Easy level algorithm - 35 algorithm with tags

Nov. 4, 2019

Introduction

It is the learning process how to practice algorithm daily. I could not do it last 3 three months, so I like to write a blog how I learn to work on the practice, make it more often. 

Project planning

I tried to solve 10 easy level algorithms, but it took me over one week from Nov. 15 to Nov. 22. I like to practice more often, and push myself to get used to solve more easy level algorithm every day. 

How can I do it? 

I tried to solve easy math level algorithm, I worked on half hour but I could not solve it. So what happen next? I did not solve any algorithm that day. 

Now I just put all easy level algorithm together by a graph, and then I sort them by tag, and then I start to work each easy level algorithms. If I can solve one, then I will solve it quickly; otherwise, I will continue to read easy level algorithms. I like to learn those algorithms first, at least I understand the problem statement, and try to figure out how to solve it first round. 

The goal is to solve those 35 easy level algorithms as soon as possible. I will try to solve as many as possible. 

Understand the challenge

It is not comfortable to read a new algorithm, even it is an easy level one. My brain is not used to meet challenge any time any day. I may not control my emotion so that I will feel uncomfortable about failure.

I have to get used to the feeling. I will try to go through some routine to read the problem again, try to understand the problem, play with test cases, and get the idea in less than 10 to 20 minutes.

This kind of warmup drills will help me to be a good problem solver overall. I need this kind of challenge, since I can not predict what problem I will meet as a software programmer. I need to push myself to be a good problem solver.

Case study: Word ladder - find all paths given source and destination word

Transcript of JavaScript code is the following:
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As benefits expire, long-term unemployed make do with less

Here is the link.

As benefits expire, long-term unemployed make do with less

Here is the link.

On Dec. 28, 1.3 million Americans lost their unemployment insurance when an emergency federal unemployment insurance program expired. Critics of extended unemployment benefits say the benefits raise jobless numbers by allowing people to stay unemployed longer instead of taking an available job. But people like Trista Selmar-Steed, a 38-year-old former medical biller who lost her job in 2012, say the benefits have kept her family above water while she looks for work. Special correspondent John Carlos Frey reports from Georgia.

Suburb in Wealthy Illinois County Sees Unexpected Rise in Poverty

Here is the link.

$11,000 substitute teacher - pay for a town home
Support two children

Middle class -

10 years ago - $100,000 dollar income, 6 bedroom house
Local food pantry - broken stove

regular basis - I am working, and I am not working

people resource center - go up 200%, 30% jump alone

Volunteer, pay taxes

People resource center - meet the needs in the community

When Homelessness Reaches Middle-Class Working Families | Megyn Kelly TODAY

Here is the video.


Even amid a surging stock market and low unemployment, homelessness is surging along with income disparity, affecting regular working families in such places as Los Angeles. NBC’s Jacob Soboroff visits working families living in RVs in California and joins Megyn Kelly TODAY live to comment.

$2230/ month rent
$500 - RV - paid $500

Much nice compared to mini van

$2000 / month

Middle class & homeless

Middle Class and Homeless | David Raether | TEDxAmherst

Nov. 4, 2019

Introduction

It is my personal finance research. I have to work on this research, in order to prevent bad things happen again on me. I understand the importance to learn the basics.

Middle class and homeless

Here is the article.

Before he became homeless, David Raether was an award-winning TV comedy writer with a house in a wealthy suburb of Los Angeles and a large happy family. He will talk about living on the street, and how he rebuilt his life.

Raether spent twelve years as a TV comedy writer, including a 111-episode stint on the ground-breaking "Roseanne." He had a house in a wealthy suburb of Los Angeles and a large happy family. In 2001, he stepped away from television to spend more time with his family. When he attempted to return two years later, the industry had changed and he was unable to find work. He ended up homeless. He chronicled the breakup of his family and his descent into homelessness in the ensuing years in a memoir, "Tell Me Something, She Said" and an essay, "What It's Like to Fail", which brought him global recognition. His story has been featured in the Times of London and other media outlets in Europe.

Experience -
one year $300,000/ year
one year $600,000/ year

But how did he end up homeless?

2500 resume - no jobs - over 50 years old - 2006 house for foreclosure.
2008 broke - 4 still at home, two at middle school. German welfare state
First night homeless - punch on the face

How does that happen to me? humiliate
No home to go to, no bed - homeless
piano, three cars, and clothes - only one wallet left!

