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Whats Cleveland without Nikki? Us. | Ah shit, its so dusty. Whats even here still? At least the light was left on. Ok look its been a while. Shit piles up and of course passion projects get buried first, but we’ve got a problem in the Cleveland arts scene. Like a big one. Well, maybe not BIG literally but metaphorically. There is the worlds largest 5 foot hole in the heart of Cleveland with Nikki Delamotte’s passing. Do you know how much work we gotta do now? Like criminy, think about how much shit she did for her friends who were artists, chefs, business owners, musicians etc. Yes friends, Nikki was a journalist by trade, but whose fooled by that? Her job was writing about her friends doing cool shit in town, and all the troubles and quirks people don’t think about. How the fuck did she do that for so many people? How do you remember everyone and connect as a genuine friend while also having the highest journalistic integrity in town? Who is gonna message you about a minute detail over a side project’s changed name, cleverly giving it a shoutout in the article for your other band? We gotta figure that out because guess what, now thats our job. We don’t work for Cleveland “dot” com, and like fuck if Plum City Jerks will, but every one of us has the responsibility to be each other’s Nikki Delamotte for what we’re doing. Thats what she showed Cleveland.
Ugh, how did this old rag make so many friends by saying “yeah its kinda shit but the kids got moxie”? We can’t do that after Nikki. She showed up this frankly tired and outdated style of cultural journalism with sheer joy and compassion. You don’t need to talk shit about shit bands because they’ll probably not go anywhere anyway (except Tropidelic) so why bother? Whats snarky music coverage besides a selfish stylistic conceit. Goddamn now a calendar needs to be set up. Whats going on next week? Where are the shows no ones probably gonna go to? We can still do that bit, those shows always rule anyway. How’d you find time for it all, Nikki? I’m calling bullshit on one person doing so much so the only logical conclusion is for all of us to fill her grey Keds and get to work talking about our work, and our troubles as candidly, as earnestly, as friends. | https://medium.com/plum-city-jerks/whats-cleveland-without-nikki-us-a7e5fe6de4d1 | ['Sam Radford'] | 2018-11-28 15:40:41.171000+00:00 | ['Work'] |
A 1285 dollar lesson from my IRA rollover | TL;DR: If you regularly perform backdoor Roth conversion, there is a big disadvantage of rolling your 401k balance to IRA that is ususally not mentioned. You will be surprised by additional tax bills for your after-tax dollar contribution.
Photo by Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash
I recently left for a new job. After some research, here are my choices of what I can do with my old 401k plan.
1. Leave it in my previous employer 401k plan
2. Roll to the new employer 401k plan
3. Roll to IRA
4. Cash out the 401k
Among all options, one most recommended option is option 3. The pros are:
1. More choices of investment.
2. Fewer accounts to manage and less paperwork during tax seasons.
This is specifically beneficial in the long run. Jumping ship happens every few years. This could potentially lead to many 401k accounts here and there. Keeping track of the username and password would already be a headache, not to mention all the paperwork to track and maintain for tax return.
Fewer accounts could also mean fewer management fees. Some 401k plan charges high plan fees for employees who had left the employer. In contrast, IRA account offered by discount brokerages usually charge little to none management fees if you chose to manage the account by yourself.
The Cons are:
1. Some funds with lower expense ratios are only available in employer 401k plan.
2. IRA assets do not enjoy the same level of asset protection from creditors as 401k plan.
Having weighted the pros and cons, I made the call and rolled over my 401k balance to my IRA account. I’m particularly drawn to the idea of managing fewer accounts and the paperwork.
Here the story begins.
It starts with a pre-tax/post-tax dollar mix
I have been performing backdoor Roth for the last two years. For those who are new to Backdoor Roth conversion, Backdoor Roth allows high earners to put in after-tax dollars to a limit to theirtraditional IRA and then convert to Roth IRA. Having this context, you won’t be surprised that I have a dedicated traditional IRA account to contribute my after-tax dollars.
In order to differentiate the pre-tax dollars and post-tax dollars, I opened a separate account that is dedicated for my 401k pre-tax dollars. This way I thought I could show IRS that these two traditional IRA account are different:
1) one with 100% after-tax dollars that had been converted to Roth IRA through backdoor.
2) the other with 100% pre-tax dollars from my employer 401k plan.
I thought everything was in a good place till last week I came across a post that discusses the “coffee and cream rule” for Roth conversion. It’s like a wakening call that made me realize how naive I had been of rolling my 401k to my IRA.
Coffee and cream rule
“Coffee and cream rule”, also referred to as the “pro-rata rule”, is a rule to determine the proportion of your pre-tax and post-tax funds across all your non-Roth IRA accounts. In this analogy, coffee is your pretax (aka deductible) dollars and cream is post tax (aka. Non-deductible) dollars.
Just like there is no way that you could sip coffee without taking in some cream, when you mix pre-tax dollars and post-tax dollars in non-Roth IRA accounts, you cannot differentiate them by putting them into two separate accounts. As required by the IRS, the legitimate way to discern the two types of dollars is to calculate a proportion of pre-tax/post-tax dollars.
Applying coffee and cream rule
Let me walk you through my case. Early this year I made 6k backdoor Roth IRA contribution. In October I switched job and rolled over 50k pre-tax dollars from my 401k plan to my traditional IRA.
Across all my non-Roth IRA accounts, now I have
Pre-tax dollars = 50,000
Post-tax dollars = 6,000
Percentage of pre-tax dollar = 50,000/56,000 = 89.3%
Applying the coffee and cream rule,
for every dollar I converted to Roth, I have to pay ordinary income taxes for 0.893 cents.
At the beginning of the year, I had performed 6,000 backdoor Roth conversion . As a result, I had to pay income taxes for 6,000 × 89.3% = 5,357 dollars.
My tax bracket is 24%, which translates to 5,357×0.24 = 1,285.68 dollars more in tax this year.
Remember the 6,000 dollars I put in my traditional IRA are my post-tax dollars! I have to pay an EXTRA 1,285.68 more in taxes because I rolled over the 50K pre-tax dollars to my IRA.
It doesn’t stop here
To make the whole thing worse, there is a ripple effect of this one time IRA rollover. Consider the following years that I wanted to keep doing backdoor Roth.
Let’s assume that my contribution for the next 5 years remain the same at 6,000 dollars and my pre-tax funds will not increase in value. For every year I performed a backdoor Roth on 6,000 dollars, I had to pay 1285.68 dollars. This amount would increase if there is a profit for my pre-tax investment.
Had I chosen option 1 or 2, I would be able to enjoy the full benefit of a backdoor Roth by paying zero tax for my post-tax dollars.
Timing of activity doesn’t matter
Another misunderstanding I had is that I thought the order of activities matter. My reasoning is as follows.
My backdoor Roth conversion happened months before the IRA rollover. At the point of IRA roll-over, the amount in traditional IRA is zero and technically I didn’t mix coffee with cream.
Unfortunately, when it comes to the pro-rata rule, IRS calculates the proportion of pre-tax/post-tax funds considering all activities happened in the year. Regardless the order of activities, as long as you put both pre-tax funds and post-tax funds in the same pod within the same year, your coffee and cream cannot be parted.
What are my choices next?
Having accepted the fact that I made a mistake, I tried to search for a solution. The goal is to remove the traditional IRA balance and get a clean slate. Having done my research, I came up with three options.
1. Roll the traditional IRA balance to my new employer 401k plan.
2. Convert all traditional IRA balance to Roth.
3. Stop doing backdoor Roth conversion in the future.
Option 1 is a quick and painless remedy for my mistake. Were I able to complete a reverse rollover by the end of year, I would save myself 1285 dollars for the lesson. However, that is also subject to that my new employer 401k policy accepts IRA roll-over.
For option 2, it’s a painful yet fast way to get back to the clean slate. It also means I will be expecting a much larger tax bill this year that I haven’t planned for.
Option 3 is the worst among the three in the long run. I don’t feel like giving up the chance to invest 6,000 dollars annually with tax-free growth for the next twenty years.
I hope my story helps you make a more informed decision on how to handle your old 401k plan. | https://medium.com/@luckyjade8/a-1285-dollar-lesson-from-my-ira-rollover-75c831ce88d2 | [] | 2020-11-26 01:06:33.435000+00:00 | ['Ira Rollover', 'Lessons Learned', 'Money', 'Backdoor Roth', 'Retirement'] |
What Chopping Your Vegetables Has To Do With Fighting Cancer | A Chopping Conundrum
When any cruciferous vegetables is chopped, crushed, shredded, or chewed, it releases both myrosinase, as well as glucosinolate compounds, that then combine to make sulforaphane. This chemical reaction is exactly what produces the mild burning sensation that we associate with some foods of the mustard family. It’s what gives raw broccoli its bite, and what makes spicy mustard, well…spicy (4).
However, in order for the myrosinase enzyme to work its magic, it first has to be given the chance. All in all, myrosinase can take up to 45 minutes once first released (by way of cutting or chopping your vegetables, remember?) to successfully convert itself into disease-fighting sulforaphane.
The other issue here is that myrosinase is highly heat sensitive. One of the fastest ways to prevent any and all sulforaphane formation from occurring is to immediately transfer your chopped cruciferous vegetables into a hot oven or a pot of boiling water — a practice I think it’s fair to assume is pretty routine for most of us.
Interestingly, a solution to the issue lies with the fact that sulforaphane is not heat sensitive. What this means, is that as long as you’re happy to plan ahead, and cut your cruciferous vegetables 45 minutes before you cook them, they will have more than enough time to work their enzymatic magic, thereby retaining the same efficacy in fighting cancer as when consumed raw.
In this sense, you can either exclusively stick to eating raw cruciferous vegetables — and rest assured that myrosinase will continue to produce sulforaphane even after you’ve chewed and swallowed your veg — or, you can chop your cauliflower, cabbage, and kale 45 minutes in advance.
All in all, it seems pretty straightforward. The benefits of regularly eating sulforaphane-rich foods drastically outweigh the inconvenience of leaving your chopped veggies on the countertop for the better part of an hour.
But what if there was another way altogether? | https://medium.com/beingwell/what-chopping-your-vegetables-has-to-do-with-fighting-cancer-22cab5712b8b | ['Alexandra Walker-Jones'] | 2020-12-28 20:20:23.441000+00:00 | ['Health', 'Lifestyle', 'Healthcare', 'Nutrition', 'Food'] |
Reinforcement Learning: beyond the supervised and unsupervised ways | In Machine Learning, there are two main ways you could train your model depending on the type of data you are provided with:
Supervised Learning: you are provided with a set of inputs and outputs, hence your data are already labeled and you know the ‘ground truth’ behind them. It means that, once your algorithm is trained on the train set and has made predictions on the test set, you can have immediate feedbacks of its performance: indeed, you already know the real output. Let’s visualize it with a straightforward example, where our data are labeled as ‘triangles’ and ‘squares’, hence our algorithm will be asked to assign an existing class to new data:
Unsupervised Learning: in this scenario, you are provided with data which are not labeled nor categorized. Basically, you have no idea whether or not your data point is a square or a triangle ex-ante. So, the goal of the unsupervised algorithm is inferring the inner structure of those data, finding common patterns and trying to cluster them into categories (which, remember, have no targets!). Namely, our unsupervised algorithm might be able to segregate squares from triangles, yet without actually calling them ‘squares’ and ‘triangles’.
So far so good. But what happens if you are not provided with data at all, and you want your algorithm to learn from the surrounding environment? If you think at many automated systems, like self-driving cars and robotics, you can see that those machines (cars, robots) are not provided with historical data: they have to collect them while working. So the idea is that those machines have to approach their task through several attempts, learning from their mistakes (namely, crashing against a wall) and avoiding them in the next attempt.
Let’s explain this concept a little bit more by considering the following picture (which refers to the Markov decision process):
The idea is that we have an agent(the robot) and an environment (the labyrinth). That agent has a personal representation of the environment, which is called state. Then, it needs to interact with the environment and the way it does that is through actions. After each action, the agent will have a new state of the environment, as well as feedback on its action, in terms of reward or penalty.
To make it easier, imagine you are visiting an apartment for the first time and, suddenly, the environment gets dark and you cannot see anything. You want to reach the door, but you don’t know the way. How would you behave? You will probably start by walking very slowly and randomly (first set of actions), having in mind a certain representation of the apartment (state). Then, you bump into a wall on the right: now you can mentally update the state of the environment and, at the same time, you are receiving negative feedback on your action (penalty). Now, you learned that the action you did was not correct, hence you will proceed towards another direction and, surprisingly, you reach the door! Now you will receive positive feedback (reward) on your action, since you reached the goal.
The same would happen for this little robot (the agent) trying to cross the labyrinth (the environment) and reach the prize (the goal of its task).
So, the idea of a reinforced algorithm is the following: finding a set of actions (the so-called policy) so that the present (or discounted) value of rewards is maximized.
As anticipated, RL has a variety of applications, but the most revolutionary element, in my opinion, is the way it differs from any other ML method. Indeed, if you think about classification or clusterization methods (respectively, supervised and unsupervised), you are basically trying to let the model ‘emulate’ the way you would have approached the task. In RL, though, the story is different. Here, the agent will explore the environment on its own and, depending on the responses, it will update its policy, which is not an emulation of that of some humans behind the process. | https://towardsdatascience.com/reinforcement-learning-beyond-the-supervised-and-unsupervised-ways-b3cae32eef65 | ['Valentina Alto'] | 2019-07-08 03:52:01.738000+00:00 | ['Reinforcement Learning', 'Data Science', 'Supervised Learning', 'Machine Learning', 'Unsupervised Learning'] |
JP Morgan CIO: Blockchain Will Replace Existing Technology | JP Morgan CIO Lori Beer said at a press conference in Buenos Aires that blockchain will “replace existing technology” in a few years, according to Argentinian website Cripto247 August 23.
“We will see a greater and wider use of blockchain […] In a few years blockchain will replace the existing technology, today it only coexists with the current one,” Beer said.
Beer explained to Cripto247 that JP Morgan uses blockchain technology to “simplify the payment process and to store customers’ information related to KYC (Know Your Customer) policy.” She added that blockchain technology helps to prevent money laundering. Beer further explained the use of blockchain technology by the bank:
“We are currently following many paths. We invented a blockchain with an open code based on Ethereum. Actual blockchain technology has not yet resolved issues with privacy and scalability that we needed. We are connected to Hyperledger and Enterprise Ethereum Alliance. The application of this technology in business is more important to us than the technology itself. We are looking not only for cost reduction, but also for opportunities to develop new products.”
Beer was also asked about JP Morgan’s position on buying cryptocurrencies. She explained that the bank only supports what is regulated and has specialists who are “evaluating what is happening” with virtual currencies. When asked about the institutional position regarding Initial Coin Offerings(ICOs), Beer preferred not to respond.
Earlier in August, Cointelegraph reported that JP Morgan Chase’s CEO Jamie Dimon was optimistic about blockchain. “[JPMorgan] is testing [blockchain] and will use it for a whole lot of things,” he said.
In May, JP Morgan Chase filed a patent for a blockchain powered peer-to-peer payments network that could be used for intra- and inter-bank settlements. The patent application proposes using a distributed ledger to process payments in real-time, without having to rely on a trusted third party to hold the true “golden copy” of the audit trail.
Source: cointelegraph.com
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______________________________________ | https://medium.com/ktiglobal/jp-morgan-cio-blockchain-will-replace-existing-technology-7a9e4d7992b6 | [] | 2018-08-28 12:43:12.060000+00:00 | ['News', 'Bank', 'Peer To Peer', 'Cryptocurrency', 'Blockchain'] |
The Last Letter | The Last Letter
A year after receiving their last letter from her, Diane Webb’s family randomly receive another one, just not from her.
At 18-years old, a pregnant and engaged Diane Webb stays behind in California with her soon-to-be husband, while the rest of her family move to Arizona. Although apart, Diane keeps in contact with her family through letters for months, until she doesn’t. Some time goes by before they finally get another, albeit not from her.
Born on April 20, 1942, Diane lived with her parents and siblings in San Bernardino, California until 1959. In March of that same year, Diane’s family moved to Dolan Springs, Arizona while she remained in California with her boyfriend, 16-year old Bennie Milton Webb.
On at least one occasion, Diane visited her family in Arizona, staying for a week. She told her parents she was pregnant and intended to marry Bennie, who was in the Phoenix, Arizona area by then. Although Diane’s father disapproved of both the pregnancy and relationship, her mother and younger brother traveled to Indio, California for her wedding, marking the last time her family saw her.
Following her wedding, for the next several months, Diane wrote letters home. The last one she wrote was mailed on August 22, 1959, her younger sister’s birthday, and included some crocheted handkerchiefs as a gift. This letter would be last her family had received from her.
Sometime in late 1960, over a year after last hearing from her, Diane’s family received a letter from Bennie. In his letter, he indicated that he thought she was with them in Dolan Springs, to which her parents promptly wrote back asking what had happened. Bennie responded on January 5, 1961, saying that he had not seen or heard from Diane in a very long time. The last time he saw her, he had given her $100 and put her on a bus to return to her family.
After seeing her off, Diane later wrote him one letter, informing him that she had had a miscarriage. Bennie also suggested that Diane’s parents contact a female friend of hers in California, whom he thought might have information on her whereabouts.
Sometime after her disappearance, Diane’s father went to Bennie’s hometown of Truth or Consequences, New Mexico to see if he could learn anything about the situation; Bennie’s brother was chief of police at the time. He allegedly threatened Diane’s father, making him leave town.
As recent as 2016, Bennie is still alive but has refused to cooperate with the police or take a polygraph. Although he also said he doesn’t recall ever marrying Diane, a copy of their marriage certificate does exist.
In August 1961, either Diane herself or someone else used her name while visiting a dentist’s office in California, this being the last possible sighting of her.
Several years later, in November 1967, the skeletal remains of a young girl were found at the Catalina Mountains in southern Arizona. Investigators initially believed they were Diane’s and tried to give them to Diane’s family. The cause of death was ruled as suicide. Diane’s mother did not think her daughter would have taken her life and did not believe that the remains were hers, of which both her parents refused to accept. In 2013, the bones were exhumed, and DNA tested. The results came back confirming the remains as not Diane’s.
If Diane is still alive, she would be 77-years old. She was between 5'2–5'4 tall, and 110–120 pounds. She had brown hair and brown/gray eyes.
Diane’s parents have since passed away, but her siblings continue to search for her. Her case remains unsolved. | https://medium.com/of-misdeeds-and-mysteries/where-is-diane-marie-webb-bcbc1c6b48f0 | ['Nicole Henley'] | 2019-07-16 23:06:12.552000+00:00 | ['Lost', 'Mystery', 'True Crime', 'Crime', 'Arizona'] |
THE WHO’S WHO OF YOUR PROJECT — My Blog | You know there will be loads of people involved (many of whom will be in your house on a regular basis), but you may not know who they are, or what they do. Here’s a quick guide to all the parties you’ll be dealing with over the next few months.
The General Contractor:
The star of the show, and the person capable of managing the entire process. Your general contractor will be responsible for the coordination of the project, including engaging the right subcontractors, and the final delivery of the work. You’ll hire him/her directly.
The Architect:
Typically responsible for the design and paperwork and can often be responsible for ongoing design management. You’ll also want to hire him/her directly — unless you decide to work with a design-build firm, in which case the contractor and architect will be a package deal.
The Engineer:
If you’re doing a structural project, this person is crucial, for the simple reason that you don’t want your builder being responsible for building a structure that affects the integrity of the building such as a load-bearing wall.
The Suppliers:
These people will be your lifeline, the source of all your materials for the project. You may not deal with them directly — usually (once you know what you want) it’s better to let your contractor interface with suppliers since they can negotiate better prices (professional discounts and all) as well as manage late or incorrect shipments.
The Subcontractors:
Your army of specialists, who will see to every detail of your remodel. This category includes plumbers, electricians, glazers (a.k.a. window specialists), carpenters, plasterers, painters, tilers, and home entertainment installation experts, to name a few. They will be hired and managed by your general contractor — though be sure to keep track of their names and phone numbers. You always want a record of who is entering your home (plus if they wind up in any pay disputes with your contractor, a subcontractor could put a lien on your home — if that happens, you’ll want to know how to get in touch with them).
Chances are you already know who this person is — the aesthetics-led style maven who will help turn your newly-remodeled home into a stylish, comfortable sanctum that reflects your personality and tastes. You’ll hire your interior designer directly.
The Inspector:
This less glamorous and oft-overlooked party is nonetheless one of the most important. It’s easy to forget or put off the proper inspections in the bustle of finishing a remodeling project, but you’re in for a nasty surprise if an inspector finds the work isn’t up to code (in some municipalities, not having the right permit could even land you in jail). Make the local building department your new friend, and be sure to have all the necessary inspections done on time, to ensure that your new electrical system or plumbing won’t need to be ripped out.
The Loan Officer:
If you’re taking a home equity loan to finance your project, be sure to stay on good terms with this person. He/she will hold the key (and the source of funds) to the successful completion of your project. | https://medium.com/@ca40000878/the-whos-who-of-your-project-my-blog-44615566468c | ['Aris Khan'] | 2019-12-31 06:08:51.878000+00:00 | ['Interior Design', 'Home Renovation', 'Furniture', 'Interior'] |
Ruminations on violence. Hate yourself Do you hate yourself? I… | Ruminations on violence
My thoughts are consumed by death: my own, my friends, my comrades, my humans. The night brings with it the uptick in energy I get from the comfortable roll of a jacket and basketball shorts to tap away mindlessly and endlessly at my well worn keyboard and drown my emotional weight in the validation I get from the process of posting. The prevailing undercurrent no matter where I manage to turn is my inability to come to terms with anything that bothers me. Closing my eyes brings forth the segment of the night dominated by horror. A set of images continually blast through my head as lights pierce through the darkness, instantly and intensely; visions of a bombed out school bus in Yemen, someone close about to make an attempt on their own life or any other scene all too visceral.
These would stir me to wake in the middle of the night and only later began to follow me to waking world. It was driving to a fast food joint for that late night fix of bullshit that I first noticed it. A business with flags near the sidewalk had me start to be pulled into panic, I couldn’t understand why at first, vision tighter, breathing tighter, grip tighter, and a draping flag that I knew was there from driving by in the daylight innumerous times and yet I knew that was a person. They were going to kill themselves, I was going to kill them. The panic stayed with me for the whole drive back to my apartment empty handed. I couldn’t believe it was something that actually happened to me, I thought I must have been making it up to myself in some weird ploy for attention from myself. Maybe I’d put too much of myself in others, maybe I thought worrying about everyone else would let me forget how much I hate me, maybe it was both. My motivation had been crushed. I stopped attending all courses where I didn’t have a relationship to keep my accountable. The visions and nightmares twisted and shifted, eventually the burned and mangled body of an innocent man lynched in Dallas would be the preeminent visage to cross my addled mind at during the dark hours. Ruminating on my own fault in spectacles of death I came to W.E.B. DuBois’s magnum opus Darkwater for a course.
Darkwater, Clear Mind — Musings on DuBois and my mental state
It hardly feels fair to box W.E.B. Dubois into any one box after I’ve finished Darkwater. Seemingly every discipline of letters is within his reach and mastery: fiction, history, humour, sociology, philosophy, theology, and poetry are all deftly on display in a tour de force. Darkwater is not a work that speaks but a work that screams to the world to pay attention, to learn and to grow. I find myself continually bereft of the pen in Dubois’s shadow; each subsection speaks so loudly in and of itself that my breath cannot help but to be cut short in the wake. I have simultaneously an overabundance of thought and an incomparability of meaning upon bearing witness to the herculean feats of the pen they would pull off.
Jesus Christ In Texas from Darkwater spoke directly to the feelings I had running through my brain, the intersection between the great forgiver of sins and the brutality of death raced without abatement throughout my 2019 so far. It is brutal to read the story of the messiah in Waco knowing the conclusion that awaits you.
Invariably understanding the horror of Jesus Christ In Texas requires a bit of knowledge about and around the evil vile mob executions that plagued America from the the end of reconstruction to the early 60s (some would now say they’re supplanted with police violence). I’ve twice borne witness to parts of Without Sanctuary compiled by James Allen, an edited collection of lynching postcards and memorabilia from the era. It is impossible to not weep as you flip through the pages. Common practice was to make sure the event was not only public but recorded and joyous for the population who did the murder. Not only would the denizens of Waco lynch Jesus, they would do it with a smile and picture to remember the event.
While the level of violence and hatred on display in every postcard collected is horrific, perhaps most troubling is the composition of the audiences. In many of the photos there are children of primary schooling age, no more than 7 or 8, gleefully absorbing the hell on the shoulder of their father. I found myself fixated on a particular postcard from Dallas. A few of those buildings in the background stand to this day, the old red courthouse off in the distance, no justice to be had under its visage. Some of those photos date to the 1960s, putting them at about the age of my own parents. If they had been in Waco instead of Salamanca or Ocotlan would they too have hung Jesus; had a glint in the eye and their sunday best on? Those kids are still alive, and in turn their kids are recent university graduates or young labourers. They work, live and continue their dominion over people of colour. What about them, would they pose for a postcard again?
DuBois gives his response as an unqualified yes later in Darkwater via the short story The Comet. The things that supposedly will bring us arm in arm with our fellow man still cannot supersede the entrenched system of racism. In turn the various possible syncretic moments of the past 99 years have not quelled the churn of the beast. When I look into the faces of certain people when they hear of another death by police brutality or the idea that black lives matter I don’t just see them, I see the pictures, I see the faces with wry smiles and the pornographic spectacle of black death they embody, faces of grandparents, a scant 60 or 70 years removed. These things happened within living memory and the framing that perpetuates them continues to live and thrive. | https://medium.com/@gramsci/portrait-of-the-artist-as-a-young-fag-4d2669888db9 | ['The Trans Napoleon'] | 2021-07-04 21:16:16.144000+00:00 | ['Sociology'] |
Under the hood: Teletraan deploy system | Baogang Song | Pinterest engineering lead, Infrastructure
Among the things a developer worries about most, deploy is near — or at — the top of the list. A deployment is often the first time a new code change runs in the production environment. A dependable and straightforward deploy tool is a crucial part of any developer’s arsenal.
A deploy system should support the following functionalities:
Rollback. This is the most important feature of any deploy tool. Having a time machine to go back to a certain previous state is priceless.
Hotfix. There are times when rollback is either impractical or hard, and so a hotfix is easier to perform and faster to deploy with higher priority over the regular ones.
Rolling deploy. Deploy shouldn’t interrupt service, but if absolutely necessary, the impact has to be minimal. It’s important to halt the deployment if a certain number of servers have failed to upgrade or a service SLA is violated.
Staging and testing. Deploying to production directly has higher risks than deploying to a staging environment or canary to verify things work first. Often times engineers don’t follow this best practice because of the overhead of creating a staging environment and integrating it with their tests. A good deploy system minimizes such overhead.
Visibility. Make sure it’s easy to find out which code changes are available to deploy and the number of hosts running new and older versions. It’s also important to easily track which code change was introduced when and by whom, as well as the critical metrics and alarms status during a deployment.
Usability. A simple user interface is key for the above functionalities.
Introducing Teletraan
Teletraan is our internal deploy system for supporting all of the above functions (named after a character from the famous Transformer TV series). It was built by a small group of development tools engineers on the Cloud Engineering team that drives reliability, speed, efficiency and security for the site and infrastructure.
Design overview
Teletraan follows the traditional client-server model with MySQL as the backend data storage.
Deploy agents are daemons running on all the hosts and interact with Agent Service periodically to get the latest instructions. During a deployment, an agent downloads and extracts service build tar along with specific deploy scripts, and executes them. These deploy scripts include PRE/POST-DOWNLOAD scripts, PRE/POST-RESTART scripts and the RESTART script itself, and are responsible for stopping and starting services.
Teletraan Workers perform jobs in the background, such as transitioning deploy states based on deploy progress and performing auto deploys based on schedule.
Teletraan Service provides APIs support for Deploy Board and any RESTful calls. It’s responsible for most deploy-related actions, including deploy and rollback. It also creates and maintains service deploy configuration, answers deploy and agent status queries, enforces permission control and more.
Advanced features
In addition to the core functionalities listed above, Teletraan also supports several advanced features:
Pause and resume. It comes in handy when a developer wants to double check something before the code is fully deployed to the cluster.
Qualification. Once configured, a successful deploy will trigger an acceptance test to qualify it. An accepted deploy could be used for future promote or auto deploy to the next stage
Auto Deploy. Automatically promote builds from one stage to another whenever a new build is available or based on cron job-like schedule settings. An auto deploy could be paused, rollbacked or overridden by the system automatically upon failures.
Teletraan has helped us move faster and ship code easier. We want to share these deploy tools with the world, and are planning to open-source Teletraan later this year. Keep an eye on the blog for updates.
Baogang Song is an engineering lead on the Internal Development Tools team, which is part of the Cloud Engineering team at Pinterest.
Acknowledgements: Teletraan was built by Jinru He, Nick DeChant and Baogang Song from the Internal Development Tools team.
For Pinterest engineering news and updates, follow our engineering Pinterest, Facebook and Twitter. Interested in joining the team? Check out our Careers site. | https://medium.com/pinterest-engineering/under-the-hood-teletraan-deploy-system-1e5caa774a63 | ['Pinterest Engineering'] | 2017-02-21 20:58:46.928000+00:00 | ['Tools', 'Deploy', 'Cloud', 'Engineering', 'Developer'] |
Are You an Abusive Person? | Most of us don’t want to be an abusive or toxic person. We don’t want to hear someone we care about say that we hurt them. We don’t want to end up estranged from those we care about.
No one wants to read an email, letter or blog post detailing how just being themselves has hurt and driven away someone they love.
Being an abusive person will mean you hurt the people that are closest to you. Imagine destroying the love someone has for you by being an abusive nightmare. Who wants to face up to that?
Being the toxic person in a relationship or family is like playing pass the parcel with a hot brick. No one wants to be left holding it. Still, abusive people exist, so it’s got to be someone. You hopefully already know that physical abuse is bad but people frequently hurt others without getting physical.
If you value your relationships you should be worried if you regularly display any of these behaviors:
You don’t care how your behavior affects others.
If certain political topics make people around you uncomfortable you still bring them up relentlessly. Why should you pander to people when it comes to what you think? If you’re asked not to make derogatory comments on someone’s weight, you go out of your way to do it. Someone asks you not to swear? Fuck that.
If someone politely asks you to modify your behaviour and you flat out refuse; that should tell you something.
You don’t understand the word “inappropriate”.
Most of us worry that we’ve done something inappropriate from time to time. A red flag for abusive behaviour is that people are constantly telling you that you’re being inappropriate.
They constantly tell you and you constantly don’t care, so you never change.
This is a sign that you like to do things your way and anyone who disagrees with you is wrong. This attitude could quite easily lead you to be abusive towards people.
You blame others for your bad behavior.
You raised your voice because someone annoyed you. You caused a scene at that graduation dinner because no one talked about what interests you. You insulted your daughter’s boyfriend because his dress sense irritated you. You threw away your wife’s photo albums because she doesn’t keep the kitchen tidy enough.
Do you get into these kinds of arguments with the people close to you?
This is a double whammy of abusive behavior. You’re not only upsetting someone but when challenged you insist they brought it on themselves.
This can start out as you just wanting to avoid the unpleasant truth that you’ve upset someone but it can very quickly become controlling behaviour. If everyone around you does as they’re told everything will be OK. If they don’t then they sort of asked for you to get angry.
Treating someone badly in order to punish them for something you think they did wrong is abusive. There is nothing healthy about taking punitive action against someone you are supposed to care about. You’re basically telling the other person that if they slip up in your eyes they get hurt in some way. This kind of attitude will make you toxic to be around, it doesn’t matter if you’re making excuses or you really believe your justification. The effect on your loved one will still be damaging.
If this point applies to you then it’s a worrying one. It’s a sign that you have very poor communication skills and struggle to manage your emotions. The potential for you to be or become abusive is quite high.
When someone tells you how they feel, you feel confused.
This one is quite simple. If you can’t understand other people’s feelings it’s a sign that you’re very fixated on your own.
Do you mind not turning every conversation around to the election? I’m getting tired of it.
Why not? I enjoy it.
Making rude remarks about my weight hurts my feelings.
Well it’s all true. If you can’t handle the truth that’s your problem.
You know I’m vegetarian, I don’t want to eat that.
Being vegetarian is a stupid fad, I cooked meat, eat it or go without.
That’s a terrible thing to say.
You’re too sensitive, you’re just being silly.
If other people’s feelings do not compute for you then that’s a big red flag.
Do you think how you feel about something should dominate another person’s life?
If so, you’re likely causing offense, upset and resentment on a very regular basis.
You see emotional expression as weakness.
Toxic and abusive people don’t like it when people express how they feel. They see this as weak rather than as an attempt to create peace and harmony in the relationship.
If you carry on long enough with this attitude you alienate your loved ones. They won’t bother trying to connect with you on an emotional level. Your relationships with them will feel strained and distant. Bear in mind, they’ll still form emotional connections with people, just not with you.
Showing emotional vulnerability, as well as giving and receiving emotional support is integral to a close relationship. However, no one said it was easy.
If you want happy, close relationships you can’t opt out of vital aspects of them.
You think your abusive background was fine.
“It never did me any harm.”
Whenever someone utters this phrase they make it plainly obvious that whatever they’re talking about did in fact do them harm.
This attitude is a really strong indication that people around you are going to end up suffering because of you.
Firstly this phrase is almost always a response to someone explaining that they are upset by something. This phrase then totally shuts them down. That’s not conducive to a good relationship.
Secondly this train of thought is usually followed up with justification by comparison.
You didn’t give the kids lunch.
I used to go days at a time without food, it never did me any harm.
I can’t believe you ignored me for the whole day.
My father once didn’t talk to me for a week.
This kind of poor communication turns an attempt to discuss and resolve something into a competition you always win.
You’re not really saying that you think it’s fine to not give the kids their lunch. You’re saying you refuse to discuss the matter and you’ll do what you want.
~
Good relationships are the cornerstone of a happy life. If you recognize yourself in some of the points here then you need to take action. Don’t be that person that harms loved ones and ultimately pushes them away.
Maybe you aren’t good at communication or understanding emotions. No one is good at everything and all of us can learn.
If you are on the receiving end of some of the behaviors listed here then you need to recognize this could be abuse. If the person displaying these behaviors doesn’t agree to change then you need to step away from them in order to protect yourself. | https://medium.com/swlh/are-you-an-abusive-person-3a448dc0d02f | ['Stef Hill'] | 2020-02-27 12:04:16.509000+00:00 | ['Self-awareness', 'Relationships', 'Mental Health', 'Self', 'Abuse'] |
How Synthesis — and its product team — nails working from home | Tea is the liquid of life
2. Pro — Duck — Tea — Vi — Tea
Our resident abang (Malay for ‘brother’) and full stack engineer, Arif Rahman, introduced a daily water cooler talk to our team when we started working remotely. You heard that right. A company approved water cooler talk. We call it the “productivi-tea” session, where we combine technical discussions (productivity) with casual chat (spilling the tea) for 30 minutes each afternoon (and management is okay with it!?!)
We chat about topics from the serious to the causal, like
How we should store a certain type of document in MongoDB
How we should spend our weekends
Specifications about our new React Component
Specific details about the interesting news, or ‘tea’, going on in our team and the company
While I found it pretty surprising at first, having an official water cooler chat isn’t such a crazy idea. Just Google the term ‘water cooler chat’, and you’ll find plenty of sources supporting its benefits for both companies and employees.
Not only do I get a chance to bring up the technical problems I’m currently facing and get advice, I also gradually became very comfortable with reaching out to my teammates to collaborate and ask for help outside of the productivi-tea meetings.
Additionally, the meeting has also served as an opportunity for the team to sync up on common terminology and also have a place where miscellaneous questions are permitted, which improves our team’s communication.
The meeting got me involved in the company’s culture and conversations, even though our team is remote.
Homemade cookies and a good read
3. Weekly Showcase & SNACK BUDDIES 🍇🧁🥤
A weekly company showcase is a pretty common practice. It comes with numerous benefits: helping employees understand the overall trajectory of the company, highlighting the work that others are doing, and fostering company culture.
However, there’s one easy way to make any meeting even better and boost employee morale… (drum roll please… ) and that’s through food.
At Synthesis, the Snack Exchange is the most sacred event of each Friday. Once the roster has been generated, it becomes your solemn duty to provide your snack buddy with suitable sustenance for the weekly showcase. This usually involves a quick chat about what food they like, before choosing some snacks to be delivered to their doorstep.
This simple exchange of snacks allows you to get to know another person in the bigger company for a little while. Waiting for the food to arrive is also rather exciting, as you aren’t sure what exactly the other party got you!
There might be a bit of a Pavlov’s dog situation going on here, but I’ve found myself looking forward to the weekly showcase every week. Enjoying some snacks while learning about the interesting things done by other teams in the company makes it all the better.
Aside from the upbeat vibes, this is also a platform where interdisciplinary and cross-cultural collaboration occurs.We often have data scientists bringing in a unique perspective (and possibly new innovations!) on the work strategists present.
And for the product team, showcasing our work gives us valuable insights on our product designs and features from our strategist colleagues who work directly with our business partners. | https://medium.com/synthesis-partners/how-synthesis-and-its-product-team-nails-working-from-home-bf5aa3b84d97 | ['Victor Huang'] | 2020-09-03 05:45:42.665000+00:00 | ['Humans Of Synthesis', 'People', 'Company Culture', 'Covid 19', 'Work From Home'] |
5 Ways to Keep Track of Your Cryptocurrency Taxes | Also, this is a relatively new market with a lot of rules not etched in stone right away. So, it’s important for traders and investors to be wary of various implications either legally or financially. Here are 5 ways how you can be prepared for taxes ahead of time if you trade cryptocurrency.
1. Keeping good records of your trading history
Trading on cryptocurrency exchanges is done against various pairs, unlike capital markets where it is done against national currency (fiat currency).
Example: In NYSE, TSLA (Tesla Stock) trades for USD
However, a cryptocurrency like Ethereum is traded on Binance with multiple pairs like BNB, BTC, XRP, USDC, USDT, USDC, PAX.
It is really important for you to keep track of these trades as every trade generates a taxable event. Even when you are trading one cryptocurrency into another cryptocurrency is a taxable event.
Choose exchanges that provide transaction history, so that it makes your life easy when it comes to taxes. You should be able to export to CSV or fetch your trades via API. This will ensure you know what you are playing with and how much is the price paid along with fees paid.
2. Choosing the right exchanges & being secure
As a cryptocurrency trader, it is common to have accounts on various exchanges and trade different coins on different exchanges. Choose exchanges wisely depending on their credibility and operational success. Chasing new ones might leave you with a runaway situation.
Use a password manager to generate strong passwords which are not reused across other exchanges which are vulnerable to hacks.
It is important to keep track of the functioning of exchanges. There are quite a few instances where some of the exchanges were taken down by hackers or went defunct because they lost funds or had to shut down operations due to legal issues.
In such cases, it is impossible for you to get your transaction history unless they are kind enough to respond to your support request. This is another reason why you need to download trade history regularly and choose the right exchanges.
3. Stay aware of updates on exchange policy
As said earlier, this is a fairly young space and a lot of developments happen at a rapid pace. Given this, Exchanges have to continuously upgrade their systems and the way they serve their customers.
As a customer, it’s your duty to follow their policies and make a not if they are going to provide the historical trades or not.
If they are not going to provide something related to your trade history after a certain period of time, it is important for you to download this and store it securely for tax filing purposes.
4. Track addresses for token sales & mining transactions
If you are into mining or working as an affiliate for a specific cryptocurrency project or working as a community manager for an ICO, there is a good chance that you fall into the category of earning cryptocurrency as an income.
This is taxed differently compared to trading. Here, you get the cryptocurrency as a deposit to your registered wallet regularly or one time. You need to keep track of these addresses (often alphanumeric and up to 50 characters in length). Yeah, that sounds crazy, but it’s early days and we need to live with it.
Since the cryptocurrency earned through mining or salary is taxed as income, you need to have addresses and records of it to claim it as income and taxed in a separate lower rate, unlike short term capital gains.
5. Prepare early to save and avoid mistakes
Things are easier said than done. Keeping track of all these things is hard when you are heads-down focused on analyzing technical and fundamental factors of every cryptocurrency project and trade them to make some green.
However, it’s a good practice to play by the rules and be prepared with all the required transaction history, wallet addresses and use the right exchanges.
This will help you save spending a ton of money on CPAs and instead use self-help tools to calculate capital gains and file taxes.
If you prepare early, due to the lack of rules around wash sales and loss harvesting, you can sell at the end of the year and buy back to claim losses (if prices are significantly lower at the end of the year than the beginning).
Also, if you prepare in advance and have all transaction history, you won’t miss any trades and never have to pay any penalties for amending taxes or paying additional interest on taxes you owe.
Bonus
6. Avoid trading out of adrenaline rush or pump & dump signals
A sincere request to all those retail investors, who trade during a bull market while prices are pumping, it is interesting to see you make some decent profits, but each trade triggers a taxable event and you owe taxes in USD at the end of the day, which means if you made profits in XRP and never sold it for USD. You will have to pay taxes on hefty gains you made.
Here’s an example to explain this
Capital Gains or losses will be defined by the trading frequency and whether it’s in bull vs bear market. Also, it completely depends on the number of trades made. Like if you were buying and selling while it’s moving up and finally bought at the top and holding it now (after it went down), You will still be in profits even though your bag now is worth a lot less.
Say, You have invested $100 in ABC (random coin)
You made $100 into $200 (bought at 100 and sold at 200 making $100 profit), re-invested and made $200 into $300, again $300 into $600, again $600 into $1000 and finally you bought at $1000 and never sold after, which let us say is worth $60 now!
So, you made profits of 100+100+300+400 = $900. But, you’ll be looking at your portfolio and think you are 960$ loss from what your last purchase and $40 in reality.
Sadly, for this year you will be owing taxes on $900 and you may claim your losses when you sell the asset you are holding.
People often get confused between portfolio and capital gain/loss — these two are different and the example above shows it. So, don’t trade out of rush or following somebody’s signals. Trade with responsibility. | https://medium.com/hackernoon/5-ways-to-keep-track-of-your-cryptocurrency-taxes-b79651de2e83 | ['Vamshi Vangapally'] | 2019-06-24 01:43:24.399000+00:00 | ['Crypto Taxes', 'Taxes', 'Bitcoin', 'Cryptocurrency', 'How To'] |
Some of the best Indian TV actors | There are several TV actors who make way into the hearts of the audience by entertaining them day and night on the small screen of the country. Out of the lot, it’s only a few that manage to leave an everlasting positive impression on the viewer’s heart. Following is the list of some of the best TV actors who have done a great contribution towards the industry:
1) Kushal Tandon
One of the most talked-about TV actors of recent times; Kushal Tandon is a renowned name of the industry and was majorly known for acting in the serial Beyhadh. He also featured in some well-known reality shows such as Bigg Boss and Nach Baliye. He is undoubtedly one of the most good-looking actors on the small screen and also made headlines when he was involved with the fellow contestant of Bigg Boss, Gauhar Khan.
2) Mohsin Khan
Mohsin Khan is another versatile artist of the TV industry and who boasts of having a huge amount of fandom, all credits to the very renowned show of the country, Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai in which he played the leading role of Kartik. His majorly known for his chocolate boy image and he was recently in the news for seeing his reel life co-star Shivangi Joshi in real life as well.
3) Nakuul Mehta
Another eye candy for all the viewers out there, Nakuul Mehta is the Ishqbaaz actor who hs worked in the TV industry for a good long time. He is said to be the perfect mix of talent and good looks. He is quite renowned for playing the role of Shivaay Singh Oberoi in Ishqbaaz and has a series of other shows to his name.
4) Shabir Ahluwalia
Another very renowned face of the Indian TV industry, Shabir Ahluwalia made his professional debut with the show named Hip Hop Hurray. After that, he went onto gain recognition from the television show named Kahiin To Hoga. Apart from this, he has a few other shows to his name as well such as Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi and Kumkum Bhagya.
5) Karanvir Bohra
Another well-known name and face of the Indian TV industry, Karanvir Bohra has contributed to the industry to a great extent. He is one of the most well-established name of the industry and has worked in a great number of shows. He starred in the tv shows such as Dil Se Di Dua… Saubhagyavati Bhava?, Kasautii Zindagii Kay, Naagin 2, Qubool Hai, Shararat and many more. Apart from these, he is also the owner of a menswear clothing line.
Hope you liked this blog!
