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5 Books I Liked A Lot in 2020
2020 was a tricky one. Lockdowns compelled me to read more but I was still completing my degree during the harshest periods of national closure. Degree-wise, one American literature module provided me with a lot of books to choose from whereas a comprehensive module on John Milton yielded only one: Paradise Lost. While Milton’s poem still remains the best piece of literature that I have ever studied, it doesn’t quite fit on a list of the kind that I am trying to pen down here. Anyways, this selection of prose aims to be as truthful as possible (I attempted Moby Dick for the first time this year, and yes, it was epic, but there were times that I thought I may give up on reading forever!). NUMBER FIVE — Inglorious Empire by Shashi Tharoor Coming to terms with empire Admittedly, this book is not on the list because I ‘liked’ it, or enjoyed reading it. Far from it. In fact, Tharoor provokes ire throughout Inglorious Empire. It is a book that does not seek to claim any monetary reparations for empire, but it does draw into question the nature of how Britain’s debt to India may be resolved. I think it is a book I am grateful to have read because of what I gleaned from it. The fact remains, India’s 20% share of the global GDP prior to Britain’s imperial conquest declined to less than 5% when it left. The monetary debt owed would be far beyond anything Britain could muster today. But perhaps the most admirable aspect to Tharoor’s book is that, despite the passionate discharge of facts that call out Britain’s atrocious actions throughout their occupation of India, he does not ever appear anti-stoic in his prose. This tellingly calls to mind many of the great figures of revolution, such as Nelson Mandela or Mahatma Gandhi. Violence, retribution and compensation are not the best solution to hurt and suffering. Sometimes the power of forgiveness will achieve far more. NUMBER FOUR — The Secret Commonwealth by Philip Pullman Lyra’s adventures take her far from Oxford Yes I know. This is a YA title (YA means ‘young adult’ for all you aged specimens out there). Having dedicated a year of my life to studying Pullman’s famed trilogy, His Dark Materials, in my dissertation, this book came as a bout of fresh air. While the trilogy is groundbreaking and epic in its own right, The Secret Commonwealth is probably the strongest novel set in Pullman’s multiverse. Where the original trilogy felt ideological, overtly idealist and perhaps a little two-paced, this entry in The Book of Dust trilogy marks the perfect convergence of a great writer’s powers. Pullman seems to be recreating Lyra: she is less a ‘chosen one’ and more an actual living-breathing woman. Furthermore, fantasy fans need not fear for lack of magical curiosity — there is more-than-plenty development of the incredible world-building and metaphysics that made the original series so memorable. For all fans of Lyra and the Alethiometer, get reading The Secret Commonwealth to dig further into the mystery of Pullman’s God particle, Dust. For those who have not read any of these books, trust me, there is something in them for every reader and you will not be disappointed! NUMBER THREE — The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco Enigma, mystery and history I must admit, the blurb threw me off the scent here. A medieval murder mystery set in a remote Italian monastery sounded like Agatha Christie meets Chaucer. So I bought the book and it was not what I expected at all. The Name of the Rose might be one of the most eruditely-researched and expertly crafted pieces of fiction in the 20th century (at least from the growing sample pool that I have had the pleasure of reading). It is far from an easy read, and, like Moby Dick, it can be excrutiatingly tortuous to the fainthearted. But once you get through the first hundred pages, and many many open Google tabs on medieval clerical history later, you will find the most intellectually surmising murder mystery ever told. The central detective figure, William of Baskerville, is the medieval foreshadower of Sherlock and Poirot, even though The Name of the Rose was written years after the famous creations of Arthur Conan Doyle and Agatha Christie. It is a story that explores semiotics, liturgy, early modern science and many ranges of logic and deduction through its principal detective plot and from a post-modern viewpoint. Once you get used to the rich English vernacular of William Weaver’s translation of the original, the magic of Umberto Eco’s vision has the potential to consume you into a vivid reading slumber. My advice, dive in and don’t come up for air. NUMBER TWO — A Farewell To Arms by Ernest Hemingway A heart-wrenching tale of love and woe This might be one of the closest experiences that I have had to a Shakespearean tragedy in prose. I won’t say much more on that. Hemingway’s writing — well, much has been said on it and I am not well-versed enough to make wider statements about the rest of his work — is brilliant. It encapsulates the American oeuvre of showing rather than telling… blah blah blah. Read A Farewell to Arms and it will take through emotions you never knew you could feel. There are sore points to the book. Some of it feels really bitter towards the idea of a war and there is a sense of entitlement running throughout. The protagonist does suggest that he is owed something for his suffering and does not deserve any pain. He not exactly likeable at all. But that is what makes this a great piece of storytelling beyond anything else: traditional devices usually found in ‘classic’ novels are not present. It also helps if you can find a nice looking edition since it will deck your bookshelves for many years to come! NUMBER ONE — The Crying of the Lot 49 by Thomas Pynchon This book is just crazy. I wouldn’t have thought that if I were making a list of the top books I have read by the end of the year, it would include a book I had studied. I try to separate reading for pleasure and the degree. But wow! When talking to older years about which books to focus on, everyone seemed to say: stay away from Pynchon. I am glad I listened to my lecturer for once and not the guys with good notes on the easiest texts. I have a lot to say about this one but I will start with this: my taste in film directly complements Pynchon. I like David Lynch. A lot. And Pynchon is cut from the same stock. The Crying of the Lot 49 is another difficult mystery novel (can you see a trend?) which provides zero answers whatsoever. It is a tale set in a very specific time and space, but one so open-ended that the very nature of identity, era and meaning are called into question. Pynchon is not for everybody, I’ll admit that. But he is one of the fathers of post-modernist novel writing. An easier entry point to his writing would be Inherent Vice — another insanely enjoyable read plus an awesome film adaptation by the one and only PTA, but I digress… Lot 49 is teasingly good, the kind of teasing you find when you’re trying to get all the flavour from liquorice or chewing gum as it dies on you. Oedipa Maas, the protagonist, seems to be an alternate version of Atwood’s Offred. But where Offred faces an oppressive system of power, Oedipa faces a non-existent tyrannical force: the American corporation. Lot 49 is almost sci-fi in some respects, but it is dreamlike in others. Reading it is like listening to a shoe-gaze song or watching a nostalgic film. I can safely say that 2020 for me, in terms of reading, was the year of discovering Thomas Pynchon. P.S. check out this clip where Pynchon’s actual voice appears in an episode of The Simpsons. Aside from this and a few other glimpses, no one actually know what he looks like or what he is like as a person. Added mystery eh. DISCLAIMER I know that I haven’t included any female writers here (as someone kindly pointed out). It is not that I didn’t enjoy any works written by women this year, I actually read quite a bit and enjoyed many of them: The Bell Jar, A Room of One’s Own, Persuasion, How To Be Both etc. But the five books I have chosen seemed to make the biggest impact on me as a reader. Nothing more to it.
https://medium.com/@thegreatshah/5-books-i-liked-a-lot-in-2020-e01a83785e2
['Rahul Shah']
2020-12-22 13:45:54.444000+00:00
['Literature Review', 'Book Reviews', 'Top Books Of 2020', 'Journal', 'Book List']
Turning 21 in Quarantine
I turned 21 years old on Saturday, May 2, otherwise known as Day 44 since Texas began adopting Governor Greg Abbott’s “essential services and activities only” policy. Turning 21 was supposed to be a highlight of my junior year that I could share with all of my friends. However, in the midst of quarantine, my plans had boiled down from the party extravaganza teenagers dream up for themselves. “Working together, we must defeat COVID-19 with the only tool that we have available to us — we must strangle its expansion by reducing the ways that we are currently transmitting it,” Abbott said at a press conference on March 19. With these words, Abbott began Texas state government closures on nonessential businesses and limiting social gatherings of more than 10 people. Abbott’s closures came following a declaration of emergency from state health commissioner John Hellerstedt. “. . . The communicable disease known as COVID-19 in the State of Texas has created an immediate threat, poses a high risk of death to a large number of people and creates a substantial risk of public exposure,” Hellerstedt said in the declaration. As the days go by, we are pushed further and further away from our standards of social behavior. Though we are fighting for a return to normalcy, our daily lives remain hindered by the spread of COVID-19. We shop at grocery stores, but only with masks and 6 feet of distance. We hold meetings and classes, but only over Zoom. We contact our loved ones and experience milestones in our lives, but only through screens. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, I was one of over 300,000 children born between the end of March and the beginning of May in 1999. We turned 21 inside our homes with our families and roommates, celebrating not by going out but staying in. When I realized I wouldn’t be home for my birthday, I had not expected to do much of anything to commend the day. Dallas had only just begun the process of reopening businesses and the threat of COVID-19 remained imminent. As much as we would all wish to ignore the dangers of the virus, I could not help but view any demand from me for socializing as irresponsible. During this time, it is virtually impossible to avoid the news stories surrounding the spread of the virus. “Current events” morphed into updates on the coronavirus. Staying informed has become a civic duty to keep one another safe. In an environment that has been left in an emergency state for so long, it becomes nearly impossible to focus on keeping up with social aspects of our lives, especially something so seemingly trivial as a birthday. “Fear and anxiety about a disease can be overwhelming and cause strong emotions in adults and children,” the CDC said on their website. Overwhelming seems the most appropriate word. Much as I can bury myself in my studies and spending time with my quarantine-era roommates, it is impossible to ignore the holes in our lives left from COVID-19 and the lengths society has gone to in order to combat its circulation. Something so simple as running back inside to grab my mask still shocks me when it occurs to me how ridiculous it would have seemed only a few months ago. For me, it is easy to get stuck on the negatives in any situation, much less a global pandemic causing massive shutdowns in our society. When my birthday rolled around, I was ready to treat it like any other day. However, when the evening came, my roommates surprised me not only with gifts, but even a cake complete with candles. No matter how ridiculous I’d considered a birthday, their gesture meant the world to me. Crowding around an Oreo cake with the three of them was even better with my parents there via phone. I felt really happy in a way I was not sure I could be in this state. Our reality is not what it was three months ago. Things are dire, and we do need to be careful. However, the truth in those words does not change that our lives are still happening. We’re still growing older and wiser, even at a distance. A few birthday candles mean so much more than we give them credit for. They represent how we move on and make the most of a terrible situation. It’s not the birthday I would have chosen for myself, but it’s still mine.
https://medium.com/smu-coronavirus-chronicles/turning-21-in-quarantine-2091501b2f8f
['Sabrina Franco']
2020-05-08 04:12:47.567000+00:00
['Birthday', 'Reflections', 'Coronavirus', 'Covid 19', 'College']
Cobra Kai Season 2 Review
I was blown away by the show, so I had to write something to the world as my little gift / thank you to the universe. All of this should be spoiler free until the tiny spoiler discussion section at the end. Overall, I really liked the show. I will mention constructive criticism later, but I don’t want that to overshadow that overall, they did a great job with the plot flow, acting, characters, dialogue, and nostalgia. They did a great job playing on nostalgia, just like Stranger Things. Usually, films or shows fail by getting the dialogue or realism of the setting/plot wrong. I usually always pick up on this, but this time, I didn’t notice any major issues, which was impressive. There were some minor things with very few scenes where I didn’t think high school kids would act or behave in a way or be invited or rise in the social hierarchy so quickly or react in that way but I was able to let it slide. More than anything, you really start seeing the good in many of the characters, even the “bad” ones. They really emphasis the theme of how the world isn’t black and white, which I like because it’s different from the old, overly simplistic idea that there’s a bully and a good guy. The world is definitely multi-dimensional — the bully can also have nerdy interests. the big guy isn’t always mean. the bad guy isn’t that bad. So of course, I was a bundle of emotions throughout and moreso as it built towards the end. My heartstrings really pulled for a lot of the characters. If anything, I think they made it too complicated with the plot updates and turns. It became a little bit too much of a soap opera, making it hard to keep up with. I ended up a little confused about who is right or wrong. They did a little to resolve things you were dying to be resolved, only to add more complexity right after. I had to take a moment to just step back and think about who exactly is right or wrong and who misinterpreted, only to conclude that many have a good heart except misunderstandings, situation, and circumstance complicated everything. Small parts were predictable with cliches, but other parts twisted and turned in ways you don’t expect. Especially for a young kid who hasn’t seen as many cliche, predictable stories, I think the whole thing is probably fresh to them. Demetri was a really annoying, obnoxiously socially unaware kid. They tried to make that part of the comic relief, but then he just got too annoying. Anyhow, I’m glad they renewed for season 3. I’m looking forward to it. Spoiler discussion section I wanted to add some tiny remarks here that may contain spoilers. What really kept me thinking about the show and I didn’t really like was how complicated it got especially by the last episode of s2. I liked how they made it more multi-dimensional rather than black-and-white but that doesn’t mean the plot has to get super complicated. I had to step back and conclude who is bad here and who is good? Reese is the only person I see as truly bad. He lies, manipulates, doesn’t learn, and takes over. You get some empathy for him as he’s down on his luck, but then, the show clearly paints him into a villain later. My heart breaks for many of them, but especially Johnny, who Zabka did an exceptional job playing. The show really makes me think he is a good guy with demons and some bad advice, some of which he’s learned to discard and some of which he kept. The troubling part is that his own students turned on him. I could care less about the Reese betrayal as much as all his students turning their backs to him after all he’s done just because they think his advice didn’t work out. Now, they’re going to become even more corrupt. It seems the show is subtly hinting at Mr. LaRusso and Johnny fully making amends and joining forces, which I really hope so. As far as the main kid leads, I think almost all of them have good hearts. The show doesn’t paint it clear as day as what the cause of them going astray is since it’s complex, but it seems some of the bad teachings of Cobra Kai have made some of them use bullying and tough guy asshole behavior as their only resort as a solution for many problems. Robby really is a good guy with a troubled past who has changed for the better. He got carried away and made a stupid move in the last episode, but I don’t think that he or anyone else should beat himself up too much or label him as a horrible person. If anything, he’s hurting a lot especially with what Sam did to him. He did tell a white lie to Sam with the medal of honor, but he had somewhat decent intentions on why he did it. Mr. La Russo appears to be that lovable, successful, pure, wise, honest teacher we quickly learn to love. Slowly, we realize he doesn’t have everything in balance as he so claims, which he ultimately has to apologize and make up for. And then, you start to see his intense rivalry consume him as a person and become toxic and unhelpful. Ultimately, Mr. La Russo and Robby both end the show thinking they screwed up. I think they did some things right and some things wrong. But overall, they did good. Let’s hope they see that. I’m sure we won’t see the end of karate in s3. Sam is a good girl at heart, but she’s lately she’s caused some of the most trouble, acting out, getting ridiculously drunk at a party, and cheating on her partner. I tend to let some of it slide because you can tell it’s some psychological thing that she’s playing out despite warm warnings from friends — perhaps, her dislike or jealousy of her ex’s girlfriend, Tory. Ultimately, I let her pass on most of that because Tory really did instigate a lot of the problems. The kiss here was a big mistake. I would’ve flipped out if something occurred from my partner, but at the same time, I realize it’s a common high school thing or thing for stuff to slip. And they both did immediately regret it after. Tory is the instigator, in my opinion, often causing the fights or doing something that isn’t right to Sam, causing further drama and rivalry. When you learn about her, you realize that her past of fighting for the scraps may have caused part of it. Her dislike of Miguel’s ex and jealousy probably also causes further trouble. It’s an interesting move by the show makers not to paint her as a complete villain or to ever really punish her for her actions, not sure I like or dislike it yet. It is frustrating to see her get away with stuff repeatedly. The one time she was in the right was the final episode. Sam and Miguel did a stupid thing kissing. Though it was rather cliche and predictable for Sam to catch her doing it. Other than Reese, if I had to call anyone “bad” in the show, it’d be her, and then, Sam (although Sam is more of an unintentional, brash kind of bad). Miguel, also a great guy at heart, is on the other side of the rivalry. He honestly plays a solid, reliable, good-hearted character throughout, almost guiding his sensei Johnny when Johnny isn’t sure which way is right or wrong when Reese comes in. He has his slight moments of getting corrupted, but not as much as Hawk. He stays pure more or less, until of course the end with the kiss. He shouldn’t have done that, that wasn’t right, and he realizes it immediately after. He makes the right move of showing mercy only for the world and an accident to cause either death, paralysis, or a minor injury (we’ll find out in the future). His mother ends the show by denouncing Johnny saying that Miguel avoided fights rather than sought them out before learning karate. We know that while that’s partially true, Miguel also developed some valuable skills and lessons through karate. If anything, it comes down to Johnny, the one guy he looks up to and learns from, and maybe Mr. LaRusso, to really figure out what they’re doing wrong in their teaching and correct to save the day. I don’t think we’ve seen the end of Miguel, but it looks like the only solid course of action is for him to have a severe injury that takes him out for a while so that people can learn their lesson. (Honestly, the whole extended fight involving dozens of people that seems to have lasted 20 minutes+ just wouldn’t happen in real life. It wouldn’t have lasted so long and it wouldn’t have taken that long for teachers or other students to intervene. You can overwhelm them with numbers. But I’ll let it slide)
https://willyoulaughyt.medium.com/cobra-kai-season-2-review-f8f385332d8c
['Will Chou']
2020-09-22 02:56:49.415000+00:00
['Cobra Kai']
Podcast Episode #4: HCI, Design, and Portfolios with Philip Guo
Philip Guo is an Assistant Professor of Cognitive Science at UCSD. His most recently taught classes are COGS 121: Human-Computer Interaction Portfolio Design Studio and COGS 127: Data-Driven UX/Product Design. In this podcast episode, Philip reflects on his teaching and research experiences in HCI and design thinking, and offers advice to students who are looking to build their portfolios and start side projects. Background Philip pursued a degree in Computer Science as an undergrad, but while his peers sought out industry positions after graduating, he was more inclined to follow a more research-centric route in academia. It was during his time in grad school when he became interested with how people interact with computers, rather than purely algorithmic work. This interest was expressed through the development of tools specifically for those doing computationally-based research, leading to the creation of Python tutor. Philip created Python Tutor to help students visualize code by creating diagrams that they can view as their code executes. It allows programmers to “step through their code one step at a time” online, much like how a personal tutor would walk us through our code, drawing diagrams and explaining along the way. Python tutor is widely used by beginner Python classes in universities and by individuals learning on their own. Other languages are supported as well, including Java, C, and C++. More on the differences between academia and industry, Philip talks about the trade-off between freedom and structure. With higher education, you are given more freedom to pursue your interests without necessarily needing a profitable outcome. Though of course, there is the aspect of obtaining funding for your research. It is not nearly as structured as industry where the profitable outcome is the general goal. Bigger companies have their own agendas and you are part of a team and have a specific role. Though, you also have more guidance and resources available to you. Like with all things, Philip says, deciding between academia and industry really depends on what your needs and goals are.
https://medium.com/ds3ucsd/podcast-episode-4-human-computer-interaction-design-thinking-and-portfolio-building-with-a20abf8c15cf
['Allison Chan']
2020-06-01 23:53:01.270000+00:00
['Design', 'Advice', 'Podcast', 'Interview', 'Data Science']
Objetivos para o site/Goals for the site
Português: Por meio deste primeiro post, pretendo elencar os principais motivos que me motivaram a criar esta conta no Medium. Primeiramente, quero que esta plataforma me permita juntar e divulgar mais facilmente o que escrevo. Também quero que ela seja o mais bilíngue possível, o que significa que planejo que seu conteúdo esteja todo em Inglês e em Português. Futuramente, talvez até inclua mais idiomas, caso eu me sinta confortável em escrever neles. No tocante ao conteúdo propriamente dito, ele será relacionado a estatística e mais frequentemente a estatística aplicada. Pretendo abordar diversos assuntos e estudar múltiplos objetos e fenômenos, sempre com um viés quantitativo. Portanto, acredito que tudo que escreverei será mais interessante para aqueles que se interessam por objetividade e por matemática. Ou, pelo menos, pela aplicação de ambas aos assuntos específicos que serão discutidos. Ainda no tocante àquilo que espero que este site traga para outros, consigo ver diversas possibilidades. Para os leitores que falam apenas Português, acredito que este será um dos poucos meios de ter acesso a uma perspectiva estatística, ainda mais uma que tenta ser rigorosa. Em alguns dos assuntos que serão abordados, há grande falta de informação dentro da língua portuguesa e minha torcida é para que eu consiga conferir acesso a esses conteúdos. Para aqueles que falam Inglês (que acredito ser esta a que mais se aproxima de uma língua global), o plano é que se beneficiem de outras formas (com aqueles que falam Português colhendo os mesmos ganhos). As principais utilidades do meu site para essa população são duas, para mim: tratamentos cuidadosos e metodologicamente rigorosos para os assuntos sob estudo e discussões sobre temas raramente abordados. English: Through this first post, I intend to enumerate the main reasons for creating this account on Medium. First of all, I want this platform to gather and disseminate what I write more easily. I also want it to be as bilingual as possible, which means that I plan for its content to be all in both English and Portuguese. In the future, I may even include more languages if I feel comfortable writing in them. The content itself will be related to statistics and, more often, to applied statistics. I intend to approach several subjects and study multiple objects and phenomena, always with a quantitative slant. Therefore, I believe that everything I write will be more interesting for those interested in objectivity and maths. Or, at least, in applications of both to the specific issues being discussed. While on the subject of what I hope this site will bring to others, I can see several possibilities. For readers who speak only Portuguese, I believe that this will be one of the few ways to access a statistical perspective, especially one that tries to be rigorous. In some of the subjects that will be addressed, there is a great lack of information within the Portuguese language, and my wish is for me to grant access to these contents. For those who speak English (which I believe is the closest to a global language), the plan is to benefit them in other ways (with those who speak Portuguese reaping the same gains). My site's main uses for this population are two, in my opinion: careful and methodologically rigorous treatments for the subjects under study and discussions on topics rarely addressed.
https://medium.com/@arvizzoni/objetivos-para-o-site-goals-for-the-site-beb3c690b5b2
['André Vizzoni']
2020-12-12 17:41:42.495000+00:00
['Objetivos', 'Introduction', 'Goals', 'Introdução']
Toto’s new smart toilets are less likely to invoke sticker shock
Toto’s new smart toilets are less likely to invoke sticker shock Carol Jan 16·2 min read Toto is known for building elaborate booths at CES to display and demonstrate its technologically advanced plumbing fixtures. If you’ve longed to grace your bathroom with one of the company’s high-tech toilets, you’ll be happy to know that some relatively affordable models are coming to market. When we first covered Toto’s CES in 2016, its top-of-the-line toilet cost nearly $10,000. In 2021, you’ll be able to buy that same technology for less than $1,500. Granted, the Toto Washlet+ C2 (integrated remote control) and the Washlet+ C5 (wall-mounted remote) still cost several times the price of your average throne, but they’re equipped with technology that will keep your bum squeaky clean. Plus, Toto promises the toilet itself will be easier to clean. [ Further reading: A smart home guide for beginners ] Toto The Toto Washlet+ C5 features a wall-mounted remote control. The remote is mounted to the bidet seat on the Washlet+ C2 displayed at the top of this page. The toilet bowl is fabricated from an ultrasmooth ceramic. Adding Toto’s Washlet+ seat turns the toilet into a bidet. When you approach the toilet, a “pre-mist” feature sprays electrolyzed water over the surface of the bowl above the water line. Electrolyzing the water converts it to sodium hypochlorite—a broad-spectrum disinfectant—and makes the bowl surface even more slick. When flushed, Toto’s Dynamax Tornado technology fills the bowl with water from the back as well as the sides to create a more forceful flush. The combination of the slick bowl and the robust flush reduces the likelihood that solid waste will stick to the sides, all while using less water, about .8 gallons per flush. The misting function occurs every eight hours to keep the bowl clean, and it reduces the need to introduce harsh chemicals during periodic cleanings with a brush or rag. In addition to the bowl cleaning, the bidet wand uses the same process to clean itself. There’s also an onboard water heater and a deodorizer to keep odor at bay, and a blower tops the experience off by lightly drying your bottom after the show. Both models require a button push to initiate flushing. If you’re looking for a touchless experience, you’ll need to move up to one of Toto’s more expensive models, with prices starting at around $2,500. Note: When you purchase something after clicking links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. Read our affiliate link policy for more details.
https://medium.com/@carol66532264/totos-new-smart-toilets-are-less-likely-to-invoke-sticker-shock-fd94ec2a0a91
[]
2021-01-16 13:48:41.035000+00:00
['Cutting', 'Tvs', 'Surveillance', 'Streaming']
【妊娠11~16週目】つわりの症状をまとめてみた ~後編~
Written by Japanese-English food/travel/lifestyle writer & translator. Lived 11 years in U.S., 5 years in Thailand. 海外居住歴16年の日英バイリンガル翻訳者/ライター。元記者/編集者。Loves 食/住/旅/写真/宝塚歌劇/猫
https://medium.com/irodori-jp/morning-sickness-symptoms-week-11-16-c60e0241fbc4
['Aya Satoh Hoshina', 'ほしなあや']
2019-06-08 14:20:38.832000+00:00
['Pregnancy', 'Diary', '日本語', '日記', '妊娠']
How covid-19 has affected the criminal justice system and multiculturalism in policy
Coronavirus has made a considerable impact in all the sectors of the country. The criminal justice system and multiculturalism have not been spared, and it is because the daily routine of a rational justice system has been interrupted to help curb the disease. The government has tried as much as possible to limit the interactions between people through the following actions. How covid-19 has affected the criminal justice system and multiculturalism in the policy. First, the government has closed the entrance to the Supreme Court building, this in return, has led to most proceedings being closed until further notice and those that were ongoing to be postponed (Amon, 2020). The second impact seen is that the oral arguments in a court have been closed while giving a chance to the conference that had been planned for. Thirdly, the courts that are still operating have been highly guarded and highly restricted to persons who are working in the buildings. They are supposed to have the masks on and ensure to observe the distance rule. The government has also minimized the number of people who are being sent to jail, especially if the offenders are considered to be petty. The pandemic has also made an impact on prisoners, for there has been a release of some of the prisoners (Akiyama & Rich, 2020). All these policies that have been set aside to ensure that the disease has been curbed are followed by the National Center for State Courts (NCSC). Coronavirus has also created an enormous impact on multiculturalism, and this s seen when there is a limitation of movement all across the world. Boarders have been closed, and the airports have also been closed. This has led to the minimization of interactions among different cultures and people of diversity. In conclusion, I do believe that the measurements that the government has placed aside to ensure that the spread of the coronavirus is controlled are justified. In addition to this, I do support what (NCSC) is doing to ensure that all policies are followed to the latter. References Akiyama, M. J., Spaulding, A. C., & Rich, J. D. (2020). Flattening the curve for incarcerated populations — Covid-19 in jails and prisons. New England Journal of Medicine. Amon, J. J. (2020). COVID-19 and detention: respecting human rights. Health and Human Rights Journal, 23.
https://medium.com/@brianluceca/how-covid-19-has-affected-the-criminal-justice-system-and-multiculturalism-in-policy-18dc6f7434e3
[]
2020-12-15 20:08:15.754000+00:00
['Covid 19 Crisis', 'Covid 19', 'Criminal Justice', 'Courts', 'Us Justice Department']
China’s Human Capital Crisis Presents the Single Largest Threat to its Future Growth
China’s Human Capital Crisis Presents the Single Largest Threat to its Future Growth FSI Stanford Follow Oct 6 · 3 min read Photo: Getty Images Excerpt from Invisible China: How the Urban-Rural Divide Threatens China’s Rise by Scott Rozelle, the co-director of the Rural Education Action Program (REAP) at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, and Natalie Hell, a writer and researcher at REAP (re-printed with permission from the publisher): China is at a critical juncture in its development. Amidst the glitter and gold of China’s urban miracle, economists and financial pundits are just now becoming concerned about slowing growth rates. A few bold scholars are warning that China is at risk of falling into what economists refer to as the “Middle Income Trap.” This describes the empirical regularity in which many countries that have attained middle income status (as China has) are unable to keep developing into stable, high income, developed countries, and instead stagnate or collapse (Mexico, Turkey, Argentina and Thailand are famous examples). These economic observers have written a flurry of concerned articles presenting the dangers of misaligned exchange rates and outdated industrialization policies for China’s growth. But they are completely missing the human capital crisis we have documented in the other China. We argue that this human capital crisis actually presents the single largest threat to China’s future growth. Allow us to explain. China’s astronomical growth was fueled by the rise of unskilled manufacturing. Manufacturers eager to cut costs flocked to China in the 1980s and 1990s because of its abundant supply of workers and the low wages they would work for. While that strategy proved successful, it is crystal clear that that engine of growth is finally running out. China’s unskilled wage rate has risen rapidly since the early 2000s. While higher wages are good for workers in the short run, in the long run companies are going to start leaving China to find cheaper labor in other countries. Indeed, the exit has already commenced. Samsung is in the middle of moving millions of jobs out of China to its new low-wage electronics production bases in Vietnam. The iPhone 6 was built in China. The iPhone 7 and 8 will be too. But, where will the iPhone 9 be built? Almost certainly not in China. And with it will go millions and millions of jobs. This exodus is happening not just in electronics. It is also happening in textiles and toys and tools and Christmas tree decorations and more and more and more. Ten years ago, almost every product for sale in an American WalMart was made in China. Today, that is no longer the case. Textiles are now coming from Bangladesh, shoes from Ethiopia, toys from Indonesia, and on and on. And when the factories leave China, the danger is that the country will be left with a huge vacuum. Just like the American Rust Belt communities devastated by the exit of large-scale manufacturing, we believe (and will attempt to show) that huge groups of Chinese workers are likely to be left jobless and disappointed.
https://medium.com/freeman-spogli-institute-for-international-studies/chinas-human-capital-crisis-presents-the-single-largest-threat-to-its-future-growth-22edd68ade04
['Fsi Stanford']
2020-10-06 16:47:38.011000+00:00
['Economy', 'Economic Development', 'Stanford', 'Labor', 'China']
How I Kept My New Year’s Resolutions Through a Pandemic
How I Kept My New Year’s Resolutions Through a Pandemic Contrary to what I initially thought, none of my goals were dependent on any external factors. They all turned out to be about personal growth. Marina Liste Dec 27, 2020·4 min read Photo by cottonbro from Pexels Last week I had my last French class of the year. Because of the date, we talked about the usual topics: Christmas, and how this awful year is coming to an end. Obviously, everybody laughed when the teacher mentioned New Year’s resolutions. After all, who can plan anything in the middle of a pandemic? But just then I realized something: I had never set any resolutions before 2020, and I’d feel silly for having them throughout the year. And yet, I managed to accomplish 99% of my goals. But how did I do it? Contrary to what I initially thought, none of my goals were dependent on any external factors, they all turned out to be about personal growth. And I believe that the following points helped me to achieve all those goals: Planning ahead. How do you intend to accomplish your goals? What specific steps are you going to follow? Do you have a timeline? How do you intend to accomplish your goals? What specific steps are you going to follow? Do you have a timeline? Be realistic, and resilient. Most of the time, resolutions are related to a change in our habits (quit smoking, start exercising, eat healthy, etc.) And changing a habit takes time, and a lot of intentional effort. I recommend you read The Power of Habit, by Charles Duhigg. You will get a deeper understanding of how daily habits define our lives. Because you have been relying on your bad habits your whole life, don’t expect to change them overnight, nor to get everything right on the first try. Most of the time, resolutions are related to a change in our habits (quit smoking, start exercising, eat healthy, etc.) And changing a habit takes time, and a lot of intentional effort. I recommend you read The Power of Habit, by Charles Duhigg. You will get a deeper understanding of how daily habits define our lives. Because you have been relying on your bad habits your whole life, don’t expect to change them overnight, nor to get everything right on the first try. Less is more. You don’t need to get your six-pack ready for summer. Maybe, this year you could just focus on establishing the habit of exercising regularly, and once you’ve got that, you might want to tackle something more specific. Or maybe, instead of travelling the whole world in the next 365 days, you can start by just visiting a couple of countries. You don’t need to change 10 different things about yourself all at the same time. It’s better to start with small daily changes until you can stick with them for a long period of time. And once you’re comfortable with those, try something bigger. You don’t need to get your six-pack ready for summer. Maybe, this year you could just focus on establishing the habit of exercising regularly, and once you’ve got that, you might want to tackle something more specific. Or maybe, instead of travelling the whole world in the next 365 days, you can start by just visiting a couple of countries. You don’t need to change 10 different things about yourself all at the same time. It’s better to start with small daily changes until you can stick with them for a long period of time. And once you’re comfortable with those, try something bigger. Break the resolution into smaller goals. The bigger the project is, the harder to find a solution. Like a cake, you can’t (or shouldn’t) eat the whole thing in one bite, you need to cut it into portions; and then eat them one by one. The same applies to resolutions: you should divide them as well into smaller portions, and for each piece, come up with a concrete solution. The bigger the project is, the harder to find a solution. Like a cake, you can’t (or shouldn’t) eat the whole thing in one bite, you need to cut it into portions; and then eat them one by one. The same applies to resolutions: you should divide them as well into smaller portions, and for each piece, come up with a concrete solution. Keep your goals up to date as the year goes on. As the year progresses, you might gain a deeper insight into the objectives you are trying to achieve. This could definitely change your plans, and it’s important to acknowledge those changes on your resolutions’ timelines. As the year progresses, you might gain a deeper insight into the objectives you are trying to achieve. This could definitely change your plans, and it’s important to acknowledge those changes on your resolutions’ timelines. Be kind to yourself. In order to get what you want, you’ll have to work on your habits every day, which is challenging. Some days you might feel like you are failing; others you will be tempted to do nothing. Whatever happens, try to talk to yourself as you would your best friend. Cut off that toxic inner talk, enjoy the process, and be patient. Even if you don’t completely succeed, you’ll have gained the tools to try again, and you’ll be better prepared. Why do so many people fail to accomplish their New Year’s resolutions? As many mental health professionals highlight, this has been an extremely difficult, and traumatic year, and it is normal for resolutions to get left aside with all the turmoil of this historic time. We all had big expectations of ourselves when the lockdowns started. Oh, how productive we thought we were going to be! While this is true for the current year, what is it the problem with New Year’s resolutions any other year? Why does everyone seem to struggle with them? I’m no expert in human behavior (this is what psychologists think about the issue), but I feel this could be an important reason that explains the phenomenon: You haven’t thought about why those resolutions are important to you. Resolutions can be a bit generic sometimes. But the reasons we want to achieve them, aren’t. When writing down your goals for the upcoming year, have you asked yourself why these particular goals are so important to you? It’s not about the goal itself, it’s about what do you want to achieve through it. If you don’t have a good reason for, you’ll find it incredibly difficult to stick to them.
https://medium.com/@marinaliste/how-i-kept-my-new-years-resolutions-through-a-pandemic-de0deaecbcc1
['Marina Liste']
2020-12-28 18:00:32.972000+00:00
['Motivation', 'Goals', 'Habits', 'Self', 'New Year']
My quest for meaning at work
I left my full-time work a year ago to find one with a higher purpose. I haven’t managed yet. But maybe it’s not such a bad thing. During the work transition interview in April Pavla mentioned that I sound like I wanna build a career around the lifestyle I care for which is similar to her and some others. Whereas six years ago I was very excited about future endeavors and also very specific about building a sustainable tourism company. “Do we stop dreaming at some point in our lives about what we would do?” went her question. I dreamt not so long ago. There is still a quote of Aaron Schwarz marked with a date, August 2018, next to my bed. What is the most important thing you can be working on right now and if you are not working on that, why aren’t you? Aaron Schwarz 1986 — 2013. Yes, I admire people who are trying to work on the more just world. It came out as my personal yearning from School of Life’s career day too: What I hear is you wanna fight social injustice through politics and art. The whole journey of change started around work. A lot of thoughts went in that direction. School of Life weekly seminar in London, books, articles, exercises, courses, meetings. I wanted to redefine what I do. The first idea was to move from communication to product or service as I was getting bored to communicate rather than design and create. I care about human experience and I enjoy deep conversations with people as well as researching, coming up with ideas, sketching. Big questions interest me and figuring out new ways to do things is a joy. Why not look into the future of cities or educational systems? Then there was my experience from Ghana which included a visit to the Agbogbloshie e-waste dump. Brexit, Trump and our very own Babiš and Zeman. Some friends around me were setting up NGOs and social businesses. I know journalists, activists, political campaigners, politicians. How was I active apart from sending money to charities and talking? I should dedicate myself fully to a big cause before it’s too late! And then there is art. I know writers, film or theatre directors. Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to share a big message with the audience like them? And standing ovations aren’t bad either. I could work on my writing and maybe I can get there too. So in my head, it was going to be a big change. I would be writing a great deal, learning new skills, signing up for causes, coming up with projects, spending many if not 10 000 hours on it and becoming a new professional. To a small extent, I did, but definitely not on the scope I had imagined. Above all, I unwound and it felt very good. I significantly lowered my workload and enjoyed hobbies and people that matter to me. Physical work on a reconstruction of a flat started pissing me off after a couple of months but it was splendid for clearing my head. I joined creative writing, typography and acting classes. I also volunteered on a political campaign, provided feedback on projects and business ideas of friends, helped with communication of mental health theme, led a workshop on content marketing in tourism, consulted marketing strategies while being in Latin America where I learned a new language and finally did nothing at all, traveled and eventually started a relationship. Now I don’t feel anymore that Ondra Janků = 100 % his work. OK, I didn’t think that before either but I was not that far from it. Once I finished university work gave me a great deal of purpose, I learned a lot and it helped define who I am. I wasn’t a footballer, neither a snowboarder anymore. I had my career in my media, marketing, and tourism, it described me the most at least in my mind and I liked it. But then after some time, I felt I wanna reflect on it all and take a break from the daily routine and check on myself. In the process of wondering, I came upon this long read by Tim Urban. And it was easily one of the best pieces on a career I have ever read. He describes many things but what I took out of it was this creature with five tentacles which represents various yearnings we have for work. They are quite different and often contradictory. So one has to accept that it’s quite impossible to have them all satisfied at the same time. There will always be some that are more disappointed with what are you doing right now. Purpose and meaning are pieces of the puzzle. Not the only objective. It doesn’t sound that revelatory but I felt relieved. Then I looked into the division of work and life. Firstly into the boundaries of work (mostly mental activity in my case) and free time. That got me on my road to doing nothing and involving more activities where my brain can switch off, my mind wanders and sometimes my eyes close. But there’s another twist to this division. It’s about people who go to work to simply do the work. They don’t look for any higher meaning and purpose in it. They receive it from something they do outside of their working hours. I know many people don’t have another choice than to struggle in numerous jobs to provide for themselves and families. But there are also high ranking professionals who get the work done. They might not necessarily enjoy what they do, it’s not a part of their cosmic journey or however you want to put it. It’s work. I had many conversations with those people. It’s still not easy for me to accept their view because my exploration started to some extent because of exceptional professionals doing a brilliant job for people with low morals. But that’s not the case of every one. For many people work is work. And it’s fine. I think I understand it more now. The whole work as an identity is a concept born in the last decades as Ezra Klein discussed in his podcast with Anne Helen Petersen and Derek Thompson. And it’s definitely not for everybody. If everyone’s trying to receive meaning from work that’s a recipe for misery. (Derek Thompson in the Atlantic) I had to slow down and got a different perspective to resonate with the following quote. Your work makes an impact on the world, but so do the large and small ways you’ve touched other people’s lives. (…) Work and relationships are important, but both those elements of your life are ever-changing. And neither one completely defines who you are. There’s a you that goes way beyond your job, your professional skills, your family, and your friends. It’s made up of your own unique view of the world, what you’re good at, what you’re bad at, what you do to engage with the community around you, what you do for fun, what you believe in, and what and who you love, whether or not they love you back. (Inc.com, Minda Zeitlin) I took the time to contemplate. An outing that started as a career transition ended up being much broader. I didn’t know what I wanted to get out of my Latin American trip but I felt I needed it. And it turned out to be a lot about my emotions. And about the people I met there on a way who revealed elements of myself but also about people who have already been present in my life. I took a moment to appreciate them and all the good memories we share as well as the stage I got to on my life journey and new experiences that are yet to come. I cried quite a bit out of gratitude and happiness and I left some emotional baggage in Peru too. It was my dream to hit the road once again on my own and experience something new. And I’m glad I did it. In the end, that’s what people regret the most. Not taking some actions as Lila MacLellan’s article points out. If most of us are more likely to reach our dying days still haunted by images of an ideal self that never fully materialized, it would appear that we all should go after our dream job, our dream life, right now. Write that screenplay. Open an animal sanctuary. But the authors caution that’s too simplistic a strategy, writing, “A tendency to seize the moment can bring both benefits and misfortune.” See? There’s usually a catch. When I was wondering whether to leave my full-time job or stay, one of the questions I was posed was if I found out that I had six months left to live… Would I have stayed? My answer was no. And the response: Then quit tomorrow. Decision wise I’m a rather hesitant person which could be a downfall. It took me about a year and a half since the first doubts planted in my head to the last day in the office. But I don’t think I overstayed my welcome neither that it was a good question in the first place. Picasso would not stop painting if he was diagnosed with cancer. However, I’m quite positive that the majority of people would say they were gonna leave their job. But that doesn’t mean they have to quit tomorrow. Another quote from MacLellan’s piece helps. “Now that you know what most people regret, it’s time for you, as an individual, to look inside and say, ‘What type of person am I?’” says Davidai. “Am I the type of person who has big dreams, or believes that dreams are important, and has aspirations but for some reason am not pursuing them? Or am I the kind of person who thinks that the most important thing is the responsibility for other people or my duties as a citizen or a family member?” Maybe you would actually more deeply regret destroying your family’s financial security to start your own business than you would never be striking out on your own. Like every other negotiation in life, it’s about choosing the imperfect solution you can live with. Lately, I told my friend how I wished I played guitar. My father plays it really well and I got one as a Christmas present from him when I was 13. I never even started. “Hmm but I don’t see your 13-year old self sitting in a room and practicing” was my friend’s response. And she was right as I was all about football, skateboarding, and snowboarding and hanging out with my friends and I wouldn’t have changed that. In the last years, I learned how to type with all ten fingers and got to the conversational level of Spanish and I’m glad I managed but it all cost time which could have been spent on something else. The same goes for guitar or any skill or objectives on the path towards one’s dream job if you are lucky enough to know what it is. So once again I think I would have regretted not going on my solo travel while having that chance. But at this stage when I am back I prefer to spend more time with people who are important to me rather than having the discipline to write two pages every day outside of my day job. I’m not ready to work nights to develop a skill, neither to spend weekends working on launching a business. The work doesn’t have to be 100 % me. It doesn’t have to represent every single piece of my personality while making the world a better place. I wasn’t that off in my previous occupation. I was not going against the stream. I was not stuck in a bullshit job. My transition is not over yet even if I am back in the full-time work project since quite recently. I needed some structure in my life and I got it. I accepted that sometimes there are other yearnings of Tim Urban’s octopus than meaning at stake. That I can try to work for the sake of work for some time and see how I feel about it. But in the long run, I would still aim for being able to say to myself that what I was doing was for something more than security. That I could defend time spent on work as more than a way to receive money to live. All work apart, I can still think about an impact and even dream. Another strong food for thought was a debate of Tim Ferris and Greg McKeown’s about his book Essentialism. He posed a question of what do people know about their great-grandparents. Eight people that influenced who we are and yet we can barely speak out their names. How did they shape you in ways you would want to pass on to others? What are their decisions that impacted us positively and negatively? What am I grateful for? What are the patterns I want to stop? Out of the eight people I recalled great-grandparents from my mother’s side right away. Josef and Milada. I was lucky enough to meet my great-grandma but unfortunately never had the chance to see my great-grand pa in person. Almost though. He was having talks with my mum who was pregnant at the time. He died a month before I was born. I’ve heard so much about him since. How he was respected, smart and kept on living in an enlightened way even if they took almost all the material things from him and in that situation is not that uncommon for one to become bitter. He was a farmer who was expelled from his property during Communist collectivization in the 1950s. When I watch movies or pieces of theatre from that period like All My Compatriots I imagine the main character to be him. My great-grandmother was the kindest person I encounter, finest cook and she always wrote us long letters with 50 crown notes hidden in them for us. Through her, I pictured how my great grandpa must have been. How he stood on the side of truth and justice. And how his grandkids loved visiting him for holidays as he always had some adventurous program for them. It might be a little idealized but that’s how I feel. And a piece of him keeps living in me. I don’t continue in a farming tradition and honestly, I would probably do quite lousy job but what stayed in me is rather linked to his behavior, attitudes, and values. And also loving the time spent in nature with friends and family. My great-grandparents So what I wanna pass on to generations to come? One day when walking through Père Lachaise cemetery in Paris and being faced with the finality of life rather directly, I took out my sketchbook and let my 31-year-old self wrote down what it thought is here for. What it wants to do further in life… I want to redefine what is considered normal by connecting people by entertaining imagination of mine and others by sharing positive energy And that could be manifested in my work and all the others’ walks of life. Everyone could have their own way on a different scale. Sometimes it’s work, sometimes hobby, sometimes the way the person is. And that’s fine. What matter is that their mind is open enough. However, the practicalities of work are still here. “Where do you see yourself in ten years in terms of your career? Would you like to run a company with 150 employees or be a director of a department?” I was asked recently out of the blue and I was so not ready to answer it. Left apart that neither of the prospects sounded attractive to me. So my answer was nothing more than I don’t know. But it wasn’t I don’t know because I never gave a fly. It was I don’t know because I am not there yet. Step by step. Little by little. For now I can let others describe some fragments of thinking that I resonate with. Like this quote of Quinn Norton from her essay Against Productivity. “Some thoughts are long, they can take years to think, or a lifetime. Some thoughts take many lifetimes, and we hand them off to the next generation like the batons in a relay race. Some of these are the best of thoughts, even if they can be the least productive. Lifetimes along, they shift the whole world, like a secret lever built and placed by the loving imaginations of thousands of unproductive stargazers.” Or the drawing of Diego Flisfisch that got my attention in GAM Cultural Centre in Santiago de Chile. Yes, there are noble causes I would like to help with. But there’s a catch to it too. Since in the big picture, I wanna do abnormal things but in a smaller one, I wanna do very normal things too. I guess I am not going to impress many recruiters with my vagueness so I’m probably destined to keep looking for my path. Or simply do the work. It’s just that there is a thin line between being grown-up, responsible, professional and conform and boring.
