SoonKhen OwYong's Rant

Yet Another Web Developer

[owyongsk]

Roll your own free Dropbox Public folder for static sites (on your existing Dropbox)

I’ve tried multiple sites such as www.paperplane.io and some other alternatives which could emulate the old Dropbox Public folder feature. Recently as I received an email about paperplane’s lack of update to new Dropbox API, I decided to build my own. You can use it for yourself too!

Prerequisites

Heroku account. Heroku is sort of a web-host for developers' apps. There's a free tier for every account.

Dropbox account. Dropbox is a cloud storage much like Google Drive, iCloud, Baidu Drive. There's a free 2GB account or something.

Steps

Go here to create a Dropbox app for yourself. Be sure to select "Dropbox API" and also "App folder". Set a name for your app and create it.

Click "Generate token" and make sure you copy that random gibberish words

Go here and click the that purple button saying "Deploy to Heroku".

Replace "never_gonna_give_you_up" with the random gibberish words you just copied earlier. Choose a name for your heroku app, then click "Create app".

Copy all your files to your dropbox folder such as ~/Dropbox/Apps/dropbox-app-name-earlier

If you have a file at say ~/Dropbox/Apps/cool_app/resume.html, then you can go to http://heroku-app-name.herokuapp.com/resume.html to see your file.

If you are a developer feel free to contribute in the github.

[owyongsk]

9 months on low-carb (Atkins-like) diet in HK

Just wanted to share a couple thoughts on 9 months of my low-carb (average less than 50g of carbs) diet. I started an experiment on my body basically after February of 2016. For an intro to the diet, here’s the wikipedia page.

How I started I first heard of the low-carb diet from maybe podcasts, many smart (and authoritative) people on internet (such as Tim Ferris, academics, YouTubers) were talking about reducing your carb intake. The reason why I started is actually quite embarassing, as it is hot most days in HK, to save on electricity (and my carbon footprint), I tend to be topless at home, and fortunately (or unfortunately for many of the guests at my place), there’s a mirror in the living room. Science does say that in order to motivate yourself to exercise, it’s good to have a mirror so you can see your improvements constantly. I realized I was close to losing the belly but it just wasn’t enough with my regular exercise and occasional binge-eating sessions. So naturally as part of my online research, I went on http://reddit.com/r/keto to start my journey. I do not however, count my calories as that is too much trouble. How I do it As a somewhat pragmatist, I try and make the experiment as easy for me as possible.

Most meals I would eat a caesar salad (maybe without the sauce), or just eggs, for a period of time I did eat 3 eggs almost every weekday in the morning. For lunches, there are local restaurants in HK which lets you pick two toppings (Chinese toppings...), which I will pick mostly meat and some green vegetables (caution: green veges are important for your daily fiber intake). I used to snack on raw peanut butter too. If you want to start, reddit.com/r/keto has some good tips and tricks.

Noticeable effects Some of the pros are definitely the lesser effect of afternoon post-lunch crash. I used to have the craziest drowsiness after lunch and the low-carb breakfasts and lunches definitely helped me a lot. I was less sleepy and more energetic. I get full and feel more satiated much more easily now because carbs make you crave even more carbs (who would’ve thunk that?). So I get full much more easily from fat and protein other than carbs. I did not quite suffer from fatique or many of the side effects in the beginning maybe due to my already low calorie or whatever I ate before officially starting the low-carb diet. The stares however that you get at local restaurants (or everywhere) when you order a meal without rice, that’s actually one of the hardest things socially you have to deal with.

I did take a blood lipid tests 6 months after starting the diet. I shall post the test results but I did not take a pre-experiment test. The belly is replaced by some ok-ish abs (WIN!). I do however exercise regularly (every 3 days) by sprinting and doing Calisthenics at my free local park downstairs. EDIT: Sometimes if I do start eating a lot of carbs (while on vacation, etc), such as ice-cream, rice, desserts, my stomach do get upset, due to your gut bacteria changes, be aware of that. Why I’m still sticking to it It is still a very challenging behavior to maintain, as I love to eat, a lot, especially cheap street food. But for me I’m not doing a very strict (less than 20g) a day, it is slightly easier for me. The best part is not feeling sleepy after breakfast and lunch, that is enough for me to stick to less than 50g of carbs a day. Besides, I get to overeat on meat if I want to, because fat and protein is fine.

