I’ll keep this short.

When life hands you lemons, you’re suppose to make lemonade.

So what are you suppose to do when you’re given an orange?

I’ve hit my “Quarter-life Crisis.”

Suffice it to say, I’m a dire situation now. I have so many choices I can take, so many roads to follow, and so little time. Should one go down path A to the where the apple trees are and make apple juice? Or should they go to the vineyard and then decide whether to harvest grapes or make wine? Decisions decisions.

I’m not going to divulge into the specifics of how all this ties into my life, but just remember that the choices you make shape the person you are destined to become.

Take the red pill and stay in Wonderland.

Be back when I get myself some lemonade.

Just Kidding!

I’ve just been mad busy balancing school, web development, and entrepreneurial activities to actually write a few posts here and there. This coming summer expect blog posts back to back!

Happy April Fools’ Day!

I’m faced with a fork in the road. There are two different signs that lead to two different paths.

One says “Computer Engineering,” the other “Computer Science.”

Well, what’s the difference you ask?

Computer Science

As a computer scientist, you study the theory behind computer systems - including algorithms, databases, AI, software architecture, and refine them to produce more efficient software in the future.

You are software-oriented, love math, and the abstract.

I.E. Programming the UI of the Apple iPhone.

Computer Engineering

Computer engineering is a cross between EE(Electrical Engineering) and CS(Computer Science), you are geared more towards the hardware-software relationship including circuit design mixed with a bit of low-level programming.

You are hardware-oriented, love hands-on, and the physical.

I.E. Designing the PCB that connects all the components of the iPhone.

Suffice it to say, both of these concentrations can easily lead to a “desk” J-O-B. Neither of us wants one of those.

Where do I stand?

The reason I chose Computer Engineering at Georgia Tech is because I’m a hands-on type of person, and like working with computer hardware to an extent. I enjoy building computers and modding electronics. I’m a hardware guru at heart.

However, I will not try to piece together 3 gazillion transistors to make the next-generation video card. Quite simply, the stuff I would enjoy doing would make me a “Computer Technician,” and they get paid in peanuts. I guess you could say that I would be at the top of my career path if I were to take that J-O-B.

A brief look into my colorful past…

During my Senior Year of High School, senioritis took over, and I started doing crazy stuff…

Coming to CES 2009, the Texas Instruments TI-84 “Red” Edition…

Just kidding. =)

Rev 1. Had a 40mm fan in place of the TI logo, which was powered by a separate 12v battery, and controlled by the toggle switch on top of the calculator. I needed better cooling when it comes to overclocked calculator games, such as “Falldown.”=D

Rev 2. Replaced the fan and utilized Red LEDs to light up the TI logo (as shown in the above images)

That’s not the end of my madness! I got bored and decided to color match my iPaq 3955 (now collecting dust in my drawer). I also fabricated and soldered my own metal DDR pad during my MAX 300 days. I built my first computer in 8th grade (for CS 1.3), second one in 2004 (for Half-life 2), and finally my Shuttle in 2008 (for Crysis, CoD4, etc). I also built/fixed at least 50 computers for friends, students, and clients.

A lot of you are thinking that I fit the “Bob the Builder” profile. However, as an aspiring (hardware) entrepreneur, the barriers to entry for a lot of computer hardware fields are staggering!

Sure, there’s a $250 Billion market in semiconductors, but what about the startup costs? Easily in the millions!

Want to build computers? Good luck competing against Dell.

That’s the beauty of the web. Next to zero startup costs and limitless potential.

All in all, I’m thinking about switching majors to Computer Science, because I’m not looking forward to Digital Signal Processing at all.

Some of you might say that your concentration in college isn’t very important, and you’re right. There are some people who graduate with a music degree and become bank tellers. Prior to Google, Larry Page studied computer engineering before pursuing CS at Stanford.

I would love to hear your opinions on what major you would choose (CS or CompE), and any side thoughts about the role of college!