To book TV actor for New Year or any other event, please visit StarClinch (India’s №1 artist and celebrity booking website). | https://medium.com/@bhuwankochhar551/some-of-the-best-indian-tv-actors-d09265833924 | ['Bhuwan Kochhar'] | 2019-10-22 12:15:01.947000+00:00 | ['India', 'Starclinch', 'Actor', 'TV'] |
Why Are Christians So Angry? | I couldn’t believe the comments that people posted!
I used to write more at gavinadams.com. I took a blogging sabbatical while I completed my doctorate. I finished my thesis project in November and decided to revisit my blog. What I saw was a shocking reminder.
Christians are really angry.
My lack of posting over the past two years didn’t seem to curtail people commenting on previous posts. Wow! I’m glad I have thick skin!
In the comments, I was called a heretic. I believe one person questioned my salvation and even suggested I prayed to Satan. It was suggested that I was ruining God’s church. That was flattering because I didn’t realize I had that much influence! I engaged with some of the responders, but I quickly realized the futility of open conversation with angry Christians.
I’m a pastor of a larger church in northwest Atlanta. Our church is a campus location of an even larger group of churches. Dealing with angry people isn’t new. But this version of anger felt, well, angrier.
The blog comments were a reminder of a fact I wish weren’t so true: Christians are a pretty mean bunch. Not all of them, but a lot of them. Sadly, I can understand their anger, because I’m a recovering angry Christian myself. Look inside most church services and you’ll see them — Christians sitting in rows with fake smiles on their face. Ready with an “I’m doing just great, how about you” answer for anyone who dares to ask.
Their life is a mess, but they can’t be honest. They are struggling in their marriage, but nobody can know. They are frustrated in their job, but that must remain a family secret.
Side note: This is why adult church sports leagues are so much worse than any other league. It’s all the pent-up anger that is finally released on the umpire and the opposing team. I’ve seen some of the absolute worst behavior on the church softball fields and basketball courts. Yelling, cheating, name-calling, and even fighting. I may or may not have been a part of it all, too. As I said, I’m in recovery.
So why are Christians so angry?
I’m sure the list is quite long, but here are a few things I’ve had to release in my life. The first two are pretty basic, but the last one needs it’s own post one day.
1. Expectations.
Expectations are breeding grounds for frustrations. Living a life full of expectations will lead anyone to be angry. Mostly because people will consistently underperform against your standard. My expectations almost ended my marriage seven years in. And other's expectations of me have kept me from experiencing God in me. If you want to release some anger and replace it with peace, drop your expectations of others. After all, often what we expect might not even to be expected. Jesus mentioned something like this, using a spec and plank as the illustration.
2. Maintaining an Image.
Again, similar to expectations, maintaining an image is exhausting and unChristian. If you are hiding behind an issue in your life, be honest, be open, and seek help. If there is something in your heart that resists being transparent, pay attention to that tension. Keeping up an image wears you down, and in your exhaustion, anger and frustration are your only outcomes.
3. Tension with Grey.
This one is a biggie! I believe it is the number one reason Christians seem so angry. It splits churches. It can split families. And it can keep us majoring in the minors.
Here is the reality — within the Christian faith, there are only a few absolutes. Don’t post hateful comments just yet — hear me out. For some reason, we have made it our Christian duty to debate, argue, and bicker about every little nuance in Scripture. But in reality, interpretation by definition means there will be disagreements. People are going to see things differently. And, take a deep breath … that’s okay. I doubt any seminary or systematic theology professor would agree with me, because, well, it’s their job to have an opinion and convince others of their opinion.
Outside of monotheism, Jesus as God in a bod, and his subsequent death and resurrection, there isn’t much black and white with God. God is mysterious. Creation is mysterious. I can’t explain dinosaurs, and I don’t mind. It’s in the grey where Christians get so upset. When you believe there is a right and wrong doctrine or theology for EVERY issue, you are bound to end up angry and in many, many arguments. But when you learn to embrace the tension of uncertainty, life becomes more full.
One last thought (for now). This anger isn’t harmless. The absolutely terrible news is that as Christians, we have allowed our disagreements and bickering to be very public, political, and even targeted at the very people we are trying to reach. How insane is that? It’s too bad John isn’t around today to remind us of what Jesus told him in the first century: | https://medium.com/@gavinradams/why-are-christians-so-angry-97292755f93f | ['Gavin Adams'] | 2020-12-15 19:34:55.320000+00:00 | ['Pastor', 'Jesus', 'Christianity', 'Church Leadership', 'Church'] |
Jenkins pipeline tutorial : First step guide to Continuous Delivery | Continuous delivery has been most important aspect of the software development life cycle now and with that Jenkins has been always the first choice of tool for the continuous delivery. Why Jenkins has gained so much of popularity and become one of the first row choice tool for the software community, one of the reason is Jenkins Pipeline. Jenkins pipeline is a continuous delivery pipeline that executes the software workflow as code.
To execute/practise this pipeline below are some pre-requisites.
Pre-Requisites
You should have GitLab installed in your local server with an account or you must be holding account in public Github.
Jenkins should be installed on your local machine or on any VM which you can use.
You should hold the account for Jenkins to login
You should have basic knowledge of Jenkins.
Highlights for this article :
What is Jenkins Pipeline ?
Web-hooks concepts
How to configure GitLab/Github to communicate with Jenkins with code change
Build your first pipeline
What is Jenkins Pipeline ?
A pipeline is a collection of jobs/steps which brings the software from version control to the hands of the end users of that software with the help of certain automation tools.
With every problem, there are always different ways or approaches for the solution. Same way Jenkins provides different ways to build pipelines to release the software solutions e.g. you can create pipeline as a simple job as well as series of job which you can incorporate together using Jenkins pipeline project. In this tutorial, we will use freestyle project and build it as pipeline.
Web-hooks concepts :
A Web-hook is a subscriber to certain events which communicates certain information between applications in real time. Unlike typical APIs where you would need to poll for data/information very frequently in order to get it real-time.
From top view, Web-hooks are one way through which apps can send automated messages to other apps. E.g. when you create a branch, JIRA marks the particular task In Progress state and when you merge that particular branch it marks the task in Done state and same messages gets communicated through Slack to the stack holders.
By design, they have a message — or payload — that are sent to a unique URL — essentially the app’s address. That’s what the mechanism which gets utilised here in case of Continuous Delivery. When you commit for particular change, GitLab/Github will inform that event to Jenkins to consider that change and start building with that change.
Now let’s see how can we configure the same in GitLab/Github.
How to configure GitLab/Github to communicate with Jenkins with code change :
Now, to set up GitLab or Github where it can communicate with Jenkins, we will utilise Web-hooks to implement it as a link between 2 applications. First one would be GitLab and the other one would be Jenkins. To do the same please follow below steps.
For GitLab :
Open & Login GitLab portal
Select your project repository (sample project you can fork)
Open Project Settings
Open Integrations
As per the snap below, please enter the URL of the Jenkins job (in our case it is : http://20.20.1.41:8080/project/MavenPipeline) and secret token (how to generate secret token from Jenkins for Web-hook — see next section Build a Gitlab project), select events on which you want the Web-hook to initiate the Jenkins job.
Maven Project Web-hook configuration
Once you save the above Web-hook configurations, you will find Test expandable button through which you can test particular Web-hook. Below is the snap of saved configurations.
Test Web-hook configurations
For Github :
Select project and open project settings
Open side menu and then Web-hooks
As payload URL — enter the URL of the Jenkins job url
Enter secret token — if available
Github Web-hook configuration
Build your first pipeline :
Step 1 : Login to Jenkins :
Login to Jenkins with specified credentials. If you’re logging into Jenkins for the first time then you will be prompted to install some default set of plugins, it may take a few mins and restart Jenkins.
Step 2 : Create Sample Project/Job :
There will be create new jobs link to get started, once you click on the link, it will prompt a page please enter the project/job name and select the project type. Please see below image.
Create Job
Step 3 : Build a GitLab Project :
You can use simple java + maven project by forking the ready project from here and add the same in your own git repository where you can modify it.
Now open Jenkins → MavenPipeline job and select SCM — Source Code Management section and select Git option to configure the same. As you can see you can define the branch as well for which you want to trigger the build while user commit on that branch.
Code Repository configuration in Jenkins
Please make sure you have configured the Git access credentials in Jenkins’s configure system’s credentials. If you have not yet added the same you can click on ‘Add’ as mentioned above and get it configured.
Next step is to set up authentication between 2 apps through secret token. To do the same, there are 2 steps process:
Generate the secret token, please follow below steps
Open the Jenkins job MavenPipeline
Expand Build Triggers
Select & expand web-hook option - GitLab web-hook URL: http://localhost:8080/project/job_name
Select Advanced options
Generate Secret token
Generate secret token from Jenkins
2. Integrate that secret token in GitLab project repository settings, please follow below steps to do the same
Open GitLab project repository settings
Integrations
Paste the Secret token here as mentioned in below snap
You need to follow the same steps for Github repository settings, but for Github, please select Web-hooks from side menu (as guided above) and paste the same secret token there.
Web-hook integrations — GitLab
Your pipeline is now all configured, what remains is just to test it and further check while you commit and push anything from either GitLab or Github should trigger the build in Jenkins.
Now when you commit some change in your repository, that will automatically kick off the build.
Jenkins job initialisation through Code commit
Cheers!! | https://faun.pub/jenkins-pipeline-tutorial-first-step-guide-to-continuous-delivery-87f74d322ab7 | ['Kuldeep Bhatt'] | 2019-06-24 13:50:17.843000+00:00 | ['Jenkins', 'Ci Cd Pipeline', 'Gitlab', 'Github Webhook', 'Maven'] |
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Publisher : Crown (December 8, 2020)
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304 pages ISBN-10 : 0593136683
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978–0593136683 Item Weight : 1.05 pounds
1.05 pounds Dimensions : 5.79 x 1.14 x 8.58 inches
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The knockdown, drag-out, untold story of the other scandal that rocked Nixon’s White House, and reset the rules for crooked presidents to come — with new reporting that expands on Rachel Maddow’s Peabody Award-nominated podcast
“Rachel Maddow and Michael Yarvitz expand on their riveting podcast to create a work both scholarly and disturbing in its parallels to current events.” — Preet Bharara, New York Times bestselling author of Doing Justice and host of the podcast Stay Tuned with Preet
Is it possible for a sitting vice president to direct a vast criminal enterprise within the halls of the White House? To have one of the most brazen corruption scandals in American history play out while nobody’s paying attention? And for that scandal to be all but forgotten decades later?
The year was 1973, and Spiro T. Agnew, the former governor of Maryland, was Richard Nixon’s second-in-command. Long on firebrand rhetoric and short on political experience, Agnew had carried out a bribery and extortion ring in office for years, when — at the height of Watergate — three young federal prosecutors discovered his crimes and launched a mission to take him down before it was too late, before Nixon’s impending downfall elevated Agnew to the presidency. The self-described “counterpuncher” vice president did everything he could to bury their investigation: dismissing it as a “witch hunt,” riling up his partisan base, making the press the enemy, and, with a crumbling circle of loyalists, scheming to obstruct justice in order to survive.
In this blockbuster account, Rachel Maddow and Michael Yarvitz detail the investigation that exposed Agnew’s crimes, the attempts at a cover-up — which involved future president George H. W. Bush — and the backroom bargain that forced Agnew’s resignation but also spared him years in federal prison. Based on the award-winning hit podcast, Bag Man expands and deepens the story of Spiro Agnew’s scandal and its lasting influence on our politics, our media, and our understanding of what it takes to confront a criminal in the White House.
Letting go is not a process that comes naturally to us. In a world that teaches us to cling to what we love at all costs, there is an undeniable art to moving on — and it’s one that we are constantly relearning. In this series of honest and poignant essays, Heidi Priebe explores the harsh reality of what it means to let go of the people and situations we love most — often before we are ready to — and how to embrace what comes next.
You can read more books The Wild Crimes, Audacious Cover-up, and Spectacular Downfall of a Brazen Crook in the White House without learning how to speed read.
In this post, I’m going to show you how to read more books The Wild Crimes, Audacious Cover-up, and Spectacular Downfall of a Brazen Crook in the White House in less time.
We’re going to cover the following topics:
What is the average reading speed?
How do I test my reading speed?
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How long does it take to read The Wild Crimes, Audacious Cover-up, and Spectacular Downfall of a Brazen Crook in the White House 200 pages?
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What you need to know before reading The Wild Crimes, Audacious Cover-up, and Spectacular Downfall of a Brazen Crook in the White House a book
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Alright, happy reading!
>>>Happy Reading and Enjoy<<<
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Icame to Medium out of frustration. I had read an article in an online “prosumer” magazine that has the air of a serious scientific journal, but which fails to encompass the heart of science — the debate — by disallowing any comments or unsolicited rebuttals/responses to their articles.
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Do you want to publish a book on Medium?
Unfortunately, I had already manifested, through my furiously dancing fingertips, a 2,700 word essay pointing out the ignorance I felt strongly present in the magazine article, only to find there was no way to share it — cue Medium.com.
I was impressed with the response to the article on Medium, which was my first — 26K views, 7K reads, 611 fans, and 500 euros in my pocket to date. And I was even more impressed by the tools that Medium provides an author.
While the interface is as simple as paper, knowing what passages a reader highlights, how many views turn into full reads, how many people follow you after reading something that you write, what their interests are — so that you can see how people coming from different backgrounds engage with your writing — and of course, being able to have detailed responses to your work, are just nothing short of a godsend for an author. And this led me to try publishing a book on Medium.
The book is a big one, nearly 800 pages in paperback format. It’s that big because it is a collection of related writings: a set of meditation practices which are fairly simple, but which require detailed instructions since they are being communicated via text and not one-on-one guidance. However, the practices use an unusual support in place of the breath — which is the more common, but deficient in particular ways, support today. This then necessitates an explanation of the support’s uniqueness, part of which entails detailed quotations from current and ancient writings and related explanations, on this particular meditation support. But these all come from various spiritual traditions, and none of them are framed within our modern mechanistic materialism, thus there is a necessity to explain how things differ from how they are understood today, in order that the reader understand exactly what they are using. So it’s part philosophy, part science, part practice, and part historical documentation.
Why Publish a Book on Medium
You might think this is totally inappropriate for Medium, and there are some shortcomings, but for me the biggest reason to attempt publishing this book here is the potential audience, and the availability that Medium affords me as a writer.
While there are still many physical book readers — myself among them — the option to have a book on a mobile device is just such a no-brainer. And while Ebooks are good for large publishers who can (and do) command a nice bit of change for their product, for a small writer, ebooks don’t offer much of any benefit over what Medium provides. And in fact, the tools that Medium provides, which I mentioned above, are absent from ebooks.
And of course, having an ebook still leaves you searching for an audience.
So the biggest reason for launching a book on Medium has two aspects: availability and readers. Minor writers such as myself just don’t have the ability to make their work available to a very significant audience. My first book, which was self-published, was limited to Amazon’s various country web-stores. Although it enjoyed some limited success — especially for a philosophical work, it was difficult to find outside of Amazon’s universe. With Medium it is different. Anyone can access Medium.com from anywhere on Earth, so my work is widely available — and that was my biggest checkbox. And of course, the potential audience on Medium is not limited to merely members and current readers of Medium, but can be garnered via social media, word of mouth, and friends, all of whom can be directed to the Medium site, with little effort.
There is also the cost and hassle savings of not hosting your own blog, which was another alternative I considered. I still buy the domain names and setup email addresses as appropriate, but I no longer see any reason to host a website.
For many years I have maintained a Wordpress site, and that is a chore I don’t have time for. Such small websites have the same security and hacking worries as the biggest names, and it is all on your shoulders. I never realized just how much of a problem it is until I subscribed to a service available to Wordpress sites via a plugin called Wordfence, which not only scanned my server for hacks on a daily basis, but also monitored all traffic in and out. Once that was installed I could sit and watch the dozens of daily automated login attempts by hackers around the world trying to break into my site in order to hijack it into their botnets. If you have a personal website it is very likely part of a botnet, or even part of a crypto-currency mining operation. Sheesh. For a small writer it makes little sense anymore.
How to Publish a Structured Book on MediumAs for the nuts and bolts of doing it, there are three main issues you have to deal with: Medium is structured to publish “stories” of a limited length, so your work has to be forced into that format; Medium does not provide the kind of navigational tools that are available in an ebook; and readers on Medium don’t expect an article to be part of a larger work.
I’m going to take them in reverse order. It has been my experience, so far, that many Medium users don’t notice that the “story” they are reading is actually part of a larger work, even though it is in a “publication” on medium. I frequently receive responses to a carved-out “story” that is part of a larger section of the book where my reader explains to me all the things I should have said, which I have already said in the preceding and successive “stories” to that one in the book publication. This is a bit frustrating — for both the reader and myself, but hey!, Medium rocks at bringing me readers.
A related problem is that readers will see a “story” featured in one section of Medium and jump into it, while a subsequent part of the same section of the book will not be featured at all, or in some other section of Medium. Thus for the audience, continuity is fragmented.
So it is useful that Medium provides the “follow” mechanism for a publication, but it makes it incumbent upon the writer to release material in a sequential order so that the followers, who still might not realize it is a book — especially if they haven’t read the “About” introduction to it — will follow the text in somewhat of a logical order.
And of course, that workaround is only useful as you are publishing the book. Later, when the whole book is available in Medium, the sequential releasing is no longer in effect.
Given this problem, I have started to make use of the “hidden” story attribute that you can set on and off as needed in order to make sequences of articles only accessible in order, by only allowing the first part of a book section to be publicly announced, for example. The other parts are hyperlinked to the earlier ones.
The downside to that is that such unlisted stories are unavailable for generating income through the Members program of Medium.
Medium does provide a publication header on each story, that a reader can tap to get to the homepage of the publication, but I found it useful to add a standard footer image to each article as well, that provides the same function, as it is more useful — in my opinion — for the reader, after reading an article that they enjoyed, to be able to jump up to the homepage of the publication, rather than having to scroll up to the header.
When I find that I have to break a section of the book down into smaller “stories,” I add a notification below the main image so that the reader knows the “story” is part of a “sequence” of stories. I use the word “sequence” because “series” is a Medium term for a different kind of open-ended series, and “collection” does not have the same ordered sense.
I was not happy though that the only way to add this notification was either as a title/subtitle or as standard text — even with bolding and italicization available. I wanted something that was clearly setoff from my text in a different typeface, but not overshadowing it in any way either. I realized that what I wanted was a font size and style much like that of the attribution found underneath images on Medium.
My solution was to do exactly that, only with a non-visible and diminutive image. I found a 1-pixel transparent gif and I place that where I want the notification to appear. Then I place the hyperlinked text of the notification, usually linking back to the table of contents (I’ll explain shortly) for that sequence of articles, in the attribution area of the image. Voila!
The line “Do you want to publish a book on Medium?” at the top of this story, under the main image, is an example of what it looks like, although I didn’t place a link on it.
Navigation was another problem. Each publication has a navigation bar that appears just below the header of the publication’s homepage — and only there — and this is limited to a single level of story or featured stories pages.
Thus, your menu structure is normally restricted to just a top-level list of sections or groupings, each of which can only have a single story, or a list of stories without any deeper structure — you can only have a collection of stories that share a tag, a single story, or a page of featured stories. That wasn’t going to work for me, and for a while I was stymied about how to have the kind of complex hierarchy that I needed.
The first thing I did was to reproduce the publication’s navigation bar near the top of every story page in the book. I place it just above the start of the text, underneath the title. I did this because my book has a structural flow, and not just a collection of articles. Being able to move back-and-forth between sections makes sense for the kind of book I am publishing, where the reader may want to refer to another part of the text for needed information.
As an added bonus, the navigation bar I created adds a degree of empty space between the title and the body of text which in my opinion looks nicer.
I place the navigation bar in the same way I discussed above, by placing a 1 pixel transparent gif image at the location, and adding my hyperlinked top-level menu sections in the image’s attribution line. This is what the secondary navigation menu for my book looks like.ABOUT | PROEM | PRELIMINARIES | PRACTICES | INSIGHTS | APHORISMS | BACK MATTER
The one problem I was confronted with was that the long urls of each story do not always work in the apps. (I know not why) Instead, you have to use a short url, consisting of only the unique identifier of each article, if you want to create a “table of contents” to directly link to stories. Here is how I do this:
I create a story without tags and no images that will serve as a table of contents for a subsection of the book. The title is the section name, or name of the sequence of “stories” that I have cut a long section of text into. The subtitle is just “Table of Contents.” You can then add hyperlinked titles and optional short descriptions to construct your table of contents.
Note that this “story” should be unlisted so that it doesn’t appear as a story on your profile, and untagged so that it doesn’t show up in any kind of search, in case you decide to have it listed. Of course, your needs will dictate how you decide to do this. There is nothing wrong with having a TOC discoverable in a search, and available for payment under the Medium Partner program.
For example, the “About” story of Tranquillity’s Secret is accessible with this url:
To find the identifier for a story, you look at its url in a browser and copy the identifier, which is a sequence of 12 numbers and letters (a hexadecimal number). When I do this in Safari on my laptop, the url for the “About” story looks like this:
Note the bolded identifier at the end of the url — this is the number you want to append on the short form url, as I did in my example.
A story’s url can take on different forms, so it is not always structured as in the previous example. This is what a friend’s link to the About story looks like:
Note that the story identifier appears just before the question mark “?” appearing in the link. I’ve put it in bold again in the example above. The other longer string of numbers and letters at the end of the url is the bypass token for Medium’s paywall. As an aside, I had to make the About eligible for payment under the Partners program in order for a “friend’s link” to be created.
When you are editing a story, even before publishing it, there is a slightly different url, which looks like this:
Note again that the unique identifier is there just before the “/edit.” Note also, that you can just copy this initial url and truncate that suffix off of it to obtain the short url form directly.
However, you can’t link an unlisted story into the main Navigation bar of a publication, so you first have to create the TOC story, setting it as unlisted, and publish it. This way neither your followers, nor anyone else on Medium will receive a notification/email about its publication, then list it again and tie it into the Navigation bar. Once you’ve done that you can — and probably should — unlist it a final time. It will still be accessible when clicked on the navigation bar.
The final piece of the navigation puzzle is to use another hyperlinked attribution line (as in the above examples) to the next article in sequence within the book at the end of the article. I do this before any footnotes, above the footer for the publication. Here is what it looks like:
Continue on to What is Meditation? 👉The end result of applying these methods is a good usability case for publishing a book on Medium.
In the apps, tapping on any one of these hyperlinks results in a quick overwrite of the present page. Returning to the previous page, in effect, backtracking through your browsing history, is built-in to the Medium apps. Simply tap on the left angle bracket in the top left corner of your display. This will return you to the page you came from. Continuing to tap on this icon will continue to backtrack to previous pages.
In the browser, the effect of clicking on one of the hyperlinks is different — a new browser page for each story opens. It’s not as friction-free as the mobile apps are, but I haven’t found a solution for this yet. You can set the browsers default behavior to opening a new tab, instead of a new window, but you still end up with a lot of tabs or windows, without the ability to retrace your progress through the book in an automated way. Instead, you have to click on the tab or window for the previous story or menu.
Finally, the medium apps allow readers to bookmark a story, and even archive it for later use, both of which are useful in reading your publication as a book.
Closing Thoughts
So far the results of this have been beyond anything I thought would happen. The publication has garnered 50 followers very quickly, and a significantly higher number of visitors each day. It is, in fact, now taking off, as more readers run across it.
But this brings up the last issue with publishing a book such as this on Medium: you are limited to only a certain number of stories published each day. If you exceed that limit — which I did one day trying to gain momentum in the process of publishing the book — you get an error message that your account is locked. Presumably, Medium has that as a protection for spamming.
The only solution to this is to use the scheduling function for publishing your books “stories,” so that the stories are published in an orderly fashion without exceeding the Medium imposed limit.
That’s It so far. If you have any questions, feel free to ask!. | https://medium.com/@gsamara.de/full-book-pdf-the-wild-crimes-audacious-cover-up-and-spectacular-downfall-of-a-brazen-3160b9d418bf | ['Gsamara De'] | 2020-12-26 17:21:05.658000+00:00 | ['Books', 'Book Review'] |
Gamma Goblin Shop New V3 Onion Address || GammaGoblin Pushing Taboo Since 2012! | Gamma Goblin Shop New V3 Onion Address || GammaGoblin Pushing Taboo Since 2012! GammaGoblin Apr 6·3 min read
Hello, dear traveller, and welcome to the GammaGoblin Multiverse 2.0
We’ve been pushing the taboo since January 2012.
We’ve been a part of Silk Road v1 and v2, Sheep Marketplace, Black Market Reloaded, Evolution, Middle Earth and Black Bank.
We are now launching our new V3 onion address!
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Our V2 onion address will keep working until Tor Team will disable all of V2 onion links in June 2021.
If you came here, you must know what these places have in common. Centralized markets sooner or later become seized or their admins perform exit scams. In both situations neither vendors nor users can get their funds back. This has changed slightly with the introduction of multi-sig transactions, but we’d rather not gamble with our security being in the hands of people we don’t know anything about.
It means that when you use a market, not only you have to put your trust in the vendor, but also in the market. We’ve decided to allow our dear customers to bypass one of these points of failure and let you to make purchases directly with us via our own hidden service. So if you trust us enough to buy from us on the markets, you no longer have to trust the 3rd parties with your funds or data.
This allows us to give you better prices and make sure that your funds are safe with us, as they are kept in our private, offline wallets (hackers and crackers — there’s nothing to steal here :) )
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As you may know, we’ve been selling high quality psychedelics since January 2012. Our current bulk-oriented offer consists of some of the best quality LSD available on European market, both in crystal and blotter form with unique, custom made prints as well as a special changa blend. Our brand was also built on being the only synthetic mescaline and DOM vendors a few years back, but now we stick to LSD and changa.
Official Link to Gamma Goblin Shop — -
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| https://medium.com/@gammagoblin/gamma-goblin-shop-new-v3-onion-address-gammagoblin-pushing-taboo-since-2012-74566f5f065f | [] | 2021-04-06 06:52:14.318000+00:00 | ['Crypto', 'Drugs', 'Psychedelics', 'Lsd', 'Darknet Markets'] |
Why Mental Health Matters? | Have you ever felt fatigued, distressed and overwhelmed but there is no evident reason behind it. The anxiously disturbing feeling does not let you focus, enjoy or even get out of bed. You choose to avoid sharing it with anyone because you are yourself unaware of why are you feeling like this and there is no evident physical symptom that can help anyone understand your state. If we look around, there is a great percentage of people every single day that goes through such state yet there is a general lack of understanding and acceptance towards such issues. That is the most simplified answer to “why mental health matters?”
Unfortunately, due to the stigmatized concept surrounding mental health, we still have to answer questions like “Why mental health matters” instead of normalizing it without having to explain just like we never explain “why physical health matters”. We know by default, it matters. We should, by default know why mental health matters!
Let me enlighten you that mental health matters more than your physical health. Because, it is the disturbances in your mental well-being that manifest themselves physiologically leading to physical illnesses. The answer to Why mental health matters is as necessary as the importance of the subject under discussion but this is so unfortunate of us as a society that is still not able to accept mental health problems.
Here is a list of possible answers to “why mental health matters”
1. Mental health surrounds our overall well-being. Any disturbance in mental health leads to a distress in overall body.
2. What our mind holds is represented in our daily life interactions, social connections and even our own energy while doing regular chores. If there is something wrong up there, everything will be wrong in daily life functioning.
3. Being aware of your disturbances, triggering thought patterns, low moods and energy, demotivation and other overwhelming feelings can help you identify the problem and better cope with them.
4. Talking, sharing and letting your feelings out can help you cope better with the disturbing situations but the stigma around mental health stops us from doing so. Mental health matters because the rising awareness can help break the stigma and normalize the concept.
5. Nothing is as frustrating as something that is intangible yet so bothering and distressing. To be able to identify what is bothering you and how can you cope with it tells why mental health matters.
No body can live a struggle free life, a life that has rainbows and silver linings without any rain. Life is full of hardships and a lot of rain but there are always some clouds with silver lining. The point is to overcome the rain and hold on to silver lining. To live a healthy life with adequate abilities to function normally, process emotions intelligently and cope with hard times smartly and efficiently is the ultimate goal and that is why awareness and knowledge about the concept of mental health is important, that is why mental health matters! | https://medium.com/@mominahambreen/why-mental-health-matters-3d8638d63ddf | ['Mominah Ambreen'] | 2020-12-20 07:59:47.938000+00:00 | ['Mental Illness', 'Mental Health Awareness', 'Positivity', 'Psychology', 'Mental Health'] |
A Cyber Awakening | We’ve seen a “technological cold war” play out in the past few years with America’s deteriorating relations with China and Russia, but this week has been particularly critical due to the SolarWinds data breach of multiple federal agencies and private companies. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) has gone as far as to say that the attacks were “…virtually a declaration of war by Russia on the United States…”
Despite the precarious situation the country is in right now, America is not headed towards a war. A declaration of war requires a violent outcome, and cyber attacks have not become materially violent, yet. Historically, the recent development is nothing new as the Russians are masters of the art of political warfare, from spreading conspiracy theories that the CIA created AIDS to undermining two consecutive presidential elections. This time, though, is different; what happened was by all accounts espionage and subversion on a grand scale, and it should meet a prompt and proportionate response.
The US needs to unilaterally act against its adversaries and stick to its strategy laid out in the 2018 Department of Defense Cyber Strategy, which calls on “defending forward” its critical infrastructure. One of the five strategic approaches within the plan is to “Compete and Deter in Cyberspace”. The US has conducted such campaigns, like the 2019 attack on Russia’s power grid. Even with that, deterrence has clearly failed. In the event that deterrence fails, the DoD calls for the “Joint Force… to employ the full range of military capabilities in response”. While the world is waiting in anticipation as to what that response will be, the primary strategy the US should pursue is launching an aggressive cyber offensive campaign to deter any future threat the US may again encounter, increasing cooperation between the private sector and government, and passing a comprehensive data protection law. | https://medium.com/@fahida/a-cyber-awakening-4359ec42f685 | [] | 2020-12-21 12:25:04.892000+00:00 | ['Security', 'Cybersecurity', 'Data', 'Russia', 'Solarwinds'] |
Loyal, Brave, True: A Mulan Review | Disney’s current motto seems to be, if it ain’t broke- and if it was animated- remake it.
And remake it, they have. At this point, Disney has remade more of my favorite animated films than they’ve left alone. And honestly, to varying effect; some movies have been allowed to drift away from the source material to become their own thing (like Maleficent) while others have felt so similar to the animated original that it is hard to justify their existence (for example, The Lion King).
And that, frankly, is a balance that I think Disney has struggled to find. Of course, when reimagining our favorite classic movies, we want them to be familiar- there’s no sense making The Jungle Book if it doesn’t feel like The Jungle Book that we remember- but we want to have a reason to watch this new version instead of the original. Especially in a world where Disney+ exists and has both options side by side for $6.99 a month.
Personally, I think the best examples of balancing this line have been Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin; both were very well made, entertaining, and captured the look and feel of the originals without copying everything from them. Will Smith’s Genie, for example, was allowed to stray far from Robin Williams’ iconic character to make Genie his own, while still being recognizable as the same character. Likewise, Beauty and the Beast was allowed to be more of a musical, even to the point of adding new songs, in a way that it felt separate from the animated film. And most importantly, neither of these outshined the originals or felt like it was trying to replace them, and were different enough that both the live action movies can be enjoyed without wishing you were watching the animated ones, or vice versa.
The real question, then, is where does Disney’s latest- Mulan- land in this balancing act?
Before we get there, I want to talk about the elephant in the room: $29.99. There’s been a lot of grief online about having to pay above and beyond the Disney+ subscription price to see Mulan. But to be honest, if you were planning on seeing this flick in theaters, just pay the damn money. You were going to drop at least that much to see it in theaters, and your snacks at home are much cheaper. I don’t think $30 is too much for Disney to ask for us to see a movie that we’ve been waiting on since March.
More importantly, however, I think we should be fine paying Disney’s asking price to show support for the movie. It cost them a lot of money to make it, and if we show that we are willing to pay theater prices to watch these movies in the safety of our own home, it could open the door for more highly anticipated movies to be released digitally- like Black Widow, for example. And, let’s not forget that your $30 unlocks the movie to be watched as often as you’d like; unlike at the theaters where you’d have to pay each time you want to see it again, as long as you keep your Disney+ subscription active, Mulan will remain available to watch again and again.
If you don’t want to pay to see it, that’s fine; Disney will be making it available to all Disney+ subscribers on December 4th. But I simply don’t get the complaints of having to pay to see a brand new movie that cost the studio $200 million to make.
But enough about the cost of seeing the flick; if it isn’t any good, then it isn’t going to be worth the price of admission, right? So how does this version of Mulan stack up against the original? How does it do on its own merits?
As far as Disney’s live action remakes are concerned, Mulan sits comfortably with Aladdin and Beauty and the Beast- meaning it is a thoroughly entertaining film that pays homage to the original while also daring to beat its own path. As her father would say, Mulan brings honor to us all.
Spoilers Ahead
The original Mulan is one of the first Disney animated films I remember seeing in theaters. That means that the new movie had a lot to live up to in my mind. When Disney started on their path to remake everything they’ve ever made, it was also one of the ones I was most eager to see- along with the likes of Hercules or Peter Pan, I felt Mulan had the most potential as a live action film.
And for the most part, it delivers on that potential.
The biggest thing to know going into this movie is that it will be different from the animated classic. Gone is Mushu and the cricket; at first, I was entirely dismayed to hear that Mushu wouldn’t be present in this incarnation, but the movie works without him. Unlike Genie, I don’t know that Mushu would have translated well to the big screen. In effect, Mushu was replaced with a more symbolic (and non-speaking) phoenix that appears whenever Mulan needs inspiration or direction. And there is a soldier named Cricket, so there’s that.
Also gone are the songs; this is not a musical. Composer Harry Gregson-Williams does bring a few things from Jerry Goldsmith’s original back into play- notably, motifs from “A Girl Worth Fighting For” can be heard when the soldiers are getting to know each other, and “Reflections” is heard throughout the picture (and is sung over the end credits twice; in English by Christina Aguilera and in Mandarin by Crystal Liu). In fact, though Mulan herself never sings it, “Reflections” is definitely the main theme of the movie, even getting a more action-y styling when Mulan rides into battle. It isn’t as good as Goldsmith’s battle theme for the Huns, but it effectively gets you behind Mulan as she embraces her power.
And yes, there’s power. 2020’s Mulan sees our hero imbued with chi, which in this movie is a bit of mystic energy that gives Mulan a natural agility. Because of this, of course, gone is Mulan having to learn how to be a good soldier; instead, she’s more focused on hiding her true potential so as not to be noticed. You could call it overpowering the protagonist, but I disagree; this new Mulan is more designed to pay homage to martial arts war movies. And while it could have done more lean into that aspect- I wouldn’t have minded more choreographed fights like what you’d see in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon- it is definitely pulling from this style of cinema when it comes to the mystical nature of this film. And Mulan’s journey in this film isn’t the same as it was in the original.
While both Mulan’s feature a protagonist dealing with being a woman in a time period and culture that dictates what a woman can- and can’t- do, the new movie takes her journey a step further from that of a girl trying to blend in and be a soldier to save her father from going to war, and elevates it to that of a woman who is realizing her own potential and place in the world. Like Belle before her, Mulan definitely benefits from a 21st century look at the character.
In keeping with that theme, gone also is Mulan’s love interest. There is a love interest, but it is no longer her commanding officer. Instead, a fellow soldier- one who has tried to be her friend while she has tried not to bring attention to herself- fills this spot, but it is much more subtextual; he doesn’t follow Mulan home like Li does in the original, but he does promise that they’ll see each other again.
Another addition that works well with this incarnation of Mulan is Li Gong’s witch, Xianniang, who technically was a character in the original; Xianniang transforms into a familiar-looking eagle that flies around the main antagonist (who is now Bori Khan instead of Shan You). Xianniang is aligned with Bori Khan, but is very much a “reflection” for Mulan as well (see what I did there); she represents what Mulan could be if she embraced her power and was tossed aside by her family and culture. She exists as a warning to Mulan, but also a signal that helps Mulan choose to stop hiding and be who she is.
Yes, in this version of Mulan, it is her choice to out herself as a woman instead of a side effect of getting injured in battle. It has roughly the same outcome- banishment from the army, dishonor on her family (and her cow), and distrust from her friends- but as with the theme of this movie, it is more self-empowering, and necessary- according to the witch, Mulan’s lies and deception are making her weak. And frankly, that’s a message we should all take to heart: we are stronger when we allow ourselves to be who we are meant to be. Lying- either to ourselves or to others- only weakens us. Nice touch, Disney.
The cast is a veritable who’s who of familiar faces, from Jet Li’s Emperor to Donnie Yen’s Commander. Jason Scott Lee plays an excellent villain, and provides a little more depth to the antagonist than the monolithic evil Mulan faced in the original. And Li Gong’s Xianniang is a great addition to the story, providing a more personal foil for Mulan. Of course, the highest praise should go to Mulan herself; Yifei Liu, who I haven’t seen in anything since 2008’s The Forbidden Kingdom (though I really don’t remember that movie very well), elevates this movie. She brings a conviction to Mulan that is believable, and handles all that this movie throws at her. When Ming-Na Wen- the original voice of Mulan (and one of my favorites from Agents of S.H.E.I.L.D.)- cameos to announce Mulan to the Emperor at the end of the movie, it feels like a passing of the torch- and one that Yifei Liu absolutely earned. I really look forward to seeing what she does next… especially if that would somehow be a sequel to this film; of all of Disney’s live action reboots, Mulan lends itself best to being a franchise.
There are things that I loved more about this movie than the original- I particularly liked the visual style, which was honestly breathtaking in some scenes- and there were things I liked better in the original- the climactic fight was much more… climactic… in the animated film. But overall, this movie gets it right: it doesn’t try to be the 1998 Mulan all over again. It allows this new version of Mulan to find her own place in this world. There was never a point where I was wishing I was watching the animated movie instead. And when I revisited the animated movie a couple of days later, likewise I wasn’t wanting for the live action. They both exist, complimenting each other while forging their own paths. And that’s exactly what these live action remakes should do.
The biggest question remains this: if this wasn’t a reboot, if Mulan hadn’t been a story that I’ve loved since I was a kid, would this movie still be worthwhile? The answer, simply, is yes.
2020’s Mulan brings a fresh take on the classic, more grounded in some aspects, more magical in others, still humorous, action packed, and definitely worth the $29.99 admission price. Disney, if you’re listening, feel free to drop this in theaters when we get back to something resembling normal; once it is safe to do so, I’ll happily go see this on the big screen. | https://joshuabeckthewriter.medium.com/loyal-brave-true-a-mulan-review-7331401d5974 | ['Joshua Beck'] | 2020-09-06 21:08:27.317000+00:00 | ['Mulan', 'Disney', 'Movies', 'Film', 'Review'] |
Veterans Disability Practice Division: Bankruptcy Help- Cox Law Group PLLC | Lynchburg Veterans Disability Practice Division
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Learn your options and get the help you deserve
CONTACT US | https://medium.com/@coxbankruptcygroup/veterans-disability-practice-division-bankruptcy-help-cox-law-group-pllc-45bf00036037 | ['Cox Law Group Pllc'] | 2021-01-21 17:27:15.452000+00:00 | ['Veterans Day', 'Veterans', 'Bankruptcy', 'Military', 'Army'] |
Pick up luxurious wireless headphones at fantastic prices today | The level of education is in direct correlation with your salary | https://medium.com/@jon48544862/pick-up-luxurious-wireless-headphones-at-fantastic-prices-today-d2bba42f60cb | [] | 2020-12-25 06:53:29.019000+00:00 | ['Surveillance', 'Lighting', 'Music', 'Consumer Electronics'] |
Lurking Freshwater Monsters | What’s Halloween without monsters? But not all monsters live under our beds or are the stars of horror movies. Some are real-life monsters found in America’s waterways. Though they’ll never be stars of slasher films or trick-or-treater costumes, monster fish can be terrifying but in some cases, they need saving too.
There are monster-sized fish that can weigh hundreds of pounds. Some are shocking in appearance with beady eyes and mouths lined with sharp teeth. And then, there are the invasive monsters, steadily overtaking our lakes and rivers like alien monsters from outer space. Scary, yes! But each of these species are also a part of the aquatic-conservation mission of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.
So with Halloween upon us, here’s a little info on five different Monster Fish.
Alligator Gar — a monster in size | https://usfws.medium.com/lurking-freshwater-monsters-2d90cccab02e | ['U.S. Fish', 'Wildlife Service'] | 2018-11-02 18:38:25.916000+00:00 | ['Fish', 'Environment', 'Halloween', 'Water'] |
World War III is Inevitable | “Peace, peace, but there is no peace. The war has already begun.” These sentiments expressed by Patrick Henry have been true throughout human history. The natural state of man is not peace but rather conflict. The best experts would be hard-pressed to find a year in human history with no conflict globally. From Cain and Able and ancient Egypt to the USSR and the Third Reich, there has always been hostility in this world.
According to the PRIO Institute, throughout most of human history, military deaths per 100,000 people have ranged between 2 and 50. They are reasonably elastic at these levels. These levels have been consistent for most of recorded history except for the last 25 years. For the first time in recorded history, deaths per 100,000 people have fallen well below one worldwide. In fact, levels have reached below 0.5 consistently over the past few years.
It is also human nature to believe that a recent change or a dramatic shift will continue in perpetuity; however, like the financial markets, when there is a drastic pull in a single direction, it is usually followed by a dramatic movement in the opposite direction. In the perfect world of theoretical physics, we know that when there is an action, there is also an equal and opposite reaction.
There are very few constants in this world, but human nature’s deteriorated and imperfect state is one of them. In short, human nature does not change. | https://medium.com/@ethanblount/world-war-iii-is-inevitable-c0a447f5bb79 | ['Ethan Blount'] | 2021-08-09 20:05:33.855000+00:00 | ['Military', 'Foreign Policy', 'World War 3', 'Geopolitics', 'Human Nature'] |
I will only end this mad and singular dream on the last day of my life | Tragically, in 2013 the artist was found dead at the age of 65 in front of his house on the very steps he spent 20 years of his life working on. The artist was said to have been depressed in the final months of his life but had also been receiving death threats, possibly from someone who worked in his workshop. | https://medium.com/ayzoh-magazine/i-will-only-end-this-mad-and-singular-dream-on-the-last-day-of-my-life-5f76fc9cf39f | ['Ayzoh'] | 2019-06-26 01:11:53.607000+00:00 | ['English', 'Art', 'Brazil', 'Photography', 'Architecture'] |
Words Hanging | Toes hang above the ground
Just out of reach
Inches away from relieving the weight of a hanging body
We are lynching Black people again
Once we had the courage to call it what it was
Now we cower behind words like
Suicide
Resisting arrest
If only he wasn’t
And I wonder how we can say these words
Even now
While the sun’s rays
Are interrupted from reaching
Our pink cheeks
Intermittently
By the man swinging from that rope?
The creak of the tree that bears his weight
Is the only honest thing left
I regard the tree and I wonder
How many more rings she will grow
And if the ring to mark these days
Will always be marred by this rot
Tattooed in sin
Will it hold words like
Never again?
I sit by her and hold my hand
Over the word Never
I try to find a way to tell her
That other rings will be marked too
But I cannot find the strength to say it
I can’t say suicide
I can’t say lynching either
Not now, while my pink cheeks bear their silhouettes | https://medium.com/a-cornered-gurl/words-hanging-9421daae1838 | ['Melinda Smith'] | 2020-06-26 22:10:20.307000+00:00 | ['Audio', 'BlackLivesMatter', 'Poetry', 'A Cornered Gurl', 'Racism'] |
“This is the quality of soldier we are now at risk of losing”: Trans troops speak to Congress | For the first time, five active-duty transgender service members testified before Congress in response to the President’s prejudiced ban.
In the year and a half since President Donald Trump tweeted his intent to ban transgender people from serving in the military, he and his administration have been met with resistance from lawmakers, doctors, lawyers, and military officials alike.
Medical groups like the American Medical Association and the American Psychological Association have denounced the ban as harmful and based on junk science. Lawmakers from both parties have voiced their opposition, with a bipartisan bill reversing the ban introduced earlier this month. And all four chiefs of the Navy, Army, Air Force, and Marines have thoroughly refuted the idea that transgender people represent any threat to unit cohesion, morale, or the strength of our armed forces.
