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This website is still under initial development and migration, although I have been too busy to properly update it recently. It is intended to be a private repository to share thoughts and ideas on many random things with the topics ranging from software development to do-it-yourself projects to digital art to health and nutrition to finances and investing. Some content is established enough to be viewed, but a lot of content is still being written, in the incorrect format, or requires further editing. The updates are being continuously and frequently added, but there is a lot of work needed to bring it to a satisfactory state. Hopefully a more acceptable baseline can be reached with the next few months of additions.

Favourite Highlights

GC · Quotes, Thoughts, And Ideas

This is a special compendium of various thoughts and ideas which have been personally expressive over the years. The majority of the ideas behind the images have inspiration from a variety of stories, poems, or songs. The images are also mostly associated with themes around life, love, and friendship - feelings which really matter at the end of the day. Some images were intended to be about or for specific things. The newest images are first with the oldest images last.

SP · 5-Factor Asset Pricing Components

Separated into components, factors can be seen as proxies for characteristics of equities and other assets which explain performance and provide premiums due to a relative risk. With the Fama-French 5-Factor Model for asset pricing, these risk factors consider aspects of market beta, market capitalization, book-to-market equity, operating profitability, and change in investment assets (recent performance momentum was excluded from this analysis). The data is accessed from the online library provided by Kenneth French, which highlights returns relevant to the research into asset pricing models from Eugene Fama and Kenneth French. As accessing the data through the online library is segmented by type, the overall data was iteratively collected and stored as tables in a local database or as sheets in an XLSX file for all relevant types. An exploratory analysis was performed to show the distributions, time-varying characteristics, and correlations of the data. The primary packages used in the project include Python with Numpy, Pandas, Matplotlib, Seaborn, Urllib, and Pickle.

SP · 5-Factor Asset Pricing Portfolios

Evaluating the varying effects on portfolios with target segmentations, factors can be seen as proxies for the characteristics of equities and other assets which explain performance and provide premiums due to a relative risk. With the Fama-French 5-Factor Model for asset pricing, these risk factors consider aspects of market beta, market capitalization, book-to-market equity, operating profitability, and change in investment assets (recent performance momentum was excluded from this analysis). The data is accessed from the online library provided by Kenneth French, which highlights returns relevant to the research into asset pricing models from Eugene Fama and Kenneth French. As accessing the data through the online library is segmented by type, the overall data was iteratively collected and stored as variables in a PKL file or as sheets in an XLSX file for all relevant types. An exploratory analysis was performed to show the distributions, time-varying characteristics, and interactions affecting realized returns of the data. The primary packages used in the project include Python with Numpy, Pandas, Matplotlib, Seaborn, Urllib, and Pickle.

Other Featured Content

LA · Basic Git Version Control

Git is a distributed version control system which tracks changes in a set of files. Its goals include speed and efficiency, data integrity, and support for non-linear workflows. It was originally created by Linux Torvalds in 2005 for the development of the Linux Kernel. As a distributed version control system, every directory using Git is a full-fledged repository, with complete history and full version-tracking abilities, which is independent of network access or a central server. These notes rely on the ideas and learnings from the Git documentation and "Pro Git", 2nd Edition, by Scott Chacon, Ben Straub, and various other contributors. Git is free and open-source software distributed under the GPLv2.0-only licence."

LA · Understanding Capital Markets

When studying markets, it is necessary to explore and understand their basic workings. These notes are based on ideas which were collected while learning about finances and investing. A focus is applied to the Efficient Market Hypothesis and underlying relationship between risk and return. Other points are discussed, such as the irrationality of selecting individual securities or trying to time the market based on forecasts due to the arithmetic of active management. The underlying research was recognized and uncovered with contributions from Louis Bachelier, Paul Samuelson, William Sharpe, and Eugene Fama with many additions from other proponents. As initially observed by Louis Bachelier in 1900, "past, present, and even discounted future events are reflected in market prices, but often show no apparent relation to price changes" (as would be expected if the current price of a security is related to currently available information and changes in the current price of the security are only related to the unexpected outcomes of future events)."

LA · Guide To Factor-Based Investing

These notes are primarily based on the ideas and learnings from "Your Complete Guide To Factor-Based Investing, The Way Smart Money Invests Today", 1st Edition, by Andrew Berkin and Larry Swedroe in 2016. The description of the book mentions: "There are hundreds of exhibits in the investment factor zoo, so it is difficult to see which ones are actually worth time and money. This brings a thorough yet still jargon-free and accessible guide to applying the most valuable quantitative and evidence-based approaches to outperforming the market: factor investing - a journey through the land of academic research and an extensive review of its quest to uncover the secret of successful investing". The authors describe unique criteria and characteristics in the definition of a factor as persistent, pervasive, robust, investible and intuitive. Overall, the premise of the book is structured to remain objective and provide reputable evidence for all the claims put forward with citations for further reference.