EDIT: I am now a CS major! (2/29/08)

What’s funny is that I have no idea what Shuttle actually fixed on the barebones. I marked all my parts lightly with a pencil before sending out the unit. Guess what came back? All my marked parts! Nothing new, everything the same! *Scratches head*

However, not everything is perfect. My PCI-E slot is a bit flaky, considering that if my RMA’d 8800GT is not perfectly seated, the computer will refuse to POST, and the endless cycle of computer problems will come back to haunt me. Also, when I couldn’t keep my cool about the computer not cooperating, I ended up messing up my Windows installation. Therefore I had to reformat, and decided to put on 32-Bit Vista Business, instead of the x64 variant I had before. No more incompatibility issues.

Prior to the Shuttle coming back from RMA, I also decided to reward myself with a larger screen for my line of work. The Dell UltraSharp 2407WFP-HC is a great piece of tech - S-PVA 8-bit panel, colorful, accurate, bright, height adjustable, and can be rotated to match the eventually upcoming 2nd 24″ and 30″ screens. You pay a premiums for the UltraSharps, but they are worth every penny. In Photoshop, I’ve picked up visual discrepancies in the JPEG compression that I haven’t seen before, and the amount of virtual real estate you get in 1920×1200 is almost endless. Perhaps I may have to write a review on it.

Enough talking, here is a cellphone picture timeline of my computer setups (while at college):

My Computer Setup from August 2007 - December 2007

• Dell XPS M1210 @ 1280 x 800
  • Intel 1.66GHz Core Duo
  • 2GiB DDR2-533 RAM
  • nVidia Geforce 7400 Go
• Viewsonic vx1935wm @ 1440 x 900
• Some Kensington USB keyboard
• Logitech MX400 mouse
• Logitech X-230 2.1 speakers
• Chemistry Book powered laptop cooler for trace amounts of O₂.
• 1/18 Scale Lamborghini Gallardo and lots of Car pictures(my vision board)

My Computer Setup from January 2008 - Present

• Shuttle SG33G5
  • Intel Core 2 Duo e6750 OC’d to 3.2GHz
  • 2GiB OCZ DDR2-800 Cas4 RAM
  • nVidia 8800GT OC’d
• Dell UltraSharp 2407WFP-HC @ 1920 x 1200
• Viewsonic vx1935wm @ 1440 x 900
• Logitech Wave keyboard
• Logitech MX1000 mouse (lasted 4 years already!)
• Logitech X-230 2.1 speakers
• Dell XPS M1210 Laptop
• My Goal Sheet (to keep me focused!)

My Computer Setup from ??? -???

• Multiple monitors to keep me unfocused

Better start working hard!

Hi all, my fellow entrepreneur friend Ryan Allis has just launched the latest revision to his book, Zero to One Million. The book is about… well, I’ll let Ryan explain it in his own words:

“In Zero to One Million, I share my story going from an 11 year-old with a dream living in Bradenton, Florida providing computer help to senior citizens for $5 per hour to today at age 23 running iContact in Durham, North Carolina, a company with 85 employees, 19,000 customers, and over $10 million in annual sales.”

If that doesn’t impress you already, Ryan will be donating all the proceeds to his own non-profit organization, The Humanity Campaign, which will work to reduce hunger and poverty in the world.

Ryan has the mindset of a social entrepreneur, something you rarely find in our youthful generation. Down the road, I want to be doing something similar in capacity - Philanthropy and ministering others at a fairly young age. Other young successful entrepreneurs can enjoy their Ferraris and Lamborghinis if they wish, I’ll enjoy my time in Kenya making sure the locals get clean water and food to eat.

Helping others helps your inner self.

Being rich to others grows your “human worth.”

Those are some of the values I like to live by.

If you can, please purchase the book today. Ryan is aiming to become #1 on Amazon for a day to spread his knowledge and journey through his book, Zero to One Million. It is a must read for any aspiring and young entrepreneur. I’ve already placed my order, have you?

For some reason, my blog now has a Google PageRank of 1. Okay, not really a huge milestone compared to other sites, but it’s a milestone nevertheless.

In contrast to many other blogs out there, I haven’t spent the time, nor the money to try to “get my name” out there. I simply want DanHuang.net to be a place where I can collect my thoughts and share my journey of entrepreneurship with the rest of you.