Now, for the first time since the ban was introduced, transgender service members are telling Congress exactly what it feels like to have your Commander In Chief use prejudice and fear to call you unfit and a threat to your fellow soldiers. Five active duty service members addressed the House Armed Services Committee about their life, their service, and what they think of the ban.
Lieutenant Commander Blake Dremann
Having been deployed in the US Navy 11 times, Lt. Cmd. Dremann served in Afghanistan with the 101st Airborne and now serves as a supply chain manager for the Defense Department’s storied system for monitoring and transporting nuclear materials.
“I’ve been told three times that something other than my capability to do the job was the reason that I wasn’t worthy of an opportunity,” Dremann told the Committee. “First for my gender assigned at birth, second for sexual orientation prior to transition, and third for my gender identity.”
Before beginning his transition, Dremann had been excluded by the military’s ban on submarine service by female recruits and had lived in the closet under the harmful “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy. After those limits were changed in 2010 and 2011 respectively, Dremann began to serve in a submarine squadron.
“I succeeded as a submariner and was ranked as the top supply officer in the submarine squadron,” said Dremann. “However, despite all of my success, there was still something amiss and had to change.”
Dremann began his transition in 2013, two years before the military would officially lift its ban on transgender troops under Secretary Ashton Carter and President Barack Obama.
“The next year I was a more confident officer and a better leader. It culminated in my ship being named top boat in the squadron and 2015 I won the Navy League’s Batchelder award, given to the top 5 junior officers in the Navy’s Supply Corps for contributions to the operational readiness of the fleet.”
Dremann, president of military advocacy group SPARTA, led efforts in the military to integrate open service for transgender people, finding “it was the same with women in submarines and the repeal of DADT. Good leaders can take a team and make it work. Great leaders mold their teams to exceed expectations because it doesn’t matter if you are female or LGBT. What matters is that each member is capable and focused on the mission.”
With this experience, Dremann knows Trump’s transgender ban is harmful not just to troops like himself, but to the military as a whole.
“Readiness and lethality of our military cannot be maintained by closing doors to the best and brightest this country has to offer,” he told the committee. “It just so happens that some of the best and brightest happen to be transgender.”
Captain Alivia Stehlik
Captain Stehlik served as 6 years in the infantry before studying to become a staff physical therapist for recruits in 2016. “I decided to become an Army physical therapist because I believed that Soldiers deserve medical providers who have walked in their shoes, and I have.”
After beginning her transition in 2017, Stehlik was concerned other troops would be uncomfortable around her — making her treatment of their injuries all that much harder. “There is no way to be a good physical therapist at a distance,” she told the Committee.
Much to the contrary, however, Stehlik — who worked with over 1700 wounded service members in her time — found her fellow service members were more than willing to work with someone living their authentic life.
“On the deployment to Afghanistan as a transgender woman,” Captain Stehlik said, “soldiers opened up. They talked to me, and told me things they would never have before,” she said. I asked them why, and the consistent answer was that they valued my authenticity, my courage in being myself. And while I was concerned that my presence might feel invasive to other women, at every turn they welcomed me into their lives and living spaces with open arms. I was part of their family.”
Contradicting the administration’s claims that transgender people are unfit for service, Stehlik strongly argued her transition only made her more capable and more effective to the military.
“I belong in a combat arms unit, taking care of my Soldiers,” she said. “I worked tirelessly to ensure that nothing could jeopardize that. It might be tempting to say that I am the exception, but that’s simply not true. Transgender service members around the world have done the same thing — add to the readiness and lethality of the United States Military.”
Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class Akira Wyatt
Like many who enlist, Wyatt knew she wanted to follow in the footsteps of her father, a retired US Marine. But she also enlisted to honor the promise her parents sought when they migrated to the US from the Philippines.
Both parents, she told the committee, “showed us that freedom fosters a person’s chances for success and in bringing us here gave us the greatest gift: a chance to achieve high goals and to contribute to society.”
After serving for four years as a medic with the Navy, however, she had a life experience that “rocked me to my core,” she told the Committee.
While serving in a region of the Philippines in a sick bay, Wyatt was told she would be providing follow-up care to Private First Class Joseph Pemberton. Pemberton was in the custody of Philippine police for the murder of Jennifer Laude, a transgender woman he had met on shore. Wyatt, still closeted, was tasked with providing his check-up.
“I was pretty naïve until I saw him face to face,” she said. “During his work up, I looked into his eyes and it shook me. Cliché as it may sound, I saw darkness. He felt cold and was without remorse for what he had done. In his presence, I thought it could have been me and I felt the painful moments before Jennifer’s death.”
While chilling, the experience only made Wyatt more resolved in her need to transition. “I told myself I will transition and I won’t be afraid to, even if I might face the same circumstances as Jennifer did that night. Even if it comes from the hands of my marines.”
During her transition, she continued to earn high marks for her devotion to her work and the support she showed other troops.
“My experiences with my Marine and Navy comrades show that unit cohesion and readiness are not adversely impacted by having a transgender service member included,” said Wyatt. “I’ve formed incredibly tight bonds with the people I’ve worked with and I would follow them to the ends of the Earth to ensure they get the critical battlefield care they need to continue the fight.”
Staff Sergeant Patricia King
After serving 16 years in the Army and completing three tours in Afghanistan, Staff Sergeant Patricia King was given control an elite Stryker squad stationed outside of Fort Lewis in Washington state.
Starting with the squad just a year after beginning her transition, Sergeant King noticed she was only one of two women in the unit. In fact, the building housing she and her colleagues only had a men’s restroom, leading King to hang a flippable sign by the restroom door — blue for men and pink for women.
“Since I was an “‘only,’” she told the Committee, “the onus was on me to flip the sign when I needed to use the restroom. That pink female sign represented my first few weeks there. Wherever I went, I was ‘the pink sign in the room.’ However, it didn’t take long before my peers saw past my gender and the only thing that mattered was how well I could do my job.”
King quickly earned the nickname “Squad Mom” among her underlings.
“Within a month, we made our Stryker the best in battalion and our squad the most cohesive,” she said. “This is because each of us felt able to bring our whole self to work. There were no secrets, no false bravado or hiding. My authenticity inspired theirs and that — along with strong leadership, hard work, and solid training — built unit cohesion in a way I have not seen in almost 20 years of service.”
Throughout her testimony, King revisited one word: Leadership.
“I have witnessed first-hand that troops want strong leaders. Leaders who care for them. Leaders who can inspire them. They don’t care if the leaders are transgender. They don’t care if the leaders are gay, bi or straight, male or female. They don’t care which bathroom or shower you use. The questions that resound for them are: Can you do your job and accomplish the mission? Can you put rounds on target in the heat of battle? Can you look out for your troops’ best interests? If a Soldier-Leader can do those well, everything else doesn’t really matter.”
Captain Jennifer Peace
In her fifteen years of service to the US Army, Captain Jennifer Peace has not found herself short of accomplishments. After five deployments as an elisted solider — including tours through Iraq and Afghanistan — she was awarded the Noncommissioned Officer of the Year Award at Fort Huachuca and the Distinguished Honor Graduate after graduating from the Military Intelligence Captains Course. The latter led to a prestigious nomination to attend the National Intelligence University.
Listing her accomplishments before the Committee, Peace urged lawmakers to take her accomplishments as an example of what transgender people can do in our military.
“I tell you this not to highlight my own success, but to illustrate what all trans service members are capable of,” said Peace, “performing at the top of their career fields and contributing significantly to the defense of the nation. This is the quality of Soldiers we are now at risk of losing.”
Peace joined medical professionals in condemning the false evidence the Trump administration put forth to justify its ban against service members like her.
Peace stressed her own medical transition required little to no adjustment and mirrored needs met for other troops with medical needs. “Just like with any other Soldier, our medical providers determine what is necessary,” she told the Committee. “But command influences the timeline. With four surgeries and a complete medical transition, I was non-deployable for less time than a single pregnancy.”
As a Company Commander, Captain Peace also knows what it takes to establish unity and cohesion among her colleagues in the armed forces.
“A unit cannot function if individuals do not have trust in their leadership and trust in their fellow soldiers,” she said. “If they do not support and take care of each other. If they do not believe in each other’s abilities and dedication. I was open as a trans service member when I was in command, and I felt an overwhelming amount of support from my commander, from my first sergeant, from my peers and subordinates alike.”
As Peace noted, it actively harms unit cohesion to deny the military the service of qualified and esteemed troops like herself.
“Excluding a portion of the population when we cannot meet recruiting goals — that impacts readiness. And watching as those who you serve with and respect are told they are no longer welcome in service — that impacts moral. The honorable service of those who are qualified, capable and willing has not and will not.” | https://medium.com/transequalitynow/this-is-the-quality-of-soldier-we-are-now-at-risk-of-losing-trans-troops-speak-to-congress-c8125aa4363f | ['National Center For Transgender Equality'] | 2019-02-27 20:54:04.545000+00:00 | ['LGBTQ', 'Trump', 'Transgender', 'Military'] |
Virtual Reality (VR) Market Ecosystem Map | VR is reported to be a big future market. I wanted to get a better understanding of all of the different players and how the whole ecosystem fits together.
Here is a map of the virtual reality ecosystem I created for myself, hopefully its helpful for others.
Below is a breakdown of each category:
I focused mainly on VR not AR (ex. Magic Leap)
I’ve included more companies below than listed on the graphic above.
I am biased towards startups in the space and/or companies that have raised funding.
If I am missing something tweet me @mccannatron
This space is developing quickly so take this into consideration.
Devices
Oculus VR — Bought by facebook for $2B
HTC Vive — partnered with Valve also creating the Steam VR platform.
Sony’s Project Morpheus — VR system by Sony, will also be connected to the PS4 VR Platform
Samsung’s Gear VR
Google Cardboard — Low end VR system using your smartphone.
StarVR — headset with an ultra-wide field of view
Visbox — Cave VR system (VR within whole room)
Fove — developing an eye tracking virtual reality headset — Raised an unreported amount, announced on June 25, 2015
Sulon Technologies- combines both VR and AR in one device- No funding reported yet, won top heads up display in CES.
Controllers
Virtuix Omni — Treadmill for VR, used with Oculus — Raised $7M, announced on December 10th, 2014
Nod Labs — controller and tracking device for VR — $16M announced on June 17, 2015
virZOOM — turns a stationary bike into VR controller — Raised $1.83M announced on April 16, 2015
Leap Motion — motion control for VR — Raised $44M, announced on January 3, 2013.
Oculus Touch — Made by Oculus
Sixense — wireless motion tracking controller — Raised $600K on Kickstarter on October 12, 2013
Valve Controllers — Made by Valve for the HTC Vive
Cyberith — VR controller that lets you run, jump, rotate, and crouch — no funding reported yet.
Tactical Haptics — produces the Reactive Grip Motion Controller- no funding reported yet.
ControlVR — Lets you control using your hands and motion instead of keyboard — Raised $400K on Kickstarter, announced on July 5, 2014
Pebbles Interfaces— Develops hand-tracking technologies — Raised $11.5M, Announced on August 1st, 2013. Recently bought by Oculus.
Cameras / 3D Mapping
Jaunt VR — professional grade camera system for capturing VR experiences — Raised $35M, announced on August 21st, 2014
Otoy — Full pipeline for creating, rendering, and streaming 3D environments. Amount raised unreported from Yuri Milner and Autodesk - advisors include Eric Schmidt, Ari Emanuel, and more
Structure.io — capture the 3D world via smartphone — Raised $8M, announced on October 20th, 2013
hover.to — create 3D models from your smartphone — Raised $12.7M announced on August 7, 2014
Kolor — Create 3D words from 2D images and videos — Bought by GoPro
VideoStitch — VideoStitch develops video stitching software to create Live Virtual Reality Video content. — Raised $2.25M seed
Matterport — Reconstruct real world spaces in VR — Raised $58.3M, announced on June 25, 2015
Panorics — develops fully immersive 360-degree video technology and products — Raised an unreported amount of funding.
Developer Tools
Unity — Development platform, supporting VR development.
Unreal Engine — Game development platform, supporting VR.
WorldViz— Produces Vizard VR toolkit — Raised $3.5M announced on April 14th, 2015
GameWorks VR — Developer platform by NVIDIA
OSVR — open sourced hardware and software platform for VR
High Fidelity — Open sourced software for deploying VR spaces — Raised $16M announced on February 11, 2015 (founded by Philip Rosedale who started Second Life)
Content (Producing VR experiences/games)
Game studios developing games for VR — Insomniac Games, Ubisoft, CCP, Gunfire games, 4A Games, Carbon Games, Climax, Harmonix, High Voltage Software, Ready at Dawn, Otherworld Interactive, and Square Enix, Thotwise
Here is a long list of games that or will be compatible with VR.
Reload Studios — is an independent game studio developing VR games — $2M on June 3, 2015
nDreams — Game developer specializing in VR — Raised $2.75M, announced on January 19th, 2015
Visionary VR — a technology and content development studio — Raised $350K announced on March 4th, 2015
NextVR — captures and delivers live and on-demand virtual reality experiences (concerts, movies, sports) — Raised $5M, announced on September 9th, 2014
The VR Company — Studio producing experiences, Steven Spielberg is an advisor — Raised $2.1M announced on May 29, 2015.
VRse — Producers of VR content for filmmaking
Livelike VR — VR production focused on live sports content — Raised $200,000 announced on January 27, 2015
spaceVR — Experience what space flight feels like (sounds pretty cool).
Felix & Paul Studios — developing VR content and content tied to Hollywood blockbusters
Social network / Content platforms
Littlstar — aggregates virtual reality content — Raised $120K announced on July 9, 2015
Wear VR — content platform and app store for VR experiences — Raised $1.5M announced on April 8, 2015
AltspaceVR — Experience things on the web (shows, concerts, movies) in VR with other people — Raised $5.2M announced on September 14th, 2014
Vrideo — Youtube like network for VR experiences — Raised seed round, unreported.
EmergentVR — User generated content of VR — Raised unreported amount on January 21, 2015
Education
Woofbert — providing art-education through VR — $2.78M on June 1st, 2015
zspace — VR for STEM education — Raised $26.6M announced on March 19th, 2015
Discovr — exploring ancient worlds through VR — No funding reported
drashvr — Produces educational VR apps — No funding reported
Medical
Psious — uses virtual environments to treat anxiety disorders — No reported funding
Deepstream VR— using VR games for rehabilitation and treating pain — No reported funding
MindMaze — developing VR experiences for medical recovery (ex. post-stroke) — Raised $8.5 announced on March 4, 2015
Vivid Vision — designing games to correct amblyopia (lazy eye) as well as strabismus (crossed eye) in virtual reality — Raised $50K, announced on January 21, 2014
Business / Enterprise tools | https://medium.com/@mccannatron/virtual-reality-vr-market-ecosystem-map-e6090af2e2af | ['Chris Mccann'] | 2015-07-25 05:12:00.969000+00:00 | ['VR', 'Market Research Reports', 'Virtual Reality'] |
Monthly update: Middle East saw a million new Covid-19 cases during November | New Covid-19 cases in the Middle East and North Africa since March 1. Seven-day rolling average, day by day.
A million new cases of Covid-19 were recorded in the Middle East and North Africa during November, bringing the region’s total since the pandemic began to more than four million. To put it another way, a quarter of all known Covid-19 infections in the region have occurred during the past month.
Among the 20 countries monitored, Iran recorded the largest number of new infections during November, followed by Jordan and Morocco.
At the other end of the scale, Syria, Sudan and Yemen reported very low numbers but the official figures from those countries are widely regarded as unreliable.
The list below shows the daily average of new Covid-19 infections reported by each country during November:
The list below shows the change in the daily average, comparing November with October:
It can be seen from this that Iran recorded the biggest rise in new infections, followed by Jordan and Morocco. Israel, where a second wave of infections has now subsided, recorded the biggest decrease.
Most countries in the region are making preparations for the arrival of vaccines and several have been taking part in vaccine trials. Some — mostly the wealthier ones — have struck deals with major pharmaceutical companies, often for more than one type of vaccine. Others are relying on the international Covax initiative and some are making use of both methods. See this article for details of the preparations.
● Previous regional updates: November 1; October 3; September 26; September 19; September 12; September 5; August 29; August 22; August 15; August 8; August 1; July 25; July 18; July 11; July 4; June 27; June 20.
● Official figures from around the region can be found in the statistical spreadsheet which is updated daily.
ALGERIA
Algeria’s outbreak first peaked towards the end of July when more than 600 new infections were being recorded each day. Numbers declined through August and September, reaching a low point of around 134 cases a day in the second week of October, according to the official figures. Since then, though, they have risen to new heights, averaging more than 1,000 new cases a day during the past week.
For more information see: Covid-19 in Algeria
Confirmed cases: 82,221
Active cases: 26,959
Deaths: 2,431
Tests carried out: (unknown)
BAHRAIN
After several ups and downs, Bahrain’s outbreak reached a peak in the third week of September when new cases were averaging more than 700 a day. There has been a steady drop since then and new cases in the past week averaged 155 a day.
For more information see: Covid-19 in Bahrain
Confirmed cases: 86,787
Active cases: 1,474
Deaths: 341
Tests carried out: 2.1 million
EGYPT
Official figures show Egypt’s outbreak has has been relatively stable since early August. This week’s average was 359 new cases a day compared with almost 1,600 a day at the peak in June.
The official figures are surprisingly low considering Egypt’s large population (103 million).
For more information see: Covid-19 in Egypt
Confirmed cases: 115,541
Active cases: 6,543
Deaths: 6,650
Tests carried out: 1 million
IRAN
New Covid-19 cases in Iran since March 1. Seven-day rolling average, day by day.
Iran was the first country in the region to be seriously affected by the virus. An initial wave of infections peaked at the end of March, briefly subsiding during April. A huge second wave struck towards the end of September and is still continuing. Officially-recorded new infections — currently the highest in the region — are running at more than 30,000 a day.
Iran has reported more coronavirus-related deaths than any other country in the region.
Confirmed cases: 948,749
Active cases: 245,673
Deaths: 48,246
Tests carried out: 6.1 million
IRAQ
Iraq’s epidemic appears to have developed relatively late. It was not until the second half of May that new cases rose above 100 a day, though that may have been due to a lack of detection.
The official figures show 2,159 new cases a day during the past week — well below the September peak — but they are widely believed to understate the scale of the epidemic. Many cases go unreported because of social stigma. Compliance with preventive measures is reported to be low and health services are inadequate.
For more information see: Covid-19 in Iraq
Confirmed cases: 550,435
Active cases: 57,617
Deaths: 12,258
Tests carried out: 3.5 million
ISRAEL
Israel’s first wave peaked at around 600 new cases a day in early April. Efforts to control it were intially successful and by the second half of May new cases had dropped to about 15 a day.
However, the virus surged back when lockdown restrictions were lifted and by the end of September the country was in the midst of a second wave — much higher than the first — with new infections hovering around 6,000 a day.
A second nationwide lockdown began on September 18 and continued for a month, greatly reducing the number of new infections. There was a slight upturn again in November, with new cases averaging 940 a day during the past week.
For more information see: Covid-19 in Israel
Confirmed cases: 335,980
Active cases: 10,232
Deaths: 2,865
Tests carried out: 5.6 million
JORDAN
For several months Jordan appeared to be the most successful Arab country in controlling the virus. Local transmission had virtually ceased and almost all the new cases were detected among people arriving from abroad.
The level of new infections remained very low until mid-September when it began rising rapidly. A record number of 5,679 new infections was reported on November 23 but the number has dropped slightly every day since then, suggesting the worst may now be over.
For more information see: Covid-19 in Jordan
Confirmed cases: 214,307
Active cases: 61,653
Deaths: 2,751
Tests carried out: 2.6 million
KUWAIT
New infections peaked in late May at just over 1,000 cases a day. Since then the numbers have fluctuated between 500 and 800 a day. During the last week of November new cases dropped below 500 a day for the first time since May and are currently averaging 339 a day.
For more information see: Covid-19 in Kuwait
Confirmed cases: 142,426
Active cases: 4,684
Deaths: 880
Tests carried out: 1.1 million
LEBANON
New Covid-19 cases in Lebanon since March 1. Seven-day rolling average, day by day.
Numbers of confirmed cases began rising significantly towards the end of July. A two-week lockdown which began in mid-August had little effect and numbers have continued to rise. The average during the past week was 1,495 new cases a day.
Lebanon’s outbreak has occurred against a background of political and economic turmoil, plus the devastating explosion in Beirut on August 4. In the midst of this chaos the government has lacked a clear strategy for dealing with the virus. Preventive measures have been ineffective due to poor implementation and non-compliance, and there are said to have been problems with contact tracing.
For more information see: Covid-19 in Lebanon
Confirmed cases: 126,944
Active cases: 43,892
Deaths: 1,018
Tests carried out: 1.6 million
LIBYA
Libya is in its tenth year of internal conflict. The UN-backed Government of National Unity in Tripoli is challenged by Field Marshall Haftar’s forces based in the east of the country. There are also numerous militias. This leaves the country ill-equipped to cope with a major epidemic. Growing levels of insecurity, political fragmentation and weak governance have led to a deterioration of basic services, particularly in the health system. At least 28 health facilities have been damaged or closed by fighting and some have been attacked directly.
Official figures show new Covid-19 infections currently averaging 658 a day during the past week but the true scale of Libya’s outbreak is likely to be much higher.
For more information see: Covid-19 in Libya
Confirmed cases: 82,430
Active cases: 27,808
Deaths: 1,183
Tests carried out: 432,000
MOROCCO
New Covid-19 cases in Morocco since March 1. Seven-day rolling average, day by day.
Morocco had some success during the early stages of the outbreak and by early June a strict lockdown had reduced new cases in Morocco to around 40 a day. New cases began increasing rapidly towards the end of July, however, and the situation has continued to worsen since then. By mid-November the country was recording more that 5,000 new cases a day, though there has since been a modest drop. The average during the past week has been 4,123 cases a day.
For more information see: Covid-19 in Morocco
Confirmed cases: 353,803
Active cases: 45,199
Deaths: 5,846
Tests carried out: 4 million
OMAN
New infections peaked in mid-July with just under 1,600 cases a day but dropped back sharply in August. There have been a few rises and falls since then, but not to the previous level. New infections reported during the past week averaged 200 a day.
For more information see: Covid-19 in Oman
Confirmed cases: 123,484
Active cases: 7,060
Deaths: 1,423
Tests carried out: 571,000
PALESTINE
Palestine’s outbreak reached a peak in the third week of September when almost 900 new cases were being recorded daily. It then subsided for a while before rising to new heights. During the last week of November new cases averaged 1,778 a day.
For more information see: Covid-19 in Palestine
Confirmed cases: 98,850 (West Bank 65,001, Gaza 20,6465, East Jerusalem 13,203)
Active cases: 19,928
Deaths: 732
Tests carried out: 667,000
QATAR
New Covid-19 cases in Qatar sine March 1. Seven-day rolling average, day by day.
Qatar’s outbreak peaked in early June with just under 1,900 cases a day. Since the beginning of August the numbers of new cases have been relatively steady, ranging between 200 and 300 a day. The average during the past week was 202 a day.
For more information see: Covid-19 in Qatar
Confirmed cases: 138,646
Active cases: 2,506
Deaths: 237
Tests carried out: 1.1 million
SAUDI ARABIA
New infections reached an initial peak in the fourth week of May then dropped back slightly before rising to a higher peak in the third week of June when new cases came close to 5,000 a day.
Since then, though, there has been a substantial improvement. New cases dipped below 500 a day at the end of September and continued on a gradual downward path through October and November. The past week’s average was 267 a day.
Saudi Arabia has the largest number of recorded cases among the Arab countries.
For more information see: Covid-19 in Saudi Arabia
Confirmed cases: 357,128
Active cases: 4,662
Deaths: 5,896
Tests carried out: 9.6 million
SUDAN
The coronavirus struck Sudan in the midst of a political transition following a popular uprising against the regime of President Bashir and the country is ill-equipped to cope with a major epidemic. Testing is very limited and official figures don’t reflect the full scale of the outbreak. The health ministry appears to have stopped issuing daily reports.
Covid-19 is only one among a number of infectious diseases causing problems in Sudan.
For more information see: Covid-19 in Sudan
Confirmed cases: 17,404
Active cases: 6,259
Deaths: 1,249
Tests carried out: (unknown)
SYRIA
According to official figures fewer than 8,000 cases have been recorded in areas controlled by the Assad regime. Considering the situation in neighbouring countries this extremely low figure seems implausible and the authorities’ lack of transparency fuels suspicions that many cases are being concealed. There is also some evidence that people with Covid-19 symptoms are reluctant to contact the authorities.
For more information see: Covid-19 in Syria
The following figures relate to regime-controlled areas only:
Confirmed cases: 7,797
Active cases: 3,910
Deaths: 417
Tests carried out: 26,572 (by 24 August)
TUNISIA
In June, Tunisia appeared to be almost free of the virus and began promoting itself as a safe holiday destination. Since August, though, new infections have increased substantially. During the past week they averaged 1,077 a day.
For more information see: Covid-19 in Tunisia
Confirmed cases: 96,251
Active cases: 22,658
Deaths: 3,260
Tests carried out: 460,000
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
New Covid-19 cases in the UAE since March 1. Seven-day rolling average, day by day.
The UAE’s epidemic reached an initial peak in May when new infections were running at more than 900 a day. A second wave struck in September, reaching a peak at the end of October. New cases during the past week they averaged 1,252 a day — slightly below the October peak.
For more information see: Covid-19 in the UAE
Confirmed cases: 167,753
Active cases: 13,389
Deaths: 572
Tests carried out: 16.7 million
YEMEN
There have almost certainly been a lot more Covid-19 cases than shown by official figures.
Because of the ongoing war, Yemen already faced a humanitarian crisis before the coronavirus arrived. Millions are malnourished and vulnerable to disease, and health services are inadequate. Diseases that are rare in better-off countries, such as cholera, diphtheria, dengue fever and chikungunya, are common in Yemen.
For more information see: Covid-19 in Yemen
Confirmed cases: 2,181
Active cases: 62
Deaths: 620
Tests carried out: (unknown) | https://medium.com/@brian-whit/monthly-update-middle-east-saw-a-million-new-covid-19-cases-during-november-72be26106705 | ['Brian Whitaker'] | 2020-12-01 10:31:00.267000+00:00 | ['Coronavirus', 'Covid 19', 'Middle East'] |
Going Far, Together — the 2019 Necker Blockchain Summit | I left Necker Island last week after the fifth annual Blockchain Summit and reminded myself of how much good we can do for the world when we bring together a smart, diverse and creative group of people to discuss bold, new ideas.
With our friends Bill Tai of ACTAI and Sandra Ro of the Global Blockchain Business Council, the Bitfury Group co-hosted this world-class group of technologists, regulators, artists, activists, lawmakers, academics, business leaders, investors and environmentalists.
On Day One, we focused on the fundamental layer of our society — our governments. We discussed how these institutions have supported innovation and analyze if (and how) they apply the same innovative spirit to themselves and their responsibilities.
During our first panel, Roger Ferguson, former vice chairman of the board of governors of the U.S. Federal Reserve, said blockchain technology “potentially allows a democratization of financial services in a way that has not existed before. It may allow us to bring the unbanked into financial transactions. To the extent we can develop blockchain and the right kinds of cryptocurrency, we can start to create or rebuild a degree of financial trust that’s important to financial literacy and financial security.”
On Day Two, we heard from Christina Smedley from Facebook and Dante Disparte from the Libra Association about how the new Libra cryptocurrency can do to money what the internet has done with communication and information sharing. It also creates an opportunity to build a financial network for people who are left out of existing networks, they said.
We also discussed some of the most pressing challenges with climate change. And we took a deep dive into the media industry — how emerging technologies can help repair the industry, and how the industry can help advance emerging technologies.
On Day Three, we talked about how digital currencies are increasingly going mainstream and discussed whether Libra will help accelerate that.
Five years ago, we had an idea: What if we brought a small group of game-changers to this small but beautiful island? Together, we said, we could imagine big ideas that, with some effort, could have a big and positive impact on the world. Today, I’m proud to see this idea has become reality.
As always, I leave our Blockchain Summit emboldened by the many wonderful people we assemble, and the fascinating ideas that are born there. This year’s new guests now join the larger Necker community that continues to collaborate and build upon our common goals. Now it’s up to all of us to put our ideas to work so that we can truly bring much-needed change to the world. If every one of us will do a little bit of good, all of us will do a lot of good. Bit by bit.
As the proverb states, if we want to go fast, we go alone. If we want to go far, we go together. | https://medium.com/meetbitfury/going-far-together-the-2019-necker-blockchain-summit-by-valery-vavilov-3b61d73d6248 | ['The Bitfury Group'] | 2019-06-30 19:42:13.544000+00:00 | ['Bitfury', 'Leadership', 'Technology', 'Blockchain Summit'] |
Why Your Online Business Hinges on Having a Solid Brand | When it comes to running an online business or internet marketing, a great number of people end up missing the forest for the trees. We’re repeatedly told how effective it is to run email marketing campaigns, to flood the net with content and to use PPC but what we’re not told nearly so often is just how important it is to have a strong brand and a real purpose for existing.
You’re not stupid. You know the difference between a spam site and a site that offers real value.
And you also know that the sites that offer real value are the ones that do the best on Google. Big sites like The Verge, IGN, Mashable, Buzzfeed, Forbes, The New York TimesÖ these arenít spam sites that flood the web with content and keywords. These are big brands that provide real value and that have real authority.
If you want to get to that point, then you need to create a brand of your own that is similarly high quality and that can gain the trust of your audience and of Google.
Where Do Brands Start?
This begins by understanding where a brand begins. A brand is not a logo and a brand is not a website. Your brand is your mission statement and your value proposition. A brand is a commitment to a certain standard and a reason for existing.
Your brand needs to be unique and it needs to be exciting and cohesive. If you get this right, then it will make all the difference when it comes to your marketing.
Think about something like The Art of Manliness. This is a website with a very clear reason to exist that is communicated very loudly and effectively throughout the entire site. It ís not just there to make money, it ís there to preach a message and to help modern men to feel more manly and to become more capable.
This then informs every smaller decision across the site. Everything from the logo to the content is selling the same dream and this has a very profound effect on visitors.
Know Your Audience
What effect is that? Simple: it immediately communicates to the visitor whether they want to be there or not.
If you search for How to Raise Testosterone, How to be More Alert or How to Smoke a Pipe and you find The Art of Manliness, then you instantly know what the site is about and what kind of content you can expect from it. That single difference then means that you will be considerably more likely to sign up if it is something that you’re interested in.
What’s more, is that you’ll know there aren’t that many sites exactly like this one out there. It’s a rare and interesting topic and for the right visitor, it will have an instant appeal.
The power of a strong brand goes well beyond that though. It will help you to be more recognizable across different social media platforms, it will make your visitors more loyal (they’ll feel like they’re joining a movement) and it will mean that potential partners take your brand more seriously.
THIS should be your priority as an online business owner. | https://medium.com/@patrickonsocial/why-your-online-business-hinges-on-having-a-solid-brand-b96cfb5e7236 | ['Ogbonna Patrick Ebuka'] | 2021-12-29 18:48:22.615000+00:00 | ['Marketing Strategies', 'Online Business', 'Digital Marketing', 'Internet Marketing', 'Branding'] |
Open Mind, Open Heart | Open Mind, Open Heart
On mission, values, attitude, and connectedness.
For the past few months, I have been working on crafting a personal mission statement and set of core values. Ever since reading The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People for the umpteenth time, I have been utterly convinced of the importance of a mission statement and core values. Which prompted me to start the process of writing my own.
I’m not quite there yet, but I can share one motto that has stuck with me:
Open Mind, Open Heart
To me, it sums up many of my of my attitudes and aspirations.
What do I mean by that?
An Open Mind
An open mind is important. It’s crucial in both learning, and emotional and personal growth. Without an open mind, there is no way to receive the messages that others are constantly sending you.
I’ve heard it said that it’s nearly impossible to learn effectively without feedback. Getting feedback is crucial to figuring out whether you’re on the right track, and thus deciding what you’ll do next. But without an open mind, you have no access to feedback. At best, you have a sliver of the feedback you could be receiving and using.
An open mind is not as simple a thing as it sounds. To truly have an open mind, you need to actively suspend belief. You need to not only admit that you may be wrong, but you need to seek out evidence that could disprove your beliefs.
You can perform a test right now to understand just how open-minded you are. Take some belief you hold about the world, about society, about yourself, etc. For that belief, do you have in mind what kind of evidence would change your mind? What I mean is, do you know what kind of facts or data would cause you to believe something different than what you do?
For many of us, we don’t approach thinking this way. We form an initial belief, hold it for a while, decide that it’s the truth, and move on. We may know what evidence supports our belief, but we don’t know what would — if we found it out — change our mind. What that does is cause us to confront every challenge to our beliefs with a reaction of trying to confirm our belief. It also makes us unfocused and unreceptive when talking with others who may not agree with us. It makes for bad brainstorming, bad strategy sessions, and weak collaboration.
Keeping an open mind is about holding out against intellectual laziness. It’s about always being willing to be wrong about what you believe, and making time to entertain opinions contrary to your own. It’s ultimately about leaving behind fear. So many of us keep our minds closed because we’re afraid that a challenge to our way of thinking will endanger our very identity. But that is a mistake. You are not your beliefs, you are the one who chooses whether to believe or not. But when you make the mistake of identifying with your beliefs, you cut yourself off from so many other amazing ways of thinking and living.
An open mind leaves fear behind, and embraces the wide world of wisdom.
An Open Heart
For as open as your mind might be, it’s nothing without an open heart. Yes, it sounds sappy and like there’s neither practical benefits to it, nor is there any research to recommend it.
An open heart doesn’t mean being an over-sharer, or a sad-sack who cries at the drop of a hat. It doesn’t mean being overly sensitive or talking about feelings all the time. It doesn’t really mean anything objectively. It’s quite subjective, actually, and what it looks like depends on who you are.
An open heart is about being sincere. It’s about acknowledging the value of emotions, and using that to make better decisions — both personal and professional.
More than that, an open heart is about being welcoming to everyone, and giving everyone the benefit of the doubt — until they give you reason to do otherwise. It’s about believing that you can learn something from and get value from everyone you meet.
An open heart is about allowing a real connection others, and encouraging connectedness in general. Those connections are the foundation of a good life. And whatever definition of success you happen to use, connections form the basis of it.
Your open mind can help you to think different thoughts, receive criticisms more willingly, and change your long-held positions on things. But an open heart allows you to let others into your world, and allows you to get into theirs. An open heart allows you to increase the types and depths of experiences you can have by orders of magnitude. That allows you to get exposure to different stories, different information, different wisdom. And all that adds up (so long as your mind is as open as your heart) to more wisdom of your own.
In the same way that an open mind is about leaving fear behind, so is an open heart. Being open with your feelings, and being open to the feelings of others is about realizing that you are not merely your emotions or convictions. Yes, those things move you, and are important to respect, but they are not who you are. And when you can admit that about yourself and others, you can walk openly into conversations without need for a guard. You can be vulnerable without fear of mortal emotional injury. You can ask others to do the same, knowing that they should not be afraid. You can connect, because the connectors are clear of interference.
The open mind allows you think differently.
The open heart allows you to feel differently.
Both are infinitely important in the journey to wiser living. | https://mikesturm.medium.com/open-mind-open-heart-cf41c1b02ae4 | ['Mike Sturm'] | 2018-11-02 01:12:21.975000+00:00 | ['Personal Growth', 'Mindset', 'Wisdom', 'Life', 'Self Improvement'] |
Karoo storm | She heard the rise in the engine note through her sobbing and she slowly uncurled herself up from the tight foetal position she had balled herself into. She’d lost track of herself and had no idea at all of what time of the day it was. The elongated oval of sky she could see through the alpine windows as she lay back in their cocoon was dark grey, it was almost purple and she could see the occasional burst of lightning — it must be about 6pm she thought — what happened to the day?
He was dead — the man she knew only as her surname and that she had thought was long dead had in fact been alive all these years. “Aaaarrghh” and a fresh bout of deep retching sobs escaped her and she felt Nadeem’s hand reach for her. She pulled her hand away and instantly regretted it — she quickly reached for his slowly retreating hand, it was there, solid as ever. She held on and pulled herself up. She adjusted herself and then climbed out of the cocoon, over the low panel separating the front section from the rear cabin and settled onto the passenger seat.
She glanced over at the instruments and could see that Nadeem had the little Landy at a steady 110km/h — pretty much top speed for their road trip car and only ever achieved in a push — regular driving was a gentle ambling 90. She looked away and then back at him, seeing his focussed attention on the road, scanning miles ahead. His long arms awkwardly hugging the steering wheel while his body was twisted slightly to the left — there was so little space in the cab of these iconic but most impractical cars. She managed a brief smile at his obsession with this old, slow, noisy car.
Nadeem turned to her; “We’re about to experience that very rare thing Kate, a proper Karoo storm after a long dry season”.
She looked out into what was the darkest grey sky she had seen since being in the Sahara as a child when a storm suddenly appeared on the horizon as they reached their stop for the night. A solitary raindrop streaked past her — trailing a clear line on the dust covered window. The sky ahead was a massed bank of dark and in a moment, she felt him tap off and they slowed as he scanned the vast fields on either side of them. He eased over to the left lane as goods trucks they had passed earlier slowly boomed and trundled past on the fast lane.
“Kate, we’re not going to make it to the B&B before the storm breaks — I tried but it’s still an hour to go — do you mind if we…”
“Absolutely not, please let’s stop” she said, cutting in before he could finish — “I need a stop too”.
She could smell the petrichor starting to rise in the air and knew that he loved the moment of a breaking storm probably as much as he loved her — probably more she thought and suddenly a laugh burst out of her at the thought. He turned towards her and smiled, his left hand indicating a small sign that said Du Toit Boerdery, Klein Begin, Fanie and Elmarie.
“We’re going to visit the distant cuzzies, miskien sal ons a bietjie Afrikaans praat” he joked; the words sounding strange coming out of the mouth of this nut brown man with as much hair on his face as a bear. She was always amazed when she heard South Africans of colour speak Afrikaans — her limited knowledge of the country before her initial arrival here had her expecting only the seven-feet-tall-built-like-shithouses and very white Afrikaners to speak the language. She had learnt so much since then, about the this language created by slaves and the people of this maddeningly fascinating country but was still always initially startled when she heard the language roll out of Nadeem’s mouth — the same mouth that she kissed so deeply and frequently in these last few years.
Ten minutes later the Landy was parked off the unpaved farm road, at a small clearing in a field that had just been ploughed. There was a little koppie to their right hand side and together with the concrete water tank on the left side — there was a patch of ground sheltered from the main gusts of wind whipping around in the incoming storm.
“Cafe?” he asked and Kate nodded — it was late in the day for a coffee but the storm was almost upon them and there was nothing for it but to sit it out — she curled her legs under her and snuggled down into the seat with a poncho around her while Nadeem dropped out and around the back of the Landy to get the little gas stove going for the afternoon storm watching coffee.
Some minutes and a few muttered curses later she could hear the sounds of beans being crushed as he quickly ground a few handfuls of beans in the wooden, box-type hand grinder. Next came the whoosh of the gas stove lighting and then the soft humming of Sufi poetry. It was so much like how they have been for a while now, so familiar that for a brief moment, Kate imagined they had not just got the news of her Dad and she was still going to make it to give him a surprise visit in Valencia before the year was out. She was so full of excitement that she had family beyond her jida that she had not even mentioned her plans to Nadeem.
The smell of coffee from the bubbling moka pot broke through her thoughts as the first huge raindrops smacked into the windscreen in front of her. “Here it comes” shouted Nadeem as he grabbed the pot and dashed back into the cab. He set the pot down in the centre console and proceeded to gently and alternatively fill the two ceramic lined, stainless steel cups, making sure each cup had a fair share of the precious crema.
The rain had now started up properly, the rich aroma of the coffee he had specially blended for them, mingling with the rising petrichor. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply — catching the rich, slightly sweet scent of the eau de cologne Nadeem dabbed on after each morning shower — even if they were camping out in the sticks with no one around.
She opened her eyes to see him staring at her with that tenderness that melted her heart from the very first time she saw it. She reached over to him and dropped her arms around his neck and lay her head on his chest while he sat obliquely to cradle her more carefully. In a bit the windows were so steamed they had to wipe them down with the kikoy that lay across the narrow dashboard and she cradled the warm cup in her hands. She sipped the still hot coffee — it was almost sweet to the first sip, with a deep chocolatey richness, luxuriant body, a hint of cranberry tartness and a nice clean, slightly acidic finish. She had never loved coffee as much as she did in these last three years with this man obsessed with finding perfection in every cup. She laughed a small laugh and looked up at him. It was properly pouring down now on the insulated roof of the Landy sounding like an orchestra of small drums.
It was a bit later, the rain had settled into a steady thrum, the coffee cups drained, the lightning had died down and he was lifting his t-shirt over his head and she caught a muffled “I’m heading out, you coming?” The naughty child smile as his face re-appeared with the t-shirt in his hands was all the prompting she needed.
Half a mile away and with a clear view onto the tiny clearing by the koppie, all that Fanie and Elmarie could make out from their stoep was the sight of two people racing across their recently ploughed fields — it was hard to tell with all the rain — but it did look like they were kaalgat — “ja-nee — stad japies” they laughed. | https://medium.com/conversations-in-a-pandemic/karoo-storm-69dbaaa3a6a0 | ['Jesh Baker'] | 2020-12-20 07:24:08.457000+00:00 | ['Roadtrip', 'Life', 'Karoo', 'Coffee', 'Fiction'] |
No Money, No Problem — 6 Ways to Get Capital for Your Startup | No Money, No Problem — 6 Ways to Get Capital for Your Startup
Some common ways to approach scaling your business
If you are considering raising extra money for your startup, here are 6 ways to get investments and turn your business into a multi-billion dollar corporation!
I spent the last 6 years in Silicon Valley working for companies like Yelp and Airbnb, being surrounded by founders on one side and Venture Capital investors on the other. The Silicon Valley dream is to start a company which:
Has a mission is to change the world
Has the potential to grow into a multi-billion-dollar company
Impacts the lives of millions (or ideally, billions, of people)
Has the potential to raise impressive funding rounds from the most reputable VC funds (like Sequoia, a16z, or Founders Fund).
Annie Spratt at Unsplash
However…
Getting money from VCs is only one of the ways to get funding. Let’s explore it further.
There are funds that focus on a specific company stage (early stage, series A, B, etc) and multi-stage funds who diversify their portfolio across companies’ tenure.
Venture Capital investors are making a lot of bets, which is expensive. Funds are looking for a high ROI, to cover their previous losses and to get a return to the LPs who invested in the fund. For example, if you had invested $10,000 in Uber in 2010 it would be worth $127.5M today (!).
VCs not only give you money, they ideally give you support and the network. Raising capital accelerates your growth and an opportunity to conquer the market quicker.
But keep in mind that taking venture capital means signing up to scale and grow rapidly, as VCs are looking for some exit for your startup within the 10 year period, which might not be right for every team and business.
It’s important not to disillusion yourself with VC money. Sometimes venture capital is necessary for your success as a startup. But sometimes it might be a trigger on the road to failure.
Startup team at Unsplash
2. An alternative to VCs is bootstrapping your business. You don’t need venture capital to get started in most industries to solve a real problem for customers and charge money for it. Here are three ways to think about this:
Bootstrapping a startup means starting lean and without the help of outside capital. It means continuing to fuel growth internally from cash flow produced by the business. Quite a few famous companies opted-in for this path and scaled billion-dollar ventures. Spanx, GoPro, Github, just to name a few. You are forced to immediately start thinking about how your business will be making money. It’s sometimes disappointing to see that profitability is almost the last thing some companies think about — they comfortably continue burning through VC funding and might end up dying without figuring out how to make their business model work.
Bootstrapping certainly has pros like staying in control and dictating the direction of the business, but it also comes with certain cons, such as lack of capital to grow when you really need to, no access to the support network that could come through going to an accelerator or raising VC money, and of course, the risk of burning through your savings.
Danielle Maclnnes at Unsplash
3. Accelerators are also a path to get funding and accelerate your startup; some of the most famous accelerators include YC, 500 startups, and Techstrars.
An accelerator is a 3 to 6 months program meant to accelerate your startup. Accelerators are not technically free, depending on the way you look at it — they offer you funding for a % of your company.
Accelerators typically offer seed money in exchange for equity in the company. This may range from $10,000 to over $120,000. For example, YC takes 7% equity for 120k. Accelerators can be great. They provide a high-pressure environment, peer support, and mentor network support to help you grow your company. And usually, accelerators have a “demo day” where you would present your startup to get noticed by potential future investors.