Room, bed, people I love - nothing is better than the bed. These walls are my protection.

Shame - virtually every one - normal person

In America, it is shameful to be poor. Two years on the street, it is painful, devastating, ...

2009 to 2012 more than 10 million homes enter foreclosure

Nov. 4, 2019

Introduction

It is my personal finance research. I like to work on the research about the home ownership. 

2009 to 2012

Here is the article I like to read. 

As home prices continue to fall, and as the national unemployment rate remains stuck near 10 percent, Americans are seeing their wealth erode. More than 2.8 million homes received foreclosure notices in 2009, as foreclosure activity increased more than 20 percent, according to real estate data provider RealtyTrac. Between 2010 and 2012, 7.4 million more homes will likely enter foreclosure, the Federal Reserve predicts.

"Some people who are affected in that way end up becoming homeless."

Homelessness In The Middle Class: Stable Families Reduced To Poverty

Here is the article, written in May 2011.

But within months, the life she had built evaporated. When she failed to secure a new job, she entered a steady downward spiral that eventually led her to a homeless shelter. Homelessness, once an abstract idea, had become real.


evaporate -> fail to secure a new job -> a downward spiral -> homeless shelter. 

an abstract idea -> real 


After the worst economic downturn since the Depression, formerly middle-class people like Cooke have found themselves reduced to poverty. With jobs scarce, and with government safety nets shrinking, one misfortune -- a layoff, an injury, a mortgage default -- can transform a person's life beyond recognition. No longer a condition reserved for the margins of society, for drug addicts and the mentally ill, homelessness has infiltrated the heart of America.

reduce to poverty -> with jobs scarce, 
one misfortune - a layoff, an injury, a mortgage default 
margins of society 
infiltrate 
the heart of America

As foreclosure and unemployment rates have swelled to epidemic proportions in the past two years, the ranks of the American homeless have grown: the number of homeless families rose 4 percent in 2009, and then 9 percent last year, a pair of new reports show. 

homeless families rose 4% in 2009
9% in 2010

But then came the financial crisis. As tax revenue withered, local governments across the nation were forced to slash spending. When Cooke finished her internship and looked for a teaching job, she found no one was hiring.

Perhaps even more significant, the number of households "doubling up," as desperate families move in with friends and relatives, increased nearly 12 percent between 2008 and 2010, according to Census Bureau data. Now, over 13 percent of all U.S. homes contain more than one family, the highest proportion since at least 1968.

People once accustomed to middle-class comfort have turned to shelters for aid.

"They have this look on their face like, 'I never imagined this would happen to me. I've worked, I'm educated. This is not supposed to happen to me,'" said Chris Canter, executive director of Shelter Network in San Mateo, Calif. "But for a variety of reasons, it has."

Today, Canter said, the majority of his clients are homeless because of a job loss. Almost two-thirds, he said, are homeless for the first time.

$1400 rent - five days as a substitute teacher, a driving instructor, $200 short on her $1400 rent. 

I sent my resume to Donald Trump

Here is the article written on March 30, 2016.

She went from earning over $100,000 to nothing.

Norris has only had three interviews since she lost her job last summer. She attends a weekly meeting with other unemployed workers. She often sees the same people, mostly software and networking engineers. All were middle class. All are in shock about being jobless with so few prospects.

"You think you're OK and you get your nest egg started and then it's gone," Norris said, citing car payments, COBRA, rent and unexpected medical bills from a surgery that didn't go as planned.

At the end of 2014, she landed the job working on the ship. It seemed like a godsend, but it lasted only a few months. She doesn't have much savings left.

How I went from middle class to homeless

Nov. 4, 2019

Introduction

It is my personal finance research. Life is hard and we all have up and down time. How to make it work in the long run? I like to study the topic called middle class to homeless.

Middle class to homeless

Here is the article.

Mobile home is expensive.

Joe's mobile home is paid off, but he owes $483 a month for the lot rent in the mobile home park. He doesn't have the money for May or beyond.

44.7 million Americans on food stamps - April 26, 2016
Before the financial crisis there were only 26.3 million people on food stamps.

7 Finance Books That Changed My Life

Here is the link.

These 7 finance books changed my life, and they will help change yours as well. 1. The Richest Man in Babylon 2. The Millionaire Next Door 3. The Intelligent Investor 4. Think & Grow Rich 5. Total Money Makeover 6. The Bogleheads' Guide To Investing 7. Rich Dad Poor Dad Each of these finance books contains nuggets of information for your to be able to grow wealthy over the course of your lifetime.