I’m no John Chow, and while I respect John and his craft, I’m not going to make my site riddled with advertisements. But then again, his title tag is: I Make Money Online by Telling People How Much Money I Make Online. My focus happens to be completely different.

DanHuang.net certainly will not:

• Have advertisements.
• Try to make money off of you, the reader.
• Stray from the values I’ve tried to uphold since the creation of this blog.

This is a blog about me. Not about your bad credit score. Not about your need for herbal viagra. Not about your free iPhone.

My thoughts. My journey. My story…to you.

BSOD.

I restarted the computer and created the biggest paperweight known to man. I’m calling Shuttle tomorrow to reflash my Bios chip, hopefully that’ll resolve EVERYTHING.

Sorry if this post seems too technical, I can’t explain my frustrations without technobabble.

The funny thing is, within 5 minutes after the demise of my Shuttle, I found out that some pins on my motherboard could be loose - that would affect the 8800GT not being detected. I also found out I used the wrong version of Winflash, (there’s a specific version for Vista) which bricked your Shuttle if you tried flashing. Great. Pat on the back Dan.

School resumes tomorrow too. Everything is excellent!

Edit (1/21): RMA’d video card came back. That works fine. Now there’s something wrong with the barebones itself, so I sent that out via UPS today. ~$60 shipping to CA. Ouch.

I hope each and everyone of you had an amazing winter break. For me, this winter has had its share of ups and downs. But that’s okay! because it’s a new year! That means new goals, new accomplishments, new victories, and unfortunately, new downfalls. It’s time to let go of 2007, I never dwell on my past because I know I’m being shaped into a better me this year. That I look forward to.

Which reminds me, I’m actually making this post in the morning! Which is very strange for me, because I usually blog near the end of the day at night or early morning. I guess the New Year’s Resolution has already taken effect!

Anyways, DanHuang.net has a slight makeover. I switched over to Feedburner to manage my readers more easily, and changed the header image.  If you’re not a serious car nut, you might not understand the image. You may think it’s a bunch of fancy cars, and yes, you are correct. However, among all the pretty Ferraris, there’s one that stands out from the pack… A yellow Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder. That’s what encapsulates entrepreneurship - the willingness to stand out, to be different, and to reveal it to the world.

I hope you guys like the new look.

Stay safe and warm in 2008!

What a ride, I finished building my Shuttle SG33G5 system, and clocked in about 5 hours to beat Call of Duty 4 on the “Hardened” difficulty. Absolutely has to be of the best games I’ve ever played. Although CoD4 is rather short for a FPS, it was probably the most rewarding 5 hours ever spent on a game. Excellent storyline, great graphic, cinematic gameplay, amazing 5.1 surround sound… just a really mind-blowing experience.

Here are some pictures of my SG33G5 build:

• Intel Core 2 Duo E6750
• 2GB OCZ DDR2 PC2-6400 800MHz CAS4
• BFG 8800GT OC 512Mb
• Seagate 7200.11 500Gb SATA

Now when I think about it, there are a lot more games out there other than just Counter-Strike. Bioshock, Orange Box, Oblivion, and Crysis - to name a few. I’ll have to get around to those later this holiday season!

Don’t think I’m losing focus on my entrepreneurial goals! I was a competitive gamer in the past, and sometimes it’s nice to get in touch with your roots.(Being an Asian and E-Athlete, no doubt)

Oh, I almost forgot… it’s Christmas Eve, therefore the Texas SoS isn’t going to send out my paperwork any faster, so I can relax and shoot up some tangos, and so should you. Get away from all the work this season, and bake some cookies.

For the Christians out there: Never forget what Christmas is all about - the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Till next year. God Bless.

Dan

Finals, Dead week, and other random things in life have kept me away from posting. The fact that I now have 3-4 weeks to myself makes me wonder how to the heck I’m going to divide up my time. Oh, right! Here’s my list that I’m not going to bother checking twice:

• Spend more time with friends and family.
• Read the books I couldn’t get to at GT. (Btw, it isn’t Calculus.)
• Setup my LLC.
• Begin work on several web projects.
• Wonder what Christmas is all about.
• Sleep
• Play Call of Duty 4, but not before finishing this beast…

Stay tuned!