Abdullah Yahya - Page 44

Life Advice

Following is some advice regarding major life issues I would offer to the average person (the majority of people) based on my experience and the experience of others. Unfortunately, these are things they don’t teach you in school.

Invest in real estate

People don’t like saving money and generally aren’t good with money. If you choose to rent instead of buy a house for a long period of time, you will for the most part lose money and not end up with much money. Your rent will keep increasing and the money spent on rent will just be gone – given to your landlord. Conversely, if you buy a house, even with just a 20% down payment, while you may feel like you’ve lost a huge amount of money from paying the large down payment, in most cases you haven’t lost any money at all. You’ve just moved that money from one place (a bank account) to equity in the house. When you make your monthly payments, though some of the payment amount will be lost to pay interest to a lender, e.g. a bank, the remainder of the money will be yours, albeit in the form of equity in the house. Furthermore, the house will likely increase in value which increases your equity in the house. In hot markets like the San Francisco Bay Area, one can realize an impressive gain in house value due to appreciation, e.g. $200K over a few years of doing nothing but paying your mortgage.

Most people are not good investors, whether in the stock market or in running a business. While it’s easy to invest in the stock market, it’s extremely volatile and more akin to gambling. Running a business is a lot of work which most people can’t handle. Therefore, most people would be better off just investing in real estate and becoming a landlord. While it does require some work, it’s much less than running a business and more predictable than the stock market. Having a rental property would allow your net worth to grow much faster than if you just owned one home as your primary residence. In other words, if you had to choose between buying one dream home for $1M as your primary residence versus buying two average homes, each costing $500K, where one would be your primary residence and the other a rental property, you’ll end up having a higher net worth faster in the latter case as your tenants in your rental property will be paying that property’s mortgage for you.

Some ways to help get your first house are:

Buy a 3 bedroom house and rent out two of the bedrooms
Buy a duplex or multiplex, live in one unit and rent out the other units
If you know home improvement, buy a cheap fixer-upper and fix it up while living in it

The ways listed above may not get you your dream home but at least it can help you build equity to put towards getting a nicer home.

ScanSnap iX500 – Orange Light Error & Basic Use Instructions

The Fujitsu ScanSnap iX500 document scanner is one of the best sub $500 scanners. Unfortunately, the documentation isn’t good. I tried scanning a document over wi-fi to my laptop, which normally works fine, but one day the blue light would keep changing to orange. I ended up having to uninstall and reinstall the installation software. Fortunately, my scanner’s wi-fi settings were still saved. Here are some tips (which I’m writing more as a reminder to myself) that may be of help to anyone experiencing the orange light error.

ScanSnap Icon Color

On Windows, in your system tray there should be a ScanSnap icon. When the scanner is off, the icon is grayed out and the tooltip message says “ScanSnap is not connected.”

Scan over wi-fi to laptop

To scan over wi-fi to your laptop, do the following

Turn on both the ScanSnap scanner and your laptop
Wait for the ScanSnap icon to change as shown below. The tooltip will also say that ScanSnap is ready to scan over wi-fi.
Load a document and push the blue button on the scanner or right-click on the ScanSnap icon and click either Simple Scan (one-sided) or Duplex Scan (double-sided)
The document will pass through the scanner and a window will appear on your desktop asking where you’d like to save the document, e.g. local folder, Google Drive, etc.

Scan over USB to laptop

If you want to scan to a laptop over USB, e.g. if you are having wi-fi problems, do this:

Turn on both the ScanSnap scanner and your laptop
Connect both devices with a USB cable
Wait for the ScanSnap icon to change as shown below. The tooltip will also say that ScanSnap is ready to scan.
Load a document and push the blue button on the scanner or right-click on the ScanSnap icon and click either Simple Scan (one-sided) or Duplex Scan (double-sided)

Web Page Animation Options

If you want to add animation to a website, you can many options. Here are a few I recommend.

CSS transitions

For simple animations, you can just use CSS transitions. Or, just use this CSS animation library.

JavaScript Animation Library

For fancy animations where you still write JavaScript to control the animation, the Greensock JS library is great. Another great one is anime.js.

svgator (free trial)

For even fancier animations that allow you to design the animations using a timeline, svgator is an online tool that can do that.

