HUD Desktop Stopwatch 0.2.0 (for Mac OS)

Our little utility is getting even better and easier to use. 

Changes in this release:

• Add Start/Stop and Reset buttons on HUD screen
• HUD screen includes progress indicator
• Improve to visual UI elements
• Added About screen to indicate that this is a free software
• Bugs fixed

Available here: HUD Desktop Stopwatch for Mac

Desktop Stopwatch - a.k.a Pomodoro Timer

"Imagine there is a bank which credits your account each morning with $86,400, carries over no balance from day to day, allows you to keep no cash balance, and every evening cancels whatever part of the amount you had failed to use during the day.",

"What would you do?"

"Draw out every cent, of course! 

Well, everyone has such a bank. It's name is time. 
Every morning, it credits you with 86,400 seconds. 
Every night it writes off, as lost, whatever of this you have failed to invest to good purpose. 
It carries over no balance. It allows no overdraft.
Each day it opens a new account for you. 
Each night it burns the records of the day. 
If you fail to use the day's deposits, the loss is yours. 
There is no going back. There is no drawing against the tomorrow. 
You must live in the present on today's deposits. 
Invest it so as to get from it the utmost in health, happiness and success! 
The clock is running. Make the most of today."

Package Management: CocoaPods & Xcode

In my previous post, Package Management: Carthage & Xcode, I looked at how to setup and use Carthage with the Xcode. In this post, I will be doing the same thing, but, with using CocoaPods instead.

Swift Programming: Escaping Closure - The One That Got Away

Sometimes, when looking at Swift source codes I would see something like this:

public func observe(_ action: @escaping Signal<Value, Error>.Observer.Action) 
-> Disposable? 
{...}

Gasp! WTF is that?! Swift 5 code is already very hard - as is. Now this! This '@escaping'! Escaping what? Escaping who?! Escaping where?! Escaping when? 🥴 This was when I plopped my head back, looked at the ceiling and started thinking about that little cafe business I've always wanted to open down the leafy suburban street ...

Recomposing myself. It's time to look at this closely.

Package Management: Carthage & Xcode

Carthage (and Cocoapods) are package management software. You are getting involved with them when you stop re-inventing the wheels and start to reuse software components. Software Reusability is a powerful concept in software development, but that's for another post. Today we will be looking at using Carthage to manage software dependency and see how it is working with our Xcode.

Package Management: Carthage Vs CocoaPods - Setting Up

CocoaPods and Carthage are two of the most prominent package-management and dependency management software. They are very popular in Swift and Objective-C communities. I have been using Carthage heavily with my last client for the past 2 years and sort of "touch-and-go" with the Cocoapods. It's time to dissect and look at them closely.

Barton Watchband for Samsung Galaxy Watch

I jumped on the Galaxy Watch bandwagon since late last year and left the Apple Watch behind collecting dust in the drawer. Never regret since then. One of the main reasons was the customisable of the software, in particular, the watch faces. And now, also the accessories - like the watch bands. Thanks to Samsung's decision to utilise many standards of the conventional watches, i.e the standard 20mm or 22mm straps connections and the lug sizes. Which means many accessories for the Galaxy Watch also fit my other conventional watches, like my legendary Seiko Skx007. 

Hello (AR) World

Reality, Augmented

You sit on a train with your cool-shade filtering out bright light, earphones on, rain-pouring-down white-noise helps drawing out this buzzing noise so at least you can concentrate on what you are reading - the news that your government announced GDP growth of 0.3%. Your friend said that you are his best mate and asked to borrow some money; your girlfriend said that she really like the green necktie you wear today. Your boss said that you were her best employee and asked if you could do OT this Saturday. You hate lies. But, all these are alright - you are telling yourself that they were augmented. What's real? What's not? Never mind that, let's alter our perceptions a little bit more, you picked up a book on Augmented Reality and search internet on AR. 

Is Decaffeinated Coffee good for you?

I love the aroma of a freshly brewed cup of coffee, but unfortunately my body cannot tolerate the high content of caffeine found in 1 cup of regular, black coffee. So I was wondering if I should consider drinking the decaf alternative instead? What are the benefits and side effects of decaffeinated coffee?

Decaffeinated Coffee still contains Caffeine

According to a reputable professor at John Hopkins Medical School, Dr. Roland Griffiths says:

" ... decaffeinated is not the same as caffeine-free ... popular decaffeinated espresso drinks such as lattes (which contain two shots of espresso) can deliver as much caffeine as a can of Coca-Cola -- about 31 milligrams."

Ways to Quit a Bad Habit

If you google the internet, you'll be inundated with so many blogs and youtube videos about ways that can help you to break a bad habit. What I've come to realise is that depending on what the bad habit is you need to apply the method that is best suited to that particular negative habit. What works for other people may not work for you in every situation.

Let's suppose you have a bad habit of nail-biting when you are anxious, stressed or just nervous. How would you go about quitting this bad habit?

Goodness of Chamomile (aka Camomile) Tea

Recently, as a change from drinking Vietnamese jasmine tea, Japanese tea and Green tea, I thought I'd like to try Chamomile tea. Yesterday, after my "healthy" lunch of deep-fried chips (😅) and spicy, chargrilled chicken, I wanted a tea that would get rid of the oily after taste in my mouth. I rummaged through my kitchen drawers and found a box of Chamomile tea.

I was pleasantly surprised by the faintly-sweet aroma and the effects on my sleep during the night. For the first time in a long time, I had an uninterrupted 7 hours of sleep. I felt rejuvenated and alert as I got up at 5:30am to start my meditation. I found myself humming "Ständchen" while preparing breakfast and packing lunches for my children for school. Wow! This is really something ... so I did some research and found some interesting facts about the effects of Chamomile tea that I'd like to share with you.