https://medium.com/@ondrejjanku/my-quest-for-meaning-at-work-9ddb60c78a70
['Ondrej Janku']
2020-06-16 08:56:55.109000+00:00
['Friendship', 'Adventure', 'Meaning', 'Careers', 'Life Lessons']
Just another study guide for “Databricks Certified Associate Developer for Apache Spark 3.0”
Just another study guide for “Databricks Certified Associate Developer for Apache Spark 3.0” David Suarez Jun 17·8 min read I’ve recently cleared the exam for the “Databricks Certified Associate Developer for Apache Spark 3.0” certification. In return to the community, I’ve decided to write this post sharing my own study guide. It’s not the first and it won’t be the last you’ll find, it’s just another study guide :) In my case I went for the Python version of it. I guess the content can’t be too different for Scala since the Spark API syntax is practically the same regarding the kind of content included in this exam. Therefor, I think the content here can be applicable for both. The first step to prepare for this exam is, obviously, checking the official description. But if you are reading this, you probably did it already. After that you can also go through this little “course” that shows what to expect from the actual exam and how to register for it. The tips and opinions that you will find here are mainly targeted for people who already have some knowledge and experience working with Spark. If you are a total beginner, better start with some online courses to build some experience before you start preparing this exam. Preparing for the exam What book should I read? In addition, Sections I, II, and IV of Spark: The Definitive Guide and Chapters 1–7 of Learning Spark should also be helpful in preparation. If you are thinking about what book you should get… I personally got and read both. Is it needed? Definitely not. Let’s compare both, so you can make your own decision: Spark: The Definitive Guide : From Section I and II, chapters 1–10 (also 11 for Scala Datasets), which are focused mainly about Spark architecture, DataFrames and SQL APIs. From Section III, chapter 14 which is about Accumulator and Broadcast Variables. From section IV I chapter 15 would be enough, since 16–19 are quite deep, and I don’t consider them necessary but… better safe than sorry! This book is Spark 2.4, so you will miss all the Spark 3.0 specifics that you’ll need to complement online. From Section I and II, chapters 1–10 (also 11 for Scala Datasets), which are focused mainly about Spark architecture, DataFrames and SQL APIs. From Section III, chapter 14 which is about Accumulator and Broadcast Variables. From section IV I chapter 15 would be enough, since 16–19 are quite deep, and I don’t consider them necessary but… better safe than sorry! This book is Spark 2.4, so you will miss all the Spark 3.0 specifics that you’ll need to complement online. Learning Spark (2nd Edition): Chapters 1–5 and 7 (also 6 for Scala Datasets) that basically includes the same content as Section I and II of the previous book but in less deep. And most important, chapter 12, which actually contains Spark 3.0 specifics such as Adaptive Query Execution and Dynamic Partition Pruning. In case of this book, you will mainly miss information about Accumulator, Broadcast Variables, and Garbage Collection. So again, you’ll need to complement it online. In my personal opinion, I would recommend going for Spark: The Definitive Guide. This one contains way more details and in deep information that can also be useful in the future. Its negative point is the lack of Spark 3.0 specifics, but these can be easily found online. Databricks Academy Courses I personally completed the full Data Engineering Pathway myself. Is it needed? Absolutely not. If you don’t know what courses I’m talking about. Please, have a look at this. If you are new to Spark, you don’t have the fundamentals very clear, or you mainly use the Spark SQL API for your code, these courses are definitely a good starting point towards this certification. As I mentioned, they are not necessary for the exam at all, but they can still help you during the learning process. So if you want some recommendations towards the exam here you have: “Apache Spark Programming with Databricks” is a very nice to put your knowledge in practice with some hands on exercises. is a very nice to put your knowledge in practice with some hands on exercises. From the “Optimizing Apache Spark on Databricks” course, the modules “Optimizing with Adaptive Query Execution and Dynamic Partition Pruning” and “Designing Clusters for High Performance” can be very nice for learning about the Spark 3.0 specifics, and how to configure clusters for specific scenarios (surprisingly I encountered two questions regarding this on my exam). Other complementary resources I used In this section I drop some links to concepts that I felt less prepared after reading the books, and that are always handy to quickly review right before the exam: Practicing for the exam Spark documentation must become your best friend Besides the Spark fundamentals theory, this is by far the most important thing you need to do to success. As you may know, a PDF copy of the Spark documentation will be given to you during the exam. This is not a coincidence, I’d say it’s almost impossible to complete this exam without looking at it. Many questions are related to DataFrame API, and in most of the cases the options are very similar to each other and will make you hesitate for sure. If you go to the online documentation, all hyperlinks are enabled and CTRL+F is there to help you out. In the exam, none of this is available since you’ll get just a few plain PDFs. Be prepared to scroll as if there were no tomorrow. Unfortunately, after a long search I were not able to find a replica PDF to practice. So I decided to use the following trick: Go to the most useful part of the documentation that includes the DataFrame API, right click, print page, and save as a PDF document. There you go! Your own PDF version of the documentation, and do you know what? It’s practically the same to what you get on the exam! Once you have it, it’s time to get familiar with the PDF document itself. Memorize in what position of the scrollbar you can find sql.functions module, the DataFrameReader, DataFrameWriter and so forth. In this way, it will be way easier to find what you need during the exam, and still it will take time. Practice Tests Something that was super useful to me was practicing with some practice tests. In my case I went for these I found in Udemy. They are not exam dumps (which are illegal btw), but the questions are very similar to what you will get on the real exam, and very handy to assess your knowledge and discover your weak points. In the set of tests I shared, there are only two tests available and they are a bit similar to each other. If you go for this option, I will personally keep the second one for mocking the real test with the documentation next to you (once you feel ready), so you can learn better how to manage your time during the exam and design your own strategies. Furthermore, in the section 4 of the little “course” you will find a few sample questions. Those follow the real question style of the exam. The exam Regarding the exam, it’s quite easy to book. Once again, follow the instructions in the little “course” and everything will be fine. You can basically book an exam at any time you like, morning, afternoon, evening… It doesn’t matter. You will have to install some software in you machine in order to be watched during the exam. It also requires to disable firewall, pop-up blockers, etc. So better use you personal computer. If you expect to see someone during the exam, forget about it, they are on the shadows. Funny fact, after a few minutes they asked me to show my glasses to camera. The screen layout The exam layout is conformed of a big section on the left where you will read and answer the questions, and another one on the right side with the documentation on the top, and a notepad on the bottom (I personally didn’t use this at all). For each question you have the option to mark them for review, so later you can go to the review tab and see an overview of the questions and select the one you want to review. The size of your screen matters. Second screen is not allowed, so I decided to take the exam on my MacBook Pro using its trackpad. I think it was a mistake. If your screen is small, you’ll need to resize the documentation section all the time, and that implies wasting time. You’ll also need to scroll a lot, so using a mouse for better precision would make your life easier. Strategies I read on internet people saying that it’s better to answer the questions without the documentation, and then in the remaining time use it to check everything. I personally didn’t do that. Just as I mentioned before I think it’s quite hard to pick to correct answer without checking the documentation on syntax related questions (sometimes even with it). In my particular case, I decided to go one by one, checking the documentation when needed, marking for review when I was not sure, and leaving questions that were taking longer for later. In the end I had around 30min left for reviewing the questions and I was done by the very last minute. Keeping in mind that I was struggling with the size of my screen and the trackpad, I’m sure you will be faster than I was. So basically, pick or design the strategy that works better for you. Other study guides Because this is not the first (and won’t be the last) study guide for this exam. Here you have the guides I used to prepare myself: The more you read the more prepared you’ll be. Conclusions After following this guide, being familiar with the Spark documentation, and passing the practice tests with more than 90%, I think you will be more than ready to pass the real exam. I hope this detailed guide is useful to you as other guides were to me when I was preparing the exam. If you still have any questions, please feel free to contact me! Good luck with your exam!
https://medium.com/@dsu4rez/just-another-study-guide-for-databricks-certified-associate-developer-for-apache-spark-3-0-46a9b1533fe8
['David Suarez']
2021-06-17 17:20:46.278000+00:00
['Exam Preparation', 'Databricks', 'Certification', 'Spark', 'Exam']
The True Purpose Of Productivity
There’s a reason why most productivity advice fails to make any meaningful difference in your life over the long run. It’s not that the hacks and tricks and techniques don’t work. They do. It’s that we see this kind of advice as the best possible way — the pinnacle, really — of improving our productivity. But it’s not. It’s based on a set of false assumptions. It misses the true purpose of being productive because it neglects how humans function at a biological and psychological level. Imagine the perfect week. A seven-day stretch where you manage to do not just everything you aspire to do, but all the little things you conceive of along the way. The “I need to call mom”s and “I should pick up milk on the way home”s too. Where your plans fit into your calendar like a key into a lock, and your work assembles itself like a neat puzzle, perfectly abiding by the ever-looming deadlines of the ticking clock. If you’re like me — a human being subject to their own, chemical reward system and a host of cognitive biases — this week has never happened in your life. And it never will. Because it’s a myth. But that’s exactly what endless time optimization strategies are chasing. They pretend this week exists. If only we could chase it down once, we’d know how to catch it again and again. That’s nonsense, and its underlying assumption is deeply flawed: If you can hack yourself to do ever more, you’ll eventually reach a point where you can do everything you need to in any given week. If you’ve ever had even a great week, you know that’s not how humans work. First, our brains are wired to seek problems. Calm isn’t exactly our default state. So whenever we’re done fixing one thing, we naturally look for the next. Second, we love the dopamine hit of hitting even the tiniest goal way too much to just pass up on the opportunity to complete another one. Finally, we tend to think that all our time is ours, that life won’t interrupt, and that we know not just how much we’ll be able to do in advance, but also how long any given task will take. None of these are true, all victims of the planning fallacy. Clearly, the do-more-until-you-can-do-everything approach can’t work. And that’s why gimmicks and tactics can’t possibly be the best productivity advice. But what happens if we reject it? If we flip the basic assumption on its head? Maybe, we’d find an entirely new purpose of productivity. I think we would. If you assume you can never get everything done, that you have no way of knowing how much time you’ll have available, and that you’ll often misjudge your own abilities and the hours required along the way, going for the maximum number of tasks instantly becomes a wholly futile effort. By imagining the opposite, you’re forcing yourself to come up with a new definition of what being productive even means. To me, it means making good-enough progress on what I care about the most amidst the chaos of life. The way you do that is by managing your expectations of time, much more so than managing your time itself. Once you accept that life is riddled with chance, coincidence, luck, you’ll see productivity in a new light, with a new purpose. You’ll feel incentivized to build a different system. One with lots of buffers and room to fail. A system that’s optimized for minimum stress instead of maximum effort. You’ll still have your goals, your to-dos, your milestones, but you won’t throw a tantrum every time you fail to check every one of them off your many lists. You’ll have compassion for yourself. More for others, too. You’ll learn to flow with life, around life, through life, rather than compartmentalizing it. You’ll be happier, less prone to burnout, and taste more of that elusive state of calm chasing checkmarks can never bring. True productivity happens in your mind, not the outside world. It happens when we learn to sit with our pattern-seeking machines without acting on them. When we say “thanks for the dopamine” and choose not to chase another hit. When we begin to find true comfort in the fact that we are imperfect beings acting in an imperfect world, rather than fighting the truth and the time we have so little of. Only if we build our idea of this important concept on the fundamentals of what it means to be human can we erect a construct that lasts. An understanding that’s not sprawled with flawed assumptions. Maybe, at the end of the day, we’d even get more done. Not that that matters. Because that’s not what productivity is about, is it?
https://ngoeke.medium.com/the-true-purpose-of-productivity-58bcd8d430d1
['Niklas Göke']
2019-02-10 21:55:44.057000+00:00
['Self Improvement', 'Productivity', 'Life', 'Psychology', 'Culture']
N Is The Enemy
N Is The Enemy Big Population + Big Data = Critical Failure Photo by Joshua Coleman on Unsplash We’ve been sold a false promise. Somewhere down the line we tricked ourselves into thinking that truth was a side-effect of volume. “If we collect enough data,” we said, “our overwhelming statistical power will blow a hole in the unknown.” Instead, we shot ourselves in the foot. In his article Statistical Paradises & Paradoxes In Big Data, the Harvard statistician (and certifiable genius, as far as I’m concerned) Xiao-li Meng sets down a rigorous proof of just how bad we screw ourselves when we collect data without regard for exactly how it’s collected. He draws upon mathematics that are elegant but dense — so to get his point across I’m going to resort to the stock-in-trade of the modern technology writer: Javascript simulations. Javascript simulations that are gross oversimplifications in most respects, but are just correct enough to teach us a couple of lessons. First, some background. The Data Defect Index A fundamental promise of statistics is this: Given a limited sample, we can generalize insights over the greater population. This is a superpower. It’s why science can occur as a series of small controlled experiments rather than a complete census of the Universe. It makes learning about the world a feasible task. But not all samples are created equal. Different samples are created by distinct sampling mechanisms: for example, a random telephone dialer, an online survey, etc. Regardless of what form a sampling mechanism takes in practice, we can think of them in the abstract as a binary mask over a population. Let’s call this mask R and the population data it’s masking G. The mask-value Rᵢ — a 0 or 1 switch — decides whether or not the value Gᵢ is included in our sample. A sampling mechanism R. The red Rᵢ elements select items of size Gᵢ to be in our sample. We have a sample size of 3. In the ideal case, sampling mechanisms are completely random, and the correlation between Rᵢ and Gᵢ (CORR[Rᵢ, Gᵢ]) is 0. But oftentimes sampling mechanisms are slightly defective in some way. To take the absurd and extreme case, imagine a survey designed to gauge a customer population’s eagerness to respond to surveys. If our sampling mechanism (R) is an email blast asking participants to opt-in and let us measure their eagerness to opt-in (G), we can guess that CORR[Rᵢ, Gᵢ] is going to be pretty close to 1. A DEFECTIVE sampling mechanism R. Since G is sorted by size, an R where we just pick the first items will induce a high CORR[Rᵢ, Gᵢ], since we’re just selecting the biggest items. That CORR[Rᵢ, Gᵢ] value — or more accurately, 𝔼[CORR[Rᵢ, Gᵢ]²], though it’s not important to be that precise, for now — is something we can refer to as the data defect index or d.d.i. This little number is the wrench in Big Data’s statistical works. As we’ll soon see, it has outsized effects on whether or not we can rely on insights from a large dataset at all. Bouncing Balls Let’s investigate the impact of the d.d.i with a toy example. Say we drop N balls into a space. Some are bigger than the others, but each of them have the same amount of energy. So the big ones bounce slowly while the small ones zip around like excited hedgehogs. Ball size is drawn from a normal distribution. Pretend you’re a ball-scientist (ballologist?) and that you want to estimate the mean radius of the balls in this little universe. Your plan is to sample n balls, collect a sample mean, and use that as an estimate for the population mean. There’s a problem though: for whatever contrived reason, you can only sample balls as they fly into a designated sampling zone highlighted in red. You can play around with the sampling zone below. Drag slider to resize sampling zone. Sampled balls get painted red. n = 10; N= 75. What do you notice? As you slide the sampling zone to be more and more inclusive of the space, the error between the true average radius and the sampled radius goes down. If you slide left and make the sampling zone a smaller fraction of the space, the error goes way up. There’s a simple reason for this: the smaller the ball, the faster it zips around. If the sampling zone is small, it’s very likely that only the speediest balls will make it there from their starting position. On the other hand, if the sampling zone is large, it’s more likely that we can sample equitably. This makes the width of the sampling zone a handy analogue for the d.d.i. The lower the width, the higher the d.d.i! High d.d.i drives up estimate error. We obtain a fairly obvious finding from this experiment: High d.d.i drives up estimate error. Sampling Frequency Let’s extend this a bit to examine the influence of population size and sample size on our estimate’s error. n = 10; N=750 When we 10x our population size N, our error is consistently worse for each setting of d.d.i. This should be expected. With a larger population of balls, there are more tiny speedy ones that end up sampled quicker than the rest, deflating the average measure of radius. What happens when we commensurately increase our sample size n to help out our estimate? n = 100; N=750 A 10x increase in n just gets us back to where we started, as far as error rates go. When you have a defective sampling mechanism, it’s the sampling frequency that matters, not the sample size. There’s an important lesson here. When you have a non-zero d.d.i, the absolute size of your sample is worth precisely jack. When you have a defective sampling mechanism, it’s the sampling frequency (f = n/N) that matters, not the sample size. And if you’re gunning for absurdly high sampling frequencies to cover for a defective sampling mechanism, you might as well do a census. n=500; N=750; f=2/3. The Scientist’s Levers At this point, you’re hopefully convinced that d.d.i can destroy estimates and that its only mitigating factor is an amped-up sampling frequency, f. Dr. Xiao-li Meng’s proofs uncover this precise expression for the mean squared error of an estimate based on a sampling mechanism R: where 𝛀² is the variance in G’s distribution, 𝔼[CORR[Rᵢ, Gᵢ]²] is the precise formulation for d.d.i, and f is sampling frequency. We can’t really do much about 𝛀², so truly the only levers at our disposal here are to: Decrease d.d.i by having nice randomized sampling mechanisms. by having nice randomized sampling mechanisms. Increase sampling frequency. This lines up nicely with our empirical results from before. N Is The Enemy An insidious finding falls out of the expression above. If we try and compare an estimate based on simple random sampling vs. one that depends on a sampling mechanism R, we get a metric called the design effect (Deff). The Deff essentially tells us how much our particular sampling mechanism will screw up vs. the gold standard. It turns out, with some clever mathematics, that this Deff can be expressed in terms of CORR[Rᵢ, Gᵢ] and our population size N: Yikes. To keep Deff constant, the correlation between Rᵢ and Gᵢ needs to shrink by a factor of the square root of N. This is Xiao-li Meng’s punchline. To keep Deff constant, the correlation between Rᵢ and Gᵢ needs to shrink by a factor of the square root of N as N grows. In other words, CORR[Rᵢ, Gᵢ] must be O(√N⁻¹), or else the sampling mechanism R will produce dumpster-fire results at large N. To keep Deff constant, the CORR[Rᵢ, Gᵢ] of a selected sampling mechanism R must drop rapidly as a factor of N. The only sampling mechanisms that behave like this are random. That is to say, for high N, random sampling isn’t just a good idea: it’s a requirement. Failing to understand this led us to wildly misforecast the 2016 Presidential election. We didn’t think a little response bias could affect our results, even though just a smidge was enough to completely wreck us. Almost inevitably so. More relevant, now: it’s why our attempts to understand COVID-19’s lethality have been so goddamned scattershot. N is the enemy, and a high sample size isn’t going to help in the face of it if our sampling mechanisms are defective. All it’ll do is increase our confidence in a result that is almost certainly wrong.
https://towardsdatascience.com/n-is-the-enemy-c72cc1ba683b
['Naim Kabir']
2020-07-29 05:39:45.427000+00:00
['Programming', 'Data', 'Tech', 'Science', 'Statistics']
Lessons from a porn user
It’s not all bad, but it’s not all good either Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay Porn. It’s so damn ubiqitous you’d be hard pressed to find anyone from the Internet generation who hasn’t seen any. Whether willingly or not, porn finds it way onto your screen and into your brain in a way marketers can only dream of. Porn is so powerful and effective in keeping itself alive because of basic biology and neuroscience. Really, anything that taps into the pleasure centres of brain is going to work en masse. For all of our complexities, humans — like all animals — are still driven by base human instincts. Porn dials up desire and makes us want to fuck (even if that’s just ourselves). Fucking in a broad sense means reproduction. Reproduction means the human species is kept alive. Basic maths really. Porn then is in a unique position, and because of the way it works on neural and physical pathways, it will never go away. And would you want it to? OK, OK, I know that question is fraught and far from simple, but my point is, porn excites us, teaches us and seduces us. It can also disturb, distort and horrify us. Many would argue that it (mainstream, hetero porn) still denigrates women in addition to putting pressure on men to perform. And both are under pressure to look a certain way. The trick is to be a conscious consumer of porn… But really, how many of us are like that? We want to get off and we know porn works. It’s a shortcut (or long cut; we all know what it’s like to be scrolling through scenes for sometimes hours trying to find the hottest one, or something we haven’t seen before, only to resort to tried and tested scenes because nothing is fucking working. Goodbye 2 hours to porn — and this is another lesson in brain science) to a good time. What I’ve learned from porn It works, and it can give me amazing orgasms; That watching people fuck excites me; That if I can imagine it, there’s probably someone doing it (although rarely is there the exact scene that I’ve pictured in my head); That it’s OK to feel wildly sexual as a woman; That it’s OK to be sexually attracted to both sexes; That porn offers an array of new ideas to try, but is also strangely monotonous at times; That watching real couples fuck is more exciting than commerically produced porn; That if people are doing something that turns me on despite my fears that it is somehow disgusting (rimming for example), then it’s ok and I’m ok; That what I thought would really turn me on is different to what actually turns me on, and that this can change; That people do the craziest shit and love it, and I sometimes love it too (scenes of intense BDSM, homemade porn, machine fucking, brutal anything); Watching porn with my partner can be super exciting and helps to decrease shame I still have about enjoying porn. What porn has shown me about myself That I can override my own concerns regarding porn objectifying women or promoting violence against women; That I can ignore my own concerns about anyone under 18 shouldn’t watch porn, by continuing to be a porn consumer thus keeping porn well and truly alive and accessible; That I can disturb myself and feel shame about my porn consumption or what I’m drawn to; That it kills my imagination and makes me sexually lazy at times; That sometimes I am deeply concerned about some of the women I see in porn scenes, and yet I still watch it. That I use it to feel better, console myself, ease boredeom and because I can. How porn still leaves me feeling disturbed and conflicted That I would never pay for online porn despite knowing ethically that I should; That it disconnects me from my body. Porn keeps the focus on the outisde — looking at a screen — rather than on the inside, focusing on sensations, touch and connection; It can leave me feeling disconnected from myself sexually; It can genuinely make me feel addicted to it and that my brain constantly seeks new and often more extreme scenes to get off; Sometimes I’d rather watch porn and masturbate than have sexy times with my partner because it’s just easier and quicker. Then I feel like a shit partner. It’s overwhelmingly fake and completely unrealistic. Even couples who have their own channels are still ‘performing’, despite not being technical porn performers; That it can set up very false expectations in men in regards to what women like and want. The obsession with anal — especially rough anal — is an example. And yet I admit to watching that sometimes…. What’s with all the damn spitting and slapping faces? I classify these as fetishes and I don’t know why they’ve become mainstream except for reasons to dominate women in a poorly designed way. I still watch porn and I probably always will. It fascinates me deeply. Perhaps I have written this article to justify why I like it so I can continue to watch it. But also to confess of my hypocrisy and confusion around my use of porn. I wish I didn’t like it as much as I do. At times I have been so concerned about my porn consumption I have quit it for months at a time, just to see if I could. And I could (phew). But then I start watching it again. I’m not sure where to place porn in modern society. But I know that denying it’s role, influence and power is stupid. Better to make friends with the enemy than to fight it though, right?
https://medium.com/pleasureadvocate/lessons-from-a-porn-user-94bccec4ef4
['Melanie Robson']
2020-12-05 02:11:05.492000+00:00
['Sexuality', 'Porn', 'Media Criticism', 'Pornography', 'Sex']
The forbidden secret🤫 What if we sell as if we were always in a pandemic?
The forbidden secret🤫 What if we sell as if we were always in a pandemic? ❌In the world of commerce, a brand that does not know the pain points of its customers, their fears, their needs, but more importantly ... its purpose, its values, with whom is it going to connect? Where is it going? There are 2 concepts that you have to understand to adapt and flow: 1) The power of intuition. Keywords: motivation. Anticipating this new normal that is emerging is basic, but not from external sources such as the news, academic experts or the anticipating friend of misfortunes that we all have. But from within us, from our purpose for something, what fills us from that connection between feeling and thinking. Why do your customers buy when they buy from you? 2) The power of emotion and thought. Keyword: feel and wish The ability to manage our emotional connections. There is an emotional and also rational framework that, like a mist prevents a ship from understanding its course, makes it difficult for us to make decisions. Learning to manage them effectively allows us to focus our inner beacon. In the world of bits there are also emotions. What emotions does your brand convey? ⚠️ Today science teaches us what millennial cultures taught us, the forbidden connection: Brain-Heart, that energetic relationship between feeling and thinking. Did you know that our thoughts can act on that electromagnetic force in our heart? I tell you in simpler words. Act from your purpose. ✨ Let's make brands more human and less automated #marketing #sell #motivation #secret #digital #heart #entrepreneur #business #branding
https://medium.com/@gmarquez.mkt/the-forbidden-secret-what-if-we-sell-as-if-we-were-always-in-a-pandemic-64c3ca7da483
['Gonzalo Márquez']
2021-04-25 21:28:18.953000+00:00
['Brand', 'Love', 'Marketing', 'Sell', 'Content Marketing']
Being A Parent, Being A Child
Being A Parent, Being A Child I never really understood my parents until I had kids of my own. Illustration derived from “Mother and Child” by Kitagawa Utamaro I hold my children sometimes and I wonder. I was once like this. My mother and father must have held me like this, must have felt the same way. And then I grew, and grew and grew. I grew bigger and bigger and further and further away, until I was almost gone. At no point did I understand them, until I became a parent myself. Now I can see the loop closing and starting again — I can see other lives that will, inshallah, stretch on beyond mine, beyond my time, beyond my understanding. I can see, also, very clearly that I will grow old and die. At the same time I can see all the loops on the tapestry, all the parents holding children that will never understand why or how much they are loved, until they feel it for themselves, in their own childrens eyes, as the wheel takes another turn. Children As Adults I think about asking them sometimes, but I don’t even know how to phrase the question. ‘Do you still love me like a baby?’ ‘What do you see when you look at me? Do you still see a child?’ I look at my children and I try to figure out what they’ll look like as adults. All I can picture is them bigger, with the same ridiculous proportions. I can’t see them, I can’t grasp them. But at some point I will be on the other side of the fog. I will see their adult faces, and struggle to remember the child. It will all be memories, photographs. Some day this feeling will be gone. I miss them already. I want them to understand. I want to always love them as I do at this moment, in their innocence, their incompetence. They are so helpless that it’s easy. Once they can help themselves they become responsible, become accountable — they’ll become their own people. We’ll interact as two individuals, with all the friction that brings. They won’t remember how we were, they won’t understand, I will be just another thing in a world they must manage alone. They won’t know how connected we are until the loop draws them back again. Until they try to see the adults in their own children’s eyes. Adults As Children It is only with the passing of time that I can begin to see my parents as individuals. As a child they were monoliths, defined in relation to me, their edges perfect lines, tapered in my ignorance and imagination. As I grew older their individuality began to poke out — incongruously, jarringly, I somehow picture a pine tree bursting out of a sweater. Then as I became an adult, I could see their personalites start poking out of me. Their failings and virtues, so deep unconscious within my own actions. As I went through the same stages of life I found myself making the same mistakes, exercising the same grace, treading the same generational grooves. I look at my daughter and wonder when she’ll start to see me like that. When the break will happen, when the contradictions are too much, when me the person pokes out of me the father, all bones and teeth. Will she still like me? Will she feel alone? I dread that moment. They will have to set off by themselves, to think they are starting from scratch, doing everything better, before they get caught in the gravity of their genes, of their experiences. Before they make the same mistakes as us, find themselves being loving or cruel in the same engrained ways. Before they even begin to understand. I hope they’ll realize that we didn’t mean to hurt them, that we were not in control, that we didn’t mean it. I hope they’ll understand that we are patterns, we are memories, that it’s all loops, that it all comes back again. Then maybe they can begin to forgive us, as they become us, as they see themselves fall short in their own children’s eyes. People As People I love my parents more now that I am one. I can feel it when I burp my son, I can imagine that my father once held me like this. I can feel it when my daughter holds my finger, that I once held my mother like that. I just hope that my children will understand me, in time. That once the shock of my gangly humanity wears off they’ll find a way to love me for it, and to love themselves. I hope that they’ll remember this moment as they recreate it: when their parents were young, when they were just born, when we all loved each other so purely and so much.
https://indica.medium.com/being-a-parent-being-a-child-4880883ad7c2
['Indi Samarajiva']
2018-01-07 05:44:49.945000+00:00
['Love', 'Parenting', 'Life', 'Family', 'Children']
Monthly Summary of May 2020
This is the first edition of our monthly newsletter on Medium.com. If you want to check out the older editions you can do this here. Another month in lockdown has passed, another month of more time for reading. Two great new members joined our team: A warm welcome to Steffi (London) and Fadeelah (Barcelona). Bonus: We are super happy to present you the book recommendations of Melissa Perri.
https://medium.com/the-pm-library/monthly-summary-of-may-2020-a4981ac753f3
['Alexander Hipp']
2020-06-04 10:37:31.013000+00:00
['Book Recommendations', 'Product Management', 'Product Design', 'User Research', 'Software Development']
Agency in Memory on a Bitcoin Scale
Brain in a network Hal Finney commented early in the day Bitcoin can’t scale to include every single financial transaction being broadcast to the world, meaning a secondary lighter layer would be required for payments. This would make necessary Bitcoin banks, some of which would work on a fractional reserve basis, which would be stable, inflation resistant, and self-regulating. There is an apparent contradiction on the face of this comment: if Bitcoin banks are creating money on fractional reserves, how can they be inflation resistant? For advocates, the attraction of Bitcoin is the strict supply schedule and for critics, one of the draw backs is there isn’t enough Bitcoin to sate money demand. Understanding Inflation The origins of inflation arose as a word to describe the money supply condition, morphing to today’s understanding of directly targeting price levels as a principle. Finney’s view of Bitcoin banks can be viewed in this light: if inflation has changed in meaning over time, it can change again. That’s to say, Finney can be seen alluding to the trustworthiness of money as an agency in the same way a contract is an actionable promise. An Interesting Tweet On suggesting Bitcoin will effectively mature — or “scale” — as a multilateral contract, this tweet was received: It highlights two issues: firstly the problems of supranational coordination required to make multilateral agreements stick — for example, the Paris Agreement on global warming was adopted by consensus in December 2015, only for the United States to announce membership withdrawal in June 2017. The slogan “For The Planet” is projected on the Eiffel Tower as part of the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris in December 2015. Secondly, the open source and decentralised nature of Bitcoin which by nature is energy “heavy”, itself is thought to be environmentally detrimental: The irony being, it would take the kind of multilateral cooperation to regulate Bitcoins’ decentralisation, that if such cooperation existed, Bitcoin wouldn’t have reached genesis. Agency in Habitual Memory In 1954 Nobel winning economist and mathematician John Nash wrote of a Parallel Control, a futuristic insight of decentralised “electronic brains” observed to exist in parallel to each other, which “tend not to be completely incapacitated by any single material failure.” In the paper, Nash asks: “Isn’t it much better to have one machine that takes a day for a problem, than 100 which takes 100 days for a problem?” John Nash, Parallel Control, 1954. Where it’s suggested Bitcoin is a singular and unforgeable memory field [to which] sovereign monies tend so they become asymptotically limiting in relation to each other — creating a coalition effect — then how would this affect our bargaining habits? For example, would it be better to spend five seconds choosing between five juice brands in a grocery store or one second to choose one if the quality and trustworthiness of the brand and product are subject to a converging value? Would it be better to contract the weight of such choice into a “heavy” computational memory to alleviate the political analogues from our own? What would be the net effect of changing how we bargain, trust, represent, make and consume to such a standard? That if actionable promises flow in this way, it’s possible the emergence of a new reality could evolve without anxiety.
https://medium.com/coinmonks/agency-in-memory-on-a-bitcoin-scale-720f17c1154d
['Jon Gulson']
2020-08-26 13:20:07.045000+00:00
['Dementia', 'Bitcoin', 'Nash Equilibrium', 'Hal Finney', 'Paris Agreement']
Language Learning — A Few Useful Tips from a Polyglot
Portuguese It can be difficult to learn a foreign language. Some people learn a foreign language through their work. Others just want to learn something new. Whatever reason you are learning a language, you should receive tips. Matthew Youlden is a polyglot who shares excellent tips for learning a language quickly. This article will help you learn Portuguese. Matthew is fluent in 9 languages. Matthew can speak more than 12 languages. He can help you learn foreign languages if you are having trouble. Find motivation Matthew believes that motivation is key to learning a language. Once you have decided to learn a foreign tongue, it is important to stick to your guns. Partner with you Matthew was assisted by his twin brother. Both are motivated to learn. They encourage each other to learn multiple languages. If you are looking to learn Portuguese, then find a trustworthy partner. Your partner should also be a language enthusiast. You must be pushed by your partner to achieve your goals. Talk to yourself and practice speaking the new language This tip may sound strange. This tip might sound strange, but it can help you improve your skills. Matthew Youlden said that this is a great way for you to practice even if it’s not something you use all the time. This activity will allow you to retain foreign words and phrases in your brain. You will also feel more confident. Learn as a child Children learn faster than adults. Why? They are more curious and humble. They are eager to learn. They are willing to make mistakes. Making mistakes can help you learn. To learn Portuguese well, you must admit that you don’t know everything. This is the key to freedom and growth. You can learn new languages if you act like a child.