Adobe After Effects (free trial), BodyMovin and Lottie

For super fancy animation, design your animation in Adobe After Effects. Then, download and install the BodyMovin plugin for After Effects. Then, export the animation from After Effects using the BodyMovin plugin. The exported files will contain the animation data as JSON object. It may also include image files as a PNG which, if possible, you should manually export each one as a SVG and replace the PNGs with the SVGs. Then, load the lottie library in your page, e.g. with

<script src="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/bodymovin/5.4.3/lottie_svg.min.js" integrity="sha256-CVhGZIHAj+TzP6acM0j2ko94CaIqfcnqo/y79O+KOcg=" crossorigin="anonymous"></script>

and specify a class on the element where the animation should appear, e.g.

<div class="animation"></div>

Place any exported images in their appropriate folders and update their paths in the animation data JSON object.

Then, in your JavaScript, load the animation. Here’s example code.

See the Pen JavaScript Animation Using Lottie by Abdullah Yahya (@javanigus) on CodePen.

Easily Tighten a Rope Without a Knot

When you need to tighten a rope to hold something in place, e.g. a tent, cargo in a pickup truck, a leaning tree, bed sheets, etc, you might think you’ll need to tie a knot. Not only is it difficult to tie a knot without losing tension in the rope, it’s a hassle and often difficult untying the knot. Ratchet straps are easier to use but are overkill for non-heavy duty situations. A simpler solution is to use a figure 9.

Here, I used a figure 9 to hold a leaning tree in place.

You can purchase Figure 9s at REI. One brand is Nite-ize but there’s also generic ones on Amazon for less.

This are two ways to tighten a rope using a Figure 9.

How to Finish Wood With a Protective Coat

I recently worked on a project to replace my stair’s handrails. I bought the unfinished handrails at Home Depot and then stained them easily as follows.

Applying Wood Stain

Using a brush, applied one coat of Minwax Pre-stain Conditioner
Using a brush, applied one coat Minwax Stain (Gunstock color). While the stain was wet, I wiped it with a paper towel to prevent some areas to be thicker or darker than others. Though wiping with a towel lightens the stain, it is an important step. To achieve darker stains, just repeat the staining and wiping process.

Note: Applying anything wet, e.g. stain, to wood will cause the grain to rise resulting in bumps. If, after the first coat of stain, you notice bumpiness, then sand it down with 220 grit sandpaper until the bumps are gone and then restain the wood. This first coat following by the sanding process serves as a sort of “primer” to prepare the surface.

The tricky part was getting the protective finish coat on. I wanted a shiny, smooth, glossy handrail. After trying different products and processes, here’s my advice.

Lacquer vs Polyurethane

Lacquer is sticky and seemingly more toxic. My eyes felt weird even though none of it gone in them. A bit of lacquer got on my hands and cleaning my hands were a hassle and temporarily messed up my skin. The fumes were so strong I could smell some of it in other rooms of my house. Cleaning the brush used to apply the lacquer was impossible so it had to be thrown away.

Polyurethane is also toxic but the water based kind is easy to clean by simply rinsing with water and it doesn’t smell as much. I was able to easily rinse my brush so I could reuse it for additional coats.

Conclusion: Don’t even bother with lacquer. Just stick with polyurethane.

Battery Voltage and Capacity

Following are typical alkaline battery specs.

Battery Type	Voltage	Capacity (mAh)	Typical Drain (mA)	Typical Battery Life (h)
D	1.5	13000	200	13000/200 = 65 hours
C	1.5	6000	100	6000/100 = 60 hours
AA	1.5	2400	50	2400/50 = 48 hours
AAA	1.5	1000	10	1000/10 = 100 hours
9 Volt	9	500	15	500/15 = 33 hours
6 Volt Lantern	6	11000	300	11000/300 = 37 hours

Battery Capacity: the capacity of a battery, measured in mAh, is how much amps the battery can provide in one hour. The larger the capacity, longer the battery will last.

Picking a Security Camera

I don’t like monthly fees so when home security companies offered their services to me, I quickly said no. Instead, I bought a security camera. Now I have 3 brands of security cameras and they all have their pros and cons. If you’re in the market for a security camera, I think any one of the 3 below will do you well.