How Car Dealerships Rip You Off (The Truth)

Here is the link.

You could reap 40% more in retirement savings

Here is the link.

Clark Howard: Manage Your Money Wisely

Here is the link.

Jim Cramer: Five Common Mistakes in Managing Money

Here is the link.

Learning investment is so much fun

Nov. 3, 2019

Introduction

It is such a great topic and I like to write something about learning investment.

So much fun

I just could not believe that I have luxury to learn how to invest. It is so exciting, I just could not believe that learning investment is so much fun.

This weekend I spent over three hours to study John Bogle, and was so surprised to learn that he did such good teaching even in his 80s.

It is like tennis sports, today I played a double match since I spent time to play against the wall, and the retired Canadian 81 years old Burrard called my name, asked me to join a double match.

Investment is like science research

Nov. 3, 2019

Introduction

It is the serious research I am working on. I like to study investment, I have to learn how to be frugal, stay on minimalism, and then invest my savings on US economy.

Investment research 

Life is tough for me to study how to invest. I did not purchase a brand new car in 2015; I bought a used Honda accord 2001 from open road Honda with cost $5500, and I tried to save money, so I tried to drive as little as possible.

I rented a small room last 10 years, and I am 53 years old. I have to push myself to learn how to invest on index fund, and also try to learn how to invest an individual stock as well.

Introducing Maelstrom – how Facebook moves traffic among data centers to handle disasters

Here is the article.

5 Virtual Reality Stocks to Watch in 2019

Here is the article. I like to spend 10 minutes to read the article.

Jim Cramer and Stephanie Link Tell Investors How to 'Get Rich Carefully'

Here is the link.

TheStreet's Action Alerts PLUS Co-Porfolio Managers Jim Cramer and Stephanie Link sit down at New York's 92nd Street Y to discuss Cramer's new book 'Get Rich Carefully. This event was recorded in front of a live audience at New York's 92nd Street Y in New York City.

Review: Jim Cramer’s Real Money

Nov. 3, 2019

Introduction

I am 53 years old this year, and I like to be a very educated investor. It does not matter if I win or lose as an investor, I like to demonstrate how I am determined to learn the basics first. I start to read more books, and then I can think independently.

Book review

Here is the article. I like to show my favorite learning here.

When the economy is going crazy, buy sturdy stocks like Procter and Gamble, General Mills, and Colgate. Why? When the economy is going wild, these stocks seem like boring investments because they are steady earners, and during an economic boom, steady earners look very boring compared to the cash that’s elsewhere. So many people abandon the food and toiletry stocks and jump on board the big growers, leaving these great companies often seeing a stock loss for no reason connected to the underlying company. Thus, economic booms are the time to buy steady earners, especially right near the top. When things start to sour, people return to the safety of these steady stocks and their price rebounds – and you can ride that elevator up as the overall market is going down.

When the economy is weak, buy cyclical stocks like tech stocks, retailers, and automotive companies. This is almost the reverse of the logic above. When the economy is down, cyclical stocks start reporting somewhat shaky earnings numbers, people get scared, and they jump back to safety. Thus, this is the moment to buy those cyclicals with a long, strong pedigree. Buy your Toyotas and your Apple Computers when the market is low and their numbers look soft so you can ride the elevator upwards when they inevitably rebound.

Julio Zhuo - Facebook manager

Here is the article.

本文作者Julie Zhuo，美籍华裔商人、作家、计算机技术科学家，出生于中国上海，毕业于斯坦福大学、现任Facebook产品设计副总裁。

03.

今天阳光真好，会议

室里暖洋洋的，而此刻我的心脏却在砰砰直跳。又到了绩效评估季，经理马上就会把我的评估表带过来。

过去的这几年里，这样的场景每隔六个月就会上演一次。我坐在这把椅子上，重复着同样的复杂情绪：激动、恐惧、期待。

这时的我是一个等待着圣诞礼物的孩子，满心欢喜地想着“他会不会带来一份非常出色的业绩表？等会儿我一定特别兴奋！我就说过你很棒吧？！”，却又是一个惴惴不安的罪人，一边等待原告的指控，一边焦虑地思考着“我做人怎么这么失败”？