https://medium.com/@Francis_MostUsedWords/language-learning-a-few-useful-tips-from-a-polyglot-72e6c0be97fe
['Francis']
2021-12-30 09:02:55.591000+00:00
['Portuguese', 'Language', 'Portuguese Language', 'Language Learning']
We are not wise, but can become the “disciples of the wise"
Question from the Internet: “How do you define, find, and embody wisdom in your life?” Human wisdom is the recognition that true wisdom doesn’t originate in us. Our brain is not a fountain of wisdom, it is simply a modem with a hard disk that can capture and store a limited amount of information. True wisdom is found in Nature’s perfect, infinite database. In order to attain Nature’s wisdom we need to connect, log in to this database so we can download the necessary information. For this we need to adjust, fine-tune ourselves. It is not enough that we need to humbly accept, acknowledge that we are not wise ourselves but we can only become the “disciples of the wise” (of Nature), there is an added condition. We can only access, download information from Nature’s perfect, infinite database if we use it for the sake or others, passing whatever we received on selflessly, altruistically. This is the seemingly paradoxical law of the Natural Universe: we can endlessly, infinitely access, attain everything that exists, as long as we don’t want it for ourselves but only for the sake of others! https://youtu.be/NcC0FkidPj0
https://medium.com/@samechphoto/we-are-not-wise-but-can-become-the-disciples-of-the-wise-85d80baa4e29
['Zsolt Hermann']
2020-12-13 22:12:28.690000+00:00
['Altruism', 'Humanity', 'Knowledge', 'Nature', 'Wisdom']
AYS Special: Frontex and Human Rights — How did we arrive here? Part 3 (2020-Present)
December 22: A new article by Der Spiegel shows the reluctance of German Interior Minister Seehofer to provide detailed information regarding the pushback off Samos island witnessed by a German federal police vessel on August 10, despite an internal document of the ministry proving that he had full knowledge of the events of that day. December 18: Border Violence Monitoring Network (BVMN) releases the ‘Black Book of Pushbacks’, two volumes (for a total of 1,500 pages), compiled by the BVMN thanks to the contributions of 15 organisations, which exposes in detail the illegal practice of violent pushbacks of migrants which have been taking place over many months at the EU’s external borders — with full impunity. The book, made in collaboration with the United Left (GUE/NGL) block of the European Parliament, brings the voices of 12,654 victims to European institutions as well as governments, and it aims to hold them accountable for the torture, the inhumane and degrading treatment, and the violation of the right to life that people seeking safety in the European Union are faced with. December 15: Danish media report about indications that the Danish coastguard patrols deployed within Frontex operations in the Aegean sea will be moved away from the most ‘active’ zones to less ‘controversial’ areas, “because they refuse to use the violent push-back method to force migrant boats away.” December 10: Josoor, a member of BVMN, report of an exchange with Frontex regarding a group of 70 people, who were pushed back onto an islet in the Evros river on November 11. Situated between Greece and Turkey, the islet “became a site of improvised detention, with neither authority allowing the transit group to leave … Josoor led calls on behalf of BVMN for the EU agency to act. Josoor requested timely intervention from Frontex”, alerting the authorities with specific information. A first letter directed to the Frontex Executive Director and several other emails were ignored. For 48 hours the group was forced to stay on the islet. On the evening of 13th November, a day after the group was finally able to leave the island to Turkish territory, Leggeri finally sent a reply to Josoor’s urgent letter. The letter outlined that the location given did not fall under the Frontex operational area but that a Frontex team was deployed 32km away. He further stated that Frontex had transmitted the message to the responsible Greek authorities. According to the letter, the Greek authorities had informed Frontex that “there was a group of people spotted in the Turkish territory during the day of 11.11.2020, but they did not cross the border to the Greece territory”, failing to recognise that it was Greek authorities who had placed the group in this dangerous position on the island in the first place. This statement raises more questions than it answers, and represents an abdication of all responsibility on the part of Frontex. Given the recent revelations of Frontex complicity, and even contribution, in pushbacks from Greece, /Josoor is/ deeply concerned by this latest reply. While the agency states that it places fundamental rights at the core of its approach, this image is significantly undercut by its daily practice at borders such as Evros. December 9: The composition of the sub-group of Frontex’s Management Board that will inquire into the agency’s involvement in pushbacks is announced by journalist Giorgos Christides. A representative of Germany will act as chair, with representatives of France, the EU Commission, Greece, Hungary, Norway, Romania, Sweden & Switzerland. December 8: The European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) publishes “Migration: Fundamental Rights issues at land borders”, a report which looks at fundamental rights compliance and the correct application of the human rights safeguards in the European asylum acquis and the provisions of the Schengen Borders Code at the EU external land borders, including rivers and lakes. It was requested by the European Parliament on January 30. Regarding Frontex SIR and individual complaint mechanisms, it states: In 2019, eight of the nine Serious Incidents Reports that reached the Frontex Fundamental Rights Officer related to land border surveillance activities. These are reports submitted by participants in Frontex activities or working in Frontex operations who come across fundamental rights violations during their work. In 2020, by 1 October, the Frontex Fundamental Rights Officer coordinated three such Serious Incidents Reports, two of which concerned land border surveillance. As regards the Frontex complaints mechanism, between January and August 2020, Frontex received 20 complaints (not all admissible) under Article 111 of the EBCG Regulation, six relating to land borders. December 7: A Spanish media outlet publishes an article in which it claims to have had access to an 18-page report written by Frontex which details 33 possible pushbacks in the Aegean, 11 of which were witnessed by the agency. These possible pushbacks, which are reportedly described as ‘prevention of departures’ are different cases to the ones reported by the media. The report is to be analysed at the next Management Board meeting. December 2: Arne Semsrott and Luiza Izuzquiza, freedom of information activists, reveal that Frontex has filed a case against them “before the General Court of the European Union in order to force” them to pay over €23,000 of legal fees, after they lost a lawsuit for information about Frontex ships in the Mediterranean. Already on January 31, Frontex had asked them to pay the legal fees. December 1: Frontex Executive Director is called for questions in front of the LIBE Committee at the European Parliament, discussing ‘Recent allegations on pushbacks during Frontex operations in the Eastern Mediterranean’. He reiterates the defence that the agency expressed previously: that Frontex has no information regarding the pushbacks reported by media; that no Serious Incident Report (SIR) has been filed regarding those events; that the SIR mechanism is activated, national authorities are alerted and asked to investigate every time a suspected violation of human rights is witnessed; that not all interceptions are to be considered SAR events, meaning that they do not require rescue and therefore ‘returns’ cannot be considered pushbacks; that the agency needs to consider hybrid threats in the stretch of Aegean Sea between Greece and Turkey. He also goes into details regarding the reported pushback of the night between April 28 and 29, stating that Frontex surveillance aircraft G-WKTH did not fly that night. Two days later, Der Spiegel publishes an article in which it cites an internal report to Frontex’s Management Board containing details about the flight of the aircraft on the night in question: Less than 48 hours after the meeting, it is clear that Leggeri was not telling the truth. Either the Frontex boss deliberately lied to the European Parliament or misled it due to a mistake that was difficult to explain Following the meeting, several Members of the European Parliament call for his resignation. November 28: Der Spiegel publishes details of Frontex’s internal communication regarding the pushback of August 10. This also feeds into the concerns regarding the effectiveness of Frontex’s SIR mechanism. November 26: The Romanian interior minister denies any wrongdoing in the case of the Romanian vessel MAI 113 implicated in the pushback off Lesvos of June 8. November 23: In a letter addressed to the LIBE committee, Frontex Executive Director does not exclude that Frontex vessels or aircraft were in the vicinity of pushbacks. He minimises the documentation provided by Bellingcat, Lighthouse Reports, Der Spiegel, ARD and TV Asahi and confirms that no SIR was filed following these events. On the same day, Der Spiegel publishes details on the pushback off the coast of Lesvos that was carried out by the Greek coast guard on April 18. As shown in the article, an internal Frontex Serious Incident Report reveals that it was followed minute-by-minute by a Frontex aircraft. November 19: Following a visit to Greece in March, The Council of Europe’s Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) publishes a report on the situation of the immigration detention system, in which it calls for a reform to the system and for an end to pushbacks. It questions Frontex’s role in supporting Greek authorities at the countries’ borders, especially regarding the lack of monitoring officers within Joint Operation POSEIDON and “about the precise terms of engagement of FRONTEX vessels with boats carrying migrants that have been agreed between FRONTEX and Greece.” November 10: European Ombudsman Emily O’Reilly opens an inquiry as a follow-up of her 2013 Special Report and Recommendations regarding the functioning of Frontex’s complaints mechanism. She writes: Seven years on from my Special Report, and aware of concerns having been expressed, I believe it is timely to assess how the Complaints Mechanism is functioning and have therefore decided to launch an inquiry on my own initiative. She asks Frontex to reply to her questions by 15 January 2021 and “to organise an electronic inspection of documents relating to the Complaints Mechanism, including those setting out how Frontex followed up on reports sent to the Fundamental Rights Officer, either by Frontex or by national authorities”. She also asks the Fundamental Rights Officer to reply on “how Frontex ensures respect for fundamental rights in joint return operations”. On the same day, an extraordinary meeting of the Frontex Management Board is held. At this meeting, Frontex is presented with a series of questions to be answered by the end of the month. As reported in a letter from Frontex Executive Director to the President of the European Parliament dated November 11: As I informed the participants of the [Management Board] meeting, the preliminary findings of the inquiry conclude that there is no evidence of a direct or indirect participation of Frontex staff or officers deployed by Member States under Frontex operations in alleged “pushbacks” in the Aegean Sea. The Management Board asks the Executive Director to ensure that the internal reporting system is solid and effective in order to allow for an immediate follow-up in case of incidents. It is decided to “set up a sub-group to the Management Board to further investigate the accusations of involvement in pushbacks in the Aegean. Frontex Executive Director releases a statement in which no attention is paid to such accusations. Instead he calls “for the creation of an evaluation committee to consider legal questions related to the Agency’s surveillance of external sea borders and accommodating the concerns raised by Member States about ‘hybrid threats’ affecting their national security at external borders where the European Border and Coast Guard Agency will deploy its standing corps”. Reading between the lines, this call will set the tone of Frontex’s refusal of pushback accusations to date, which will be repeated and reinforced in the following weeks. It is based on four main points: ◆ Frontex has no information regarding the cases reported by media on October 23, because no Serious Incident Report (SIR) has been filed; ◆ where suspected violations of human rights are witnessed, the SIR mechanism is activated, national authorities are alerted and asked to investigate; ◆ not all interceptions are to be considered SAR events, meaning that they do not require rescue and therefore ‘returns’ can not be considered pushbacks. Only emergency situations and distress calls communicated through official channels (MRCCs) fall into this restrictive interpretation of SAR; ◆ Greece, and Frontex with it, considers itself to be a target of hybrid threats, meaning that people on the move are used and ‘weaponised’ by Turkey, turning situations that appear to be SAR events into quasi-military actions, to be dealt with through different frameworks. November 4: Seven Frontex officers are deployed in the Canary Islands to support Spanish authorities with the increased number of arrivals. Talks and negotiations start today to define the limits and details of further deployment in the area, which could mean resuming Joint Operation HERA II. October 28: As a result of the joint investigation by Bellingcat, Lighthouse Reports, Der Spiegel, ARD and TV Asahi, EU Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson requests “an urgent extraordinary Frontex Management Board meeting on November 10, to discuss alleged pushback incidents in Greece and fundamental rights protection.” October 27: Frontex launches an internal inquiry into the alleged involvement in pushbacks in the Aegean sea documented by Bellingcat, Lighthouse Reports, Der Spiegel, ARD and TV Asahi. In the same press release, it announces that “so far, no documents or other materials have been found to substantiate any accusations of violations of the law”. The release carries on: Earlier this year, […] Frontex Executive Director had already asked [Greek] authorities to investigate two events near its islands in the eastern Aegean Sea. They found no proof of any illegal acts in one incident and are still looking into another one. [He] also alerted the members of the European Parliament of an incident earlier this year when a crew of the Danish vessels deployed by the agency was given incorrect instructions by the officers of the Hellenic Coast Guard. Following the incident Frontex contacted the Greek authorities and the misunderstanding was clarified with the Hellenic Coast Guard. At this point of time, the still ongoing inquiry has not identified other suspicious cases than those already reported by the Executive Director to Greek authorities. October 23: The joint investigation by Bellingcat, Lighthouse Reports, Der Spiegel, ARD and TV Asahi is published. The details of the pushbacks in the Aegean sea of April 28–29, June 4–8, August 15, and August 19 are made public on this date, revealing that Frontex was aware of this illegal practice being carried out by the Greek authorities, and that the agency actively participated in a number of illegal pushbacks. October 14: Second operation in Montenegro, focused on the country’s sea border. Frontex will deploy aerial support, specialised officers and will provide technical and operational assistance in carrying out coast guard functions in international waters October 10: Frontex awards €100m to Airbus and Elbit for drone surveillance services in the eastern and central Mediterranean. October 2: Annual Report published by Frontex Consultative Forum. The Forum remains highly concerned about: ◆ the functioning of the Frontex Serious Incident Reporting mechanism, which has demonstrated its shortcomings more than once; ◆ the continued postponement in the revision of the agency’s Fundamental Rights Strategy; ◆ the impact of aerial surveillance in the central Mediterranean and the subsequent provision of information to the Libyan authorities, leading to increased numbers of people returned to the country to face indiscriminate detention and degrading conditions; ◆ the impact of the agency’s Multipurpose Aerial Surveillance on the Bosnian/Croatian borders, given the documentation of the violent and abusive behaviour of Croatian authorities; ◆ persistent allegations of pushbacks at the Greek-Turkish border in Evros and the low number of serious incidents reported through the Agency’s mechanism, “which Frontex attributed to the fact that officers deployed by the Agency were not deployed on the frontline where pushbacks have been reported”; ◆ the agency’s support to Hungarian authorities at the country’s border with Serbia and with return operations. The request to suspend the operations in the country, already stated in previous years, has become more urgent given the EU Commission’s infringement procedure against Hungary. “Against the Consultative Forum’s repeated advice, the Agency maintained its operational support to Hungary, suggesting that its presence on the ground could improve the situation. The Consultative Forum noted, however, that even though the situation did not improve, the Agency increased the number of staff deployed at the Serbia-Hungary border. ◆ The Report includes and external evaluation of the Forum itself. It “identified some existing challenges such as the high dependency of the Consultative Forum on the Agency’s willingness to seek its advice and to act upon recommendations, and the limitation posed to its work by an understaffed Consultative Forum Secretariat.” September 23: The EU Commission proposes “The New Pact on Migration and Asylum”: a series of legislative measures that provide the framework of the EU migration and asylum policies for the years to come. According to the Commission: It provides a comprehensive approach, bringing together policy in the areas of migration, asylum, integration and border management … It aims to create faster, seamless migration processes and stronger governance of migration and border policies, supported by modern IT systems and more effective agencies. It aims to reduce unsafe and irregular routes and promote sustainable and safe legal pathways for those in need of protection … This common response also needs to include the EU’s relationship with third countries. It is presented alongside a roadmap for its implementation which covers the end of 2020 and the whole of 2021. The Pact foresees the recast of the 2008 Return Directive (which has been in negotiation since 2018), a full integration of the EU Return policy with its Readmission and Voluntary return policies and further effective operational support by Frontex: Frontex must play a leading role in the common EU system for returns, making returns work well in practice. It should be a priority for Frontex to become the operational arm of EU return policy, with the appointment of a dedicated Deputy Executive Director and integrating more return expertise into the Management Board. The deployment of the new standing corps will also assist return. Frontex will also support the introduction of a return case management system at EU and national level, covering all steps of the procedure from the detection of an irregular stay to readmission and reintegration in third countries. In this way the Agency can realise its full potential to support return, linking up operational cooperation with Member States and effective readmission cooperation with third countries. (2.5) It also intends to boost “Frontex’s access to naval and aerial capacity”. (4.3) Frontex’s enhanced mandate should now be used to make cooperation with partners operational: Cooperation with the Western Balkans, including through EU status agreements with the Western Balkan partners, will enable Frontex border guards to work together with national border guards on the territory of a partner country. Frontex can also now provide practical support to develop partners’ border management capacity and to cooperate with partners to optimise voluntary return. The Commission will continue encouraging agreements with its neighbours (6.4) The Pact has been analysed and commented on by countless individuals, groups, media, and NGOs. Mainly it has been described as a missed opportunity to provide real change in policy direction and in addressing the concerns related to the mistreatment of people on the move. Here are the analyses of BVMN and HRW. August 15–19: Two more pushbacks at sea off the coast of Lesvos are uncovered by Bellingcat, Lighthouse Report, Der Spiegel, ARD and TV Asahi. ◆ On August 15, the Greek coast guard approached a boat that was close to the northern shore of Lesvos. They tried to push the boat away, then “masked Greek border guards boarded the boat, destroyed the engine, threatened the passengers at gun point and forced them to tie the boat to a speed-boat.” They were then towed into Turkish waters. The Turkish coast guard witnessed the scene but did not intervene for hours. The MAI 1102 was located only a few hundred meters away from the refugee boat. The boat can be clearly identified in a photo. A German navy ship on a NATO mission that observed the incident reported it to the German government. ◆ On August 19, “a dinghy was reported to have been pushed back from Northern Lesvos. The Portuguese vessel Molivos was five km away and appears to have changed course and headed towards the pushback before its transponder either lost the signal or was turned off.” August 10: A pushback off the coast of Samos island takes place with the involvement of a German Federal Police vessel deployed with Frontex. The pushback is detailed in a Frontex internal report and published by Der Spiegel: ◆ At 6am, the Greek observation post “Praso” spot a rubber dinghy “clearly already in Greek waters.” ◆ 15 minutes later, the crew of the German ship BP62, Taufnahme “Uckermark”, arrived at the reported location. “The federal police found an overcrowded rubber dinghy with 40 people on board and stopped it. But they did not save the occupants from the sea, did not take them on board … The “Uckermark” blocked their journey until the Greeks ‘took over’ the incident” and then left. ◆ Two hours later, the Turkish Coast Guard is recorded intercepting the same dinghy in Turkish waters and dragging it back to shore. ◆ The document carries on, showing that the German authorities “sent an e-mail to the Maritime Coordination Center in Piraeus, responsible for the units at sea [asking] what had happened to the refugees.” ◆ In response, the Greek authorities stated that: “The rubber dinghy with migrants on board changed course when it saw the ship of the Greek coast guard and drove back towards Turkey,” and that the Greek Coast Guard used “border protection measures taken to prevent the arrival on Samos”. ◆ In an internal document of the German federal ministry of the interior reported by The Spiegel (article published on December 22), the version of the Greek authorities is contradicted: the federal police observed “that the (…) Greek forces physically took migrants on board” and moved them onto a Greek coast guard vessel. July 24: Frontex Executive Director tells the LIBE Committee at the European Parliament that the agency had observed and recorded just a single incident which may have been a pushback in the Aegean. July 15: Frontex launches a deployment in Montengro. It is the second operation of the agency in a non-EU country. Several officers are deployed to support Montenegro’s border guards at the border with Croatia. Operational plans include the expansion of the agency’s presence to border control activities at sea, including support in search and rescue. June: First ‘voluntary’ return organised by Frontex, from Cyprus to Georgia, via scheduled flight. In July, Frontex will support France with a return operation via charter flights, returning 209 people to Albania. In September, Frontex will support Germany, Belgium, France and the Netherlands in the agency’s first joint ‘voluntary’ return operation, returning 50 people to Iraq. June 10: In line with the 2019 Regulation, Frontex and the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) sign an agreement to “work together to establish fundamental rights monitors, design their training programme and integrate them into Frontex activities.” The agencies aim to establish as many as 40 monitors by the end of the year and to integrate them within the Frontex Fundamental Rights Office. In reality, the first selection notices for these roles (1, 2) will be published on November 20 (first appointments expected for April/May 2021). June 4–8: As reported in a joint investigation by Bellingcat, Lighthouse Reports, Der Spiegel, ARD and TV Asahi, between June 4 and June 8, four pushbacks are documented near Lesvos. In all cases, a Frontex vessel or aircraft is present and witnesses or participates in the illegal action. In particular, on June 8, a Romanian vessel MAI 1103, deployed within Frontex Operation Poseidon, actively participates in a pushback in the Aegean sea near Lesvos, directly blocking a boat with people on the move on board without proceeding with the rescue operation. Instead the vessel MAI 1103 moves away and leaves the Greek coast guard to carry out the pushback. The actions are recorded in a video by the Turkish coast guard. May 29-June 1: BVMN publish three testimonies of abuses and pushbacks from Albania to Greece which took place over 72 hours. ◆ In the first, on May 29, a group of nine people was stopped by Slovenian and Albanian officers after having crossed the border from Greece, threatened with guns and then pushed back to Greece. The testimony indicates the presence of Frontex patrol cars on the scene. ◆ One day later, the group crossed the border a second time and was apprehended again in Albanian territory, by three officers: “one from Albania, one from Poland and one from Romania.” They were taken to Bilshit police station and “they were detained in this station for around five hours. At approximately 06:00, the authorities drove the group to the border in a 4×4 vehicle and ordered them back onto Greek territory.” ◆ On May 31, after having crossed the border from Greece into Albania, a group of 7 people is apprehended in the Albanian town of Miras, just two km from the Greek border. The ‘respondents’ recognised the distinctive armbands worn by the agency’s officers. According to the respondent, those who stopped the group were equipped with night vision goggles. The respondent said that when the group were captured, the treatment was very “racist”. The authorities kept them waiting on the ground while laughing among each other, which “makes them feel without dignity”. The respondent claims that the Albanian police treated them well, that those who made them feel badly treated were Frontex officers. … Of the seven who were captured, some tried to flee. However, these people were beaten by officers, with the use of a “kind of truncheon but like metal”. The group was taken to the police station in Bilshit, denied food, fingerprinted, questioned, strip-searched and detained for the night. At 7.00 h on June 1st, “two Albanian and two Frontex police officers took them to the border area” with Greece. May 28: In a written answer to the European Parliament, Frontex confirms that “sometimes due to tactical reasons for missions, law enforcement assets are not made visible. Making them visible might, especially if combined with other information, disclose sensitive operational information and thus undermine the operational objectives”. This feeds into many reports on the cooperation between Frontex and the Libyan coast guard and the lack of cooperation of the Agency with civil rescue vessels in the central Mediterranean (1, 2, 3). May 13: Status Agreements with Montenegro and Serbia signed in 2019 are now operative after having been approved by the European Parliament March-April: Border Violence Monitoring Network (BVMN), Amnesty and HRW report on the situation at the Evros border. HRW testimonies “describe 38 deportation incidents involving almost 4,000 people, although some of these could be double counts.” April 28–29: As part of the joint investigation by Bellingcat, Lighthouse Report, Der Spiegel, ARD and TV Asahi, the presence of a Frontex aircraft is revealed during a push-back initiated after a group of people landed on Samos. Greek authorities dragged them back to sea on a life-raft and pushed them towards Turkish waters. Frontex’s surveillance plane flew over the area twice while this pushback took place. April 27: Statewatch releases an internal report circulated by Frontex to EU government delegations entitled ‘State-of-play report on the implementation of the 2019 regulation’. As Statewatch note: The state-of-play-report acknowledges a number of legal ambiguities surrounding some of the more controversial powers outlined in Frontex’s 2019 Regulation, highlighting perhaps that political ambition, rather than serious consideration and assessment, propelled the legislation, overtaking adequate procedure and oversight. The incentive to enact the legislation within a short timeframe is cited as a reason that no impact assessment was carried out on the proposed recast to the agency’s mandate. This draft was rushed through negotiations and approved in an unprecedented six-month period, and the details lost in its wake are now coming to light. The major legal ambiguities are: ◆ Regarding service weapons and “non-lethal equipment” (Art. 82), the Agency saught legal analysis, which confirmed that the 2019 Regulation does “not provide sufficient legal basis for the Agency to acquire, register, store and transport firearms in Poland. None of the Polish legal acts either directly or indirectly mentions the Agency as an entity which is entitled to acquire (possess) firearms or ammunition for the purpose of fulfilment of its statutory tasks and duties, without a permit issued by the Polish authorities.” ◆ Regarding the establishment of a new supervisory mechanism on the use of force (Art. 55), the agency found that such provisions are inconsistent with the standard rules on administrative enquiries and disciplinary measures concerned, lacking due independency and secrecy from the Agency. Frontex add that the “Standing corps being the first uniformed service of the EU will require different treatment in comparison to the regular officials working in the EU Institutions”. ◆ Frontex seek special treatment regarding immunities and privileges. “Protocol No 7 on the Privileges and Immunities of the European Union annexed to the Treaty on European Union (TEU) and to the TFEU” applies to the agency and its statutory staff. However, Frontex is not satisfied because the Protocol does not apply to non-EU states, nor does it “offer a full protection, or take into account a need for the inviolability of assets owned by Frontex (service vehicles, vessels, aircraft)”. ◆ Frontex lacks legal basis for conducting ‘voluntary returns’, since the 2019 Regulation refers to the ‘return’ definition set by the 2008 Return Directive and this does not cover ‘voluntary returns.’ April 18: A pushback of a boat carrying 30 people is carried out by the Greek coast guard off the coast of Lesvos during the night. Frontex internal documents reveal that a Serious Incident Report was filed on May 8 and the pushback was followed minute-by-minute by a Frontex surveillance aircraft. The internal document is published by Der Spiegel. April 10: According to Amnesty’s report “Malta: Waves of impunity”, Frontex is implicated in the ‘Easter Monday pushback’. Amnesty concludes that the European Commission and Frontex propose a restrictive position of Frontex competence regarding search and rescue. According to this interpretation, search and rescue is the responsibility of member states and the Frontex mandate only requires the agency to promptly communicate relevant information to the competent maritime authorities (interpretation stated in writing by the EU Commissioner for Home Affairs and by Frontex Executive Director to the LIBE Committee and reiterated by Frontex Executive Director in a written reply to Amnesty). April 2: In a meeting of the LIBE committee, Frontex Executive director describes the events of March 3, when a Danish vessel refused to execute a pushback that was ordered by the Greek Liaison officer, as “apparently a misunderstanding.” March 14: Alarm Phone reports of a pull-back in the Central Mediterranean carried out by the Libyan coast guard and organised and coordinated by Frontex and MRCC Malta: ◆ At 15:33h CET, Alarm Phone received a distress call from 49 people … They shared their GPS position with us, which clearly showed them within the Maltese SAR zone … We immediately informed RCC Malta and the Italian coastguard via email. ◆ At 17:42h, RCC Malta confirmed via phone that they had sent two patrol boats … ◆ At 17:45h, we talked to the 49 people on the boat who told us that they could see a boat heading in their direction. Unfortunately, the conversation broke off and we were not able to clarify further details. This was our last contact to the people in distress after which we could not reach them any longer. Since then, we have tried to obtain further details from RCC Malta, but they claim not to have any information. However, confidential sources have informed us that a Frontex aerial asset had spotted the migrant boat already at 6:00h when it was still in the contested Libyan SAR zone. ◆ At 18.04h, the Libyan coastguard vessel Ras Al Jadar intercepted the boat in the Maltese SAR zone This means that the European border agency Frontex, MRCC Rome as well as RCC Malta were all aware of this boat in distress and colluded with the Libyan authorities to enter Maltese SAR and intercept the migrant boat. March 13: Human Rights Watch informs Frontex about alleged abuse by non-Greek forces and asked about its deployments along the border: All those interviewed said that within hours after they crossed in boats or waded through the river, armed men wearing various law enforcement uniforms or in civilian clothes, including all in black with balaclavas, intercepted everyone in their group. All said the men detained them in official or informal detention centers, or on the roadside, and stole their money, mobile phones, and bags before summarily pushing them back to Turkey. Seventeen described how the men assaulted them and others, including women and children, through electric shocks, beating with wooden or metal rods, prolonged beating of the soles of feet, punching, kicking, and stomping. The agency replied saying that it did not have the requested information and that it would respond as soon as it did. March 12: Frontex deploys an additional 100 border guards at the Greek land border with Turkey as part of a rapid border intervention requested by Greece one week earlier. On 3rd April the deployment is extended. At that date, 624 officers are deployed by Frontex at Greek sea and land external borders. Critics argue that this deployment “lacks legal basis”, because the suspension of asylum and the widespread violence documented at the border fail to meet the required Fundamental Rights standards. Among others, Border Violence Monitoring Network (BVMN), Amnesty and HRW report extensively on the situation at the Evros border. HRW testimonies “describe 38 deportation incidents involving almost 4,000 people, although some of these could be double counts.” March 2: A Danish vessel, deployed in the Aegean within Frontex’s operation Poseidon, refuses an order received by Hellenic Coast Guard Liaison Officer at Frontex HQ, to push back to Turkish waters 33 people they had just rescued in Greek waters. Through the efforts of individuals, NGOs and other organisations it is discovered that no Serious Incident Report was filed and that Frontex HQ requested more information about the events only following media coverage, as shown by an internal chain of emails. In less than four hours from the first email the incident was considered ‘isolated’ and the case was closed. March 1: Greece introduces emergency measures in response to increasing pressure at its land border, among them the “temporary suspension, for one month from of this Decision, of the lodging of asylum by those entering the country illegally”. February 27: Following statements from the Turkish authorities that the country’s borders with the EU would be opened, thousands of people rush to the border region with Greece. February 20: The signing of the Status Agreement between the EU and Bosnia and Herzegovina, which would allow Frontex to be deployed in the country, is halted by Milorad Dodik, the Serb member of the state presidency of the country. As media report: At the last session of the three-member Bosnian presidency, Dodik voted against all decisions that were on the agenda. One was the proposal of the Minister of Security, Fahrudin Radoncic, to accept an “Status Agreement between Bosnia and Herzegovina and the European Union on Actions Executed by the European Border and Coast Guard Agency in Bosnia and Herzegovina”. January 31: Frontex requests two freedom of information activists of the German platform Frag Der Staat (Ask the State), Luisa Izuzquiza and Arne Semsrott, to pay €23,700 in legal costs, after the Agency won a case at the General Court of the European Union, in which the two activists were seeking access to information related to Joint Operation Triton in 2017.
https://medium.com/are-you-syrious/ays-special-frontex-and-human-rights-how-did-we-arrive-here-part-3-2020-present-706438d8e29
['Are You Syrious']
2020-12-26 16:10:33.598000+00:00
['European Union', 'Special', 'Frontex', 'Pushback', 'Human Rights']
Coordinating ECS Tasks in Python
The Wikipedia binary pipeline I am experimenting with works quite good on EC2 or ECS, but requires 9 CPUs to work smoothly (XML to JSON conversion). What if I distribute it and run each worker process on ECS? Goal I want to reduce the total execution time from 47 minutes (ECS 4vCPUs) and 19 minutes (c5.2xlarge 8vCPUs) to below 10 minutes. I guess I need to scale horizontally to benefit from many running concurrently ECS tasks. Master / Worker Instead of running all files at once, I will define worker responsibility to download and process just one FTP file. The master responsibility is to loop over all available files and coordinate their execution using as previously multiprocessing and token system. Where the ECS Task in my binary pipeline is defined as follows: 1st Execution The execution took around 13 minutes and used as expected 27 containers. Master I run locally because it does not bound to heavy resources. The entire code is here. Changes The good thing I found is that the bottleneck is no longer CPU, but are FTP servers. Theoretically I could increase number of connections to each FTP server (because of the different public addresses of ECS containers), but it would be considered as non-ethical. I would rather split FTP download from its further processing. Master The master code was adjusted to call sequentially two containers. Each call is throttled by dedicated throttlers. Workers Workers were split into two functions and each function is independent call from ECS container. 2nd Execution According to following dashboard the execution took around 10 minutes and used 54 containers. The FTP download still occupied most of the time, but processing could be done faster. The master script needs to run 15 child processes which adds a bit memory overhead to the driver. Additionally spinning containers adds extra time to my experiment. The code is here.
https://amacal.medium.com/coordinating-ecs-tasks-in-python-4ed3f1989058
['Adrian Macal']
2020-11-21 13:52:18.389000+00:00
['Python', 'Programming', 'Containers']
How Convolution Neural Networks work —with Image Classification Keras Code
In this blog, we will be discussing a convolutional neural network with an example implementation on python. The convolutional neural network is also called as ConvNets or CNN, It is an artificial network so far mostly used on image analysis. Image analysis is where CNN’s are widely used but CNN can be used in other classification problems as well. Most generally we can think of CNN as an Artificial Neural Network that has some type of specialization to be able to pick out or detect patterns. This pattern makes CNN so useful for image analysis. CNN is some form of an artificial neural network, so what differentiates it from a standard multi-layer perceptron(MLP). CNN has hidden layers called the convolutional layer, these layers make a CNN. What is a Convolutional Layer? A Convolutional layer just like any other layers a convolutional layer receives input then transforms input in some form and outputs the transformed input to the next layer with a convolutional layer this transformation is called convolutional operation. These layers play a major role in detecting patterns. In each convolutional layer, we need to specify the number of filters the layers should have. Filters are used by the convolutional layer to precisely identify patterns. Let's consider an image using MINST data, In this image, there are multiple edges, shapes, textures objects, etc. So one filter will be detecting edges in the image that would be called an edge detector. Similarly, there could be different filters to detect corners, some may detect circle, etc. Deeper the neural network goes the network might be able to detect more shapes like eyes, ears, even face, etc.
https://medium.com/@balavivek/how-convolution-neural-networks-work-with-image-classification-keras-code-71ef1285e190
['Balavivek Sivanantham']
2020-09-12 13:28:51.240000+00:00
['Convolutional Network', 'Keras', 'Image Classification', 'Deep Learning', 'Python']
Art Shuttle San Francisco — Chicago — NYC Will Leave on December 17
Fine Art Shippers is happy to announce that our next consolidated art shuttle San Francisco — Chicago will leave this week, on December 17. We can pick up art from any location in California, from Gualala to San Diego, and deliver the items to any city or town along the route to Chicago. From Chicago, the shuttle will head to New York City with stops in Cleveland, Pittsburg, and Philadelphia. We can also deliver your art along the East Coast of the United States. Art Shuttle San Francisco — Chicago — NYC The cross-country art shuttle San Francisco — Chicago — NYC will start its journey in California. Our team can pick up art from any location in San Francisco, as well as from Sacramento, San Jose, Gualala, and other cities. We can also pick up art from the cities in Southern California, including Los Angeles and San Diego. The shuttle is scheduled to leave San Francisco on December 17, but the date is flexible, so be sure to contact our team in advance. After leaving San Francisco, the shuttle will go directly to Chicago, Illinois, crossing Reno in Nevada, Salt Lake City in Utah, Omaha in Nebraska, and Des Moines in Iowa. We can also go to Denver, Colorado to pick up or deliver fine art if necessary. On December 21, the art shuttle will leave Chicago and go to New York through Cleveland, Pittsburg, and Philadelphia. Stops for art pick-up and delivery are possible in other cities along the route as well. After arriving in New York, we will make deliveries all over the Tri-State Area. We can also deliver the items to the cities in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Delaware. If you are interested in shipping your art with our art shuttle San Francisco — Chicago — NYC, please do not hesitate to contact Fine Art Shippers or request a free shipping quote online. We will provide you with a solution that suits your needs to the fullest!
https://medium.com/@fineartshippers/art-shuttle-san-francisco-chicago-nyc-will-leave-on-december-17-6b3ee965fe5
['Ilya Kushnirskiy', 'Fine Art Shippers']
2020-12-14 21:57:48.107000+00:00
['Art', 'Transportation', 'Shipping', 'Logistics', 'Shuttleservices']
My journey through JVM languages
Java is not just a language. The real reason why it’s still so popular today is the mature and performant platform. And because the programs are compiled to the bytecode, the language’s deficiencies could be made up for by … creating other JVM languages. To be honest, throughout my career, I’ve used more Groovy, Scala, or Kotlin than pure Java itself! So how do those languages look like and how do they compare with each other? Groovy — powerful language and modern syntax Groovy was the first JVM language I’ve learned. I was using it mostly when I was using the Grails framework at my first job. Syntax What made Groovy stand out was its syntax. On the one side, it eased some of Java language pains via optional semicolons, allowing more than one class per file or type inference with the def keyword. On the other hand, it featured modern language features, such as traits, closures, string interpolation, optional chaining ( ?. operator) and many other features long before even Java 8 came out. // Optional chaining: def gear = car?.getGearBox()?.getGear() // Instead of Gear gear = null; if (car != null) { if (car.getGearBox() != null) { gear = car.getGearBox().getGear(); } } Moreover, Groovy is a superset of Java. It means, that a Java class is a perfectly valid Groovy class too! This makes its adoption way easier because you can just change the file extension to .groovy and transfer it to a more idiomatic code step by step as you need. DSLs Closures, maps and optional dots and parentheses allows us to create Domain Specific Languages, which can look like almost like written in plain English. The excerpt below is from the official Groovy documentation and in my opinion it explains it quite well. show = { println it } square_root = { Math.sqrt(it) } def please(action) { [the: { what -> [of: { n -> action(what(n)) }] }] } // equivalent to: please(show).the(square_root).of(100) please show the square_root of 100 // ==> 10.0 Those DSLs are used for example in Gradle, Jenkins Pipelines, or Spock, so there is a chance, that you’ve been using Groovy without even realizing it. Summary Groovy is a dynamic language, which means, that objects can be modified at runtime via appending methods or intercepting the calls. This is also the reason, why Groovy isn’t my g0-to language anymore. It kind of suffers from the disadvantages of both approaches it tries to merge. On one side, it still has to be compiled, because it is run on the JVM platform. Because of that, it can’t benefit from fast feedback loops like in other dynamic languages such as Ruby, which are interpreted. On the other one, because it’s a dynamic language, the compilation step won’t give us that much guarantees about program correctness. Even though we can specify types of our variables and method arguments, we still can run into a runtime error at some point. Scala — FP and static typing combo Scala also features some syntax improvements, but way more important is its support for the functional programming paradigm. Immutable objects and lack of side-effects not only make refactoring and testing easier, but it makes Scala well suited for asynchronous programming. Therefore the ecosystem is rich in libraries for that purpose, such as Akka, Monix, Cats, or ZIO. Types Scala is statically typed, but it is a way more advanced mechanism than in Java. Types are not just classes. The hierarchy is larger, including types such as Any , AnyVal or Nothing . We can also construct types as functions, with defined arguments and returned values. It's possible to define type aliases to make our definitions shorter and clearer. Case Class is another help in using types in Scala. It’s basically a class with immutable fields and all batteries included. Because the fields are immutable, we don’t have to define getters and methods such as equals or hashCode are already there for us. Usually, those classes have just one line of code and they are very convenient to define simple structure types. case class Circle(x: Double, y: Double, radius: Double) In Scala, we also make use of monad types. What monads are is a topic for a completely separate blog post, but what’s important is that they help to make our code more meaningful. We can use Option if we want to represent a value that may or may not be defined or we can use Try or Either if we want to represent a successful result of some operation or an error if it failed. val studentOpt: Option[Student] = students.findById(123) studentOpt.foreach(student => println(student.name)) The gamechanger here is the fact, that the Scala Standard Library uses those types throughout the library, so we don’t have to worry about null checks or runtime exceptions within the Scala code unless we use them explicitly or integrate with Java libraries using them. Pattern matching and for comprehension Scala has two particular features, that help to work with monad types and case classes — pattern matching and for comprehension. Pattern matching seems like a simple switch statement, but it is much more than that. We can define more advanced conditions, especially check types, and use the filtered values without unsafe casting. val result: Either[ErrorCode, SuccessValue] = ??? result match { case Right(successValue) => handleSuccess(successValue) // no cast needed, successValue is already of SuccessValue type case Left(errorCode) if errorCode.value > 300 => // additional conditions are possible too handleLowPriorityError(errorCode) case Left(errorCode) => handleHighPriortyCode(errorCode) } For comprehension is the syntactic sugar, which helps us to avoid nested chains of .flatMap or .foreach calls when we work with monad types. It's the easiest to explain it with an example: val employeeNames = for { company <- companies employee <- company.employees if employee.currentlyEmployed } yield { employee.name } // is an equivalent of this: val employeeNames = companies .flatMap(company => company.employees .withFilter(employee => employee.currentlyEmployed) .map(employee => employee.name) ) Downsides The obvious Scala’s downside is a steep learning curve. Due to its complexity, it takes some time to be productive in it and write a proper idiomatic code. In my case, I’ve made the biggest progress during my first code review in a team, which was already using Scala and I think it’s the best way to learn it — from other teammates already proficient in it 🙂 Another issue is that it is similar to C in one specific manner — both of those languages are powerful tools, but because of that, it’s very easy to get carried away and write complicated, unreadable code. It’s part of the reason why Scala’s learning curve is so steep. The last one is harder integration with Java libraries. Not being a Java superset could be annoying, but in fact, IDE support makes it negligible. A more serious problem is that Java libraries do not use Scala monad types and they may use mutable objects. Therefore we can receive a null object when we do not expect it, running into a NullPointerException. This is probably one of the reasons why Scala collections were written from scratch and they even don’t implement the java.util. interfaces. Kotlin — a “better Java” Kotlin is the newest of the described languages. Because of that, it had the opportunity to take what’s best from other languages and fix those aspects which were less ok. Nullable types and Java integration Kotlin’s approach to tackle the NullPointerException problem is to introduce nullable types. When a type is declared with a ? sign at the end (e.g. String?), it means that it can be null. The best part is that it’s the compiler that checks if we try to use such an object without checking if it wasn’t null and returns the error if we did. val nullableString: String? = null // OK val notNullableString: String = null // compilation error! All values coming from Java code are nullable by default, which makes this mechanism work even when we integrate our Kotlin code with some Java library. Just like in Scala, we can work with immutable values and collections, but without committing that much to the functional programming paradigm: Data classes can have mutable fields, where Scala’s case classes can not. can have mutable fields, where Scala’s can not. There are no monad types in the standard library. We can use libraries, like arrow-kt, but we have to wrap the values ourselves. No pattern matching, no for comprehension, less complicated (but thus — less expressive) type system. Those functionalities make Kotlin a perfect candidate for being a “better Java”. We can see results today, where Android and Spring already have Kotlin integration. Domain Specific Languages Similarly to Groovy, Kotlin has closures, which lets us build DSL in Kotlin too. The advantage is that in Kotlin such DSLs are typed. Gradle has Kotlin DSL and my IDE can finally check my code for errors and give me some hints about available properties. Coroutines Closures are also used in another distinct Kotlin feature — Coroutines. In essence, they are simply lightweight threads, which can handle asynchronous operations while preserving the readability. The below example comes from Kotlin documentation. If we tried to run 100k of thread at once, we would cause an OutOfMemoryException . import kotlinx.coroutines.* fun main() = runBlocking { repeat(100_000) { // launch a lot of coroutines launch { delay(5000L) print(".") } } } Within the coroutine context, the code can be organized with suspend functions, which are functions that are run within the coroutine and its execution can be paused and resumed later, e.g. when the data from the HTTP request arrives. import kotlinx.coroutines.delay import kotlinx.coroutines.runBlocking fun doSomeWork() = runBlocking { val result = makeHttpCall() println(result) } // Simulate making the call and return the result suspend fun makeHttpCall(): String { // The delay here is also a suspend function, which does block the thread. // The execution of the makeHttpCall function is paused until // the time of delay passes and then it's resumed delay(1000) return "Some result" } Coroutines are pretty heavily used in the web framework called Ktor. Downsides Regarding downsides, I think that the biggest one is Kotlin’s young age. I could especially experience it with Kotlin Gradle DSL, where on one hand it’s great that finally the DSL is typed, but on the other hand, it was still easier to copy and paste some Groovy code from the internet than to figure out how to translate it. However, I’m sure, that this situation will be better and better over time. Other languages There are of course other JVM languages, but I won’t describe them in such detail, because I haven’t really used them that much. The most popular language of this group is Clojure. Just like Scala, it’s a functional language with a steep learning curve. Unlike it, however, it’s a dynamic language and it’s a Lisp implementation. This makes it a very powerful language because the code is also the program’s data and it can be modified. However, in my subjective opinion, this also makes Clojure programs very unreadable. However, a lot of people that influenced me in some way are Clojure users, so maybe I am wrong, therefore I’m not ruling out using it in the future 😉 There are JRuby and Jython, which are basically Ruby and Python implementations on JVM. While using Java libraries in those languages is still possible, they are usually used just as a more performant Ruby or Python interpreter. Finally, there is … Java 😀 I can’t neglect the progress, that Java has made throughout versions 9 to 15 and onwards. New features like type inference with var, pattern matching, or records definitely sound like a breath of fresh air and a step in the right direction. Unfortunately, I don’t have much experience with that either. Summary Currently, I’m using Scala at work and Kotlin for my hobby projects. Which language would I recommend using? I’d choose Scala for data-oriented, asynchronous-heavy applications. That part is pretty well worked out in Scala. There are many libraries for that and functional programming paradigm makes writing such code easier. I’d choose Kotlin, for simple applications or the ones which have to be heavily integrated with Java libraries. This is becoming more and more convenient because many Java libraries already started to integrate with Kotlin too. Groovy handed to Apache is in my opinion a sign of declining popularity and purpose of this language. However, if you use Java for your production code, I think that Spock alone is a good enough reason to check Groovy out.
https://medium.com/@konkit/my-journey-through-jvm-languages-konkits-tech-blog-a5deb09dadbe
['Łukasz Tenerowicz']
2020-10-25 19:46:11.250000+00:00
['Programming', 'Java', 'Scala', 'Kotlin', 'Groovy']
Blood On Your Hands, God
Photo by James Barr on Unsplash So I went to this church A priest was directing the service Devotional songs were sung Prayers were said The whole service had one thing in common They were praising the “Gods”… Everyone reciting their books Most of them don’t know what they’re singing What they’re praying What they want What it really meant to be a believer Those who don’t praise the Lord Will face the wrath of the Lord The Lord who created the world The Lord who created humans The Lord who loves you unconditionally The All-Mighty needs our constant praise The Omnipotent would destroy us If prayers aren’t served every day Oh how foolish are you, God You wouldn’t live if no one prayed to you? Very soon, you’ll die Because humans are dying Not naturally The praises that humans deserve You’re stealing them The humans feel purposeless “Well done man! You worked so hard!” Is replaced by “God has blessed you. Hallelujah!” Hallelujah indeed The blood is on your hands The humans are angry Pray they don’t abandon you Oh the irony!!!
https://medium.com/social-jogi/blood-on-your-hands-god-937768eb1ebd
['Rajat Santhosh']
2020-12-26 19:18:46.055000+00:00
['Poetry', 'Prayer', 'Religion', 'God']
protocols.io at ABRCMS 2020
Author: Anita Bröllochs The Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students (ABRCMS) is one of the largest communities of underrepresented minorities in STEM. Students attend the conference to present their research, enhance professional development skills, explorate graduate schools, and network with some of the top companies in science and technology. This year, the protocols.io team participated in ABRCMS 2020, which took place virtually from November 9–13. Here are some highlights from the week: Virtual Experience The ABRCMS virtual platform allowed attendees to navigate through the agenda, presentations, poster sessions, and virtual exhibitor hall to connect attendees. All sessions were accessible and included a sign language interpreter. Recordings were made available immediately afterwards, a must have for virtual conferences these days. The conference offered great networking opportunities, despite the digital landscape. Session Highlights There was a tremendous amount of great content throughout the program. So much so, that tickets are still being sold after the event so attendees could access the recordings until December 31, 2020! The conference started off with a very eye opening keynote by Maria Hinojosa who wrote “Once I Was You: A Memoir of Love & Hate in a Torn America”. Maria Hinojasa has focused on reporting stories that get ignored by the mainstream media over the last thirty years. In her keynote presentation, she shared very personal stories that she experienced growing up in Chicago after her family moved to the United States from Mexico for her fathers new job as a scientist. — One of the sessions that also stood out was “How we Learn… How we Don’t” with Robert Duke, Ph.D., at the University of Texas at Austin. Dr. Duke highlighted that just because we learn for class or exams, there are ways of learning that are beneficial and ways that can be downright useless! For example, the graph above shows how cramming for an exam can produce high test results, but retention is diminished shortly afterwards. But why is this important? A series of students were interviewed after graduation from their degree program at top universities. When the students were asked to complete tasks with a moderate to low level of complexity, most couldn’t come up with the answer. Here are some of the tasks: Lighting a lightbulb with a battery and a wire — an example from Minds of our Own, Annenberg Learner where graduate students from MIT and Harvard are asked if they could light a lightbulb with a battery and a wire. Most of the students are confident that they are able to complete that task. However, when they are handed a lightbulb, a battery, and a wire, they are not able to light the lightbulb. Weighing scale task — There are nine closed cubes. One of the cubes contains a $100 bill and 8 of them contain a paper in the shape of a $100 bill. The only thing we know is that the $100 bill is slightly lighter than the paper but the difference is not detectable by holding the cubes with your hands. You have a weighing scale as a tool to help and you may arrange the blocks on the scale in any ways that you like, but you may use the scale only twice. — Can you figure out which cube contains the $100 bill? The session concluded that even though there were highly intelligent graduates being asked to perform these tasks, their method of learning and applying critical thinking differs greatly when put into practice. — Another notable session took place on Wednesday called, “You are NOT your Disability” with Stephen Klusza, Ph.D., of Clayton State University. This session focused on bringing awareness to creating a supportive environment for those with a disability within STEM. Dr. Klusza, who suffered from partial hearing loss in his early years, lost his hearing completely by the time he arrived in graduate school. Now, as a developmental geneticist, Professor, and mentor at Clayton State University, he is an advocate for accessibility in education, open science, and disability rights. The presentation starts off defining the spectrum of disability identity as it is a complex and sensitive issue. He continues the presentation with examples of Reality, Equality, Equity, and Liberation. He stresses that what we need to strive for, at the very least, is Equity and how accommodations given to students with disabilities should be a requirement and it should be built into the education system. If you would like to learn more about empowering students and faculty as it relates to accessibility in STEM, check out episode 22 of the Minor Tweak, Major Impact podcast with Kali Mahrer and Dr. Kaelyn Sumigray from Yale University. A Step Forward The ABRCMS conference wrapped up with great networking opportunities and follow ups to continue these important conversations. protocols.io looks forward to being involved with ABRCMS in the future, and we thank the ABRCMS team for organizing a wonderful event. You can learn more about ABRCMS at www.abrcms.org.
https://medium.com/@protocolsio/protocols-io-at-abrcms-2020-95777c0a624f
[]
2020-11-19 18:43:40.435000+00:00
['STEM', 'Academia', 'Science', 'Accessibility', 'Education']
Дизайнер продукта в Почте России: кровь, слёзы, радость
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://designpub.ru/%D0%B4%D0%B8%D0%B7%D0%B0%D0%B9%D0%BD%D0%B5%D1%80-%D0%BF%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%B4%D1%83%D0%BA%D1%82%D0%B0-%D0%B2-%D0%BF%D0%BE%D1%87%D1%82%D0%B5-%D0%BA%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%B2%D1%8C-%D1%81%D0%BB%D1%91%D0%B7%D1%8B-%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%B4%D0%BE%D1%81%D1%82%D1%8C-a5c3ae959d
['Dasha Pochekueva']
2020-12-16 08:46:17.017000+00:00
['Digital Transformation', 'Design Process', 'Product Design']
Sony Has A 35mm 100MP Full-Frame Sensor With 6K Video For Consumer Cameras
Sony is taking the powerful-sensor-development lead again. It appears Sony is on its way to launch a 100-megapixel full-frame sensor. According to reports, Sony has developed a new 35mm full-frame CMOS sensor for consumer cameras. The new sensor is capable of capturing high-quality images in 100 megapixels and shooting 6K videos. The news was first published by EOSHD after technical details of the sensor were leaked on some online platforms. On Chinese forums as well as in the EOSHD own forums, the sensor appeared with the code name IMX555CQR. The new sensor has the capacity to capture still photos in 12288×8192 resolution which implies 12K in video terms. It actually has 102 M active pixels in a square pixel array and is a full-frame sensor for consumer cameras. It is also to feature an innovative and unique readout method that provides a super-fast readout of 16-bit still images. The sensor can also record 6K video in 12-bit in its pixel binning mode. Below are some pages from the leaked documents which appeared on some Chinese and EOSHD forums: EOSHD states that the leaks appear to show two A/D converters per column. That will be an enormous number of A/D converters which will enable the sensor to produce high-speed digital output. Additionally, the source of the leaked document points out that the 4096 pixels resolution is actually three times the 12288 pixels resolution of this sensor. The source adds that the sensor can do a 4096 x 2160 RGB 4:4:4 stream directly on-chip 3 x 3 because of its color-aware binning. A Plus for Consumer Camera Models According to the leaked information, the new sensor is designed for use in consumer digital still camera. In the document, Sony warns against using the new sensor for applications other than consumer digital still cameras, saying that it “does guarantee the quality and reliability” of the product in other use cases. It has no support for individual change specifications. Furthermore, the report says that Sony is going to make the sensor available for use by third-party camera manufacturers. But as the company has warned previously, it is not advisable to use the sensor for other applications that are not digital still cameras for consumer use. Of course, this will not be the first 100 megapixels sensor on the market. Sony already has sensors with the capacity to capture 100 megapixels images. However, all those sensors are only available in large formats — larger than the 35mm (36×24mm) full-frame Sony has just developed. For instance, the Phase One iXM 100MP drone camera uses Sony medium format sensors. And so does the Phase One XF 100MP drone camera. Even Fujifilm has already unveiled the body for an upcoming 100 megapixels, but in medium format. However, Canon may very well be the strongest contender when it comes to the topic of high-resolution 35mm full-frame sensors. The world was thrilled when Canon announced its much smaller APS-H 250-megapixel CMOS sensor. Although, Canon’s smaller-than-full-frame APS-H 250-megapixel CMOS sensor appears to be more suitable for industrial applications than for consumer photography. Furthermore, rumors have it that Canon is looking at a 100+ megapixels full-frame sensor for its future EOS R mirrorless camera.
https://medium.com/lumoid/sony-has-a-35mm-100mp-full-frame-sensor-with-6k-video-for-consumer-cameras-4df0ac25a988
['Lumoid Staff']
2019-09-06 14:01:01.464000+00:00
['Sony', 'Cameras', 'News', 'Gear', 'Photography']
AMAMI: The Hidden Jewel of Puerto Galera
Travel: Philippines By Njoli Brown I’ve been to the Philippines quite a few times. As often as not I’m able to build in some time to kick back, relax and enjoy some of the country’s amazing beaches. You’ve probably all heard of Palawan and Boracay by now. As powerful and awesome as these places are sometimes you hit Manila and want to figure a way to the water without taking another flight. Besides, there’s something worthwhile about travel by land and sea, having the opportunity to see the landscape as it transitions. Here’s where Puerto Galera comes in. Puerto Galera, officially the Municipality of Puerto Galera, is a region in the province of Oriental Mindoro, Philippines. It is located at the north-westernmost part of Oriental Mindoro, at the south-western end of the Isla Verde Passage, maybe 3.5 hours from Manila (total travel). When I first mentioned to my Filipino friends my thoughts of hitting this spot across the board, most of them tried to dissuade me. Not because the beaches aren’t lovely but because the white beach area is know for some shady tourism and a bit of wild going ons. Nevertheless, I did some research and decided to take a risk with a spot I found located about 10 minutes (by trike) from all the rowdiness. AMAMI Beach Resort is a unique haven designed in an eco-friendly style with structures built from native products and natural materials, coconuts, bamboo, woods, banana leaves and cotton. The property is replete with hammocks, basket chairs, and shaded places to kick back. The food is clean and delicious! Prepared wonderfully with a menu both reflecting the italian cuisine of the owners and and filipino dishes taking advantage of local veggies, mangoes, honey and daily catches of fishes directly from the sea with no intermediate. Sure, I went to check out the white beach area and… it was what it was. But I’d definitely say AMAMI is a hidden jewel worth checking out and making the base for your stay.
https://medium.com/@njoli.b/amami-the-hidden-jewel-of-puerto-galera-6257741cfcc3
['Njoli Brown']
2019-03-03 11:52:49.236000+00:00
['Philippines', 'Nature', 'Travel']
WHAT DOES THE MOST HIGH REQUIRES FROM HUMANITY?