It’s important to have an action plan and a clear “why” for joining an accelerator — you must be committed to the idea, understand that you are giving away equity, and ensure that this is the right accelerator for your specific startup: look at the team running it, make sure it’s the right set of mentors and the program can give you the right support.
Faria Anzum at Unsplash
4. Another way to get funding for your startup is to turn to angel investors.
Angel investors are accredited individuals who support founders and usually write checks between 5 to 100k. Angels primarily invest in pre-seed and seed companies and are focused on qualitatively evaluating an opportunity: the founding team, their interest in the space, etc.
5. Crowdfunding has seen a rise in the last decade. Oculus, Larian Studios, Pebble all had their kickstart through crowdfunding. I believe we will see more and more influencers crowdfunding their ideas — they already have the needed reach to get their projects funded.
Crowdfunding could be great if you’re trying to prove a concept or test the demand. It does go without saying though that platforms like Indigogo and Kickstarter mostly offer a payment collection gateway: success of the campaign still hugely depends on the work you put into spreading the word about it.
6. Last but not least, I want to cover grants. A startup small business grant is monetary funding from the government or an organization that is given in order to help small companies and nonprofits succeed in building and growing their business.
Unlike loans, you don’t have to pay this money back. It may come with rules that dictate how you can spend it.
To conclude, there are a lot of paths you can take to get capital for your business. The most important thing to keep in mind is to optimize for your business, your goals, how you want to grow the business, what you want the exit to look like and basing your decisions off of these factors.
P.S. I also made a YouTube video about this topic. You can check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYeTtcER99o | https://medium.com/startup-grind/no-money-no-problem-6-ways-to-get-capital-for-your-startup-ce38268f9568 | ['Luba Yudasina'] | 2020-09-30 16:21:57.575000+00:00 | ['Startup Lessons', 'Startup', 'Venture Capital', 'Fundraising', 'Scaling'] |
Basic Tricks to Achieve the Best Results in SEO Agency Toronto | SEO Company in Toronto
Regardless of whether you’re beginning another blog or dealing with an enormous corporate site, your prosperity is reliant upon traffic — a nonstop stream of guests who cooperate with the material you’re distributing and presenting on your site. Site design improvement and SEO Company in Toronto is fundamental for drawing in perusers, customers, and clients to your site, however making another WordPress site as accessible as conceivable may appear to be overwhelming, particularly in the event that you’re new to site-building and SEO techniques. Notwithstanding, WordPress gives sets of basic techniques to expanding a site’s accessibility, going from the Settings menu on your site’s Admin board to free and paid modules that handle extremely significant SEO undertakings.
Google and Bing utilize a setup calculation to survey what models sites need to satisfy to show up in list items. Despite the fact that the different site design improvement methods are continually changing, the essential rules that guide SEO significant catchphrases, quality connections, and a high volume of supportive material on the site. As the advanced world keeps on rotating, new boundaries are presented also. To give another model, Google currently thinks about the responsiveness of a site to cell phones into their positioning calculations, and to energize quality substance, longer bits of message and more data-rich postings are given higher situations than more limited bits of the message. Contact Us | https://medium.com/@jackdadaaa/basic-tricks-to-achieve-the-best-results-in-seo-agency-toronto-9bbd8f8f0d1d | [] | 2021-12-23 06:08:27.815000+00:00 | ['Seo Agency', 'SEO', 'Seo Company', 'Seo Training', 'Seo Services'] |
The People I Meet At Tim’s | The People I Meet At Tim’s
Varvara Rigon photo by the author
Every day my dog and I walk to Tim’s. I get a steeped tea with 2 milk and a bowl of water for the dog. I don’t have to say anything. They see me coming and my tea and the water is there waiting for me.
No matter where you live in Canada you are probably not very far from Tim’s. In Canada there are currently 4,286 Tim Horton’s coffee shop locations. I live in Kingston Ontario, which is a relatively small city and we have 20 locations within the city limits.
Sometimes I sit quietly and jot down a few notes for the next story I am going to write. However more often than not there is somebody to talk to.
One of Tim’s regulars is the vivacious 86 year old Barbara who is always ready to chat.
With Covid it is mostly individual seating but that does not seem to cramp her style. She has a friendly outgoing personality and always has a warm greeting for her legion of friends.
Barbara, whose real name is Varvara was born in Greece in 1932. Only 7 years old when World War 2 broke out, she received very little formal education and started working when she was quite young. She was an apprentice at a hair salon in Athens when the head of the famed National Theater of Athens came looking for a young girl to look after the wigs that were a mainstay in the mostly classical repertoire of the theater.
“I want that one” he said, pointing at Varvara.
And so began her journey into the world of the theater. The National Theater produces classical Greek drama such as the works Sophocles as well the plays of Moliere in translation. Wigs were a mainstay and she was kept busy fixing the wigs and doing the hair of the actors.
In 1959 She married Peter Rigon and 6 months later they moved to Montreal. Unable to speak either French of English she began looking for work. Her sister got her an interview for a job in a hospital but held little hope of her getting the job. She told the personnel officer that Varvara could not speak English very well. In fact her knowledge of English was limited to two words “yes” and “no”. She was however sensitive to people’s emotions and went through a long interview responding correctly to questions she was asked without understanding a word that was said.
Afterward the manager said to her sister. “Her knowledge of English is perfect.”
After about 6 months working at the hospital, this young girl with very little money and a very limited knowledge of French or English decided to open a hair salon.
Vavara’s Hair Salon was an instant success and soon became the top hair salon in Montreal, catering to Montreal’s elite.
In 1972 she and her husband moved to Kingston. She opened another hair salon and her husband took over the operation of Kingston Monuments which made marble headstones and expanded into making marble countertops. | https://medium.com/illumination/the-people-i-meet-at-tims-26e1e4c2f502 | ['Jim Mcaulay'] | 2020-12-20 05:45:54.089000+00:00 | ['Tim Hortons', 'Illumination', 'Humor', 'Humour', 'Jim Mcaulay'] |
Neck | A poem about perspective
This is my neck and I am sticking it out for you.
The lines move
across my frame.
Following symmetry
that I cannot see.
Flesh full of marks
made thin.
Shades change
textures shift.
My skin
not comfortable in.
Routine in need alter
working on perspective.
Wait here a while
and you will witness change.
Together through confession
progress is made.
This is progress.
This is progress. | https://medium.com/@dyspla/neck-710403cb7f77 | ['Lennie Varvarides'] | 2021-02-03 20:07:06.802000+00:00 | ['Personal Development', 'Poetry', 'Free Verse', 'Poem', 'Poems On Medium'] |
Let’s Face It, Nancy Pelosi Is Pretty Smart | Let’s Face It, Nancy Pelosi Is Pretty Smart
I know a lot of people are annoyed that Pelosi is not leading the charge to impeach Trump….but really any sober consideration of the evidence would lead one to conclude she is doing the right thing. Instead. she had concentrated on uniting her caucus to pass progressive bills that, for sure, will not become law but do force GOP members to cast potentially costly votes against the bills.
Perry Bacon, Jr. has the goods on 538:
“Pelosi has outlined an agenda of nine signature bills. Democrats have approved six of them. And Pelosi’s agenda, unlike impeachment, is popular with the public; it unites congressional Democrats and to some extent divides congressional Republicans. And these bills, as opposed to impeaching Trump, align well with what appears to be Pelosi’s broader strategy: to force GOP incumbents to vote against popular legislation in advance of the 2020 elections, protect Democrats in closely divided districts from tough votes, and keep the Democrats talking about and doing things that the public likes.
Five of the bills passed without a single ‘no’ vote from a Democrat. A bill to expand background checks to nearly all gun sales drew two “no” votes among Democrats — both from members who represent districts won by Trump in 2016. That’s more than 1,200 total “yes” votes for the Pelosi agenda among Democratic House members, compared with two “no” votes….
The key planks in the bills all have the support of the majority of the public — and some of them (like expanding background checks for gun sales) are extremely popular, according to polls….
[A]s Pelosi faces an increasingly vocal faction of her party pushing for impeachment, the speaker has a pretty strong anti-impeachment argument: Why should Democrats push a fairly unpopular position with no chance of success when they can instead push forward equally fruitless but at least popular positions?
Her view might carry the day. Lots of House Democrats might ultimately support impeaching Trump if it were to come up for a vote. But only about a quarter of them are pushing for it now. The rest are tacitly approving of Pelosi’s strategy — and it’s not surprising that a bunch of politicians approve of a strategy that looks so good politically.”
In short, Nancy Pelosi is doing her job and doing it well. We’ll just have to get rid of Trump the old-fashioned way — by voting him out of office. And by steering her party away from divisive issue of impeachment, Pelosi is increasing the chances of accomplishing that goal.
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Pelosi’s Agenda Is Popular — Much More So Than Impeaching Trump
One of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s arguments against a Democratic push for the impeachment of President Trump is essentially … “What’s the point?” With Repub… | https://medium.com/@teixeira_99057/lets-face-it-nancy-pelosi-is-pretty-smart-25ba9eebd7c6 | ['Ruy Teixeira'] | 2019-06-17 05:07:02.506000+00:00 | ['Politics', 'Impeachment', 'Nancy Pelosi', 'Election 2020'] |
Project Moac blockchain, know a little about this project !! | MOAC — Mother of All Chains!!
MOAC, is scalable and resilient Blockchain that supports transactions, data access, control flow in a layered structure. It creates the framework to allow users to execute Smart Contract in an efficient way.
Through Blockchain MOAC, it is also allowed to create sub-blockchains, it is a Blockchain platform with necessary plumbing parts available to sub blockchains, providing solution for idea test, private chain deployment, complex task processing, decentralized applications etc.
Get to know more about MOAC.
MOAC offers many services for people who want to use the blockchain technology for business. MOAC has a layered configuration structure, asynchronous contract calls and it uses sharding solutions.
MOAC will make pluggable validation schemes and create a wider participation in the validation process of the blockchain for different users.
MOAC will also make it easy to deploy sub blockchains and intend to offer easy solutions for small companies that want to create sub blockchains by themselves.
ICO Moac !!
The crowdsale of MOAC happened in June 2017. There are total 75,000,000 MOAC used in the ICO. Total 56,483,386 MOAC was sold during the ICO time and the rest is held in private investors.
MOAC tokens can also be mined, so mining is a viable alternative if you want to have the tokens. At first, you will be rewarded with 2 MOAC tokens per block, but that number will be halved every time 12,500,000 MOAC tokens have already been extracted.
Team behind the MOAC project !!
The team behind the MOAC project, with members with a lot of experience in the blockchain business and its architectures, are: ZHOU CHA, vast experience in blockchain and silicon valley — 20 years; CHEN XIAOHU and YANG XINLE, both also with much experience when the subject is blockchain and its architecture.
But, what does MOAC mean? Let's explain then. MOAC(mc) is the name of the currency used within MOAC network, just like ether within Ethereum. It is used to pay for computation within the EVM and run MicroChains. This is done indirectly by purchasing gas for mc as explained in Gas and mc
MOAC supply
Getting mc
Please see this page here.
Sending mc
The MOAC Wallet supports sending mc via a graphical interface.
MOAC can also be transferred using the MOAC console.
> var sender = mc.accounts[0];
> var des = mc.accounts[1];
> var amount = chain3.toSha(0.01, "mc")
> mc.sendTransaction({from:sender, to:des, value: amount})
MOAC network, like Ethereum, use mc as a cryptofuel, commonly referred to as “gas”. Beyond transaction fees, gas is a central part of every network request and requires the sender to pay for the computing resources consumed. The gas cost is dynamically calculated, based on the volume and complexity of the request and multiplied by the current gas price. Its value as a cryptofuel has the effect of increasing the stability and long-term demand for mc and MOAC as a whole.
Gas and mc
Gas is supposed to be the constant cost of network resources/utilisation. You want the real cost of sending a transaction to always be the same, so you can’t really expect Gas to be issued, currencies in general are volatile.
So instead, we issue mc whose value is supposed to vary, but also implement a Gas Price in terms of MOAC. If the price of mc goes up, the Gas Price in terms of mc should go down to keep the real cost of Gas the same.
Gas has multiple associated terms with it: Gas Prices, Gas Cost, Gas Limit, and Gas Fees. The principle behind Gas is to have a stable value for how much a transaction or computation costs on the Ethereum network. | https://medium.com/moac-token/project-moac-blockchain-know-a-little-about-this-project-d05d2d992507 | ['Maximiliano Aquino'] | 2018-08-26 02:46:11.011000+00:00 | ['Blockchain', 'Moac Token', 'Airdrop Moac', 'Blockchain Moac', 'Moac Ico'] |
Thankful | I’m thankful for the life that I have been given.
There are people robbing banks, and people who sinnin (Sinning).
But I’m safe at home on my Thanksgivin (Thanksgiving).
Haircut the other day, old look yeah I trimmed it.
Cooked my own turkey
Cooked for 4 hours.
Mac n cheese was served.
It got devoured.
I’m thankful for my parents, my family, and my friends.
People in Christmas, ain’t taking. They lend.
I’m thankful for the teachers, who help us study with books.
We learn more every day, I learned how to cook!
I’m thankful for Santa Claus, the tooth fairy, and leprechaun.
Such Nice Holidays, in the morning and dawn.
I’m thankful for my house, which keeps me in the shelter.
This one is very special, I will remember.
Protects me from the rain, lightning, and hail.
We painted some walls orange.
The paint was in a pail.
This is the end, for I can no longer rhyme.
Till the next assignment, see you next time.
The end of a rap, yessir it’s goodbye.
But my next one will be greater it’ll go up to the sky. | https://medium.com/@krishjshenoy/thankful-820d54a3c11b | [] | 2020-12-19 00:04:18.840000+00:00 | ['Thank You', 'Family', 'Thanksgiving'] |
Dress them like teenagers again | The Netflix Original lineup has had it’s fair share of gems since the premiere of their first nearly seven years ago, but for the most part they live up to their stereotype — angst-riddled, campy teen movie or “dark”, misanthropic ten-episode-per-season show. Sparkling with over-dramatization, the only thing more nail-bitingly cringeworthy than the dialogue is perhaps the costume design. This is not exclusive to Netflix’s original lineup as it can be seen in array of different cheap teen shows and movies of the past decade, regardless of genre. Pretty much all of them make teenagers dress like H&M ads (often worse) and it is a bit sickening.
In their defense, there is an understanding in any piece of fiction that the character’s traits need to be exaggerated, to more noticeably reflect the type of person the storyteller wants you to see them as. Their speech, their gait and all the histrionics needed to make you hate or love or cringe at the main character are just cinematic utensils. Despite this, there are limits and the costumes that are chosen for “teenagers” is one of them.
A good example of this is 13 Reasons Why’s character Jessica Something. Depicted as an empowered, free-spirited future leader, her teenage wardrobe seems to be in no shortage of everything from jackets no one in high school can afford, to boots no one in high school can afford, so that she can put together eclectic ensembles that no one in high school would ever wear (likely because they can’t afford them(but also because who wears heels and blazers to high school?)). | https://medium.com/@gialexander/dress-them-like-teenagers-again-ccae340c0bdb | ['Gitte Alexander'] | 2021-01-03 01:55:45.918000+00:00 | ['Style', 'Fashion', 'Television'] |
“Sunny Side Up” Quantum Computer | Solar-based Quantum Energy Systems [1/2]
“Sunny Side Up” Quantum Computer
What if we could create even more efficient quantum systems? Like make solar powered quantum computers? What if we could use new linear optic systems to create even more efficient quantum hardware, so that we could reduce costs and begin faster industrialization. Well, we can, and today, I’m going to be showing you how I figured this out. I hope you enjoy my project!
Credit: Rigetti (converted to GIF)
Hardware Brush Up
Skip over this section if you’ve read my articles before!
The golden rings are known as the quantum computer skeleton . They represent different segmentations of cold that go all the way to close to absolute 0 (0 K) ~15 mK
are known as the quantum computer . They represent different segmentations of cold that go all the way to close to absolute 0 (0 K) ~15 mK The side cables are called the nerves . They carry the photons through the quantum computer for signal processing.
are called the . They carry the photons through the quantum computer for signal processing. The inner pole is the heart , where central cooling of physical qubits occur
is the , where central cooling of physical qubits occur Top tube is the shells, which eliminate thermal fluctuations
which eliminate thermal fluctuations The bottom is the brain, or the QPU, which is a copper-gold-silicon disk that does all of the quantum computing power, and is held inside of a cryoperm shield which stops exposure to electromagnetic radiation
Processing Brush Up
Credit: Google Images (GIF)
This is a qubit, the fundamental unit of information for a quantum computer.
Instead of existing in a classical value like a normal computer’s bit (where it’s 0 or 1), it is in a state of quantum coherence, where its in superposition, meaning its in both 0 and 1, or neither — an outcome which isn’t even possible on a classical computer.
Credit: Kurzgesagt (converted to GIF)
However, quantum decoherence occurs whenever a quantum bit is exposed to any sort of disruption, including temperature changes, vibration, light, etc. This is the main problem with our current quantum hardware. However, we induce quantum decoherence to get an answer out of a quantum computer by introducing it to a bias, such as a controlled magnetic field that hits the qubit and causes it to collapse into a classical state.
Aside from superposition, there are two main other quantum phenomenon that are qubit characteristics: tunneling and entanglement. 🤯
Entanglement | https://medium.com/swlh/sunny-side-up-quantum-computer-4ea0402609e6 | ['Okezue Bell'] | 2020-11-11 06:00:06.050000+00:00 | ['News', 'Photovoltaic', 'Quantum Computer', 'Quantum Computing', 'Solar Energy'] |
How to create a Startup and form teams? | So this isn’t going to be another guide and some random tips to build a startup. This page is actually a product that you can use to build a startup and to create startups. I know it sounds funny but hear me out. Here is a practical product to do this.
We (at Spotmaze.com) are going to use links (SPOTS) to create this as startup building page that redirects to another page. So our this first page is going to consist of sectors such as AR/VR or any other sector (Pardon the short narrative. will update as the list grows. So As I was saying.) If you have a new sector or startup idea just add in the comments. And I’ll update the post. | https://medium.com/spotmaze/how-to-create-a-startup-and-form-teams-3c58370be64a | [] | 2020-11-20 21:14:20.071000+00:00 | ['Startup', 'Team Building', 'Market Research', 'Startup Ideas', 'Startupcreator'] |
Powerful Womxn Who Are Changing The World: Tracy Michele Bullock | Thank you so much for taking the time to catch up with me! I’ve been so inspired by you. Can you tell me more about you and the work you do?
Hey there Natalie! The pleasure is all mine, always a treat to connect.
You summed “me” up perfectly. What I would love to speak on is the word “unconventional” as a coach and professional in the totality of my life — I have and still can. I look at LinkedIn and everyone looks like a Real Estate agent. There are so many coaches. Where the heck do I fit in?
This is a thing I ask my clients and myself: Why it? Why you? And there it is — the crux of work. Working with clients to define and utilize the WHO they are in what they do. There are an endless number of (as I said) coaches, UX designers, marketing experts, writers, whathaveyou. True career and professional agency and self-actualization is the embodiment of who you are in what you choose to do.
We live so darn long! In the work bucket of our lives, we will likely do a myriad of things — what ties them together and what keeps us learning is just that: Why we do what we do and WHO we are in that?
Backing away from all that heady talk — another unconventional aspect of my work is that I team with clients only one on one in an open-access month-to-month teamwork structure vs a group curriculum model. A coach should b a tool. Working with me should provide a true measurable benefit that aids a client’s process and progress in a real measurable way.
What do you love about it?
Everything. Ha! I promise that is NOT a cop-out! I earnestly feel called to do this work and to be of service to my community. If my folkx find their time with me of benefit, the honor is all mine and I take the gift of them sharing their work and selves with me as an honor.
But the best, the very best is when clarity hits. When all the to-dos or the relationship of seeking a job or boss to “choose” you to thereby give you value starts to dissipate. When a client starts to see the earnest/true priorities and learn to evaluate their professional merit and power apart for what they are told.
That is the good shit right there! It is the absolute best.
Photo by Front Page Photography
How did you get into this?
Talk about wacky backgrounds!
Most recently as COO of a startup, we happily sold after 7 fun and wacky years. I oversaw a lot, but chiefly led business strategy and headed up executive oversight. That had me training in career counseling and executive coaching.
Part of all that was not just the HR overview of our staff, but also finding and guiding educators and other higher-level contractors.
Once we sold, I asked myself: ‘What will I miss most?’ The answer was: ‘Helping people work better.’
OK! What came next was — ‘How is that a job?!’ Along came coaching and SDYD.
What do you think makes you amazing at what you do?
Who I am. Honesty, expedience, self reflection, and earnest affection for my community and commitment to success NOT my own ego.
There are a lot experts, all great. What causes a body to choose me and do well thereafter is that we both ‘get’ each other and the fact that my folkx know I am earnestly committed to all the wonderful and tricky nuances of them.
If we can’t get ‘real’ we can’t make headway.
My clients trust me because I trust them.
Oh, and I have this great “magic” of modeling boundaries and practicing them, yet not allowing that to prevent true humanistic efforts and availability to their best interests.
What is the most challenging part of your work?
Stopping. I have an endless metabolism for work. Thus turning that off to focus on my domestic sphere is a challenge. I don’t say that because I know “burnout” or have some dramatic story about the perils of working “too hard”, but rather because I have made domestic commitments that deserve tending to.
Photo by Front Page Photography
What problems keep you up at night?
Environmental and conservation crimes and eco cruelty, human indignity and disparity, and nearly manic obsession with tidiness and home decorating. Oh, and trying to figure out what I will wear tomorrow…
When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?
A zoological veterinarian, Primatologist, and Dian Fosse.
What was your first job? What did you learn from it?
P/T Vet tech at a local animal hospital. How to clean up shit really well. What gross really looks (and smells like) and the being bitten ain’t so bad.
If you could talk to your younger self, what would you say?
You are so cool without even trying.
Oh, and white eyeliner is not your best look.
What’s something that people may not know about you but should?
It’s cool, I hate my hair too. My husband has no idea what I do — like he knows what I call myself, but no idea what it means, and I really like it that way.
Who are some of your heroes and why?
Dian Fosse
My Mom
Alyson Cunningham
Bella Abzug
Douglass Adams
Zora Neale Hurston
David Lynch
Me
What is one of your superpowers?
I can litter box train a cat in less than 48 hours.
What is your best professional advice for someone wanting to level-up and follow their dreams?
Know your pace. Hone into that and you are set.
What is one of your favorite quotes, and what does it mean to you?
“Goodbye Blue Monday”
Don’t be a bummer
When you aren’t working, what do you enjoy doing?
Yoga, drinking natural wine, reading horror, listening to horror podcasts, watching horror movies, walking in NYC, Jazzercise, and not talking.
I believe there is power in sharing our big dreams and audacious goals. What is on the vision board in your mind?
Will you kill me if I tell you I have never done a vision board nor has it ever occurred to me to?
No, I won’t kill you! I have never really done one either — except in my mind, but I kind of admire people who do! Maybe I am just asking that question to see if I should take the leap and finally make one! | https://medium.com/@its-natalieruiz/powerfulwomxn-who-are-changing-the-world-tracy-michele-bullock-e48f795f79f9 | ['Natalie Ruiz'] | 2020-12-22 17:42:43.821000+00:00 | ['Powerful Women', 'Female Founders', 'Leadership', 'Creative Coach', 'CEO'] |
How to Crack the Data Engineer Interview at Facebook | Facebook is a dream company for every data engineer!
With a workforce of 52,000+, the company is renowned for its growth-based company culture, lucrative salary compensation, excellent benefits, and faster promotions.
However, getting into Facebook is a challenge. With highly skilled specialists available in the jobs market, the company is on the lookout for professionals having top-notch skills.
Can someone like a big data engineer professional get into Facebook?
Surprisingly, the interview process is not as intense as people portray it to be. Although it can be stressful up to a certain extent, it shouldn’t be tough for someone with expert coding skills. To be honest, companies like Facebook, Amazon, and Google specifically look for cultural fit.
Before moving further let us first discuss the prerequisite.
Most often people get confused between both the terms, data engineer, and big data engineer.
Here’s what you need to know. A data engineer holds the responsibility of collecting data, move it, and transform the data into pipelines which are then used by the data science team. On the other hand, a big data engineer is the person who is accountable for creating and managing the company’s big data infrastructure.
Facebook tends to seek candidates with relevant work experience and time-tested skills.
If the candidate holds expertise in big data tools, it is an added advantage to the company.
Other prerequisites include:
BS or BA in Mathematics, Computer Science, Physics, or other related technical fields.
Relevant industry experience working with MPP system and MapReduce.
Extensive hands-on experience with programming languages like Python, Java, Scala, C++, Perl.
The individual needs to have more than four years of expertise in writing dataframe APIs, custom ETL, maintenance, implementation, and writing SQL.
Deep understanding of analyzing large volumes of the dataset used for identifying inconsistencies, deliverables, and gaps.
In-depth understanding of machine learning methods, dimensional data modeling, and data architecture.
Now that we’re aware of the skills, let us get into the interview process.
The interview process
Like any other technical interview process, even the data engineer and the big data engineer professional interview follows the normal standard process.
1. Initial screening: Job roles and interview process is explained in this round
This is the first and foremost interaction you will be having with the recruiter. This nearly takes 30 minutes. During the call, the recruiter explains the type of job role and what is expected of the candidate during the process.
2. Technical round: This interview goes on for an hour. The process takes place on a phone screen which specifically involves Python, Java, and SQL coding
The second-round lasts for nearly an hour. During this round, the candidate is expected to take up the coding test using the language you’re comfortable with. The coding test takes place using “Coderpad.” Generally, the test contains near about 8–10 questions — these questions are further segregated between different programming languages — Python, Java, and SQL.
3. Onsite interview: This may take around 3 to 4 back-to-back interview rounds
The final stage includes the onsite interview wherein the candidate might need to undergo a maximum of three rounds.
The first two rounds consist is the ETL rounds, and the other rounds are behavioral and data modeling.
Most of the rounds include the technical round to test the product and technical knowledge around key operational metrics. Besides the behavioral round, the other technical round is taken to test the knowledge of the candidate.
This is how the scenario might look like during the onsite interview –
1. ETL round — this is where your expertise in coding skills are tested — programming skills in Python and Java.
2. Modeling round — a combination of Python and SQL questions will be asked during this interview. And these data modeling questions will be based on the business scenario.
3. Behavioral round — in this round, the candidate’s communication skills are analyzed, whether the candidate can express their thoughts and ideas. You can start curating your own story on how you successfully achieved your projects, what were the loopholes faced and how did you solve them.
Data engineers and big data engineers are some of the most sought after job roles in the data realm. However, if you’re looking to gain an edge in this field, a data engineering certification is an ideal choice. Professional certifications help validate your skills in the big data industry.
If you succeed in your interview, the following are some of the data engineer teams you’re likely to join.
· Data warehouse team
· Novi blockchain data engineering team
· Partnerships central systems, data, and tools team
· Facebook video distribution
· Facebook app monetization (FAM) team
Also, don’t forget to go through these domains while preparing for interviews at product-based companies like Facebook or Amazon.
· The SQL query used for solving complex problems
· Data pipeline design
· Statistics and modeling
· Big data solutions like Spark, EMR
· Building data platforms and architectures
· DB performance tuning
Cracking interview at companies like Facebook requires hard work and grit. | https://medium.com/@palakdatascientist/how-to-crack-the-data-engineer-interview-at-facebook-7e16ae65e0be | ['Palak Sharma'] | 2021-01-11 13:15:26.844000+00:00 | ['Big Data Analytics', 'Data Engineering', 'Big Data', 'Data Science', 'Facebook'] |
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Why America Has An Electoral College, Explained For The Rest Of The World | Why America Has An Electoral College, Explained For The Rest Of The World
It’s like the UN. That’s basically it
American democracy looks straight-up nuts to the rest of the world. The winner of the popular vote… doesn’t win? WTF? While the process is complicated, the reasoning is not. America is not a direct democracy. It is what it says on the tin — the United States. The propaganda is all about people but the laws and very name of the country are all about the states.
The simplest way to understand this is the United Nations.
Why?
You have no vote in the UN. The UN Secretary General is selected by member states. The United States is the same.
The Electoral College is a temporary, proportional UN that convenes every four years. They have one job and one job only. Select a President. Note that I said select, not elect. America is an indirect democracy.
Forget how actual, modern democracies work. The US works the same as the UN.
Wait, why?
But wait, why? This is a stupid way to run a country. American states today have no major disputes beyond college football. Why would you do this?
That’s history.
America was founded by rich white men that didn’t want to pay taxes. After they threw off the tyranny of King George the local elites were like yay, now I’m tyrant of Virginia but some dweebs in Philadelphia kept trying to get them to unite.
In order to unite the states, these dweebs designed, essentially, a mini-UN. The US Senate is exactly like the UN, one state, one vote. The Electoral College is another temporary UN. The only democratic element is the House of Representatives, which was also bullshit because only 6% of the population could vote at the time.
America is not government by the people. That’s just the marketing tagline. America is government by the states. Always has been.
What America call a democracy is actually an elaborate system of voter suppression. It’s designed to dilute peoples power by enslaving or imprisoning them and to preserve elite power by giving more representation to land than human beings. It is what they say it is. Some united states.
Why now?
Why does this system persist? Well, cui bono? Who benefits? It’s the same people that benefited in the first place. Rich white men that don’t want to pay taxes. Land owners. The elites. Now known as Republicans.
Republicans have only won the popular vote twice in the last 30 years and have yet elected two Presidents. They use this power to appoint Supreme Court Justices. This court is then used to even override popular elections (like Gore/Bush in 2000).
The world sees this as a broken system, but the question is broken for whom? For rich, white men the system works almost exactly as intended. It preserves and legitimizes minority rule. Even after women and black people were allowed to vote, it still worked. In that sense the founder’s had a longterm vision that worked. White power!
Not a modern democracy
Compared to the rest of the world, however, America is not a modern democracy. 56 countries got universal franchise before America. America was among the last democracies to figure out one person, one vote. In fact, they still haven’t figured it out.
Right, now, more people are disenfranchised by their prison state than were ever disenfranchised as a slave state. Think about that. At peak, 4 million people were enslaved and today 6 million are disenfranchised by the carceral state. And their votes are stolen because their bodies were/are counted in the census. It’s the same system. Enslaved votes went to their ‘owners’. Imprisoned votes go to their jailers, released votes to to where they live. It’s crazy, and it’s all in plain sight. The entire system is designed around state power, not human beings. What does this mean in white majority states? White power.
Also note, the descendants of the former enslaved are still disenfranchised by the Electoral College. It’s so obvious that geologists can see it. See this blue belt in the south.
It matches up to shoreline in the Cretaceous period, which is where all the good “Black Belt” soil is. Where people had farms. Where bastards enslaved.
ibid
The legacy of enslavement, enshrined in the Electoral College is that these states will never go blue, and these Black people’s votes will never count. They will always be outnumbered by the descendants of their enslavers and tormenters and their votes will disappear.
Disenfranchisement is the core of what America calls democracy. It is literally its bedrock. No American has no constitutional right to vote at all. When the Civil Rights movement led to the Voting Rights Act, their packed Supreme Court gutted it. Hence acts that look insane to the outside world — day long voting lines, ripping up post boxes — are all normal parts of the system. These are built in. To the ground.
The system isn’t built around voting, it’s built around voter suppression.This is how the system is supposed to work. The founders are looking up from hell, smiling. The Supreme Court is full of originalists and this is true. They preserve America’s original sin.
Like a big, racist UN
America is what they tell you they are. United states. Their rulers are who they always were, rich white men who don’t want to pay taxes. They do as they have always done, suppress votes to preserve state power. That is why they have an Electoral College, and a Senate, and why their democracy looks like a tyrannical farce to the rest of the world. Because it is.
America is not a democracy. It is tyranny of the states. | https://medium.com/indica/why-america-has-an-electoral-college-explained-for-the-rest-of-the-world-a378d69e0f77 | ['Indi Samarajiva'] | 2020-11-05 01:25:55.627000+00:00 | ['USA', 'Government', 'History', 'Elections', 'Democracy'] |
Lightroom Quick Tips — Why You Should Use Virtual Copies | Lightroom Quick Tips — Why You Should Use Virtual Copies
How to use the Lightroom Virtual Copy feature.
In this video I give you a quick tip about why you should be using Lightroom virtual copies.
Get a FREE trail of Adobe Lightroom — Click Here.
Adobe Lightroom is a power house of image editing and organising software. One of the key features is the non-destructive workflow. This is where the original image file is never adjusted. Lightroom simply creates a reference to that file, within the catalogue, and that is what you edit and see within Lightroom.
Sometimes though you might want to edit the image in a number of different ways. This could be a colour version, a black and white version or simply a re-visit to an image you have edited before. Thankfully, Lightroom provides this feature allowing virtual copies to be created. This is where Lightroom creates another reference file from the same original, and untouched, image file meaning you then have two versions of the same image within Lightroom that can be edited in different ways.
To create Lightroom virtual copies simply select the image you want to copy, right click and select ‘Create Virtual Copy’. To then edit a previously edited image from scratch — right click the newly created copy and under ‘Develop Settings’, click ‘Reset’.
Lightroom virtual copies are a powerful and simple feature that can easily be used in your Lightroom workflow. | https://medium.com/raw-magazine/lightroom-quick-tips-why-you-should-use-virtual-copies-db9d5a22d6cd | ['Adam Karnacz'] | 2016-05-26 15:28:17.596000+00:00 | ['Education', 'Tutorials', 'Photography'] |
Easy Tactics to Keep Yourself Going in Your Elder Years | “Live your life and forget your age.”
Katrix Home Care believes every person should be reminded of this quote — especially if one wants to live life with happiness and contentment — because age is just a number that adds up each year.
Indeed, aging is inevitable and reaching greater numbers are accomplishments that should be celebrated.
Since aging can come with the development of various health problems, we should encourage seniors to do something every day to help their body remain strong and healthy. The more active they are, the more numbers they get to add to their years.
Here are some stimulating activities to improve quality of life as one ages:
Indoor Activities
Painting and Drawing: This activity is best for helping elders express their feelings. They can show how glad or sorrowful they feel and reminisce about the wonderful experiences they have had (and will have!) through their artwork.
This activity is best for helping elders express their feelings. They can show how glad or sorrowful they feel and reminisce about the wonderful experiences they have had (and will have!) through their artwork. Cooking: If your loved ones enjoyed to cook in their younger years, cooking could still be a compelling activity for them today. By letting them cook with their caregivers from a qualified home health care agency, they can build trust with others and improve their social participation.
If your loved ones enjoyed to cook in their younger years, cooking could still be a compelling activity for them today. By letting them cook with their caregivers from a qualified home health care agency, they can build trust with others and improve their social participation. Board games: For some seniors, activities that challenge the mind are especially pleasurable. If this sounds like your elderly loved one, let them play games like scrabble, dominoes and monopoly.
For some seniors, activities that challenge the mind are especially pleasurable. If this sounds like your elderly loved one, let them play games like scrabble, dominoes and monopoly. Puzzles: Just like with board games, puzzles are a great way to help seniors keep their minds sharp and strengthen their memory.
Outdoor Activities
Gardening and Planting: Physical involvement in an activity is way better than just watching others do it. If seniors like watching channels where people tend to their gardens, why not persuade them to do it themselves? It’s one of the most satisfying outdoor activities for the elderly. However, it’s always a good idea to have a qualified healthcare agency assess them first and determine whether they can still manage these types of activities.
Physical involvement in an activity is way better than just watching others do it. If seniors like watching channels where people tend to their gardens, why not persuade them to do it themselves? It’s one of the most satisfying outdoor activities for the elderly. However, it’s always a good idea to have a qualified healthcare agency assess them first and determine whether they can still manage these types of activities. Fishing: As we have observed at Katrix Home Care , fishing is one activity older adults really enjoy. Not only will they socialize with others, but it’s a great way to relax and enjoy the view outside the four corners of their homes. Besides, your family can have a picnic afterwards to enjoy their catch.
As we have observed at , fishing is one activity older adults really enjoy. Not only will they socialize with others, but it’s a great way to relax and enjoy the view outside the four corners of their homes. Besides, your family can have a picnic afterwards to enjoy their catch. Picnic: This is one of the easiest outdoor activities for motivating older adults. It’s also a simple way to socialize and interact with others. It can be a great opportunity to bond with the whole family — chitchat with everyone while you relax and relieve your stress.
Never forget that the key to living is to do just that: enjoy your life and stop counting the days.
— — —
Contact us today & book an appointment at katrixhomecare.com.
Subscribe to our email list through this link for special updates and useful information for your healthcare needs.
Thanks for reading. Have a great day!
— — —
Your referrals are always appreciated.
The Katrix Team
Phone: 973–585–4229
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/katrixhc/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/katrixhc/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/katrix-llc/
Website: http://www.katrixhomecare.com/ | https://medium.com/@katrixhc/easy-tactics-to-keep-yourself-going-in-your-elder-years-6bcf9360f0f4 | ['Katrix Llc'] | 2019-11-05 17:37:01.626000+00:00 | ['Healthcare', 'Home Care', 'Aging', 'New Jersey', 'Wellness'] |
Dear business owners, stop asking me to get a fax machine | Dear business owners, stop asking me to get a fax machine
It’s 2020, update your B2B and B2C technology
Photo credit: PickPik
“There are three groups who you never want to make an enemy of — the IRS, the Social Security Office or hospitals,” my mother says. So for her own protection, I will confirm that I was born from immaculate conception and Gwen doesn’t know who I am. Why? Because I’m about to make an enemy out of all three groups. All three are hell bent on using fax machines for everything.
Earlier this week, I needed to get a 147C form from the IRS and none of the representatives would budge. No emails. No scans. No third-party fax owners (i.e. the woman who doesn’t know me, mentioned above) who I could trust to receive my fax and pick it up later that day. The IRS reps were determined that I must be in front of a secure fax machine to receive the form, as if this was perfectly normal in 2020.
In a faxZero world where sending forms is free and emails have scan attachment options, why on Earth would I want to pay $26.95 for eFax? How many people am I going to send faxes to once I get off this call, who don’t already have printers, scanners, smartphone cameras or even — yep, I’m saying it, postage stamps. For the love of all things in the 2000s, stop making people get fax machines.
Do you still blow air into Nintendo cartridges to make Super Mario Bros play?
Have you punched the black tab out of your VHS tapes so “no one records over your shows”?
Do you still put plastic on your furniture?
Have you braided your Cabbage Patch dolls’ hair today?
Do you still wear leg warmers and headbands to match your outfit?
Are you elated to see fanny packs making a (horrendous) comeback?
Do you have pencils set aside to roll your cassette tape ribbon back into place when it jams in your radio cassette player?
Are you plotting on how to get the stair-step high-top fade cut when COVID-19 ends?
Have you started dog-earring magazine pages for your next A-symmetrical haircut?
Do you wear Hammer pants (or worse, these panda pants)?
When you win at something, do you yell out “Get over here” and then “Fatality”?
Does your ironing consist of creased Karl Kani or Cross Colour jeans?
Is your snack of choice Bubble Tape gum?
When you want to safely socially isolate but ask someone on a date, do you stand outside of the window with a boombox?
Do you keep unfolded cardboard boxes in your car so you can windmill at a moment’s notice?
Are you still driving to Best Buy for curbside pickups of your favorite new CDs?
When you saw Earth, Wind and Fire perform on “A Late Show,” did you wonder why Verdine White doesn’t have an afro anymore?
If all of these things sound absolutely preposterous to you, that’s what it sounds like when I get ultimatums to find a fax machine I can stand in front of. My local librarian told me she doesn’t even know a library in all of Chicago that accepts and sends faxes. Do you know how bad it is when you have to leave the cool kids’ table because the librarians are more hip than you? My gawd, businesses, upgrade your programs. Until then, I’ll be over here, judging you while you walk by with your light-up Skechers. | https://medium.com/tickled/dear-business-owners-stop-asking-me-to-get-a-fax-machine-f346b82d8aca | ['Shamontiel L. Vaughn'] | 2020-06-24 01:17:09.706000+00:00 | ['Humor', 'Irs', 'Eighties', 'Technology', 'Fax Machine'] |
To Gain Twitter Followers, Follow These Pro Tweet-Writing Tips | Tweeting is Writing, Too
To use Twitter effectively, think more about your audience than yourself
This story is part of Forge’s How to Write Anything series, where we give you tips, tricks, and principles for writing all the things we write in our daily lives online, from tweets to articles to dating profiles.
Tweeting is writing. Twitter gives you the sugar rush of blogging, only with 99% less effort, but, still: It’s writing. I know a lot of online choads don’t use the platform with that mindset. That’s why they suck.
But you don’t have to suck. Being a better writer makes you a better tweeter, and vice versa. You can have a voice on Twitter, but you have to put SOME thought and care into it. I’m not gonna make you do worksheets or anything. But I am gonna teach you to leverage the freedom Twitter gives you to the benefit of both you and your followers.
Because the freedom of Twitter is vast. You can write about anything and anyone. You can BE anything and anyone. That freedom spawns a lot of belligerence, but there’s a sweet spot where you can use that freedom to enter into the fray with good cheer and, against all odds, make yourself the life of the party. You can be the reason OTHER people on Twitter are having a good time. Every tweet you write is the first impression you’re making on someone, somewhere, and you can make a handsome one even now. You just need to follow a few rules:
Be genuine
Don’t douse yourself in protective irony, looking for popularity but not actual human connection. Then you’ll be just like every other guarded dipshit, and your Tweets won’t connect.
Tweet only occasionally
Serial over-tweeters — we’re talking multiple tweets an hour, every waking hour — are a scourge upon humanity and must be dealt with.
But there are people I follow who either pop in just a few times a day or sometimes go a WHOLE day without tweeting. (OMG!) When they do pop up in my timeline, it feels like a treat. Oh wow, Dave is here! Love Dave! It’s just like real life. When you’re fashionably late or fashionably reclusive, you make your mere presence a special occasion.
Aim for under six tweets a day. Same deal with retweets. Hand those out like gold medals.
If you’re tweeting while drunk, tell everyone
When cocktail hour strikes and you feel like shitposting after knocking back a few Schlitzes, by all means declare your intentions to the flock. “Surprise! I’m drunk!”
Now everyone knows things are about to get a little blue. Also, this gives you a convenient out if you happen to tweet your admiration for, say, the Charles Manson. Not wise to let that part of your id slip out. Blame that one on the swig of Popov you just took.
Whatever everyone is tweeting about, tweet about something else
This is not a rule that I follow, which is why people tell me I suck at Twitter. I always roll my eyes at fake intellectuals who complain about Twitter being an echo chamber. But… stylistically speaking, there’s a good chance that you will be tempted to emulate the people you follow, reflecting their voices in your own tweets. That’s been the creative bummer of social media eating the rest of the internet: We all end up saying the same shit.
This is why I follow Russell Crowe. While everyone else is tweeting about the election, Crowe is posting snapshots of a bike ride he took out in the bush, or retweeting an art gallery, or passing along cool news like this!
It’s a respite from the usual flurry of bullshit that I voluntarily subject myself to. YOU can be that respite. You can be a breath of fresh air instead of being one more dude tweeting THIS IS NOT NORMAL YOU GUYS every time Trump releases a suitcase full of cockroaches into a pediatric ward. Speaking of oases…
Tweet about food
Food takes are the sports of Twitter, especially now that American sports aren’t around. Food takes are a grand diversion. They stimulate arguments that you can volley back and forth like a tennis ball without sowing any real enmity (unless you like mayo). Even as the internet threatens to section out humanity into a million hostile and isolated sects, we still all gotta eat.
Know the lay of the land
There’s a universal gallery of stock characters on Twitter. There are trolls. There are Weird Twitter types who occasionally nail a Mitch Hedberg-style one-liner but then also get creepy with women. There are remarkably informative scholars whose studied threads on, like, butterfly molting go randomly viral on occasion. There are cheerfully dickish sports bloggers (that would be me). There are parents who are over parenting (me again). There are brands, all of them DYING to be adored. There are inexplicably wealthy people casually flaunting their cushy lifestyles at you.
If you understand all these groupings, and the strange dynamics constantly mutating around them, then you’ll have a solid grasp of which ones you’d prefer to interact with on a regular basis. You’re a host now. Your feed is your party. To that end…
Don’t try so hard
I have tried to will tweets into virality, thinking to myself, “Oh yeah this one is definitely gonna get aggregated into a BuzzFeed roundup of some sort!” And then the tweet comes and goes. Meanwhile someone manually RTs Ariana Grande with a WE STAN tacked on and it goes through the stratosphere. GRRRRR. I am treating this like a contest, which is pointless.