门被推开了。经理在我对面坐了下来。他微笑着递给我一沓纸。我迅速扫了一眼标题文字：我做得很好，超出了预期目标！我突然松了口气，用了5秒钟的时间来放空自己，感受着这个瞬间——我做到了！我通过了考试！

第一页纸是对我的肯定，写着我的各种优势、以及同事们对我的好评，我草草翻过。

第二页纸写着我的提升空间。说白了就是没有达到业绩要求的项目、和我在工作中出现过的马虎和失误。

经理看出了我的心思，说：“你太在乎自己的不足之处了，其实真正能让你走得更远的是你的优势。”

“当然，你说的对，”我不走心地嘟囔了一嘴。

他的话我一个字都没有听进去。这一分钟里，我满脑子想的都是如何弥补欠缺，让自己表现得更好。

我始终没能明白他的这句话，直到好多年以后。

Review: The Little Book That Beats The Market

Here is the article about book review.

Review: The Little Book of Common Sense Investing

Here is the article. I do not have time to read the book, I like to read the article instead.

Review: Common Sense on Mutual Funds

Nov. 3, 2019

Introduction

I spent whole day to listen the audio book lasting three hours. I enjoy the time to sit at home and spend time to listen and think about the content. But I like to find some notes through the internet.

Article to read

Here is the article to read.

My most favorite learning is here:

Part III – On Investment Performance

10. On Revision to the Mean “Revision to the mean” is a statistical phenomenon that happens over and over again in all sorts of fields. Basically, it means that you might be able to select a small set of stocks that does better than the market over some period of time, but over a long period any set of stocks will eventually move towards the market average. This means you might be able to find a fund that beats the market for a year or two, but over the long haul, it will eventually match the market. When you add in the costs to this picture, it becomes clear what the benefit of a low-cost fund is.

Victoria portfolio six month performance review

Nov. 3, 2019

Introduction

It is six months since I built my Victoria portfolio. I like to review performance last six months, and then I like to figure out how to maintain the portfolio in the long run.

My performance

Here is the performance I saved on Nov. 3, 2019 from Questrade.com.

2019-June-19

2019-Nov-3

Actionable Items

I bought in June with S & P 500 index 2900, now it is 3060.

COMMON SENSE on MUTUAL FUNDS 🐷💰📈 [MILLIONAIRE INVESTOR SELF HELP AUDIOBOOK] -JOHN C BOGLE

Here is audio to play 3 hours.

John C. Bogle A look back at the life of Vanguard's founder Vanguard mourns the passing of founder John C. Bogle

Here is the link.

John Bogle’s 10 Key Rules Of Investing

Here is the link.

Fees, returns, and why time is your friend:

1. Remember reversion to the mean. Selecting your fund from yesterday’s winners is fraught with peril. Over the long run, reversion to the market average is inevitable.

2. Time is your friend. Start early, stick to a plan and ignore the chatter of the day. Let the miracle of compound interest work for you.

3. Buy right and hold tight. Once you set your asset allocation, ignore moves in the market. Stick to the plan.

4. Have realistic expectations. Rates of return in the coming decade are likely to be lower than the last. A seven per cent annual return before costs and inflation for stocks and a 2.5 per cent return for bonds before costs and inflation is reasonable.

5. Forget the needle, buy the haystack. Don’t waste time buying individual stocks or stock funds. Cut your risk by purchasing broad-based index or exchange-traded funds.

6. Minimize the “croupier’s” take. Minimize fees by investing in low-cost, low turnover funds. This increases your return.

7. There’s no escaping risk. There’s no wealth without risk. If you don’t save, you’ll end up with nothing. And if you don’t invest for your retirement, your savings will be depleted by inflation. 

8. Don’t fight the last war. What worked in the past is no predictor of what will work in future. The past is not prologue.

9. The hedgehog beats the fox. Foxes are sly and represent financial institutions that sell complicated products and charge high fees for advice. A hedgehog does one thing when threatened — he curls up into a spiny ball. Simple, but effective, like an index fund. 

10. Stay the course. The secret to successful investing isn’t forecasting or good stock picking. It is about making a plan, sticking to it, eliminating unnecessary risks, and keeping your costs low.

Jack Bogle reveals the biggest risk of the next financial crisis and why he’s still investing

Here is the link.

That’s because buying and holding for the long term tends to be an effective investing strategy, no matter the economic climate. As Bogle told CNBC: “If you hold the stock market, you will grow with America.”