“KOSMIC UNIVERSE. HENCE, HE CAN DO ANYTHING HE DESIRES WITH THE THINGS THAT ARE IN HIS POSSESSION, BECAUSE HE IS EL-YON, THE GOD OF ALL AGES! WHAT DOES THE MOST HIGH REQUIRES OF HUMANITY? THE THIRD VOICE IN REVELATION 14 :7 SAID OR PROCLAIMED, WE SHOULD FEAR THE MOST HIGH GOD AND GIVE HIM GLORY. THEREFORE, AFTER YOUR REPENTANCE, SALVATION, REDEMPTION, WHAT IS YOUR REQUIREMENT FROM YOUR CREATOR? IT IS TO FEAR, AND GIVE HIM PRAISE, GLORY, HONOR, WORSHIP, THANKSGIVING AND MUCH RESPECT.” (TNDL) Copyright 2019 TNDL
https://medium.com/yahweh-elyon-yeshuas-teachings/what-does-the-most-high-requires-from-humanity-d6dfb7e8860e
['J. K. Woods']
2019-09-13 11:18:24.475000+00:00
['Christianity', 'Tndl', 'Yahweh Elyon Yeshua', 'God']
Quick Tip: Firestore multiple operations in Flutter
Advance firestore using batch First of all what firebase documentation says about batch Cloud Firestore supports atomic operations for reading and writing data. In a set of atomic operations, either all of the operations succeed, or none of them are applied. There are two types of atomic operations in Cloud Firestore: Transactions : a transaction is a set of read and write operations on one or more documents. : a transaction is a set of read and write operations on one or more documents. Batched Writes: a batched write is a set of write operations on one or more documents. We can use two things to perform multiple operations, and in this article, we’ll cover batch. Batched writes If you do not need to read any documents in your operation set (if you need to read document use transaction instead), you can execute multiple write operations as a single batch that contains any combination of set() , update() , or delete() operations. A batch of writes completes atomically and can write to multiple documents. Write a document var db= Firestore.instance(); //Create a batch var batch = db.batch(); //And use this batch to write a document. batch.setData( //Give the ref of document. db.collection(’users’).document(’id’), //And the data to add in it. {'status': 'Approved'} ); Update a document //Use the batch to update a document batch.updateData( //Give the ref of document. db.collection(’users’).document(’id’), //And the data to update. {'status': 'Rejected'}); Delete a document //Use the batch to delete a document batch.delete( db.collection(’users’).document(’id’) ); And just commit the batch, when you want to perform the subscribed actions batch.commit(); Photo by Vasily Koloda on Unsplash That’s it, folks. If you like this tiny little article, just clap for it 👏 👏 👏 Have a great day.
https://medium.com/flutter-community/quick-tip-firestore-multiple-operations-in-flutter-23ddb08d1581
['Md Sadab Wasim']
2019-06-14 22:01:01.409000+00:00
['Database', 'Flutter', 'Android', 'Firebase', 'Dart']
How to cluster effectively Quartz jobs
I removed all the private information from the diagram, as you can note the representation of the Scheduler Service and Executor Service are on the diagram. As you can notice, there is a Notification Service representation on the diagram, we already had this service on our infrastructure to send notifications to users when a job finishes execution, if you don’t have this kind of service, it is a good idea to create one in an asynchronous job execution approach. Show me the code With the solution exposed, I would like to show you some implementations aspects, let’s begin with the Job itself: The implementation of the Job is very simple, as you can note. The only responsibility of the job is to send a message to a queue, for this new trigger to be executed. The downsides of this approach are: when the trigger happens, could happen a delay between the trigger and the start of execution of the job. This happens because between the time when the message is posted to the queue and the moment where the execution (consumption of the message) happens is possible to be a delay (sometimes the queue could have a high amount of messages, the executor service could be in a downtime, etc) happens, could happen a between the and the start of of the job. This happens because between the time when the message is posted to the queue and the moment where the execution (consumption of the message) happens is possible to be a delay (sometimes the queue could have a high amount of messages, the executor service could be in a downtime, etc) it’s not possible to guarantee the execution order of the triggers, for instance: whether an error occurs on the first try of the execution the police of DLQ could take a moment to repost the message to the main queue In our case, these downsides are small compared to the benefits of the segregation of the utilization of this approach. Another important class I like to show you is the scheduler service: As you can see, we used the Scheduler class from Quartz to orchestrate the CRUD operation on the Job. The SchedulerBuilder class is also very important because it extracted the Cron Logic and we could create Cron expressions more easily: SimpleScheduleBuilder.simpleSchedule().withIntervalInHours(1).withRepeatCount(-1); Setting repeatCount to -1 we define this job to repeat infinitely. Final Considerations With this approach, we solved the performance problems in our environment. I expected to help you too at some moment. It’s important to remember, in computing science and software architecture there are always trade-offs, our responsibility is to analyze them and choose the best way to follow. I hope you’ll be here soon.
https://medium.com/javarevisited/how-to-cluster-effectively-quartz-jobs-9b097f5e1191
['Rafael Faita']
2020-11-12 03:58:49.232000+00:00
['Scheduling', 'Spring', 'Spring Boot', 'Quartz', 'Clustering']
heartbreak poems
heartbreak poems Castle When you give someone keys to the castle, there is no going back. They’ll light up the castle with music and warmth, there is no going back. The happiness in the castle overflows, there is no going back. Things change, there is no going back. They burned the curtains, locked the doors, and shut off the heat, there is no going back. Trapped you stay, alone and afraid, begging for the music again, there is no going back. Your castle is cold, shattered, and broken, there is no going back. Their gone, you’re gone, there is no going back When you give someone the keys to the castle, there is no going back. Love list My mother taught me what love is. Love is warm and kind. Love is helpful and helpless. Love is enduring and endless. Love is feeling like you could explode with laughter and never stop smiling. Love is a warm feeling on a Saturday morning. Love is the first thing you think of in the morning, and the last at night. Love is finding the beauty through the pain that lies. Love is giving up your last breath to say I love you. Most of all Love is a promise to stay. This, is not love. The pain and sadness, that is not love. Walking on eggshells and begging for a fraction of attention, that is not love. Hoping and praying for another text message, that is not love. Letting them tell you how to live, eat, and breathe, that is not love. Giving your body, mind, and soul until you’re some raw mindless being, that is not love. My mother taught me what love was, and you have ruined that love. Lying Lying is not bad. That’s what he told me. Lying is just a fabrication, it’s harmless. “It’s harmless, I promise, I love you” I’m sorry, it was a harmless lie. I believe you now, “I love you”is a harmless lie. Time Two hundred- sixteen days That’s how many days I let him play me. Five thousand,one hundred, and eighty-four hours That’s how many hours I let him screw me over. Three hundred and eleven thousand, four hundred and forty minutes. That’s how many minutes I poured my entire soul into him. Eighteen million, six hundred and sixty-six thousand, four hundred seconds. That’s how long I killed myself to love him. I want all of them back. I want to scream in his face and tell him how bad he hurt me. I want to know what I did wrong. He told me it was Almost me. Well I Almost gave up my entire life to be with you.It’s relieving to know I was almost yours. Everyday, every hour, every minute, every goddamn second. I remember. The love you so told me was real. The unloving hugs you would reluctantly give. The dreams I made up in my head, that I thought you shared. Anything that you said, I believed, I swooned for your manipulation and bad haircut. I’m pretty sure, you never loved me, or you shared your love between me and her. At least I got half right, does anyone want half of the love and attention from someone they bent over backwards and ruined their reputation for? I lost so many friends, I cried so many times, I hated you, I loved you, I missed you. I think the hardest part is I still think about you. Sometimes instead of thinking of all the shit you put me through, I remember the little fun times, and that’s what hurts the most. But you know what they say You just gotta roll with the punches, Even when you’re Coughing up blood. It was all just a matter of time. Sting There was a quiet sting. It was always there. Even when you hesitantly said “I love you” It was there. Time passed, I was covered in bees.
https://medium.com/@mialynn0819/heartbreak-poems-9207b7e88256
['Amelia Booker']
2020-12-18 18:50:34.983000+00:00
['Original', 'Poetry', 'Love', 'Heartbreak']
Ask A Silly Question
Written by Almost famous cartoonist who laughs at her own jokes and hopes you will, too.
https://marcialiss17.medium.com/ask-a-silly-question-1b4316cd3876
[]
2020-01-09 11:02:25.900000+00:00
['Humor', 'Celebrity', 'Comics', 'Funny', 'Retirement']
The Challenge: Double Agents Episode 6 Recap — Winners & Losers
It was a messy night in Iceland. Now that you’ve settled down from last nights mayhem and poor decision making sit down in your favorite chair, light up your favorite cigar, and settle into another edition of Double Agents: Winners & Losers. On this week’s recap we talk condiments, Disney channel best friends, a bunch of different relationship advice, and so much more… Winner: Hot Sauce Condiment caddies are nothing without hot sauce. Everyone’s got their favorite, but it’s an important part of any great eating area. And luckily the Challenge Gods provided the gang with a plethora of options. I spotted Franks Red Hot, classic Tobasco, and Sriracha throughout the house. I would have liked a bit more of a verde variety, or maybe some Valentina, but solid collection nonetheless. Winner: They’re Just Like Us! Something about watching Lolo Jones do a totally normal task like drying dishes makes me way happier than it has any right to. Winner: Mature TJ In any relationship, it’s important to understand the likes and dislikes of your partner. These little things you eventually learn to avoid saying or doing are necessary because you know it’s sandpaper to their soul. As fans we’ve been in somewhat of a tour guide/tourist relationship with TJ Lavin since at least 2005. That’s a long time to be with anyone. And in this relationship, we know that this particular partner hates quitters more than anything Last season, on Total Madness, Melissa found out she was pregnant DURING the Final Challenge. Fans, for the most part, knew about her pregnancy all season. Her and the cast during filming obviously did not. So when she announced to TJ that she was quitting mid-final, my heart skipped a beat. I thought TJ was just going to lay into her and I was already regretting it for him. No. Quitting. Period. But to the shock of everyone he took it easy on her, which leads us to this week. Lio went home because he realized this shit is hard and honestly not that fun. He didn’t fight his gut, he was dealing with a lot of mental health issues and took it upon himself to remove himself from the situation and get to a better place. Good on him, The Challenge really isn’t that important. If this was 2010, Lio would have stood no shot against the wrath of TJ Lavin. But now, in 2021 (holy shit, is it really?) TJ completely understands. We all get soft in our old age, it’s just a matter of time. Loser: True Love Between a German and an Olympian Just when you thought you clicked on a Challenge recap, here’s another fresh steaming plate of relationship advice for ya! Another key to a healthy long lasting relationship is how you handle adversity together. Whether it’s turmoil from within or outside pressure, the best relationships are able to maintain their core values through it all. I guess it doesn’t really matter how hot Nam is when you’re carrying an awkward log through five miles of treacherous Icelandic terrain. Lolo and Nam didn’t do great this week. In fact, I’d argue it was the most disappointing performance of the season overall. These are two top notch level athletes in a competition where athleticism is all you needed to succeed. These two crazy kids just faced their biggest challenge yet. Their relationship was a shining beacon of hope for all those jaded lovers out there. I can only hope the cobble things together before it’s too late. Winner: Clarity The teams that stand out above the pack really made themselves known last night. This was a mini-final through and through. Only thing it was really missing was an eating challenge and sleeping on a jagged rock surrounded by venomous snakes who haven’t been fed in three weeks. It was a good reminders for the Darrell and Theresa’s of the world as to what a Final is like, and a harsh lesson for all the newbies. If you couldn’t handle this, then you have no chance at TJ’s real final. Loser: Excuses Totally. Speaking of… Winner: Patience It was almost Challenge tradition for awhile there for toxic masculinity to leak out into competitions like this. The alpha male would get aggro against his under performing female partner who, God forbid, doesn’t do five hours of cross-fit a day. I still get uncomfortable thinking back to the Zach/Jonna partnership on Exes 2. But those antics just wouldn’t fly these days, and Fessy couldn’t have been more patient with Aneesa. It was actually really nice to see, and honestly I don’t know that I wouldn’t have outwardly shown my frustration towards her. I sure wouldn’t have been Zach about it, but the way Fessy handled it was super commendable. Down with the patriarchy, one frustrating mini-final at a time. Loser: Burger King Protein packs? I’m almost certain Jay and Theresa have their protein situation all sorted out by this point. After a bunch of shitty catered food to miss out on the that unbelievably greasy and delicious Whopper from seasons past must have been tough. Loser: Amber M. First off, shout out Lizzie Mcguire’s best friend Miranda Secondly, during another pointless deliberation when the Ashley rumors were flying full force, she decided to throw her two cents in. These are her words verbatim. Yeah but there’s also been a lot of other seasons where people want to have great competitors as partners but you have to realize you know that there’s a lot of people who have gassed out in Finals. Who fell down in Finals. Who didn’t make it. What the fuck are you talking about? Who are you even talking to? I guess sometimes we all say things just to say them, but we’re rarely being filmed doing it. Loser: Theresa Power can be a complicated thing. Some wield it well and with honor, and others maintain an unstable relationship with it. Watching Theresa write the blueprint on how not to handle that situation was captivating to watch. Like watching a new-born fawn trying to stand up, every step she took was completely tactless. Eventually this move is going to backfire on her as her new found allies start creeping away from her leaving her without a life raft. Winner: Kam And I’ma keep ya fresh, let the fish eat ya flesh/Yes sir please confess, just say she’s the best (Killa!) Loser: Ashley’s Abilities Ashley needs to stop being good at stuff. I know that sounds a little backwards, but it’s true. See Ashley’s found herself if an interesting place (Wes is sort of on this island with her as well). Her initial strategy was always to sort of float under the game-radar until all of a sudden the cast was whittled down to the end and she was still around. This strategy of being underestimated all the way to the finish line got her two wins and almost a third. Secrets out now though, and her move just is not going to work anymore. Her biggest issue is that because she’s not physically imposing, she always has a chance to lose an elimination. Or on the other hand win the elimination, but not necessarily have the heft for any meaningful retribution. So because the other competitors know that she has a great shot of winning the minute the Final Challenge starts, she is almost always going to have a target on her back. Coming in second in last night’s daily was the worst thing she could have done. Don’t remind everyone why they all wanted you out in the first place. Not sure what exactly she’s supposed to do about this conundrum. Any team format will benefit her moving forward, in a solo game she’s the embodiment of all the things you cannot train for coming into these shows. Which, in a way, makes her the most dangerous player in the game. Thanks again for reading! Be sure to check back on Sunday for the latest batch of my Power Rankings. Happy Challenge watching!
https://medium.com/@brianrbatty/the-challenge-double-agents-episode-6-recap-winners-losers-e294ebec63ac
['Brian Batty']
2021-01-22 00:09:32.471000+00:00
['Episode 6 Recap', 'Double Agents', 'MTV', 'The Challenge', 'TV']
How Was ‘Normal People’ Able to Capture the Defects of Our Generation?
Connell and Marianne, different tempers, similar outcomes Nada: « Men seem more concerned in limiting the freedom of women than exercising their own » Yes Marianne, louder for the people in the back, please! Marianne has always been very vocal about feminism matters. She’s witty, has no filter, true to herself, and above all exudes confidence. In fact, she was the one to make the first move on Connell, declaring bluntly that she likes him, much to his shock and disbelief. Quick detour here, can we please normalize this? If you like someone just tell them if they like you back, great! If not you move on. Either way, you win! Because you get an answer! Let’s be more like Marianne! Honest, direct. From an outsider’s point of view, Marianne seems the perfect example of a straight A’s student, privileged yet humble, smart, and self-assured. Slowly, throughout her interactions with Connell, we begin to get glimpses of a young woman eager to please her partner, no matter what, often offering to be willing to do whatever it takes to make Connell happy. He was always taken aback by her willingness to give herself entirely to him by doing whatever he desires, often telling her that she needs to think of herself first and foremost and only do things she feels at ease with. What an outsider fails to see is that Marianne comes from an abusive background, a father who was violent with her mother, the latter neglected and despised her, and at some point a brother that physically abused her. Moreover, at school, Marianne is no stranger to bullying her classmates frequently mocking her. Marianne developed a tendency to undervalue herself, hiding it well in front of strangers with witty remarks and sharp opinions, but failing to do so with her partners including Connell. She, point-blank, declares at some point that she feels unappealing and unloved, a heartbreaking revelation to both Connell and the viewer. “I like doing things for you,” she reveals to an uncomfortable Connell. For years, no matter her efforts to be the perfect daughter and sister, the model student, it was never enough for her family nor her classmates. This was her time to finally get that validation that she so desperately needs from a partner. Her aim is to please. Over the years, she accepts and demands submission from her partners. From a female perspective, it was gut-wrenching watching Daisy Edgar-Jones’ portrayal of a vulnerable Marianne, unclothed and naked, both literally and figuratively. I think a lot of women can relate to her desire to feed the male’s ego in the hopes of winning his approval and thus getting his validation. We, sometimes, find ourselves suppressing our qualities, undervaluing our worth, in order to make them feel, more important, valued, worthy. In retrospect, we feel validated in return. Women haven’t recently started to find their voice, they always had a voice, they just needed to feel empowered to use it (Thanks Meghan Markle for the reference!). In the end, — Spoilers Ahead — Marianne, with the help of Connell, finally found the strength to recognize her own worth. She felt empowered to stick up for what she wants. « I want to stay here, I want to live the life I’m living» says while encouraging Connell to leave. This is the first time we see her wanting something FOR HERSELF and only herself. This is the first time she’s not desperate to get anybody’s approval nor validation. She is worthy of love. And SHE KNOWS IT! Omar: On the other hand, Normal People put also a spotlight on men’s mental health, which is a matter that seems to be overlooked in today’s society, where the focus is mainly on women’s mental health. It was captured brilliantly through the dramatic descent into hell undergone by Connell who lost all of his landmarks, one after one. Society pictures males as mentally strong individuals and pressures them to affirm their masculinity through some characteristics that it identifies as masculine such as being strong, providers, emotionless, and so on. This adds another layer of difficulty when it comes to dealing with mental illnesses for males. Connell comes from a very different background than Marianne. As ideal as it looks, it hurt him in different ways. It affected his behavior towards her. But it also affected him personally as soon as he got away from his comfort zone and was left to himself. After failing to adapt to his new life in Dublin, being far from home, where he doesn’t feel like he belongs to anymore, being separated from Marianne who moved to Sweden, having to deal with day to day unsatisfying jobs, and losing his friend to suicide, and already drained Connell collapses into anxiety and then into depression. An episode dedicated to the matter left the whole stage for Paul Mescal’s brilliant performance in picturing a man falling mentally and physically. A breakdown that we are able to see and feel through the screen, sometimes with no dialogues, no context, just through the incredible ability of Paul to communicate the breakdowns of the character. In the end, we live in an era where, as a generation, we are asked for a lot more than ever before. We are not only expected to succeed but also to excel at what we do. Cities are crowded and places are limited, standing out takes dedication and consistency. We are also pressured to keep an active social life, to meet people’s standards in order not to be left out of the game. Friends after-works and family weekly gatherings are not enough anymore, we are expected to be ready to answer calls and messages 24/7, or we would be ignoring people. And while keeping up with all of this, we want to keep holding on to our dreams and we want to keep practicing that stimulating activity of ours. Minds and bodies are constantly solicited. If we keep asking too much from them, sometimes they fail to provide a response. So we keep battling, for ourselves, for our dreams, for life.
https://medium.com/cinemania/how-was-normal-people-able-to-capture-the-defects-of-our-generation-fd16bd2a93d0
['Omar Gahbiche']
2020-10-22 18:39:03.272000+00:00
['Life Lessons', 'TV Series', 'Review', 'Personal Growth', 'Movies']
Waiting
Sometimes waiting is not enough, because when I asked myself, "Why have I chosen this painful love for myself?" The heart answered,
https://medium.com/@nuzhiu/sometimes-waiting-is-not-enough-because-when-i-asked-myself-6d7138e1823f
[]
2020-12-25 12:08:05.506000+00:00
['Quotes', 'Thoughts And Feelings', 'Waiting', 'Love', 'Writing']
What the Heck is Genderfluid? Part 1
What the Heck is Genderfluid? Part 1 So your loved one just told you they’re genderfluid. Photo of the night sky by Federico Beccari on Unsplash. Congratulations! Coming out is a big step for any relationship — it shows that your loved one cares about you and trusts you enough to reveal a big part of their identity to you. “Yeah I guess,” you might be saying, “but what the heck is genderfluid?” Never fear, gentle reader. Your friendly neighborhood genderfluid writer is here to help guide you through some of the questions you might be asking right now. Keep in mind, however, that these are only my personal perspectives on the subject; every genderfluid person is different and the best way to know exactly what your loved one feels/needs is to politely ask them! What is genderfluid, anyway? Well, the Genderfluid page on the Nonbinary Wiki defines it this way: “Genderfluid is an identity under the multigender, nonbinary, and transgender umbrellas. Genderfluid individuals have different gender identities at different times. A genderfluid individual’s gender identity could be multiple genders at once and then switch to none at all, or move between single gender identities, or some other combination therein.” If you’re new to this whole nonbinary gender thing, I’d highly recommend checking out that page and other pages on the Nonbinary Wiki to explain unfamiliar terms and concepts. But to put it more plainly: genderfluid is a gender identity outside the gender binary. Instead of being just a man or woman (which are the only two options under the gender binary model) a genderfluid person may be a man at one time, a woman at another, both at once, or neither, or something completely different. “Nonbinary?” Is that the same thing as genderfluid? Not exactly — the two terms are related, but they mean different things. The genderfluid identity can count as a nonbinary identity (but not always; it depends on how the person self-identifies), but not all nonbinary people identify as genderfluid. Confused? That’s okay. Gender identities can be complex! For the sake of understanding, think of the genderfluid identity as being a subset of the nonbinary identity, a specific type from a larger group. But again, not every genderfluid person identifies as nonbinary! It’s a little silly, but imagine nonbinary identities are housecats and genderfluid identities are orange tabby cats; most orange tabby cats are housecats, but not all housecats are orange tabby cats. Make sense? Sure, okay. But why call it genderfluid? What makes the genderfluid identity unique is that for individuals who identify with the term, their gender is a moving target rather than a fixed point — hence, “fluid.” It can change quickly or over a long period of time. Think of gender like the stars in the night sky. For some people, their gender is Polaris; it doesn’t seem to move and can be easily identified. For other people, their understanding of (and relationship to) their gender shifts around over time but doesn’t fundamentally change; it’s the circumpolar stars, moving around but not rising or setting. But for genderfluid people, their gender moves and changes, sometimes slowly and sometimes rapidly; it’s the rest of the stars, circling and shifting and rising and setting with the seasons or even the time of night. The same way that there are no right or wrong stars, there’s no right or wrong way of understanding your gender. Polaris may be the easiest star to navigate by, but it’s the rest of the stars that give the night sky its beauty. But why name your gender at all? Why not just be yourself? Aren’t labels bad/confining? This is a question I’ve been asked a lot, usually by cisgender people who fit inside the accepted gender norms of their society and thus have never needed to explain their gender identity to other people. To them, it might seem like people who try to name their gender identity are “boxing themselves in,” and that it would be much more freeing to simply be themselves without labels. What’s important to understand is that there’s a big difference between defining yourself and being defined by someone else. Or as tumblr user Bisexual Baker brilliantly put it: As I am sure any cat owner will be able to tell you, someone else putting you in a box is entirely different from getting into a box yourself. And self-identification can be a bit of a paradox: sometimes you liberate yourself by confining yourself. Let me take this down to a personal level. Ever since I was a kid I had a quiet discomfort when it came to my gender; I didn’t feel fully like a girl but I didn’t feel fully like a boy either. Sometimes I felt more like one or more like the other, or like something in between, but it was constantly in flux. When I was young, the only word I really knew for not totally “fitting in” as a girl was “tomboy.” To be a tomboy meant a very rigid and specific set of things at the time, and I didn’t fit with all of them — especially the assumptions that being a tomboy meant being violent and athletic. Later on I learned the word “transgender,” but the experiences of the people I knew who identified that way— their dysphoria, their certainty about their true gender, their need to transition — didn’t fit me either. I began to get frustrated, thinking there was just something wrong with me — that I was confused or indecisive or in denial about who I really was. That I was broken. That I was alone. When I finally came across the term “genderfluid” and heard the concept explained in personal terms, everything clicked. “That’s me,” I thought, “and it isn’t just me!” Simply having a word to more accurately identify yourself gives you both a home and a community. It helps you connect with other people who might feel the way you do, who might share your fears and hopes and taste in memes. Knowing you’re not alone brings a sense of relief that nothing else can. Maybe it’s a box, but dammit, it’s my box. Wait! I have more questions! Never fear, gentle reader; this isn’t the end of my genderfluid FAQ. But because I know this subject can raise a lot of questions, I thought it would be best to break it up into a few bite-sized sections instead of throwing a wall of text at your likely already-overwhelmed self. Until next time, feel free to do your own research, and remember to check and change your gender fluid often!
https://medium.com/th-ink/what-the-heck-is-genderfluid-part-1-dd0f8b120ea9
['Zanne Nilsson']
2018-10-05 19:36:35.952000+00:00
['Gender Fluid', 'Nonbinary', 'Gender Identity', 'LGBT', 'Gender']
DOS via a billion laughs 😈
How can I defend against a billion laughs? Assuming that you cannot control the input directly and prevent XMLs with attacks from reaching you at all, I can think of 4 measures: Lazy evaluation of references : Instead of evaluating the whole document at once, the references are only resolved when necessary. It might solve some issues. : Instead of evaluating the whole document at once, the references are only resolved when necessary. It might solve some issues. No evaluation of references : Throwing the dangerous feature out of the window for sure means that you’re not vulnerable to the attack anymore. You need to make sure it doesn’t affect your users, though. Communicating this might be hard. : Throwing the dangerous feature out of the window for sure means that you’re not vulnerable to the attack anymore. You need to make sure it doesn’t affect your users, though. Communicating this might be hard. Reference recursion depth limit : The parser itself could be aware of this issue and have a threshold when it stops evaluating references. However, this might also lead to false-positives — documents that get not parsed, because the parser thinks it’s an attack. : The parser itself could be aware of this issue and have a threshold when it stops evaluating references. However, this might also lead to false-positives — documents that get not parsed, because the parser thinks it’s an attack. RAM restriction: You can run the code that might execute the billion laughs attack under resource restrictions. This means the execution thread/process receives a (catchable) exception and can continue execution normally. It might especially mean that even if the exception is not thrown, the rest of your system might be fine. Only that thread/process might be killed. So, how do you do this with Python? For XML, the simplest solution is to use the defusedxml package as pointed out by Diederik van der Boor (thank you!) The resource restriction is easiest: Restricting the parser is sometimes possible, sometimes not. It depends on your parser. Some have parameters like resolve_entities (lxml). Limiting the maximum decompression size was done against the HTTP/2 “HPACK” bomb (source). See also Kate Murphey wrote an awesome article about git bombs, check it out! What’s next? In this series about application security (AppSec) we already explained some of the techniques of the attackers 😈 and also techniques of the defenders 😇: And this is about to come: CSRF 😈 DOS 😈 Credential Stuffing 😈 Cryptojacking 😈 Single-Sign-On 😇 Two-Factor Authentication 😇 Backups 😇 Disk Encryption 😇 Let me know if you are interested in more articles around AppSec / InfoSec!
https://medium.com/bugbountywriteup/dos-via-a-billion-laughs-9a79be96e139
['Martin Thoma']
2020-12-26 07:57:49.282000+00:00
['Hacking', 'Software Development', 'Software Engineering', 'Programming', 'Cybersecurity']
HOW THE PANDEMIC HELPED ME TO DISCOVER MY “NEW” CITY
I moved to Providence, Rhode Island over a year ago for college and for biomedical research. Sometimes, though we’re living in the same place for so long, we subconsciously ignore the surroundings: great lakes that harbor the fishermen, everlasting hickory trees, or the secret beaches where no one goes, but which is surrounded by a couple of country houses and at afternoons, the sunset. After the pandemic, I decided to stay in this small city, Providence, with a couple of my friends to perhaps focus more on my studies and research, but what I didn’t anticipate was to rediscover every corner of Providence through these six months. From Prospect Terrace Park. Photo courtesy of the author For some people, sunsets symbolize an ending, but they are the ones that illuminate the night and the city once more time and yield a crimson sky. Prospect Terrace Park was my only stop when I had to take my coffee from Starbucks at 6 pm and go back to my home. It is right at the Congdon Street and throughout these six months, I’ve witnessed different kinds of sunsets, narrow streets, and cups of coffee. Across another sunset, I used to go there with my cup of coffee — Robusta. With the breeze, I was trying to capture the moment and watch the setting sun and the crimson sky. I could see the Providence, all of it, small houses at College Hill and the Financial District. This place, after a couple of weeks, turned into my stopping point to destress before my exams or important paper submissions. I rediscovered my love for photography in that park. Every sunset was worth capturing and I remember running there just to watch the redness of the sky and the dancing of the clouds. The view of the State House from the park, first Baptist Church of America, and the Providence Place Mall — they were all looking magical and in the middle of a pandemic, this kept reminding me of the how beautiful this city is, as long as the sun is keeping on shining above. With a little bit of sunlight, everything is forgettable except the beauty of the trees, the city, and the skyline.
https://medium.com/illumination/how-the-pandemic-helped-me-to-discover-my-new-city-467af490c046
['Merih Deniz Toruner']
2020-09-18 21:17:28.647000+00:00
['Coronavirus', 'Discovery', 'Pandemic', 'Photography', 'Rhode Island']
Reflecting on What United Democratic Club Accomplished in 2020
As 2020 draws to a close, it’s strange to think back on what a whirlwind this year has been. In March, we came together as a club to transition completely online and found ways to connect in isolation. We turned to our Slack to socialize, watch movies, and play games. We shared feelings of disbelief as our country’s leaders denied science, pride as Mayor Breed set the standard for how elected officials should respond to a public health crisis, and joy as we saw our hard work materialize into the victory of President-Elect Joe Biden and Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris. We came together in rage and grief over the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and too many other innocent Black Americans. We marched in the streets and renewed our efforts to combat systems of oppression and violence against Black and Brown communities. We had conversations about how to be antiracist and about understanding and acknowledging our privilege. Most importantly, we recognized how much work we have ahead of us in the fight for justice and equity. As part of our continued efforts to foster lasting, positive change, we held true to our United Democratic Club motto and we showed up to #DoTheWork. In 2020, we hosted 66 political engagement events and 13 panels and educational events. Our panels covered the intricacies of food insecurity, included a multi-event series on Race Talks where panelists spoke truth to the systemic racism that still seeps into every aspect of our lives, dove into how our behavior impacts public health, and shone a light onto how lawmakers used COVID-19 to attack a woman’s right to choose and as an excuse for xenophobic and racist immigration policies. By attending the Club’s events, you helped us raise money for causes including the San Francisco Marin Food Bank and Generation Citizen. And you helped us keep our sense of community when many of us felt so alone. During this momentous election year you all also made us proud Democrats! 497 people joined us to call and text our neighbors and our fellow Americans in other states (67% more than in 2019). joined us to call and text our neighbors and our fellow Americans in other states (67% more than in 2019). We completed more than 2,192 hours of political engagement shifts for our endorsed candidates and ballot measures. of political engagement shifts for our endorsed candidates and ballot measures. We hosted five educational forums about what was on the ballot. about what was on the ballot. Our Political Engagement team worked on more resolutions and letters supporting the causes we care about than ever before. And we’re not done yet! Below you will find more information on the Assembly District Election Meetings (ADEMs) Delegate race that is happening right now. Request your ballot now and read below to learn more about this race. 2020 has been a brutal year. In the midst of chaos, isolation, and loss, you have shown up. You have shared joy, passion, and community through our Club. Thank you for being a part of the United Democratic Club and for making us who we are. With gratitude, Kayleigh Lloyd President P.S. Not a member yet? Join us and be a part of the incredible work this group does!
https://medium.com/@uniteddemclubsf/reflecting-on-what-united-democratic-club-accomplished-in-2020-81753d37fc2f
['United Democratic Club']
2020-12-25 03:56:54.965000+00:00
['Reflections', 'Holidays', 'Democrats', 'Politics']
NVM: Multiple Node versions on a server? Use NVM for that!
Photo by Oladimeji Ajegbile from Pexels The Headache Chances are, if you’ve ever had to maintain a single application on a server, you’ve spent hours, maybe even days, looking like our friend over there. As tough as that may be, the reality is that a server will be used to host multiple applications, not just one. If you’re using Node.js to power your applications, as is the case with apps made using Angular, React, Ionic, etc., this can create quite a predicament. Consider deploying applications that rely on specific versions of Node.js, like v9.x.x, for instance. Everything is fine as long as all apps that are deployed to that server rely on the same versions of Node.js. You would, however, be setting yourself up for failure if you approach the problem in that way. Developers might want to develop new applications that rely on more updated versions of Node.js for various reasons, such as: The new update to Node.js provides valuable enhancements and possibly fixes older issues. Newer versions of frameworks like Angular and React require newer versions of Node.js to work. How would such a problem be resolved? Do you invest time and resources to update existing programs to work with new Node.js versions (definitely not efficient)? Do you create new servers for each version of Node.js (definitely not feasible)? Do you only develop on one version of Node.js (definitely not realistic…deprecation is a thing)? Such a headache!
https://medium.com/javascript-in-plain-english/nvm-multiple-node-versions-on-a-server-nvm-that-b8a2f8943648
['David Mcintosh']
2019-12-17 14:55:28.212000+00:00
['Nodejs', 'JavaScript', 'Software Development', 'Deployment', 'Web Development']
Read This Before Starting with Your Cryptocurrency Portfolio
Read This Before Starting with Your Cryptocurrency Portfolio #8 — How to choose the cryptocurrencies to invest on, and how to build a strategy Investing in cryptocurrencies is quite complicated, as complicated has monopoly, it’s not a game though , you have real money this time 😅—Source: https://www.facebook.com/cryptohubcentral/ Do know what cryptocurrencies to buy? I didn’t know either. Actually, I still don’t know what are the cryptocurrencies that will make me a millionaire. What I can tell you is how to build a portfolio, what are the questions to ask yourself, and a few rules that can help you to create a strategy. This article is part of my Learning challenge where I learn about one topic each month. As you can imagine, this month, I was learning about trading & cryptocurrencies. I based this studies on a book and a few article and ended up investing 1000€ on cryptocurrencies. Click here, if you want to know more about my methodology. How to build our portfolio Diversify The first rule to build a portfolio is to diversify it and the reason is simple, if you only buy one cryptocurrency and it crashes you lose all your money. By diversifying you reduce this risk. But in cryptocurrencies, at least today there is something you cannot fight against: when the bitcoin crashes, almost everything crashes (at least their price in USD). Because most of the altcoins are mostly traded with BTC. So their price is translated in BTC and then from BTC to USD. Know what you buy The second rule is simple Invest in what you know — Peter Lynch Actually, I would change it to Invest in what you know, understand and believe in. For example, if you don’t believe in the decentralization of currencies, don’t invest in cryptocurrency 😏. Invest money you are ready to loose The third rule is actually the main rule, I already said it and I will say it again, invest money that you don’t need right now, and also money you are ready to loose. Also, and this is specific in cryptocurrency since it’s something relatively new, and quite volatile, always keep in mind that you can lose all the money you invested in it. Diversify your portfolio. The taxonomy Before diversifying your portfolio of cryptocurrency you should diversify your investments depending on how much risk you want to take, you can put some money in your bank savings account, then a bit in stocks and finally in cryptocurrencies. Let’s talk about how to diversify in the cryptocurrencies market. There are different ways to diversify. Try not to buy only the same type of coin. To do this, you need to know what are the type of coins which exist and the different taxonomies to classify coins. Type of cryptocurrencies (Currency, Platform — includes smart contracts, Utility, Security, Asset-backed) Proof type (Proof of Stake, Proof of Work, …) Hashing algorithms (Scrypt, SHA-256, …) Mining profitability Anonymity Market capitalization (hight, middle, low) ICO Forked from Number of transaction per second Volatility Price correlation to another currency There are a lot of categories, you don’t need to buy all of them but avoid buying only one type of currency. You can get some of this information there: Coingecko — https://www.coingecko.com CryptoCompare — https://www.cryptocompare.com On the official website of the coin Or just google it Understand your coins You can find the questions you can ask yourself before buying a cryptocurrency. Does this coin/project have a purpose? If so what? Can they solve a real problem? How good is their team? How long have they been around? How strong is their code base? Do they have a roadmap? Are they transparent? Questions coming from this article, that I recommend you to read! Here are a few coins which I tried to group together using some of the previous taxonomy. Currencies/Digital Cash
https://medium.com/learning-lab/read-this-before-starting-with-your-cryptocurrency-portfolio-4bcb029eec0f
['Sandoche Adittane']
2019-08-15 13:45:32.881000+00:00
['Cryptocurrency Investment', 'Bitcoin', 'Ethereum', 'Investing', 'Cryptocurrency']
Can I Send My EOS I Bought on an Exchange To My Ethereum Address Which is Registered To EOS?
Can I Send My EOS I Bought on an Exchange To My Ethereum Address Which is Registered To EOS? Stellabelle Follow Aug 13, 2017 · 3 min read EOS infographic Many people are asking this exact question and after searching the internet for several days, I couldn’t find the answer. So a trip into the EOS Telegram room, and several people helped me. Thanks Fuzzy! This infographic is based on the answers I received plus a fantastic EOS guide on Steemit that was written by Sandwich: https://steemit.com/eos/@sandwich/contributing-to-eos-token-sale-with-myetherwallet-and-contract-inner-workings This guide was the best out there as far as explaining how the EOS public key mapping works, and the deadline to do that is June 3, 2018. There’s a lot of confusion surrounding the public key mapping of the EOS tokens, and rightly so. Most people don’t understand what is going on. After spending several full days unraveling this stuff, I think I know how to explain it in a clear way. This mostly applies to people using MyEtherWallet. EOS has setup their own method which is easy to use with Chrome and MetaMask. However, not everyone uses Chrome, so there is a need for people to figure out the steps associated with MyEtherWallet. Here goes: The EOS blockchain is not alive yet, but it will be after June 2018 (that’s the target date). These new EOS tokens will have specific functionalities, and these will only be live on the EOS blockchain in the future. In order to get these new EOS blockchain tokens that will exist in the future, you need to register your Ethereum wallet address with a public key to EOS. So all the EOS you own now will need to be in that same Ethereum wallet that you registered with EOS. Think of it this way: your Ethereum wallet that holds your EOS tokens is like a house, with an address. You put your EOS tokens inside this house. But the future EOS blockchain has no idea where this house is. You must register your Ethereum wallet address with EOS so that you can get your new EOS tokens that reside on the future EOS blockchain. When the snapshot of all EOS token ownership is taken in the future, your Ethereum wallet that holds EOS will be included in this snapshot as long as you registered it. When this snapshot is taken, you will be able to claim the real live EOS blockchain tokens. But only those who registered their tokens with EOS will be given these new EOS blockchain tokens. So, a page has been set up in order to generate your public-private key pair for the future EOS blockchain. The person who created it states: This will generate a private and public key pair for the EOS chain. The code is not mine. It is forked from the code the EOS team built. The difference is that this works in any browser without the web3 dependency. It will work in any browser and you don’t need any plugins. I’ve also removed everything else except the key generation bits. Go here to generate your public-private key pair for EOS: https://nadejde.github.io/eos-token-sale/ Personally, If I were running EOS, I’d set up a technical helpline on the days before the snapshot, because I bet there will be a significant number of people who don’t understand what needs to happen and why. This stuff is pretty complicated because we are talking about future events, new technology that barely anyone understands and snapshots of a blockchain that doesn’t currently exist. I’m looking forward to what EOS creates since creating smart contracts on Ethereum can be a costly endeavor that occurs accidentally. A friend of mine bought $35 worth of EOS through the crowdsale and ended up accidentally spending $12 in ETH gas fees in the process. The ETH gas fee was set automatically too high and my friend didn’t know she could manually adjust this amount.
https://medium.com/hackernoon/can-i-send-my-eos-i-bought-on-an-exchange-to-my-ethereum-address-which-is-registered-to-eos-c001e287a0e0
[]
2018-10-03 16:06:30.812000+00:00
['Steemit', 'Eos', 'Future', 'Ethereum', 'Blockchain']
Circuits breakers dans une architecture microservices :
Master engineering and management student at Centrale Lille - ITEEM, passionate about scala and looking forward to discovering new things about it.
https://medium.com/@ridakejji/circuits-breakers-dans-une-architecture-microservices-6b539952effa
['Rida Kejji']
2020-12-30 22:43:21.347000+00:00
['Circuit Breaker', 'Microservices', 'Spring', 'Software Engineering', 'Java']
RAND Commentary Highlights from 2020
What the G-20 Can Do About Coronavirus By Charles P. Ries Published March 29 in The Wall Street Journal “Cooperation among G20 members will prove critical to enabling the world to combat the disease and recover from the economic damage it is causing. The G20, chaired by Saudi Arabia, brings together the countries that can make a difference: China, the United States, major European countries, Russia, Australia, Brazil, Japan, South Korea, Turkey, and South Africa, among others. Communiqués will not be enough, however. Joint actions will be required.” After the Coronavirus: America Needs to Reengage With the World, Not Retreat From It By Krishna B. Kumar and James Dobbins Published March 31 in USA Today “The COVID-19 pandemic is bound to raise questions about what direction America should take in the future. Should the United States continue on the path of globalization and become further integrated with the global community, to benefit from resulting gains and collectively solve problems? Or should it make permanent some of the barriers that have been erected to fight the epidemic, whose origins lie on foreign shores, and become less globalized?” As America Reopens, We Need to Offer Caregivers a Lot More Support By Heather J. Williams and Bobbi Thomason Published June 4 in CNN Business Perspectives “As some workplaces start to reopen and work-from-home guidelines relax, corporate leaders may hope things will quickly get back to normal. But for employees who are also caregivers, that’s likely not going to be the case. In this transitional period of the pandemic, companies should pursue giving caregivers the time they need — particularly in terms of time off — and to create a work culture where they can use it.” COVID-19 Pandemic Run on Guns Underscores the Need for More Research — About Gun Safety By Andrew R. Morral and Jeremy Travis Published June 17 in USA Today “Shortages of toilet paper at neighborhood grocery stores have become a symbol of the nation’s response to the COVID-19 virus, but recent reports suggest that people also reacted to the pandemic by purchasing firearms and ammunition in massive numbers. What can policymakers do to ensure that a spike in sales doesn’t result in more injuries or deaths? Unfortunately, the body of evidence is thin, which leaves lawmakers with limited objective policy guidance. But things are starting to change. Last year, Congress passed and President Donald Trump signed into law the first major federal funding for gun policy research in more than 20 years.” National Security and Workplace Flexibility Aren’t Incompatible After All By Lisa Davis Published July 17 in The Washington Post “When I worked as a civilian at the Pentagon, managers sardonically joked that they supported flexible work arrangements — just as long as we sat at our desks from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. in business attire. During the novel coronavirus pandemic, however, flexibility became a matter of survival for all employers — including Defense. Quite suddenly, information technology and human resources departments have kept thousands of national security personnel on the job via home internet connections. The question now is whether the Defense Department will keep these adaptations or go back to its rigid ways.” Too Interconnected to Fail By Jonathan William Welburn and Aaron Strong Published July 23 by The Wall Street Journal “The 2007–08 financial crisis made regulators and lawmakers acutely aware that some financial institutions had become too big to fail. The next big economic crisis may arise outside the financial sector, in highly networked companies that are too interconnected to fail. In January, we published a report that examined the connections between all types of enterprises in the U.S. economy. We discovered many nonfinance firms whose failure could cause major economic fallout.” How the COVID-19 Pandemic and George Floyd Protests Could Give Rise to Terrorism By Brian Michael Jenkins Published August 16 by NBC News / THINK “Armed conflicts fuel plagues: Until very recently in history, disease killed more people in wars than battle. But plagues can also fuel conflict, and COVID-19 may be no exception. The conditions facing the United States today are reminiscent of those that gave rise to the radicalism of the 1970s and could once again lead to political violence, including terrorism.” There Are Racial Disparities in American Unemployment Benefits. That’s by Design By Kathryn A. Edwards Published Oct. 3 in the Los Angeles Times “There’s a longstanding accusation leveled at the country’s unemployment insurance system that has been revived lately — that it’s structurally racist, deliberately discriminatory from the outset and remains so today. The claim has been subject to some debate. Is it intentional, or just incidental that that Black workers benefit less? Underlying the debate is a legitimate question: Why doesn’t unemployment insurance treat all workers and all earnings the same?” How Biden Can Stop ‘Truth Decay’ and Restore the Public’s Faith in Facts By Michael D. Rich and Jennifer Kavanagh Published Nov. 19 by the Los Angeles Times “President-elect Joe Biden has been clear about his agenda: control the pandemic, recover economic stability, advance racial equality, and confront climate change. To accomplish any of these, however, another pressing issue will have to be tackled. The Biden administration must begin rebuilding Americans’ trust in their government and public institutions.” Biden’s Nomination for New National Intelligence Director Sets the Tone By John V. Parachini and J.D. Williams Published Nov. 25 by The Hill “President-elect Biden faces a wide range of policy options once he is inaugurated in January. Among them may be restoring the role of the U.S. Intelligence Community as a valued source of insights to underpin decisionmaking in the White House. As a first step Biden has chosen a new Director of National Intelligence (DNI) who has experience in both the IC and the White House that equips her to lead a renaissance in intelligence affairs.” This originally appeared on The RAND Blog on December 18, 2020.