Personally, my favorite Twitter moments have happened entirely by accident, like when I tweeted this out:
Within minutes, the replies came alive with stories of people’s grandpas. We weren’t having a contest to see who could get RTed the most. We were just having, you know, a good time. I died laughing that night. Twitter just… happened. If you show a genuine interest and enjoyment in what others are saying and doing, it can happen for you, too. | https://forge.medium.com/how-to-be-charming-on-twitter-528ae5c0b00b | ['Drew Magary'] | 2020-05-18 12:44:03.971000+00:00 | ['Twitter', 'Social Media', 'Connect', 'Writing', 'How To Write Anything'] |
Why You Should Always Feed a Hungry Child. | LIFE
Why You Should Always Feed a Hungry Child.
Photo by Tamas Pap on Unsplash
“How could anyone not like you? Being mean to you is like being mean to a puppy!” my friend said.
For as long as I can remember I have had to fight the thought that people don’t like me. ‘I know, I’m so lovable. It doesn’t make any sense. How could someone not like me?!’ Well, believe it or not, there was a time I couldn’t figure out how to make friends. In elementary school, I was less popular than homework or detention… or keeping your hands out of your pants.
It’s hard to make friends when you’re a kid. It’s even harder when you have a learning disability. No one knew what was wrong with me, so no one knew how to fix it. Then finally, I was diagnosed with a learning disability.
It was a long hard battle. My learning specialist called it brain confusion. The teachers called it, ‘you‘re a terrible child and deserve to be yelled at.’ I called it creativity! But, no one wants to be friends with the kid that the teacher always yells at. In fact, they would join in. Every day was bully Susan day, the worst holiday ever.
I remember crying to my mom about not having any friends. My mom told me, “You don’t have to have tons of friends. You just need one. Just one.” Soon it became “For the love of god make one friend, anyone, I don’t care who!” and “Geez Susan, even Hitler had one friend!” Message received. I have to find one single friend, and everything will be better!
Then, at snack time, a girl named Tanya was crying over her bag of Doritos. To clarify, she wasn’t crying because of a bag of Dorritos, she was crying into a bag of Dorritos. I saw her, and I knew this was my shot. ‘Hold onto your butt Tanya; I’m gonna friend the crap out of you!’
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“They said they didn’t want to be my friends.” She sobbed.
“I’ll be your friend,” I said
“Okay.” She hiccupped through tears.
It was that easy! I couldn’t believe it! I did it! She continued to talk while eating, and chunks of Dorito crumbs fell out of her bag and her mouth, scattering all over the table. Suddenly I got a whiff of that fake cheesy goodness, and I began to feel hungry. Not just hungry but ravenous.
I felt like if I didn’t eat something, I was going to pass out. The Doritos looked so delicious, and she was dropping them left and right on the table. ‘Oh my God, don’t eat the fallen Dorrito, Susan. No! Don’t do it!’ But my hand disconnected from my mind, and I ate the Dorritos off the table! I tried to stop, but I couldn’t! They were so buttery and delicious and forbidden! Because my mom never had Doritos in the house since she was always on a diet. By the way, this story is not sponsored by Doritos. I just really love them.
Later I was yelled at by the teacher in front of everyone, accusing me of stealing Tanya’s snack. I felt a wave of shame rush over me. Not because I ate Doritos, they were delicious. But because they thought I had stolen something. I was embarrassed and mortified. Inside my head, a voice screamed, ‘I didn’t steal her snack; I ate the crumbs. Don’t yell at me for stealing. Yell at me for being disgusting!’
But on the outside, all I could do was cry and I couldn’t stop. When my mom picked me up, I was still crying. I told her the whole story and she was so mad that she went to the principal and had the teacher fired. Hell hath no fury like a Mom on a diet.
I eventually made some friends. I grew up and moved to Los Angeles, where everyone is as confused, I mean, as creative as I am. I have yet to figure out how to fix my brain completely, so it doesn’t automatically see every little thing as a sign that people hate me. Still, I have taken away some important lessons: Always carry snacks, never go on a diet, and a bag of Doritos can solve almost any problem. | https://medium.com/inspired-writer/why-you-should-always-feed-a-hungry-child-5c2f58dc8fb7 | ['Susan Sassi'] | 2020-12-05 00:47:05.518000+00:00 | ['Personal Essay', 'Nonfiction', 'Life Lessons', 'Humor', 'Friendship'] |
To d3 or not d3 in React | my logo
While building my portfolio to showcase my projects, I wanted to animate my logo so it would swirl, like an eddy. My first thought was to have it roll from right to left, and then stop to where it would always live on the page.
Then I thought maybe it would bounce upon load — just a simple animation.
I built out the home page with a svg circle first using d3 animation by the documentation found here.
I tinkered with the code until I had it playing exactly as i wanted: speed, size and x coordinate.
As I continued to build my app, the design morphed into having a home page where the circle would bounce a few times, then disappear below to land on all the other pages with the same x coordinate.
I had already built out the pages with my logo being stationary unless you hover over it, then it rotates once. That was another journey, albeit a much shorter one — it ended successfully.
home page
Since I could fill the circle with color using CSS, i thought placing my jpeg logo would be as easy as giving the circle a background image. That didn’t work. Then I tried saving my logo as an svg in photoshop, but couldn’t save the shape as a circle, only a square. So now my quandary is how to you place an image in a circle svg that’s built in react?
I’ve spent hours looking up documentation and as of yet I haven’t come up with a solution. Since I have my animation working the way I want, I’ll spend more time trying to figure it out. It doesn’t make sense to have a transparent black circle bouncing on my home page unless my logo is living inside it, and my tenacity almost always wins out, for better or worse.
So, my next step is to do more research, and may have to forgo d3 and come up with another solution. Once I’ve figured it out, I’ll post my outcome.
Thanks to Swizec Teller | https://medium.com/@cyn7117/to-d3-or-not-d3-in-react-72b5936c53e3 | ['Cynthia Eddy'] | 2019-11-10 23:37:22.779000+00:00 | ['JavaScript', 'D3js', 'React'] |
The ICONOMI Digest | Welcome to the second edition of the ICONOMI Digest, a continuation of our Weekly Update series published on a biweekly basis. This edition covers the period since Monthly Update VII, published on July 27, during which we published our Q2 financial report, launched a new DAA, and more.
ICONOMI Financial Report — Q2 2018
We published our Q2 quarterly financial report on July 30.
We achieved three major milestones in Q2: by implementing the first stage of the fiat gateway, we opened the doors to new users, especially those with less experience with digital assets; with the addition of the first stablecoin, we created an option for DAA managers to hedge during bear markets; and with the proof of solvency, we demonstrated our dedication to transparency and set a new standard for the blockchain industry.
Read the full report here.
One-Year Platform Anniversary
On August 1, we celebrated the one-year anniversary of the ICONOMI platform. Check our website for a visual overview of our progress over the past year.
New DAA: Rindex: The Robustness Index (RIX)
Rindex approaches DAA structuring in a new way, aiming “to track the combined financial performance of the overall cryptocurrency market using benchmarks based on computational power and robustness.” Follow Rindex on their website or on Twitter.
Twelve New Supported Countries
We added support for twelve new countries for Tier 2 verification: Albania, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Cameroon, Israel, Kenya, Lebanon, Panama, San Marino, El Salvador, Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of), and Vietnam. You can verify on your account page.
Upcoming Events
On September 5, the ICONOMI team will attend ArabFolio Camp , hosted by DAA Manager ArabFolio.Capital LLC in Antalya, Turkey.
, hosted by DAA Manager ArabFolio.Capital LLC in Antalya, Turkey. ICONOMI is also exhibiting at Consensus: Singapore , which will take place between September 18–20 in Singapore.
, which will take place between September 18–20 in Singapore. In October, we will be attending Delta Summit, Malta’s leading blockchain and digital innovation conference, where co-founders Tim Zagar and Jani Valjavec will be speaking.
Media Highlights
Fortune Releases First-Ever Crypto-Focused “40 Under 40” Annual Rankings, by Marie Huillet, Cointelegraph
“Dubbed ‘The Ledger 40 under 40,’ the list is dedicated to innovators at the helm of the ‘financial revolution’ ushered in by cryptocurrencies, blockchain, and other distributed ledger technologies.”
Nobel Prize Winner Joins Blockchain Startup To Fix Smart Contracts, by Michael del Castillo, Forbes
“As with many of Hart’s Nobel laureate contemporaries, his work tends to skew to the esoteric. But at the core of the research is a single principle: Instead of contract authors trying to write all possible contingencies into an agreement, they should struggle to find a common view of the world prior to doing business together.”
Follow our official channels for more updates and news:
Facebook / Twitter / Reddit / Medium
Subscribe to our mailing list | https://medium.com/iconominet/the-iconomi-digest-5349d2c46ccb | [] | 2018-08-03 13:31:38.203000+00:00 | ['News', 'Update', 'Blockchain', 'Iconomi', 'Bitcoin'] |
Your Broken iPhone Is a Climate Change Issue | Your Broken iPhone Is a Climate Change Issue
A gadget lover’s guide to doing our part to help stem the tide of e-waste
Photo: Westend61/Getty Images
The crisis of climate change is one of the defining challenges of our time. Politicians and policymakers around the world are looking for ways to protect the environment while transforming the energy economy in a way that won’t leave working-class folks behind.
While many justifiably concentrate on air pollution and protecting our oceans, one source of damage to our environment that gadget lovers often overlook comes from our waste — particularly e-waste.
E-waste is a global problem. As the consumption of technology ever increases, so does the number of broken phones, computers, power tools, and more that end up as waste. Much of the world’s e-waste gets shipped and dumped in West Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, and South America. What augments the problem is “planned obsolescence” — a practice where tech manufacturers build products to have a fixed (often relatively short) lifespan and limit consumers’ ability to repair them. Big companies like Apple have been criticized for making some of the “least repairable” products. (We reached out to Apple PR and they didn’t get back in time for this article’s publication.)
Right to Repair is a movement surrounding the simple idea that people should be able to fix the technology they buy.
Though Silicon Valley often asserts that the solution to ecological devastation is innovation, there are scholars, activists, entrepreneurs, and other shareholders who look toward renovation. One solution they offer is the Right to Repair.
Right to Repair is a movement surrounding the simple idea that people should be able to fix the technology they buy. In terms of law and policy, Right to Repair would codify consumers’ expectations that if they own a tech product then they have the right to repair and refurbish it, and it would require manufacturers to give straightforward and accessible instructions on how to repair their products. Nathan Proctor, the director of the Campaign for the Right to Repair at the United States Public Interest Research Group, wants to draw attention to this idea.
“When we think of the impact of our consumption, all the waste generated, the amount of energy, rare earth materials, and other building blocks that go into making our smartphones (for example), all over the world, people are taking a hard look at Right to Repair,” says Proctor.
Proctor works to pass legislation that will prevent companies from blocking consumers’ ability to fix their own electronics. He cites both Canada and the U.K. as places where Right to Repair is gaining steam. Former Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper and Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders have all supported the right for farmers to repair their farm equipment.
Aside from the direct economic benefits of being able to extend the lifespans of old electronics, UCLA department of information studies professor and director of the Digital Cultures Lab Ramesh Srinivasan thinks Right to Repair allows us to understand how technology is constructed in the broader social, economic, and political systems.
“One way of looking at it is [to say] ‘hey, this computer or phone is an object designed to die in a static fixed life cycle,” says Srinivasan. “But another is to look at it as a product based on an ideological vision that comes out Silicon Valley, made from minerals extracted from Rwanda, Uganda, and the Congo, through labor practices in China.”
In “Rethinking Repair,” Cornell University professor Steven Jackson gives examples of how people around the world create informal economies by sifting through e-waste in landfills: from shipbreaking industries in Bangladesh to roadside cellphone repair in sub-Saharan Africa. Jackson calls for “repair-centered ethics,” to make visible the hidden labor of repairers, and to see repair as a part of innovation, not separate from it.
“Right to Repair is about fixing our stuff, but it’s also about fixing our relationship with stuff.”
Though he sees Right to Repair as one tool in the toolbox and not as a panacea, Srinivasan views it as ultimately beneficial to the environment and the economy. People can generate new value out of the devices they buy, but also extend the use of minerals like coltan that can’t be put back in the earth. He also sees it as a way to challenge the uneven power dynamics between manufacturers and everyday users.
“If we continue on the path where the costs of innovation are socialized, but the benefits are privatized, that logic will continue to aid in economic collapse,” Srinivasan says. “The current model is great for tech companies, because it lines the pockets of these companies. But in the long term, it’s catastrophic.”
Embracing Right to Repair policy in the United States could be a positive step toward global environmental justice in developing and rural areas. But there is pushback against this type of legislation, particularly from manufacturers.
Michael Weinberg, the executive director of the Engelberg Center on Innovation Law and Policy at the NYU School of Law, explained that the manufacturers use copyright laws to try to block users from being able to repair. An example of this would be limiting who can access and repair products that contain software. Companies like Apple, Samsung, and John Deere argue that unauthorized repair could ruin their products and render them unusable. But Weinberg argues that the companies’ justifications are likely more about control than care.
“The practical implication is that it forces people to come back to the manufacturer instead of doing it themselves or sending it to the mechanic down the road,” Weinberg says. “They want the benefit of selling goods to people, and by controlling the repair, they can continue to monetize.”
Companies are afraid that Right to Repair laws have the potential to put them at risk of intellectual property theft and piracy issues. They argue that if their software code were open to the public, scammers could steal and counterfeit it. But Proctor pushed back on the idea that repair jeopardizes device security.
“Having things that are repairable and secure are not incompatible in any way,” Proctor says. “We managed the risk of people being able to fix stuff for a long time, just like we allow people to fix their cars.”
Weinberg sees a push toward Right to Repair as a push for policy to match common sense.
“There is a broader movement to make the legal reality [of] Right to Repair match users’ expectations, which are: If you own it, you have the right to fix it, and companies can’t use copyright as a pretext to prevent users from accessing it,” Weinberg says.
Srinivasan argues that Right to Repair could appeal to people along different parts of the ideological spectrum — those looking to promote entrepreneurship and individual ownership to those fighting for economic and ecological justice. Proctor says that while we can’t avoid the unpopular need to systematically decrease the amount we consume, Right to Repair is an effective step forward.
“Right to Repair is about fixing our stuff, but it’s also about fixing our relationship with stuff,” Proctor says. “It’s a way for us to reimagine a system that works better for the people and for the planet.” | https://onezero.medium.com/your-broken-iphone-is-a-climate-change-issue-d99b7c05e360 | ['Joshua Adams'] | 2020-01-14 15:39:56.972000+00:00 | ['Environment', 'Electronics', 'Technology', 'E Waste', 'Climate Change'] |
What is a Dashboard Style Guide and Why Should You Use One? | What is a Dashboard Style Guide and Why Should You Use One?
Dashboard style guide (part 1)
Many organizations employ BI developers and data analysts to create data visualizations and dashboards. Many of them, do not come from a design background and they focus their efforts on the mere creation of dashboards. Often, the design is pushed out and falls into random visual choices which leave a result that looks messy and unclear.
A well-designed dashboard is not just “more beautiful”, but also easier to understand. When UX aspects are not taken into account, you may end up with a dashboard that does not serve the purpose it was made for in the first place and is inaccessible to end users.
What is a style guide?
A style guide is a document which provides guidelines for planning and designing components or pages. The objective is to create uniformity and consistency while reducing design efforts by reusing components.
A style guide is crucial especially for large companies as it helps them maintain a consistent brand and design language (internally and externally) — even when many designers are working on the company’s products.
A UX style guide focuses mainly on functionality, while a UI style guide emphasizes graphic design: colors, fonts, layouts, typography, etc. | https://medium.com/tint-studio/what-is-a-dashboard-style-guide-and-why-should-you-use-one-fb84ce8ffbb0 | ['Anat Sifri'] | 2019-04-30 09:05:10.840000+00:00 | ['Design', 'Dashboard', 'Data Visualization', 'Uxui Design'] |
Privatization of PSUs: Is it Atmanirbhar Bharat? | With the recent plan of privatization of many PSUs ( Public Sector Undertakings ), this is the government’s move to uplift the economy. The plan to privatize the PSU’s was proposed by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitaraman.
The government believes this to be the best possible way out of such a debt. As we all know the economy is negative and a quick revival is necessary but is this the cost we need to pay. Find out further in the article.
WHAT IS PSU’S?
The government of India keeps certain agencies and industries under its control. These sectors are known as Public Sector Undertakings.
The work of these sectors is also undertaken by government. These units are formed with the sole motive to generate employment in the country.
Earning profits is not their motive. Several exams are also conducted for the recruitment to these departments.
Service to the layman of the country and providing the best in transportation and finances is not only necessary but is also the duty of the government.
PRIVATIZATION IN THE FOREIGN NATIONS
Is privatization good or bad for a country simply depends on the economic condition of the country . The status of a country , i.e. whether it is a developing or a developed nation also hold significance.
If we talk about the developed countries like that of the west then major improvement is seen in the quality of services provided.
Private sector firms that take over the public sectors always aim at providing the best of services and constantly upgrade to the better technology.
With the increase in facilities and better services, it is obvious that the cost of availing the services will also go up.
If a nation is already a developed one then no significant change is seen in the level of its citizen’s spending when the public sector is privatized.
The amount spent on transportation and other things is more or less the same. It happens because the per capita GPD and income of the people are high.
So a slight change would not affect them. People over there also wish for better services as the quality of life is also very high…. Read more at Genuine Matters | https://medium.com/@genuinematters/privatization-of-psus-is-it-atmanirbhar-bharat-e3c2ccba2329 | ['Genuine Matters'] | 2020-11-27 06:01:02.933000+00:00 | ['Industry', 'Railways', 'India', 'Foreign', 'Privatization'] |
Disruption risk in the insurance industry | Co-authored with Joe Agiato, CEO of PIUS Limited, http://piusre.com/the-pius-team/.
The business landscape is littered with formerly invincible companies that have fallen prey to digital disruption. Enterprises such as Sears, Blockbuster, and Kodak that were once the pillars of the global industry are now tombstones in the graveyard of corporate demise, driven to extinction by innovation in technology and business models by VC-funded startups. Entire industries, as diverse as stock brokerage and newspapers, have been driven to the edge of ruin because of their inability to effectively adapt to the new landscape.
Consumer lines of the insurance industry are no exception, with commodity products such as homeowners and auto businesses falling prey to new, internet-driven business models, as demonstrated by the acquisition of Esurance by Allstate. Commercial lines have so far been spared from the carnage, but that is no reason for complacency. If recent history is at all a guide, proactive planning for disruption is the key to survival for incumbents. In this article, we examine the levels of disruptive threat to the major segments of the business and recommend strategies for mitigating innovation-driven risks.
To date, the primary targets for disruptive innovation have been in the areas of distribution, policy creation, underwriting and claims management, but new business models are emerging using automation, advanced analytics, connected devices, and machine learning to build holistic policies for consumers that can be switched on and off on-demand. An emerging peer-to-peer (P2P) business model stands poised to transform the personal and small business lines. AI-driven innovation is already setting its sights on some of the higher margin products. New business models are enabled by reams of high-quality, IoT-collected data. Processed by AI-enabled algorithms, it obviates the need for underwriters’ judgment. Even now, you can get MetroMile and pay your auto insurance premiums as you go.
Property & Casualty
Funding in the billions of dollars has been flowing into startups directly attacking the business models of a number of segments of the P&C space. Companies like Metromile, Root, and Censio, for instance, are changing the way consumer auto policies are underwritten, priced, and sold, while Lemonade and Trov are doing the same for the home and renters segment. There are startup entries into the travel risk, cyber liability, and general commercial lines. An entirely new segment of on-demand insurance has recently emerged, driven by new entrants such as Slice, Risk, and Cuvva.
To date, the market share captured by all new entrants has been relatively minor. The sheer scale of the leading multiline P&C carriers offers them a level of security, inasmuch as they are in the position to acquire the more promising new startups — albeit at a healthy premium. While there have been platform entrants expressly seeking to displace incumbents — startups such as Clover, Ladder, and Oscar — their combined scale and funding are still not large. Having said that, we have seen the scale achievable by a successful digitally driven startup — witness Amazon and Netflix for example — so P&C incumbents would do well to keep a wary eye on developments. Insurers with large personal line operations should probably feel the most threatened at this juncture because digital disruptors have repeatedly demonstrated their ability to capture large market shares in consumer segments.
Specialty P&C and Liability
The relatively small P&C and liability segments such as MedMal have not yet been frontally attacked, possibly because the market sizes have so far failed to generate venture capital excitement. However, as the InsureTech category becomes more crowded, more and more sectors are likely to be targeted by well-capitalized new entrants.
Specialty insurers generally lack the resources of the larger P&C incumbents, which give the latter the ability to strategically acquire disruptive innovators. This makes specialty insurers considerably more vulnerable. In fact, it would not be surprising if startup-led disruption transformed their business landscape into a much less friendly place within the next half-decade.
Life
Life companies face an uncertain outlook with regard to imminent disruption. On one hand, they often command significant resources and a high degree of customer lockup through existing policies, which supports the argument that they have a level of insulation from disruption in the short term. On the other hand, given that their primary business is consumer-oriented, they are directly in the crosshairs of digital disruptors skilled in rapidly making large inroads into consumer segments.
As the Electronic Health Records marketplace becomes more concentrated, it may well become feasible to price policies based on access to aggregated health data. Patient privacy concerns will no doubt remain present, but permission can often be elicited with promises of discounts. Combined with social media data from the likes of Google and Facebook, insurers would then be able to price risk with the inclusion of actual propensities to engage in risky behavior. If the insurance companies start investing in these types of data aggregators, they will have much better data to make decisions.
As it happens, a number of new entrants into the Life space have been attacking the dominant business model, with well-capitalized startups such as Ladder, Halo, and Ethos beginning to take some market share. On balance, it would appear that Life insurers are on notice for imminent disruption and should be especially proactive in implementing defensive innovation, as well as taking steps to participate in the innovation cycle on the theory that if they cannot beat them they should join them.
Health
Health insurance, integrated as it is, so closely into the entirety of the national healthcare system, is a very capacious topic that is beyond the scope of this article. It should be noted, however, that while funding has been flowing to new entrants such as Oscar and Devoted who are seeking explicitly to disrupt the space, the sheer ponderousness of this segment militates against disruption. As of today, the largest threat to the Health business appears to be large employers’ desire to form self-insurance consortia. If this trend accelerates, the industry stands to lose many of its most profitable customers. How long before an app is developed that will, with permission, access your electronic health record and quote a premium?
Reinsurance
Small and midsized reinsurers have been under pressure for some time, with consolidation and market exists being driven by falling margins and a string of losses, exacerbated by the entry of a number of new startups, such as Aeolus, CATCo, Fermat, Nephila, Securis, and Stone Ridge, offering less versatile product but with better pricing supported by leaner cost structures.
The Big 5 Re companies have not only survived the shakeout but have been pioneers in InsureTech venture investment, seeking to forestall disruption by being at the table when it threatens. Their example illustrates the best practice approach to disruptive innovation: anticipate, allocate investment, and actively adopt emerging innovation. In effect, the most innovative reinsurers have become disruptors in their own right, leaving them in the best competitive position of the industry today.
Brokerage and Distribution
The brokerage business is probably most immediately and existentially threatened by digital disruption. Disintermediation has been gathering momentum across industries touched by startup innovators. Stockbrokers are almost non-existent now, and investment advisors are highly threatened. Retail real estate agents’ fees are rapidly approaching zero, and appraisers are preparing to join buggy whip makers in the halls of obsolescence. Car dealers are also going by the wayside because startups like Carvana will let you buy your car online and deliver it to your house, while the Teslas of the world are migrating to direct sales. Malls are also disappearing because Amazon and online stores are putting them on their heels and slashing brick and mortar profitability. In banking, Capital One, Ally, and Grasshopper operate with virtually no branches.
Startups like Hippo, Lemonade, Next, Goji, and Wrisk are not the sole threat to the brokerage business. Thanks to new digital technologies, carriers are finding it ever easier to reach their customers directly. Personal line brokers are probably the first in line for obsolescence, but commercial line agents are also in danger? At risk? (You just used “threat” a couple of sentences ago) threatened. In fact, those brokers who think that it will never happen in the commercial lines space are in for a rude awakening. The personal attention of the broker will be more than offset by the big data — and better data — of the data aggregators and AI learning algorithms.
Technologies enabling instant underwriting and custom policy pricing are already taking much of the value-add of brokers to the end consumer. While for some time now brokers have been casting themselves as risk management consultants, this by itself will not save them from the ever-falling pricing that may well put an end to commissions as a form of distribution compensation.
Survival Strategies
While disruption looms, incumbents have a few arrows in their quiver to help them remain relevant and thrive in today’s changing landscape. Broadly, the most promising strategies based on the experience in other industries can be outlined as Embracing Innovation, Seat at the Table, and Business Reinvention.
Embracing Innovation is a strategy to actively seek out innovations that streamline operations and grow revenues and profitability and aggressively drive internal adoption. Most companies have established innovation executive roles and/or innovation committees. Results vary, but well-implemented innovation programs do pay dividends such as survival and lasting competitive advantage. The key to the success of such programs is a well-managed combination of top-down mandates and bottom-up initiatives that ensure both buy-in and resources necessary to drive adoption. A key part of this approach is a strategic M&A program to acquire startups pursuing promising disruptive business models, as a way of future-proofing the core business. It appears that some brokers feel that if they can control their client relationships, they can own the distribution chain. We do not believe that will continue: personal relationships will give way to more efficient pricing with better data.
The Seat at the Table strategy is fundamentally a set of programs to engage with and invest in tomorrow’s disrupters. Becoming early alliance partners and investors for startups gives insurers a unique early view of the emerging changes to the industry. Many companies have already created corporate venture capital initiatives, with various levels of effectiveness. Their task is to adopt best practices of CVC formation and management in order to maximize both strategic and financial returns. Companies that are too small to create private CVC initiatives at meaningful scales should consider forming investment consortia with their channel and alliance partners, and even with competitors, because a shared early view is better than none at all. A word of caution: investing in third-party funds as limited partners may provide financial returns, but not a meaningful seat at the table because of the insulation created by the presence of fund managers.
While carriers can compete by anticipating and adopting innovation, brokers have no such luxury. Their very business model is under existential threat. To survive as enterprises, they need to Reinvent their Businesses entirely. Their competitive advantage lies in their relationships with and knowledge of the customer. To capitalize on this strategic asset, they must aggressively seek out new business lines that serve these customers, by partnering with and investing in innovative startups on one hand and launching risk carry businesses on the other.
In Conclusion
The insurance industry is increasingly a target for digital disruption, but incumbents still have an opportunity to retain relevance and thrive in the rapidly changing business environment. | https://medium.com/@dgimpelevich/disruption-risk-in-the-insurance-industry-4709c98d6664 | ['David J. Gimpelevich'] | 2019-06-17 18:31:34.971000+00:00 | ['Insuretech', 'Disruption', 'Corporate Innovation', 'Insurance', 'Venture Capital'] |
OHF Weekly: Labor Pains | “To My Evangelical Family”
by stephen matlock
Photo by Judith Prins on Unsplash
To my white Evangelical family:
You birthed me and raised me and gave me principles and sent me out into the world. I owe my character development to you. But now you’ve gone insane.
I’ll just say this: a man, woman, or child does not need to be perfect in order to be treated as a human being who, according to our theology, bears the Imago Dei — the image of God. We were taught as Evangelicals to believe that all human beings are gloriously unique and valuable. This is embedded into our very theology of the Incarnation: we believe that Jesus was — and is! — not only God Eternal but Man incarnate. He didn’t take on a body like a costume. He was and is fully man as well as fully God. And as the confession says, “For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven.” Not just white Evangelicals. (continued at Medium.com)
Free Download for OHF Weekly Subscribers
If you’re finding yourself at your wits’ end, distressed by all that’s going on, here’s a little something for you: a free copy 3 Things I Know: Facing and Embracing Life’s Challenges by Clay Rivers (for iPad, Nook, and Kindle). Follow the links and simply download it. Yes, free. As in “no charge.” My hope is that it gives you a brief respite from whatever it is you’re dealing with and maybe provides a smile or a laugh or two. Better days are coming.
Support Our Human Family
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Ultimately, we all want the same things: to be accepted, understood, and loved.
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Please support the critical work and word of Our Human Family, Inc. at the forefront of the national conversation on better race relations and widespread equality in America. Visit us at ourhumanfamily.org for more on our mission.
Thank you.
Have a Safe Labor Day Weekend!
You can also find us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram for your convenience. Comment, follow us, and share our articles with people you think would enjoy them. While you’re at it, swing by our new website. Have a safe and fun Labor Day in these Covid times.
Love one another.
Clay Rivers
Our Human Family, Founder and Editorial Director | https://medium.com/our-human-family/ohf-weekly-labor-pains-3705ce4d8bd9 | ['Our Human Family'] | 2020-11-28 03:20:58.805000+00:00 | ['Humanity', 'OHF Weekly', 'Equality', 'Evangelicals', 'BlackLivesMatter'] |
How to approach a British train in the winter. | It is never like Brief Encounter.
I strolled over to Paddington to catch my train and saw blank boards. Blank boards are never good things. I had been visiting a fantastic book shop, and having tea with a friend and was in a very cheerful state about the world, and now I had to take a deep breath and adjust my expectations. (By the way if you are in London and want to view amazing rare books by women and just talk to some really smart and interesting women about books go to Second Shelf in Soho.) There had been a signal failure between Paddington and Reading. For about three hours things had been a state of stasis. This is not fun for anyone. I chatted with a customer service person who said, “Actually things should be okay soon. Wait about 15 minutes.” I thanked them and offered sympathy. Because EVERY single person I have ever met who works for the assorted railways just wants to get people to where they are going and sometimes they are powerless to the things that go on. Weather, signal failures, and the interference of the human race are the great hurdles for railway employees. But they do want to help and move things along. They did offer some help to the various stranded folks. First Great Western had a gent with a tea trolley serving up tea to people. It was very very cold that day in London and it had been snowing. England is a funny place. It doesn’t get Siberian cold that often but the cold in general sits in your bones and you slowly begin to lose the will to live. Or at least you want to complain about it, while perusing cheap holidays to places that offer the promise of garish drinks and the opportunity to shed the layers of cardigans that makes up fashion in the dark months in Northern Europe.
There are a few methods for managing this state of being. One can find a warm body to stick close to. The preferred bodies are an amusing person in a soft jumper that you can pet, a couple of snoozing cats, or a large dog who is hoping that you are weak of will and might provide snacks. The most perfect combination is Tom Hardy reading you a story while a dog is sleeping on your feet but these options are difficult to obtain in a train station.
You can also cuddle a hot water bottle, and sip whisky. It certainly lessens any anxiety one might have about waiting for any available train. I DID have a bottle of wine in my bag but I didn’t think that was the meal I needed as I did have to drive home from the train station. (And I lacked a corkscrew.) I went and bought cocoa, and a large bacon bap. (No sauce please, I am trying to make it through the day without getting some condiment on my dress and sometimes we have to make a few sacrifices to feign the appearance of organised adulthood.) With WiFi and patience I waited, and hot diggity dog my train was right on time. Mind you there were three trains worth of people who wanted to get on that train. There was the energy that gave the impression that the invading hordes were on their way and one must get on this train even if it meant leaving behind Grandmere’s limoges china, and the nearly new Packard bought just last year.
I lucked out and got a seat in the quiet carriage. The only drawback: no heating in the quiet carriage. We hardy souls who like not listening to phone conversations put up with it. I was wearing my fur trimmed coat, my red suede gloves and huddled in my seat. (I would take off one glove and look at things on my phone, and then trade to the other side when my hand began to reach that Bohemian slowly dying in an attic in Paris level of cold.)People who were a little more familiar with each other were cuddling. Maybe I could have done that with the gentleman in tweeds across the aisle as our coats kind of matched but I wasn’t feeling THAT forward. This is the Quiet carriage and we don’t impose upon others. Though the man who kept sighing heavily was walking a very dangerous line.
We did make extra stops along the way as there were people to drop off. It was less of a train service and more of a casual carpool, with many needs to consider. Sometimes you just gotta get real zen with the trains in Britain. The nation chose mediocrity for its infrastructure and so we shall get to our destination when the universe sees fit.
At least it wasn’t like the time when the train ran out of tea. | https://medium.com/@genevievejenner/how-to-approach-a-british-train-in-the-winter-649b6d0e3e53 | ['Genevieve Jenner'] | 2020-01-24 10:27:19.765000+00:00 | ['Travel', 'London', 'Britain', 'Trains', 'Expectations'] |
Sole Deception | Sole Deception
Photo by Victor Grabarczyk on Unsplash
Coming of time
find pockets of duration
to illuminate formerly empty shadows
under the spotlight of sole discernment
notice life and death are not detached
but like an amalgamation
two souls in one flesh —
demise a part of the living
like funerals of the dead yielded by the alive
who’d say you die when the heart stops beating?
know the grim reaper paves its own way without your reign
demise comes when the soul is asked of it
and like a wilted rose drowning in a water pot
let soul take part in forces overcome electronic defibrillators
as your canvas wipes clean, individualistic shreds peel off the skin
drowning in the softening beeps of the electrocardiogram
delve into your embodied denouement
amend present tense to past
and fold yourself
into a pageless autobiography. | https://medium.com/genius-in-a-bottle/sole-deception-cb9c17cc2809 | ['Daniel A. Teo'] | 2020-12-13 17:22:34.891000+00:00 | ['Universe', 'Death And Dying', 'Life', 'Self', 'Peace'] |
Chainflow Capital x PolyWhirl AMA-style Interview | The following is an AMA style interview conducted by our strategic investor — Chainflow Capital. The main objective of this was to clarify on our vision and goals for PolyWhirl; the team’s experience and how we differentiate ourselves from our competitors.
About the hosts
PolyWhirl is a completely decentralised platform for making private transactions on Polygon. PolyWhirl will allow you to de-link a funds transfer between wallets and thus allow users to regain compromised anonymity without risking the use of a centralised platform that may seize funds or impose sudden KYC requirements. Its competitive advantage lies in an innovative feature set (including cross chain private transfers), and unique token utility — with all protocol revenue either used for token buyback and burns or redistributed to stakers of the $WHIRL token.
Website: https://polywhirl.cash/
Chainflow Capital is an activist venture capital fund leveraging massive investment networks and deep market knowledge to back category winners. With a track record as a repeat outperformer, we have garnered insights on critical elements that are the hallmark of successful projects. We help our projects succeed by leveraging our large marketing and investment network, via the provision of strategic consulting services and with substantial financial backing.
Website: https://www.chainflowcapital.com/
Q&A
— Conducted by Joseph Colbert, Head of Business Relations at Chainflow Capital
Joseph: Thank you for taking the time to speak with us Whirl and Gust, we are very excited about what you are building. To start off, could you provide a brief introduction to PolyWhirl and its use case?
Whirl: Sure — PolyWhirl is a way for anyone on chain to regain anonymity if they somehow manage to link their identity and address on chain. Many defi participants do not fully realise the consequences of doxxing and linking their wallets to their identities, which can lead to unwanted scrutiny from peers, scammers and regulatory bodies. PolyWhirl will effectively provide a way to reverse a loss of anonymity by allowing users to transfer funds to a completely new address. This is also particularly useful for institutions or professional traders who trade in large volumes; without anonymity, they may not be able to obtain best trade execution due to issues such as frontrunning. Another interesting use case is the ability to make anonymous payments; for example, if you hire someone for a service, you can generate something akin to an anonymous voucher. By depositing money on PolyWhirl, you can provide them with a secret note and they can use it to withdraw money out of the protocol and thus provide payment without revealing the source of the funds. | https://medium.com/@polywhirl/chainflow-capital-x-polywhirl-ama-style-interview-c4b9ff090d97 | [] | 2021-07-23 19:33:51.307000+00:00 | ['Ethereum', 'Polywhirl', 'VC', 'Polygon', 'Privacy'] |
Messenger Bot using Flask and API.AI | Setting up API.AI
API.AI is a conversational experiences platform. Register and create an account at API.AI. Create an agent to access test console. Navigate to settings of the agent and get the Client Access Token.
Creating an intent
An intent is mapping between user expression and the desired response. We can train which user input fits to which intent. We can also use built-in parameters within the user input and set context. This helps us categorise the user inputs.
Setting up the Flask Server
Add client access token, page access token and verify token. A page has to be created for the bot. That page access token is needed. Verify token can be anything as per developer choice.
CLIENT_ACCESS_TOKEN = 'your_client_access_token_from_api_ai'
PAGE_ACCESS_TOKEN = 'your_facebook_page_access_token'
VERIFY_TOKEN = 'verification_token_for_facebook_chatbot'
Webhooks
Facebook webhook sends the request to the application and if the verification is complete i.e. the token returned by application matches the token entered in facebook application, request comes to the application server.
All messages sent by the facebook messenger are received on the application server and are handled.
Parse message
Application server receives the message but the intent is yet to be recognised. So, we use python library apiai to get the intent. To use apiai, client access token is needed.
API.AI parses the message sent by the user and receives the bot response from API.AI which contains the intent along with other information.
If everything is alright, response[‘status’][‘code’] should be 200. response[‘result’][‘metadata’][‘intentName’] contains the intent.
After knowing the intent, we can do actions on it according to our requirements.
We can not only parse texts but can also parse events. We can also set context and assign session id to the request.
Sending back message to Facebook user
To send message to the facebook user, call Facebook Graph API using python requests library.
sender_id is present in the request body.
Make a flask app which contains the above routes (webhooks) and methods.
Activate a virtual environment, install all depedencies and run the flask app.
$ virtualenv .env
$ pip install -r requirments.txt
$ python flask_app.py
Set up tunnelling to localhost
We can use ngrok to expose local webserver to the internet so that it can be used for callback verification needed to be done for using a webhook with facebook app.
$ wget $ wget https://bin.equinox.io/c/4VmDzA7iaHb/ngrok-stable-linux-amd64.zip (for Linux)$ wget https://bin.equinox.io/c/4VmDzA7iaHb/ngrok-stable-darwin-amd64.zip (for Mac OS) $ unzip /path/to/ngrok.zip
$ ./ngrok http <port>
Ngrok port should be same as the port to which the flask app is listening.
Please note that a secure callback URL (https) is needed for verification.
Set up facebook messenger
Create a facebook page and facebook app. Add Webhook to the app.
Add Messenger to the app and generate token for the page which has to used for chat.
This page access token is used in the flask application to send messages back to the facebook user.
Enable webhook integration with callback URL and verify token
The callback url should be the ngrok url and the verify token should be same as that defined in the flask app.
Select events for page subscription | https://medium.com/ymedialabs-innovation/messenger-bot-using-flask-and-api-ai-f34f6e2eb6e6 | ['Rahul Nayak'] | 2018-01-26 04:26:54.326000+00:00 | ['Flask', 'Backend', 'Python', 'Apiai', 'Bots'] |
ICO — O que são e como tokens são gerados! | in In Fitness And In Health | https://medium.com/eusouelliot/ico-o-que-s%C3%A3o-e-como-tokens-s%C3%A3o-gerados-5555d24701cd | [] | 2018-11-26 17:02:38.399000+00:00 | ['Bitcoin', 'ICO', 'Eusouelliot', 'Cryptocurrency', 'Token'] |
Lungs of the Earth: Why We Need to Increase Investments in Peatlands | Lungs of the Earth: Why We Need to Increase Investments in Peatlands
Let's unlock the key to carbon reductions
Photo by Bryan Hanson on Unsplash
First of all….What are peatlands?
Peatlands are incredibly old landforms that have played an important role in the development of our natural history and are now found in almost every country in the world. The term ‘peatland’ refers to the peat soil and the wetland habitat growing on its surface. This natural terrestrial ecosystem formed over 10–40 thousand years ago is made up of partially decomposed plant material under waterlogged conditions.
Climate Regulation
Peatlands are among the most valuable ecosystems on Earth due to their carbon sequestration capacity. Plants use photosynthesis to extract carbon from the atmosphere and store it in peat. This is why peatlands have a cooling effect on the global climate. Because the peat is permanently saturated in water, the carbon will not be converted into greenhouse gases.
Peatlands are the world’s largest natural terrestrial carbon stock. They cover only 3% of the Earth’s total land surface (an estimated 4 million km2). However, they store over one-third of the world’s soil carbon. In other words, peatlands store more carbon than all other terrestrial vegetation types in the world combined! This is twice as much as all the world’s forests.
The more carbon dioxide we can put into storage instead of the atmosphere, the more stable our planet will become.
The Loss of a Valuable Resource
It takes thousands of years to grow meter thick layers of peat. When peatlands are drained, the peat releases the stored carbon dioxide and reverses this process in only a few years.
The balance between water, plants, and peat is essential. That’s why it is important to keep peatlands wet. When peatlands are drained, the peat is exposed to oxygen which causes microbes to attack the stored carbon. As a result, this carbon is oxidized to carbon dioxide and released into the air.
Draining a peatland the size of a football field releases the same amount of carbon dioxide as driving a car three times around the Earth. Drained peatlands have the same negative effect as coal-fired power plants, oil-fired heating, and gas-powered cars. Peat should be considered a fossil fuel like oil, coal, and gas. The more peat is drained, excavated, and decomposed, the more carbon dioxide will be released into the atmosphere and the warmer the Earth will become.
Peatlands are predominantly drained to transform wetlands into land suitable for agriculture and for urban and industrial developments. It is also commonplace for peat to be extracted and utilized for a source of energy. Drained and damaged peatlands are a major source of global greenhouse gas emissions, annually releasing almost 6% of global anthropogenic CO2 emissions.
Green Financing and Peatland Restoration
The clock is ticking, the remaining time we have to save our planet is limited. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, in order to avoid the worst climate impacts, global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions will need to be halved by 2030, and we will need to reach net-zero emissions by 2050.
Therefore, it is imperative that we target our climate change efforts. When we talk about climate change mitigation strategies, peatland conservation and restoration must be an integral part of that conversation.
“From a climate perspective, [peatlands] are the most essential terrestrial ecosystem.” — Tim Christophersen, Senior Program Officer, Forests and Climate, United Nations Environment Programme.
Peatlands are strategic areas for climate change mitigation because of their matchless carbon stocks. Dollar for dollar, peatlands provided one of the best returns on investment for ecosystem-based carbon reduction strategies. There has never been more money and political will for conservation and sustainability than in this decade. At least $30.7 trillion of funds are held in sustainable or green investments, up 34% from 2016, according to a report by the Global Sustainable Investment Alliance. Additionally, the development of regional voluntary carbon markets to fund peatland restoration has already taken way in the United Kingdom and Germany.
With only 1 to 10 millimetres of peat accumulating per year in a peatland, regeneration measures are indispensable and require wide-ranging adoption. Protecting the remaining peatlands is crucial if we are to stop the Earth from warming past the point of no return. | https://medium.com/climate-conscious/lungs-of-the-earth-why-we-need-to-increase-investments-in-peatlands-e211c1f52062 | ['Alison Reiszadeh'] | 2020-07-06 01:29:32.209000+00:00 | ['Climate Science', 'Investing', 'Carbon Emissions', 'Climate Change', 'Environment'] |
The Dream: Lessons from Kenosha | Learn more. Medium is an open platform where 170 million readers come to find insightful and dynamic thinking. Here, expert and undiscovered voices alike dive into the heart of any topic and bring new ideas to the surface. Learn more
Make Medium yours. Follow the writers, publications, and topics that matter to you, and you’ll see them on your homepage and in your inbox. Explore | https://medium.com/dsa-detroit-newspaper/the-dream-lessons-from-kenosha-324ded164b1d | ['Detroit Democratic Socialists Of America'] | 2020-12-02 19:14:29.349000+00:00 | ['Comics', 'Socialism', 'Kenosha'] |
WordPress Installation | WordPress (WP, WordPress.org) is a free and open-source content management system (CMS) written in PHP[4] and paired with a MySQL or MariaDB database. Features include a plugin architecture and a template system, referred to within WordPress as Themes. WordPress was originally created as a blog-publishing system but has evolved to support other types of web content including more traditional mailing lists and forums, media galleries, membership sites, learning management systems (LMS) and online stores. WordPress is used by more than 60 million websites,[5] including 33.6% of the top 10 million websites as of April 2019,[6][7] WordPress is one of the most popular content management system solutions in use.[8] WordPress has also been used for other application domains such as pervasive display systems (PDS).[9]
Before installing WordPress, you need to check that your web hosting provider fulfills the necessary software and conditions. Also, you must have access method to the server and some tools.