If you’d like to try it, I would suggest cutting out carbs from breakfast and lunch, and you can avoid that post meal sleepiness.  Science on low-carb diet I actually started with http://reddit.com/r/ketoscience as part of my research into how viable the low-carb diet is, but as that subreddit is basically preaching to the choir, I tried to search for evidence that does not support the efficacy of the keto diet. I have to admit my bias however, that I want low-carb to be right. We all know that science is hard, seeking the truth is hard, but there are new evidence in the past few years that are suggesting that low-carb is legit. There are quite a few meta-analyses on the dangers (or lack thereof) of fat (yes, even saturated fat).

[owyongsk]

Why Being a Minimalist Works for Me

As someone who grew up from South-East Asia, I was lucky to have spent my young adulthood in the US. I learned a lot about who I am and who I want to be and how to accomplish it. As an example, I had to learn to live alone the first time while in a foreign country, and I learned that I really really hate washing the toilet but I love doing my own dishes. As a gamer (zerg rush anyone?) as well as someone with an engineering mindset, I knew what I had to do to get what I want. To minimize all the things that I hate to do or don't need in order to maximize my resources to do what I want. We as humans have long passed the capacity to be able to sustain our most important needs for survival but society is very good, too good in fact, in making us think we need more, and more. It works for me because I want to be an entrepreneur. Many of you who are reading are probably in the same boat. Every penny that I make goes to my savings or the nearest liquid investment. Having a house just means that you have a bigger risk to take when you are planning to go out on your own and start a venture. It works for me because I am environmentally conscious. Every flyer that you did not take from someone on the streets saves a tree over your lifetime (totally just made that up). I have stopped bringing every printout material that I received from conventions, conferences and I always try and put those materials back where others could have picked it up (though my wardrobe is full of those shirts they pass out at tech events. I haven't bought new shirts since). I want to urge all of you to rethink about the essentials in your life that makes you happy, then minimize everything else. For many of us, it could be family, friends, a smart phone, a laptop, two pair of shoes, a dozen shirts, 4 pairs of jeans, one set of formal wear, dozen pairs of underwear, dozen pairs of socks, a set of cookingware, a broom, a mop, a towel, a bed, toiletries. You don't have to extreme of course, just cut more of the shallow stuff out so you can enjoy the things you truly appreciate.

[owyongsk]

Preferences in Life (so far)

As I was trying to fall asleep at 3 in the morning after 4 hours of code jam, I find my mind wandering about how the future is exciting and the past was awesome, and if I would die now, I would not regret a single bit of what I've done so far. Part of the comfort comes from what I've learned in life and how it changed me. I figured this would be a good blog entry since I haven't updated it for years.

I prefer (borderline OCD) not to waste stuff

Coming from Malaysia, I have long despise some of the American lifestyle. There's just too much waste just for the sake of convenience. Some of these are: zip-lock bags, using paper towels for EVERYTHING, disposable insert-your-favorite-anything-here, etc. This just pains me too much. Therefore I always prefer tuppleware to zip-lock bags, rag cloths or my bare hands to paper towels, non-disposable alternatives. Come on, the Earth will not contain us much longer, my fellow human beings, do something about it.

I prefer a minimalistic and uncluttered lifestyle

Somewhat similar to the above, I have adopted a minimalistic lifestyle. You don't see much crap in my room, maybe because I'm sick of packing before moving. I used to always be the first to ask for free stuff, now before I buy anything, I would ask myself, will this be useless after a week? Just ordered a pretty small sized projector. It's portable and not as bulky as a TV, this is great.

I prefer everything to be digital

I guess all my preferences relate to one another in many ways. Kindle books? Check. Credit cards and bank accounts linked to mint.com? Check. This is why I love technology. Good stuff.

Maybe I should just rename the post title to My Minimalistic Lifestyle.

[owyongsk]

3 lessons from college

Since everyone is graduating but me (long story), I thought I should write on some reflection of my college career and experience. I think there are 3 essential lessons that I learned in college.

1. Perfection comes even in the totality of life

I remember this statement vividly from my professor of upper division writing class (probably one of the most important class a college student have to take). I was struggling in the class due to my responsibilities with AIESEC and on-campus employments. Somehow I always manage to allow myself to start researching and writing my papers just a little less than 4 hours before it's due. The professor offered an extra credit opportunity which require us to write a submit a 2000 word essay for an essay-writing competition. I remember that one day I walked up to him after class and told him that I would like to maybe try and get that extra credit. I also told him about my situation, my responsibilities and commitment to change people's lives through AIESEC. He looked at me and said, I was the same when I was in college, I was trying to do too much, but just remember this, "perfection comes even in the totality of life". I ended up getting a C in his class but that statement stuck with me till this day.

