:\pentaho-demo\jboss\server\default\deploy\pentaho.war\WEB-INF\web.xml. Search for base-url and add your server’s IP.
Now you should be able to publish reports to Pentaho using Report Wizard or Report Designer.
Once you publish report, you will need to go to C:\pentaho-demo\jboss\server\default\deploy and open the newly created data source file named something like ???????-ds.xml.
If your database is Oracle you will need to change driver class property to oracle.jdbc.driver.OracleDriver
And your newly published report should be accessible via Pentaho now.

Useful Sar Sysstat Examples for Unix Linux Performance Monitoring

Tue, 07 Jul 2009 16:20:10 +0000

Using sar, you can also collect all performance data on an on-going basis, store them, and do historical analysis to identify bottlenecks.

via 10 Useful Sar (Sysstat) Examples for UNIX / Linux Performance Monitoring.

Aleph

Sat, 01 Jan 2000 00:00:00 +0000

Creative photography project