Requirements on the server side
PHP 7.3 or greater
MySQL 5.6 or MariaDB 10.1 or greater
For a list of detail requirements on your web host, refer the official requirement page.
Requirements on local
Login Account (user id and password) to the server via FTP or shell
Text Editor
FTP
Your web browser of choice
You will need to know how to use a text editor to edit the main configuration file. If you are a Windows user, Notepad will do. If you’re an OS X user you can use TextEdit. Later, you will likely want to edit your Template Files (see Templates for some references). You can do this through the WordPress Administration Screens, but using a good text editor is highly recommended. For more information on this, see Editing Files.
You will need to be able to use an FTP program to upload files and set file permissions (optional). You could choose Filezilla for this task.
Now you are all set to go on
Basic Instructions #Basic Instructions
Here’s the quick version of the instructions for those who are already comfortable with performing such installations. More detailed instructions follow.
Download and unzip the WordPress package if you haven’t already.
Create a database for WordPress on your web server, as well as a MySQL (or MariaDB) user who has all privileges for accessing and modifying it.
(Optional) Find and rename wp-config-sample.php to wp-config.php, then edit the file (see Editing wp-config.php) and add your database information.
Note: If you are not comfortable with renaming files, step 3 is optional and you can skip it as the install program will create the wp-config.php file for you.
Upload the WordPress files to the desired location on your web server:
If you want to integrate WordPress into the root of your domain (e.g. http://example.com/), move or upload all contents of the unzipped WordPress directory (excluding the WordPress directory itself) into the root directory of your web server.
If you want to have your WordPress installation in its own subdirectory on your website (e.g. http://example.com/blog/), create the blog directory on your server and upload the contents of the unzipped WordPress package to the directory via FTP.
Note: If your FTP client has an option to convert file names to lower case, make sure it’s disabled.
Run the WordPress installation script by accessing the URL in a web browser. This should be the URL where you uploaded the WordPress files.
If you installed WordPress in the root directory, you should visit: http://example.com/
If you installed WordPress in its own subdirectory called blog, for example, you should visit: http://example.com/blog/
That’s it! WordPress should now be installed. | https://medium.com/@zicodhkbd/wordpress-installation-7d1dca1039cd | ['Md. Alamgir'] | 2020-12-23 08:07:26.829000+00:00 | ['Install Wordpress', 'Installwordpressonyourpc', 'Usewordpressforfree', 'Howtoinstallwordpress', 'WordPress'] |
A Business Stakeholder’s Quick Start Guide to Useful Analytics | A Business Stakeholder’s Quick Start Guide to Useful Analytics
3 Common Myths Exposed that You’ll Want to Avoid
by Mike Sturm
“We want to do analytics and machine learning on our Big Data.”
At Hashmap, our primary mission is to help our customers generate measurable business outcomes leveraging Data, Cloud, IoT/IIoT and AI/ML applications. Many of our customers are experienced players using Big Data as part of comprehensive business focused strategies, but we talk to a lot of customers who are just starting out in the early stages of that journey. The statement above represents a loose paraphrase of how these customer engagements start.
Avoid the Technology “Rabbit Hole”
It’s easy to go down the technology rabbit hole right away when you hear something like this. We’re technology people and as we are often talking to IT professionals, everybody there is quite happy to immediately talk about the relative merits of different technologies. But it’s critical early in the engagement to get to the basic question of why?
No business simply wants to create a big data architecture, classify data, train machine learning models and build analytics dashboards for the fun of it. Rather they want to use those technical methods and techniques to create a business impact.
Getting to “Why”
Now at this point, I’m sure most of you are probably thinking that this is pretty obvious. And the reality is that there will be a stakeholder in the organization who is feeding the business requirements to the IT team. When we ask the why question, the IT team points us to that business domain expert.
As the guy who is responsible for understanding the customer’s business objectives and insuring that the outcome fits the objective, interacting with the domain expert is where I earn my keep.
As I work with the business stakeholders, there are three common myths that appear consistently. I refer to them as myths, not so much because they aren’t true, but more because they represent a lack of experience in how analytics and machine learning can be applied to solve business problems. Exposing these myths and clarifying the business challenge is the first step towards helping my customer move to a meaningful outcome and avoiding wasted time and effort as they move into the analytics and ML arena.
So if you’re a business stakeholder and you see others in your industry exploiting analytics successfully, here are the three common themes to be on the lookout for.
Myth #1: If you build it, they will come
This is the fallacy of more data must mean better analytics. It sounds good to be able to say that you are storing everything and that all the data is accessible somewhere. This is one of the most prevalent concepts that I run into and is the result of someone from the business side telling the IT group they want to do ‘analytics’ without a clear idea of the question they want to solve.
I like to capture this strategy as follows:
Step 1: Acquire the data
Step 2: Connect that data to a BI tool
Step 4: Profit!!
Now clearly that’s a bit tongue in cheek, but it usually gets the point across. Data by itself is not a cure-all. A domain expert with enough data can probably get to some useful insight given some time. But in most cases, you’re much better off defining a few specific problems and then identifying what data is needed to answer those questions.
For an organization just getting started with analytics, keeping the initial problems well scoped with clear business objectives will help keep everyone focused on the target while building the experience and competencies to move into more advanced techniques.
Myth #2: Analytics produce business value
Analytics is a powerful business tool and good analytics data can lead to very valuable insights about your business. However, those insights are not an end point in themselves, they need to be translated into actions that the organization can implement.
Let’s assume you have a defined problem to tackle, have well classified data, create a simple user-friendly report, and have now generated several powerful new insights. Now the question to ask is so what? Business owners often start from a presumption that the analytics will lead to measurable value. This can be true, provided that the organization is capable of following the direction that the analytics points to.
It’s a useful exercise to game out some possible bookend answers for the problem you’re trying to answer. Think about some double this, reduce half of that kind of scenarios. Can you overcome your organizational inertia and hurdles to achieve these? This helps to understand the potential value of the answers you may find versus the effort required to act on them. In the worst case where the organization is unwilling or unable to act based on the answers, then focusing on another problem that is more tractable is the right move.
Myth #3: Your IT department is a vendor
We see this repeated often, the business defines the requirements, provides the funding, and then hands the project off to IT to deliver. The IT department implements then shows the solution to the business owners only to hear what we really wanted was…
This traditional view of the IT department as the vendor and the business as the customer is valid for enterprise level software solutions (think email and networking). But for building successful analytics platforms and workflows it’s important to view your IT department as a partner and not a vendor.
This requires an investment in collaboration from both sides. For the business stakeholders, they have to acknowledge the time commitment needed to work directly with the IT team during the implementation. For the IT team, they have to become comfortable with requirements that evolve in real time. On both sides, the people will be moving out of their comfort zones.
To be clear, I’m not advocating a full agile approach. This guidance is simply a recognition that good analytics is based on clearly defined and classified data. Having the business and IT working closely together during the process will result in an accelerated path to useful insights.
Last Words
Getting your first analytics project off the ground can be challenging. From the business side, being outcome focused with a clear statement of the question to answer is the place to start. If you can avoid the three myths you’ll be well on your way to capturing the value locked in your company’s data. | https://medium.com/hashmapinc/a-business-stakeholders-quick-start-guide-to-useful-analytics-baa3fd6a1b52 | [] | 2019-08-05 19:41:28.224000+00:00 | ['AI', 'IoT', 'Machine Learning', 'Analytics', 'Big Data'] |
Great CSS Resources for Building Out Your First Web App | Once the project pairs were given out, the journey began. My partner and I wasted no time and began to tackle each step to forging our Web App. We began with an idea and worked from there. Sketching out our Domain Model and wireframing several pages with input controls, containers, and components of what we had envisioned.
Some wireframing done using Excalidraw; not the wisest choice
As I had already been accustomed to using Exaclidraw, we had used this whiteboard tool to map out some pages. This is before I found out about Balsamiq or Justinmind as they are by far the better choices when it comes to wireframing. Nonetheless, it was done and we moved on to our next step: The creation of the template of our app that Rails generously provides with rails new <project> .
Continuing, we build out our routes and their respective controllers, along with the class models and view pages. We finish most of the planned functionality, seeing our view pages with only HTML getting to us, and just 4 days remaining till the deadline, we decide to start on some styling. This is where my hatred and love began for CSS. | https://medium.com/swlh/great-resources-for-building-out-your-first-web-app-8ddd949324e8 | ['Matt Ogtong'] | 2020-12-09 23:17:16.575000+00:00 | ['Codingbootcamp', 'Programming', 'Css Grid', 'CSS', 'Ruby on Rails'] |
Happy Holidays! | Photo by: Cooking at Home
Thank you to all my readers, viewers, and followers! I appreciate your comments and support of Cooking at Home. It has been a pleasure sharing my recipes with you this year and I am thrilled to know that you are trying them and enjoying them too.
I hope you join me for more Cooking at Home recipes in 2021! I wish you and your family a joyful holiday season -filled with food, family, and memories. Best wishes for a happy and healthy new year!
Happy Holidays from my family to yours!
Cooking at Home | https://medium.com/the-cookbook-for-all/happy-holidays-8774bf37a2b7 | ['Cooking At Home'] | 2020-12-24 00:38:52.227000+00:00 | ['Food', 'Baking', 'Dessert', 'Cooking', 'Recipe'] |
A Deeper Meaning | Christmas is usually a happy, joyous time wether you celebrate religiously, with family, or you wait for a holly,jolly man named Santa to put gifts under your Christmas tree. During this time our minds become so overwelmed, caught up in the moment, that we dont think about others. Growing up poor is no ones cup of tea, so going back to school, or opening social media the next day to see the gifts everyone else got was not always the best feeling. Santa never brought me an iPad, or a new bike, but instead brought me a deck of cards, or a puzzle. I was always very thankful for what I had, but eight year old me didnt really understand the financial struggle. Comparing my gifts to the other kids’ made me wonder why I wasn’t good enough. Does Santa not love me? Was I bad? Now that Im older, the guilt haunts me. I know my parents were already upset they couldnt buy me the best of the best, but the way I reacted at times, was unnaccebtable. I know they understand, but I know it also hurt them deeply. Im so glad I now know the true meaning if Christmas. Family. Togetherness. Happiness. Love. | https://medium.com/@akrainge3305/a-deeper-meaning-dc72242a0882 | [] | 2020-12-26 06:14:31.785000+00:00 | ['Sad', 'Christmas', 'Family'] |
Remingtons Don’t Cry | Something that I learned early on here in New York is that you can cry in public and people just mind their business (My God, I love that!). The most overt acknowledgment that someone was crying was on the subway when I saw a young woman hand the crying woman a tissue without looking at her. I loved that gesture so much. It was a classic NYC move.
Me being such a crybaby and all, you know I’ve wept in public numerous times. I’m reasonably certain I never pulled that kind of crap back in small-town Ohio. People would have crossed the street to find out what was wrong and before supper was over everyone in town would know Andrew didn’t call me after I let him feel me up. No thanks.
Cleveland was better (in every way).
But it was still the kind of place where I got scolded by some old man in the frozen food aisle of the Stop & Shop after I’d shaved my head bald. I’d been there 24 years at that point and that was when I realized I wasn’t going to stay. I applied to transfer from Case Western Reserve University — not really known for its writing program — to Columbia University which kind of is. Did I cry when I got accepted? Probably.
Here are a few of the reasons I have cried in public in New York City. Breaking up with my first NYC boyfriend (ok, and second and third). Taking my 22-year-old cat to be euthanized when she stopped eating and using the litter box. Losing a great job. Getting a better job. After a formerly close friend lost it with me for not responding to an email I never received and refused to ever speak to me again. Other friends’ deaths (more all the time). Reading the final paragraph of Thomas Pynchon’s 1085-page masterpiece, “Against The Day”. After having a tooth pulled. | https://medium.com/illumination-curated/remingtons-dont-cry-de0972daee28 | ['Remington Write'] | 2020-12-19 06:28:09.762000+00:00 | ['Regret', 'Emotions', 'New York', 'Family', 'Relationships'] |
10 Best Graphic Design Courses Online | Learning graphic design
Graphic design is a very broad term, but every graphic designer designer should know how to design design a logo, identity and a website.
These are the most in-demand disciplines as a graphic designer.
In the following paragraphs I describe what the course is about, how long it is and how much it cost, so that you can make right choices based on your needs.
The subjects may overlap slightly but repetition is the matter of skill and I believe you should check out at least some of them if you want to become a pro.
So without further ado, let’s jump right into it. | https://medium.com/ebaqdesign/10-best-graphic-design-courses-online-a38edbad325 | ['Arek Dvornechuck'] | 2020-12-14 19:51:11.202000+00:00 | ['Logo Design', 'Branding', 'Graphic Design', 'Online Courses', 'Design Process'] |
3 Secrets to Drive Traffic to Sales Page | 2) Incentive for New Visitor
Conversion is more important than amount of view. Please make sure that your TA has the incentive to click into your site. Example will be Get a Free eBook, Get a Checklist.
3) Call to Action!
Without a strong, efficient call-to-action, it is difficult for you to drive traffic to your destination. Here are some of the examples of a strong, powerful call-to-action keywords. Buy Now, Get It, Click Me, and Go Now. If you don’t provide a clear instruction for the audience, they have no clue on what to do next. If there is a strong call-to-action button at the end of every section, they will have a higher probability of clicking on the button and navigate into your site.
By the time you are ready to use those tools, you should have a ready-to-post content which your target audience will be seen. Try to apply the above secrets to your content and let’s see whether it could really drive more traffic to your funnel page.
Comment below if you gain more traffic with these secrets.
Next time we will go more in-depth on how to actually build a sales funnel page to actually sell your product online. Leave a “YES” down below if you want to know more. | https://medium.com/@anjonathan/3-secrets-to-drive-traffic-to-sales-page-59ffa5307987 | ['Jonathan Ans'] | 2020-12-27 01:53:31.654000+00:00 | ['Entrepreneurship', 'Sales Funnel Software', 'Drive Traffic', 'Make Money Online'] |
Did you noticed ageism in your daily life? | Did you noticed ageism in your daily life?
Have you ever encounter ageism in your daily life? Have you ever thought that how much ageism had impact in your life? Your sex life or social life?
I was watching The YOUNGER series the other night, episode 6. it is an American series, I think it is mostly about women and their relations and the main actress is a woman too. In the morning Liza decide to help Charles and take something to Charles’ daughter, Liza is Charles girlfriend and except 5 or 6 friends all think that Liza is 27, including Charles ex-wife “ Polin” whom left Charles for finding herself and writing book. I am not going to narrate movie here for you. So back to our point in school Liza met Polin. Thay had very warm greating even Polin registered Liza’s name in Parent list. Yet Polin think Liza is a millennial and even later she suggest to “act like grown-ups”, until Polin come across Liza’s age and gets mad. At very first place until Polin doesn’t know the truth she is fine with his husbands much younger girls frien. She even wants to be friend for the sake of girls and bussiness. It is normal for Polin.she went wild when she understands Liza is actually 42. Then she thinks why liza. Why not me. But why? Why women belive in agism and think that a woman 40 or over is not sexy? Why women think men over 40 are charming? Comme ooooon.
Why we women are making this a norm?why we accept led it?Should not we think a mom of 2 or 3 children is yet beautiful, feminine and SEXY. Give this right to yourself. Believe that you deserve best.be happy, let your partner be worry about some parts of your life and be easy going. Do not let Social Media limits you to your house and make a indoor mom. Go out, wear bikini, show your skin starches that are holly maybe due to physical transformation for having a baby or wrinkles that are a part of your life cycle. Go gym, worship yourself let the worlds worship you too. | https://medium.com/@mahboobehshrf/did-you-noticed-ageism-in-your-daily-life-5f8eef7dc2c9 | ['Mahboobeh Sharifi'] | 2020-11-07 10:32:07.158000+00:00 | ['Metoo', 'Empowering Women', 'Ageism', 'Wonder Woman'] |
Staying at home: Bring Christmas in the Alps to your living room. | 3. Un vin chaud, s’il vous plait.
It’s Christmas — get the ski-chalet drinks flowing with our homemade vin chaud recipe:
Ingredients:
· 1 litre of red wine — just a good ‘everyday’ wine will do
· ¼ litre of orange juice
· Half an orange, thinly sliced
· 100g granulated sugar
· 1 stick of cinnamon
· 4 star anise
· 2 cloves
Method:
In a big saucepan, dissolve the sugar with the red wine and orange juice on a low heat. Add the orange slices and spices and keep on a low heat for 20 minutes. Don’t let it boil! Turn off the heat after 20 minutes and allow the flavours to infuse for 5 minutes before serving. Sante!
To add a boozy boost to your vin chaud, our insider tip is to soak your fruit in tequila for a week before… Go steady on the refills! | https://medium.com/@supremeski/staying-at-home-bring-christmas-in-the-alps-to-your-living-room-118cd1132e0f | ['Supreme Ski', 'Snowboard School'] | 2020-12-22 08:46:52.233000+00:00 | ['Christmas', 'Winter Sports', 'Ski Resort', 'Winter', 'Ski'] |
Some Restaurants Are Staying Open, Here’s How | In the wake of COVID-19’s widespread impact, most restaurants decided to close in some capacity. Whether they limited their operations to delivery-only or shut their doors completely, food service establishments all over have severely limited their scopes to prevent the spread of disease.
However, not all restaurants have chosen to reduce operations; some still run full dine-in service in areas with no mandatory shut-down. Black Sheep Restaurants , a hospitality group based in Hong Kong, have kept their doors open throughout this entire pandemic. If you’re looking to do the same — and your city or country isn’t under lockdown orders to the contrary — they’ve released a how-to guide for operating safely during a pandemic.
Keeping a Safe and Healthy Environment
Despite what may seem like overwhelming evidence to the contrary, there are valid reasons to want to maintain a fully functioning restaurant. Black Sheep was heavily motivated by the knowledge that their thousand employees had no other financial safety net, but plenty of bills. However, you need to prioritize health and wellness for your customers as well as your employees. Without them, there would be no restaurant to open.
As a business owner, you can restructure and implement protocols to protect everyone’s health and safety:
Set tables a safe distance apart so diners won’t violate the six-foot social distancing rule. You can manage this by either changing your floor plan, or simply closing down or removing certain tables.
Establish hygienic practices like sanitizing shared surfaces every thirty minutes, making masks available to everyone and requiring their use, cleaning more often and more intensely, banning physical contact between employees, and providing sanitizer or wipes for anyone to use.
Give guests somewhere to store their masks, for example a bag or envelope. This prevents them from leaving them out on tables or potentially discarding them on the floor.
Have guests sign health declarations and take their temperature with a contactless thermometer before allowing them to enter the premises. Don’t give access to anyone with an abnormal temperature and those displaying other signs of illness, with no exceptions.
Find the nearest hospital and COVID-19 testing facility so you can easily refer people to the proper medical channels if they choose.
Protect your other restaurants if you have multiple locations in the area. A group of customers turned away at one place might try and lie their way into another; develop a method, such as a group chat, for venues to communicate in real time and share time-sensitive information with each other.
Establish contactless delivery and pickup options for customers. Utilize curbside pickup for food runners rather than allowing them to come inside and interact with guests and workers.
Streamline your menu. Get rid of dishes that don’t sell very well so you can better optimize your staff’s time and energy. Reducing inventory also minimizes your contact with multiple suppliers.
If possible, employ cash-free or touch-free payment methods.
Although maintaining a sanitary restaurant environment can take a lot of work during a pandemic, with proper distancing guidelines and new, stricter protocols, you can operate your restaurant both safely and efficiently.
Managing Your Staff
In these new and uncertain times, your employees all work on uncharted and potentially dangerous ground. Honesty will help you better handle their concerns; transparency is key. Let your employees know what, when and why you’re taking certain measures so they can fully understand the situation and better align themselves to your mindset. This ensures everyone works efficiently and furthers the goals of the business. Keep your employees in mind as you:
Give your staff the option to take an indefinite leave of absence. This isn’t mandatory, but let them know that they are free to self-isolate if they see fit, and that their job will still be there when they’re ready to return to work. This will stop them worrying about job security, and prevent anyone from coming in sick to work out of fear of losing their position entirely.
Be honest if you need to make pay cuts and establish unpaid leave regulations. Black Sheep provides advice to help its workers manage their finances, negotiate rent and fill out government forms if they need help translating from their native language.
Provide any new information to your employees before making guests aware. Aside from seeming unprofessional if customers know more than the workers do, it breeds distrust and insecurity amongst your staff if they worry that you’re keeping things from them or that you’re not being entirely upfront.
Make sure employees keeps their uniforms and appearances tidier than usual. Customers will associate messiness with uncleanliness. Don’t leave room for unnecessary worry; make sure your staff and business look as healthy as they are.
Develop a game plan for when someone inevitably gets sick. A guest or a staff member will eventually send notice that they’ve fallen ill. Having a set plan in place allows you to react swiftly and accordingly. Train staff on how to handle potentially infectious situations as well.
Using the same contactless thermometers that check customers’ health, take your employees’ temperatures every morning when they come in. Send home anyone who has symptoms or a fever.
You can further minimize the risk of widespread infection by keeping workers on shift together. If the same five people always work the morning and a different five come in at night, one group will remain safe even if the other gets infected or needs to self-isolate until they’re sure the danger has passed.
Put up signs around the restaurant reminding your staff about mandatory hygiene. For example, place signs over the sinks reminding everyone to wash their hands every thirty minutes.
Boost morale any way that you can. Black Sheep leveraged the relationship with one of their supplier to acquire oranges for their team, a thoughtful gift that promotes health and wellbeing. They’re also beginning the Black Sheep Social Distancing Olympics. Come up with creative solutions with your own unique twist to keep your team’s spirits up and let them know you’re thinking of them. Happy employees work harder and better.
The New Customer Service
Much like your staff, guests prefer openness, blunt truth and transparency. Especially in a time when the smallest public gathering feels dangerous, people want to know that they can trust your business to prioritize their health over your profits.
However, you can’t necessarily guarantee the same honesty from your guests. Although trust is a two-way street, people don’t like disclosing sensitive information, especially if they’re worried that you might judge or ridicule them. Thus you need to be careful about how you approach sick (or potentially sick) customers to ensure that they, and everyone else who may have come in contact with them, feel heard and protected.
Take names and contact information from everyone who comes into your restaurant, after they sign the health declaration and submit to the contactless thermometer. This way you can easily get in touch with guests who may have been in the restaurant at the same time as the reportedly sick individual, and they can thus take isolation measures of their own.
Put out a public announcement and notify every guest about the potential infection. If you need to close or take extra precautions, alert anyone with an upcoming reservation about the unfolding situation. Even if you can’t convince them to reschedule their dinner, you can helpfully direct them to another of your venues or a restaurant close by that they might enjoy.
Assign an employee to answer calls, emails and questions that come in. Customers will have a lot of trepidation about attending a sit-down meal while COVID-19 is still a relatively unknown threat. Make sure you always have someone available to reassure guests and address their concerns.
Redeveloping Your Social Media Strategy
Your social media pages are great avenues to connect with guests and address how you’re handling COVID-19 in real time. Create and establish new protocols for social media to ensure that all of your posts are timely, thought out, accurate and convey the same message on each of your pages. Use these platforms as a method to overshare — oversharing is the best scenario at this point to demonstrate your dedication to transparency and honesty with your customers.
Construct a PR guideline to follow. Decide where customers should hear good news — From you or the press? Which platforms should you announce it on first? — and where they should learn about bad news too.
Respond to journalists, even if it’s just with a short canned response. Reports that you’ve “declined to comment” or “could not be reached” will look fishy, and customers will suspect you’re hiding something. Right now, paranoia reigns.
Don’t delete comments, especially the negative ones. Ignore any replies clearly just designed to get a rise out of you but have no real purpose, and address genuine criticism privately in a direct message or email. People will know if you’re deleting their comments and it makes the business look bad.
Carefully vet everything before it goes on social media. Even generic phrases and post templates could seem outdated now. If you usually post about your Thursday special with the caption: “Everyone hurry down before it’s sold out!” it will seem insensitive and out-of-touch. Rework your strategy for this new, more isolated world.
You have the opportunity to foster your customer relationships in new, creative ways now that the old service-with-a-smile strategy is, by and large, unrealistic. Black Sheep provides templates “for various scenarios that you can adapt quickly and use across all platforms.” Check them out on Page 12 of the how-to guide.
Looking Toward the Future
Creativity is key as you adapt to life and business under COVID-19. Even if you choose, using these guidelines and hard work, to keep all operations running throughout this pandemic, business as you knew it won’t be the same for a very long time — possibly ever again. You need to adapt to this new way of life. For example, you can offer online classes and interactive experiences, the same way that many restaurants who halted dine-in service do to supplement their delivery-only model. Black Sheep also created a letter with tips and tricks that businesses can use to improve their day-to-day conditions, for example sanitization instructions and financial advice.
Most importantly, be flexible and maximize your strengths. Under COVID-19, life will continue to change from week to week, and bad news may come without warning. Develop strategies in advance for handling every conceivable situation and consider the future you want for your business. Even if your restaurant survives the pandemic, you’ll navigate an entirely new marketplace when the world reopens: One with less competition, sure, but also one where consumers have less disposable income to spend on nights out. Do you plan to restructure your service model? How will you draw in new customers? Will you return to business as usual? The future may be uncertain, but consider these questions so you’re prepared when it comes.
Familiarize yourself with this how-to guide as well as the templates that Black Sheep provides so that you can employ the necessary protocols at a moment’s notice. If you’re unsure if opening dine-in services is the right decision but you’re worried about letting down your community, take time to guarantee you’re prepared for the weight of either choice; closing certain services or keeping them open both come with their own risks, rewards and challenges. Ultimately you should do what’s best for your business, your employees and your community to get everyone through this troubling time together — for as long as it’s safe and legal to do so. | https://medium.com/eatos/some-restaurants-are-staying-open-heres-how-4494dd8504e9 | ['Alex Alper'] | 2020-05-06 22:56:23.863000+00:00 | ['Coronavirus', 'Food Service', 'Covid 19', 'Restaurant'] |
Keeping your story open and accessible for everyone to read | Keeping your story open and accessible for everyone to read
Common questions about Medium and its Partner Program.
The UX Collective is a platform that elevates unheard design voices all over the world. One of the channels we use for knowledge sharing is Medium, an online publishing platform that enables anyone to share their thoughts and build a community around ideas.
Below are some common questions around your options as an author when sharing your content on Medium.
What is the Medium Partner Program?
Medium has recently introduced a Partner Program: a way for writers to get paid for their writing. Writers can choose to submit their stories to the Program and, if the story is approved, they will get paid based on how readers are engaging with their articles. As members read longer, writers earn more.
Is my story going to sit behind a paywall?
No. By default, every new story is open for everyone.
Writers who are enrolled in the Medium Partner Program will have the option to place their stories behind the metered paywall. If they choose to do so, their stories are eligible to earn money. (Source)
Here’s what Ev Williams, the founder of Medium, has to say about the topic:
“It is free to publish on Medium, your content is always yours, and we will host it for free, indefinitely. This applies whether or not you choose to make money by putting your articles behind the Medium paywall or make them completely free. Yes, there is a paywall, which blocks reads after a few articles per month — but only if they were put behind the paywall by the writer (which, again, is optional). Many writers choose not to do so. But if they do, know that they are getting paid when members read their posts.”
How does the paywall work?
If you decide to close your story , it becomes “member-only”. In reality, readers who are not members will be able to see a number of closed stories for free per month, before they are asked to sign up for a Medium membership (US$5/month in most markets). Medium will also give you, the author, a “Friend Link”, which is a specific URL you can share with your network so they can read your article for free, regardless of having a Medium account or membership.
, it becomes “member-only”. In reality, readers who are not members will be able to see a number of closed stories for free per month, before they are asked to sign up for a Medium membership (US$5/month in most markets). Medium will also give you, the author, a “Friend Link”, which is a specific URL you can share with your network so they can read your article for free, regardless of having a Medium account or membership. If you choose to keep your stories open, your story will remain free and open for every reader, including logged out users.
But why pay the writer?
Writing, like any other work, takes time. Not everyone has the privilege of being able to write and publish content for free, so it’s fair to give authors the option to get paid based on how many people read and engage with their stories. If you’re a writer and you don’t depend on making money on your writing, you can keep your stories open.
I believe in keeping design knowledge open and available to everyone — can I keep my articles open?
Yes. When you are about to publish your story on Medium, you’ll see a checkbox that gives you the option of whether your story will be open or closed. Your story will only be put behind a paywall if you check that box.
Your story will only be put behind a paywall if you check that box.
When your story is open, anyone can read it, without restrictions. The story will remain open and accessible to everyone.
As publication editors, we don’t have any influence or control over whether your story is part of the program or not. It’s your choice, and your choice only. As it should be.
Does Medium own my content?
According to the founder of Medium: “It is free to publish on Medium, your content is always yours, and we will host it for free, indefinitely.”
For more details, check Medium’s Terms of Service.
How much do writers who decide to close their stories get paid? | https://uxdesign.cc/can-i-keep-my-story-open-and-accessible-to-everyone-to-read-on-medium-ebb91751987 | ['Ux Collective Editors'] | 2020-10-11 01:14:55.466000+00:00 | ['UX', 'UI', 'User Experience', 'Startup', 'Design'] |
Distributed Hyperparameter Search in Kubeflow/Kubernetes: Keras Tuner vs. Katib | Although Katib is a Kubeflow built-in Hyperparameter Search (HS), here is why I choose Keras-Tuner for distributed HS:
Keeps codebase independent of Kubeflow
Keeps Kubeflow experiments independent of the codebase decisions
Keras(TensorFlow)-trained models are also HS-optimized with Keras
Keeps HS to be a part of the codebase with source code versioning and CI/CD
Prevents running hundreds of Kubeflow experiments for a single HS
HS’s goal is to produce a list of model architectures and model parameters sorted by its model accuracy score. Asynchronous HS will produce such a list progressively by having it updated with newly computed trials. Keras Tuner allows making HS distributed with a set of CPU or GPU, and without any code change. The progressive mode can also be achieved with Keras Tuner by incrementally increasing the number of evaluated models.
Here I illustrate how to run HS in Kubeflow/Kubernetes:
Deployment
Keras-Tuner HS deploys ‘chief’ and ‘workers’ using All-reduce (or simply ‘reduce’): ‘cheif’ sends out requests to compute individual trials, ‘workers’ compute trials independently and exit upon instructions from ‘chief’. Creation
Kubernetes StatefulSet creates a distributed pool of pods/applications. These pods share k8s context but do not facilitate Chief-Workers architecture (see my figure). Cheif-Workers
Kubeflow TFJob implements Chief-Workers deployment, that facilitates Keras-Tuner: https://www.kubeflow.org/docs/components/training/tftraining/ I didn’t try it, but TFJob should also support another distributed Hyperparameter Search - Ray.
Here is How to Scale HS horizontally:
Workers run independent trials on GPU or CPU, both single-node and multiple-nodes. For me, the best feature of Keras-Tuner is that a docker component that runs Keras-Tuner on a single node requires no code change/no docker image change. A new TFJob yaml file needs to be created to run the Keras-Tuner component distributed. This Keras-tuner distributed sample shows how to add Keras-tuner to Keras model with less than ten lines of python code, and run Keras-tuner in a distributed mode without code change:
https://keras-team.github.io/keras-tuner/tutorials/distributed-tuning/
Explaning of TFJob YAML and how to run it on Kubeflow cluster (more information: https://www.kubeflow.org/docs/components/training/tftraining/)
The first step — dockerize the Keras-tuner sample, which can be run as “python run_tuning.py”. Explaining and editing YAML file:
image: Docker image with Keras-tuner PS and Worker: Chief and Workers For Keras-Tuner, add to PS and Worker after ‘containers’:
ports:
— containerPort: 8000
name: chief-service
resources:
limits:
cpu: ‘1’
workingDir: / port=8000 is selected by Keras-Tuner by default and can be changed. Selected ‘cpu’ on Chief, choose ‘cpu’ or ‘gpu’ on workers. Run in k8s cluster:
kubectl apply -f file.yaml Delete running pods from k8s:
kubectl delete -f file.yaml
Your Turn
So, what are your views on this? Do you feel stuck anywhere? Let me know in the comments below, and I will try my best to answer them ASAP. | https://medium.com/@roman-kazinnik/distributed-hyperparameter-search-in-kubeflow-kubernetes-keras-tuner-vs-katib-b5ae760b55f8 | ['Roman Kazinnik'] | 2020-11-24 18:49:40.634000+00:00 | ['Keras', 'Kubernetes', 'Hyperparameter Tuning', 'Kubeflow'] |
How I got TensorFlow Developer Certificate | Sharing a journey of how I got Google TensorFlow Developer Certificate
In the beginning of 2020, TensorFlow, an open source framework for developing an end to end deep learning models released its official certification program which tests developer abilities to build Computer vision models, Convolution Neural networks, Natural language Processing and Sequence models. It also tests abilities to strategize data and modeling best practices such as handling less data problem, over-fitting, and under-fitting.
Through this article, I will talk about the following:
What is TensorFlow?
What is TensorFlow Developer Certificate Program?
What it means for your (our) career(s)?
How to prepare for the exam?
Yes, prepared and ready to take the exam, what to expect during the exam?
After the exam…
Like any other exams, there is confidential information that I will not share in this article as I agreed while taking the exam, and I hope you also do so when you take the exam.
Alright, let’s get started!!
What is TensorFlow?
TensorFlow is an end to end deep learning framework for developing and training machine learning models. TensorFlow has gained popularity due to its simplicity in building models, a wide range of applications deployment scenarios such as mobile devices (iOS and Android), and embedded devices.
Speaking of that, there are variants of TensorFlow APIs such as TensorFlow.js for JavaScript developers, TensorFlow Lite for mobile devices and embedded devices, and Swift for TensorFlow (beta). Also, there are other awesome tools and resources which you can check out here.
But why TensorFlow? It is the centre of all Google machine learning applications and it is what power all apps such as YouTube, Google Photos, Search engine, and many more. Being backed by Google, there must be a huge opportunity in harnessing the use of this framework.
Besides being backed by google which can guarantee its long term development, its community is also supportive which can make it easy to find numerous answers to any problem you can be having in your ML pipelines.
What is TensorFlow Developer Certificate Program?
As said, TensorFlow certificate exam is a professional certificate which can help TensorFlow developers to demonstrate that they are proficiency in using TensorFlow to build deep learning models. The certificate costs $100, but you can get a $50 stipend which takes between 4 to 6 weeks from the day you request it.
The goal of this certificate is to provide everyone in the world the opportunity to showcase their expertise in ML in an increasingly AI-driven global job market….@Tensorflow website
TensorFlow team has also made a network of certificate holders on a global map. You can be the first one in your country to set the pin there!!
TensorFlow certificate network, https://developers.google.com/certification/directory/tensorflow
What it means for your (our) career(s)?
Gaining something to show that you have expertise in using this leading ML framework comes with huge benefits such as yes, such recognition, and can also showcase your skills on social networks such as LinkedIn and GitHub. The most thing I liked about this certificate exam, is that you learn things you would not feel like learning.
As a certificate holder, I am looking forward to these benefits!!
How to prepare for the exam?
There are numerous resources to help you get ready for the exam. The first thing which may be good to look into is the Candidate Handbook. Since this is updated regularly, check it often before you take the exam. For example, when I first looked into it months before exam, the python version to use was 3.7 but when I was about to take the exam, it had been changed to 3.8 (as of now). Luckily, it was the final day of preparation and I updated to Python 3.8 as soon as possible. You do not want to be frustrated by these kinds of things during the exam!
The following are the list of resources to help you get started. They are recommended if you are beginning or if TensorFlow is not your day to day framework.
DeepLearning.AI TensorFlow Developer Professional Certificate: This course is the number one to help you pass the exam. It was taught by Laurence Moroney, Lead AI Advocate/Head of TensorFlow Advocacy at Google. By taking this course, you learn how to develop deep learning models for Computer vision, Natural Language processing and Sequence models.
Laurence Moroney and Andrew Ng. , https://www.coursera.org/professional-certificates/tensorflow-in-practice#courses
Intro to TensorFlow for Deep Learning course: This is a free course taught by the TensorFlow team and Udacity as a practical approach to deep learning with TensorFlow. It is a great course and the curriculum is great as well. This is a substitute to DeepLearning.AI TensorFlow Developer Professional Certificate.
Hands-on Machine Learning for Scikit-Learn and TensorFlow: This is a great book not only to pass the exam but to also understand every single thing in the end to end ML process. The repository for the book chapter is open on author GitHub.
Intro to Deep Learning MIT: These are free lectures by MIT on Deep Learning. The recommended lecturers are first three, each with 40 minutes long. They are very practical, quick and helpful in understanding the basics of deep learning, convolutional neural networks and sequence models.
There are so many resources to look into, and you can find all of them on the official TensorFlow page. The most recommended course is DeepLearning.AI TensorFlow Developer Professional Certificate. Even if you maybe already good with TensorFlow, you should definitely check it before taking the exam.
Yes, prepared and ready to take the exam, what to expect during the exam?
The exam is 5 hours long and it will be automatically submitted if the time gets to end. The official environment for the exam is a current stable version of PyCharm.
Having limited time means that you are better off prepared to pass the exam if you have some plans in order. Here are what I can say about this part, and I will link to what helped.
Be familiar with PyCharm before taking an exam, and do run some of the tutorial models available on TensorFlow Tutorial page.
You are required to build five models, and they become complex from model one to the fifth.
During the exam, you are required to train models which may be slow depending on your machine. It is also advised to run them in Google Colab. I did this in parallel to training in PyCharm and it helped a lot. The point here is that you can build models while others are being trained in Colab or Kaggle kernel.
Be sure to have a stable internet for whole examination period, power and fewer distractions. I did it in midnight because I know there are no distractions and good internet as well.
If you run in any issue, check what the instructions and Candidate handbook have to say about it.
Read Candidate handbook again before taking the exam, and have it and other instructions open during the exam.
After the exam…
After the exam, you receive an email which either says you passed or you didn’t pass. You do not get a score or any details to your results. The only score you get is the ones you get while submitting models for a test such as 3/5 on every single model, and you get this directly in PyCharm not in the email notifying results.
Getting to the end, as Daniel Bourke puts it in his YouTube video, in this world where everyone can declare expertise after finishing an online course, you need some sorts of things to set you apart. This certificate may not be a must to have, but it is a nice to have!!
Thank you for reading and for any questions which don’t attempt to break exam confidentiality, reach out and connect with me on my LinkedIn.
P.S: I am not affiliated with any resource mentioned in any ways.
May your models always converge!! | https://medium.com/analytics-vidhya/how-i-got-tensorflow-developer-certificate-ac021ef652dc | ['Jean De Dieu Nyandwi'] | 2020-12-27 15:47:28.396000+00:00 | ['TensorFlow', 'Deep Learning', 'Google', 'Certification', 'Machine Learning'] |
Ty Ty Nursery: Cold Hardy Windmill Palm Trees for Northern Climates | Most individuals do not equate snowfall with palm trees; however, the windmill palm tree can survive harsh northern climates and is one of the most cold-hardy trees in existence. The windmill palm tree or the Trachycarpus fortunei are available at Ty Ty Nursery and can be purchased and planted in states across the USA, including northern states such as Illinois, Ohio, and Michigan.
Trachycarpus Fortunei
Commonly known as the windmill palm tree, the Trachycarpus fortunei is thought to have originated in China, from where seedlings and specimen trees were imported to the United States. The palm tree grows fan-shaped leaves and a few feet wide, making them an excellent source of shade in warmer months.
The trunk of this palm tree is approximately 1 foot in thickness and can reach heights of about 1 foot per year, depending on climate. In warmer temperatures, the palm trees can grow over 14 inches per year, whereas in colder climates they may only reach a growth rate of 8 inches.
Once fully matured, the tree can be expected to grow to an average height of 15ft, although the final heights can vary from 10 feet-30 feet depending on the location in which they are grown. According to Ty Ty Nursery, windmill palms are known for producing copious amounts of seeds which are eaten by animals but are inedible for people.
Suitable for Northern Climates
There are multiple cold hardy palm trees that are available for purchase throughout the US. However, the windmill is the hardiest and can be found as far north as Canada. Ty Ty Nursery notes that in Switzerland, this palm tree can be found lined around Lake Lucerne and leading up to the city walls. In the US, the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) has broken down land into hardiness zones, starting north and moving down south.
Growing Zones
The Windmill palm tree can usually be grown in hardiness zones 6 through 11. Zone 6 covers a large area of the mid-USA, spanning from Kansas through to the east coast, with small areas of states west of Kansas. Included in zone 6 are areas in southern Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, Connecticut, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Ty Ty Nursery points out that the of the recommended zones as per the USDA, the Windmill palm tree can grow in zone 6 with temperatures going as low as -5 to 5 degrees.
It has been over a decade since Ty Ty Nursery began selling small windmill palm trees to their customers. Originally beginning with smaller trees, they have recently successfully delivered larger trees via semi-trucks to Illinois, New York and New Jersey. Ty Ty Nursery believes that the windmill palm trees will do great in the coming years in the USA, with the tropical feel and the hardiness to survive harsher northern climates.
For more information on the windmill palm please visit https://www.tytyga.com/. | https://medium.com/ty-ty-nursery/cold-hardy-windmill-palm-trees-for-northern-climates-410b6cf05bea | ['Ty Ty Nursery'] | 2019-02-25 20:14:37.001000+00:00 | ['Environment', 'Plants', 'Gardening', 'Green'] |
In Need of Noise | In Need of Noise
by Viktor Mogilat on Unsplash
What drops between sounds can deafen
It spills from the sky,
and if I don’t die in the deluge
with no resounding distractions to buoy me —
no dings, rings, or clamor to cling onto,
nor my own words to wrap around —
I might find I can float
upon the thick roar of silence,
that it is not necessary to swim
against the action of a passive verb
Words leave me
and silence falls upon
But the sounds
and what was said is dredged
after the flood,
and I hold onto it in preparation
for the next day’s rain,
because the quiet
does not resonate with me | https://medium.com/for-the-sake-of-the-song/in-need-of-noise-7d016b26b433 | ['Sydney J. Shipp'] | 2020-12-25 01:29:06.736000+00:00 | ['Distraction', 'Poetry', 'Free Verse', 'Adhd', 'Self-awareness'] |
Machine Learning Made Easy: An Introduction to PyTorch | Deep Learning with neural networks is currently one
of the most promising branches of artificial intelligence. This innovative
technology is commonly used in applications such as image recognition, voice
recognition and machine translation, among others.
There are several options out there in terms of technologies and libraries, Tensorflow — developed by Google — being the most widespread nowadays.
However, today we are going to focus on PyTorch, an emerging alternative that is quickly gaining traction thanks to its ease of use and other advantages, such as its native ability to run on GPUs, which allows traditionally slow processes such as model training to be accelerated. It is Facebook’s main library for deep learning applications.
Its basic elements are tensors, which can be equated to vectors with one or several dimensions.
Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs)
An Artificial Neural Network is a system of nodes that are interconnected in an orderly manner and arranged in layers and through which an input signal travels to produce an output. They receive this name because they aim to simply emulate the workings of the biological neural networks in animal brains.
They are made up of an input layer, one or more hidden layers and an output
layer, and can be trained to ‘learn’ how to recognize certain patterns. This
characteristic is what makes them be considered a part of ecosystem of
technologies known as artificial intelligence.
ANNs are several decades old, but have attained great importance in recent years due to the increased availability of the large amounts of data and computing power that are required for them to be used to solve complex problems.
They have entailed a historical milestone in applications that have been traditionally refractory to classical, rule-based programming, such as image or voice recognition.
Installing PyTorch
If we have the Anaconda environment installed, PyTorch is installed with the following command:
console conda install pytorch torchvision -c pytorch
Otherwise, we can use pip as follows:
console pip3 install torch torchvision
Example of an ANN
Let us look at a simple case of image sorting by deep learning using the well-known MNIST dataset, which contains images of handwritten numbers from 0 to 9.
Loading the dataset
import torch, torchvision
In order to be able to use the dataset with PyTorch, it must be transformed into a tensor. To do this, we must define a T transformation that will be used in the loading process.
We must also define a DataLoader, a Python generator object whose purpose is to provide images in batch_size groups of images at the same time.
Note: It is typical in neural network training to update the parameters every N inputs instead of every individual input. However, excessively increasing the group size could end up taking up too much RAM in the system.