https://medium.com/rand-corporation/rand-commentary-highlights-from-2020-843220160954
['Rand Corporation']
2020-12-18 22:27:38.270000+00:00
['Racial Discrimination', 'Media Literacy', 'Covid 19', 'Unemployment', 'Guns']
My Top 10 Reads of 2020 Part 1
It’s hard to believe that we’re at the end of another year. 2020 has certainly been a strange year — who would have thought on New Year’s Day 2020 what lay ahead for all of us. So many businesses and individuals have been impacted financially, and we’ve had to resort to online platforms to be able to see loved ones. Many lives have been lost to this pandemic, most without the physical presence of a loved one nearby. In the book world, many books had publishing dates pushed back, book tours cancelled and the creation of so many online resources allowing readers to hear their favourite authors talk about their books. I have really appreciated being able to connect with so many of my fellow readers and bloggers and really enjoy this community. I have enjoyed well over a hundred books this year in audiobook, ebook and printed formats. Reading and writing about my love of books has really provided a sense of purpose to my days, and I hope I bring a little something to the online community along the way. Without further adieu, I bring to you the first five of my Top Ten Reads of 2020 in no particular order. Feel free to click on the link after each book’s description to read my full review. Rarely do I read a contemporary romance novel and rate it as a five star read, so when I do you will know it is something special. Emmie Blue is a charming thirty year old woman who has overcome many hardships in her life. She has a father which she has never known, and a mother who she has had limited contact with since she was fourteen. She has recently come out of a relationship which was difficult in itself, but also required her to move from her own place to renting a room at the home of an older woman. Luckily she has her friends Rosie and Fox, who work with Emmie at the hotel, and her best friend Lucas who is affectionately known as balloon boy. Emmie first met Lucas when she was sixteen. She had released a balloon with a note only to have it found over 100 miles away by Lucas. I highly recommend this book to those who want to read a lovely piece of fiction. My review of Dear Emmie Blue I was highly entertained by this storyline which I categorize as a combination of Women’s Fiction/Thriller. The story surrounds three college friends — Mackenzie, Robin and Lily who now twenty years later are living in the same perfect neighbourhood. On the outside, these women have perfect lives. Two of them are presently married with children. However, as the book reveals, not everything is as perfect as it seems. Told from the point of view of all three women, we learn that secrets, disloyalties and deceptions from the past and present are sometimes stronger than the bonds of friendship. My review of One Perfect Morning This General Fiction story begins in 2020 when Mallory Blessing’s son Link is given instructions to call the phone number in her desk drawer. Link follows her direction, and is surprised to hear Jake McCloud’s voice at the end of the phone. He wonders how his Mom knows this man — after all, Jake’s wife Ursula is running for President of the United States. The book then retraces the events leading to 2020, beginning in 1993 when Mallory is a young woman. She has just inherited a cottage in Nantucket from an aunt. She is drawn to this part of the world and soon decides to make this her home. When her brother Cooper announces his engagement, he calls Mallory to ask she will host a bachelor party in her new cottage for him and a few friends over the Labor Day weekend. He includes his college buddy, Jake McCloud, who Mallory has never met but has talked to at length over the phone during Cooper’s college days. Eager to show off her new cottage and town, Mallory agrees. After a turn of events, Jake and Mallory are left alone for much of the remainder of the weekend, which turns out to be the perfect weekend. And so begins the tradition of Jake and Mallory getting together each Labor Day weekend, no matter what, to rekindle their romance. They eat the same food, watch Same Time, Next Year and spend a weekend of romance. That is, until Mallory learns she is dying. My review of 28 Summers If I Never Met You is a beautiful story of friendship, heartbreak and self-discovery. Laurie is a 36 year old successful lawyer who has been in love with her boyfriend and co-worker Dan for the past 18 years. They have a mortgage, successful careers and have recently discussed starting a family. Then, out of no where, Dan announces to her that he’s leaving her to “go find himself”. He assures her there is not another woman involved, but has to take a step back from this when he announces ten weeks later that he has met someone from a competing law firm and they are expecting a baby together. Needless to say, Laurie is grief-stricken and humiliated but trying to carry on with life. A chance elevator breakdown with her law firm’s playboy Jamie leads to drinks together and a frank discussion about what is happening in their lives. Jamie has requested to be made a partner in the firm, but has been told his playboy lifestyle would not get him there. Laurie wants Dan to see the mistake he made and come back to her. The two develop a relationship of mutual benefit — acting as though they are a couple in hopes that they will both get what they want. My Review of If I Never Met You The story is told from a dual-narrative, one of the most interesting ways in my opinion to develop a plot. In this book, Morgan Christopher is the first protagonist and her story is told from 2018. After accepting an opportunity to be released from jail for a crime she didn’t commit, she is assigned the task of restoring a mural originally painted by the second protagonist, Anna Dale, who painted the original in 1940. The book moved me the way a good book always does. The author deals with several sensitive issues including racism, sexual abuse and mental health and manages to make an impression of these issues without horrifying the reader. My Review of Big Lies in a Small Town Have you added any of these books to your To Be Read list? I’ll be sharing the remaining five books from My Top 10 Reads of 2020 in a post next week. As always, thanks for your support of my blog. It is really appreciated. To those of you who celebrate, I wish you a safe and Merry Christmas! 🎄
https://medium.com/@thathappyreader/my-top-10-reads-of-2020-part-1-6d7515ec5687
['That Happy Reader']
2020-12-22 14:07:10.656000+00:00
['2020', 'Book Recommendations', 'Fiction', 'Books', 'Thriller']
Three Reasons to Buy a House
Three reasons to buy 1) Limited Supply Money flows from one asset to another in this economy. If you ever watch Bloomberg or CNBC or any of the “money” networks, you hear about money is moving towards large-cap stocks, or small-cap stocks, or bonds… commodities, gold, silver, real estate, or even just leaving their money in cash. The big guys, the hedge funds and private equities, etc., have teams of people trying to figure out which asset class is about to take off, which is about to collapse, or simply in which can they eke out another percent or two over the other asset classes over the next year. In this flow of money, you will notice one thing in particular. The reason that whenever the worries about the future of the economy get to a particular point, gold prices go up (as well as bitcoin these days). This is simply because there is a finite supply of gold (and bitcoin). Well, Real Estate is the same way. God isn’t creating more land. Supply is finite. And if you have ever looked at a population growth chart over the last 100 years, you can see demand has been exploding. Population growth will slow down and reverse eventually but not for at least a hundred years or so by all projections. This doesn’t mean that real estate doesn’t go through cycles where prices rise and fall. It doesn’t mean that certain locations don’t rise and fall faster than others. But it does mean over a long enough span of time; prices will keep going up. 2) Your life is settled (at least for a while) i.e., you won’t have to sell in a couple of years. The problem you probably thought about above is, well, what if I have to sell in three or four years to move for a job, family, military posting, or just because I’m young and want to experience new places, things, etc. Well, yes, if you are planning on moving soon, then there is the chance that you will have bought at a peak and prices will drop, which is not a smart move. So, make sure you believe you will be in your current location for at least five or so years. Experts will tell you that the breakeven point where it makes more sense to buy vs. rent is three years. But there are assumptions baked into that calculation that doesn’t include a real estate crash. They assume rent is increasing by a certain percentage; housing prices are increasing by a certain percentage, your closing costs were a certain percentage, and so on. They don’t assume housing will crash 20–30% next year. So, there is no hard answer here, but I would say make sure you plan to stay at least five years. Pro-tip — are you currently living in your hometown? Do you have family, friends, parents, etc., around you? Maybe consider buying anyway, even if you are not so certain where you will be in a few years. You can turn your property into a rental when you leave. You will be returning to your home frequently (or at least occasionally), so you can check in on your property, and when you are not there, you have support from family and friends to help you out. 3) Leverage Ok, this is the best reason of all to buy. Let’s say you have $25K and are deciding whether to put that into a down payment or put it into stocks. If you put it into stocks and say buy the S&P 500, which goes up 10% next year. You’ve made a nice $2.5K—a nice 10% return. If you put down 5% on a $500K house and real estate prices, go up 10% next year. You’ve made a much better return on your money. $50K on a $25K investment or a 200% return. That is called leverage. Using debt to increase your purchasing power, allowing for greater returns. Three reasons not to 1) The mortgage interest rate deduction What do you say? Surely, this should be in the three reasons above? Well, not after the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCAJ) was passed. This was the bill that doubled the standard deduction as well as placed a cap on the mortgage interest deduction, so it only applies to your mortgage up to $750K. I’m sure you’ve heard of the mortgage interest deduction. And you probably have heard advice if you have been thinking about buying a house for any time how buying a house has great tax advantages. Unfortunately, that is “had” great tax advantages. It no longer does. So, here’s the thing. A taxpayer has to choose between itemizing and taking the standard deduction, which doubled from $6,350 in 2017 to $12,000 for a single taxpayer. And it will be $12,550 in 2021. This made it, so most people no longer itemize. To understand this. If you purchased a $400K house with a 3.5% interest rate, you would pay $13,183.76 in interest in the first year of the mortgage. You can either deduct this in your itemized deductions. Or take the standard deduction in 2021 of $12,550. So, in this example, you will be able to reduce your income, on which you pay taxes, by $634 by itemizing ($13,183.76 — $12,550). Which, let’s say you are in the 24% tax bracket would save you $152 on your taxes in year one. But hold on, because by year four, this benefit is completely gone as your mortgage interest in year four is down to $12,377.62. And actually, it might be gone by year two because the standard deduction goes up every year. A couple of caveats. If you have other itemized deductions such as medical or charitable deductions, it may become more of a benefit to itemize. And of course, if interest rates go up and your mortgage interest rate is 4 or 4.5%, it may become more of a benefit. But then, if you are married and file jointly… well, then the standard deduction is doubled to $25,100, so all that benefit goes away unless you buy an $800K house. Actually, just kidding. That is where the $750K cap on your mortgage comes in. Tax Summary Here’s a summary for those of you that just glazed over due to all the tax talk. Taxpayers in 2017 and prior used to itemize their taxes primarily due to the ability to take the mortgage interest deduction. However, it is estimated that those that itemized their taxes went from 26% to 10% from 2017 to 2018 due to the increased standard deduction. So, again to summarize, the tax advantages of owning a home went away for most people due to the 2017 TCAJ Act. 2) Flexibility I already discussed this above; this is just the other side. If you are young, are figuring out how to move cities, or are planning on traveling the world soon. Or just don’t want to have burdens and responsibilities tying you down . Or just want to be able to up and move on a whim to take a better job and keep moving up that ladder, or because that girl or guy you just met lives on the other coast. Well, then this probably isn’t the time to buy. 3) Leverage But this is an advantage you said above, right? Well, the thing about leverage is it can work for you or against you. If you made that same $500K purchase in the example above in 2007 and by 2010, the market was down 30%… or god forbid you bought in Vegas or Phoenix in early 2008, and it is now down 50% or more. Well, then you just lost $150K or $250K in the value of your home. But here’s the thing. Remember, in the first point above, where land is a finite supply. Well, even those markets have returned to the pre-housing collapse levels about five years ago. So, if you are planning on holding that property for the long term, then you mitigate that risk. But of course, it would have been so much better to put $500K into a house in 2010 vs. 2007. In fact, you would be several $100K ahead now if you bought in 2010. Just a thought for the next time you see an asset collapse.
https://themakingofamillionaire.com/three-reasons-to-buy-a-house-6e59ab8647d5
['David Ferrara']
2020-12-04 23:19:58.125000+00:00
['Housing', 'Economy', 'Real Estate', 'Taxes', 'Personal Finance']
Before Getting Too Far With 2020 Resolutions…
A Year-End Review of (Personal) Business It’s mid-January, 2020. Are you stuck on the inside lane, circling the resolution roundabout? Perhaps it’s mighty high time to take a cue from The People in Business. (They’re all about Reviews. Year-End Reviews. Quarterly Reviews.) They recommend it for business business. You could be doing that in your personal business as well. You know, before striking out on the adventure of being better. I know I definitely should be. So I’ll go first. Before I Make Any 2020 Resolutions (and I’m not saying I will)… What Worked in 2019 Texts with my husband. More on this in a future post. Turning kid-schlepping into mini-adventures. Parenting can make us crazy; we might as well make it fun. Turning long weeks into mini-adventures. See #2. Saying “no.” It’s a complete sentence. Letting things roll off my back. And down the hallway. And around the corner. Pauses. Getting up way early. (I’m a morning bird. You might not be.) Going to bed early. Intermittent fasting. Or as I like to call it, “not eating.” Taking even more walks. Even if I only have a few minutes. Being part of a mastermind group. Going on a first-ever trip with my sister. Giving more time to friends and making new ones. What Really Did Not Work in 2019 Taking little decisions too seriously. Life will likely not be forever altered if we decide to skip this one thing this week. Letting other people put things on my to-do list. Generally speaking, if others initiate the words, I should step back and let others…initiate the action. Holding grudges. Sometimes it’s this. Sometimes it’s #5 from the first list. That one is better. Letting food splurges become binges. Lack of paper organization all up in the household. Allowing anxiety to get the best of me during daily transitions with my children. Maybe those should be mini-adventures as well. Before You Resolve, Review Don’t put the proverbial cart before the horse. Review the horse’s year. Make sure the animal is well-fed and healthy. Well-groomed. Cared for. Make sure the cart has no loose hinges or broken wheels. If so, address those things. Perhaps a repair is in order. Perhaps a new cart is needed. Take care of all that. Then, carry on.
https://medium.com/@rhondafranz/before-getting-too-far-with-2020-resolutions-216010601957
['Rhonda Franz']
2020-01-15 13:36:59.333000+00:00
['Resolutions', 'Planning Ahead', 'Productivity', 'Goals', 'Year End Review']
Is your work making you sick!. What an interesting topic, something so…
What an interesting topic, something so many of us never think about. As health professional I never realised that my work was making me sick until it was too late. I am writing this because I am sure I am not alone and that there are many others with similar experiences but to frightened to speak out. I left school to train as a nurse, I had no idea as a young 18 year old high school graduate what my new found career would do to my mental and physical wellbeing over time. I also did not know or understand the hierarchical system that I was entering and that it was a time of very little safe guards. It was 1990 just pre the gulf war and I thought I was in a modern work force and modern world. I was one of approximately 25 student enrolled nurses to begin training in school 135 of the May of 1990. We were all excited for the future and the opportunity to care for others and make a difference in the world. Sadly we were taught manual handling the old fashioned way cradle lifts and shoulder lifts, pivot stands. Hard to believe in todays world of no lift and OH&S laws that nursing schools of 1990 could still have been teaching us practices that would knowingly cause injury to us with no respect for our wellbeing. Lifting machines where readily available back then but rarely used. I share this information because nurses in Australia every day are being injured emotionally and physically and we don’t have a system that looks after them even in 2020. Sadly our nurses who care for us when we are sick, who provide us with empathy, care and hope in times of need are left broken and our system does not have ability to provide them with adequate help or security for the future. Hospital management see injured nurses as a risk and rarely assist in their return to work. I have been injured in the work place so many times and never took action until one day I couldn’t do it any more and I was so unwell I could not care any more. Unfortunately when I finally decided I needed to report what was going on and it was time to have a break I was quickly moved side ways. There was no phone call to enquire as to my wellbeing, just a note to ask for the return of equipment. Then in the months to follow a letter of termination. This story is unfortunately a very familiar story for many broken nurses. After 18 months of therapy and loads of family support and encouragement I have said good by to my broken career and 3 years of university training and 30 years of nursing experience. Unable to stomach the thought of ever working for an employer again to have my sense of freed om and power abused again. So today I am rebuilding my a career in caring for others like me who have struggled with obesity due to stress and trauma. I am now a naturopath helping women just like me, many of whom are often in female dominated professions who have not looked after their health and been valued for their amazing contribution. I help these women to under stand the stress response and how it affects their hormones so they can lose weight and feel beautiful again. If you have a story of how the work place has made you sick I would love to hear it. Please feel free to message or email me so you can share your story also. I hope you enjoyed reading this and please feel free to share..
https://medium.com/@jodicampbell-56725/is-your-work-making-your-sick-ab64d624f044
['Jodi Campbell']
2020-12-21 10:52:28.235000+00:00
['Work Life Balance', 'Mentalhealth', 'Courage', 'Workplace Safety', 'Wellness']
Why Blockchain Will Kill Facebook.
Blockchain social media will free us from tech monopolies. After the Capitol riots on January 6th, and former president Donald Trump voicing his tacit approval of the matter, he was banned from Twitter and soon thereafter most other websites. Let that sink in, even the most powerful person on the planet is subject to the whims of big-tech and this is an increasing concern. Then, when there were rumors that he might go to a competing platform, they were throttled by their hosting systems, threatened by advertisers, etc. Regardless of what you feel about the man, he was still a democratically elected leader of a world superpower at the time. If he can essentially be wiped out of the internet instantly, then us normal people are far from immune in regards to this. Even from a market competition standpoint and maintaining a healthy economy, it’s become evidently clear that we need alternative social media sites. The problem though is that the alternatives tend to just be a bad clone with less functionality, or they’re still fundamentally the same creatures, which just haven’t had the chance to grow and influence the market. We need an alternative, a real one. One where we users are in charge of our experience and our data. Whichever side of the political spectrum that you are in, we need a fundamental reframing of social media so as to prioritize the interests of the users, instead of big tech, which will merely try to protect the status quo that has enabled them to gain their monopoly. One such alternative is to structure social media via a Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO). These are blockchain entities that allow their constituent members to have full control over the data they share. Furthermore, they can be managed in a decentralized manner, and are thus much less likely to succumb to censorship and peer pressure from big tech platforms. The future of blockchain, and indeed of the internet in general, might increasingly no longer be dependent on the desires of monolithic companies that control everything. Instead, in this era of hyper-segmentation, we might see that we can recover some of that lost sense of community and restructure our society to see value in the user again, instead of treating them as endlessly disposable.
https://medium.com/waceo/why-blockchain-will-kill-facebook-381a4e9e6409
[]
2021-06-17 12:08:03.808000+00:00
['Decentralized Finance', 'Blockchain', 'Facebook', 'Cryptocurrency', 'Startup']
Teaching During a Pandemic
Teaching During a Pandemic 2020 has been quite a year for teachers. These are things that I have observed during the year of the pandemic: First, a little background since it could make quite a difference between my own and another’s experiences. I am currently a middle school social studies teacher in central Georgia. I have been teaching here since 2007 and started out as an elementary school teacher. I’ve been at the middle school level for 6 years now. Middle school suits me, as I can be a bit sarcastic and this age “gets it.” I am one of the lucky few whose classroom is outside in a learning cottage (LC), aka trailer, so that also affects my classroom environment. You may not think that being stuck in a trailer all day with 30 plus kids is lucky but it does come with its benefits. For example, students who are on my team and have me for social studies class get to spend at least a bit of their day outside. I’m an outdoorsy type anyway, so I let them go out for a breather without a mask when I can. Another benefit of being in the LC is that we are not dealing with the massive hallway traffic generated by the middle schoolers in the building and hardly anyone wants to make the effort to come out here, so we’re left alone. Bad weather pretty much guarantees that I won’t have any observations or visits from admin that day. Last March we started seeing news of a new virus called the Corona Virus, spreading to the United States. As we were going through our usual routines at school, we received notice one day that we should take our laptops home just in case schools were closed for a few days. When we went home that day, we took only our basic teaching necessities. To everyone’s shock, we received notice that our school system would be closed after all. Students were sent home, communities went into lockdown with curfews, and workers were sent home from their jobs. What we thought would be a few days out of school turned into weeks. It began as the entire system being closed and no teaching or learning going on. When it became obvious that this would be long-term, it was necessary to implement an entirely new way of teaching. Very few teachers had experience teaching in an online environment and so we really had no idea what to do. Our school board provided some quick training to get us all online, but it was extremely intimidating for us. Logistics were a nightmare. Students had left their Chromebooks and textbooks at school and couldn’t retrieve them, parents had to arrange emergency childcare provisions, and some did not have WiFi at home to handle online classes. Facebook was flooded with parent complaints and concerns. A great many posts reflected that parents felt that if we were teaching from home, then we weren’t really working and that we should not be getting paid. They felt that since school buildings were closed then taxes that pay for schools to run should be cut. Parents were concerned that their children were no longer being educated at all and that they had all of a sudden become the “babysitters” and educators themselves. While truck drivers and first responders were being hailed as heroes, teachers were viewed as sitting home getting paid for nothing. Were the students getting the same quality of education when the county went to remote learning? Probably not. I know that I was unable to be as effective online as I was face-to-face in the classroom. I had never taught online, so I was very confused. I had never attended a virtual meeting and was now expected to start four new ones each day to meet with my classes. I was expected to teach 131 students using only technology. Stress became a large part of daily life for us, just as it did for everyone else whose lives were changed drastically with the introduction of the virus. I had students who did not sign on to our virtual classrooms and so I could not even teach them through that platform. We marked missing students absent, as we had always done. We were then told that if they completed any work we were to mark them present whether they signed into class or not. Rather than marking assignments as missing, which would count as a zero we had to just leave that space blank in the gradebook. That way it had no effect on their grade point average. Students very quickly figured this out and some just chose to do absolutely nothing. Parents continued to post angry comments online, stating that we were still doing absolutely nothing. All the while we were scrambling to learn and teach at the same time. Was it perfect? Far from it. Did the students continue to learn at the previous level? No. Different factors contributed to this. We did not know how to teach this way. Student attendance was sporadic and completion of assignments was mostly done by those students who cared what their grade was. Many did not, and many were being exposed to parents’ negative comments about the teachers and schools. Policies and procedures were changed frequently, leaving us feeling like we were scrambling to keep up. We would tell students and parents one thing and then find that it had been changed, causing us to have to reach out to retract what we had said. That occasionally happens in our “normal” world, but the frequency that it happened at the beginning of Covid added layers to the stress level that was already rising. State testing was cancelled for the spring, giving students even more cause not to care. I am not saying that we should have had state testing. I believe that cancelling it was the right decision. It was just something else that I believe affected students’ lack of motivation to do well. By the end of the year, we were told that students would not be retained and would move on to the next grade. Even students who had not joined class or done any work since the beginning of March would be placed into the next grade level in May. Together, these things and more combined to stress teachers, cause discord between us and the community, and hinder students’ education for three whole months. Teachers resigned, took early retirement, and the rest of us cried. We cried for ourselves and we cried for our students. Fast forward to preplanning in July for the beginning of the new school year. Communities are no longer on lockdown, although masks are required for most stores. Restaurants offer curbside service, but no indoor dining. Stores off curbside pickup and if they allow shoppers indoors, numbers are limited. Shoppers line up outside of stores waiting for other shoppers inside to finish and leave so that the next person can go in. Things like Lysol, hand sanitizer, and paper towels are sold out everywhere. People have pretty much split into three groups. The first group consists of those who are afraid to go out or allow anyone into their homes and continue on a self-imposed quarantine. Then there is a middle group. That group holds people who will wear masks and keep their hands and belongings sanitized, but are okay with going out in public. The last group is made up of those who are convinced it is a government conspiracy and that the mask requirement is a form of government control. That group peacefully rebels against following suggested protocols. Preplanning was well planned out by the county. Planning days were extended to be able to provide the teachers with as much training as possible. Required teaching platforms were taught and optional programs were introduced to those who were interested. We were beginning to come together on the same page, although most of us were worried that we would fail our students by not “doing it right.” We were finally allowed to enter our classrooms to prepare them for the school year, although we had no idea when students might return in person. We were given the option of teaching in an empty classroom or teaching from home. I chose to teach from my classroom because I knew that it would force me to get up and be in “work mode.” Others chose to teach from home, especially if they had children of their own who were learning from home. My children have grown and are gone building their own lives, so I did not have that responsibility. The start of school was postponed until August 17th, with all students being remote learners. Although we felt a bit more confident in teaching online and had been given extra time to plan, there was still one big hurdle. This was the beginning of the school year and we would have to teach and try to connect with students we had never met in person. Since I teach sixth grade, that meant that my students also had the stress and fear of being new to middle school and having multiple teachers. Open house had been postponed and so we had not ever laid eyes on the new students, nor met their parents. I was teaching in an empty classroom, talking online to all of my students. Because we had never met these students, it was challenging to try to hold the interest of a group of children to whom I was a stranger. It was communicated to parents and students that because there had now been time to plan and coordinate, attendance and missing work would now be counted. Students were expected to log in for every class and complete all assignments, just as they normally would in a face-to-face situation. It did take some time to get that through to some of our new students and parents, but as time this year has passed we have seen improvements in all areas. I think that the students began to realize that it would be remote learning for awhile and that they couldn’t afford to do nothing. I’m sure parents played a big part in that change in their way of thinking. Parents were becoming cautiously optimistic that things were going to be more structured and planned than they had been in the spring when this was thrown on us overnight. It is now the end of the first semester and I am still teaching that group of new sixth graders whose faces I hadn’t seen. We are now in a hybrid model of teaching, which was implemented in small steps over several weeks. Students were phased into the building in small groups instead of everyone attending all at once. All teachers are on campus now and parents were able to choose whether to keep their student at home to continue remote learning or to send them to school on-campus. I have approximately 70% of my students on campus now. Some others have indicated that they will return to campus next semester. We have lines and dots marking all hallways to encourage social distancing. Students and teachers must wear masks all day long. There are new hand sanitizer stations throughout the building. Students may refill water bottles at the fountains, but are not allowed to drink directly from them. There are some things that I’ve learned or figured out during this first part of teaching during a pandemic: Most children adapt quickly to changing situations as long as they have someone to reassure them. This group is amazingly resilient to change. It is possible to bond with 11 year old students without ever meeting them in person. I have only glimpsed faces once in awhile when they turn their cameras on, but the kids online can make me laugh by the simplest comments in the chat box. The ones here in the classroom (trailer) can do the same. There are times when students just need a break from the masks. It is okay to spread out outside for some “mask-down” time. Time flies when you are trying to do what feels impossible day in and day out. The year is halfway over and I don’t know how we got this far, this fast. It is okay to cry. I have ugly-cried in my principal and assistant-principal’s offices more than once this year. Sometimes I’m sure my AP wants to run the other way when he sees that look on my face. I’m not the worst teacher in the world just because I don’t know how to do something in this new format. If I do something the wrong way, it is not going to destroy a child’s education. If I take the time to learn and am patient with myself, I can make it better. My co-workers are amazing people who are all going through the same thing as I am and they are all still coming to work every day, right along with me. Our administration has our best interest at heart and I feel their need to support and help us. I have had several family emergencies this year, and could not ask for a more understanding admin team. On days that I feel I can’t go on, it is all right to shut one of my three monitors off or take off the microphone headset, or turn off the camera on myself for a bit and get myself back together. I have cried in front of my students this year when I received news of my brother who has cancer finally being allowed visitors. These little eleven-year-olds sent me emails and chat messages of encouragement and letting me know they were praying for me and my brother. That is a humbling experience. On normal days where I am as close to the top of my game as I can be, I am seated at the front of the room with my laptop, a Chromebook running a separate monitor, and my overhead projector displaying things on the white board. I am teaching and listening to those students physically in front of me while I also listen to the earpiece on my microphone headset to answer any questions from my remote learners. I am presenting media online and explaining it while also keeping an eye on the chat box in our virtual meeting so that I don’t miss any questions. Sometimes my speakers work. Sometimes I can present a video without lag time causing it to splutter until no one can hear what is being said. Sometimes my remote students can make it through the whole class period without getting kicked offline. Sometimes my most difficult student decides to have a good day where I can teach without disruption. Sometimes I can make it through the whole day without a tension headache or anxiety attack. Sometimes I can go home without feeling like I’ve failed in some way. Those are the good days this year. Things that seemed minor before are so important now. The number of Covid cases in our area is rising again, so I don’t know what the future holds. I do know though that if we are sent home again, these kids now know me and I know them. They know I will help them through this just as they are helping me. We are in this together.
https://medium.com/@mursu/teaching-during-a-pandemic-fd7393d676f6
['Susan M']
2021-01-01 02:01:06.817000+00:00
['Teaching', 'Pandemic', 'Teachers', 'Covid-19', 'Education']
An Extract of Numbing
We all do terrible things sometimes. That’s expected; It’s baked into us from the start. The sun slowly hides behind the cloud, never to reappear. You see the rays of sunshine, you feel the warmth of its glow. Yet it is hidden, and however hard you try, you cannot see it. The numbing of the sun, the numbing of the soul. But it’s that feeling of remorse, that guilt, that terrible guilt; Burning inside your chest. That’s what distinguishes us in God’s eye. None of us are blameless; Except the soul that is not yet conceived or the animals. They’re the only innocents. What do you do when the sun does not come out. The warmth slowly leaving, the numbing slowly arriving.
https://medium.com/@rajalot/an-extract-of-numbing-f0f23ecc8808
['Rajdeep Singh']
2020-12-09 05:04:11.659000+00:00
['Life', 'Depression', 'Emotions', 'Poetry', 'Sadness']
The Byzantine Generals: Key to a Blockchain Future?, by Pery Venkat
A castle under siege defeats the besiegers? It sounds like an episode of Game of Thrones. But it’s not. It’s a retelling of what’s commonly referred to as the Byzantine Generals’ problem. In its essence, the problem is one of unprovability. The four attacking captains can only communicate through a messenger. The messenger could be captured, or otherwise fail to deliver a message. Any one of the captains, including the one who initially proposes the time of the attack, could be a traitor. Any one could back out simply due to cowardice — or expediency. And, while the messenger is carrying the message around, any captain can modify the original message and not inform the others. Also, the one who initially proposed the time of attack may back out later and not inform others. To succeed, all four must come to a consensus based on trust: attack together successfully or demur, and watch the others fail. Which will they choose? The Byzantine Generals problem highlights the importance of forging consensus when multiple stakeholders are collaborating, where there is no central authority anyone can trust. The stakeholders themselves have to decide to trust for each individual project to succeed. Byzantines meet Bitcoin Digital currency Bitcoin is a peer-to-peer system that records financial transactions between users directly, without an intermediary. Since the system works without a central repository or a single administrator, Bitcoin has been categorized as a decentralized virtual currency. As of February 2015, the number of merchants accepting Bitcoin for products and services surpassed 100,000 — signifying if nothing else an important psychological threshold for the currency’s wider adoption. Key to this rapid adoption? Bitcoin’s users themselves create consensus on verifying the digital currency’s transactions — all the transactions that have ever happened. This verification was an important process in the system, as there was no central user or machine that could perform the job. Bitcoin’s users have enough motivation to do the job of verification themselves, since the peer-to-peer system encourages trust by rewarding with more of the virtual currency users who verify their transactions. Banks and the benefits of consensus-based systems Bitcoin’s decentralization eliminates concern about a single point-of-failure. If one system recording transactions fails, the others keep the system running. Furthermore, Bitcoin’s users no longer a need trust a central computer in a transaction. The consequences are significant. Transactions can be completed faster and more cheaply. The benefits of leveraging such a model have attracted even the banking sector to start experimenting in Blockchain, the technology underlying Bitcoin. Curiously, examples exist of standardized, consensus-based systems in the history of banking and capital markets. Today, more than ten thousand financial institutions across 200 countries use the messaging network SWIFT to send approximately 24 million messages daily. And financial markets across the world use DTCC, a post-trade firm, for clearing and settlement services. Each system acts as an intermediary for banks to collaborate. Both carry sensitive information. Each thrives due to the associated trust factor: All banks are similarly dependent on each other for the system to work. But, with the good also comes bad: SWIFT’s software was compromised in the 2016 Bangladesh Bank heist, and the security lapse at one bank affected all. Consensus without an intermediary Global banks today face enormous security risks and regulatory hurdles. Add to that increasing pressures on profits, and the need to shed non-productive or non-compliant lines of business. The continuous search for cost efficiencies and the need for digital investments to streamline business processes are prompting major Wall Street banks to collaborate with each other directly — to save money while meeting regulatory needs. Interestingly, in 2015, J.P. Morgan Chase, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley contemplated forming an entity dubbed SPReD (Securities Product Reference Data) that would pull together and clean reams of reference data at a lower cost than what each institution would spend individually. Banks are also considering Blockchain, which has the potential to replace many central systems. They’re betting that the promise of reduced cost, increased transparency, enhanced reliability, and a better customer experience outweigh the loss of their intermediary status. For example, R3 CEV, a financial technology (FinTech) startup that works on Blockchain technology, had established the R3 consortium with nine member banks. Within seven months of operation, an additional 36 member banks came on board. R3 CEV has already conducted two trials: one involving eleven banks and another involving forty, in which banks collaborated with each other using Blockchain. Consensus vs. Intermediaries Consensus is the backbone of Blockchain. Algorithms like Proof-of-Work, Proof-of-Stake, Proof-of-Burn, Practical Byzantine Fault Tolerance (PBFT) etc., and alternative protocols like Ethereum, Ripple, Stellar and HyperLedger have all tried to solve the problem of forging a consensus-based peer-to-peer system, overcoming counter-party risk while allowing faster, more cost-effective transactions. Collectively, all these efforts illustrate the importance of the concept of building such a system. But while consensus has been solved technically by Blockchain, the challenge lies in ensuring the involvement — and trust — of the businesses for whom it is being designed. The future of Blockchain in financial services will depend on whether banks come together without an intermediary. That’s something a Byzantine General would appreciate! Is blockchain in your future? How have you built trust to forge organizational consensus? I’m interested in knowing. Opinions expressed in this blog are of the author and may not represent Cognizant’s point of view. Venkat has 17 years of experience in the IT industry and is a Senior Director managing Cognizant’s business strategy, digital, M&A and… Read more about Pery Venkat Join our LinkedIn Group: Be Digitally Cognizant
https://medium.com/digitally-cognizant/the-byzantine-generals-key-to-a-blockchain-future-by-pery-venkat-200003102ad6
['Dc Team']
2016-08-10 17:38:08.756000+00:00
['Bitcoin', 'Blockchain']
The Five Pillars To Amazing Customer Experience:
Told Through My NYC Serving Exposure Times Square, New York. We’ve all had great dining experiences (and we’ve all had a few terrible ones), but few among us have had the joy of working in the foodservice industry. I say joy because like any job it has its ups and downs and how you assess and recover from your serving experience is all up to you. It may look easy from the outside looking in — and that’s the whole point. Servers sweat the small stuff while customers enjoy their food and company. I’ve heard a lot of people ask “How hard could it be?” and yes, it can be easy to be just okay at serving but not everyone has what it takes to be amazing. I’ve been a server for the past 10 years, and along the way, I’ve learned countless valuable lessons that could apply to customer service across the board. Here are just a few of the things I’ve learned on the job at a three-story, 497 seating capacity restaurant in the middle of Times Square, New York. My five pillars to being a great server: Attentiveness From the very first moment guests step inside the restaurant they should be greeted and made to feel welcome. ”You don’t get a second chance to make a first impression” as they say, and your initial contact is the first chance at creating an amazing first impression. If the host or greeter didn’t do their job correctly, it’s my job to prove to the guests they’re in good hands. A restaurant is a great depiction of the butterfly effect. No role is too small or insignificant, everything is intertwined and dependent on each other. I’ve had my share of cranky guests. Regardless, they were treated with the same pleasantries as any other guests would. The trick of the trade is killing them with kindness. Being attentive and at-hand for any questions is the best way to show your guests that you care. I will usually ask if it’s their first time in the restaurant or if they’re celebrating a special occasion. It helps me better guide them through the menu and gives me insight as to what kind of dining experience they’re looking for. You should be actively conscious of your guests throughout the whole process. Personability It seems obvious but to be a great server you need to be warm and pleasant. The energy you put out is the energy you receive. No one wants to be greeted with a scowl or bad attitude. As a kid my nickname was Smiley, so you can guess that part of the job came naturally to me. But as a natural introvert, having the right confidence and enthusiasm was something I really had to work on. Greeting tables was uncomfortable at first but putting myself in that position over and over gave me the experience and knowledge I needed to gain confidence. Now, greeting tables is like walking up to an old friend and asking how they are — a complete 180° from when I started. Efficiency To be an excellent server having a sense of urgency and being able to multitask is key. You need to be competent enough to know what needs to be done and when without being told. As a Starbucks barista, I learned the importance of multitasking and I brought that strength into my serving job. Every guest is different and you should acclimate to each one’s desired dining experience. Working at the Times Square Olive Garden near all the Broadway shows, we get a lot of guests that want to have a nice meal 30 minutes (!) before their show starts. You might think it’s impossible but this is where I shine. I start by asking what time they need to be out by, I then show them some quick options they can order, and then get everything sent to the kitchen ASAP. Before I’ve even brought them their meals I’ve already dropped the check at the table. That means they’re prepaid and ready to go as soon as they’re done. I’ve done it so much I have it mastered at this point. And the perk is that every guest is incredibly grateful and appreciative so they usually reward me with a generous tip. Preparedness Making sure you have the appropriate tools and the right people for the job is crucial to a smoothly running restaurant. When you’re short-staffed someone has to pick up the slack in some way. That adds extra work for someone else. Remember the butterfly effect I mentioned earlier? This is a prime example. Since there are so many variables that can go wrong during a shift, making sure you are stocked up on all supplies, food, and equipment is one of the most important aspects of your job. When I walk into my shift, I’m usually at least 30 minutes early so I have time to get myself situated before starting. I make sure I have all the tools I need on me personally to start on the right foot. Besides my uniform being on point this is my go-to checklist: Swipe card (for the POS system) Pens Bottle opener At Least $20 in loose bills to have as change for the customers, so I don’t have to bother the manager for it Lighter for the birthday candles A Notepad, I usually won’t need to write orders down for parties of 2 but if it gets busy I like to have something I can check back to just in case Once I’m all suited up and ready to go I take a look at my section on the bulletin and check out what my side station is looking like. Side stations are the little nooks around restaurants where the sodas, teas, coffee, and sometimes computer systems are located. I like to make sure we’re stocked properly so I don’t have to run to the basement for bags or in the cooler for mints in the middle of a shift. We have a pretty good protocol to prevent running out of things but this is my usual checklist to make sure I’m all stocked up: Check that coffee, teas, and lemonades are full Check that Andes mints are stocked Extra receipt paper rolls for the printers Lemon slices Ice Bags and to-go boxes stocked Glasses and coffee cups stocked We have a great system set up that starts with the openers on that day. Before clocking out everyone has a certain job to restock and replenish supplies depending on the section they worked. It helps keep everyone be “Set Up For Success”, a big motto Olive Garden talks about and encourages during training. Communication It goes without saying (but I’ll say it anyway) that effective communication is a fundamental element to being a great server. Having the right attitude and confidence backed up with the ability to resolve conflicts or answer questions appropriately is so crucial. Working in one of the most diverse cities in the world I’ve had the opportunity to connect and interact with many cultures and backgrounds. I learned the intricacies of minor body language in Indian cultures like the sideways head nod and how it can have a variety of meanings. Usually used to indicate agreement or acknowledgment but has slightly different meanings depending on facial expressions and how fierce or gentle the nod is. It might seem insignificant but if there’s a language barrier, body language and hand signals are important. I also began to take DuoLingo courses to learn Portuguese during my subway rides to work to better communicate with the many Brazilian guests we received. Realizing how similar it was to Spanish, my first language, I figured it would come to me easily and would be a great way to connect with my guests. They loved it, always surprised when I’d say “Obrigada” (thank you) and so appreciative of the care. If you’re able to conquer and succeed in these 5 pillars that I’ve laid out for you then you’re already on your way to being a great customer success advocate. Know your stuff, come prepared, and have the confidence that you have what it takes to knock it out of the park.
