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College Admission Tips

December 30th, 2008 | Posted by pftq in 42 | #

Things to check when applying to colleges…
  Seems kind of late for me to be talking about college admissions since most of the people I know online have already attended or are in college.  Nevertheless, it’s now my turn, and yes I’m only just now applying. :P

  The general rule of thumb I’ve found is to simply be honest and real - don’t overemphasize things that aren’t really that important but don’t sell yourself short either.  However, I would presume most people who do come online are in search of more concrete tips and advice.

  The below…[More]

1201 unique view(s)

Comparing Options Contracts

June 12th, 2019 | Posted by pftq in 42 | #

Bitcoin Options Price Feed Data and Analysis on LedgerX

This is a spreadsheet I created to compare what call or put options are best to buy, specifically using this for Bitcoin options on LedgerX but can be used with any options really.  You can essentially use this as an API for LedgerX options price data into your own scripts as well by using the ImportRange function.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1dZbFjCrr2FykdPvE4UVLp8kOO5Iox9lmctSmfqSTq1I/edit#gid=0

Sometimes the...[More]
Last Updated Jan 31st, 2020 | 1248 unique view(s)

CSharp Notes and Pitfalls

December 5th, 2012 | Posted by pftq in 42 | #

Things not to do and things to remember about C#...


Just notes and things I want to remember when I'm coding C#.  Sometimes these things take hours to catch when the fix is simple, if you knew about them in advance.
RichTextBox.Text - do not update in a background thread even if each thread has its own RichTextBox (building multiple control objects in parallel, for example).  This will cause a memory corruption error and either cause your program to crash or hang every so often (which makes it even harder to notice).
1061 unique view(s)

Death

June 11th, 2007 | Posted by pftq in 42 | #

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File Management

April 5th, 2009 | Posted by pftq in 42 | #

Tools to sort, rename, and organize your files...


     Seems like the operating system would be best for managing your files, but this isn't always the case.  Several times, I'd want to rename a whole batch of files, or maybe I'd want to fix the creation times of my pictures.  As usual, the free stuff is always best - there's no reason to buy bloated software for essential needs as these.  Below are the best I've found.  Feel free to suggest more.

Programs and Tools

Last Updated May 24th, 2012 | 1032 unique view(s)

Fixing a Mac White Screen or Not Booting

May 21st, 2012 | Posted by pftq in 42 | #

Failure to Boot on a Mac, White Screen of Death...


Had a few friends who have run into a white screen on bootup for their Macs after dropping it or having a power failure.  Rather than have to send in for repair (time + money), a much easier fix is detailed at The Pabster's Notebook.
The basic idea is that the Hard Drive boot sector got corrupted, but the Mac continues to try to boot from it.  The system disc doesn't help because the OS doesn't try to boot from anything else unless the hard drive is first disconnected.
Once that...[More]
Last Updated May 22nd, 2012 | 1334 unique view(s)

Free Fax Online

September 14th, 2018 | Posted by pftq in 42 | #
Save you the trouble of buying a fax machine or paying for a service.
https://faxzero.com/
431 unique view(s)

FTP Tutorial

September 28th, 2006 | Posted by pftq in 42 | #

A guide and tutorial to using an FTP for Windows

 Several people who I lend webspace to have had trouble using the FTP connection. Therefore, I've written a hopefully easy-to-understand tutorial and guide to using the FTP. Different hosts/servers may vary, but it is generally about the same. Just change the address to whatever your ftp would be. Using the FTP is simple.


1) First open your windows explorer browser (open a folder such as My Computer or My Documents) and enter your address. 


[More]
Last Updated Oct 26th, 2015 | 770 unique view(s)

Gmail Constant Password Change

January 1st, 2022 | Posted by pftq in 42 | #
Lately Gmail keeps asking me to change my password because it thinks my login patterns are suspicious.  I've probably changed my password 10 times now, and the worst part is I can't re-use old ones, making it harder to remember my login. 

The workaround it seems is to actually ignore the change password request if you get it and clear cookies in your browser based on the support thread here:
https://support.google.com/accounts/thread/73279572/my-gmail-account-kept-asking-me-to-change-my-password-every-time?hl=en
270 unique view(s)

Google Groups as a Mailing List

January 13th, 2024 | Posted by pftq in 42 | #
Seems there's not much competition driving down prices for mailing lists! A list w/ 200k ppl on Mailchimp or Constant Contact costs like $2000/mth. Made one for Waterflame on Google Groups instead, which is free w/ G-Suites. Will see if it hits any limits!