Warren Buffett agrees. “No matter what the headlines say … American business is going to do fine over time,” the Oracle of Omaha told Judy Woodruff of PBS NewsHour in 2017. “Occasionally we go off the tracks with bubbles … but it will never permanently derail us.”

Markets go up and down every day but that doesn’t necessarily mean there’s significance to every move. As an investor, it helps to be patient and to accept a certain level of uncertainty. Since buying his first stock, decades have gone by and, in all those years, “I’ve never known what the market is going to do the next day,” Buffett said. “That’s not my game. My game is to decide whether I’m in the right economy, which America has definitely been ever since that time.”

Jack Bogle shares the $1 billion investing mistake that cost him his job

Here is the link.

Me and My Money: Jack Bogle

Here is the article.

Q: Any advice for people about where they should invest going forward?

A: Stock returns basically come down to dividend yield plus earnings growth. If you have a dividend yield of 2 percent, plus earnings growth of 5 percent, I think a 7 percent annual gain is a rational expectation for stocks.

I think it’s unwise to get out of the stock market, or the bond market, even though the economy is uncertain. The market is often stupid, but you can’t focus on that. Focus on the underlying value of dividends and earnings.

Q: Where do you like to give back?

A: I tend to give to those who have helped me along the road of life: Blair Academy, Princeton University, our church, and several hospitals that got me here in one piece. On the community side, I’ve always been a big supporter of the United Way. The best rule for philanthropy is to give until it hurts, as much as you can, because none of us can get through life all by ourselves. As John Dunne wrote, ‘No man is an island, entire of itself.’

My retirement accounts are more like a 50-50 split between stocks and bonds, because of a longer time horizon and because yields on bonds are extremely unattractive right now. The equity side is mostly in Total Stock Market Index (VTSMX), but I still have a little bit in the Wellington Fund (VWELX), which I’ve been investing in for many decades. I don’t ever want to sever that relationship. Bonds in my retirement accounts are about 30 percent Treasuries and 70 percent investment-grade corporates, like the Vanguard Intermediate-Term Corporate Bond Index (VICBX).

Wellington Fund, the ‘blue blazer’ of Vanguard funds, returned an average of over 8 percent a year since 1930

Here is the article.

“Wellington is a bit more expensive than an index, but not so much. If you can tolerate an active manager risk, the potential for outperformance has been material over time,” Newhall said. Wellington’s fee is 0.25 percent annually.

Wellington is considered a steady-eddy mutual fund that has survived massive drawdowns. The fund had big losses in 1974 and in 2009. During that latter crisis, investors found themselves 32.5 percent below prior highs, but the fund recovered within two years.

“Wellington’s history demonstrates that drawdowns are a natural part of investing, but time in the markets wins out, and active management can work. The fund has put Balanced Index, with its comparable asset weighting, to shame in the performance derby,” noted Dan Wiener, editor of the Adviser Investments newsletter for Vanguard customers.

Since Balanced Index’s inception more than 26 years ago, "Wellington has outpaced the index fund by 1.4 percent a year, which translates into a cumulative return of 874.3 percent vs. 600 percent — small differences can really add up over time,” Wiener said.

Investment Legend, John Bogle Shares the Investment Lessons of a Lifetime

Here is the link.

John C. Bogle, the founder of Vanguard, now the largest mutual fund company in the world and the creator of index funds, which account for 28% of all stock mutual funds. Published on November 15, 2012.

VOO - Vanguard S & P 500 ETF - $493.8 billion dollars

survival bias -
manager - all believe that they can beat the market, they all are above average. Some win, some lose.

Clash of culture - book written by John Bogle

Wellington fund -
60% stock, volatility

Mutual fund cost facts:
High turnover - 2%

All money managers - put clients first

10 investment rules by John Bogle in the book.

43:00
Behavior problem - 10th rule - stay on the course

Own behavior - trail - bad behaviors - market counter intuitive - fee - market bottom get out - sell low and buy high

Do not let emotion get your way.

One fund to hold
Total stock US index fund - own the fund

5 Ways The Rich Build Wealth That The Poor Don't | How To Get Rich From Nothing

Here is the link.



1. Track diligently
2. Financially disciplined
3. Live frugally
4. Leverage wealth
5. They never touch principles



active income - passive income
investment property, dividend stock, and then other things.

Real estate investment trust - REIT

Weekly contest 161

Nov. 2, 2019

Introduction

It is my favorite weekly contest. I played the contest, and I wrote the first two algorithms and I ran out of time. 

