Posts

Deciphering Snapchat’s security hole

The book Winners take all is a collection of interesting insights into how companies in the high tech sector succeed and fail. The book was written in 2006 (pre-iPhone era) so it’s interesting to see how some companies mentioned by the author (notably, Apple and Google) succeeded and how some others (notably, Symantec and Nokia) are struggling.

This blog post is a HOWTO guide for using github while collaborating during hackathons. It does not cover git in detail.

This blog post contains a collection of small tips for engineers migrating from GNU/Linux to Mac OS X for software development. Note: In another post, I wrote about why there is a dearth of a good GNU/Linux laptop.

I grumbled that I have to go through security check on a connecting airport. It turned out that my domestic flight had landed in the international section. There was no secure passage connecting it to the next terminal. I crossed the security checkpoint at LA airport, and after wearing my shoes, I was waiting for my bag to come out of the scanner. “Sir, is this your bag?” a tall African-American TSA personnel looking at me, said, “it turned the light red on the scanner, we need to recheck it.” I was pretty sure the bottles were empty. I was not carrying anything sharp except keys which TSA people have seen before. She opened my bag in front of me, checked and pulled a banana bread out. “We have to test this,” she said. ...

Since I wrote the initial set of posts, quite a few people have asked me about good credit cards. So, I decided to write one about the same.

Some experience with adb and fastboot preferred (they are part of android SDK)

Since my previous posts, quite a few people asked me a basic plan which can be followed, here it is. The items are ordered from first thing to be done to the last thing which can be done (assuming money is still left). Emergency savings Put 6 months worth of expenses in a Series I-Bonds (sold by treasurydirect.gov) - they try to match inflation rates (but nothing more than that) and can be sold after holding them for at least a year. The idea behind this is to minimize downsides in case of a major market crash. Also, I-Bonds are not counted towards state taxes and a max of 10, 000$ can be purchased in a single year (per SSN). Another simpler approach is to put money in high yield savings account like Barclays Savings or American Express Savings, of course, there is no rate guarantee and rate do fluctuate (usually go down) over time. Max out pre-tax 401K Assuming there is an employer match or if the person can convert it into Roth IRA. Otherwise, don’t do it. Backdoor Roth IRA Invest 5, 500 $ in traditional IRA, hold that for a few weeks and then convert it into Roth IRA and let the money grow tax-free. REITs and Preferred’s Investing in dividend paying (or “fixed income” as they are called) equities is not the optimal strategy for someone who is working full time but I think its psychologically beneficial to get regular dividends especially when market tanks down. An approach for that is to first figure out the amount of monthly dividend one wants to receive and then invest accordingly. For example, to get 100$ pre-tax a month in dividends from saying HSBC preferred shares (HCS) which has an 8% annual yield, the total investment has to be 15, 000 $. A caveat here, dividends coming from preferred are qualified and taxed at a lower rate while dividends from REITs are not, they are considered a regular income. The trick is to hold REIT in Roth IRA account where the income becomes tax-free. Municipal Bonds(Disclaimer: I have not tried these) Municipal bonds are usually issued for long-term (30 years) and the dividends they pay are tax-free (no state or federal taxes) provided the person is resident of that state. Rich people love these especially because the dividends are tax-free and there is no risk (except for municipality filing bankruptcy) if they are held till maturity. If they are not held till maturity there is in interest rate risk where bonds can go down in value if the interest rate goes up. So, the current market value of the bond will go down and vice versa. In the current scenario (2013), interest rates are low enough that they can only go up, so, investing in these does not make sense unless the person is planning to hold them till maturity. Three-fund portfolio Rest of the money should go into a three fund portfolio ( discussed earlier).

(Based on what I have seen financial savvy people doing and makes sense to me. Disclaimer: These are my opinions.) Should a person contribute to pre-tax 401K? Only if the company has a matching policy, else wise, its money trapped till the person reaches retirement age. Should a person contribute to post-tax 401K? Only if the company has a matching policy, else wise, its money trapped till the person reaches retirement age. ...

Books One up on Wall Street by Peter Lynch - a good book on stock picking A random walk down the wall street by Burton Malkiel - a good book on why not to pick stocks The only investment guide you will ever need by Andrew Tobias - a hilarious summary of investing/saving and many other random money related topics The retirement miracle - For people who believe in indexed universal life insurance plans (I don’t) Where are customer’s yachts - hilarious read on wall street trader who profit on the expense of customers (won’t help in investing though). Blogs fairmark.com - There only guides are thorough and amazing but requires some effort to grasp (only recommended for advanced and the curious) bogleheads - Interesting forum of people who believes in Jack Bogle’s philosophy of index investing (Jack Bogle is founder of Vanguard), definitely read three-fund portfolio Twenty Common Sense Investing rules 401(k) Guide Good portfolio checker sites sigfig.com personalcapital.com futureadvisor.com feex.com