Nest Cam

https://nest.com/cameras

Pros:

Offers 24/7 cloud recording with the ability to easily scrub through the timeline
When browsing the timeline, you can easily find motion points indicated by markers
Ability to create a time lapse
Ability to create custom clips up to 1 hour long
The 4K models allow for zooming in on subjects
Once set up, you can leave it alone. No batteries to charge.
1080p video resolution

Cons:

Expensive
Requires a power cable
The narrowest part of the power cable is 7/8″ in diameter so if you need to drill holes in walls, they’ll need to be at least 1″ in diameter.
Requires a monthly fee of at least $10
Some models only support 720p video resolution

How to Enlarge a Hole in a Wall

The other day I was drilling a hole in a wall to run a 3-prong extension cord through. I thought a 1 inch spade bit would do to create 1 inch diameter hole. Unfortunately, the plug end of the cord was still too big to fit through the hole. I couldn’t enlarge the hole using a hole saw bit

because that requires some material for the center shaft to bite in to.

Quick ‘n Easy Morning Breakfast Sandwiches

I discovered this new mini appliance by Hamilton Beach. It’s a dual sandwich maker and costs $40 on Amazon.

Here are some sandwiches you can make with it, all in an English muffin. The order of the ingredients are from bottom to top.

Note: all meat must be precooked.

Bottom bread, spinach, Colby cheese, egg, top bread, Hollandaise sauce (like Eggs Benedict)
Bottom bread, corned beef, cheddar cheese, egg, top bread
Bottom bread, tomato, spinach, cheese, egg, top bread
Bottom bread, cheese, steak-eze with roasted bell peppers and onions, egg, top bread
Bottom bread, cheddar cheese, caramelized (fried) onion, ground beef patty, egg, top bread (like a patty melt)
Bottom bread, sliced tomato, cheese, egg, top bread
Bottom bread, cheese, turkey sausage patty, egg, top bread
Bottom bread, hash browns, cheese, egg, top bread

Jimmy Dean Turkey Sausage Patties

Costco Kirkland Oven-Roasted Turkey Breast, Sliced

Tip

Most cheese slices come in squares that are too large to fit the 3.75-inch diameter sandwich maker. Use a round cookie cutter to cut the cheese slices so they fit.

Simple Trip Planner with Google Docs and Sheets

There are many tools that can help you plan a trip. Sometimes I’d even use Google Calendar. But when I want something that includes additional information such as a table of expenses, links to websites, and pictures, then I use Google Docs with an embedded Google Sheet.

The workflow goes like this:

Create a new Google Doc (or clone the example below)
In the Google Doc, I use tables to create a 2-column layout with times on the left and details on the right. This makes it easy to read and looks more like an itinerary or agenda view.
Uncheck Print Layout
If you’re like me, you probably don’t print on paper much anymore. And why would you, when you can just save a copy or view the original version of a doc on your various devices (phone, laptop, etc). Print layout is intended for print so you’ll see gaps between each sheet. This is annoying when you want to just see all of your content as you scroll without any large gaps. To eliminate these gaps, in the View menu, uncheck the “Print Layout” menu item.
Add content
When it comes to content, I find it helpful to add the following bits of information
1. Screenshots of Google Maps showing travel time and path
2. Links to directions in Google Maps
3. Photos of destinations, activities, and food
  Google Docs lets you paste images from the clipboard so you can simply take screenshots of pictures on your computer and paste them right into Google Docs
4. Special notes about each activity
5. etc
Create a Google Sheet (or clone the example below)
I use the Google Sheet to list all expenses and easily calculate the total using the sum function.
Embed Google Sheet into Google Doc
The nice thing about Google Docs and Sheets is you can embed a Google Sheet into your Google Doc and have it updated when you update the Google Sheet. In Google Sheets, you’ll have to hover over the embed and click the “Update” button. Nevertheless, it’s still super useful and may even auto-update if you want long enough, e.g. 5 minutes? To embed a table of costs from Google Sheets, select the table in Google Sheets and then paste it where you want it embedded in your Google Doc.
Publish
If you want to share your trip plan with others, you can share the Google Doc itself. Or, better yet, since who you share it with won’t need to edit anything, you can publish your Google Doc as a web page so your recipients can just see a clean, simple view of the trip plan.

Below is a hypothetical example.

Links above are viewable only, not editable. You can make a copy and edit your own copy.