Performance study

Here is my ranking. I only solved the second algorithm - a medium level algorithm. I worked on the first algorithm, but I could not pass the online judge. 

My performance concerns

I was so sleepy since I played tennis this afternoon. The contest started from 7:30 PM, I took a nap around 10 times before the contest, and then I woke up around 7:46 PM, and I felt much better so I started to play contest.

How to advance weekly contest ranking?

Nov. 2, 2019

Introduction

I like to write down some ideas how to train myself to advance myself in weekly contest.

My ideas

My ideas are to push myself to write code more often.
Every week   - 10 algorithms
Every month - 40 algorithms

Do not expect that I can have huge improvement until I can solve another 250 algorithm. I just solved 450 algorithms on Leetcode.

Five things I learned from being the oldest employee at Facebook | Stephen Scheeler | TEDxSydney

Here is the link.

In Pursuit of the Perfect Portfolio: Jeremy Siegel

Here is the link.

In Pursuit of the Perfect Portfolio: Robert J. Shiller

Here is the link.

In Pursuit of the Perfect Portfolio: Myron S. Scholes

Here is the link.

In Pursuit of the Perfect Portfolio: Robert C. Merton

Here is the link.

You Don't Have To Be Brilliant To Do Well In The Stock Market, Just Don't Be Stupid

Here is the article I like to read.

In Pursuit of the Perfect Porfolio: William F. Sharpe

Here is the link.

William F. Sharpe wiki

Here is the link.

In Pursuit of the Perfect Porfolio: William F. Sharpe

Here is the link.

2606-13325 102a Avenue, Surrey, BC•Whalley

2606-13325 102a Avenue, Surrey, BC

•Whalley

• 1 bed
• •1 bath
• •631 sqft
• •Built in 2013
• • $349,000

704-10899 University Drive, Surrey, BC•Whalley

704-10899 University Drive, Surrey, BC

•Whalley

• 1 bed
• •1 bath
• •Built in 1995
• • $288,000
  • • 
      

In Pursuit of the Perfect Portfolio: Eugene F. Fama

Here is the link.

Ellis: Fixing the retirement crisis

Here is the link.

Charles Ellis

Founder
Geenwich associates
- international business and investment strategy consulting firm

Professor
Harvard business school
Yale school of management

Author
Winning the losers game

Co-author
Falling short: The coming retirement
Crisis and what to do about it

Ellis: Index Revolution

Here is the link.

13:16
Nobody buying death insurance. Change name to life insurance.

14:00
Question:
board on ......

15:00 - 17:00 /26:48
You do much better than others. Who are you? Thinking in terms of 50 year old. You learn enough that market up and down doesn't disrupt you.

You do not react. You are fine.

How many times you are thinking.

You are late 70s, how to think about in 20 years?


You do not react. You are fine.
You do not react. You are fine. 
You do not react. You are fine.
You do not react. You are fine.
You do not react. You are fine. 
You do not react. You are fine.
You do not react. You are fine.

Last five minutes, talk about Yale graduate school teaching called successful investment - I do not really understand the story.

2017 05 14領航者 孫潔：量身定制將是旅遊的未來

Here is the link.

中國旅遊業收入只佔GDP的5%左右，發達國家是中國的好幾倍。但13億人的消費升級帶來的旅遊市場規模相信會超乎我們的想像。去年底，孫潔被中國最大的旅遊服務公司－攜程，任命為新任CEO。在她眼裡，在中國人走出去看看慾望的驅使下，中國旅遊業的發展趨勢怎樣？新科技將對旅遊業和我們的旅遊體驗帶來怎樣的衝擊和改變？

【中国经营者】孙洁 携程新挑战

Here is the video.

携程没有对手？业内：已到最危险时候 住宿业务已被超

Here is the article.

Ctrip wants to expand its share of the Chinese travel market

Here is the article.

How One China Power Couple Balances Work And Home Life

Here is the link.

Global Tech Forum 2018: AI and the Future of Travel I Fortune

Here is the interview's link.

Ctrip has 8000 engineers to work for the company.

Ctrip CEO Jane Sun: ‘my career is a reflection of China’s 40 years of development and opening up’

Here is the article I like to read. I like to figure out if I should purchase Ctrip stock since the stock is not in highest price right now. I like to own Ctrip since I use the service all the time when I travel back to China last 10 years.