https://medium.com/@lhiasromero/the-five-pillars-to-amazing-customer-experience-3466f3627d57
['Lhia Romero']
2021-03-09 21:45:39.944000+00:00
['New York City', 'Customer Service', 'Serving', 'Times Square', 'Restaurant']
Barricade Introduction
Welcome to my world. I imagine you may wonder why I go by the name Barricade. Well, I was in a Motorcycle Club and during the Prospecting portion of earning my full membership (full Patch) the members came up with a road name for me. Due to my size (6’3” / 250 lbs.) and my toughness they came up with the name Barricade. I will begin with my love for two wheels. In my childhood I was obsessed with BMX (Bicycle Motocross) and trained and worked very hard to become a Professional Freestyle BMXer. Not going to lie I was pretty good. I rode with some of the best in the world. Four days after my 19 birthday I left for Navy Basic Training in Great Lakes, Illinois. I left a very innocent and naive individual. Upon graduation I received my orders to San Diego, California. I was assigned to the USS Ogden (LPD-5) an amphibious transport dock. Upon arriving to San Diego, my first task was to buy a new bicycle. I rode as much as the navy would allow. Met lots of great riders and made tons of friends. Long story short, I got married and had two kids. Fast forward 8 years and riding my BMX less and less, I finally graduated to a motorcycle. My first motorcycle was a brand new 2012 Kawasaki Ninja 250. I know some of you may be shaking your head. I took several riding courses through the navy and got confident. Over the next few years, I owned several sport bikes. Around 2014, after completing the longest deployment a destroyer completed since World War II. My marriage was deteriorating, and my mental health was in the same form. I ended up going through a divorce and was put on limited duty to recover while on active duty. The navy ended up medically retiring me and the VA gave me a disability rating of 100%. Now I found myself with out a job and to learn how to be a civilian. I tried different school, jobs, and hobbies. I would bury myself into work or a hobby to avoid thinking about the pain I was in. Eventually I found Mechatronics and Robotics and did well with that. I found a new love, new career, and my love for motorcycles. My new love did not like that I relied on her for company. So, she pushed me to make friends, since all my friends were spread out all over the world. I agreed with her assessment, and I look to make new friends locally. As an adult and dealing with my mental health issues, it was very challenging. I do better making friends with a common interest. I love motorcycle so I googled ways to make friends around the love of motorcycles. I concluded that a Motorcycle club was my best bet. I found a great one, that was likeminded with myself. Through the motorcycle club I made so many friend and people I consider to be my brother. I finished school and became a robotics technician building underwater robots for militaries. This was my dream job… So, I thought. Honestly, I was not very good and when Covid-19 hit I was the easiest to let go. When I was let go… Ill tell you I left with the upmost class. During this time, I was working hard on my social media and learning how to start a YouTube channel. When I was let go, I felt ashamed and like a failure. I let my lady know I was let go and she was very supportive. She told me it was a blessing, and I could follow my real dream as a content creator. Here I am following my passion as a content creator. I started my YouTube channel, Instagram, fakebook and several others. On medium I plan to write about my mental health, navy stories, bike culture and some honest and embarrassing stories about myself. My goal is to entertain, educate, and make a living from what I love to do most; create content and ride my Harley Davidson motorcycle. https://youtube.com/c/BarricadeRides
https://medium.com/@barricade-rides/barricade-introduction-929672cba698
['Barricade Rides']
2020-12-25 01:54:23.166000+00:00
['Introduction', 'Harley Davidson', 'Motorcycle', 'Motorcycle Club', 'Mental Health']
A Call To Revolution
A Call To Revolution From with the witnessing of society’s motions towards the realization of a divinely perfect future, we are witnessing the vast interregnum of possibilities unto the nature of global universal revelations. Humanity is approaching the sequence of events only be characterized into description as A Revolution. A revolution in motion upon all a sphere of universal discernment without any concept of bias of privilege or concept of elevation and social entitlement. The Final Revolution, social transformation progress defined by an approach of sequential events currently in the form described within current vernacular junctures as our great civilization within its pre-revolutionary genesis. The series of these revelations of which is upon the open battlefield it’s birthing pains to reinvigorate all current prevailing social truths: the open awareness we shall decry the end of all seemingly unending eternal conflicts. The long-sought cure for seemingly unending witnessed antagonisms readily cries and action what is right and necessary for humanity to fabricate end solutions to survive and indeed prosper as a civilization. Its direct manifestation is the human society’s urge to manifest the formative birth and lay the foundation for the perfect state of Utopia. Utopia, the open prospects of a more viscerally real future is but an urge for form this conceptual realization to build and proceed development of perfect future humanity we have gathered collective hearken unto the current point of time we are at in history. All assigned requisite importance of a discussion between all of society without any form of the current set of social concepts lie unto social exclusions to free for The Discussion. A direction of consensus in which our society nations and civilization pay attention to the needs of the masses, in collected efforts reform and question cancers of our importance of societal failures. This veracity of the discussion is most unbelievably still waiting to begin, To All present textured contextualities directed into visible etherealities of what defines us as human and discernibly and our collective spirit as uniquely transcendent. The discussion waiting to utter are in context is discourse is found part within the first steps towards realizing aims of The Final Revolution itself: the urge to openly question all current imagined concepts that permeate the fabric of our civilization. Within all current perceptions of mainstream society lies the permeable motions that will characterize the contextualities of this most important discussion to be held, the final class struggles to bring universal and eternal freedom of mankind from self-imposed, self-manifested shackles. The vast varieties of our open freedoms of complex unveiling monstrosities of endless hidden perpetual wars, All that we have allowed becoming real we indeed have brought to ourselves to bear the diseases of society iniquities of unnatural dread and fear of the irrationally unknown we have frighteningly become. To this envisionment of the discussion we are being sought to lay the foundation for the vision to realize a better paradigm of human consciousness, ourselves towards consensus for a universally agreed demarcation of an enlightened society, our Utopia now being guided into its procession and eventual birth. To which I posit to you the first question: Can we openly say come to universal agreement that we live in such a definition of society and civilization? Certainly, many arguments can be made to the point that we live in a world with more freedom than ever imagined, but there is much lacking to define the greater picture to progress yet to be attained real. Our civilization in the sought of many reflections is in such vast disarray of chaos, our values are tainted by the vestiges of the towering authoritative symbol of The Man, far from within the abode of his current incorporeal residence — The Establishment. The Man has for centuries sown the seeds of control: natural divine array of values which have stood for centuries and oft millennium are now in upheaval in favour, to which many institutions are defining promotion of universally Sacred Values, which are eternal, cosmic and transcendental before the very seeds are self- enforced whom only The System of Capitalism introduces to as the only demarcation of the status quo. To more and more of the order natural realities are being sold out in favor of the popular drugs presented to us within part of the 21st century: the abject machinery of technologies we are becoming verily realized and intoned into. The fleeting moments of drugs of entertainment that we erroneously en-masse perceive as the only possible way things can and should be. Perhaps there is a simpler and universal way of subsistence we can achieve destination towards? Perhaps what we consider as the norm in all actualities are realities truths as concepts approached from wrong given perspectives? Society is being blinded into the chasms of the Glamours of Capital: absolute greed the wield of all power humanity is being seduced back further into the slavery of corporate organization, further deep in the waiting Cage controlled by the corrupted proponents continuing all processes within the status quo of The System itself. The veiled existences of forgotten galleries of retired sacred values, the congruence which has taken many forms coalesce as fallen permanent energies: the remedies for the cancers we have sown to fruition and have entered the false portals to become. To which a set of remedies whose juncture unto fathom to appreciate the cancers and aim to synthesize antidotes for the self-failing found self-destructing in conceptual systems founded in a gallery of spaces of historical periods found in retroactive histories of antiquities. The array of the order of these antiquities lays self-conformities from the creation of our institutions as sacrifices to the masses as continuing the disease of society’s seemingly all-pervading postmodernism. The prevailing efficacy resultant found from the grand denial of the problems of our mind’s realities presently in form from the values in present reflection found in Capitalism and The System’s failure to assure directions vast and social progress. The System within the now in base characterization is in itself a complex value interrelation of structural values, concepts, institutions, and positions of power. Such is its structure is a vastly found in the interrelating arrangement of these supposedly automatically correct values, proffered by The Man, proffered by the vast arrayed corrupted proponents of the current path to perfection found in the status quo in the order of the current and present day. The reality of the values is mindless regressive primitive arrangements of values founded in fear and universal and the hidden global architecture of conformities. To which this eternal dream lies of perfection waiting in moments eternal all but waiting to be imagined and immediately seized if we want our revolution to manifest in the most perfect and grandest of forms. The vast prevalence of the outright deceptions we face from our so-called all-knowing always superior political leaders, the corrupted gallery of individual representations of corporations, and greed-obsessed gambling banksters. These ideas are justly paramount and a vicious our insult to our collective enlightenment, of intelligence and self-born strength of possible universal unity. These set of deceptive concepts we unerringly that we mass subscribe to being the logical and true, and never widely considered, never collectively questioned towards motions realizing of The Truth (viz. the real, the perfect and eternal) in all civilization and societies. The current vehicles of social progress championed as Capitalism, whose reality is never questioned, whose satanic Esoteric Glamours distort reality. They assail our frail minds to misguide our own natural and divine prediction of the grand human procession towards the glory of the self-unveiling light. Thusly our ordained dreams of the future are being sold in the name of an agenda of monetary obsessed capitalism and to keep the eternal secrets of heaven to themselves vastly hidden from the status quo and the average individual themselves. the picturesque gallery of which is found unto all found radical social deviances mirrored as universal global social conformities I characterize the System further: A selection of unerring concepts that are subscribed to as confluently logical and true. A sworn reality entertained or questioned as possible and inherently false by the unquestioning unawakened masses of society. When shall such a gallery of connected questions begin without censure or a response of universal silence? When does the discussion itself in manifestations appear? Where indeed is the state of this Revolution? Where is the cry for to remedy fallen disparate ways of progress unachieved while the gallery of men continues the exploitation unhindered, unquestioned? How can we citizens of civilization enter and guide The Revolution into a rightful form closer to the masses? To entertain these questions into consideration of mind, the open inquest to complete external and internal all-pervasive all necessary questioning lies confluent to the mysteries of the greater universe, questions posited lying waiting like a door waiting to be opened to the blinding light of the open door of the paradise of Utopia. To which to many of our pertaining realities, society must hasten the discussion inner worlds to all-composite sectors of human civilization with no proverbial stone left unturned: the longing to cast out all pariahs that we within consensus decide is not part of our celebrated future of Utopia and en-action the events towards the metaphysical grand processions of man. All manners paths to describe and intuit denotations of the grand procession itself acts as guiding forces aims towards the final intonations of the goals into the entrance of the portal of the Final Revolution’s revealing Utopia. To what society must immediately desire to form towards the final revolution is necessary for survival. The profound gathering legions of the disenfranchised and downtrodden enemies of human Capitalism, abject Materialism, politicians and corporate representatives, the proponent’s civilization are rightly ordained direction to process the decisions, the changes that must be enacted to save ourselves from the possibility of eternal dystopia. To whom the forces of the systems rejection and failure of the non-conformists, the misfits, the intellectual social scientists, the radicals whom in mind and heart have rejected social conformities have always sought to bring correctly directed change and meaning to perfection are amassing in vision and strength towards universal social dissension. The formation of these armies within passages of every ending day indeed strengthening in numbers. We should fear nothing in our existence, and those who continue the grand exploitation should fear us those who control and maintain their crooked methods and abuse of attained power and verily those who sell out humanity in desires to continue the path within society’s status quo. Our society must admit that our leaders and failing institutions do not care about the masses desires and dreams As long as their positions and usage of power entwined with increasing capital is kept in continued social advancement. Decisions made into by such gathering, must not and will not be taken either lightly or with a minuscule amount of naivety for they will affect the masses. For awareness is not enough, for Discussion is not enough only universal action will satiate the procession to completion. The Requisitions for Actions rightly orientated iconoclastically are to be carefully sought to represent our various sectors of collecting societies and nations without the corrupting influence that attachment to concepts that only Capitalism has brought into the fold. Actions to manifest correctly destines of not of addiction to capital, not of materialistic urge or addiction of end productual of Capitalism but of demarcating true societal progress. The onset of our aims of Utopia is true to such a definition. To still is massing upon the battlefield a conflict to be fought to enact basic universal rights of the masses regardless of any perceivable difference or is the dream we must accept and endeavor to inaugurate. The public universal establishment of universal inalienable rights is but a simple precursory step and preliminary aim of the coming final revolution. The abject elevation of this perfect dream of universal rights eternal I as a result of decrying indeed as possible and a readily achievable goal when humanity accepts the prospect of true eternal brotherhood is accepted and furthered into the human paradigm. To which whom much and many of the gathering citizens of earth will openly deride as laughable, naively unrealistic in its scope or verily indeed, impossible to manifest yet is the only first aim we should gather to search. For it is in the unity of strength that shall guide us through the precursory of embryonic state of the pre-revolutionary stage. The mark of its birth may not acquiesce without considerable pain if we do not collectively embrace our destined and the correct changes necessary unity with much due haste. The means to enact universal rights, equal rights are measures accessible through perceptions of universal compassion. Which brings us to the first set of questions I shall entertain you to posit, the first set of questions. Initial questions: The preliminary steps to attain The Final Revolution The exquisite blinding radiance of the incoming sacred cloth that is yet to be found worn by those who wish to seek to represent the Revolution itself in bear witness the motion of our Utopia shall be our final eventide of the portal we must willingly entertain into questions: Why do I decry this Revolution as one in the concept of finality? What is true, the seeming context and field of this final revolution? How can we secure the dreams of the masses, How can we quicken the pace of the masses to arouse from their ignorance and slumber in global representation? What are the true paths to assist and further increase endeavors to realize the finalizes and the aims goals of this Final Revolution? How can the masses act the incoming dissenting radicalizes voice their views and opinion to the people who control the movements in society? And lastly, how can the vast array of individuals and assembled humanity help guide the of imagined revelations, the revolution to unveil reveal the final image of the incoming nature of this Utopia? The massive inquest for these questions are emotive movements to manifest, the final revolution is found born from the ashes of societies failures of yesterday, to be realized in the dreams of what Is possible by such social deviants, tomorrow. For with no deviance from the norm introduced to the mainstream, there is no progress achieved upon the whole. The Revolution is in the description as the last in finality as it is the precursor to universal Cosmic Harmonic Convergence: A encountering point of the universal light and the bridging foundation of the unique destiny of man. The scope and domain of which is not barred to a single nation-state but global, universal and thus the conflict to unify is far more complex beyond imagination. The path to universal Global Revolution is found through our united brotherhood and passage of organization, ideas founded to embrace the faster rate of systematic eternal vibrational revolutionary progress. From within a distance afar the beating hearts open power from the incarnating young finer inquisitive souls, the reality of the masses who dream of universal peace something more than chains to the slavery of work are being thought into a revision of how society functions to bring such progress. The abject transcendence of the destructive end of values of The System within and freedom from the recesses found in the manifestation of the individuals caught with the recesses of The Human Cage. The Cage is but a construction of imagination, the illusionary nature of the human existing in the Human Matrix of our individual’s hearts and minds, it is real as far as only what you believe it to be. To which I ask in continued intonations of measured patience, the secondary line of questions we must begin I openly solicit you to inquire and question further into the very core of your being: Tertiary questions: Precorusory investigations to the foundation of Utopia How can we individuals and well-meaning organizations guide the current of miasmatic insanities to the state of humanity to our Utopia? In what definitions of progress do the most ephemeral directions of our paradise and future lie? How will all sections of society come together in attuning revelations of to the self-revealing steps that shall ascend the possible furtherance of enlightened progress, the unveiling necessary decisions of the folds of the most divine holiest dreams of Utopia? Which currently present forms, social emotions, which systems, concepts, ideas, ideals, comprehensions relating to reality will survive the incoming leveling of the coming social fabrics of man to merit as founded cornerstones of our paradise yet to come? What will to interlocal the apparent structure of founded core values, what truths will embody that will take occur in the final revolution towards the eternal paradise of Utopia we are altogether seeking? Which earnest line of final questioning shall finally end to the cancerous diseases that plague our society for we shall attempt to find final remedies? And lastly, What set obstacles problems, issues and open maladies blocks our way the progress and true realization of our most perfect destiny? The direction of the formation of Utopia is not assembled from the simplest of conceptual forms or even consistently found from a capitalistically arranged societal value. True valuations of all things are found from realizing indictive usefulness to allow the furtherance of the revolution eternal. Like as all endearing eternal concepts of The truth and perfection are and is indeed found that humanity in egoism has readily complicated. The path for our future will require indeed approach only accessible with conceptual radicalism: The strictest severities of caution to decisions that will guide the lives and realities of the verdant wakening masses. The passage unto a true pilgrimage of inner discovery and the act towards mass societal dissension that populate our distinctive imaginations, the false perspectives hold up our false imagination of society today, of what paradise is currently envisioned as viewed as currently and erroneously real - The Five Sentinels. The fourth line of questioning for The Five Sentinels: The metaphysical obstacles to Utopia To What characterization do I attain to introduce into consideration as The Five sentinels? What concept am I trying to convey as this interrelated system of realities, the values of institutions and positions in society found in self-importance hinder our future paradise? How can I characterize the five sentinels to further impartation the requisition self- emphasize into individual self-epiphanies? And what are the most insidious obstacles that bar the forward distinction of the paradise we in collective unity, we should openly seek? The discussion of concepts that bar our societies way to Paradise, Utopia are complications with the most erudite manner and descriptions. The Five Sentinels in the description from a fallen perspective, a vision are the all societal self-pervading pillars irrationally towering from our failed own construction. Descriptive of our collection of concepts that in confirmative control that continue to persist as pariahs of truth in today’s modern society. The edifice of our societies cornerstones of non-confluent irrationalities that bear given energies to unto the false grand illusionary dream. The dream who has an obscured set of visions that clouds our understanding of pervasive realities. Unto the mandatory worship of the towering pillars is a description of The Systems of our valued truths, that in our weakened attempt to solve our origination of perfected flaws have given systems power and control since the dawn of order and civilization. Many of such aspects of the five sentinels are more than social ills and are exemplified as the visage of the ever-changing faces of evil. The description of Five Sentinel here are speculatively posited in simplification (to be further explored in the future work — The Five Sentinels currently in progress) The Five Sentinels to further define into the form: the exploratory description of the five complexly inherently erroneous interrelated conglomerate of archetypal fusion: 1. The means of social progress through the now useless and failed broken System of Capitalism. 2. The current vehicle of human progress of Capitalism through corporeal corporations and transnational entities. 3. Separated systems of Political governance by warring nationalized found in core disparate democracies. 4. The avenue of universal conceptualities and exposition found through an approach of the overtly simplified doctrine of modern science and the base physically obsessed scientific method. 5. The approach for individual human progress deified through the root of materialism and productual obsessions. These set of evils are concepts we have fought for millennia who are directly expressed representational of the problematic cancers we in occasions battle and others seek to protect. These Evils have been taken into the architectural form of values and expressed meanings in our societies institutions: corruption greed, selfishness, apathy, ignorance indolence and symbolic attachment to construed pillars man-made and concepts entirely unreal. Evils within a direct gallery of origination from certain currently popularized illogicalisms within the status quo. The preliminary present primitive splendors of non-confluent irrationalities that we unendingly to give our collective power, en-masse by thorough deliverance were given power and energy to further embodiment and due part of the metaphysical construction of the aforementioned illusionary dream. The Five Sentinels, in a more accessible readied definition: the pertaining organizational arrangement of values in structure and interrelations — the current vestiges of vastly forgotten perspective are points of view and linchpins of perspectives of truth in a play of the status quo. Five pillars which can found in visual represented in The Great Diagram: An exploration of explaining into the comprehension of all values and concepts into a gross physicalized form. The Diagram is a carefully painted depiction of the social structural scenery which has been obscured from all humanity and has no future usefulness for us as a civilization and must be retired from importance and view. To this readying end, we must apply open awareness, discuss and repair the broken edifice of social values, who are open of radiance of self-decay to begin the formation of a new set of values in current gestation genesis — The New System being formed by the armed forces of the disenfranchised and dissentives. The application of all current systems is in part only an applied application of universal and transcendent sacred values and an exemplification of profoundly sacred truths: truths found from exotic histories of possible sacred cultures. Truths who will require a gallery of complete and complex discussion of voices of the voiceless whose cries must be heard to dissipate the glamours found in the future Utopian paradigm. Verily, it is no lie that we have arrived at the height of a climax and summit point of our collective evolution. The attainment step of socio-spiritual maturity, to which feelings of something universally great is being born. The call to revolution is to seek out all that lies in obstacles to our future through aggrandized careful self-applied systems and an approach of globalized social engineering. From behind the vastly hidden worlds has been the sceneries themselves has been transposed, metamorphosized the exploitations of the masses continues unabated without universal social expression. The global lessons that we in society have indeed been instructed to saturation ad infinitum, unto complete saturation of the current plane of sentience. Perspectives we have collected whose application of values we have held within our close grasp are no longer of any current usage for us in the to us whole as a species heading towards an expression of incomparable enlightenment that we are now ascending to. To which there are indeed many man-made obstacles we must overcome to survive and win the game from the satanic array of individuals who desire themselves our eternal masters. Thusly enters into the field of positation the Five sentinels into a descriptive view: The unveiling of these linchpins in society are all such pillory concepts, which shall provide impetus towards a direct central fusion of five central pure concepts, a collection of social dominance as the symbol literal of current abominable control found in the relationships and the constructional core of the current Human Matrix. The vestiges of this Matrix’s reality, are directly from the core aspects of the reflection of the five sentinels themselves. These failed doctrines fall into the architecture of social status quo are complex complete without flaw: the values that raise higher the sanctities of life are eternally who are more vastly real, and inherently more important than the transactional passages of capitalism and mere fleetingly passing as physical wealth. For the enduring light of eternal wealth and riches is vastly more real than what society attains in the definition of our concept of the materialistic exposition of temporary wealth. By every passing moment, the passages of every day wasted by the inordinate legions of the disgusting self-indulged practiced by the masses. The apathy of the ultra-entertained, ultra-exciting place attachment or personal disregard of possessions that capitalism and only capitalism has brought into the fold of our societies prevalence. Capitalism, as a precise definition as the five sentinels, has indeed verily brought the masses to their very knees, one set of societies of the world lay starving on the streets while on the other side lay obese bellies from self- promoted consumption. Is this a symbol of the world we want to abide by? Is this the world we want to discuss when our children ask us when they ask if we are proud of our society and civilization? Or in absolute audacities, can we dream to exceed into something far more primal and universal? We have indeed forgotten our own natural way, as we give power to the emanations of peering eternally artificial screen of technological construction. The eternally haunting spectre of its unified existence one must begin to comprehend the applications of what progress and development are currently in widespread consensus: The System. To which the second line of questions emerges unspoken into universal intonation: What pertains to this possible conceptual reality and referential analysis I posited in grand reference to as “The System?” A set of questions shall relate to its existence shall be asked into the furtherance An inquest into the fifth set of questions: The brief characterization of The System and its social relevancies. From the importance of the past array of discussions attributed to the revelations to social revolutions, given light by various social scientists, it is not enough in society today to simply provide a means of describe and procession of enlightened discuss abject absolute failures of bourgeoisie economy and the abject failures profound within Capitalist Means of Production within corporate and transnational manufacture and the unerring inferior means of progress through transnational nature of monetary currencies. The solemn urge to decipher the meanings communicate the metamorphic secrets of the universe, the inner meanings of the collective environment, the paths of our current social sceneries have gotten relentlessly considerably more complicated. The scenery vastly intricate and metamorphosed into a far more complicity complicated world: the entire picture of society is coming to a revelation before our social scientists to describe and inform the masses realize that the revelation input here will transform society completely. Unto our societies relationship with the system eternal and current means of production and the systemic means of manufacture, the entire processes of the grand social architecture in distinction is in requisition for widespread an in-depth reflection and analysis: The motion here presented as such — the current incarnated version of The System is identified as the core root of the majority of our diseases and the wrong direction of possible understanding of concepts in realities. The System I shall further attempt to define into a more simplified subsequent explanation: A current incarnation of interacted values assigned to hierarchical structural knowledge in the imparting of the evolutional coherence of all centrality of our collective group consciousness. the vast differential compartmentalization of our explanations of values is born undivine, a mandatory requisition of the obsession and the resultant product of Capitalism and the materialism of the current round of modernism. Such values who are used to perform conformity for the massing humanity, to maintain order and civility is nothing but a farcical lie to persist unquestioned order and automatic obedience to figures of mass authority. The System here upon it’s unified social constructions, interrelated set of values that defined progress to our “perfect” cherished society, the progress of our currently imperfect human civilization. From the scenery of the current social perspective and modernist contextual point of view, to which I add in vast addendum I postulate another pure simplification: The System is wrong. Towards The System’s current embodiment, towards its personification commonly agreed as involution of laws created to arrange and to maintain civilize order and utter following of conformities and unrequited obedience to authority is in broken disrepair and evidence of the fallacies of the Human Dream. To which the future paradigm must be automatically re-envisioned as a newer means for society to progress: The New System. Another distinction I shall try and analyze into a respective definition: This progressive interrelation of possibilities is to gather and conceive of distant future energies and ancient still complete sacred values, the correct guiding force of future society is universally found through the implicated study of how concepts, institutions, social values, ideas, and ideals interact unto each other to the interrelate with of our collective consciousness. Such vast social engineering of the current structure of The System to the shape and form of the next epoch and sentient paradigm is one which we must be collectively aware of the structure of the current ideas of its transition. To you, I shall further entertain more obstacles for our Utopia the hidden nature of well guarded esoteric concepts. Further questions — humanity relating to The hidden fulcrums and set controls of The Machine For it is verily indeed our failing interpretation of valuations of The System that demarcate decadence in society are found depicted from the v hidden fulcrums of an illusionary nature: a set of vaunted hidden controls. For who utilizes and ministers these controls and fulcrums the methods in the grand exploitation of the masses? Who controls the Machine that keeps society asleep from awareness of its true nature? A forgotten primeval reference to further control the individualized soul and the group consciousness of the masses: The Man lay waiting within his eternal abode the dwelling of The Establishment. The path to intuit the inner workings of society’s true methods of operations. The complex controls and fulcrums to how actual all inner working within society eventuate. A reality, relating to the motions of cogs within the internal workings of The Machine. For far too many and too little for the few, society within its currently worn cloth of a crassly materialistic and modern values has been approached of values found of society whom individuals, it has become a failure is akin to the failure that Capitalism (and all other associated other Sentinels) have brought humanity into the fold. The clandestine nature of these unseen fulcrums who are used to minister humans concepts and hidden authority, whose to continue enforced conformism and an eternal hidden desire to manipulate in absolute control of humanity forever in the verisimilitude of the idea to further machinery in exampled physicalized exampled. The compositely mass veiled existence of The Machine and it’s the application to pervert society’s true intentions is being unveiled by those who dream the dream of freedom from all that is wrong. Lies of false evolutionary means and tantamount of external oppression, the all-pervasive pervading presence of the continuance of the grand exploitations of the sheep herd of the masses themselves. The eternal struggle of mankind to prevent the System and its direct representation (of what lies within the core machine fulcrums that whose controls), the system and The Establishment itself is the very inception of the sum urge for civilization to fight for the Revolution and the manifesting realization of our Utopia. The emotional universality of further discernment, of which is requisite for us to exercise shall lead to further questions, questions that lead to answers that shall rectify our cage and prison to freedom and eternal liberation from all physical incarnated form. The most sacrosanct of possible acts towards dissension and becoming aligned with the aims of human social progress remark into the sanctities of our final revolution. Vast social enforcement and prerogative veils mass obedience to authority and obedience to society through such collective and individual figures shall not be born as a segment of our Utopia. The incoming energies of captivation vision of our true dreams, the grand eloquence presented by grand whispers of heaven which murmur truths not seen in the current order of The Human Matrix and a vestige of our dreams tainted illusionary. Further questions are left which are necessitated to enter the stream of consciousness, to which I shall attempt to entertain… Further related questions revealing the System What would we dream of if all our natural desires were met? We would still desire absolute power to minister and oppress? Would we still desire money to attain and covet? In furthering the dialogue and grand social discourse I ask why is there no pertinent mass publicized discussion to the System within set actions of the transmissions of the MSM mainstream status quo? Can the current relativities of the modern incarnation of the System and its current expressions of ideas juxtaposed values be remedied into an architecture of interrelation of more finer, perfect, universal and divinely eclectic perspectives, allow to be re-expressions of new valued truths? Eternal human brethren for further development to engineer the quickening of truths in future pulsations, raising vibrations of possible unified human consciousness, the rightful pulsing acceleration towards infinite eternal revolution for humanity. We will need to meet the future conflict now, as it is indeed rising beyond comparable imaginations. The deified description to which the final arrival of The Revolution is indeed arriving at the point of open coalescence where it’s grand procession can be argued into unveiling form from an unrestrained decor. The global recognition for inalienable rights as the only acceptable dream for the people’s future and the public acceptance of these rights that we will be the laying foundation for the utopia to come to agree is necessary and is logical and recognize as self-evident. This compulsion to the vast restore of vital energies unto our society is self-effacing, powerfully euphoric and powerfully directive of our destiny, but for guiding of the masses lacks evident caution, intelligent guidance and open dialogue from people without censorship of restraint of the vast gallery of the corrupt. The emergence of such iconoclastic and radicalized are future pioneers are bringing their truths to balance from newer revelations to newer envisionment. A New valuing of what our reality could For those who are indeed awakening from the chasms of all slumbers: of capitalist technology, the thralls of materialism, the unending entertainment and the lack of awareness and the urge to attain self-mastery and the ephemeral glory found unto traversing into the great spaces of the void beyond. From which the quietest whispers of heaven have been whispering unto the unopen hearts and minds of humanity for centuries, millennia if not smaller measures of time eternal. We have only seen portions of the veritable flashing glimpses of this perfection attainable in moments of the annals of our own history, but we have never witnessed the radiant fullness of the picture realized in its most grand portrayal a portal we must gather and awaken to witness and enter. This gathering of dissentives as mentioned earlier who are openly seeking public representation upon this emerging plane stage for their perspectives seek this change altruistic and unselfishly without ego. They do not consider the Cage or the Prison in part of our kind’s future Of this new emergence, expositing values outside the tender fabrics of nonconformity or the current political establishment and out of the mindset and confined avenues of transnational entities come to speak their minds without rebuke or any manner of reproach or evident apologies. All cadre of such individuals who are seeking their own vision of social representation, carrying with them various pieces of the greater puzzle and desire to complete it, and ideas in aim to re-envision of what progress should truly subsist of. To break down the current avenue of chosen destinations, to which I shall now return to the mention and discussion unto the existence of the five sentinels… The current assemblage of the embodiment of these five pillars of progress — the outset of all Institutions has failed to reassert our lives the paradise we have yearned and enduringly dreamed of for so long. Being the forms of disparate nationalized democracies and the system of the production of manufacture. The diseases of man have compounded failures to provide the destiny we seek. The system our people slowly gave voice and power to — The system of Corporations legally rape and violated the re-splendid sanctities of our planet; our governments are not, and our social representatives have sold their souls for the experience of temporary experiences that capitalism power and technology have brought. All roads to which all signs lead to the veils the fight for absolute control of truth is found in the corrupted diseased hegemony of Capitalism and the realization of the Five Sentinels. The Era of Capitalism exceptionalism has ended. It cannot be saved from the fall it is about to be witnessed. The fear of what will replace it is infinitely regressing the current assorted array of people in control of The System. The has been held in regard to its place as the core infostructure of all linchpins, sentinel of society will be transformed into a future socialistic explanation. It is reaching its usefulness as a means to create our definition of progress in society and human civilization, have come within the hearts of the minds of the future awakening. It cannot be saved from the fall or from its own self crisis, its self-destructive ways. A further revision of its values will come to another valuation the symbol needs to be broken from within. found from complexities of the leveling to come Far to the order to weaponize the eternal truth for the benevolence towards the will of the people, an action to bear will be of no small measure of effort but must struggle to endeavor to manifest the first steps. The ordinance to explain through an understanding perceivable to the mind can be simplified to understand. Broken down of its complex unified separation of expressions of The Five sentinels themselves. The motion to contain the noise of anarchies professed simple and the shrill cacophonies of eternal epiphanies The prevention of universally aligned truth manifesting into the current beating heart of said status quo, an antithesis of eras which no-one remembers cares or cares to change as long as their capital increases, possessions, and mindless entertainment continue to increase. Capitalism and Utopia: The direct adversarial opposition archetypes of social forces It is indeed a growing truism in our society that many can perceive that the end of Capitalism is nearing. it is an apt truism of to also which I would desire to bring into further questioning and formative analysis: Has the current reigning system of Capitalism brought us to the hallowed future we truly have truly desired? Has Capitalism brought us to the perfunctory seat of a universally agreed perfect society? Are we truly deeply embedded in the viscera of the verdant transcendental dream, the full attainment of a perfect society we have vainly sought? Has the system of advanced bourgeois economy and Capitalism brought us to steps to the ascension of Utopia? In the global village that is in future equalities within the beating hand of a universally agreed perfect society, the ascent of the dream of Utopia we have sought to imagined we have struggled to envision for centuries and millennia? Certainly, various degrees of arguments may coalesce to light that such concepts have brought us some definable pertinent progress. Progress in its truest form that we subsist in a better world but to what form has this definition of progress can we characterize? Materialism the drug of the 21st century, the endless artificial excitement of the senses does not fill the void eternally. To which the majority argumentation’s nonsensical drivel will escape lips unbidden to individuals who have been indeed compositely corrupted. Seduced by unnatural energies of Esoteric Glamour found in an array within the world itself will desire to keep their ill-gotten Capital and continue the raising scenery of the grand exploitation. Capitalism has indeed brought some minor forms of progress, but the destination of this progress has been secondary to radiant decay found in wealth attributed to our perceivable realities and the ravaged destruction to our physical world. That there is no means to change the current System of order, that in all discussions, capitalism is beneficial and in decidedly self-right and its system of values is self-evident and should never be questioned in any manner or form. Perhaps there is a better way for society to progress? A new path to manifest explanation of all that is currently in physical and metaphysical reign? To which in vastest deferences, in further postulation it is no small conjecture that the further description of the gathering armies of the various disenfranchised (to whom In regard I advance that The System has indeed absolutely failed) I would further suggest to you, that the purities of The Dream Eternal realizations of paradise ephemerally eternal has been overtly tainted, clandestinely obfuscated and sold to you in temporary measures by a gallery of the grandest of human charlatans who represent The Man. Symphonies of all-natural harmonies departed from view through ignorances of paid poor attention, of what we see as truth and be replaced by the never satiating drug of materialistic capitalist consumerism. To which the positation of the Five pillars who I exposit perhaps in verily gross simplification there herein belies four unique steps will guide the universality of alignment we in feel grows from our hearts desire. Four steps of that shall arm us the power of tools to allow visual appreciation of the ascending the steps to Utopia we in unity shall seek: The urge to find an applied 1.Comprehension of our realities through detailed unequivocal detached analysis, equally distinct universal 2. Discussion on all pertaining matters, the further realization of 3.Consensus on all cancers that plague society so and finally motion to seek and discover the rightly aligned towards universal rightful 4.Actions to guide and alleviate the problems eternal referential to the nature of the social fabric and the masses themselves. For the rampant corruption of the manner glamour and to the evident decay of such scenery, the current reigning order of those who hold and wield the power a capitalist class is in such dispositions is not all but assured. The Capitalists, the 1% should not own the power to the future and must be downed in their capacity to oppress and exploit the masses. Unto the raised unifying resounding march towards our Utopia, there are some questions regarding it as much. The final pertaining Questions To characterize the further battlefield for the final revolution ahead Still many further questions pertaining to steps to the realization Utopia to come must be answered from the vast subconscious nature of the universe itself. The importance of practicing self-awareness and reflection of inner self-inquiry, the revealing passage to question all things cannot be overstated and in light of this endeavor to bring perfection to form. What values will come into subsistence and valuations the core of our future epoch civilization in current pre-revolutionary genesis? What future values in a newer paradigm system shall come to replace it? For what will come to pass as the universally representative of the dreams of the masses who trust us to bring paradise? How will these dreams come to pass? What future system of values will re-imagine our current condition to the guidance of a definition of purities of ideas? By vast social integration of and grandest of possibilities of a universally equitable future concept into the synthesis of a future paradigm of an organizational arrangement of new structures of values hereby introduced as — variables from the laying foundation and groundwork of The New System which is indeed a better revisionistic incarnation of laws,rules, ideas, concepts feelings and values. Towards the forming of revision perspectives and perceptions of our world, an interrelation of these relationships should be an incarnation of universal sacred values, a more enlightened perspective collection of concepts and institutions will be formed as inherently correctly aligned with we discern as universally righteous and attain. The dream shall harken imagined future hearts and minds of the masses, finally, awakening from their eternal slumbers, perhaps the current five sentinels and Capitalism can be partially salvaged from the self-destruction itself from its self-perpetuation of crises. The New System within the current genesis of its form shall be a reflection of our purest visions and desires the collection of implementations of values that represent a more level playing field fairness, equivalence, and entirely free from the diseases present within the power, money, and control through the vestiges of power. Our collective failures found in the ideological diatribe to keep maintain the abject evils that consist as values from the status quo, preservation of consumption of all purchase and exchange of products is the only possible way to manifest progress in society is used as a fulcrum to herd the sheep-like masses, the malice to control, to keep our civilization unaware from its true nature and the destinies of its true purpose. The Universally equitable harmony, the inception of the procession of the people towards justice and social systems unto a society destructing in a failing spiral. The foundation of this following this self-destruction is the awakening impetus to realize the change we must in unity assail. To which the usefulness of advice I can freely give, be excited, dwell in the manifesting euphoria present and readily accessible by all, but pay careful direct attention and of illusions self-education of a vastly unmentioned inner realms of man. Question all and everything without any predisposition or pre-conceptions in any possible manner of mind, without any arrogance of sentiments of attachment to egoism. Approach everyone you meet with the love and respect you would ask yourself and act with awareness and caution. Let foresight guide your thoughts, words, and future actions, together We shall indeed find the salvation we seek. Be eternally wary for the set of motions to come, believe in the power latent within your soul and the possibilities available of finding in the audacities of united universal brotherhood for as if we fail here, today, there shall be no future Utopia to celebrate. My dreams are to realize yours, For a New Age is dawning, For the Revolution has come, And the glory is ours, Shantanu Iyer
https://medium.com/@shaniyer/a-call-to-revolution-be61acc019da
['Shan Iyer']
2019-06-19 06:33:19.731000+00:00
['Utopia', 'Socialism', 'Revolution']
A Bayesian View on COVID-19 Outbreak
Study case on Bogor’s commuter line and Bayesian approach to estimate the rate of COVID-19 infection Source: LACOL.net COVID-19 Test on Bogor’s Commuter Line Commuter line, locally known as Kereta Rel Listrik (KRL), is one of the busiest transportation modes in Jabodetabek. It carries almost 141,330 passengers every day, even amid physical distancing “PSBB”. On Monday (May 11, 2020), the district government of Bogor conducts a rapid and swab test to a sample of 200 KRL passengers. According to the test, they found 1 person to be tested positive of COVID-19. Roughly, we can estimate that for every 200 passengers, there will be 1 person tested positive (0.5% infection rate). However, estimating the infection rate by only dividing those two numbers might be impractical. Bayes’ Theorem for Estimating the Infection Rate The Bayes’ theorem is stated mathematically as the following equation: With “H” as the hypothesis and “E” as the evidence, we can utilize the equation above to estimate the rate of infection in Bogor’s KRL, given the test result on Monday. Our hypothesis is: The rate of infection will be the proportion of positively tested people and the total number of people available, denoted by r The evidence shows that from 200 passengers tested, only 1 person tested positive for COVID-19. The probability of this evidence occurred given the hypothesis is true will be expressed like a Binomial distribution PDF as below Using the binomial model and Beta distribution as a prior, we can find the posterior by using the Bayes’ theorem. After multiplying the above equation with the Beta distribution PDF, we know that the posterior will also be a Beta distribution, but with updated hyperparameter (Beta distribution with alpha = 1+1 and beta = 1+200–1). Because the posterior is inside the same distribution family as the prior, the conjugate prior of the Binomial model is the Beta distribution. Hence, the posterior distribution will be Beta(2,200) which is represented as the following expression We can generate the plot of the Beta distribution by iterating each possible value of r using “for” loop or sapply() function in R. #define function for P(E|H) beta<-function(r){ return(200*r*(1-r)^(199)) } #possible values of r r<-seq(from=0,to=5/100,by=0.1/100) #for loop p<-c() for(i in 1:length(r)){ p[i]<-print(beta(r[i])) } Alternatively, we can also use dbinom() function or dbeta() function directly to generate the beta distribution plot, both functions will return the same plot. library(ggplot2) r<-seq(from=0,to=5/100,by=0.1/100) #density plot dat<-data.frame(r,dbinom(1,200,r)) plot<-ggplot(dat,aes(r,dbinom(1,200,r)))+ geom_point()+ geom_line(col='darkblue') plot Plot generated using ggplot2 package With Beta distribution as the posterior PDF and 95% Confidence Interval, we can say that the interval of the rate of infection will be 0.00121 until 0.02741 (0.121% until 2.741%) by finding the upper and lower bounds that generate an area of 0.95 under the Beta distribution curve. #lower bound (95% CI, two-tailed) qbeta(0.025,2,200) #upper bound (95% CI, two-tailed) qbeta(0.975,2,200) Therefore, suppose there are 1000 people inside the KRL trains, there will be approximately 1 until 27 people tested positive with COVID-19. Conclusion Besides the SIR model, which is a deterministic approach of estimating COVID-19 behavior, we can also use Bayes’ Theorem as a different approach to estimate the number of infected people. The main idea of using this method is taking into account the randomness and uncertainty of a virus’s behavior. This study case is just a simple example of COVID-19 spread on KRL passengers. This method can indeed be a way for policymakers to determine preventive measures in KRL trains, stations, or even on a bigger scale.
https://medium.com/analytics-vidhya/a-bayesian-view-on-covid-19-outbreak-4250dbcda6e7
['Matthew Farant']
2020-05-13 16:13:39.817000+00:00
['Data Science', 'Covid 19', 'Mathematics', 'Probability', 'Coronavirus']
Upgrade your TV speakers with this Sony S100F soundbar for under $100
I am thankful for all of those who said NO to me. It’s because of them I’m doing it myself (Albert Einstein)
https://medium.com/@armando05445751/upgrade-your-tv-speakers-with-this-sony-s100f-soundbar-for-under-100-f2a9a4e736f1
[]
2020-12-24 03:09:57.936000+00:00
['Tvs', 'Headphones', 'Services', 'Deals']
Performance Pitfalls in C++ — Why plenty of copies!!!
Regardless of how experienced C++ programmer you are, due to the complexity of this programming language, you may unknowingly commit some silly mistakes. The code may work perfectly fine, BUT when it comes to the performance, you will realize how BIG these silly mistakes can cost you especially if you are dealing with something that deserves ultra low latency level performance. Let me introduce some of the performance specific pitfalls I came across as a programmer, mentor and a code reviewer. I really hope this series will be useful for you guys & girls. Item 1: Exponential growth of copying in std::vector Let me implement a simple Triangle class which has a constructor and a copy constructor. I have simply inserted 3 instances of Triangle into it. Everything looks so clean and innocent. If you are ignorant on how vector::push_back really works, you may not expect that copy constructor to be ever executed. Anyways, let’s see what do we get the result when you execute this piece of code. Here we go! For inserting 3 Triangle elements into this vector, constructor has executed 3 times(as expected) and the copy constructor has executed…how many times? 6 f** times!! Imagine a situation where you have to store thousands of such data points into a container. How many number of copies your looking so innocent code will generate? The implication : terrible performance. Ok s**t happens in life. Let’s clean it up. Optimization 1: reserve enough space in your vector As you all know, vector maintains its elements in contiguous memory blocks like arrays. But the poor vector doesn’t know how many elements of burden it is going to carry later. It may vary from none to millions. But as a programmer, when you define a vector instance, you may know how many elements this poor vector may hold in the future. Lets help our vector friend to reserve enough space in the very beginning. And here is the result when I execute this code: Magic happens! Copying is reduced by 50%. Wow, I am too smart! Just by reserving enough space for our poor vector, it has done a great performance improvement of 50%. Isn’t that amazing? (If you would like to know more about vector::reserve, here are the details) But still, I am not fully convinced. Why the heck there are still 3 copies? That’s insane, stop creating copies Mr Vector (or, Mr C++). Don’t worry, C++ is too smart, it offers a great solution here. Let’s try it out. Optimization 2: move constructor, replace push with emplace As you can see, the Triangle instance I have created are not named entities. In C++, these are called rvalues. If you are creating rvalue instances of your class, add a constructor in your class which can handle these unnamed entities. These constructors are called move constructors. The second change I want to introduce is to replace vector::push_back with vector::emplace_back. As the name says, it is not creating a copy of the element to insert at the end of container. Instead, it directly creates at the end of container. You are saving a copy operation here. Here is the latest code: And here is the result: No more copying!!! Now the performance gain has been increased to 100% !! Isn’t that amazing? The changes we made are trivial but the result is spectacular. So two takeaways. If you are dealing with vector, always try to reserve sufficient space before you start inserting items to it. This requires a bit of planning ahead Use emplace functions over push functions if your container supports it I really hope this simple tip helps you while writing your next piece of code. Simple changes in our habits can create great results! Thanks for reading, cheers!
https://medium.com/swlh/performance-pitfalls-in-c-626337db7fa4
['Dhanesh Valappil']
2020-06-29 15:49:02.361000+00:00
['Performance', 'C Plus Plus Language', 'Vector', 'Low Latency']
How regional banks can capitalize on a new population of entrepreneurs
Stop Making Cents: In a post-pandemic world, can regional banks find opportunity in a rising class of solopreneurs? Bionic Follow May 5, 2020 · 7 min read By Ariel Steinlauf, Entrepreneur in Residence at Bionic Photo by Marten Bjork on Unsplash I was speaking with a couple of my colleagues this week about — what else — life after the pandemic. In an attempt to take our minds off of our individual travails, we tried to conjure a vision of the new future that would take into account the behavioral changes in our society. Where we landed surprised even us, seasoned disruption experts that we are. In the background of the discussion were all of the articles we have come to expect to see daily, suggesting the obvious — unemployment will rise, lending needs will heighten, digital payments will grow, e-commerce will flourish, retail visits across sectors will tank. But what about the societal shifts that will occur as a result of all of this? Meet the new customer — The Solopreneur The high unemployment rate, currently estimated at 18% of the labor force, coupled with rampant furloughs, translates into extreme financial uncertainty for many. Combine that with the high degree of consumer unpreparedness across the country — 40% of Americans can’t afford a $400 emergency, and this pandemic goes far beyond that — and the result of these pressures, in our opinion, will spur many individuals to think long and hard about their latent talents and skills, or new modes of delivering them in order to generate an income. This process will give rise to the solopreneur. While the solopreneur — an individual operating as a micro-business — is not a new concept, we foresee many more of them will start to operate now, and will continue as solo practitioners on the other side of this pandemic. More fitness instructors delivering classes online. More Uber drivers delivering meals and packages (Uber thinks that’s a good idea). More designers with a 3D printer turning into micro-manufacturers of custom parts. More hobbyists turning their skills into Etsy sales (ever heard of woodturning?) In short, we foresee an influx of folks who realize that they don’t need to work for a business — large or small — to generate an income that will sustain themselves and their families. Their goal is not to become the next Mark Zuckerberg but rather, at least initially, to survive. What will come next is the realization that this does not need to be a side hustle, but rather an ongoing, revenue-generating endeavor. Some of the enablers to this change we foresee have been around for over a decade: white label e-commerce platforms such as Shopify; marketplaces connecting buyers and sellers such as Amazon and eBay, and also riders and drivers, such as Uber and Lyft; digital video conferencing tools, such as Zoom and BlueJeans Networks (freshly acquired by Verizon); and productivity tools, such as the Google suite of office applications. All of these often free resources combine to accelerate this shift. With our worlds shrinking into our neighborhoods (and in some cases, our city blocks), additional tailwinds for this shift come in the form of consumers’ desire to support their communities. This desire manifests itself in a) focus on supporting local businesses (restaurant gift cards and merchandise sales have seen a dramatic jump); b) shift to peer-to-peer transactions; and c) emphasis to making sure one’s money is going directly to the service provider, effectively cutting out any middleman (PayPal P2P payment volume jumped 50% in Q1). If you believe, as we do, that this shift is going to happen, the question that follows is — how many of these solopreneurs exist? For an educated guess, let’s look at the recent unemployment numbers. Since mid-March, the shutdowns in many states have led to 30 million Americans filing for unemployment. However, they are not uniformly distributed across the US. Some states, especially in the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, West, Northwest, and some of the Midwest, are seeing over 15% unemployment rates, while others are seeing “merely” 5%+ (as shown in the chart below). Tax Foundation Let’s assume that this is the bottom and that hiring is going to gradually pick up. First, let’s deduct the 5.8 million people who were unemployed in February 2020, just before the pandemic hit, and treat that as systemic unemployment. Now, let’s further assume that half of the remaining unemployed will return to their previous jobs or similar ones. That leaves us with over 12 million people, with a distribution skewing towards those same areas mentioned above. In their current dire straits, these folks might not seem to be the best prospective customers for banks. But if you’re willing to entertain the thought, as we do, that this very situation will spur them to become solo enterprises, increasing their earnings potential — and their banking needs — then their lifetime value to the banking industry is nothing to scoff at. What’s a regional bank to do? At present, regional banks face challenges on several fronts. Declining interest rates have put increasing pressure on net interest margins. Additionally, consumer behaviors are changing as well. Driven by tech companies’ higher level of service (think Amazon 2-day shipping, the iPhone’s simple UX, and the ease of paying with Venmo), consumer expectations from their banks have risen. That in turn, has led megabanks and fintechs alike to invest in better technologies to elevate the user experience, making it harder for regional banks to catch up. Since the interest rate is out of our control, we posit that focusing on this unique customer segment of solopreneurs is an interesting opportunity for regional banks, especially as the desire to support local businesses would extend to them as well. Here are the key considerations that, in our view, will help regional banks kickstart, maintain, and grow a relationship with this new customer segment. ● Be there from the beginning and recognize the dual facets of the relationship. Currently, solopreneurs have consumer checking accounts. However, as they grow their businesses, their financial needs will go beyond those of the consumers they are now. Start by supporting them in their hour of need and get them on their feet. Focus on providing excellent service by helping them set savings goals and emergency funds or refinance a mortgage. Then, when they are ready for more advanced products, offer them revolving loans, lines of credit, and growth capital for their business. By catering holistically to both facets of their financial lives as they evolve, you can reduce churn and strengthen a long-term relationship. ● Provide consultative services, at first free, then for a fee. Opening a business requires a mindset shift on multiple levels, most importantly financial and legal. As solopreneurs start weighing their options, offer them an opportunity to chat (via text or video) with a financial advisor. Spend some time learning about their business, help them evaluate the best way to set it up (perhaps offer a LegalZoom LLC starter pack), advise on the new tax implications (business versus personal expenses), suggest simple ways to keep track of their financials, send invoices, and create simple forecasts (FreshBooks, Wave, Poindexter, and even simple Google Sheets, are good examples). Some of these services can be automated via artificial intelligence and machine learning (the infamous AI/ML) or simpler technologies, thus reducing cost. However, don’t overly rely on those — the personal human touch, even when provided via digital means, will be important for customer retention. ● Partner to provide services digitally, and double-down on your proprietary gifts. It should come as no surprise that this new customer segment is digitally native and mobile-first. They’ll do a quick Google search or go to the company with the best reviews on the App Store. Accordingly, providing simple, fast, and friendly user experience (as noted above) will be key to attracting and retaining these customers. Competition from apps such as Digit, Chime, and others, who vie for the same dollars and are more advanced on the digital front, is going to be tough. Therefore, if you can’t compete with them, consider channel partnerships, and instead focus on your proprietary gifts — your local presence, longevity, and brand awareness in your region. The key benefits to you would be reduction in customer service costs and the opportunity to focus your physical footprint in areas where it makes sense to do so. More importantly, you will meet, and maybe even exceed, customer expectations for a higher level of service, which will help reduce churn and further support the relationship. This wretched pandemic will, at some point, be behind us. However, things will not return to the way they were. We call that The Great Reset. Those who recognize the shifts and make the necessary pivots to their business will be the survivors and key beneficiaries of this crisis. Embrace the change that’s coming and seize this opportunity to support people in their hour of financial need. By focusing on your core strengths, role, and brand awareness in your communities, your ability to provide human customer service (albeit via new, digital channels), and by moving nimbly and deliberately, you stand to come out of this market upheaval with new life-long, happy customers. Ariel Steinlauf is an Entrepreneur in Residence at Bionic, where he helps partners identify, validate, and launch new businesses. His work at the firm has led to the launch of several ventures, including an AI-based asset inspection service for electric utilities, a predictive analytics platform for municipal water systems, and a personal finance app for recent college graduates. Prior to joining Bionic, Ariel served as an intrapreneur, entrepreneur, and a startup advisor. Over the course of his career, he brought various new products to market, such as Sony Musicbox (a predecessor to VEVO) and Acoustiguide Apps (mobile museum guides). His work at American Express set the foundation for Amex Advance (a consumer insights platform). Hailing from Israel, Ariel started his career managing the first broadband trial in the country and subsequently headed IT operations at a pioneering search marketing startup. The author wishes to thank his colleagues Eric Freitag, Leslie Bradshaw, and Kevin Schroeder for their input and support in writing this piece.
https://medium.com/onbionic/stop-making-cents-b72a167987f4
[]
2020-05-11 00:14:03.410000+00:00
['Entrepreneurship', 'Customer Service', 'Banks', 'Money', 'Banking']
What happens when you switch on a computer?