2. Classes do not equip you for success and job security

I almost wanted to say classes do not help at all but that would be an exaggeration. Classes do help, but only to a very small extent. Having talked to many of my peers, even in the graduate programs, I realized that most of the curriculum do not teach practical skills to the students. For example, the Master's program in Software Engineering did nothing to teach the students on using git. Many of my peers only start to worry that they will not be able to find jobs when they graduate. Yet our classes fail to teach us soft skills that will help us to pitch our skills better. 

3. Not everyone wants to be #1

This is perhaps the most obvious with the most common-est of common sense. However, I can't seem to fathom why people would not strive to be the best in what they do. A good explanation would be that because less people are going to end up being one than not, it would be foolish to put in an effort. One of my professors echoed this sentiment in his class, I guess I have to agree that we have to accept this and move on. Life is different for all and there is always room for mediocrity to help others to be number 1.

[owyongsk]

One person in this room is going to be successful, might as well be YOU!

Steven Bochner, San Jose State University alumnus

[owyongsk]

Mom and Dad! I am funny on stage!

[owyongsk]

3 most effective ways to learn about a new culture

Someone wise once told me the two best ways to learn about a foreign culture. I added the third after my hands-on learning about another culture. I am an international student from Malaysia, residing in San Jose, trying to finish my Management Information Systems degree. I've worked in multi-cultural teams in other countries and locally, especially in this diverse part of the United States, the Bay Area.

1. Drink with them. This is for obvious reasons. People tend to show their true colors when they let their guard down after drinking. You will witness their true accents, their perspectives, their political opinions. All you need to do is drink drink drink. But.... it's not all about alcohol, some cultures drink tea, or coffee, or something else. The Chinese and the Japanese likes to drink tea, it is considered to be of great social value to be able to drink tea together.

2. Fall in love with them. If you haven't heard of this one before, you are missing out. I always recommend my friends who are going abroad to try and be single, because you will never know what you are missing out. Not to break some relationships or anything, but dating someone local will help show you the path to the inner workings of their culture. They will be so vulnerable to you that you can learn anything about them. I am not suggesting that you should date them to "study" their culture, please do it with caution though.

3. Work with them. It is my belief that you will see the ugly side of people when you are working (especially in stressful environments) with others. People will show their values in their professional settings. In a conference call where you have people from South Asia and North America, the Asians will just be agreeing to whatever that is being decided without contributing much to the conversation while the Americans will keep talking and discussing about the issue.

With these three tips, I hope you will pack everything up and leave your country, wherever you are from. The world is so big that it is not worth staying on the same spot for too long. Find a job overseas, study abroad, go on a vacation, backpack in another continent. Just find a gawddamn way.

[owyongsk]

8 secrets to success

I saw a TED video a while ago that echoes my beliefs in what it means to be successful. I looked back to my life in the past 2 years as an international student here at San Jose State, I would not say I’m as successful as Mark Zuckerberg but I would certainly want to be like him one day, but it’s fair to say I have took every opportunity that was presented to me and it had helped me excelled. Take a look at the video, it’s a short and simple video I promise.

What prompted me to write this was because a few days ago, I received a call saying that I had been awarded a $1500 scholarship. Being delighted and excited, I was not surprised at all. In fact, I was counting on the money to help me launch my startup (more on that next time) and get a faster laptop to let me code. I want to relate to the 8 secrets with my experience in the past few years (in order of importance to me).

Passion. In the past 2 years, I was passionately involved in AIESEC, the global non-profit run by students and recent graduates. I believed in the mission wholeheartedly, I was working late nights to get AIESEC San Jose up and running, I was stressed out all the time but I had fun. Steve Jobs said, if you feel that you hate what you are doing everyday, you should quit and find something else and never settle until you find something you do that you absolutely love. I also had to learn this the very hard way. Trust me on this one.

Work. Of course, nothing good in life comes easy. You might win the lottery or two but until that day comes, you better be working your butt off. I have been working two on-campus jobs, volunteering for AIESEC and going to school at the same time, yet, I manage to maintain good grades. I can tell you though, it was all hard work. The amazing thing is when you have the passion for whatever you do, putting in hard work will not be a problem.

Focus. When I was the President of AIESEC San Jose, it was my sole priority. I will not lose focus on my responsibilities. I had to pay less attention to classes and other commitments but I manage to grow the organization. Conversely, I have been lacking focus in what I am doing recently, and it's killing me. At least I'm working towards focus.

Push. The video talks about pushing yourself to the limit, or have an invention called mother to do so. My mom is not here to push me, but what was useful for me was getting a mentor. I strongly urge everyone to get a few mentors who can give advice and push you to greater success. My mentor had been instrumental to my success because he kept pushing me to achieve more and more.