T = torchvision.transforms.Compose([torchvision.transforms.ToTensor()]) images = torchvision.datasets.MNIST('mnist_data', transform=T,download=True) image_loader = torch.utils.data.DataLoader(images,batch_size=128)
Defining the topology of the ANN
Next, we need to decide what topology our network is going to have. An ANN consists of an input layer, one or more intermediate or, as they are commonly known, hidden layers, and an output layer.
The number of hidden layers, as well as the amount of neurons in them,
depends on the complexity and the type of the problem. In this simple case, we are going to implement two hidden layers of 100 and 50 neurons respectively.
The class we must create is inherited from the nn.Module class. Additionally, we will need to initialize the methods of the superclass.
import torch.nn as nn #definimos la red neuronal class Classifier(nn.Module): def __init__(self): super(Classifier,self).__init__() self.input_layer = nn.Linear(28*28,100) self.hidden_layer = nn.Linear(100,50) self.output_layer = nn.Linear(50,10) self.activation = nn.ReLU() def forward(self, input_image): input_image = input_image.view(-1,28*28) #convertimos la imagen a vector output = self.activation(self.input_layer(input_image)) #pasada por la capa entrada output = self.activation(self.hidden_layer(output)) #pasada por la capa oculta output = self.output_layer(output) #pasada por la capa de salida return output
The input layer
It has as many neurons as there is data in our samples. In this case, the inputs are images of 28x28 pixels showing the handwritten numbers. Therefore, our input layer will comprise 28x28 neurons.
The output layer
It has as many possible outputs as there are classes in our data — 10 in this case (digits from 0 to 9). For every input, the output nodes will yield a value — the greater of which is identified with the detected output class.
This function defines the output of a node according to an input or a set of inputs. In this case, we will use the simple ReLU (Rectified Linear Unit) function.
This function defines how the calculations will be performed from the input data, which will go through the different layers, to the output. It starts by flattening the input from a two-dimensional 28x28-pixel tensor to a one-dimensional tensor of 784 values that are transferred to the input layer using the view function.
These values will be then propagated to the hidden layers by means of the activation function and, finally, to the output layer, which will return the result.
Training the ANN
In order to successfully train our network, we need to define some parameters.
from torch import optim import numpy as np classifier = Classifier() #instanciamos la RN loss_function = nn.CrossEntropyLoss() #función de pérdidas parameters = classifier.parameters() optimizer = optim.Adam(params=parameters, lr=0.001) #algoritmo usado para optimizar los parámetros epochs = 3 #número de veces que pasamos cada muestra a la RN durante el entrenamiento iterations = 0 #número total de iterations para mostrar el error losses = np.array([]) #array que guarda la pérdida en cada iteración
First we will instantiate an object of the previously defined class, which is termed a classifier.
A loss function
We will use this function to optimize the parameters; their value will be minimized during the network training phase. There are many loss functions available for PyTorch. In this case, we will use cross entropy loss, which is recommended for multiclass classification situations such as the one we are discussing in this post.
An optimizer
This object receives the model and learning rate parameters and iteratively updates them according to the gradient of the loss function during the training of the network. In this case, we have used an Adam algorithm, although others can be used as well.
Epoch sets the number of times the dataset will be passed through the ANN for training purposes. This practice is a typical convention in the training of deep learning systems. The other parameters will be used to store and subsequently display the results.
Training loop
from torch.autograd import Variable #necesario para calcular gradientes for e in range(epochs): for i, (images, tags) in enumerate(image_loader): images, tags = Variable(images), Variable(tags) #Convertir a variable para derivación output = classifier(images) #calcular la salida para una imagen classifier.zero_grad() #poner los gradientes a cero en cada iteración error = loss_function(output, tags) #calcular el error error.backward() #obtener los gradientes y propagar optimizer.step() #actualizar los pesos con los gradientes iterations += 1 losses = np.append(losses,error.item())
Training will takes place the number of times that is set in the epochs
variable, which is reflected in the outer loop. The following steps will be then
carried out:
Extracting the images and their tags from the previously defined image_loader object. Transforming the images and tags to the Variable type, since this data type that allows us to store the gradients in order to thus be able optimize the parameters or weights of the model. Transferring the input (images) to the classifier model. Resetting the gradients. If we do not perform this operation, the gradients would start accumulating, giving rise to erroneous classifications. Calculating the loss, which is a measure of the difference between the forecast and the tags that are present. With the backward() function, obtaining and propagating the gradients. Updating the weights with the optimizer object. This is known as the backpropagation method. Saving the number of iterations and the losses in each one of them in order to be able to display them.
Results
Now we are ready to see the outcome of our training! To this end, we will use the matplotlib library. Since we saved the iterations and the loss, we just have to plot them in a graph to have an idea of how much progress our ANN has made.
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt plt.style.use('seaborn-whitegrid') #vemos las pérdidas en cada iteración de forma gráfica plt.plot(np.arange(iterations),losses)
It can be seen in the graph above how the classification error has decreased as the ANN has been trained.
Conclusion
There are several — both free and proprietary — options out there for programming ANNs. Although Google’s TensorFlow is still the undisputed market leader, little by little interesting alternatives are emerging that might add value to the ecosystem due to having native compatibilities, their ease of use, and so on. | https://medium.com/swlh/machine-learning-made-easy-an-introduction-to-pytorch-6e24dfc377f1 | ['Paradigma Digital'] | 2020-12-04 09:18:21.917000+00:00 | ['Artificial Intelligence', 'Machine Learning', 'Data Science', 'Deep Learning', 'Pytorch'] |
When You Feel Like You’re Falling Apart | He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. Colossians 1:17 (NIV)
Some days I feel like I’m falling apart. Getting everything wrong. Making mistakes that can’t be fixed.
Maybe you can relate to feeling like you’re falling apart.
A few weeks ago I added coffee to the percolator and turned the stove on. I went upstairs to brush my teeth and wash my face. A couple minutes later I smelled smoke. I ran downstairs. Half the owners manual for the percolator had curled into ash with red embers blazing.
Then this morning when I came downstairs to make breakfast, I smelled burning again. This time I hadn’t turned on the wrong burner. I forgot to add water to the percolator last night.
I wish it was just my coffee making skills that revealed my frailties. But it’s so much more.
Oh, how my heart needs the reminder that in Christ all things are held together.
As a writer I would have put Colossians 1:17 all on its own so it stands out. But there in the middle of the paragraph is this sweet truth.
He is before all things, and in [Christ] all things hold together.
Punctuation and paragraphing were added to the Bible many years after Paul penned these words. Maybe scholars put the verse in the middle to hold the paragraph together. To hold verses 16 and 18 close to one another.
Because in Christ ALL things hold together. Marriages. Families. Creation. He holds it all together.
Jesus is the Creator and Sustainer of all. When we bring Him to the center, we release to Him the burden of holding our lives together.
Sweet friend, be held together by the One who knit you together for in Christ all things are held together. For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. Psalm 139:13 (NIV)
Be held together by the One who knit you together for in Christ all things are held together.
Reminder for the heart: Be held together by the One who knit you together for in Christ all things are held together.
Related resource to encourage your heart: Stronger With God at the Center and Why We Need to Live with Humble Dependence on God.
What’s on your heart? What encourages your heart when you feel like you’re falling apart? In what area of your life do you need to bring Jesus to the center?
Sweet blessings,
Crystal | https://medium.com/@crystalstorms/when-you-feel-like-youre-falling-apart-242df59b6e12 | ['Crystal Storms'] | 2020-10-15 18:54:52.326000+00:00 | ['Bible Verse', 'Faith', 'Devotional', 'Faith and Life', 'Jesus'] |
“Mama in the Time of Corona” or “This is your SCHOOL on Corona” | GREAT. NOW I’M DEPRESSED AND IRRATIONAL: WHAT WERE THOSE REASONS AGAIN?
Photo by Anthony Tran on Unsplash
1.) Is it true that the mental health of our kids is better in person no matter what? Experts do not agree.
a.) As Robin Fierstein, PSY.D., of Philadelphia posted on Facebook: “as a child and family therapist, I strongly disagree with the arguments that schools should re-open for children’s emotional health.” She calls opening schools back up “short sighted and illogical,” and cites examples of why: “children [potentially] experiencing more deaths of loved ones, friend’s loved one’s and community members; having to obey rigid and developmentally inappropriate behavioral expectations” (like social distancing, and wearing masks for hours); restricting peer engagement when peers are “right in front of them”; meeting educational standards amid all the changes; and the lack of predictability as Covid possibly takes staff members and/or classmates away. If kids are largely in school, what does that do to the rate of future infection?
b.) Balanced against these health concerns are the educational needs of children. Experts agree students clearly learn better in schools, and in-school class is best practice. The reality in many parts of Texas (and elsewhere) is that kids learning remotely will be at an enormous disadvantage as some will struggle just to get online. For many kids, being in school also means access to food, medical care, and safety from abuse. Keeping schools closed [in any state] for a prolonged stretch has worrisome implications for social and academic development, some child development experts say.
OUR FAMILY CONCLUSION: While kids clearly learn best in an in-class setting, and that is our ultimate goal, my job is freelance. I am able to be home. My kids can get online and get help from me when/where they need it. It’s not a long-term solution, but still early in the academic year, for us the health interests overshadow the academic/social-emotional concerns. (Though they are still enormous concerns.)
2.) As infections are inevitable, what is in place to mitigate exposure?
Photo by Izzy Park on Unsplash
a.) I just have to start here: I am exceedingly aware of the stark inequity when comparing our private school resources with that of most public schools. The discrepancy is real and it isn’t fair. I feel gross about it. But the unfair truth is, our school has resources such that they have gone above and beyond in terms of safety measures and specific protocol should outbreaks occur. They have planned for the possibility of shutting school down throughout the year as positive cases happen. They have set up a covered outdoor space, improved the ventilation system, and installed hand washing stations. We have lower student to teacher ratio in general, and walls have been knocked down in places to create bigger classrooms. I am keenly aware these changes are luxuries to which not everyone is privy.
b.) Even with extensive precautions, there is no guarantee that the virus won’t spread in our school community. Children tend not to get exceedingly ill from the virus or appear to contract it as often, true, but children also show higher concentrations of the virus (from a nose test, for example). Do children just have better immune systems to combat the virus, and thus, even if they are exposed, don’t result in serious symptoms? Maybe. So parents sending kids to school, fairly confident their kids aren’t going to contract the virus, or that if they do, it’s not such a big deal, are probably right. For kids anyway. But if kids tend to be less symptomatic, and thus unaware of spreading the virus, will eventual exposure end up having a disproportionate effect on adults (teachers and staff)? If asymptomatic kids spread the virus unknowinly, there can be serious repercussions if adults contract the virus and become seriously ill. If that happens, will adults die? What would the effect be on the community were that to happen? How do we weigh that with the social/emotional advantage of in-class instruction?
OUR FAMILY CONCLUSION: While we have been utterly impressed with all our school has done to prepare for possible exposure, the inability to control for the spread due to possible asymptomatic students, for one, doesn’t seem at this point, worth the risk. We will have more information over time to re-evaluate.
3.) What are the long-term effects on adults and/or children who get the virus?
Photo by CDC on Unsplash
a.) This one for me may be the kicker: we can’t know the long-term implications for anyone who contracts the virus — not even for those asymptomatic or who experience only mild symptoms. Even when someone has contracted the virus and came through it, for some there have been lingering cardiovascular, respiratory, and kidney issues. We currently have no idea what this means long term.
b.) Reports in adults increasingly suggest that death is not the only severe outcome. Many adults seem to have debilitating symptoms for weeks or months after they first contract the virus. Which leads to the question, are kids who are infected vulnerable to those long-term consequences as well?
OUR FAMILY. CONCLUSION: The only answer here is a big fat question mark. Although, as one of my dear friends reminds me, we don’t know the long- term effects of anything really, including breathing the air or ingesting whatever chemicals all day every day and that hasn’t kept us at home. I hear this and I get it. There are risks associated with stepping outside our door. The possibilities are endless. But time is going to answer some of these questions, and this question mark for us just feels too big.
4.) What is the most important factor in deciding whether children go back to school?
Photo by Mike Erskine on Unsplash
a.) Researchers seem to agree that community transmission is the most important factor when deciding whether or not children return to school. As one doctor put it, “We just can’t keep a school free from the coronavirus if the community is a hotbed of infection.”
b.) Dallas is as of now, down to orange designation, down from red and moving in the right direction. However, when we made the call, Dallas was still in the red. “STAY HOME STAY SAFE” seemed pretty clear. Obviously different zip codes have different numbers of cases, and ours were lower. Still, that red risk level was a line for us.
Photo by CDC
A COUPLE OF FINAL POINTS
1.) I have NO JUDGEMENT about anyone who decided (or decides) to send their kids to in person school. It was a tough and personal call for every family. It still is. Without clear information, it can feel like a crap shoot. Some help at the federal level would be peachy, but that’s another post!
2.) Gross inequities are at play here in our decision and we know it. As my children and I enjoy the snow or miss our friends or both, we are beyond lucky to have the choice we are afforded by attending a school that is able to provide exceptional safety measures. I feel like shit about this. But does feeling guilty and shitty help? Nope. Not any more than white privilege guilt helps the African American community. Individually, I need to find ways to help kids who do not have the amenities we do. So far, some volunteering has filled that description, but now that school is on, continuing that remains an open question. I know it isn’t nearly enough.
Just for the hell of it at this point, the CDC has several charts on their website aimed to help parents decide what makes sense for their family and school. Still interesting, to a geek like me anyway, to look at the breakdown even if you’re decision is made https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/schools-childcare/decision-tool.html.
No matter what your choice, be safe and careful out there. Can’t wait to meet you in person. | https://medium.com/a-parent-is-born/mama-in-the-time-of-corona-or-this-is-your-school-on-corona-f3d16bb69914 | ['Erin Ryan Burdette'] | 2020-09-17 20:33:20.772000+00:00 | ['Schools', 'Kids', 'Parenting', 'Coronavirus', 'Decisions'] |
I Only Know About You Once a Year | I Only Know About You Once a Year
I have friends living far away for whom I care even though we are no longer in each others’ lives on a daily or weekly basis.
Some are former work colleagues. Others are school cronies or distant cousins.
Since I have moved several times, former neighbors also make up part of my group of Christmas “wassup?” friends. I truly look forward to the exchange of yearly greetings because I want to get caught up.
(By the way, I am not referring to cards including a 2-page single-spaced brag announcement or a blow-by-blow recounting of hideous medical procedures.)
I am talking about cards, e-cards, and blanket social media holiday posts which include references to our common past. They give me the information I would ask about if we were having a telephone conversation or an in-person chat.
Treasures in the Cards
I like good news about children and nieces or nephews of my friends.
I delight in their good fortune — it is such a nice change from the info that news media choose to present to us. Since these are the young people in the families of people whose judgment and friendship I already cherish, of course, I love hearing about all their good breaks, awards, and accomplishments.
I have learned about performances in the Philadelphia Thanksgiving Day parade and awards in scouting, good experiences at summer camps, job internships, or travel.
As the years go by, I celebrate the arrival of babies of my friends’ babies.
From other friends, the annual Christmas contact may bring news of professional achievements and the launching of a new business endeavor. Sometimes, I can report back that “I saw your name mentioned in a national magazine!” That is special.
Annual Connection
Although we may never arrange our lives to actually meet again somewhere, I do not forget my “Christmas card friends.” I count on receiving an update each winter. I hope they do, too.
Just because we no longer live in the same neighborhood, or state, or country, does not mean we do not live in each others’ hearts.
Forever. | https://medium.com/@writermarenm/i-only-know-about-you-once-a-year-c5c3c7a17554 | ['Maren E Morgan'] | 2020-12-11 22:28:50.259000+00:00 | ['Christmas', 'Letters', 'Holidays', 'Cards', 'Friendship'] |
We’ve got IDEAS! | The mentors have decided. HERE is the full list of ideas and team leads for each of them:
1. ArtOn, Atila Gombos (idea Owner)
2. AutismVoiceLine, Nicoleta Mariana Orlea (idea Owner)
3. Bioteq, Cosmin Poieana (idea Owner)
4. Bit Triage (temporary), Daniel Stefan Visan (idea Owner)
5. BuddyUp, Miruna Toader (idea Owner)
6. BYEOVID, andreea vasilcin (idea Owner)
7. Career education chatbot, Madalina Partoaca (idea Owner)
8. Citizen scientists agains corona, Dragos Bordescu (idea Owner)
9. Conference at court, [email protected] (idea Owner)
10. Covid-19 Destination Form and Traking, Apostol Stefan Mihai (idea Owner)
11. DeepCrisis, Yacine Bouchrika (idea Owner)
12. Defend-wear, Razvan Valceanu (idea Owner)
13. Defense Viruses, Petre Iulian Timis (idea Owner)
14. Digital school for doctors, Cucos Florin (idea Owner)
15. Epidemologic Tracker, Pantilimon Andrei Lucian (idea Owner)
16. FiiLocal, Ana-Arina Raileanu (idea Owner)
17. Help for Hire, Tushar Advani (idea Owner)
18. iDareYou, Meder Robert (idea Owner)
19. InhlAid, Razvan Mihai Cretu (idea Owner)
20. Life e-Learning, Anna Mera (idea Owner)
21. LOVESCOPE, Anda Tepei (idea Owner)
22. Mask Radar web platform, Tudor Vlad Beleuta (idea Owner)
23. MediNav, Adina Wanda Fiat (idea Owner)
24. MHFA ( Mental Health First Aid), Cristina Loredana Nina (idea Owner)
25. News AI (name still pending), Jimmy Nastase (idea Owner)
26. Notary Online, Alexandru Motoonu (idea Owner)
27. Oldie but Goldie, Nemeș Silvia Amalia (idea Owner)
28. One Time Jobs Platform, Diana Ioana Sterea (idea Owner)
29. Online Education for Everyone — remove the veil of inequality, Mariana Ciuca (idea Owner)
30. Pedal tap, David-Florentin Chirita (idea Owner)
31. Plasmatch, Tiberius Pircalabu (idea Owner)
32. quarantiMe, stefan filip (idea Owner)
33. Rebels with a cause., Dean Smith (idea Owner)
34. Scarecity, Sebastian Macovei (idea Owner)
35. SUPPLIED, Munteanu Iulian-Alexandru (idea Owner)
36. SusTrack, Alex Iuonut (idea Owner)
37. Tech2Grow, Adrian Cioroianu (idea Owner)
38. Teleradiologie, ANDREEA LEFTER (idea Owner)
39. TeleVaccine, VizeAurelian Dorin (idea Owner)
40. The internet of gardens, Cindea Laurentiu Bogdan (idea Owner)
41. Tooting, Madalina Marinescu (idea Owner)
42. UV-C Disinfection/sterilization device, Andrut Alin Liviu (idea Owner)
43. Virtual Medical Congress, Ion-Gheorghe PETROVAI (idea Owner)
44. WaaS — wellbeing as a service, Adrian BALASKO (idea Owner)
45. Wastely, Liviu Tudoran (idea Owner)
The participants overdid themselves. We’ve received over 120 wonderful submissions and the 19 mentors had a hard time selecting. The mentors have selected 45 ideas based on:
The uniqueness of the idea,
How impactful the idea is during COVID-19.
Some ideas weren’t selected, but we believe that nothing goes to waste. This is an opportunity to meet new people and make new connections. Who knows? Maybe they’ll meet their new best friend, and you, your future team.
It’s time to team up! | https://medium.com/startup-weekend-romania/weve-got-ideas-18b263802da5 | ['Andrei Cosmin Munteanu'] | 2020-05-01 15:42:05.060000+00:00 | ['Startup', 'Ideas', 'Team'] |
It is time to change the “beauty” standards | We all have been criticized as being too fat,too thin, too tall, too short, at some point in our life and for some of us such comments might have damaged are self-esteem.
Are you someone who still identifies yourself with something that someone said to you?
Yes, I am talking about body shaming. I think a this Valentines Day is a great start for all of us to see ourselves differently and start caring and loving our body and appreciate it more.
We are constantly bombarded with advertisements and magazines that tell us how we should look, what we should wear and what is sexy and what isn’t?
Most of us just blindly follow whatever we see without thinking for ourselves.
Take a deep breath and now read this.
You are totally different than I am. There is no person who is exactly like me and there isn’t any person who is exactly like YOU.
Can we not see that our uniqueness is what makes us special? Then, why is it that we force our bodies to be like that model in the magazine? Why do we force ourselves to go on diets to slim down or to take proteins to look more muscular?
1. Who is deciding the standard of beauty?
Advertisements and TV shows tell us what is the latest fashion and then we all go out to buy that dress, that cosmetic product or follow that new diet.
I see so many videos on YouTube that give advice on how to slim down, have tighten you butt or tips on face-lifting just to name a few. I am not saying that it is wrong but we need to understand that our bodies are different and that we all look different. That is how nature intended us to be!
We need to realize that what maybe good for one person may not be good for another. So please stop following dangerous diets and exercises that your body cannot handle.
2. We need to stop telling our bodies what to eat, how to look and what to do.
Our bodies are way smarter than we think. Look how your body takes you from one place to another, helps you in doing the work that you, regulates all the complex systems and helps keep illness away.
Please appreciate your body for working so hard for you and taking care of you even though you keep constantly judging it.
Every morning tell your body how grateful you are, how much you love it and how you appreciate it’s hard work. Be grateful everyday towards your body for being healthy and allowing you to build the life you want.
3. Self worth and the body
We often attach our self worth to how attractive we look, what brand clothes we wear and how “slim” or “muscular” we are.
This leads serious issues like eating disorders in teenagers and young adults. We start thinking that we can only feel confident and good about ourselves if we loose those pounds or gain those muscles.
This is a very dangerous trap and many of us have fallen right into it and are stuck, struggling everyday to look at ourselves in the mirror.
4. We need to change our “thinking” not our “body”
Your body loves you 24/7 through the day no matter how you treat it and what you say to it.
It is time you appreciate the way you look and feel. I am not suggesting that we shouldn’t change our lifestyle but it is important to know what motivates us: is it fear of not looking a certain or is it self-love and wanting to be healthy?
It is time for all of us to step up and decide our own unique standard of beauty and live that truth. We are all beautiful and lovable. Please don’t buy into those commercials and magazines that tell us otherwise!
My wish for you is that this Valentines Day you deepen your connection with your body and fall in love with it!
Lots of Love,
Deepika❤ | https://medium.com/the-4-elements-of-change/it-is-time-to-change-the-beauty-standards-a8a77c8a3a7e | ['Deepika Bengali'] | 2020-03-06 14:12:02.763000+00:00 | ['Lifestyle', 'Bodyshamimg', 'Body Positive', 'Body Image', 'Self Love'] |
Be Rich Without Making Money Your Life | Be Rich Without Making Money Your Life
People don’t buy things or products.
“Consumers buy products whose advertising promises them value for money, beauty, nutrition, relief from suffering, social status and so on.”
The idea is simple, the underlying message profound, and David Ogilvy built a marketing legacy based on insights like this. Considered the “Father of Advertising,” his teams were behind some of the most effective ad campaigns of the 20th century. If you had something you wanted to sell to the public, this was a man who could get you consistent results.
The keyword in his pithy statement, however, isn’t product or even value. People buy products, sure, and they hope these products will provide value to them in whatever way they consider meaningful or important, but these are surface-level behaviors and assumptions driven by a deeper abstraction. That abstraction is promise. Consumption is about instigating change towards the future, a change that offers something better than the status quo. We don’t buy things — we buy the promise of an improved identity or experience, a version of life that tastes, perhaps, a little sweeter.
But this is all still from the perspective of the marketer. To them, a promise is simply a narrative that will do the job, and that job is sales. Sometimes, their promise is honest. Sometimes, it’s not. Either way, they are trying to fit the puzzle into a small gap that is open in our lives. The really interesting question is: What is that gap? What do we want when we spend money?
Everybody has their own goals, their own value systems, their own motivations, and it’s almost impossible to generalize human behavior at that level because, quite often, we ourselves don’t consciously know what they are. Once that is accounted for, however; once we understand that people have their own blueprint for their own journey in life, the landscape becomes a little more clear. Beneath it all, the promise that we want upheld when we buy things is the promise that whatever it is that we buy will reduce friction in our lives. Money, in a way, is our way of solving a problem, and that problem is generally about the things that make it difficult for us to live life friction-free — a life of unconstrained self-expression.
Steve Jobs once famously called the computer a bicycle for the mind. He had read a study about how efficiently different animals move in space, and that study had come to the conclusion that humans are one of the less efficient movers in the animal kingdom. But, somewhere, someone else had another idea, and they made a small change to that study. Given that humans are tool-makers, they decided to measure the movement of a human on a bicycle. Of course, with the leverage of technology, our efficiency skyrockets, far beyond anything in the natural world. As a bicycle for the mind, the computer reduces the friction in our mind, unleashing unbounded potential.
All products or experiences that we spend money on do the same thing. They promise to make something difficult easy so we can better focus on the things that truly matter to us. What gives money its power isn’t some inherent quality in itself, but rather, it’s the leverage it provides in purchasing things that make our own lives more fluid, more coherent with the things we want to do to become better versions of ourselves.
Marketing, of course, is an essential part of this process, and when done ethically, it is just as much of an art as it is a science. That said, one of the insidious things about how marketing is often done in the age of mass media is that it has been turned into a cold science. Marketers and advertisers have learned all sorts of tricks about how the human mind works, the biases it harbors, and the primal drives that shape our desires, and they have become comfortable targeting our doubts and our insecurities to make us buy things we don’t truly want or need. And this is done at such a deep, unconscious level that we often don’t realize it is happening to us.
The fact that money is an instrument of power and that we are all inherently social creatures who can’t help but compete for that power also doesn’t help. While, yes, the underlying motivation is to buy things to reduce friction in life, much of our consumption choices are confused because the competitive nature of the game we play in society ends up blurring our own preferences with those of others around us. Perhaps it’s true that you bought the latest Louis Vuitton collection because of its superior quality, or because they are currently at the edge of the fashion world and that’s what you value and how you like to express yourself, but the truth is that for many people, these decisions to consume are more about signaling perceived status. They don’t actually reduce friction — they just trick you into thinking they do.
When thought of like this, the idea of money can be decoupled from the idea of living what could be considered a rich, satisfying life. And when the goal becomes to live a rich, satisfying life, then the pull of manipulative marketing campaigns also lose their grip over the mind.
At its core, there are two kinds of friction that stop us from living the kind of life that is meaningful and interesting relative to who we are and where we want to go: psychological friction and environmental friction.
Psychological friction comes from all of the things in our mind that relate to who we are and how we connect to other people. It’s what you worry about. It’s what you desire. When it comes to manipulating marketing tactics, this is the kind of friction that they promise to solve. If only you had a nicer car, you would be satisfied. If only you identified with this label, and paid this group of people, your troubles would melt away. And sometimes, consumption on this level works. But usually, it only works temporarily because the underlying worry and the underlying desire is still there, and once you get used to that car or once you realize that someone else’s concept of identity won’t solve your problem, you’re back to where you started.
Now, of course, if you just happen to love cars or if you deeply know who you are and are simply looking for a collaborative community, then that changes things. Those problems are real enough on a personal level, and they have solutions that can be bought, and once bought, these solutions can make your life notably more interesting. But the distinction here is this: When that psychological friction is downstream from your own individual values and preferences, some money can help you, but if it’s simply a way of running away from your own mind, then no amount of money will do.
The other part of this is external. Environmental friction is about your physical body and the relationship it has to its surroundings. This is where money makes a bigger and more tangible difference. If you can’t put food on the table or if you live in a dangerous neighborhood, then you obviously have a problem, and that problem will also extend inwards and create psychological friction. But less obviously, decorating a personal space that inspires you reduces friction. A bicycle as a mode of transportation reduces friction. A computer becoming a bicycle for your mind does, too. That said, while some level of wealth is obviously needed for your general environment to be friction-less, there are diminishing returns to how much friction you can reduce by throwing money at it. After a certain point, the things that cause friction in your physical environment are less about consumption and more about how you organize your way of being in the world.
When you base your life on self-expression, then money simply becomes an instrument for you to increase the fluidity of your life, reducing friction. With the exponential rate of change we have seen in the world of technology, we have access to power that would have been unfathomable even a few centuries ago. And best of all, most of the really important technology is just as financially available to someone who is living a middle-class lifestyle as it is for someone who is a billionaire. Steve Jobs’ phone was no different from the one I myself can buy, and Sergey Brin and Larry Page send their emails just the way that a regular person does. This is becoming increasingly true across all industries. And in cases where it’s less true, the advantage of more money isn’t as large as it has historically been.
There is a massive difference between experiencing a life of richness and having an abundance of money. Pretty much no one would argue that the former is more important than the latter, and yet, the way we think about these things tends to diverge away from what we know — the way we spend our resources tends to diverge away from what we know.
Things and products aren’t solutions in themselves. They are tools, and they are means. And when they are treated as tools, as the means they are, they allow us to do what we do best: live freely. | https://medium.com/personal-growth/how-to-be-rich-without-making-money-your-life-d3a03de9fc0b | ['Zat Rana'] | 2020-05-11 07:25:49.579000+00:00 | ['Culture', 'Life Lessons', 'Technology', 'Self Improvement', 'Life'] |
Here’s why you should vote for SWFTC in the Binance Community Coin Vote | Here’s why you should vote for SWFTC in the Binance Community Coin Vote
This short bullet point guide will help you see what makes SWFT Blockchain great and why SWFTC deserves your vote! SWFT Blockchain May 1, 2020·4 min read
By now, you have probably heard that SWFTC was selected to be a part of the 8th round of the Binance Community Coin Vote. We are super excited by the prospect of SWFTC being available on Binance, but we need your help!
You know the vote is on May 6th and you know you need to have over 50 BNB (in an 8 day average) to vote. But do you know who you’re voting for? Here is a quick bullet point summary to help guide your voting:
The Numbers:
· 3 Years: The team has been focusing on cross-blockchain technology since 2017
· 9 countries: SWFT Blockchain team members are distributed around the world, from Silicon Valley to Asia, through Europe and Africa.
· 8 languages: Our team members speak English, Mandarin, Spanish, Hindi, Cantonese, French, Arabic, and Tagalog
· 14 exchanges: SWFTC can be traded on many exchanges, including Huobi, OKEx, and of course,SWFT Blockchain
· 30 wallets have integrated SWFT’s swap API, including Ellipal, MathWallet, TokenPocket, AToken, Bepal, and Hoo
· 58 public chains are supported by SWFT Blockchain’s cross-chain protocol and wallet
· 68 App updates!
· 79 countries: Providing cross-chain swap, wallet, and payments services around the world!
· 154 countries: Our app is available in even more countries on the iOS App Store!
· 171 BTC: daily average transaction volume
· 240 cryptocurrencies are available for swaps, payments and red packets and more on SWFT Blockchain
· 300+ proud partners: including industry leaders like Ledger, CENTRE, Neo, Dash, Tron, Maker DAO and Berkeley Blockchain Xcelerator!
· 1.5 million registered users | https://medium.com/@swftcoin/why-should-you-vote-swftc-in-the-binance-community-coin-vote-d4055b726bc9 | ['Swft Blockchain'] | 2020-05-01 18:13:55.804000+00:00 | ['Swft Blockchain', 'Binance', 'Voting', 'Swftc', 'Swftcoin'] |
The Birthday Closet | Mark Lim, left, with author Joel Engardio in 2000.
By Joel P. Engardio
On my 28th birthday, my boyfriend Mark took me to see his parents and childhood home. We flew from San Francisco to Chicago and Mark’s younger brother drove us 20 miles to a subdivision of ranch houses. The oak trees were turning color.
Mark’s mom was in the driveway, waving. Mark’s dad was in the front yard, tending to the low wall he had been building next to the shrubs since retiring. He greeted us with the idea that he might want to raise the wall by one stone’s level.
He stood by as Mark hugged his mother and she began to cry.
Mark thought all that summer of 2000 about telling his parents he was gay. We had broken up once over it. I wanted to date someone who was out.
Yet I understood how Mark’s mom, a fundamental Baptist, would panic that the rapture would leave her son behind. My own mom, one of Jehovah’s Witnesses, believed she wouldn’t get to see me in paradise. She had been in mourning since I came out.
Still, I felt dealing with disapproving parents was a less empty and isolating experience than trying to connect with family from the closet.
Mark didn’t come out on the trip to Chicago that fall. A week before, Mark had been diagnosed with liver cancer. He was 30. The tumors were aggressive and inoperable, which ended his plan to ever explicitly say he was gay. He didn’t want his family thinking he might go to hell.
Culture clash
Dinner the first night in Chicago was a combination of beef stew over steamed rice, adobo, spring rolls and vegetable stir-fry. Mark’s parents were Chinese who immigrated to the United States via the Philippines. They joined a fundamentalist church to fit in with their Midwest neighbors and became true believers.
Mark was raised in a strict hybrid of Christian and Asian cultures. Part of what I loved about him was that, like me, he challenged his upbringing to seek his own identity — even if it was cliché that we met in San Francisco.
After dinner with Mark’s family, a hastily arranged birthday cake was presented and I awkwardly blew out the candles. My wish was that Mark would get better. Then I thought, “I’m only 28 and I don’t know if I can handle this.”
I realized how much I loved Mark for his ability to think of others over himself. A year earlier, Mark surprised me with a birthday party — my first at 27. I never celebrated my birthday as a child. Jehovah’s Witnesses didn’t allow it.
Mark’s parents visited San Francisco often, staying weeks at a time. We endured shared meals and TV-watching in Mark’s apartment while he endured chemotherapy. His dad complained about my table manners.
Unspoken connections
When the experimental treatments failed, Mark chose to return to Chicago to die. There was no cake on my 29th birthday. I left my job and went to live with Mark’s parents and help in his hospice care.
My relationship to their son remained unspoken. But when their pastor stopped by, I shook his hand and watched his eyes narrow as he deduced who I was. My mom would call to see how I was doing. She sent a card to Mark’s parents and Watchtower magazines to me.
When Mark lost the ability to speak in the final days, his mom found me sitting alone, sat next to me and sobbed. I put my arm around her.
Every day I would wear Mark’s favorite leather jacket, a birthday present I had given him. His dad asked if he could try it on.
I reluctantly handed it over and was relieved when it didn’t fit. But he tugged and pulled. “It fits OK,” he said. “I don’t have much of my son.”
I told him to keep it.
I never heard Mark’s dad say he loved his son. But I knew his dad once wore a football helmet in a hailstorm to pick up a pizza, because he had promised his kids pizza for dinner.
At the funeral home, the undertaker determined the relevant floral signs of “Son” and “Brother” and put away the “Husband” banner. Then Mark’s dad asked, “What about ‘Friend?’ Do you have one that says ‘Friend?’”
Knowing who Mark was
A month after Mark died, I returned to Chicago for his brother’s long-planned wedding. I was included in some of the group pictures and managed a smile. But I was sad that Mark would never have the chance to marry — and disappointed that I might not, either.
I haven’t seen Mark’s family since his brother’s wedding, though I have seen Mark’s grave five times. Mark’s dad sent me a letter saying he knew I was gay and I was no longer welcome in his home unless I repented.
I wrote back to say I would always be willing to share the parts of his son’s life he didn’t know and what interesting things Mark had done. We haven’t communicated since.
Mark died in 2001, but I believe someday his family will get to know him. Maybe when the children of Mark’s brother are grown, they’ll find old photos and wonder about their absent uncle and the Caucasian man next to him.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Mark Lim died at age 31 of liver cancer caused by chronic hepatitis B. He was the victim of an epidemic of hepatitis B that disproportionately affects Asian Americans born to mothers who lived in Asia. The virus is passed at birth and often undetected until it is too late. The Asian Liver Center at Stanford University estimates one in 12 adult Asian Americans are living with chronic hepatitis B and don’t know it. Before Mark died in 2001, he worked with the Asian Liver Center to educate others. Today, San Francisco Hep B Free Bay Area is dedicated to providing free and low-cost hepatitis B testing and vaccinations to Asian and Pacific Islander adults. In honor of their annual fundraising gala and the anniversary of Mark’s death October 22, Joel Engardio re-published this essay from 2009 that originally appeared in USA Today.
Learn more about Mark’s illness in this recent follow-up article by Joel Engardio, which describes what is being done today to ensure others do not suffer the same fate. | https://joelengardio.medium.com/the-birthday-closet-3c6d994018e1 | ['Joel Engardio'] | 2019-10-22 17:07:46.440000+00:00 | ['Asian American', 'LGBTQ', 'Religion', 'Cancer', 'Death'] |
The Mistakes I Have Made Running a Design Agency | The Mistakes I Have Made Running a Design Agency
And how you can avoid them too
This is the tale of a designer. A tale that has been told a thousand times. The tale of a young designer armed with energy, enthusiasm and a healthy dose of naïvety.
Our hero woke one day, uncharacteristically early, at 4am. Lying on his back, starring out into the dawn sky through a Velux window he wondered, ‘is this is it? I have hit the proverbial glass ceiling and there is nowhere for me to go. It is time for me to strike out my own and forge my own destiny.’
Armed with a three word business plan—‘let’s do this!’—our designer did indeed strike out on his own. After telling everyone he was doing this for himself, soon enough, our designer landed his first fee paying job. The fee barely covered the mortgage, let alone the bills, but that first cheque felt so, so, so good. ‘I did that, and I did it all by myself!’
At first, it was intoxicating. Our designer felt a rush of adrenaline, for he was independent, in control and the master of his own destiny.
Projects of all shapes and sizes came through the door. Soon enough our designer had enough money to rent commercial desk space when the kitchen table just got too small.
Fast forward several years, our designer is now an agency co-founder and co-owner, employs a team, finds himself in a joint leadership role, and has some serious overheads.
That three word business plan, however, just doesn’t cut it any more.
This is where I step in. That, dear designer, was me. I recall staring out that Velux window to this day. That was the moment the proverbial switch flicked in my head.
Mistakes
Mistakes, though; I have made them all. But this dear designer is where I want to prepare you, so you can navigate your way from designer to business owner without the anguish so many of us have gone through before.
Maybe you will make the same mistakes. Maybe you have made them already. Seek solace in this though; we all, by and large, make the same mistakes. We all have similar stories to tell.
This won’t be an exhaustive list, nor the answers to all your problems. What it will be is my list of mistakes. If I can ward you off from just one of my mistakes, that’s a big enough dent in the universe for me (no matter how unambitious that may sound).
Also, know this; overcome one hurdle, and sure enough, others will follow. I certainly don’t have all the answers, but I do know this though. Have a growth mindset, take hold of the reins, feel the fear and do it anyway, and the journey will be just as rewarding as the destination. (Wow! Cliché overload right there!)
In the process of writing this, I have also recalled some of the sources of inspiration that helped guide me. At the very least, you will have a reading list by the end of this article.
So, onwards dear designer; the mistakes to be wary of.
Working in the business, not on the business
I may as well start with the one you have all heard before, but we may as well start strong. This is a mindset shift, and mindset shifts are the hardest to overcome. Mindset shifts may take months, possibly even years, to occur.
Working in the business means you are focused on the day-to-day, delivering projects and managing the workload. Working on the business means you are focused on widening your network, meeting prospects, writing proposals and winning work. See the difference?
If you are mired in the minutiae you will most likely have a very lumpy pipeline of work. We’ve all done it. Lord knows, I have. You win a piece of work, pay all your attention to that piece of work, deliver it and wonder where the next piece of work is coming from when you come out the other side. Sound familiar? (Yup, got those stripes too.)
This is why you hire. Until you let go of the day-to-day, you will not have the time or head space to build your business.
I know you love design (I love it too), but fear not, you don’t have to let it go. You won’t ever stop designing. It will begin to mean different things to you, and how you define design will continue to evolve. This mindset shift is about refocussing your priorities. If you need help, I recommend reading Build your business in 90 minutes a day by Nigel Botteril. (It worked for me!)
In essence, until you work on your business, not in your business, you are victim to what falls through the door. Which brings us neatly to learning how to say ‘no’.
Learning to say ‘no’
The roots of saying ‘yes’ to everything that comes through the door goes back to the day you decided to strike out on your own. You had a scarcity mindset, and you worried about paying the rent. So you always said ‘yes’, no matter how much it bent you out of shape.
Your client didn’t mind though. You were low risk. Your rates were so laughably low, and you were so committed to delivering that you never dared to hold out your hand for more money.
It’s fine to be out of your comfort zone (that is the journey after all), but put your team out of their comfort zone and you will be in a continuous state of learning.
Wait, isn’t that a contradiction? Yes, it is a contradiction, and… err… also no. Let me explain by rewinding a little, back to the basics.
This took me a while to appreciate, but your business has a cost base. (Red flag if you don’t know what this is. Find out.) In order for you to make a margin you will need to perfect and hone your processes. Because once your team are a well oiled machine, they will make that margin. Keep throwing new challenges and new processes at them without budgeting for research and development, and you will lose money every time.
Perhaps, more importantly, saying ‘no’ allows you to say ‘yes’ to the opportunities that are a good fit. In essence, play to your strengths – your expertise.
I could write an entire book on why positioning and expertise is important, but there are far more qualified people out there, such as David C. Baker and Blair Enns, that have done a better job than ever I could.
However, that said, it all starts with saying ‘no’ and understanding the reasons why you should.
Ignore that advice and you will end up with a portfolio that is everything to everyone and really hard to sell. (Yup. Tick, tick and tick!)
Expecting different results by doing the same thing, over and over
Spot the contradiction? This article seems to be full of them, doesn’t it?
This pitfall was exposed to me by the mantra, if you can’t measure it you can’t manage it. And that dear designer, is at the heart of Eli Altman’s book Run Studio Run. (Read it, and thank me later.)
By scrutinising each step of the design process, you can begin to see what activity is profitable and, more importantly, what isn’t. The mistake is to expect different outcomes when one is continuously losing you money.
Have the conversation with your team and remove it. It is madness to think there will be a different outcome by doing the same thing over and over.
Before you think, dear designer, that this writer is just obsessed with money; think again. Be real. You need to keep the lights on and provide the means to put a roof over the heads of your staff, and of course, you and your family. (This is even worse if you are British. Heaven forfend you are in it for the money!)
Being confident around the subject of money
And, while we are on the subject of money, being confident around the subject of it will help you lay the foundations for a successful project. Money sets one of the key constraints of a project; the budget.
Find out what the budget is straight away. Bake it into your first contact question set. Believe me, it will save you wasting countless hours on a prospect that simply cannot afford you. (Been there, done that.)
Don’t worry. You won’t look mercenary. Anyone who runs a business gets it. You have overheads too. If they aren’t willing to invest in design and don’t take it seriously, walk away, or talk to someone further up the chain of command.
If you need further substance, read Mike Monteiro’s Design Is A Job.
Anyway, back to money. Knowing your cost base, and therefore margin, arms you with the information to enter into negotiations. All conversations around money are a negotiation and you need to know the point at which the project is no good for you.
The even bigger game changer is when you price the client, not the job. That’s not a mistake though—that’s an opportunity—so let’s not get sidetracked.
This all seems so obvious, and your friends who work in financial services will laugh, but we went to university to learn about design. Who knew we would be running a business one day?
Learning how to lead
Leading is another outcome or by-product of a growing design business. Again, it seems so obvious, but this is a role that you suddenly find yourself in. You are the North Star of your business and people will look to you for guidance and answers. For some, you may be seen as a safety net, for others you will be their mentor, but for others (hard truth) you are simply the boss and a pain in the ass. In fact, you are all of those, simultaneously.
Here is another hard truth. You cannot, and will not, be best friends with your employees. You will look after them like they are family, and you have a collective responsibility to look out for each other, but like it or not, until your employees leave there is a line that isn’t crossed. You may be best friends with your employees, but I bet you find it hard to have difficult conversations when someone isn’t performing well.
The truth is, not all of us are natural born leaders and sometimes the pressure to make decisions and lead is immense. Being a leader will put you out of your comfort zone. It did for me.
The best advice I can give you, is to learn to be a leader. How, is up to you. Read a book. Go on a course. You know what works best for you. Just don’t ignore it.
Not everyone thinks like you
As your role as a business owner and designer evolves, so too will the tools needed to navigate the path to growth.
If you asked me, right now, what the key to my personal and professional development is, I would say ‘being a better human being.’ As trite as that sounds, once you work on the business, not in the business, your day will be spent building relationships both inside and outside the business. What you and I might otherwise call ‘managing people.’
As a business owner you will need to learn many new ‘soft’ skills. How to give and receive feedback. How to have difficult conversations. How to coach your staff. And, some times, how to motivate your staff or mediate conflicts within your team.
The biggest mistake I made was that I assumed that everyone thought like me, and, next big mistake, was as invested in the business as me. (Pity the fool that I was.) People are, of course, different and shouldn’t be as invested in the business as you. Why should they be?