Last year in December, I gave an interview at Microsoft and in the last round of the interview, I was asked this question. What happens when you switch on a computer? The power button symbol represents a one cutting a zero that comes from the electronics field. Now before I answer this question, let us spend a minute looking at the internal structure of a hard drive. The internal structure of a typical hard drive. For the sake of simplicity, I am assuming that we have just one hard drive attached to our computer. First 512 bytes of the hard drive store something called a Master Boot Record or MBR. MBR contains a table known as a partition table that stores the structure of the remaining hard drive. The remaining of the hard drive is divided into multiple partitions. For a Windows PC, these partitions are generally named C and D drives. At last, there is a small partition generally few GBs in size that is called swap or virtual memory. Swap space is used by a computer to store data that should ideally be in RAM but the RAM may not be big enough. Please note, swap space is not available to the user to store data. Now in the partitions that are available for the user to store data, one or more of them may be bootable i.e they may have a copy of an operating system installed on them. In our example, we have just one copy of the operating system present in our c drive. But, if we were running a dual boot computer then I might have another copy of an operating system installed in the other partition. A typical example of this case is when you have a dual boot computer having windows installed in one partition and Linux installed in another partition. If a partition is bootable i.e it has a copy of an operating system installed on it then the first 512 bytes of that partition will contain a program known as bootloader. If you are wondering why there is a magic number of 512 bytes both in the case of MBR and bootloader, then we will take up that question in a few minutes. Now we know a bit about the internal structure of a hard-drive let’s dive into the original question. The BIOS When the power-on button is pressed, the first chipset that gets activated is called BIOS. BIOS stands for Basic Input Output System and is responsible for three things. First, BIOS performs a Power On Self Test also known as POST. In this BIOS verifies if the computer keyboard, random access memory, disk drives, and other hardware are working correctly or not. If everything is working correctly it will give one beep sound as output. If something is wrong, it will give some other beep sound pattern as output. You can actually use this beep pattern to identify the error. I use a gigabyte motherboard which has the following beep patterns. 1 short beep means the system is normal 1 long beep followed by 1 short beep means RAM is not working correctly or RAM is missing 1 long beep followed by 2 short beeps means Graphic card error and so on. You can actually find beep patterns for your motherboard manufacturer by doing a Google search. BIOS settings showing boot sequence options. Next, BIOS looks at the boot sequence to find a storage device and loads the master boot record or MBR into the RAM. We already know that MBR contains a partition table that has entries regarding partitions on your storage device. Now BIOS will look at the partition table and identify all the bootable partitions. If there is just one bootable partition then BIOS will proceed with the boot process else it will give you an option to select the OS that you want to boot. The Bootloader When BIOS knows which partition to boot from, it will go to that partition and again load a program stored in the first 512 bytes of the selected partition. This program is known as a bootloader. If you are using Linux then your bootloader will either be Grub or LILO. In the case of windows, the program is very creatively called windows bootloader. The bootloader is responsible for loading the operating system into the RAM. If you are wondering why BIOS does not load the operating system on its own but delegates the same task to the bootloader, then the answer is BIOS is a pretty old piece of hardware. It was designed in 1975 and can only access 512 bytes of memory. This is where the magic number of 512 that puts a hard limit on the size of MBR and bootloader comes from. Nowadays, computer hardware manufacturers are moving towards a new implementation of BIOS that is known as UEFI which stands for Unified Extensible Firmware Interface. UEFI can work with 32-bit and 64-bit machines and provides additional features as secure boot. Secure boot simply means to check the operating system for any kind of data tampering since the last boot. Once the bootloader is copied successfully in the RAM, the BIOS gives the execution control to the bootloader. The bootloader is responsible for loading the first major piece of the operating system into the RAM. This is called a kernel. If you are using Linux, it is called Linux kernel and on Windows, it is called WNT which stands for Windows New Technology kernel. Once the kernel is loaded into the RAM, the execution control is given to it and it starts the 3 stage process to bring the computer to life. The Kernel 3 stage process of kernel booting an operating system. In the first stage, the kernel performs a test known as auto-probing. Auto-probing simply means to check if other hardware components such as wifi-card, ethernet card, hard-drives, USB devices, keyboard, mouse, touchpad, etc are working correctly or not. Once, auto-probing is done the kernel will check if the hard drive is okay or not. Traditionally, mechanical hard drives used to be the most fragile part of the whole computer system. But, this is no longer a problem with new SSD or solid-state devices. Once all the checks are done, in the second stage the kernel will start the system daemons. Daemons are programs that run in the background and provide services to other programs. There are daemons for services such as printer spooling and networking. Once the daemons are running, the kernel will execute the GUI manager or the display manager that will actually give you a login screen. Login screen on Windows 7 operating system. On a typical modern computer, it takes about 10–15 seconds to see a login screen after pressing the power-on button. During this time, the computer actually executes over a million lines of code just to give you a login screen, which is quite magical. In my next article, I will describe what actually happens when you enter your username and password into an operating system and how we can tweak the logic with our understanding to login to a local machine without having a username or a password. Until next time, goodbye.
https://medium.com/10xcod3r/what-really-happens-when-you-switch-on-a-computer-defe74ccaba4
['Divanshu Singh']
2020-07-05 18:21:45.698000+00:00
['Programming', 'Linux', 'Hacking', 'Coding', 'Electronics']
A Collective Responsibility
A Collective Responsibility How USAID inspires support for breastfeeding around the world USAID Follow Jul 28 · 6 min read Community Health Worker Denise Ravaonasolo visits a household in Andasibe, Madagascar to support a mother who is having a hard time breastfeeding. / Karen Kasmauski, USAID Maternal and Child Survival Program Breastfeeding has always been more than a one person job. Yet in many places around the world, mothers shoulder this responsibility alone or with very little support. Recognizing that achieving optimal breastfeeding practices requires broad-based support, USAID promotes breastfeeding as a collective responsibility — one that families, communities, health systems, governments, and development partners must champion together. For over 40 years, USAID has supported breastfeeding initiatives around the world to save lives, prevent malnutrition, support healthy birth spacing, and enhance the long-term health and prosperity of women and children. Breast milk provides ideal nutrition for infants, supports optimal cognitive and physical development, and reduces the risk of disease. In fact, infants younger than 6 months old who are not breastfed are three to four times more likely to die, on average, compared to infants who have been breastfed. For nursing individuals, breastfeeding improves birth spacing, and reduces the risk of breast and ovarian cancers and chronic diseases, including type-2 diabetes and heart disease. Supporting breastfeeding is more critical than ever as the COVID-19 pandemic has introduced new barriers to breastfeeding, including widespread misinformation and decreased access to skilled support. Despite these barriers, over the last several years USAID has intensified breastfeeding programming and found additional opportunities to engage communities, religious leaders, health systems, and families to support mothers on their breastfeeding journeys. In Bangladesh, Rupna Das, a family welfare assistant, supports Azizun Tumpa to breastfeed her daughter while taking precautions to limit potential COVID-19 exposure. / Jamila Siddika, USAID Ujjiban Counseling Helps Ensure Family Involvement Skilled breastfeeding counselors play an important role in supporting mothers with breastfeeding challenges, encouraging them to adopt good breastfeeding practices — including the early initiation of breastfeeding and exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months — and engaging family members to support lactating mothers. In Laos, breastfeeding counseling made all the difference for Done, a 31-year-old mother of four, who previously struggled with exclusive breastfeeding. Following the common practices of her village, she fed her first three infants rice, in addition to breast milk, worrying that they would not be full on breast milk alone. However, while she was pregnant with her fourth child, Done received counseling on the benefits of exclusive breastfeeding during a prenatal care visit at a nearby USAID-supported health facility. In Kengly Village, Laos, Done’s husband and mother-in-law provided physical and emotional support while she was breastfeeding her youngest son, Phonethavy. / Keomany Phommahan, USAID Nurture At the same time, her husband and mother-in-law were educated through project activities and events back in their village. As a result, they not only encouraged Done to continue exclusive breastfeeding, but also took on some of her household responsibilities so she could have more time to breastfeed. Her youngest is now an energetic 2-year-old, who is healthy and growing well. Susan Alaba breastfeeds her baby in the presence of her husband, who she says has been very supportive in helping her exclusively breastfeed their youngest child after he received messages on breastfeeding benefits from their local Village Health Teams. / Barbara Akite, USAID RHITES-N Lango In Uganda, Susan Alabada shared a similar experience. She emphasized that with USAID-supported breastfeeding counseling from a local midwife and “the support of my husband, who took up the trainings from the Village Health Team, I am exclusively breastfeeding our daughter.” She added proudly that “as a result of this support, my 4-month-old baby Angela doesn’t get sick like my 3-year-old who wasn’t exclusively breastfed.” Community Support Helps Navigate Myths and Misconceptions Beyond family-level support, community and peer engagement can also play a critical role in promoting optimal breastfeeding practices and helping families navigate myths and misconceptions around breastfeeding. Zulkumar Erkebaeva, a 27-year-old mother of three from the Kyrgyz Republic, thought her baby needed water during the first few months of life. But after a community activist invited her to a USAID-supported virtual education session, she learned about exclusive breastfeeding for the first time. “It never occurred to me that during the first six months my baby can get everything it needs out of breast milk,” she emphasized. Ainura Yuldasheva, a project activist, provides breastfeeding counseling to Zulkumar Erkebaeva, in Kenchi Village, Kyrgyzstan. / USAID Advancing Nutrition In Lesotho, Mareekelelitsoe Monne was devastated when she found out she had tested positive for HIV, worrying that she wouldn’t be able to breastfeed her child. After meeting with a USAID-supported peer counselor, or “mentor mother,” at her local health facility, she was surprised to learn that exclusive breastfeeding was actually recommended for mothers living with HIV to ensure that their children get the appropriate nutrients needed to grow and thrive. Mareekelelitsoe emphasized that the support and encouragement she received from the mentor mothers enabled her to “make the very best decision to exclusively breastfeed my baby.” By taking antiretroviral medications, maintaining regular visits to the clinic, and ensuring her infant received daily preventative prophylaxis, she is also happy to report that her child remains HIV-free to this day. Breastfeeding women receive education and breastfeeding support from Mentor Mothers at Mafeteng Hospital MCH in Lesotho. / M’me Limpho Nteko, Mothers2Mothers for USAID USAID also engages with religious leaders to promote positive care seeking practices and breastfeeding in their communities. After hearing his Imam talk about breastfeeding before a regular Friday-afternoon prayer in Bangladesh, Nasir Munshi quickly rushed home to share the messages with his wife, Ayesha. With the encouragement of his religious community, Nasir was motivated to support Ayesha and encouraged her to continue breastfeeding even after the first six months. Ayesha Begum breastfeeds her five-month-old child in Pukurjana Sadar, Bangladesh. / Masuda Tajmim Mou, Feed the Future Bangladesh Working with Healthcare Providers Helps to Initiate Early Breastfeeding Health facilities are a critical entry point for promoting good breastfeeding practices, such as the early initiation of breastfeeding within an hour after birth. Recognizing this role, USAID is training primary health care workers in hard-to-reach communities in Nigeria to improve breastfeeding counseling and support for lactating individuals in order to influence positive infant feeding decisions at key moments before and after birth. USAID also helped develop audio tools that health workers can access through their mobile phones. In rural communities, this supplements the clinical training and acts as a mobile reference library for health workers. In Abakaliki Town in Ebonyi State Nigeria, Midwife Oko Constance helps nursing students learn how to teach mothers to express breast milk. / Karen Kasmauski, USAID Maternal and Child Survival Program In Northern Uganda, Kevin Ajajura, a midwife at the Gulu Regional Referral Hospital, recalls how USAID helped the facility achieve Baby Friendly Hospital certification, allowing them to better support breastfeeding individuals. With some key transformations in the hospital’s policies and operating procedures, health workers are now champions for breastfeeding, helping families get off to the best start as they feed their newborns. “Sometimes mothers stop me on the streets to show me their babies,” Kevin recalls. “I am happy when I see mothers like [that]. I know whatever information I gave the mother, she put it into practice to help protect breastfeeding.” In Mirandrivazo, Madagascar, Midwife Haingomalala Roilande Richter is making her rounds in the maternity ward, helping mothers with breastfeeding. / Karen Kasmauski, USAID Maternal and Child Survival Program Together with the global community, USAID is working to scale up optimal breastfeeding practices to near universal levels, to help save the lives of more than 800,000 children and 20,000 women each year.
https://medium.com/usaid-2030/a-collective-responsibility-a7c688033d77
[]
2021-07-28 14:19:14.618000+00:00
['Global Health', 'Maternal Health', 'International Development', 'World Breastfeeding Week', 'Breastfeeding']
How I Used Podcasting To Sell $140k+ Worth Of My Product
I don’t like podcasts. For me, they are a drag. To sum up — it’s when a couple of people take an hour to say what can be said in 10-mins. Only lazy people who like to think they are being productive listen to them. That’s how I talked a year ago. But now I have a different opinion about this audio platform. I started my podcast in March 2020. As of December, I have converted $140,000 worth of clients from it. This conversion rate is second best to my Youtube Channel. Even that took 2-years to show this kind of return. If you aren’t good at visual marketing then podcast maybe the right fit for you. The podcast industry is worth about $9.28 Billion and I now know I was wrong. People love to listen to their favourite personalities. Especially, when doing mechanical work like exercise, chores, or driving. With 144 Million listeners in America alone, it’s a rich pool of potential audience. But, it’s not as simple as pressing the record button and talking. You have to be strategic if you want people to listen and buy from you. That’s the part I will cover in this story. Basic things like how to make a cover image or the recording process, I expect you to figure out on your own. A simple google search can solve that. This story is about what you can’t find on Google — my strategy.
https://entrepreneurshandbook.co/how-i-used-podcasting-to-sell-140k-worth-of-my-product-f54b2fa9db35
['Rafael Eliassen']
2020-12-27 13:49:52.996000+00:00
['Small Business', 'Marketing', 'Social Media Marketing', 'Entrepreneurship', 'Online Marketing']
Tests for Independence and Measures of Association
Introduction Categorical (or discrete) variables are used to organise observations into groups that share a common trait. The trait may be nominal (e.g., sex or eye colour) or ordinal (e.g., age group, risk level), and, in general, the number of groups within a variable is 20 or fewer (Imrey & Koch, 2005). There are various statistical procedures that can be used to analyse categorical data. For this particular piece, I’ll explain how to analyse two categorical variables by checking their statistical significance and strength of their relationship. Dataset The dataset is derived from a list of sampled households. The aim of the data collection process was to track progress of drinking water, sanitation and hygiene using WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) service ladders. Data Analysis Contingency Tables A contingency table, also known as a cross-classification table, is a table that displays the frequency distribution of a categorical variable (s). In a contingency table, categorical variables can either be explanatory (X-Variable) or response (Y-Variable). Explanatory variables are also known as independent variables. During research they’re the ones usually manipulated to detecting changes or outcomes of the response variable. In our household data, we’ll seek to find out if a hand washing facility can be a determinant to drinking water being contaminated. X variable will be a hand washing facility and the Y Variable will be risk level of contamination. Using R statistical language, we’ll create a contingency table showing the distribution of the two variables. # Import Household Data into R Studio Workspace householdData <- read.csv(“householdData.csv”) # Data Dimension > dim(householdData) [1] 2425 25 # The above DF has 25 columns and 2425 observations # Contingency table of presence of Hand Washing facility and risk of # E. coli contamination. handWash_RiskLevel <- table(householdData$sdg_hand_washing, householdData$RiskLevel, dnn = c(“HandWash”,”RiskLevel”)) # Print the Contingency Table > handWash_RiskLevel RiskLevel HandWash High Intermediate Low Basic/Limited 237 45 26 No facility 1781 209 127 From the above table, we can easily check the frequency distributions of all variables. For instance, 1781 households that don’t have a hand-washing facility have high-risk levels of contamination. However, the question we need to further ask is if a hand-washing facility can affect the risk level of drinking water. Tests for Independence In a two-way contingency table, it’s natural to ask how X and Y variables are related. If there is no relationship between X and Y, then the categorical variables are independent i.e. probability distribution of X is not affected by presence of Y. When performing a test for independence, we first state both the Null and the alternate hypothesis. N ull Hypothesis: There is no relationship between the presence of a hand-washing facility and drinking water being contaminated. There is no relationship between the presence of a hand-washing facility and drinking water being contaminated. Alternate Hypothesis: There is a relationship between the presence of a hand washing facility and drinking water being contaminated. In R, there are two ways to measure tests for independence. Fisher’s exact and Pearson’s Chi-square test for independence. For this, we’ll use the chi-square test as Fisher’s exact test is used for small sample sizes. chiTest <- chisq.test(handWash_RiskLevel) > chiTest Pearson's Chi-squared test data: handWash_RiskLevel X-squared = 9.9709, df = 2, p-value = 0.006837 Looking at the results, we reject the null hypothesis and conclude that there is a relationship between the presence of a hand-washing facility and the risk of water being contaminated. This is because the p-value is lower than the significance level of 5%. To further strengthen this inference, one can plot a graph of the observed values and the expected values. Expected values are equivalent to results projected if the null hypothesis was was true. # Mosaic Plots of both Observed and Expected Values OP <- par(mfrow=c(1,2), "mar"=c(1,1,3,1)) mosaicplot(chiTest$observed, cex.axis =1 , main = "Observed counts") mosaicplot(chiTest$expected, cex.axis =1 , main = "Expected counts (if Hand Washing Presence had no influence)") par(OP) Figure 1.0. Mosaic plots showing a comparison between observed and expected values. Measures of Association Measures of association quantifies the relationship of X and Y variable once test for independence has been carried out. These measures can either be symmetrical or asymmetrical. Asymmetrical measures of association are performed when X variable is explanatory and Y variable is the response. Otherwise, symmetric. Cramér’s V test is one way of measuring associations and it’s explicitly used for categorical/nominal variables. Using vcd package, I’ll measure the association between the presence of a hand-washing facility and risk level of water contamination. # Load the vcd package library(vcd) # Measure the Association assocstats(handWash_RiskLevel) X^2 df P(> X^2) Likelihood Ratio 9.2571 2 0.0097688 Pearson 9.9709 2 0.0068367 Phi-Coefficient : NA Contingency Coeff.: 0.064 Cramer's V : 0.064 From the code output above, Cramér’s V coefficient is very small, thus the association is weak. As an inference, presence/absence is not enough explanatory variable in predicting risk level of drinking water.
https://polaranalytics.medium.com/tests-for-independence-and-measures-of-association-12f49c00c734
['Polar Analytics']
2020-11-25 21:43:42.908000+00:00
['Chi Square Test', 'Categorical Data', 'Statistical Analysis', 'Data Analysis', 'R']
Can Your Marketing Create a Movement? Here’s How to Find Out
Can Your Marketing Create a Movement? Here’s How to Find Out By Heike Young Sometimes a message, campaign, or product takes on a life of its own and becomes a legitimate movement. Think about Dove’s Real Beauty campaign (as shown in the image above), TOMS Shoes, or American Express with Small Business Saturday. These messages went beyond marketing to become conversation starters and true movements with engaged followings. They seemed to spread like magic, but what really happened? We asked two movement-makers for their behind-the-scenes stories for the latest episode of the Marketing Cloudcast, the marketing podcast from Salesforce. In the full episode, Jay Baer explains what fueled the crazy success of his NYT-bestselling book Youtility, and Sangram Vajre, CMO and co-founder of Terminus, shares how his “Flip My Funnel” concept grew a dedicated community of worldwide B2B followers. You’ll hear the back story that’s rarely told of how these movements grew — as well as Jay and Sangram’s cautionary advice about what doesn’t really constitute a movement. So can you create a movement? Here are a few tips from Jay and Sangram to find out. For the full conversation that’s filled with many more insights, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Play Music, Stitcher, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Do you have a vocal community of participants? Jay explains: “I defy you to come up with a movement that isn’t essentially propelled by the participants of the movement. Every movement is driven almost entirely by word of mouth, that’s what makes it a movement. You can’t media buy you way into a movement. It just doesn’t work, it’s just not possible. Because if you have to pay for the attention it’s not good enough to become a movement. Every true movement is really based on having massive relevancy, the right timing, and a group of early adopters who believe in it so much they’re willing to put their own social capital on the line to bring in the second, third, fourth, and fifth levels of participants in that same movement.” Are you willing to stop talking about your brand and products? Sangram says with Flip My Funnel, his team and all events focused on the core message and concept without mentioning the company behind it at all. In fact, Terminus invites its competitors to be part of the conversation. Sangram explains, “[Flip My Funnel] didn’t talk about the product. It didn’t talk about buy me or buy from me. What is portrayed is that I want to be a part of this. I want to challenge something and I want to be a part of this movement that will help people be better at whatever it is that they do.” “If you truly, truly believe in the problem you’re solving and you’re willing to talk about it without giving your company any credit, you have the opportunity to build a movement.” Does your product, campaign, or message deserve a movement? Are you really seeking to build a movement or just an XL marketing campaign? Jay advises, “Funny enough, this concept of can you make your own movement is sort of a bigger way to say, ‘Hey, how much would I have to pay you to make this video go viral?’ It’s the same question. The answer is all the money and none of the money. Nobody can do that for you. Things go viral when they deserve to be viral. And things become movements when they deserve to be movements.” Are your goals industry-wide or company-wide? Sangram says he never realized their “movement” was actually a reality until recently: “Maybe six months ago somebody said, ‘You guys actually have a movement.’ We just didn’t comprehend it. We knew we would find a lot of peace if the FlipMyFunnel model became the way people talked about B2B marketing and sales, with no attribution to Terminus. It doesn’t really matter.” Hear more about Sangram’s success with Flip My Funnel on the full episode of the Cloudcast — and you’ll also hear about how Jay Baer’s dentist rocks a content marketing strategy with video. Hear the New Podcast Format Two weeks ago, we shifted the Marketing Cloudcast to an entirely new format and style (think narrative with multiple guests — more Freakonomics, less live interview), and I’d love to know what you think! Join the thousands of smart marketers who are Cloducast subscribers on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Google Play Music, and Stitcher. Tweet @youngheike with feedback on this episode — or ideas for future guests and topics.
https://medium.com/marketing-cloudcast/can-your-marketing-create-a-movement-heres-how-to-find-out-141809d6f1b9
[]
2017-07-12 17:55:31.067000+00:00
['Marketing']
Life Lessons from an Engineer #5
Image Credit: 15five.com In the summer of 2017 I was finally getting into the swing of things in my new role. I was becoming more comfortable with the uncertainty of working on multiple projects, and also working with new people. I had only been promoted a few months back and it felt good to be on top of things for once. The trouble is that I always like to take opportunities to learn and grow on the job. And early in my career if I noticed the work becoming too easy I would always look for ways to develop or learn a new skill. This was one of those times… Sure enough, I found an opportunity for personal development. It actually came from a good colleague who asked if I could arrange work experience for his daughter and her friend (both in Year 10 at the time). Around this time in secondary school, the UK has a work experience week, hence the timing. I was keen to take on this new project as I saw it as an experience to manage two younger people, develop my ability to explain technical concepts at a simple level and to improve my leadership skills. I created a simple plan for the week, with time chunks to spend in different departments shadowing people around the factory. Alongside this, I also planned in some homework tasks, which were more computer based so I could set them to work while I completed my own tasks. The placement was very successful and both students had a great time. My manager seemed impressed with my ability juggle this and my ongoing commitments. I was pleased that I had the opportunity to inspire the students around STEM careers, and in the process I also learnt a great deal about leading a team. This learning has culminated in the tips below… Top Tips Safety First This has to be the most important tip, especially for a STEM job, where a large part of work could be in a lab or workshop where there are a myriad of potential hazards. In my case the students were minors, so it was even more important to reduce risks, and to limit certain activities. This being said, if you are unsure always ask your heathy and safety adviser, or someone more senior to you. 2. Get to know who you are working with So what do I mean by this? Well aside from their strengths, weakness and aspirations, it helps to understand what drives them and how you support them. In my case, both students were very different in their learning styles. One loved to see how something worked, whereas the other could deduce the same information from a book or website. I realised this early on, and made an effort to use both methods to solidify learning points. This is just one example of getting to know your team or people you are responsible for. However, in a normal case where you may hired a new team member, you would have only seen this person in an interview scenario. So chances are when they start, you will see different sides of their personality. It is important to get to know your team and colleagues both at work and outside of it. This helps to build a rapport and in the long term allows you to adjust your strategy going forwards. 3. Have a plan Even if you are responsible for a few individuals for a short period of time, it is useful to have a plan (with the above example it was only 1 week). In terms of planning, it is useful to knock up a simple sheet of A4 to outline what the person might gain in their time working with you, and also to clarify their aims and aspirations. This way you can work towards a useful outcome and give them more useful feedback at the end of the supervisory period. 4. Be flexible Things will go wrong — that is life…whether its a personal grievance, conflicting priorities or issues outside of work, you will see one or more of these as you begin to have personnel responsibilities in your career. During these times, don’t stress too much about a plan. Instead be honest with yourself and your colleagues and do your best to keep them informed. 5. Communicate frequently People may not remember you in 20 years time, but they will never forget the way you made them feel. You can leave people with a positive feeling by thinking about your communication. Not just in terms of your language, but also the medium i.e. can I send this in an email? Or should I say this face to face? Whichever method you choose, remember to catch up with people regularly and give them time to express their highs/lows. It is important to keep people informed when things are going well, but more so if things are not going well. Integrity is paramount to leadership and people will always appreciate you for being frank. The final point I will make here, is to give feedback regularly. I like to a sandwich method of positive feedback, why you liked XYZ and then if need be a point for improvement. This works better than just telling people what to improve. Take-Away At some point in your career you will have an opportunity to be responsible for one or more people. This is a fantastic moment to demonstrate your leadership potential, humility and communication skills. Often these experiences are given as a test by your line manager or someone senior to you, so be grateful for it and do your best. Remember as much as it is important to help your colleagues, you also need to be mindful of your own workload to ensure that you are delivering on all fronts. I hope the tips in this article will prove useful to you in the future, and that in doing so you are able to show your leadership skills in the best light! P.S You don’t have to be a manager to lead! Instead you can be a leader without a title — this is much more humbling an insightful. Thanks for reading. Take care and Kind Regards, Dipendra
https://medium.com/@djmistry/life-lessons-from-an-engineer-5-5e4bece6e031
['Dipendra J. Mistry']
2020-12-19 14:25:00.240000+00:00
['Work Life Balance', 'Careers', 'Leadership', 'Life Lessons', 'STEM']
Use This Screenwriter’s Meditation to Access Your Creativity
I recently came across Dr. Mihaela Ivan Holtz through a blog post that she authored on the topic of being a more fulfilled artist. I posted a link to her blog through SoCreate’s Twitter account, and it remains one of the most clicked article links that we’ve ever posted. As a psychotherapist who specializes in treating people in film, TV, and performing and fine arts, she had a unique viewpoint to offer on breaking through creative blocks. Her approach wasn’t one that I’d seen before on screenwriting blogs, which mostly focus on how-to guides, interviews with pros, and formatting rules. It goes deeper than that, and I knew I wanted to share it with the screenwriting community. So below, you’ll find a guest post from Dr. Holtz, and a meditation that she graciously wrote and recorded specifically for you, screenwriters. Both focus on accessing your creativity and connecting with your emotional, creative space. Take a deep breath and enjoy! Listen to the Screenwriter’s Meditation Here Ready to get back to writing? Make sure you’re on SoCreate’s private beta list to be one of the first to try SoCreate Screenwriting Software, coming soon. You can sign up to hold your place in line here. Access Your Creativity with Meditation As a writer, you have your own emotional, creative space. When you’re there, it feels like everything’s meant to be. Your ideas unfold and reveal themselves to you. You experience an organic connection to your creativity. And sometimes, something quite miraculous happens. There’s a moment when your ideas and inspiration suddenly meet your talents and skills. Your heart and your mind become one. Your story starts taking shape. Now, you are fully present with your writing, and nothing else can get your attention. You enter into a timeless space where everything is possible; everything is connected; everything flows. You see and feel the images, the characters, the story. There’s no doubt that you’re in the right place. It’s like you’re at home with your creativity. You feel so clean, strong, and connected with what you create. You trust what you’re writing. You know your story will speak to someone. In that place, nothing can stop you from merging with your raw emotions and imagination. You’re grounded in your talents and skills. All you want is to express, play, and see where it all might take you. There are no fears, doubts, or insecurities. Your curiosity drives you forward. You’re fully focused on discovering your story. You don’t need to prove anything. You create with everything that you are. But you’re not always in touch with your creative energy in this way. Many factors can take you out of your emotional, creative space. Life as a creative can be challenging. You move through a world filled with unknowns, rejection, and competition. Maybe you feel like you’re under pressure. Perhaps stress, depression, anxiety, or unhealed emotional pain get between you and your creativity. So how do you get back into your emotional, creative space, and reconnect to your creative energy? While your conscious mind holds some of your creative power, it’s only one small aspect of your full creative potential. Your conscious mind may be a great editor that knows how to organize your story but to write something meaningful, you need access to your true source of creativity, your subconscious mind. Your subconscious mind holds the treasures of your imagination and your authentic creative potential. Everything you’ve experienced, all imbued by your raw humanity, lives in this part of your mind. All your moments of joy, wonder, or awe. All your moments of struggle, fear, or disappointments. Your subconscious is a limitless creative reservoir. For you to access your emotional, creative space, your conscious and subconscious need to work together. You need to be able to quiet the noise and distractions of your rational mind so that you can access the deeper and most powerful parts of your imagination. When the streams of your subconscious become infused with a sense of open, mindful awareness, you can be in your emotional, creative space. This is when you find your most original, authentic, and human stories. These are the stories that impact people and make the characters come alive. You’re able to inspire your audience to moments of laughter, surprise, suspense, terror, mystery, love, or action. Here, you become the most powerful and effective as a writer. Meditation can be a healthy and reliable path to your emotional, creative space As an artist, you naturally gravitate to your emotional, creative space. Sometimes everyday human experiences open that gate to your creative world. Love, exercise, driving, flowing water sounds, or walking in nature can get you there. And, sadly, as so many creatives have discovered, alcohol and drugs offer a route there too. Drugs and alcohol can harm creativity and one’s emotional and physical health, sometimes irreversible. One of the most organic, real, and powerful ways to consistently access your creativity is through meditation, mindfulness, and visualization. These activities quiet your conscious mind so you can open and focus your subconscious mind. Thanks to meditation, you can more easily navigate your way toward your emotional, creative space. Meditation allows you to be in touch with your subconscious. At the same time, it strengthens your ability to be with and tolerate what may be revealed in your unconscious. It enables you to be present and aware of the deeper layers of your mind and do so with a sense of equanimity. “Equanimity” comes from the Latin meaning “equal spirit.” It means being “OK” with in-the-now experiences, regardless of what that moment brings. In this meditative mind state, you can allow your subconscious to emerge into the conscious present moment. You find your emotional, creative space at the intersection of your in-the-now alert conscious mind and your subconscious rich experiences. You can see the deeper layers of your mind, as well as life experiences, thoughts, and feelings without being trapped or controlled by them. In fact, through meditation, you can connect these aspects of your mind and use all parts of yourself to help you create. I created a short meditation that includes elements of mindfulness and visualization to help you connect with your emotional, creative space. It’s most helpful to listen to first thing when you wake up in the morning or as you fall asleep at night. However, any time is a good time to meditate. If you find yourself anxious, agitated, or emotionally triggered while experimenting with this meditation, you might be coming up against unhealed emotional pain. You may consider psychotherapy to heal these lingering issues. Dr. Mihaela Ivan Holtz founded Creative Minds Psychotherapy, a transformation journey for the unfulfilled creative or performer. She helps creative people and performers with personal and professional challenges, relationship blocks, creative blocks, anxiety, depression, and addictions. She has a doctoral degree in clinical psychology from Pepperdine University and is also certified in psychoanalysis through The Wright Institute, Los Angeles. Her training in psychoanalysis, the neurobiology of psychotherapy and interpersonal relationships, meditation, family systems, cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy, solution-focused techniques, and positive psychology allows her to get to the root of what is not working while moving a person toward making changes in the present. Learn more about her at CreativeMindsPyschotherapy.com.
https://medium.com/@socreate/use-this-screenwriters-meditation-to-access-your-creativity-36f0841ade72
[]
2021-02-26 23:55:38.724000+00:00
['Meditation', 'Creativity', 'Writers Block', 'Screenwriting', 'Filmmaking']
Make 2021–2030 the best decade of your life
Make 2021–2030 the best decade of your life “Most people overestimate what they can do in one year and underestimate what they can do in ten years.” - Bill Gates Sasi Dec 27, 2020·3 min read After a horrible 2020, I’m sure everyone’s doubly excited to make resolutions for 2021. But why stop at making resolutions for 2021? Why not make plans for the whole decade? Whether you are a meticulous planner who micro plans everything or that free spirit who believes in spontaneity, we can all make some efforts to design our life’s new decade 2021–2030. If you are looking for an organised system to plan out the whole decade , this article should help you! How to actually plan out a whole decade? Ask yourself the following questions. Try to be as concise in your answers as possible. This exercise would be helpful in planning 2021–30, because you’ll be clearer about your life’s long term goals. How old are you ? What is your life’s mission? Where are you living currently? Is this the place you want to be in future? List any ten things that you surely want to do in the next ten years of your life, at least once. Imagine yourself 10 years older. What is your ideal life like? Pick any three most prominent aspects of your ideal life. Write them down. Pick any three non-essential aspects of your ideal life. Write them down. What are the things that you wanted to do all your life, but couldn’t? Can you still do them? You can add/subtract questions as per your wish. Once you are done answering the above questions, make a table as shown below. Better use computer spreadsheets instead of pen & paper. The above table is only an example to show you how to make your table. You can edit the categories as per your liking. To fill each block in every category may seem difficult , but you don’t have to fill each and every box. If you have no idea what you are going to do in a particular year, leave it blank. You may not even have individual year plans, but rather a goal. So draw a line for its deadline instead of filling all boxes. Also, make sure to choose categories that are important to you, or will be for the next 10 years. And fill the boxes with realistic goals. Are your goals matching with your Q&As ? Once you are done filling up the table, examine each year individually. See which three goals/resolutions are most important to you in a given year among all categories. Try to sum up all three goals in a single word, and type/write them next to that year. For example , if your three most important goals in 2021 are a) save 60% income from part-time job b) learn to cook c) get good scores in college exams Then you can summarize the goals as : Do this for every year. A good tip would be to write it down on several sticky notes and stick them at all those places where you need motivation, such as the study table, mirror or bathroom. You can even make this your mobile/laptop wallpaper. This will remind you about your biggest year-goals every time you’ll check your phone. Change your wallpaper only at the start of 2022. However, you shouldn’t forget about your small goals of the year in the midst of completing the biggest three. Keep checking your excel spreadsheets to remember your small goals. I would advise against keeping more than 3 main goals in a year as it would be too much to manage. But if you think that you can do it, who’s going to stop you. Now that you have learnt how to plan for the whole decade, what are you waiting for? Design your own decade and share this article with your friends.
https://medium.com/@sasi862/make-2021-2030-the-best-decade-of-your-life-4228f1be8816
[]
2020-12-27 11:29:30.988000+00:00
['New Decade', 'Planning', 'New Year Planning', 'Life Planning', 'New Year Resolution']
MarcoPolo Protocol open source technology community discussion selected-November 27
MarcoPolo Protocol technology open source community has recently conducted extensive discussions on the APoS consensus mechanism. Blockchain technology researchers from various countries have expressed their profound views on the feasibility of the Asset-based Proof of Stake consensus mechanism. An Australian blockchain researcher Seabook expressed his opinion: “The APoS mechanism allows users to participate in staking without holding MAP token, which can attract more mainstream asset holders to participate” Researcher SilasZhr said: “The APoS consensus solves the problem of assets concentration in traditional PoS mechanisms by allowing cross-chain assets to participate in staking, and eases the formation of Cartel.” A developer from Brazil asked: “Could you explain how chain governance would work?”. The developers from Cosmos discussed with us regarding “The difference between the APoS consensus mechanism and ChainX’s multi-asset staking mechanism”. The MarcoPolo Protocol open source community is a technology community for global developers. It has attracted developers from well-known blockchain projects such as Cosmos, Ethereum to participate in the research and development of MarcoPolo protocol. MarcoPolo OpenSource Official Technical Community Discord: https://discordapp.com/invite/U9uxDx3 Riot: https://riot.im/app/#/room/#marcopolo:matrix.org
https://medium.com/@marcopoloprotocol/marcopolo-protocol-open-source-technology-community-discussion-selected-november-27-f2450974e5ba
['Map Protocol']
2019-11-27 05:49:11.658000+00:00
['Marcopolo', 'Map', 'Blockchain']
People set new years resolutions. I don’t anymore.
The last moment you spent reading that sentence was experienced trillions of different ways, by trillions of different minds and bodies around the world. There is no universal experience, there is only experience, and what we choose to do with it. You are not bound to what you perceive and what you think about it. The possibilities for interpretation are limitless. There will always be contrast, there will always be wisdom and wickedness. “It is the task of the enlightened not only to ascend to learning and to see the good but to be willing to descend again to those prisoners and to share their troubles and their honors, whether they are worth having or not.” — The Allegory of the Cave, Plato. Image by Joshua Sortino/UnsplashKids dream big. There are no rules. They see a sandcastle at every beach. They see smiles grown-ups miss. Their imaginations are off the charts. They’re curious about every damn thing.The work you do shouldn’t be boring for the rest of your life. At some point, you want to find work you enjoy that isn’t dictated by interest payments gifted to banks at the cost of your livelihood. Then you have to deal with your own mind, which basically tells you that you’re full of it and stupid for even thinking you have a chance to be one of the few people who pull of their dream. If you choose to endlessly consume everything you’re told to buy, by the ads that drive your online existence, you’ll always have to keep working to pay for the lifestyle. From childhood onwards, the dreamer in you is beaten out of you. Your inner-dreamer is replaced with blaming, complaining and being told parts of your life are unfair. Life is fair. 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http://awos.ehamptonny.gov/video.php?video=videos-Al-Hilal-Saudi-Al-Nassr5-v-en-gb-xem.php https://nevadawaterfowl.org/xyw/videos-galatasarai-kaiserispor-smotret-onlain-priamoi-efir5-v-yt2-1coe.php http://euromilk.org/media/fqg/video-smotret-match-karmiotissa-etnikos-v-priamom-efire5-v-yt2-1tzv.php http://elrodamon.com/ffk/Video-galatasarai-kaiserispor-smotret-priamoi-efir5-v-yt2-1sdv.php http://oligor.org/xgx/videos-galatasaray-kayserispor-canlı-izle-yayın5-v-tr-tr-1evj.php http://oligor.org/xgx/video-galatasaray-kayserispor-mac-ozet5-v-tr-tr-1wqz.php http://elrodamon.com/ffk/videos-galatasarai-kaiserispor-priamoi-efir5-v-yt2-1aon.php https://nevadawaterfowl.org/xyw/video-smotret-match-galatasarai-kaiserispor-onlain5-v-yt2-1oqp.php http://praewema.dvs-gruppe.com/typo3temp/ax-video.php?ax-video=Video-Al-Hilal-Saudi-Al-Nassr5-v-en-gb-wxg.php http://awos.ehamptonny.gov/video.php?video=videos-galatasarai-kaiserispor-smotret-onlain-transliatsiiu5-v-yt2-1tho.php http://euromilk.org/media/fqg/videos-karmiotissa-etnikos-smotret-onlain5-v-yt2-1fcn.php http://oligor.org/xgx/videos-Galatasaray-Kayserispor5-v-en-gb-1olm.php https://nevadawaterfowl.org/xyw/video-galatasarai-kaiserispor-onlain-transliatsiia5-v-yt2-1zhs.php http://elrodamon.com/ffk/video-galatasarai-kaiserispor-transliatsiia-matcha5-v-yt2-1zlg.php https://nevadawaterfowl.org/xyw/videos-galatasarai-kaiserispor-priamoi-efir5-v-yt2-1mec.php http://elrodamon.com/ffk/video-galatasarai-kaiserispor-smotret-onlain-transliatsiiu5-v-yt2-1lzo.php http://awos.ehamptonny.gov/video.php?video=Video-galatasarai-kaiserispor-smotret-onlain-transliatsiiu5-v-yt2-1inc.php http://oligor.org/xgx/Video-Galatasaray-Kayserispor5-v-en-gb-1zmo.php https://nevadawaterfowl.org/xyw/video-galatasarai-kaiserispor-transliatsiia-matcha5-v-yt2-1mis.php http://elrodamon.com/ffk/video-smotret-match-galatasarai-kaiserispor-v-priamom-efire5-v-yt2-1xfu.php http://awos.ehamptonny.gov/video.php?video=videos-galatasarai-kaiserispor-onlain5-v-yt2-1gll.php http://avet-set.com/xau/video-Al-Hilal-Saudi-Al-Nassr5-v-en-gb-vat.php http://oligor.org/xgx/video-Galatasaray-Kayserispor5-v-en-gb-1ltu.php https://nevadawaterfowl.org/xyw/video-Burnley-Crystal-Palace5-v-en-gb-1vgx.php http://elrodamon.com/ffk/videos-Burnley-Crystal-Palace5-v-en-gb-1nmy.php http://awos.ehamptonny.gov/video.php?video=video-galatasarai-kaiserispor-priamoi-efir5-v-yt2-1dog.php http://elrodamon.com/ffk/videos-Burnley-Crystal-Palace5-v-en-gb-1rcr.php Your personality traits are responsible for attracting other people into your life. If you live in fear or insecurity or anger as your primary operating mode, then you’ll attract people just like you. Instagram lied to us. Sitting on a private jet costs a lot of time that you could redeploy into life activities that give you joy and meaning. Because joy and meaning will change your life (real talk). My life was boring for so many years because I chose work that would pay enormous amounts of money to buy stupid stuff like BMWs. This meant my creative dreams were put on hold and mortgaged for pointless possessions that did nothing to get me away from the boring life that paid for them. Will you have added to the noise, or will you have brought clarity? Will you have offered your energy up to the figureheads, the supposed saviors, or will you have harnessed it for your own? Will you have criticized others’ offerings, or will you have made something of what you were given? Will you have just noticed the bad, or will you have added any good? Will your thoughts have been used to construct a new world, or pick apart the ruins? Will your words have been used to lift and encourage, or suppress and push away? Will your actions have been someone’s glimmer of hope, or proof that all is hopeless? Being around angry people helps make you more angry. Being around insecure people reinforces your insecurity. Being around too many fearful people helps make you more fearful, through the conversations you have to back up each others’ fears and confirm the life you’ve signed up for. Will you have done the boldest and most courageous thing, which is to look into your own unconsciousness, to see the backdrop from which you project all else? Will you have done what most could not, which is to just simply hold space for what hurts? First, it’s hard. All of the self-help gurus who have ten easy steps to offer are lying to you and you know it. The process isn’t difficult, but it’s hard because you need to develop discipline and gain momentum. It took years to decide those traits were choices, not forced into the sperm that created my existence. The personality traits you cultivate determine how boring your life is going to be. Why? Once you are finished criticizing other people and the way they look and who they’ve chosen to be with and what they are or are not doing, what will you have done with your own life? Once you are finished waxing poetic about all the wrongs that exist, for which there are more than most can comprehend, what will you have done with your own life? The last moment you spent reading that sentence was experienced trillions of different ways, by trillions of different minds and bodies around the world. There is no universal experience, there is only experience, and what we choose to do with it. You are not bound to what you perceive and what you think about it. The possibilities for interpretation are limitless. There will always be contrast, there will always be wisdom and wickedness. I lied to myself for years. I covered up my broken promises by pinning them on innocent victims and calling them “the problem.” The lies I told myself were the real problem. I’ve gone through that transformation you want to go through. Yes, you. I can speak directly to you and make it feel like I’m talking to you alone because we basically all want the same things. Once you have laid down in your bed, quiet, no longer arguing, no longer yearning nor hoping, and once you rise again in the morning, with swollen eyes and silence, what will you have done with your own life? Despite this, many people were charged with treason. Plotting against the king, robbing from the monarchy, conspiring with foreigners, leading a rebellion, or standing in the way of the king’s justice could all warrant a charge of treason. Your “personality is permanent” says organizational psychologist, Benjamin Hardy. That has been my experience. I replaced these unhelpful personality traits with ones of generosity, kindness, compassion and an ounce of positivity for good measure. My character certainly doesn’t match Mother Teresa’s, so don’t applaud it. But it’s a work in progress that has got me out of many plateaus that have led to a boring life.
https://medium.com/@enquandemit/people-set-new-years-resolutions-i-dont-anymore-7ea9620c849f
[]
2020-11-23 14:44:47.191000+00:00
['TV Series', 'Covid 19', 'News', 'Careers', 'Technology']
Amal’s Tokay: Reflecting What I Perceived
“Follow your passion, be prepared to work hard and sacrifice, and above all don’t let anybody limit your dreams.” Desire in my opinion is a feeling to have something or wanting something to happen. Having that thing or making that thing happen is not in our control. Being humans this word desire is imprinted in our brains. More or less it never ends. And somehow it’s what that keeps the spark called life alive. There are two kinds of people. Some take desires as their dreams and continue to purue them for the rest of their lives. Learning from every opportunity coming their way. They are the people with growth mindset. The remaining few just wait for their desires to fulfill and once fulfilled think of a new one. Putting all their efforts focusing on a single thing having a fixed mindset. People who convert desires to their dreams and passion, strive for them, and sacrifice for them are the ones with a purpose. Purpose of living. Being living is not an achievement but knowing the purpose of living is. Wanting something, making it your passion, taking it as your dream, knowing the ‘why’ , and making a start are the things which reflect your mindset. It’s a growth mindset which leads you towards your dreams and makes you do whatever you can for your passion. When I took a step towards my dreams joining Amal Fellowship was one of the best decisions. Amal has gifted me five Totkay to start the journey from fixed mindset to growth mindset. 1. Self talk Knowing and being able to talk with yourself is the first step towards a growth mindset. Chewing over your dreams and motivating yourself is the best and first thing you need to do. Nobody can inspire you unless or until you want to. You need to talk with yourself, make it very clear what do you want, why do you want, and what you can do to achieve that. That’s what Amal had taught us very first day Know yourself. 2. Moving out of comfort zone I’ve always agreed on the fact that success only comes at the cost of something. And that first something is giving up your comforts i.e. moving out of your comfort zone. We never learn or gain something when keep sticking to a place we find comfort in. Dreams demand action and action comes by taking a step. Standing still will never do magic. You’ll have to do start from somewhere. 3. Create new habits Opting for habits that makes you learn something new everyday is another vital step towards growth mindset. Changing the path that leads you nowhere is necessary for growth. Exposing yourself to change, new challenges and getting the most of it is hard but not impossible. 4. Ask for help A walk towards your passion and dreams brings a lot of obstacles and failures. Wise are those who don’t quit instead gain lessons from failures. During your journey you often need someone to hold your hand and help you go an extra mile and there is nothing wrong in taking help. It’s not something to feel ashmaed for infact it shows your confidence and strength. Asking for help is not easy but once you ask it makes things easy. Remember Ak or ak gyara! 5. Fake it till you make it Nothing is worth having when comes easy. Good things take efforts and time but that does not mean that we stop trying. Keeping the spirits high and your passion alive is the key to success. There is saying “Fake it till you make it” which mainly means to be confident and optimistic towards your goals. Confident and sure about the reality of your dreams. My favorites among them all are Moving out of your comfort zone Change the habits These two covers the most that are essential for a growth mindset. Strength to take smaller steps towards new challenges and experiences. Inspiring us to learn new things and making a best version out of ourselves. I’ve personally started following all these totkay gifted by Amal. In my journey towards achieving my goal I am moving out of my comfort zone and striving hard to go an extra mile and don’t miss an opportunity to adapt new skills. From today till every coming day, saying yes to every challenge and grabbing the opportunities for gaining a growth mindset is what that will help us pursue happyness. Let yourself be silently drawn by the strange pull of what you really love. It’ll not lead you astray. ~Rumi
https://medium.com/@sabeera.butt200/amals-tokay-reflecting-what-i-perceived-608677e73d91
['Sabeera Butt']
2021-08-19 17:07:49.491000+00:00
['Amaltotkay', 'Self Confidence', 'Action', 'Dreams', 'Purpose Of Life']
At the Edge of Faith
At the Edge of Faith Photo by Sung Jin Cho on Unsplash Hiding in the shadows of an ellipsis, that festering little dot-dot-dot so boldly dashed upon the air, the page, and my life, lies the truth… Its pause blisters the continuums of now-and-then with humming metallic silences, like a pointillism of hungry mouths to feed… There is the crinkling of cellophane. There is the dropping of dew from petal. There is a tac discovered between tic & toc. And there is the feeding of lines, whispered stage-left… Oh, yes, now I remember… “… I love you .”
https://medium.com/genius-in-a-bottle/at-the-edge-of-faith-957c9a7d240a
['Aaron Quist']
2020-12-05 01:53:13.685000+00:00
['Poetry', 'Communication', 'Love', 'Vulnerability', 'Emotions']
The Unofficial Weekly Stratis Retrospect #68 — Khilone
Stratis also thought about their community, the CEO Chris Trew and all the team members were at the booth to talk to them and they had nice giveaways for their visitors. I will write an additional blog about the expo itself to share the things I learned and what my overall feeling of the expo was. Stratis Coherence Suite The Stratis Coherence Suite is a new product that came to the surface on the Expo. With the Stratis Coherence Suite testbed tools, you can accelerate the development and deployment of enterprise blockchain. Chris Trew said the following about it: When we developed the Stratis Platform we also built a testing suite optimized for blockchain, enabling us to move fast and provide transparency -we quickly realized this is something everyone building a blockchain network will need and the Stratis Coherence Sweet was born. Paul Farrington talked about the Stratis Coherence Suite in his presentation about DLT for enterprises. Wildara Another exciting thing we learned on the Blockchain Expo is that Stratis has made a proof of concept for a company called ‘Wildara’. Wildara is an innovative project management company from Australia. Rowan talked about the proof of concept Stratis made for Wildara in his presentation. Stratis App Galmoli ⚡‏ @Galmoli_dev created the Stratis Application on Android a while ago and he shared an update with us last week. He shared the actual progress of the Stratis Explorer App. MediConnect MediConnect is a verified ICO on the Stratis Platform who currently utilizes the Stratis ICO Platform for their ICO. Last week, MediConnect released new information about their project: That’s it for now. All the best to everyone! Khilone Follow me on Twitter to get all the news right away: https://twitter.com/Khil0ne And be sure to read all my stories on Medium over here: https://medium.com/khilone Other things to keep your eyes on:
https://medium.com/khilone/the-unofficial-weekly-stratis-retrospect-68-khilone-683add8c7d16
[]
2019-04-29 15:43:13.603000+00:00
['Stratisweekly', 'Cryptocurrency', 'Crypto', 'Stratis', 'Blockchain']
Phase One… Completed!
