Reading Time: 4 minutes (Original 11-12-2015)I decided to give cloud server another try, after my failed attempt to move WordPress from shared hosting to Amazon AWS last year. This time I go with DigitalOcean as I heard good things from my friend Don (who made this cool makeyourcase site and api). Decision choosing Apache or NginxI chose Nginx over

Reading Time: 4 minutes (Update 11-19-2015) It appears Facebook started to spam me. It sent an email saying I got a new message, which is not true. It actually sent not just one, but two messages. Also this is the second week of my pager duty. This afternoon Gas Buddy sent me an alert, and it got to my

Reading Time: 2 minutes Just look at this smart watch on Amazon. Can you believe one can get a smartwatch that basically has the functions of a $100+ pebble watch, and sell for $12.80 at Amazon? We know stuff at Wal-Mart are made in China. How about this watch? I bet it’s made in China too, not only that,

Reading Time: 2 minutes We know St. Louis is not a hot (or cool) place as Seattle/Silicon Valley in terms of job opportunities for software engineers. But St. Louis area have plenty of opportunities from small to large organizations, with a diverse industries. There are also many resources for aspiring software developers who like to join the industry. The

Reading Time: < 1 minute I continue to be Serenity’s weekend activity driver these days. I like spending time with her, esp. when she asked me questions when we go to COCA for her ballet class: it’s about 15 minutes one way, and it’s Sunday afternoon, so it’s not as busy. These days she like to say something, usually some

Reading Time: 3 minutes (Update 11-05-2015) Citibank Gold Checking account offer: 50,000 AA miles or 50,000 ThankYou Points (doctorofcredit has a detailed explanation and step-to-step guide). This seems like good deal even consider $90 monthly fees (3 months). Also, a top on checks. Sometimes it cost money to get beginning checks for a checking acct. One way to workaround

Reading Time: 2 minutes airlines miles award chart Complete map of Starwood SPG hotels award map (hotels points and map) British airways avios map Car rental primary insurance PS (09-24-2015): booked Westin Lake Las Vegas via BA Avios points. It cost about 11,000 points for the premium room ($81 + taxes). The room there starts at 7,000 SPG points,

Reading Time: 2 minutes Note this is also available at github. (10-06-2015 Update 2) Came across this one by tutsplus. Also the thoughts by Erica and savyapps. (09-28-2015 Update) Came across this tutorial by madeupbypeople. Looks good. Also, note Xcode 7.1 beta 2 is coming out, along with iOS 9.0.1 (09-19-2015 Original) My Apple TV dev kit arrived. I

Reading Time: 2 minutes With $10000 as spending limit. The prerequisite: iPhone 6, 6+, 6s, 6s+; iOS 9; in store purchase, no giftcard. Stores support Apple Pay Here in St. Louis, Schnucks, Dierbergs, WalGreens, St. Louis Bread Co. (Panera Bread) all supports Apple Pay. Though on Sept. 17 I tried at Schnucks counter, it failed, note this is the

Reading Time: < 1 minute (Update 10-08-2015) The Unlocked version of iPhone 6s and 6s plus started on sale at Apple store and online. via AppleInsider. (Original 09-10-2015) [table id=1 /] Reference: the verge; Apple iPhone Upgrade Plan