HD Screen and Audio Recording on a Mac (+ Basic Editing)

  1. Do all of this on a Mac with 1920 x 1080 (HD) resolution
  2. Install SoundFlower for Mac
    This is necessary because QuickTime doesn’t let you record system audio
  3. Play an audio file (e.g. mp3)
  4. Play a video (e.g. from YouTube)
    If you want the video to be full screen, make it so from the application, e.g. YouTube. To remove the window chrome, click Command + Shift + F to maximize.
  5. Open QuickTime Player (included with Mac) and choose “New Screen Recording”
  6. Next to the record button, click the drop-down and choose Sound Flower 2ch
  7. Record the video and / or audio
  8. In QuickTime Player, trim both ends of the video to your liking
  9. In QuickTime Player, insert other video clips wherever you want on the timeline
  10. The recorded video will be a huge mov file (large file size). Upload it to YouTube and then download the MP4 from YouTube to compress it.

How to Stop a Chronic Cough, Mucus, and Tickle in Throat

Most people would say that if you have a chronic cough, it’s probably due to allergies. Actually, the two most probable causes of a chronic cough are

  • allergies
  • acid reflux

I had a chronic cough for many, many years along with an irritating tickle in the back of my throat. I would also have to constantly clear my throat of mucus. I saw many doctors and an allergist and they all told me it was due to allergies and that I had post-nasal drip. I tried many types of pills and inhalers and even a nasal flush but none of them permanently got rid of my chronic cough. After doing some research on my own, I found that acid reflux is often a cause of

  • coughing
  • mucus
  • tickle in back of throat

Continue reading How to Stop a Chronic Cough, Mucus, and Tickle in Throat

Tasty Spicy Lentil Soup Recipe

I came across this lentil soup one day and couldn’t believe how tasty it was. It’s very spicy, though, so unless you can handle hot and spicy food, you may want to skip this or exclude the 3 green chili peppers.

This recipe is for cooking in a pot. A similar recipe for cooking in a slow cooker is also available.

Ingredients

  • 4 tomatoes
  • 1 onion
  • 1 bunch of cilantro
  • 3 green chili peppers
  • 1 tbsp ginger and garlic paste
  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 tbsp Daal spice
  • 1/2 tbsp salt
  • 1 lb of red split lentils
  • Water

Continue reading Tasty Spicy Lentil Soup Recipe

Things to Do BEFORE You Lose / Break Your Android Phone

Link Your Google Account

If you linked your Google Account with your phone, if you lose your phone, you can go to the Google Android Device Manager and 1) lock your phone and 2) locate it on Google Maps so you can get it. If necessary, you can also erase the data on the phone as well.

Enable USB Debugging in Developer Mode

USB debugging allows you to transfer data between a computer and your phone. It’s handy if you broke your phone’s screen or otherwise can’t get into your phone to back up data. Many backup utilities only work with USB debugging enabled.

Back Up All Data including App Data to Google Drive

If you back up all your data such as photos and WhatsApp messages to Google Drive, then if you lose your phone, you’ll still be able to access your data.

Install WheresMyDroid

Install a app like WheresMyDroid to be able to control your phone from other another phone or computer. This can be handy when you want to unlock your phone, make your phone ring, etc.

Shark Bite: Plumbing Made Easy – No More Soldering!

Today I worked on rerouting some copper pipes in my bathroom so they wouldn’t be exposed. I wanted to install a local shut-off valve so I wouldn’t have to turn off the main water supply outside just to work on the pipes in the bathroom. I bought a 1/4 turn ball valve which needed to be soldered onto the copper pipe. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to heat up the connection, both copper pipe and valve,  in order to get the silver solder to melt and leave a tight seal. Some of the reasons include

  • a bit water dripping in the pipe which prevents the connection from heating up to a high enough temperature to melt the silver
  • the valve was made of an alloy which doesn’t conduct heat as easily and as quickly as copper

After getting fed up with soldering and wasting tons of time, I discovered an amazing, but expensive, product by Shark Bite. They make push-in removable pipe fittings and installing them takes literally 5 seconds. Just push the fittings into the pipes and you’re done. See pics below of some of their fittings.

Believe it or not, these fittings ACTUALLY work! Continue reading Shark Bite: Plumbing Made Easy – No More Soldering!

▲