Good. I agree that you need to be damn good in whatever you are doing. The way you can do it is by practice, practice, practice. I came to realize that as a leader, you need to have charisma and public speaking ability. Ever since, I have been honing my skills in presentation and public speaking, and it has served me well. From classroom presentations to business negotiations, I was able to excel.

Serve. I have been involved in the non-profit industry for the past 2 years, this is not strange to me. There is something about serving others that makes you work harder. The joy of making an impact in someone else's life is wonderful. My efforts in helping others have helped me to gain new skills such as leadership.

Persist. Kinda like hard work, but knowing when not to stop. Persistence is very useful if you are trying to be an entrepreneur. It is also very useful when you are trying to make a sale or get things done from someone who is very busy. A wall is only there to show you how much you want it. If you really want it, the wall does not matter, you will get past it. I was rejected by the Peer Mentors program my first semester in San Jose State, but that rejection motivated me to work harder and I was subsequently accepted into many other programs on-campus.

Ideas. The video talked about Bill Gates' (some software guy) idea on starting a software company. While many of us do not have an idea that will turn into a $200 billion dollar company, but we should always be generating ideas and pursue them after tonnes of research. Ideas don't have to be big, they just need to be brilliant and executed with due diligence.

Let me know in the comments how these relate to you.

[owyongsk]

How to create your own QR code, and add a smiley in it

Go ahead and scan the picture above. It should redirect you to an awesome blog with some amazing juice. Want to know how to create one?

First, you need a few things such as:

A smartphone with a barcode scanning app

A QR code generator

MS Paint (yeah, seriously, that easy)

Please kindly follow the steps below:

Head over to http://zxing.appspot.com/generator/ to generate your own code.

Select the type of information you want to encode. I chose contact information so I can set it as a wallpaper on my phone and others could just add my contact if they have a barcode app.

Click generate code once you are done typing all the info.

You should see a code generated in picture format to your right, save that image to your computer.

Edit the image with MS Paint or any image editing software you prefer.

Here comes the tricky part, it's basically trial and error, try removing some blocks of the code and scan using your smartphone to see if the information is still pulled up. If it does not work, CTRL + Z should undo your changes.

Try removing a big chunk of blocks (somewhere in the middle) away enough for you to draw something.

If your smartphone detects the information when you scan it, you are basically set, you can draw whatever you like on it.

If you have questions, feel free to post it on the comments below!

[owyongsk]

To be successful you need to jump onto opportunities as fast as you jump into conclusions.

Benjamin Franklin

[owyongsk]

Malaysia, AIESEC Presentation

This is the presentation I always give about Malaysia in AIESEC conferences. It's a tradition that we have as AIESECers, to learn about other people's cultures, which brought to our existence as an organization.

  After the presentations, I will play this video. Makes me tear up inside everytime, I miss home...sometimes. MALAYSIA!!! WOO!!

[owyongsk]

In case you missed Governator's commencement speech, it's a must watch. 

[owyongsk]

Minimize the time between idea and action.

That was the conference theme of AIESEC United States' Winter National Conference 2010. The message was never simpler, it is straightforward and applies to many things we do in life. Kevin Groen, our chair for the conference shared his many stories on how these simple words had brought him success.

Imagine you are in an elevator with a really attractive girl, you wanted to talk to her and ask her out. At this moment, you have two options:

Strike a conversation immediately, slowly bring up the idea of grabbing a coffee

Analyze the proper way to start the conversation without sounding like a stalker while imagining her rejecting your request, picturing your failure and disgust, eventually losing the guts to even talk to her

Just like the classic Nike cliche, "Just do it", you have heard of this many times. The best option is obviously the former simply because the longer you wait, the more your brain will come up with scenarios of failure, the more you will feel overwhelmed and sadly.... "chickened" out.

This happened to me before of course, we've all been there, we've all stopped to think if we should talk to the girl. Not too long ago, I remember running to an elevator just so I could catch the same one with this pretty neighbor of mine. But when I was in there, I did not manage to pull myself together and talk to her. I still remember that day till now.

Fast forward to not so long ago, I remember taking such a plunge. When the President before me asked if anyone will run for President of AIESEC San Jose. I raised my hand immediately. Looking back, despite all the challenges, I've became a better person and leader.

REMEMBER! It would not have happened if I hadn't raised my hand without thinking much about it. Just minimize the time between idea and action.

[owyongsk]

Joining Tumblr

This is awesome!