Best of Bloomberg Technology - Week of 11/01/19

Here is the link.

Some food stocks falling today as broader market rallies

Here is the link.

October saw markets hit all-time highs, is this a rally you should fear?

Here is the link.

2019 review: how is my job performance?

Nov. 3, 2019

Introduction

It is my 10th year on the same job. I like to look into job performance as a research topic, how can I learn to improve my performance and also I do enjoy learning a lot of things at work as well.

My job performance

I quickly looked up all check stubs paper copy at my home office. Here is the list of bonus history.

2010   No bonus
2011   No bonus
2012   No bonus
2013   No bonus
2014   Yes! I got bonus
2015 
2016
2017
2018
2019

2019 review: motivations to blog

2019 review: my favorite blogs - top 10

2019 review: privacy concern

2019 review: blogging and make money

Introduction

It is my favorite topics, one is about blogging, second one is about making money. I just could not believe that I have to relearn equity investment after 20 years, 53 year old. I like to write about the experience.

Blogging is a good habit

I started to write blogs for myself in January 2015, and then in 2019 March, I found out that I need to go back to equity market. I spent months to study myself as a consumer and an investor, I was heavily biased and lack of education of financial market.

Here is the link to look up all blogs related to my 401 K experience. I am a hard working person, but I do not know that the most important is to learn how to manage my asset and take some risk last 20 year from 1999 to 2019.

I did go back to equity market, and then set up my USA IRA portfolio Key Largo six months ago, and also set up Canada dollars portfolio using TFSA account. Although I do not have a lot of money, I like to demonstrate the belief starting from a seed a tree will grow.

2019 review: work on feedback

2019 review: a few rules to follow when practice

2019 review: why I prefer not to write code sometimes?

2019 review: when to write code?

Introduction

It is the habit for me to write code once a week at least. Sometimes I just like to warm up my problem solving skills, so I spend a few hours to study, read some algorithms, and then try out using C#. I know that my life is so simple in 2019. I choose to have a simple life, work on personal finance research, and then from March to August, I was busy with Amazon, Microsoft code screen, online assessment, mock interview on interviewing.io, and then onsite interview preparation, system design study.

When to code

I do believe that it is important for me to learn system design. But I know that if every one can learn system design, what is good about me doing it. I have to push myself to work on my crafting skills. I like to work on algorithm and data structure, go through easy level algorithms first, and then write code. I played weekly contest as well from January to July almost every week.

Sometimes I have some issues related to time management. I do not notice and then I do not have time reserved for coding. I prefer to code in weekends or evening, but I notice that I have to spend time in weekends to go out, play sports and other activities. Evening is good time but I should not stay late passing midnight, it is not healthy.

One algorithm a time

I also like to push myself work on one algorithm a time. Do not just write C# code. I should write JavaScript code as well, I was a good Javascript programmer. I should learn to write using Python as well.

Do not just write C# code for an algorithm. Write a post to share on leetcode.com as well. Stay organized, put all practice in record.

2019 review: do I write enough code?

Introduction

It is the first day in November. I like to review how many code I write in C#, JavaScript, html and CSS code. I like to see if the quality of my work matters more compared to the amount of code I write.

Github history

I can quickly look up how many codes I check in on github in 2019 for my full time job. I am the only developer as a full stack programmer. I did not write a lot of code at all. Most of time, I will take some time to warm up CSS, html and JavaScript, C#, and then I will write some code less than a few days for a feature update. 

10 years experience

I think that I am a very competitive programmer in terms of writing applications, like web page, or I learn something related to web technology. I can just quickly go over the technology, and then go over some sample code, and then I can quickly come out the guess how many hours work I should spend to complete the project.

Focus on training

I also need to work on a lot of things related to website maintenance, understand the code I wrote before. I do not need to write code in order to support the business, and I can move the business logic to high organized manner, like JavaScript array, a table in the database, so I do not need to write code.

Sometimes I cannot remember the logic I put together, I need to debug the code and then figure out the design; sometimes it takes some time to change the code and test the code to make it more efficient. But I try to evaluate whole project, do not focus on too much detail one a small section.

As a programmer, I like to see how I can maintain high quality service using website to serve other business needs.

Leetcode training

In 2009, I practice over hundred Leetcode algorithms.

Nov. 20, 2018  320
March 26       371
April 24       392
Oct. 17        433
Nov. 11        451

Here is Leetcode source code folder. I checked in 70 C# files in 2019.