Waterflame's new mailing list :O
https://groups.google.com/a/waterflame.com/g/list/about

To create your...[More]
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Google Hangouts Timeout Extension

March 22nd, 2014 | Posted by pftq in 42 | #
Useful plugin for preventing Google Hangouts from timing you out if you're not there to check in every hour or so.

http://userscripts.org/scripts/show/131680
1255 unique view(s)

Google Maps Missing Starred Places

July 21st, 2019 | Posted by pftq in 42 | #
For those also running into issues with starred places on Mobile not showing on desktop:
https://www.reddit.com/r/GoogleMaps/comments/97inxv/saved_places_stars_not_showing_up_on_desktop_when/

Basically the saved place is not being saved correctly with proper date.  To fix, you need to go to Bookmarks and resave each that has a Nan date.
450 unique view(s)

Image Resources

July 1st, 2009 | Posted by pftq in 42 | #

Resources and tools for creating images, video, and more...

     Below are some useful sites to look at if you make any visual form of multimedia.  Usually, I will try to list only free sources rather than those that require a subscription.

Interesting Photoshop Tutorials

Recreating the Dreamworks Logo with Clouds and Sky - Some of the image links are broken, but the instructions are still there and the end product is fantastic.
Ring...[More]
Last Updated Aug 17th, 2010 | 1098 unique view(s)

Instrument Tutorials

May 26th, 2010 | Posted by pftq in 42 | #

Tutorials for playing various instruments...


Dizi - Chinese side-blown flute.
Musical Saw - An actual saw used as an instrument.  Sounds like a ghostly synth.  More information also in this PDF by sawplayers.org
Last Updated Jun 3rd, 2012 | 993 unique view(s)

Jobs and Networking

May 18th, 2015 | Posted by pftq in 42 | #

Besides Facebook...

Below are resources mainly and sites worth checking out for building up portfolios and projects... more for artists and people trying to start their own companies as opposed to just casual social sites.



General...[More]

Last Updated Jul 26th, 2015 | 1427 unique view(s)

Loudness Penalty Tricks

July 27th, 2022 | Posted by pftq in 42 | #
More for my own notes for reducing loudness penalty of music but some of these took forever to figure out - maybe helps some others out as well.
- Loudness penalty is based on the average loudness of the track.  So yes, having quiet parts reduces your average and boosts the overall loudness.  However, things that are too quiet (like actual silence) are automatically ignored and not counted toward the average.
- Stereo widening instantly worsens your loudness penalty even if it's perceptively the same volume.  Conversely stereo merging instantly improves your loudness by 1-2db.  This one took me so long to realize - I was EQing a track to death only to realize it was because of how far left and right I had things panned.  Similarly drums tend to be stereo merged in the lower frequencies for commercially produced tracks, and this is probably why.  Vocals and lead synths/instruments tend to be entirely mono to begin with, which probably is this same thing.
-...[More]
Last Updated Aug 24th, 2022 | 303 unique view(s)

Modeling Resources

August 12th, 2015 | Posted by pftq in 42 | #

Tutorials and other resources for 3D modeling, 3D printing, etc


3D Modeling and Printing for Beginners - Starting point for myself coming from familiarity with Photoshop and Illustrator.
1451 unique view(s)

Music and Sound Editing

August 10th, 2009 | Posted by pftq in 42 | #

Free tools and programs to edit audio and mp3 files.  Resources and tips to read on.

     Of course, the best programs would have to cost money, but for those of us with somewhat of a budget, these are some of the programs I've found most useful.  Further down are also resources I found useful for advice on how to better edit sounds or music pieces.

My own tips for loudness penalty: https://www.pftq.com/blabberbox/?page=Loudness_Penalty_Tricks

General...[More]

Last Updated Jan 25th, 2023 | 1061 unique view(s)

One Equals 0.99999...

April 29th, 2007 | Posted by pftq in 42 | #

Confusing math…
  I came across this a few times. They say once you go into Calculus, it’s understandable, but me having not gone that far, find this pretty strange…
x = 0.99999…
10x = 9.99999…
10x-x = 9.99999……[More]

859 unique view(s)

One Equals Zero

September 26th, 2006 | Posted by pftq in 42 | #

Proving 1=0, 2=1, and so on…
  Here is a pretty tricky proof that I’ve come across several times. It basically proves that a+b=a, which would mean that 1+0=0, 1=0, 2=1, and so on.

  I know very well how to prove this wrong, but do you? :P
a = b
ab = b²
ab…[More]

1985 unique view(s)