For me, the key to understanding others is understanding yourself first. There are two books that helped me on that journey: The Four Tendencies by Gretchen Rubin and Quiet by Susan Cain. Those two books helped me understand why I behave in a certain way.
For the record, I am an ‘upholder’ and an ‘introvert’. Any business coach would take one look at that profile and laugh. ‘What you; a leader‽’
Now I have a better understanding of myself, I am at peace with my strengths, and weaknesses, and actually believe some of them are superpowers. Introverts don’t talk, they listen, intently. (Yup, superpower right there.)
I am no psychologist — I’m a designer, remember? — but self-awareness is the key to understanding others. It will help you frame conversations in a certain way to help gain mutual understanding much quicker.
Putting yourself in the shoes of others is a designer’s trait through and through, so I know you can ace this.
Don’t be afraid to ask for help
Who’d have thought that being a designer and, more importantly, a business owner had so many hurdles to overcome? Be reassured, you won’t have all the answers. Sometimes, you won’t know what to do next. It may all feel like a puzzle. Admit it yourself, and then admit it to others, but don’t be afraid to ask for help.
Seeking counsel in others is one of the most clarifying and game changing pieces of advice I can give you. Some of you will hire non-executive directors, others will have mentors in their life, or some of you will simply land on the right book at the right time.
Me? I had a Bear (more on that later), a mid-life crisis, a compulsive reading habit and a thirst to learn.
For a long time I blamed everyone else but myself. It’s a hard pill to swallow, but if your business, or life, isn’t going the way you want it to, you are in part, or wholly, to blame. (Oofff!)
Yes, there are always external factors, but if you aren’t doing the work you want to do, or aren’t being remunerated enough for the exceptional work you do, then, I am sorry, you are to blame. You have to roll up your sleeves, accept culpability, stop making mistakes and change. (Remember when I wrote about having a growth mindset? This helps. A lot.)
Like me, you are probably a designer, you never ran a business before, and frankly, you probably think all that business stuff is just boring. Yes, running a business is a lonely place, and yes, some of it is boring. But, here’s the thing: as there is no one else to turn to, this is why seeking counsel from others is so crucial.
Back to Bear.
Bear is a man, not a wood dwelling animal (although he can be found in the woods now and again if the conditions are right—namely sunny and with a picnic). Bear is also a friend and confidante.
To put it bluntly, Bear saved me. Through conversations, often over a glass of wine, I learned that he too once ran a business. A software business, in fact. Like my design business, his software business had a consultation ‘room’ and a production ‘room’. Sound familiar?
In essence, he ran a service based business, much like yours and mine. As service based businesses we don’t sell ‘things’. We sell ‘outcomes, change or transformation’. (Yeah, hard selling that, isn’t it?)
We would sit and talk for hours. He would talk about his experiences and the processes he baked into his business, and ask me questions about mine (or more often than not, expose my lack of processes). Every time we spoke, a light bulb would go off in my head.
You could call Bear a mentor, and if you don’t have a Bear in your life, find a Bear. This person needs to be someone who has been there and done that. He or she will understand the common pain points of growing a small business. They won’t do the work for you. You have to do that yourself. Be a good pupil, listen to what they say, do your homework and chances are the lightbulbs will be popping off left, right and centre.
This process of gaining clarity helped me gain confidence. Now, if I don’t know how to do something, rather than see it as a dead end, or ‘not for me’, I now see it as an opportunity to grow and find out more. If I can’t get help from books or podcasts, then I know to reach out to others for help, paid or otherwise.
That, dear designer, has been my greatest aid, and it may well be yours.
I now know that the three word business plan just doesn’t cut it any more and that all businesses can move on to a path of predictable and sustainable growth. Who knows, maybe in another ten years, I will be writing about the sale of my business. But, rather than just wondering how and when it’s going to happen I know it has to be planned and executed. I know the journey ahead will have its ups and downs, and there will be days when I wonder if it is all worth it (I am human after all).
However, this time round, I see the road ahead, as an opportunity to learn. And for me, that is exciting.
This tweet from Blair Enns, perfectly sums up this transition for me.
“In the first decade or so of your career as an independent creative you will be fascinated and fulfilled by the many and varied challenges of your clients’ businesses. Success will arrive however when you begin to find greater fascination in the challenges of your own business.”
And that dear designer, is the story of the mistakes I have made and where I am on this journey. There will be countless others, I am sure, but if I can ward you off just one of my mistakes, my work here is done. | https://medium.com/swlh/the-mistakes-i-have-made-running-a-design-agency-518e97525f31 | ['Marcus Taylor'] | 2020-02-13 13:03:47.612000+00:00 | ['Designer', 'Design', 'Mistakes', 'Mentoring', 'Business'] |
🌟Introducing Dash Cytoscape🌟 | Now you can create beautiful and powerful network mapping applications entirely in Python, no JavaScript required! Dash Cytoscape introduces the latest additions to our ever-growing family of Dash components. Built on top of Cytoscape.js, the Dash Cytoscape library brings Cytoscape’s capabilities into the Python ecosystem. Best of all, it’s open-sourced under an MIT license and available today on PyPI. Simply run pip install dash-cytoscape to get started! You can also find the complete source code in the Github repository, and view the documentation in the Dash Cytoscape User Guide.
In this post, we will:
Provide some background on the Cytoscape project.
Show you how Dash’s declarative layout, elements and styling help you build an intuitive and intelligent application.
Explain how Dash callbacks power your application’s interactivity.
Introduce you to the customizable styling available with Dash Cytoscape, including an online style editor that you can use as an interactive playground for your style and layout ideas.
Illustrate how to visualize large social networks using Dash Cytoscape.
Share our vision of integrating with other Python bioinformatics and computational biology tools.
Standing on the shoulders of giants
This project would not be possible without the amazing work done by the Cytoscape Consortium, an alliance of universities and industry experts working to make network visualization accessible for everyone. The Cytoscape project has been available for some time both as Java software and as a JavaScript API; they are maintained in their Github organization. The library can also be used in React through the recently released react-cytoscapejs library, which allows the creation of Cytoscape components that can be easily integrated in your React projects. Dash Cytoscape extends the latter by offering a Pythonic, callbacks-ready, declarative interface that is ready to be integrated in your existing Dash projects, or used as a standalone component to interactively display your graphs.
A familiar and declarative interface
Powerful built-in layouts
Picking the right layout for your graph is essential to helping viewers understand your data. This highly customizable feature is now fully available in Dash, and can be easily specified using a dictionary.
The original Cytoscape.js includes many great layouts for displaying your graph in the way it should be viewed. You can choose to display your nodes in a grid, in a circle, as a tree, or using physics simulations. In fact, you can even choose the exact number of rows or columns for your grid, the radius of your circle, or the temperature and cooling factor of your simulation. For example, to display your graph with a fixed grid of 25 rows, you can simply declare:
dash_cytoscape.Cytoscape(
id='cytoscape',
elements=[...],
layout={
'name': 'grid',
'rows': 25
}
)
Find the full example here.
Intuitive and clear element declaration
Creating nodes with Dash Cytoscape is straightforward: You make a dictionary in which you specify the data associated with the node (i.e., the ID and the display label of your node), and, optionally, the default position. To add an edge between two nodes, you give the ID of the source node and the target node, and specify how you want to label the nodes. Group all elements (nodes and edges) inside a list, and you are ready to go! In a nutshell, here’s how you would create a basic graph with two nodes:
dash_cytoscape.Cytoscape(
id='cytoscape',
layout={'name': 'preset'},
elements=[
{'data': {'id': 'one', 'label': 'Node 1'},
'position': {'x': 50, 'y': 50}},
{'data': {'id': 'two', 'label': 'Node 2'},
'position': {'x': 200, 'y': 200}},
{'data': {'source': 'one',
'target': 'two',
'label': 'Node 1 to 2'}}
]
)
If you already have an adjacency list, you can easily format the data to be accepted by Cytoscape, and display in your browser with about 70 lines of code:
Displaying over 8000 edges and their associated nodes with a concentric layout. This uses the Stanford Google+ Dataset.
Beautiful and customizable styling
Cytoscape provides a range of styling options through a familiar CSS-like interface. You get to specify the exact color, pixel size and opacity of your elements. You can choose the shape of your nodes from over 20 options, including circular, triangular, and rectangular, as well as non-traditional content for your nodes (e.g. displaying an image by adding a URL, or adding a pie chart inside a circular node). The edges can be curved or straight, and it is even possible to add arrows at the middle or end-point. To add a style to your stylesheet, you simply need to specify which group of elements you want to modify with a selector, and input the properties you want to modify as keys. For example, if you want nodes 15 pixels wide by 15 pixels high, styled opaque with a custom gray color, you add the following dictionary to your stylesheet:
{
'selector': 'node',
'style': {
'opacity': 0.9,
'height': 15,
'width': 15,
'background-color': '#222222'
}
}
The selector can be a type of element (i.e., a node or edge) or be a certain class (which you can specify). It can also have a certain ID or match certain conditions (e.g., node height is over a certain threshold).
Using the online style editor
In order to help the community get acquainted with the library, we created an online style editor application that lets you interactively modify the stylesheet and layout of sample graphs. This tool will help you learn how to use the style properties and quickly prototype new designs. Best of all, it displays the stylesheet in a JSON format so that you can simply copy and paste it into your Cytoscape app! Try it out here.
Create your on style and save the JSON. The source code is in usage-advanced.py.
Familiar Dash callbacks
Dash Callbacks are used to make your Dash apps interactive. They are fired whenever the input you define is modified, such as when the user clicks a button or drags a slider inside your UI. The callback functions are computed on the server side, which enables the use of optimized and heavy-duty libraries such as Scipy and Numpy.
Use Dash callbacks with dash-cytoscape to update the underlying elements , the layout , or the stylesheet of the graph. For more, see our documentation chapter on callbacks.
Additionally, you can use a collection of user-interaction events as an input to your callbacks. They are triggered whenever the user interacts with the graph itself; in other words, when they hover, tap, or select an element or a group of elements. You can choose to input the entire JSON description of the element object (including its connected edges, its parents, its children, and the complete stylesheet), or only the data contained withing the object. To see what is being output, you can assign the following simple callback to your graph:
@app.callback(Output('html-div-output', 'children'),
[Input('cytoscape', 'tapNodeData')])
def displayTapNodeData(data):
return json.dumps(data, indent=2)
This will output the formatted JSON sent by your Cytoscape component into an html.Div field. To read more about event callbacks and how to use them for user interaction, check out our user guide chapter on Cytoscape events.
Try out the demo here. You can find the source code in usage-events.py.
Visualizing large social networks
One way you might want to use Dash Cytoscape is to visualize large social networks. Visualizing large network graphs with thousands or millions of nodes can quickly become overwhelming. In this example, we use Dash Cytoscape with Dash callbacks to interactively explore a network by clicking on nodes of interest.
This graph displays the Google+ social social network from the Stanford Large Network Dataset collection.
Dynamically expand your graphs
Start with a single node (representing a Google+ user) and explore all of its outgoing (i.e. all of the users they are following) or incoming edges (i.e. all of their followers).
Try out the demo here. You can find the source code in usage-elements.py.
Fast and reactive styling
When mapping large networks, strategic styling can help enhance understanding of the data. Leveraging the rendering speed and scalability of Cytoscape.js, we can easily create callbacks that update the stylesheet of large graphs using Dash components such as dropdown menus and input fields, or that update upon clicking a certain node.
In this example, we display 750 edges of Google+ users and focus on a particular user by clicking on a specific node. The callback updates the stylesheet by appending a selector that colors the selected ID in purple, and the parents and children in different colors that you specify. Our user guide chapter on styling covers the basics to get you started.
Try out the demo here. You can find the source code in usage-stylesheet.py.
Integrating with other libraries
The release of Dash Cytoscape brings the capabilities of Cytoscape.js into the Python world, opening up the possibility of integrating with a wide range of excellent graph and network libraries in Python.
For example, Biopython is a collection of open-source bioinformatics Python tools. In around 100 lines of code, we wrote a parser capable of generating cytoscape elements from Biopython’s Phylo objects. The parser is generic enough that it can be directly integrated in your bioinformatics workflow, and enables you to quickly create interactive phylogeny apps, all in a familiar and pythonic environment. View the phylogeny demo in the docs.
Interactively explore your phylogeny trees. The elements are automatically generated from a biopython’s Phylo object, which can be initiated from a wide range of data format.
Dash Cytoscape is the first step to provide deeper Dash integration with Biopython and well known graph libraries such as NetworkX and Neo4j.
To wrap up
Today, Plotly.py is widely used for exploratory analysis and Dash is a powerful analytics solution in the scientific community. Recently, researchers published a paper on CRISPR in Nature and built their machine learning platform using Dash. There is an obvious need for powerful and user-friendly visualizations tools in Python, and network visualization is not an exception. We are planning to fully leverage the resources available in Python to make Cytoscape useful for more network scientists and computational biologists, as well as the broader scientific community.
Dash Cytoscape is a work in progress, and we encourage you to help us improve it and make it accessible to more people. Contribute to documentation, improve its compatibility with other libraries, or add functionalities that make it easier to use. Head over to our GitHub repository to get started!
We are currently working on multiple improvements, including support for NetworkX, integration with Biopython, and object-oriented declaration for elements, styles and layouts. Check out those issues to keep track of the progress, or to support us through your contributions!
If you wish to use this library in a commercial setting, please see our on-premise offerings, which not only guarantee technical support, but also support our open-source initiatives, including Dash Cytoscape itself. | https://medium.com/plotly/introducing-dash-cytoscape-ce96cac824e4 | [] | 2019-02-05 22:24:00.717000+00:00 | ['Python', 'Plotly', 'Data Science', 'Data Visualization', 'Dash'] |
Focus on decisions, not outcomes! | Focus on decisions, not outcomes!
The terrible price that society pays for outcome bias
(For added flavor, take my quick quiz before you read on.)
Learning is a good thing, but don’t learn the wrong lessons by misdiagnosing your mistakes. Sometimes, life throws you a random curveball you couldn’t have anticipated no matter your level of decision genius. When that happens, adjusting your decision process is bad thinking.
Let me explain with an example.
Imagine that you’re about to observe the simultaneous flip of a fair coin and roll of a fair six-sided die. Before it happens, you are offered the choice between two gambles:
Gamble on the coin, ignore the die: get $100 if it’s heads, nothing otherwise. Gamble on the die, ignore the coin: get $100 if it’s a 6, nothing otherwise.
Which do you choose?
The better decision appears to be the coin, which has a 1/2 chance of giving you money compared with the 1/6 chance on the die. Right? Right. If you’re motivated by the $100, it should be a no-brainer.
Now the action happens and we see the outcomes: the coin lands tails up while the die shows a 6. Dang, you should have chosen the die!
No. No, you shouldn’t have. Definitely not. That’s outcome bias and it’s a habit you should kick as soon as you can — especially if you have any hopes of being a good leader or decision-maker.
Always evaluate decision quality based only on what was known at the time the decision was made.
If we look at outcomes, you got $0 when you could have had $100. Can we fix that? Nope, that decision is over. What should you learn from it? Nothing, I hope. Otherwise, you might choose a fair die instead of a fair coin next time. That would be a stupid choice if you like money. No matter how you slice it, 50% to win is a better gamble than 17% for the same prize.
A menace to society
Perhaps more alarmingly, outcome bias threatens society’s ability to promote and retain competent leaders. Suppose the decision between betting on the coin and the die wasn’t yours to make. Instead, you watched Heather make it. Like Heather, you would have chosen the coin, but you’re not thinking about that. You’re too busy focusing on the bad outcome she got: tails+6 = missed opportunity for $100. If you’re outcome-biased, you’ll blame her for the outcome — forgetting that she made the decision wisely — and you’ll clamor for her to be replaced with another decision-maker who doesn’t have bad outcomes to their name because:
They’re less experienced than Heather, so they have a spotless track record.
They’ve been lucky. (Look up survivorship bias when you get a moment.)
Either way, you’ve just voted to shrink society’s pool of competent decision-makers, punishing Heather for randomness (outcome) when you should have celebrated her wise action in light of what she knew at the time (decision).
Outcome bias exerts a terrible price on society.
Outcome bias exerts a terrible price on society. Our wise decision-makers are our best asset, yet many people are willing to sacrifice them as scapegoats when the real culprit is randomness. If you have reason to believe that someone’s decision process is top notch, don’t hold a bad outcome against them.
Practical advice
When evaluating the skill of a decision-maker, ignore outcomes. Look only at what was known at the time of the decision. In our example, that was 50% versus 17% chance to win. The decision-maker chose 50%? Good. I hope they’ll choose the same way next time too.
More practical advice
If you’re a senior leader (or aspiring to be one), you can find additional practical advice in my follow-up article, The problem with analyzing policy decisions in hindsight.
Footnote
Outcome bias is not an argument about moral philosophy. Here’s why.
Thanks for reading!
If you’re curious to learn about the role that outcome bias plays in perpetuating prejudice, check of the last section of my related article: | https://towardsdatascience.com/focus-on-decisions-not-outcomes-bf6e99cf5e4f | ['Cassie Kozyrkov'] | 2020-06-08 19:13:52.144000+00:00 | ['Data Science', 'Towards Data Science', 'Leadership', 'Statistics', 'Decision Making'] |
Role of Exercise in Treating PTSD | Most PTSD therapies fall under the umbrella of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT). The idea is to change the thought patterns that are disturbing your life. This might happen through talking about your trauma or concentrating on where your fears come from.
There is considerable research indicating that exercise can be of significant benefit in reducing anxiety and depression.
There are far fewer investigations of the role of exercise in reducing posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Research suggests that there is a tremendous impact of exercise, particularly aerobic exercise, in reducing PTSD and negative emotional states. A variety of models are reviewed to possibly explain why exercise is so beneficial.
Those who suffer from PTSD are notoriously treatment avoidant. Exercise is presented as an effective intervention for PTSD, anxiety, and depression, and because it does not produce the level of avoidance that traditional psychotherapies do, it becomes a valuable potential tool for treating PTSD.
Whether or not you have PTSD, regular exercise has a number of benefits. It can contribute to many positive physical health outcomes, such as improved cardiovascular health, weight loss, and greater flexibility and mobility.
In addition to these physical health outcomes, regular exercise can also have a positive impact on your mental health by reducing anxiety and depression.
Given the benefits of exercise, as well as the numerous mental and physical health problems experienced by people with PTSD, a regular exercise regimen may have a number of advantages for you if you have PTSD.
Before embarking on any exercise program, it’s important to first check with your doctor to make sure that you do it safely. Your doctor may also be able to help you identify the best exercises given your goals, age, weight, or other physical health problems that you’re experiencing.
One of the most important tools is breathing right!
It may sound silly, but many people do not breathe properly. Natural breathing involves your diaphragm, a large muscle in your abdomen. When you breathe in, your belly should expand. When you breathe out, your belly should fall.
Over time, people forget how to breathe this way and instead use their chest and shoulders. This causes short and shallow breaths, which can increase stress and anxiety.
Fortunately, it is quite possible to re-learn how to breathe deeply from your diaphragm and help protect yourself from stress. | https://medium.com/@indranicosmetics/role-of-exercise-in-treating-ptsd-a49e24e71730 | ['Indrani Cosmetics'] | 2021-06-01 14:26:15.965000+00:00 | ['Ptsd Treatment', 'Health', 'PTSD', 'Ptsd Recovery'] |
Positive Impact and Outlook for Security Tokens Offering (STO) | The last panel of the Blockchain Economic Forum is on Fundraising via SIEO and Regulation. The panel is joined by international experts: Sharon Lou (Managing Partner, Asia Pacific Venture Capital) Anndy Lian (Inter-Governmental Blockchain Advisor and Book Author of Blockchain Revolution 2030), Arnie Chaudhuri (Managing Partner, AV Group), Habeed Syed (Corporate and Securities Partner, B.J. Kang Law, Pc), Nizam Ismail (Founder, Ethikom Consultancy), Csaba Robert Horvath (Founder, Fusion Capital Partners) and Valentin Preobrazhenskiy (Founder, LAToken).
The panelists started the discussion by sharing their views on the future of the STO market. The initial comments seemed negative and lack of confidence but later all the panelists clarified their views.
“We are not negative. We are just cautious. STO and blockchain let us look at securities offering in a different manner. Instead of going through hundred of pages of prospectus, blockchain allows all these information to be found on the chain: Verified, transparent and trusted.” Nizam Ismail explained further.
Anndy Lian added “The crypto market in general right now is almost dead. Retail investors in the crypto market has dropped tremendously and their confidence level are low. The introduction of STO will bring in new accredited and global professional Investors into the market. Regulators like Singapore MAS are all ready to embrace this new market and there are already many talks in the global market on how this will change how securities are being traded. It will be impactful for the blockchain market. We will all see positive results in 2020.”
Other pressing issues on how the token economy is going to evolve in 2020 and how regulations will set in for blockchain projects in terms of fundraising were discussed.
“Entrepreneurs like to pushed the boundaries and drive towards innovation.” Arnie Chaudhuri shared. Many of the audiences agree to his perspective. Danny Ee, Founder of Ruby Wallet also shared his views after the forum that Arnie and all the speakers are very sharp: “I am a technologist, I pushed my boundaries too to make sure my wallet works well in the eco system. I want my work to be noticed. I need my investors and supporters to work towards my vision that sometimes can be seemed to be too innovative.”
The panelists are knowledgeable and have given many different angles to the issues raised during the forum. All of them are positive of the blockchain technology and want to see how STO will create positive impact to the market.
The Blockchain Economic Forum is organized by LAToken, a rapidly growing crypto exchange focusing on liquidity for new tokens. It has recently entered CoinMarketCap’s Top 50 by trading volume.
The Blockcast.cc team feels that the Singapore Fintech and Blockchain Week 2019 is one of the most organized blockchain series covering many aspects of the technology and the business. Leading blockchain and fintech experts like Da Hongfei- Neo, Zhao Changpang- Binance, Kris Marszalek- Crypto.com, Julian Gordon- Hyperledger, Sopnendu Mohanty- MAS are present during the week to inspire and give insights to many companies.
Blockcast.cc will head to South Korea next where the team will organize a few high level roundtable event with international guests from Sweden, Russian, Singapore, China and Romania.
About Blockcast.cc
Blockcast.cc is the leading blockchain media and marketing strategist based in Singapore and South Korea. The company has led numerous blockchain projects in their marketing roadshow, PR pitching and fundraising activities through private placements, ICO, IEO, STO. Blockcast.cc has footprints in China, Hong Kong, South Korea, United States, Philippines, United Kingdom and more.
Media Contacts
Company: Blockcast.cc
Contact Person: Jenny Zheng
Title: Editor
Contact Number: +65 9883 2707
Contact Email: [email protected]
Website: www.blockcast.cc
Location: Singapore
Previous article ECRO -电商新纪元 | https://medium.com/@anndylian/positive-impact-and-outlook-for-security-tokens-offering-sto-c95e2b492861 | ['Anndy Lian'] | 2019-11-15 16:14:17.247000+00:00 | ['Startup'] |
# 54: “Thinking Class” in University and Business | Kadi, Jo(anna) (1996). Thinking Class: Sketches from a Cultural Worker, 146–147.
Story behind the Passage
Hardly ever before have so many of my contacts in businesses talked about larger social, political, and education issues. There is something wrong with this. I mean, not with the talk but with the reasons. The fragmentation of the social spheres is rapidly progressing. And Covid-19 is only making this more visible, at least partly. The people who have safe jobs somewhere or a lot of money do not care — as usually. They do not even notice how much others are struggling. And by “others” I do not even mean artists or the so-called ‘solo-entrepreneurs’ that are mentioned on the news every day. I mean business leaders and entrepreneurs who are struggling to keep large businesses going.
One common argument I hear is about the stupidity of politicians and the high level of abstraction offered by scientists. Both together lead to the fact that business people, especially entrepreneurs, give a shit about what either of the above-mentioned groups say. Consequently, they hardly ever talk to each other. I do think they would benefit from talking more to exchange valuable knowledge. But that is an issue that I am going to take care of in a different setting.
This polarized discourse or rather non-discourse between theorists and practitioners surely is rooted in institutional and disciplinary socialization processes. There is hardly any doubt about this. How could scholars, on the one hand, who have never worked in business for a single day have any idea about the reality out there? This is aggravated by the fact that they tend to be surrounded by academics in their entire life — starting at birth, by the way. On the other hand, how could practitioners ever understand that those theorists actually do have deep insights into the bigger picture of their business and their future? How could they appreciate the value of reading books and thinking if they ‘only’ studied for a few years to complete their credits and never ever set foot on a university campus again?
The situation is not easy.
And politicians are somewhere in the middle, leaning towards the academic side.
And where am I?
I have chosen Joe Kadi’s book today because these thoughts immediately made me think of Thinking Class. I read the book for my dissertation many years ago because Kadi is Arab American and also addresses this ‘hybrid’ identity struggle in the book. In spite of these inter-cultural issues, his thoughts on class have mostly resonated with me up to the present day. I do think that the lack of communication between business and academia is also very much rooted in socio-demographic differences. These are hardly ever discussed in this context. But the book Factfulness, which I discussed on Sunday, really brought the crucial importance of income differences as the main reason for several positive and negative social developments to my attention again.
The passages above are my favorite ones from the book. This is also why I am not going to defragment them. I cannot do that to products of flow. They always form a whole. I simply wanted to share the text, even though I am not going to explicitly talk about all the parts. My goal today is simply to draw attention to the fact that money is also driving academic cultures and these cultures in turn socialize students and scholars. And this certainly has an effect on the way that people do their jobs afterwards.
My Learnings
“Working-class people receive little or none of this particular brand of socialization.” Kadi talks about general socialization processes in the final paragraph. I want to transfer this statement to the situation of working-class people in the academy, i.e., kids from non-academic family backgrounds. As we know from all the studies out there, kids from working-class families are significantly less likely to study in the first place, they are less likely to finish, they are less likely to get a Master’s degree, they are less likely to get a Ph.D., and they are significantly less likely to become professors (Hochschulreport, et al.). All these figures are about the German situation, of course. In other countries, the situation is slightly different/better.
We have known about this for a long time and the reasons are more complicated than one might suspect at first. Still, I want to focus on an even more complicated relationship: the one between the low representation of working-class students/graduates and their choice of academic subjects. We also know from studies that subjects like law and medicine are the ones that continue to be popular among students from upper-class academic families. And the technical and economic fields are chosen by those from lower-class/non-academic families (Studienfachwahl). In cultural studies and the humanities, the situation is a little more mixed.
As I said earlier, this issue about working class kids in the academy itself is just the background for my topic today and this is also why I am not going into detail about the numbers here. You can find plenty of studies about this online. And these studies also talk about the complex reasons behind the situation. Partly, these are intuitive, e.g., people from families with lower incomes want to study in order to make money in the future, improve their social status, and they choose subjects in which they think they have a chance to fulfil the performance criteria. People who grew up with a lot of money study stuff such as high culture or philosophy which other people label as quite irrelevant or useless. Of course, there are always exceptions.
“Well, what’s the news?” you might ask now.
Let me take this one step further. What I want to talk about now is disciplinary culture. We know that the different disciplines and fields in academia have different cultures, i.e., norms, values, rituals, habits, language, etc. Partly, these cultures are influenced by the subject matter and methods. So, in a very technical field in which everything is about numbers and analytical thinking, people interact differently than in a field in which there are a lot of discussions and readings about the nature of human beings. In addition, in some fields there is more group work, in others more individual and quiet study. Clearly, some of these subjects are also more hands-on than others. Just think of electrical engineers. They do not just calculate stuff, they build it. In contrast, people in the humanities read and write. That is as far as their practical engagement goes.
Now, obviously, this leads to a different socialization when it comes to pragmatism, as I would just generally label it. But here is the thing: Most studies usually talk about how students and young scholars from non-academic backgrounds tend to struggle due to the language of the academy and other difficulties related to the context and support mechanisms. What I miss in these studies is the partly conscious, partly unconscious notion that the culture of the respective field simply sucks. And since we know that socio-demographics shape the culture of the field from the start because members from different social classes enter it, that makes things even more complicated.
But complicated is bad, right?
Complicated is not in fashion.
Complicated is so not simple that it can only be academic!
So, let me make it simpler. What I am saying is that disciplinary culture is an aspect that deserves more attention when it comes to the discussion about who rises in academia and who does not; who talks to people outside the academy and who does not. And the latter decisions can also be referred to as “self-selection” in a negative way. If you simply cannot associate with the particular culture of your academic field, this says nothing about the university in general. In other words: If you are from a working-class background and you end up studying a subject that is quite overpopulated with kids from upper-level classes, you are a lot more likely to get pissed off than in the field with people from your background, e.g., business or IT.
This long explanation makes me return to Kadi’s quote about “socialization” — or rather the resistance to enforced socialization. Maybe working class kids remain stronger in their neglect of ‘hostile cultural takeover’ by academic communities. For sure, by the time when you have literally mastered to gain a Master’s or even a Ph.D. degree, you have little to no trouble with writing and speaking the language of your scholarly field. That means, the technical skills and the knowledge are not the point anymore. But the problem might remain that you just do not want to adopt the other cultural bullshit that goes along with this among your so-called ‘peers’ and senior scholars who altogether shape the culture of your field.
In result: You might self-select to say goodbye to the brainy folks behind university walls who cannot and often do not want to engage with practitioners and the public.
Let me emphasize that I am not saying all this to blame anybody for anything. On the contrary, writing is about consciousness raising. This is a all a blog can do — at best. I am talking about decisions here that the students and graduates themselves make. So, instead of the argument that working-class people are somehow forced to leave because of some (unconscious) disadvantages, I am bringing up the argument that those decisions are also autonomous and conscious because the people do not want to give up their identity in exchange for some scholarly title or position. That does not change the fact, however, that it might be nice to have different academic cultures altogether that allow for more theory-practice collaboration.
Especially the latter is, from my perspective, something that people from non-academic families care a lot about.
The latter aspect brings up the link to business again, especially entrepreneurship. We see in the data that the vast majority, 84% of startup founders, have academic degrees (DSM). Based on what we know about the general student population, we can conclude that most of them come from academic families (since the startup community is highly international, however, this is a very vague generalization). What you need to know in addition is that startups in the pre-seed phase heavily rely on family/private investor money. Hence, there is another social/class imbalance when it comes to the next entrepreneurship generation which is immanently intertwined with the ‘class’ distribution in the academy.
The latter aspect is something that needs to be kept in mind, I think, when we talk about entrepreneurship, the conversation between university and practice, and getting things done in general. The traditional entrepreneurs of SMEs, this is my personal impression, are a lot more hands-on and come from a parent generation that was a lot less wealthy. Consequently, the cultural clashes that we observe between scholars and practitioners are not just a consequence of age, they are, again, as most other things in life, related to money — family money, and social upbringing.
I know, I have gone in many loops today but the connections are not easy and even the most detailed studies about the socio-demographics behind student numbers and the choice of subjects cannot fully explain the reasons behind the status quo. What I simply want to stress again is something that people dealing with culture in business know very well:
“Culture eats strategy for breakfast.” — Peter Drucker
And this also plays an important role in the communication that we observe between the different social actors during the Covid-19 pandemic. Doctors, including virologists, based on the figures, tend to be people who did not grow up in the poorest neighborhoods. Business people and partly entrepreneurs come from a different socio-economic sphere. And politicians are somewhere in-between. When these groups talk to each other and to the public, culture is driving their thinking and their choice of words.
In line with Hans Rosling, the author of Factfulness, we need to keep in mind that social class divisions are continuously changing due to technological and economic advancements. So, I do not want to sound like someone who is pessimistic about everything and whose passion it is to mourn the state of society here. This is not my intention. This is not what I stand for. I know that many of these issues will probably be a thing of the past in the not so distant future — if we decide to turn our insights into ACTION. Even then, however, in line with Kadi’s overarching topic, we need to remember:
Culture is driven by money.
Reflection Questions
1) Do you think/know that your family background influenced your career decision? In how far?
2) Did you ever think about “culture” in relation to the language and habits of your colleagues?
3) If there is one thing you could change in contemporary politics (in your country) — what is it? | https://medium.com/@silkeschmidt-32637/54-thinking-class-in-university-and-business-ca058b7e7f4a | ['Silke Schmidt'] | 2020-12-05 08:11:20.574000+00:00 | ['Industry', 'University', 'Business', 'Class', 'Literature'] |
Why Solar Power is a Good Investment? | Solar power in Australia is a fast and developing industry. As of June 2020, Australia has surpassed 2.5 million rooftop solar installations, with a combined capacity of 11,837 megawatts, the equivalent of around six Liddell power stations. The milestone comes about 18 months since Australia surpassed the two million rooftops solar installation milestone.
Installing solar panels Sydney on your roof is the safest, cheapest, smart, and eco-friendly way to generate clean electricity. Solar power Sydney can give you massive financial benefits on your residential as well as commercial property.
What are the benefits of solar energy?
Environmental Benefits
Solar panels are the most tangible way to reduce our carbon footprint. Not only do they produce clean energy during the day, but they also reduce harmful emissions from vehicle exhausts and factories during off-peak hours. Using solar panels on commercial buildings can help businesses make their buildings more energy-efficient while reducing fuel consumption. Every household could reduce its monthly bill by as much as 50% through solar panels. This can also be beneficial to your business. By implementing solar power solutions into your data centers, you can save electricity and natural gas bills while also reducing the frequency of usage during peak demand periods. There is no doubt that having solar panels Sydney on your roof is an attractive option for everyone. You can have solar panels on your house, garage, or even on your car! It is an investment that provides you many benefits. However, many people don’t realize what benefits they can reap from their solar panels. It may not be evident to everyone that there are far greater benefits to be gained from having solar panels installed on your house than any other type of energy.
Financial Benefits
Every Australian will look forward to saving money for their future; it is in our blood. So we always try to invest in long-term goals which will give us assured results. You can invest in a solar system Sydney for long-term returns and immediate return on investment.
Having a solar system Sydney, allows you to generate free power for your system’s entire 25+ year lifecycle. Even if you don’t produce 100 percent of the energy that you consume, a modern solar power system will cut your electricity bill by as much as 50 percent, and you’ll still save a lot of money on your energy bills.
To get the most financial benefits by installing a solar panel Sydney, and also for your government rebates, always contact a reliable solar company Sydney has, whose experts will help you to reap maximum benefits.
Energy Backup Security
Global warming is a major problem for our environment and the industry. Due to this environmental factor, greenhouse gas emissions are on the rise. To reduce these emissions, preventing global warming from occurring, we need to utilize renewable resources as well as efficient energy solutions. The impact of climate change on human society and the environment is severe and will have a powerful impact on the quality of life of people all over the world. For this reason, people need to have considerations and preparations in place before such significant changes happen.
If you have solar panels Sydney installed with battery backup storage for your home or your business, that will help you to save interruptions due to power blackouts and worries.
Utility Credits You for Solar Power
Whenever you have unused electricity, you can send it back to your grid and get utility credits in return for that. So, by installing a solar system Sydney, you are reducing your energy bills and earning from your excess energy; these market forces have seen rapid growth in the number of people installing solar systems. This has seen cost fall for both consumers and industry as many businesses have boosted their solar capacity through installing solar panels Sydney and battery storage.
As more Australians embrace sustainable lifestyles, they are looking for ways to reduce their carbon footprint. One way they are doing this is by purchasing solar panels. Grid-tie solar PV panels are battery installations that automatically send electricity back into the grid when it is consumed. This means that even if you don’t have electricity, your electricity bill is mitigated and can be paid for using non-renewable energy sources.
Increase in Property Value
Selling a home with solar power creates several benefits for you. First and foremost, it reduces energy costs for you. Most people don’t realize how much they are affected by the cost of electricity. If you live in a sunny location, you don’t have to worry about the cost of running the air conditioner during the summer. Solar panels Sydney on your roof help provide backup power when you need it and are free from high winds or rain disturbances. But there is more! By installing solar panels on your home, you help the environment by creating clean energy, which helps reduce global warming.
Tax Benefits
The Australian government provides you with tax benefits for a solar installation. You can now save massively through STC’s. Small-Scale Technology Certificates (STCs) are available to homeowners installing a rooftop solar system. Under the Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme, STCs are a point-of-sale discount when you install solar panels. Small-scale technology certificates (STCs) are the ones that apply to residential solar installations. You might think of an STC as a discount voucher on the cost of installing your solar system.
With the solar system Sydney, you can generate your own energy for many years with little running costs. Once a solar system is installed, then you only need yearly maintenance on your solar panels Sydney and enjoy renewable energy in your future.
Connect with our solar experts today, and they will help you find the correct solar system as per your needs! | https://medium.com/@info-36526/why-solar-power-is-a-good-investment-9d9717bbefbd | ['Ayka Solar'] | 2021-06-08 05:51:31.499000+00:00 | ['Renewable Energy', 'Solar System', 'Solar Energy', 'Solar Panel Installation', 'Solar Power'] |
Steps to Get Your First 100 YouTube Subscribers | Are you wondering how to get your first 100 YouTube subscribers? If you just started a YouTube channel, being stuck at 0 subscribers can be frustrating.
Don’t worry, though. You don’t have to buy YouTube subscribers to get your channel going. There are many easy ways you can get more YouTube subscribers for free.
In this article, we’ll share steps to get your first 100 YouTube subscribers.
Let’s get started!
1. Promote the Channel on Your Website
If you already have a website that gets some consistent traffic each month, then you’ve got the perfect solution to finding your first few subscribers.
In other words, promote your YouTube channel in a way that lets you leverage the traffic you already have. The best tool for displaying your YouTube feed
2. Keep Your Content Consistent
As you’re creating new videos, you need to make sure they fit with your target niche.
If you upload a random vlog one day, a gaming video the next, and a cooking video right after, users won’t know what to expect from your channel. And if they don’t know what your YouTube channel is about, they’ll be less likely to subscribe.
In the end, you may get a bunch of random page views, but you won’t have any longterm subscribers.
Instead, you need to give viewers a reason to subscribe to your channel by choosing a channel theme.
For example, subscribers to our YouTube channel at OptinMonster know that we’ll consistently post videos on how to increase leads and conversions
There are many different types of YouTube channels you can create. Some of the most popular YouTube genres are:
Vlogging
Cooking
Gaming
Tech
Comedy
Travel
Beauty and Fashion
Reactions and Commentary
Of course, don’t let this list limit you. You can create a successful YouTube channel on just about anything so long as you’re passionate about it.There are many different types of YouTube channels you can create. Some of the most popular YouTube genres are:
Vlogging
Cooking
Gaming
Tech
Comedy
Travel
Beauty and Fashion
Reactions and Commentary
Of course, don’t let this list limit you. You can create a successful YouTube channel on just about anything so long as you’re passionate about it. | https://medium.com/@aweolo84/steps-to-get-your-first-100-youtube-subscribers-e4f32bcd2287 | ['Awe Ololade'] | 2020-12-20 07:24:47.512000+00:00 | ['YouTube', 'Videogames', 'YouTuber', 'Videos'] |
1. Artificial Intelligence: the final frontier | Parallels between Human and Machines
Dionne England & Sarb Parhar
Space: the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Its five-year mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before.
We heard these words 50 years ago in Star Trek. Having gone through the previous frontiers like Earth & Ocean to explore and conquer new continents, it seems that the battle has moved on from even Space to a new battleground. Today we are the cusp of another frontier frontier that is Artificial Intelligence (AI).
What is all the fuss about AI?
It seems like everywhere we turn people are talking about artificial intelligence and anticipating that it will take over all aspects of how we get things done. New innovations powered by AI seem to pop up daily. There are cars that drive themselves. Cancer detection improvements. The AlphaGo winning game of Go. AI technology has created new perfumes and even paintings. If we want to turn off the lights in our home or play our favorite music, Alexa and Google Home will happily meet our every command.
In this article, we will delve into the basic components of AI and explain why it's so powerful.
AI is transforming our technology and disrupting our marketplace. To understand how AI works, we first need to understand how humans learn, think and act. AI has the ability to mirror the human learning pattern which is the core of its effectiveness and ensures it will continue to grow in scope and influence.
The three ways that humans learn are:
a) Guided (Aided) learning — where an expert in the subject trains young minds about how to do things. The examples of this are infants being taught to speak at home or how students are taught during their formal education. At the end of each term, students are tested on their knowledge and, if required, they get retraining.
b) Autonomous (Unaided/ Self) learning — an example of this is the new innovation that people come up with based on the associations.
c) Reward-based learning — an example of this is the workplace, where the employee’s performance can be rewarded with a promotion, salary increase, a bonus or all three. Poor performance would not render any of those outcomes and in extreme cases, it could lead to performance management.
What is the present status of AI?
For the first time in the history of humankind, there are mathematical models and algorithms to simulate and replace all three types of learnings - Guided, Autonomous and Reward-Based learning with Supervised, Unsupervised and Reinforcement Learning models. The following table shows the human Learning Styles mapped to real-life examples and corresponding AI models.
Table 1 — Human vs. Machine Learning
Within these three types of models, there are many different algorithms that are available today. Without getting into too many details on these algorithms, the following pictures show how any business problem can be solved with a particlur AI Learning Model.
Picture 1 — Demystifying AI Machine Learning
What is the pre-requisite for AI?
Data, Data, Data…
As you can see in the picture above, Data fuels the AI Engine to solve any and all business problems. This is not different than humans. Human learn from past information and gets encoded as “experiences”.
Another interesting comparison of data is with oil, something that we have consumed for the last 100 years. Data is similar to oil with a few of the following caveats:
Oil is a single-use commodity but Data used by one is still useable by another in a different application. For example, the same Facebook data has been reused by many companies.
Oil is a finite resource, but Data is not. It can be harnessed and has an unlimited supply.
Oil in the previous economy was indispensable. In the Intelligence economy, there is a need for data and lots of it.
Why now?
Humans have some key different attributes that make us intelligent. These are long and short term memory (data), power to search and connect the dots, and compute capability to come up with new innovations based on the past experiences. Interestingly in the last few decades, we have gone through the tehnological progress developing the same capabilities externally without realizing that we were laying the foundations for replicating human intelligence. These can be segmented in the three waves of technological developments as stepping stones towards the goal of replicating human intelligence.
Here are these three waves of technology development along with their implications.
The first wave of technology development was Digitization Age powered by the transistors (and computers).
a) It enabled the disparate information to be saved in the universal language (i.e. binary code). The books, documents, images, music, movies, communication, etc. almost everything we can think of today is digital.
b) In parallel, the invention of transistors coupled with improvements in thin film manufacturing doubled our processing power every 2 years. This observation is called Moore’s Law, which has held true for the last 50 years. As the pace of the growth in processing power was plateauing recently, Quantum Computing has suddenly given a shot in the arm and catapulted the processing power to the new heights.
Moore’s Law
All of this resulted in
Cost of Memory (Data) = 0 (almost)
Cost of Processing = 0 (almost).
The second wave of technology development brought on by the rise of Communication Age (internet protocol) did the following couple of things.
a) It connected the disparate information being collected from the first wave.
b) It made the offsite processing (i.e. cloud computing) possible and available to masses.
This resulted in
Cost of Communication = 0 (almost)
Cost of Search = 0 (almost)
Leveraging the first and the second wave of technology development, we are at the cusp of the third wave of technology development i.e. Intelligence Age, which will connect the processing power with big data using the open Communication protocol leading to wisdom or prediction.
Data + Processing Power + Communication Protocol = Intelligence
With the advent of AI algorithms leading to the Intelligence wave, we have been able to replicate the human learning methods. This will result in
Cost of Intelligent Servants/ Bots = 0 (almost)
We are already seeing the early signs of these with Apple Siri, Amazon Echo, Google Home, Self-driving vehicles, etc.
Summary and Roadmap
In this article, we looked at the learning styles and attributes of humans vs. AI powered machines. It’s for the first time in history of humankind, we have a technology capable of mimicing different aspect of human intelligence, and in many cases outperforming it. With that backdrop, we can change the humanity’s mission statement to for the next five decades to
Artificial Intelligence: the final frontier. These are the voyages of the human Enterprise. Its six million-year mission: to explore strange new inner worlds, to seek out new life and new innovations, to boldly go where no human has gone before.
In the subsequent articles, we will introduce the human decision-making framework, merge the human decision making with AI, and propose new AI algorithms based on human decision making framework. | https://medium.com/@sarbjitsparhar/artificial-intelligence-parallels-between-human-and-machines-f3664b68444 | ['Sarb Parhar'] | 2020-12-26 19:16:24.168000+00:00 | ['Decision Making', 'Artificial Intelligence'] |
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