PS · Solar-Powered Evaporative Cooler

An investigation was undertaken into the potential of evaporative cooling using forced convection for the short-term storage of fruits and vegetables on a scale which was manually transportable by a single person and used a self-contained photovoltaic system. Previous research and existing products have primarily focused on the use of evaporative cooling with natural convection and there has been minimal evaluation of the possible improvements in performance realized with forced convection. Furthermore, food insecurity in developing countries is extensive with many cases of severe undernourishment due to the spoilage of the available food, where an affordable solution under €45 to control wastage through preservation could be transformative in promoting healthier societies. With the aim of achieving a cooling effect with a temperature decrease of at least 11°C and relative humidity increase of at least 35%, a prototype of 6.62kg and 585mm by 405mm by 360mm was designed through analytical calculations and numerical simulations using a radial fan for optimal operation at ambient temperatures above 32°C and ambient relative humidities below 50%. Under practical experimentation in Johannesburg, South Africa, with a solar panel of 6.0W, the prototype was able to achieve the desired performance in 81.9% of the relevant periods using cotton ring spun and polyester for the cooling pad. This was complemented with an increase in shelf life by 88.3% on average for a sample of fruits and vegetables stored within the internal volume of 45L compared to an identical sample stored externally. For further optimization, a thermoelectric module was incorporated with an additional solar panel of 7.0W. This enhancement resulted in an improved performance minimizing the temperature fluctuations to 1°C for each 3.5°C fluctuation in ambient temperature on average, compared to the previous results of 1°C for each 2.4°C fluctuation in ambient temperature on average, at the expense of an unsatisfactory increase in costs of 83.8%. Overall, the performance was successfully promising and it is recommended for further practical experimentation under more extreme environmental conditions.

PS · Supersonic Flow Properties

An investigation was conducted using a supersonic blowdown wind tunnel to determine the half-angle of an oblique shock wave for fixed cones with half-angles of 20°. The range of Mach numbers considered was between 2.5 and 3.3. The cone specimen was seen to be pitching in the test section and the upper and lower half-angles had to be considered separately. The obtained experimental data showed that, as Mach number increased from 2.5 to 3.3, the oblique shock wave half-angle decreased from 42.2° to 33.0° for the upper half-angle of 16.8°, while the oblique shock wave half-angle decreased from 45.7° to 33.7° for the cone lower half-angle of 23.2°. This experimental data was compared to the theoretical predictions from the Theta-Beta-Mach relation, in an attempt to warrant the applicability of the theoretical model and accuracy of its approximation. Subsequently, it was seen that almost all the points were satisfactorily in agreement, when considering the uncertainties present in the experiment, except for the measurements at the Mach numbers of 3.0 and 3.3 for the cone lower half-angle, which should be tested again to examine the repeatability in the values. It should be noted that the largest source of uncertainty and error was from the schlieren visualization, which led to the uncertainty of the experimental half-angles being ±1.6°. Overall, the experiment was accepted as successful given its standard.

GC · Rendered Animations Tutorials

This is a simple collection of the result of some tutorials which were followed while learning some of the very basics of Blender. Most of the tutorials were videos on YouTube from Polygon Runway, Blender Guru, CG Boost, CG Geek, Ian Hubert, CGMatter, and various other amazing creators. A personal touch has been applied to most iterations and some post-processing was usually performed in GIMP, Krita, or Inkscape for some iterations.

GC · Animal And Plant Life Photography

The exhibited graphics include photos and videos portraying animal and plant life, such as wildlife, insects, sea creatures, indigenous species, and blossoming flowers. The graphics were captured in a variety of environments ranging between nature reserves, hiking trails, suburban gardens, and ocean reefs. In most cases, the graphics were taken with a mid-range camera or phone and minimal to no post-processing has been performed (although the shown graphics have been scaled and compressed to be suitable for display). The newest images are first with the oldest images last.

Current Pipeline Focus

LA · Structured Query Language RDBMS

Structured Query Language (SQL) is a standard language described by ISO/IEC 9075 for creating and working with databases stored in a set of tables. The actual implementations through database management systems use this standard language and usually add their own extensions for additional specifications. The most common implementations include PostgreSQL, MySQL, Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle Database, and SQLite, where PostgreSQL will be used as a reference, since it is a popular, versatile, and open source database (although most core functionality is shared). These notes rely on the ideas and learnings from the respective package documentations and "SQL For Data Analysis: Advanced Techniques For Transforming Data Into Insights", 1st Edition, by Cathy Tanimura in 2021.

LA · NumPy Multi-Dimensional Computations

NumPy offers the capabilities to define multi-dimensional arrays, along with a large collection of mathematical operations and algorithms to work with these arrays. The core functionality is its data structure and methods for manipulation, which act as an efficient and flexible container to be utilized when analysing data sets. Various packages build on the functionality of NumPy for applications in specialized domains, such as Pandas and Statsmodels for data analysis, TensorFlow and PyTorch for deep learning, and OpenCV for image processing. These notes rely on the ideas and learnings from the respective package documentations, "Python For Data Analysis: Data Wrangling With Pandas, NumPy, And Jupyter", 3rd Edition, by Wes McKinney (creator and developer of Pandas) in 2022, and "Python Data Science Handbook: Essential Tools For Working With Data", 2nd Edition, by Jake VanderPlas in 2022.

LA · Pandas Exploratory Data Analysis

Data analysis is the process of inspecting, cleansing, transforming, and modelling data with the goal of discovering useful information and informing conclusions to support decision-making. This involves applying inferential statistical analyses and creating visualizations in order to interpret the results and summarize the main characteristics of the data. The typical information and conclusions extracted from the data include interactions, patterns, and anomalies. These notes rely on the ideas and learnings from the respective package documentations, "Python For Data Analysis: Data Wrangling With Pandas, NumPy, And Jupyter", 3rd Edition, by Wes McKinney (creator and developer of Pandas) in 2022, and "Python Data Science Handbook: Essential Tools For Working With Data", 2nd Edition, by Jake VanderPlas in 2022.

SP · Visual Studio Code For Development

Visual Studio Code is a source-code editor made by Microsoft with the Electron Framework (for Node.js web applications running on the Blink layout engine). Some of the prominent features include support for debugging, syntax highlighting, intelligent code completion, snippets, code refactoring, and embedded Git. It can be used for a variety of programming languages, including C, C#, C++, Fortran, Go, Java, JavaScript, Node.js, HTML, CSS, Python, Rust, Julia, and MATLAB. Additional extensions and functionality can be installed through the VS Code Marketplace. An alternative to Visual Studio Code is VSCodium, which is a community-driven and freely-licensed binary distribution of the open-source repository from which Visual Studio Code is also built. VSCodium avoids the proprietary licence which is applied to Visual Studio Code after it is built and any telemetry or tracking which may be sent to Microsoft, but an alternate central repository needs to be used for extensions, such as Open VSX which acts as an open-source registry for extensions.

SP · Multi-Currency Portfolio Tracker

When considering a holistic view of finances, it can be useful to track a portfolio of securities with consideration for and consolidation of multiple account types. Moreover, as a currency is simply a unit of measure, the program is specifically designed to be compatible with a range of reference currencies (which are easily extendible), use any of these currencies when providing inputs for cash and investments, and provide aggregated results in any of these currencies. The project initially began as a spreadsheet, but shifted into an object-oriented program for more complex operations. The next steps include adding forecasting capabilities for planning and then safe withdrawal rate simulations for retirement. The primary packages used in the project include Python with Numpy, Pandas, Plotly, ... , and Pickle. It should be noted that all of the data presented is artificial for a demonstration of the functionality.

SP · Configuration For Debian With KDE

As a personal preference, Debian is used in combination with KDE for a stable, reliable, and configurable experience. Debian Testing is specifically used for packages which are updated frequently while remaining secure without the risk of accidentally breaking the system. The notable applications (and their relevant add-ons and extensions) installed on the system include Firefox, Inkscape, GIMP, Blender, VLC, VSCodium, Foliate, and several other useful packages. The other distributions which have been considered before settling on Debian include Ubuntu, KDE Neon, Solus, Ubuntu Budgie, Pop!_OS, and Manjaro (still need to try distributions using Fedora Linux and OpenSUSE), while the other desktop environments which have been considered before settling on KDE include GNOME, Budgie, and XFCE.

SP · Custom Watch Faces For Wear OS

After struggling to find a watch face which was satisfactory, several watch faces were personally developed for the desired appearance and functionality using Watch Face Studio from Samsung. The relevant criteria include creating an aesthetic and minimal design (with a focus on symmetry), disguising the bezel to fit the design (and case), considering the impact on battery life, providing shortcuts for launching applications (such as stopwatch and maps), and showing an overview of important metrics (such as step count and heart rate). If designed successfully, almost all of the common actions should be visible or easily accessible directly from the watch face. Although the Samsung Watch 4 was specifically considered, the watch faces are compatible with any smartwatch running Wear OS 3 (although more suitable for round watch faces).

GC · Square Orbits Heading Font

This font is a work in progress with many iterations to come. The origination backstory was to be used in the logo for this website with a design which aims to create an informal display typography which stands out while remaining consistent across the letters. Currently, the developed letters include "A", "B", "C", "D", "E", "F", "G", "H", "I", "J", "K", "L", "M", "N", "O", "P", "Q", "R", "S", "T", "U", "V", "W", "X", "Y", and "Z" (identical lowercase and uppercase letters). For other characters, Noto Sans Bold is used as the default replacement. With regard to next steps, the glyphs and advancements have been selected, but the kerning between letters has not been set (going to take a bit of time unfortunately).