Our token crowdsale has officially and successfully ended. It has gone by quickly and smoothly, without any significant glitches, and are humbled by the amount of support received. Here are the main closing numbers 500 ETH soft cap reached within 10 minutes The soft cap is the real deal breaker for any token sale. This is the minimum amount of funds for the start-up to continue operations utilizing the resources from the token sale. Regardless of the confidence we have in our project and the number of registered contributors prior to the token sale launch, reaching the soft cap in 10 minutes has justified a few hops in the office. Total number of contributors From the total members in our supporting community, 1,689 contributed buy purchasing tokens during the crowdsale. Total number of tokens and total amount raised in ETH The total number of TAY tokens sold publicly, at a price that varied during four weeks of token sale, is 4,482,839.69144727. That amounted to a total of 3,097.96 ETH raised. The average contribution was 1.83 ETH per contributor. Total token holders with long-term access to services a) Members who purchased more than 1,000 TAY and have access to Taylor Standard: 516. These members can use the Standard Trading Assistant and enroll in Standard Academy courses. b) Members who purchased more than 3,000 TAY and have access to Taylor Premium: 289. These members can use the Premium Trading Assistant with bigger trading limits and priority notifications and enroll in Premium Academy courses featuring leading crypto influencers. Next steps During the next few days, we will release another post detailing the next steps and procedures. Taylor is here to stay and we are proud to be a stepping stone to new crypto traders that would otherwise be hesitant to participate in it. We want to thank all our community members for the amazing support and for allowing our mutual goal to become a reality. User registrations still OPEN People can still sign up to be a user of our services and a member of our community. If you have not yet, take a chance to do it! If you are already a part of our community, it will be a blast if you can join us in getting the word out. Stay in touch Find more detailed information about the Taylor service, and the Taylor Academy at https://smarttaylor.io. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook or on your favorite social media platform to stay up to date with our latest news and announcements. Feel free to post your questions, suggestions, and comments on our Telegram channel. We look forward to hearing from you!
https://medium.com/smarttaylor/phase-one-completed-e672f491df39
[]
2018-03-23 20:19:26.912000+00:00
['ICO', 'Taylor App', 'Token Sale', 'Blockchain']
“The Process of Discipline”: Diet Culture and HBO’s ‘The Vow’
HBO’s new documentary series ‘The Vow’ provides a carefully curated peephole into NXIVM, a corporate pyramid scheme that sold self-help workshops and was home to a sex cult intended to fulfill the desires and ambitions of its founder, Keith Raniere. (If you’re planning on watching ‘The Vow’, this essay has spoilers. If you’re not planning on watching it, but want to know more about this tangled tapestry, read Vulture’s take on NXIVM.) NXIVM’s sex cult was called DOS, a shortened form of Dominus Obsequious Sororium, or “lord over the obedient female companions”. High-ranking female NXIVM members called themselves “masters” and were tasked with recruiting women into DOS, who were called “slaves”. Before getting a clear idea of what DOS was or its purpose, recruits were forced to give collateral to ensure their silence about the group’s existence. They were lured in by the idea that they were joining an all-women collective that would help them be “better” versions of themselves and make a better world through improving one another. Collateral took many forms, including naked pictures, reputation-ruining letters or videos — even financial documents, like property deeds. Upon joining, recruits took a lifelong vow pledging their time, privacy, and loyalty to their “masters” and to Raniere. Some wore chains around their waists as a material reminder of this vow. Members were then tasked with recruiting other “slaves” in a function similar to NXIVM’s primary business model, as well as providing even more collateral when demanded. Recruits into DOS were subjected to non-stop surveillance by those who recruited them (usually through messages and check-ins) and, for some, mental, emotional, and physical grooming for sex with Raniere, which was touted as some kind of fast track to enlightenment. The longer women in DOS stayed, the more likely it became that they would be branded with Raniere’s initials in a ceremony that required them to strip naked, get in a car with other recruits, be transported to an unknown location while blindfolded, and physically restrain each other as they took turns under a hot iron burning their flesh. Weight loss and dieting have been minor, but recurring themes in ‘The Vow’. In NXIVM, these (incredibly gendered) activities were encouraged by key tenets of Raniere’s teachings, specifically that personal evolution involved not allowing oneself to be controlled by base urges. To achieve states of complete control, members would train themselves to reject bodily signals of hunger, exhaustion, discomfort, and even fear. Learning to ignore something as fundamental as the need to eat was framed as a sign of enlightenment. Most episodes of ‘The Vow’ briefly mention calorie counting and restrictive eating, which often precede further evidence of women being involved in DOS. However, the show avoids a sustained look at these manifestations of diet culture until Episode 4 (“Building Character”) when we are introduced to “Jane”, an anonymous woman who left DOS. Through Jane’s story, we learn more about how deprivation is woven into NXIVM’s approach to self improvement.
https://marquisele.medium.com/the-process-of-discipline-diet-culture-and-hbos-the-vow-78cf7a2f4e46
['Marquisele Mercedes']
2020-09-30 12:33:49.005000+00:00
['Health', 'Television', 'Society', 'Media', 'Beauty']
Fear is Holding You Down. It’s Time to Fight Back.
I heard Deepak Chopra say, “the basis of all fear is the fear of death.” I think he’s right. Every fear of mine that I can think of — rejection, hardship, failure — is rooted in fear of death. Or maybe I’m afraid that these things will feel like death. But what is fear? Better yet, why is fear the primary inhibitor of growth? With other emotions, I can move forward. Although not ideal, I can still progress despite having feelings of guilt, shame, and sadness. But fear shackles. Fear binds. “Extreme fear can neither fight nor fly.” — William Shakespeare Fear is toxic. Not only does fear hold us back, but fear itself is often more harmful than the thing we are afraid of. According to the University of Minnesota, “Fear weakens our immune system and can cause cardiovascular damage, gastrointestinal problems such as ulcers and irritable bowel syndrome, and decreased fertility. It can lead to accelerated aging and even premature death.” Cheerful, right? That’s not even accounting for the brain’s effects with decreased reaction times, lower ability to process, and overall mental health.
https://medium.com/better-advice/fear-is-holding-you-down-its-time-to-fight-back-13954f950401
['Ryan Dejonghe']
2020-12-22 08:02:03.322000+00:00
['Fear', 'Life', 'Self', 'Self Help', 'Personal Growth']
The Fanciest Foods That Will Kill You
You may say you would die for fashion, but would you die for fashionable foods? Some of the most gourmet dishes in the world are actually poisonous. Other traditional foods present such a health hazard that they’re banned in the United States. Should you go traveling and encounter these delicacies: eat at your own risk! Photo by Peter Kaminski, Wikimedia Commons Fugu Pufferfish is on many Japanese tables at the high price of $200 a pop — and X people die by consuming the fish, called fugu, every year. That’s because the pufferfish contains tetrodotoxin, a powerful neurotoxin. A lethal dose is smaller than a pinhead, and only proper cooking technique can deactivate the toxin. Expert chefs must train for at least two years to be licensed to prepare fugu. So far, there have been zero fatalities at Japanese restaurants, but about one person per year dies of tetrodotoxin poisoning, usually after catching their own pufferfish. Moral of the story: leave the preparation of the murder fish up to the experts. Photo by Shardan, Wikimedia Commons Casu Marzu If your cheese just hasn’t been wiggly enough recently, perhaps you should try Casu Marzu, a traditional Sardinian cheese brimming with live maggots. The food is banned in the United States because, as you might imagine, it’s full of harmful microbes that can cause poisoning. There’s also a risk of the larvae surviving in the stomach, which does not lead to a good time. Technically, the resulting myiasis won’t kill you, but it’s very hard to eradicate from the body because the maggots are resistant to pharmaceutical treatment. Photo by Rusif Huseynov, Wikimedia Commons Sannakji We humans tend to kill our prey before eating it. Our teeth and gastrointestinal tracts just aren’t meant to accommodate squirming prey. That’s why the sushi dish Sannakji is a dangerous gamble. In this Korean gourmet dish, the octopus is freshly killed right before it arrives on your plate. The problem is that the tentacles continue to wiggle and can stick to the inside of your throat, causing asphyxiation. About six people die from this every year, so be sure to take your time with this food before swallowing. Your mother was right: chew your food. Photo by Jerome Walker, Wikimedia Commons Ackee If you’re a sucker for tropical fruit, I don’t blame you… but you might want to pass on the ackee unless you are certain it’s ripe. Unripe ackees are full of hypoglycin A, which binds to valuable nutrients and causes hypoglycemia. In some cases, this condition can turn fatal. And be sure not to swallow the seeds — they’re always poisonous. Although ackee is regularly consumed in Jamaican gourmet dishes, it has to be properly ripened and handled. For those reasons, the United States has banned the import of ackee products. Photo by David Monniaux, Wikimedia Commons Cassava Cassava is technically not banned in the United States, but perhaps it should be. Commonly known as tapioca (yes, as in the pudding), raw or undercooked cassava still contains cyanide, which causes paralysis and often death. Sadly, cassava has become a go-to food among impoverished, war-torn people in Western Africa, where it’s often not prepared properly. And in a horrific tragedy in 2005, a group of Filipino schoolchildren succumbed to cassava poisoning. Perhaps it’s better to stick with chocolate pudding.
https://rachelwayne.medium.com/the-fanciest-foods-that-will-kill-you-b8ac8a24fb2b
['Rachel Wayne']
2020-05-23 22:43:28.544000+00:00
['Food And Drink', 'Culture', 'Interesting Facts', 'Food']
Wake Up at 4.… AND Get Enough Sleep?
To this day, I don’t know how I made it through high school. Homeroom bell rang at an ungodly 7:13 a.m., and I lived in a rural part of the county. If I rode the bus to school, that meant a full hourlong ride from the bus stop (which was a 5-minute sprint from my house) to the school doors. So, I awoke at… 6:04 a.m.? Probably. Once I was able to drive — and my mom was nice enough to find me a crappy car — I was able to make the drive in about 23 minutes (though it really should have taken me 34). I don’t know how I survived that... But I also don’t know how I managed to get out of bed that early for that long — while I was a teenager, who, let’s face it, all suck at getting out of bed. All of them. You know they do. I remember my mom RAGING at me for what felt like hours. WHY wouldn’t I get out of bed? Didn’t I know I was just making things worse? The longer I waited, the more hurry I would be in, the more dangerous a drive. The more she had to yell, the more miserable I was making her… and everyone in the house. I remember finally getting up and turning on the shower… then falling asleep on the toilet for 20 more minutes. More railing, weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth. You’re wasting the water! You’re wasting the heat! Do you not have any respect for how hard I have to work to pay those bills?! Get ready and go to school you lazy $@#&! Ok, my mom was nicer than that… but not much. (And we all know she was thinking it.) I somehow made it through, and off to college. College was a dream! I could schedule all my classes to suit MY schedule (and body type). (Which might have meant it took a few extra years, since most classes do not start afternoon 12 noon… but I digress.) I was able to do it how I wanted, and for several years I found myself very happily drifting to bed around 1 or 2 in the morning, and sleeping till about 10 or 11am. That felt perfectly natural for me. And, in the convening life cycles where I’ve been able to pick my own schedule — including working at bars/restaurants after college, working in theatre during, and a couple of unemployment stints in the years since — that schedule is largely the one my body naturally gravitates toward, and has for a couple of decades now. That’s right: decades.
https://medium.com/swlh/wake-up-at-4-and-get-enough-sleep-36f6fb404e12
['Heather Nowlin']
2020-07-03 20:22:46.951000+00:00
['Morning Routines', 'Sleep', 'Happiness', 'Life', 'Productivity']
An Old Dog Learns New Tricks
The Sacred River Our most memorable Bali experience was while walking around the Ubud rice fields, hand in hand. We came upon one of the many Balinese artists who maintain little sheds on the path, offering their artwork for sale. Perhaps sensing something special between us, he offered to take us to the sacred river. It was a downhill walk on the other side of the rice fields, he told us. He would guide us there, and then leave us to enjoy it privately. (Hint hint). He introduced himself as Gusti. He led us to a steep unmarked path down the side of a heavily wooded gorge. Gusti could see I was a bit tentative about walking down such a steep path, partially because I was nursing a bruised hip from a fall the day before. “Careful, grandfather”, he said (a very honorable title), and took my hand to steady me as we walked downward on a path he may have hiked hundreds of times before. Meantime, Joy had kicked off her shoes and was practically skipping down the path. “I’m a mountain girl!”, she declared proudly (which I’ve come to hear as explanation for anything unusual she does). The river was breathtaking. Only maybe 30 feet wide, with huge bamboo trees and coconut palms growing up both sides of the steep gorge. Gusti said we should be able to find our own way back up, and left us in this private, amazing, picturesque natural scenery. We quickly doffed our clothes and waded into the swift-running but shallow river. The Balinese regard their rivers — and water itself — as sacred. Bathing in rivers is said to allow it to refresh the soul as well as the body. We thoroughly enjoyed that experience of being nude in the cool, flowing waters of our own private, sacred sanctuary. After a while we got out and put our clothes on again. Shortly thereafter, Gusti reappeared. His mother, he said, had instructed him to bring us back up so we didn’t get lost. But before that he invited us to pray with him to Mother River, as thanks for our time there. He invited us to do a call-and-respond prayer, which was beautiful. When I asked him if he was a Hindu priest, he affirmed that yes, he was. Then the magic began. He asked the two of us to stand face to face, foreheads together with our arms around one another. He asked if he could put his hands on us and offer a blessing. We trusted this fascinating man, and agreed. He began rubbing our backs just behind our hearts in a circular motion, while reciting a prayer in Balinese. Though we had no clue what he was praying for, it felt to both of us almost like a wedding ceremony — very sacred. At the conclusion of this we thanked him and said we were ready to leave. As he led us back up the almost-trail he offered me his hand. I noticed that my hip no longer hurt — all the pain from the previous day’s fall had dissipated. Was it from bathing in the sacred river? Gusti’s blessing? I didn’t know, but it seemed near-miraculous. I didn’t need his support to confidently scale the steep slope. When we arrived at his hut we viewed some of his art offerings. Joy bought a piece that attracted her. We thanked him again, and I gifted him some money for his guide offering and blessings. We walked away, hand in hand — feeling as if we had just experienced something sacred and magical. After a few minutes walking I stopped, pulled Joy close to me, and said for the first time “I love you”. She returned that precious phrase. It was entirely spontaneous and unexpected, and marked a precious moment in time from which there was no turning back.
https://medium.com/@namasteevents/an-old-dog-learns-new-tricks-6169e03496e1
['Bob Wuest']
2021-03-19 03:55:17.529000+00:00
['Travel', 'Self Improvement', 'Sex', 'Love', 'Transformation']
Thanh Gươm Diệt Quỷ: Chuyến Tàu Vô Tận (2020) xem phim đầy đủ [vietsub]
Thanh Gươm Diệt Quỷ: Chuyến Tàu Vô Tận (2020) xem phim đầy đủ [vietsub] Xem Bán Đảo [Thanh Gươm Diệt Quỷ: Chuyến Tàu Vô Tận] — Xem Phim HD Trực tuyến miễn phí 2020 Thanh Gươm Diệt Quỷ: Chuyến Tàu Vô Tận (2020) xem phim đầy đủ [vietsub] [vietsub] Thanh Gươm Diệt Quỷ: Chuyến Tàu Vô Tận phim đầy đủ Vietsub Thuyết Minh HD truy cập liên kết?https://tinyurl.com/y2h3yp35 Thời Gian Chạy: 117 Phút Thể Loại: Phim Hoạt Hình, Phim Hành Động, Phim Phiêu Lưu, Phim Giả Tượng, Phim Chính Kịch Ngôi Sao: Natsuki Hanae, Akari Kitō, Hiro Shimono, Yoshitsugu Matsuoka, Satoshi Hino Giám đốc: Yuki Kajiura, Makoto Nakamura, Masahiro Kimura, Mitsuru Obunai, Tomonori Sudō Trên đường điều tra sự mất tích của các Kiếm Sĩ thuộc Đội Diệt Quỷ, Tanjiro và các đồng đội cùng Viêm Trụ Rengoku rơi vào Huyết Quỷ Thuật ảo mộng của Quỷ Hạ Huyền Enmu. Cả bọn phải hiệp lực để bảo toàn tính mạng cho 200 hành khách trên chuyến tàu Vô Tận. Nhờ sự hi sinh của Viêm Trụ Rengoku, Quỷ Hạ Huyền đã bị đánh bại và mọi người được sống sót Thanh Gươm Diệt Quỷ: Chuyến Tàu Vô Tận ngày phát hành xem phim Thanh Gươm Diệt Quỷ: Chuyến Tàu Vô Tận thuyết minh xem phim Thanh Gươm Diệt Quỷ: Chuyến Tàu Vô Tận tàn cuộc xem phim Thanh Gươm Diệt Quỷ: Chuyến Tàu Vô Tận tàn cuộc họp xem phim Thanh Gươm Diệt Quỷ: Chuyến Tàu Vô Tận cuộc chiến vô cực Thanh Gươm Diệt Quỷ: Chuyến Tàu Vô Tận điện ảnh Thanh Gươm Diệt Quỷ: Chuyến Tàu Vô Tận chiếu rạp phim nữ thần rắn phần 2 chiếu rạp Thanh Gươm Diệt Quỷ: Chuyến Tàu Vô Tận phá đảo thế giới ảo lịch chiếu Thanh Gươm Diệt Quỷ: Chuyến Tàu Vô Tận phá đảo thế giới ảo phimmoi Thanh Gươm Diệt Quỷ: Chuyến Tàu Vô Tận phá đảo thế giới ảo full xem phim Thanh Gươm Diệt Quỷ: Chuyến Tàu Vô Tận phá đảo thế giới ảo xem phim Thanh Gươm Diệt Quỷ: Chuyến Tàu Vô Tận vietsub xem phim Thanh Gươm Diệt Quỷ: Chuyến Tàu Vô Tận hd xem phim Thanh Gươm Diệt Quỷ: Chuyến Tàu Vô Tận online xem phim Thanh Gươm Diệt Quỷ: Chuyến Tàu Vô Tận phá đảo thế giới ảo xem phim Thanh Gươm Diệt Quỷ: Chuyến Tàu Vô Tận full movie xem phim Thanh Gươm Diệt Quỷ: Chuyến Tàu Vô Tận phá đảo thế giới ảo phim Thanh Gươm Diệt Quỷ: Chuyến Tàu Vô Tận (2020) 🔮 THE STORY 🔮 Sci-fi is like dream, aside from stories in this classification utilize logical arrangement to explain the universe that it requires place in. It for the most part incorporates or is focused on the assumed impacts or repercussions of PCs or machines; travel through space, time or imaginary worlds; outsider living things; hereditary designing; or other such things. The science or innovation utilized may or probably won’t be completely explained on; stories whose logical components are sensibly point by point, well-informed and viewed as generally conceivable given current information and innovation are regularly known as hard sci-fi. Writing that objectives posses, criminal associations that give a degree of association, and assets that help a lot bigger and more specialized criminal exchanges than an individual criminal could accomplish. Criminals will be the subject of a few motion pictures, especially from the period somewhere in the range of 1930 and 1960. A restoration of criminal sort films happened since the 1990s with the blast of hip-jump culture. Dissimilar to the sooner hoodlum films, the more current movies share comparative components to the more established movies yet is more in a hip-bounce metropolitan setting. An experience story is around a hero who excursions to epic or removed spots to perform something. It could have a considerable number of other classification factors included inside it, since it is an open type. The hero incorporates a mission and faces hindrances to get to their objective. Additionally, experience stories as a rule incorporate obscure settings and characters with valued properties or highlights. At first proposed as a classification by the makers of the pretending game Children of daylight, dieselpunk alludes to fiction propelled by mid-century mash stories, predicated on the style of the interbellum period through World War II (c. 1920–45). Like steampunk however especially observed as a the ascent of oil power and technocratic discernment, fusing neo-noir factors and sharing subjects more clearly with cyberpunk than steampunk. Despite the fact that the striking quality of dieselpunk as a classification isn’t totally uncontested, portions which range from the retro-advanced film Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow to the 2001 Activision computer game Return to Castle Wolfenstein have been recommended as quintessential dieselpunk works of fiction. A style when an entertainer acts before a live crowd, talking straightforwardly to them. The entertainer is generally alluded to as a comic, professional comedian, professional comic or simply a hold up. In stand-up parody the entertainer ordinarily discusses a relentless progression of amusing stories, short jokes called “pieces”, and jokes, which comprise what’s regularly called a discourse, routine or act. Some professional comics use props, music or sorcery stunts to improve their demonstrations. Stand-up satire is regularly acted in parody clubs, bars, neo-vaudevilles, schools, and theaters. Outside of live execution, stand-up is typically circulated monetarily by means of TV, DVD, and the web. like customary activity; instead of utilizing hand drawn pictures, stop movement films are made with little puppets or different articles which have their image taken regularly over a grouping of little developments to make liveliness outlines. Models are The Nightmare Before Christmas, Coraline, and Corpse Bride. 🔮 COPYRIGHT CONTENT 🔮 Copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive right to make copies of a creative work, usually for a limited time.[1][2][3][4][5] The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, educational, or musical form. Copyright is intended to protect the original expression of an idea in the form of a creative work, but not the idea itsWonder Woman 1984.[6][7][8] A copyright is subject to limitations based on public interest considerations, such as the fair use doctrine in the United States. Some jurisdictions require “fixing” copyrighted works in a tangible form. It is often shared among multiple authors, each of whom holds a set of rights to use or license the work, and who are commonly referred to as rights holders.[citation needed][9][10][11][12] These rights frequently include reproduction, control over derivative works, distribution, public performance, and moral rights such as attribution.[13] Copyrights can be granted by public law and are in that case considered “territorial rights”. This means that copyrights granted by the law of a certain state, do not extend beyond the territory of that specific jurisdiction. Copyrights of this type vary by country; many countries, and sometimes a large group of countries, have made agreements with other countries on procedures applicable when works “cross” national borders or national rights are inconsistent.[14] Typically, the public law duration of a copyright expires 50 to 100 years after the creator dies, depending on the jurisdiction. Some countries require certain copyright formalities[5] to establishing copyright, others recognize copyright in any completed work, without a formal registration. It is widely believed that copyrights are a must to foster cultural diversity and creativity. However, Parc argues that contrary to prevailing beliefs, imitation and copying do not restrict cultural creativity or diversity but in fact support them further. This argument has been supported by many examples such as Millet and Van Gogh, Picasso, Manet, and Monet, etc.[15] 🔮 ADAPTATION 🔮 Sarah Paulson is my top choice, yet this film isn’t her best. I trusted that months for this will come out and I’m left asking why I was so energized. The trailer parted with everything. You knew the entire story before it even began. There was practically zero character improvement and everything just felt like it was 0–100 with no pacing at all. Likewise, the cosmetics office for Sarah’s last look-the hellfire would you say you were folks on when you thought of this? I really snickered when I saw her. It was an alright film. One that you’d be pissed on the off chance that you burned through cash on. Nothing new, normal, worn out acting. Additionally, no one realizes the proper behavior an asthma assault. This film had so many plot openings that it seemed like a parody. The mother can simply take an infant from the clinic? She harms her little girl for quite a long time and no specialist actually sees this during her regular visits? How did she manage the postal carrier’s vehicle? No one minded the postal carrier was absent? For what reason did the girl never get one of the numerous sharp or gruff articles around her and hit her mother? The mother leaves all her significant reports in a container sitting out and marked? For what reason would she tie up her girl’s wheel seat and not her girl? This is the means by which the entire film goes. The main redeemable nature of the film was Sarah Paulson’s very frightening acting. Likewise, this story has been done so often. I would not burn through my time watching this. Run is unsurprising and not extraordinary. The acting is phenomenal, while the story is fair. The story makes a magnificent showing of being exciting, yet it chiefly doesn’t go anyplace. I knew all that planned to happen despite the fact that I knew nothing. Nonetheless, There was one scene I appreciated where Clare says, “you need me.” The acting was only exceptional in that particular scene. In general, it’s a one time watch that you’ll most likely fail to remember. This is another film on Hulu by Aneesh Chaganty (and co-composed by Sev Ohanian), following up their realistic presentation Searching (2018) with a spine chiller including a mother and her 17-year-old little girl brought into the world with a few confusions (arrhythmia, hemochromatosis, asthma, diabetes, and most effectively loss of motion). I will say that it’s conceivable this film is superior to I preferred it, yet in the event that so it would be for its coordinating and acting, and less so about the composition. I felt like there were openings all over the place, and maybe an excess of is tossed at us too early for us to appropriately think about the characters and their circumstance. This sort of film has been done previously, absent a lot of new added to the table short the wheelchair perspective. There were a ton of components set up for what might have given a more grounded finishing conveyance and punch, yet the greater part of those beats were one-note and spent prior in the film as opposed to associating a solid inward weaving as Searching had the option to do. I went in visually impaired, and it’s possible better that I did given that the trailer is fairly uncovering. I don’t think it had a sufficiently high roof in any case to overshadow any wild absence of desires I previously had. My solitary desire was in the possession of the makers, and the most saving grace this film will probably have on crowds is I expectation they become mindful of Searching and see it sooner or later… which is the thing that I expectation the greater part of all of you can detract from this. That was my #1 film of 2018, and Run will tumble to the wayside as fairly convincing yet totally forgettable. The story and pre-assembled relationship just needed more squeeze once the credits rolled. This film was average, best case scenario. Try not to accept individuals giving it 8 or 9. The plot has been seen ordinarily, it was excessively unreasonable, and the closure failed. They attempted to showcase it as a loathsomeness/spine chiller however nothing about it is exciting. It’s a dramatization completely. I will say however, the entertainers did astounding with what they were given. Sarah Paulson was her standard sWonder Woman 1984, great, not honor commendable. Be that as it may, Kiera Allen truly captured everyone’s attention. She made the film (which delayed for what seemed like 2 hours) watchable. In the event that you appreciated The Act or have nothing else to watch, give it a go. What’s the point of messing with this poop. It resembles a low lease endeavor at a spine chiller yet you definitely know the closure. The faltering endeavors at tension are more irritating than anything. It’s a terrible lifetime film to be straightforward. Furthermore, I like lifetime motion pictures! It’s additionally excessively coordinated, the music is exhausted and the acting isn’t incredible.
https://medium.com/@vggh70/thanh-g%C6%B0%C6%A1m-di%E1%BB%87t-qu%E1%BB%B7-chuy%E1%BA%BFn-t%C3%A0u-v%C3%B4-t%E1%BA%ADn-2020-xem-phim-%C4%91%E1%BA%A7y-%C4%91%E1%BB%A7-vietsub-554bc6f17d53
[]
2020-12-18 15:24:26.173000+00:00
['Kimetsu No Yaiba', 'Online', 'Animé', '2020', 'Vietnam']
U Network outlook for the second half of 2019, aiming for top 50 ranking!
U Network (UUU) global ranking of market capitalization hit a record high in the second quarter of 2019, pushing for top 90. It exceeded the team’s goal of reaching the top 200 in the first half of 2019. As the community continues to expand, the team decided to fully disclose the targets and prospects for the second half of 2019 to the community, to accept feedback and suggestions of global community users, to work closely with the community in completing the goal of reading top 50 global market capitalization in the second half of 2019! Overview of U Network from its establishment in 2018 to the first half of 2019 It has been a year and a half since U Network’s establishment at the beginning of 2018. Its overall ecological development has achieved good results. UUU’s global market capitalization has already hit top 90; The comprehensive development of the projects ranks among the best; The main network is ready; 4 ecological products have been fully implemented; UUU has been launched in 9 exchanges; More than 30 top investment institutions and projects from China and the United States have invested in the project; There are more than 50,000 global community users from more than 179 countries; The team has carried out roadshows in more than 20 cities in 4 countries; The team has formed strategic partnerships with many world-renowned blockchain projects and institutions; It jointly released 2018 Global Blockchain Academic Research and Trends Report; It has also received a lot of coverage from mainstream media and KOL around the world. Overview of U Network outlook for the second half of 2019 In terms of market capitalization, UUU’s global ranking in the first half of the year has reached a maximum of 104, which has already exceeded the top 200 goal set by the team in early 2019. The team’s goal for the second half of the year will be set at the top 50. In the second half of 2019, UUU will build at least 10 offline city nodes around the world to expand UUU’s global influence. At the same time, UUU will establish the first global content industry fund in the second half of 2019, which will focus on supporting the ecological development of UUU in the global cultural and creative industry in the future. Technical outlook of U Network for the second half of 2019 UUU’s main net has been launched at the end of 2018, and the team is waiting for the best timing to switch tokens for the main network. It is clear that in the second half of 2019, we will integrate the U Network public chain with IPFS. In other words, the first step in decentralized storage of the U Network value network will be realized. Product outlook of U Network for the second half of 2019 By end of June 2019, the products built on the U Network ecosystem include ChongDong, UGot, Upbet, UBuild. ChongDong community has already released over 2000 blockchain technical articles. UGot successfully formed a strategic partnership with BlockBoost, a well-known blockchain service provider, and became one of the nodes for the well-known IoTeX public chain. The number of Upbet community users has reached 12,000 in the first half of the year (excluding UUU community users), achieving more than 400 Million UUU staking and locks, and a daily average voting volume of 1 million UUU. Upbet has also recently deployed ETH deposit and voting mechanism. In the second half of 2019, we will launch the new version of Upbet, and aim to increase Upbet community users to 100,000 (excluding UUU community users). Besides these, the plug-in upvote product long-anticipated by the overseas community will support at least 3 global content platforms by end of 2019. UUU’s mysterious new product YeKe will be launched globally in the second half of 2019, and plans to reach 1 million users by end of the year. Entrepreneurs and developers around the world are welcome to join us in building the U Network global decentralized value network. Marketing outlook of U Network for the second half of 2019 In the first half of 2019, UUU has been launched in 8 exchanges, including global mainstream exchanges such as Huobi and Bibox. It has also formed strategic partnerships with well-known blockchain projects and institutions such as NKN, IRISNet, Quarkchain, EKT, and Mixin. The team has held roadshows in 4 countries and more than 20 cities. In the second half of 2019, the team aims to launch at least 2 top 20 global mainstream exchanges, and intends to reach strategic partnerships with more projects and institutions. In the second half of the year, the number of strategic partners will increase by at least 10 to help increase U Network’s ecological impact. U Network team has already started global roadshows again and expects to complete 10 roadshows during the second half of the year. Community outlook of U Network for the second half of 2019 By the end of June 2019, UUU has over 50,000 overseas users in 179 countries and has rebuilt its Chinese community. In the second half of 2019, the team will focus on the development of UUU Chinese community. The aim is to increase Chinese users by 100,000 (50,000 UUU holders) and to increase overseas users by 50,000. The road of UUU is long and filled with hurdles. However, we will keep moving towards the goal. Let’s work together for a brighter future!
https://medium.com/unetwork/u-network-outlook-for-the-second-half-of-2019-aiming-for-top-50-ranking-21251a43965a
['U Network Editor']
2019-07-24 18:41:29.099000+00:00
['Blockchain', 'Community', 'Questions', 'Dapps', 'Cryptocurrency']
PFAS free & I’m lovin’ it
PFAS free & I’m lovin’ it McDonald’s just committed to phasing out PFAS-treated food packaging from its restaurants globally by 2025. Other restaurants, like Burger King and Wendy’s, should follow its lead. Danielle Melgar Follow Jan 22 · 4 min read McDonald’s restaurant exterior. (Photo credit: Raysonho @ Open Grid Scheduler / Grid Engine, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons) This fall, our partners at Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families and Toxic-Free Future found evidence that food packaging from several fast food chains was likely treated with toxic PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances), commonly referred to as “forever” chemicals. Three of the restaurants featured in the report — Sweetgreen, CAVA and Freshii — took immediate action to protect their customers from these chemicals known to threaten human health. On Wednesday, McDonald’s also took action, committing to phase out PFAS-treated food packaging used in its restaurants globally by 2025. However, two remaining restaurants — Burger King and Wendy’s — have yet to take sufficient action. PFAS is a class of approximately 5,000 chemicals* that share a similar structure and chemical properties. They can be found in firefighting foam, nonstick cookware, rain gear, carpets and many other everyday products. They are used in food packaging to make the packaging more resistant to grease and water. Unfortunately, some chemicals in the PFAS family have been linked to serious health effects, including cancer, liver damage, increased cholesterol, pregnancy complications and birth defects. Scientists are also studying a potential link between PFAS exposure and more intense COVID-19 symptoms as well as reduced vaccine effectiveness. To make matters worse, the reason PFAS are called “ forever chemicals “ is because they break down extremely slowly, which means that they build up in our environment and in our bodies over time. Given how long they last and what we know about their harmful effects, we should stop using them as quickly as possible. And we should start by making sure we get them out of food packaging; using PFAS to prevent greasy fingers just isn’t worth risking our health and the health of our children. First, we needed to know where to find these chemicals. So our partners at Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families and Toxic-Free Future tested food packaging items from six restaurants: McDonald’s, Burger King, Wendy’s, Sweetgreen, Freshii and CAVA. They found evidence of PFAS in at least one item from each restaurant. Before the report was even released, Sweetgreen committed to phasing out all PFAS-treated food packaging in their supply chain and CAVA and Freshii followed with similar commitments soon after. But none of the three burger chains took immediate action. So, starting with the largest of the three chains, McDonald’s, we joined our coalition partners and began a strong push to protect consumer health by calling on the fast food giant to phase out PFAS-treated food packaging. We had volunteers reach out to McDonald’s via phone and email to urge the company to take action. One volunteer got the response: “All McDonald’s packaging materials have been verified safe for use and comply with FDA and EU regulatory requirements.” That may have been true, but here was the problem: following regulatory requirements is not always the same as doing what’s best for customers’ health. Here are a couple of examples to illustrate why sometimes it’s important to go beyond the law when doing what’s right: Imagine you’re the referee at a soccer game. The sport has some established rules about what you are and are not allowed to do in order to ensure a fair game and help keep everyone safe and healthy. For example, you’re not allowed to elbow your opponent. Now imagine a player starts throwing punches, which they claim is fair because your rule book doesn’t prohibit punching people. And it turns out they’re right. But the other players are at risk of injury due to this reckless and aggressive behavior, and this goes against the principle of good sportsmanship. So the player shouldn’t throw punches even if it’s not technically against the rules. Many of us live in communities that don’t have mask mandates. Yet nationwide we’re nearing 400,000 deaths, according to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control. So should we all go around without masks even if there are no laws against this behavior? Common sense, along with public health experts across the country, would say: obviously not. The point of companies, like McDonald’s, is not to push up against the walls of government regulation. Government is supposed to be a safety net for citizens, stopping bad actors from hurting us. But that doesn’t mean companies should be the bad actors. Companies can choose to be better than the law mandates, choosing to prioritize their customers’ health and wellbeing rather than pushing right up against government regulations. McDonald’s just proved its commitment to being better, better than any government regulation requires it to be when it comes to this class of toxic chemicals. Burger King and Wendy’s should do the same. And the good news is, these companies don’t need to start throwing punches to win the game. Most of their food packaging doesn’t contain PFAS. Making the switch doesn’t have to be hard; the decision to protect their customers’ health should be easy. *The number of chemicals included in the PFAS family varies depending on the source consulted. 5,000 is the current number on the FDA’s website, updated on 10/20/2020.
https://medium.com/u-s-pirg/pfas-free-im-lovin-it-efbcc9bb3096
['Danielle Melgar']
2021-01-22 22:10:02.689000+00:00
['Public Health', 'Consumer', 'Toxic', 'Food']
Family portrait
Copyright © 2020 by Georgiana Petec. All rights reserved. Thank you so much for reading. Happy Holidays with peace, joyful moments and mountains of love! 🙏🎊🎍 And thank you so much Francine Fallara for this week’s theme:
https://medium.com/chalkboard/family-portrait-745f0a593026
['Georgia Lewitt']
2020-12-24 16:12:24.838000+00:00
['One Line', 'Writing', 'Fiction', 'Poetry', 'Life']
The Eve of NaNoWriMo 2018, also known as Halloween
The office felt spooky today. Maybe it was the colorful, yet ominous, message on the light brite, or possibly my colleagues dressed in costumes. A trio of women were ‘20’s flappers, reminiscent of The Great Gatsby, and another wore an iconic long red cape paired with a white bonnet, and said her name was Offred. Robin Hood and Cookie Monster popped by, along with an egg and a pink squid. A quartet were dressed as sushi hand rolls, and a different trio were space. How many Halloween costumes are inspired by stories? What would Halloween be without fiction? We might have sushi, but would we have the Handmaid’s Tale? Would we have Cookie Monster? Wrimos, it’s time to write fiction, together. It’s time to create characters in a fantastical or realistic version of our world. It’s time to fire up our creativity and see where it takes us. As in previous years, we love your posts about NaNo. Maybe you want to blog about your November journey? Maybe you have writing tips to share? Maybe you want to encourage and motivate the others writing? We hope you’ll take a few minutes out of your novel writing to tell us. Good luck! We’re cheering you on!
https://medium.com/nanowrimo/the-eve-of-nanowrimo-2018-also-known-as-halloween-eb02159f4ca6
['Julie Russell']
2018-11-01 02:06:46.518000+00:00
['NaNoWriMo']
Sadhguru
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/sadhguru-jv/sadhguru-2a6a9ba06adf
[]
2020-12-25 13:06:09.306000+00:00
['Life', 'Yoga', 'Life Lessons', 'Meditation', 'Quotes']
Best Office Chairs for Lower Back Pain?
Many of us will spend more than half of our life working behind a desk. And due to this office chairs cannot be ignored. Choosing the right office chairs that offer proper support for good posture to avoid back pain and other avoidable ailments. Below we have listed the main features to look for and things you can do to reduce lower back pain. Proper Lumbar Support Proper support for your lower back is one of the most important things to look for in your chair to reduce discomfort and back pain. While selecting an office chair, you need to make sure to test it by sitting on it and check how good the lumbar support is for your back. With proper support, your hips, shoulders and ears should be aligned with each other and it should flow with the natural curve of your spine. Adjustable Seat Height An office chair should have adjustable seat height as it is very much important that you can adjust your office chair to a comfortable height which won’t strain your muscles. Keep Moving It does not matter how perfect or ergonomic your chair is, you can still experience pain if you don’t take the effort to move around throughout the day. Sitting on office chairs without moving all day puts strain and pressure on your spine and muscles. You can avoid such stain and pressure by taking short breaks throughout the day and walk around for few minutes. Conclusion — You need to make sure that you choose your new office chair wisely and consider the points mentioned above to reduce future back pain and to maintain a healthy work environment. Our ergonomic office chairs have all the features you are looking for in an office chair which will allow you to fully adjust the chair as per your needs. We have listed few of our best ergonomic chairs for you that would help you reduce back pain and sit comfortably to work continuously. Below are the ergonomic office chairs listed with best prices. About furniturein.com — Established in 2000,Furniture-in has been providing superior and upmarket office chairs and furniture to many esteemed Firms, Corporate, Banks and Financial Institutions, Educational Institutions, Government Organizations, Hotel and Catering Industry, Media, etc. all over India. We are a leading brand in office chairs and furniture based in Mumbai with proficient workers and supplies revolving chairs, cafeteria chairs, lounge chairs, visitor chairs, training chairs, tables and office chairs in Mumbai, Bangalore, Pune, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Mangalore, Vadodara, Nashik, Chennai, Jaipur, Delhi, Kerala, Pondicherry, Goa and many other places across India. Office Chairs Mumbai
https://medium.com/@mattmeegan78/best-office-chairs-for-lower-back-pain-b6b75ab4f0e
[]
2019-12-31 05:52:50.597000+00:00
['Furniture', 'Office Chairs']
Kaleidoscope of Hints
Kaleidoscope of Hints Photo by Kaylee Eden on Unsplash I lick my lips, absently, making a note to buy chapstick; You interpret it as an invitation. I sigh, a breath escaping through my teeth as I straighten my back after a long day; You see it as my art of seduction. Those weren’t hints, they were never meant to be But darling, you greedily took them as such. Yet, When I look longing at pictures of tropical islands Bringing up anniversary travel, hinting broadly: shall we go? Somehow you ignore them and speak of tropical volcanoes instead. The kaleidoscope world of hints, reflects different realities to you and me Placing us right back on Mars and Venus, the source of our disparity How many more centuries before we Venusians learn to speak the Martian language?
https://psiloveyou.xyz/kaleidoscope-of-hints-1c4df7e0abd0
['Paroma Sen']
2020-12-27 13:03:01.442000+00:00
['Battle Of The Sexes', 'Poetry', 'Relationships', 'Poetry Sunday', 'Aliens']
What is branding?
Like people, brands are complex. They take a lot of work to raise; they go through many changes during their lifetime and require special care to reach their greatest potential. Branding is an essential component of building a prosperous company, organization, or career. But I find that there are so many misunderstandings about what makes a brand, how to do branding, and ultimately how to build a successful brand. Because of this, I find that to make a significant change; we always need to start with an understanding of what a brand is. So, what is a brand? This question is as simple as it is complicated — check out this article where I cover four key topics: How we define a brand The difference between a brand and branding How to express your brand through brand touchpoints Brand Touchpoint Activity I was taught long ago that a brand is not a logo, and I’ve seen this recently on LinkedIn. I don’t want to name any names, but I thought it would be helpful to share my perspective. For me, a brand IS a logo. It’s a website, it’s a brochure, it’s your product, it’s your service, it’s your positioning, your mission, vision, and values. It’s all of these things combined. So what is a brand then? A brand, simply stated, is an identity. It is a way of being that is expressed over time. It’s a living, breathing thing that often changes. Take a person, for example. You might have someone that’s introverted or extroverted; maybe they like to read a lot, hang out with friends. Maybe they spend most of their time with family or in the great outdoors. This is what defines them. This is what defines their identity. And a brand operates very much the same way. What is branding? Branding is the activity or process of expressing identity. Brand identities are expressed in three ways: 1. Physical Physical branding involves anything that is tactile by nature. Physical branding might include your outdoor ad campaigns, program brochures, and print collateral. 2. Digital Digital expressions are essentially anything that prospects engage with online or on a screen, including your social media accounts, your website, and emails. 3. Experiential Experiential branding means the sights, the smells, and the sounds that accompany your brand. These are particularly important for brands that have physical locations. Think of your favorite local cafe: it has a specific smell, a particular style of decor, and even the cleanliness of the bathroom is part of the brand experience. What is a brand touchpoint? The places that your brand is expressed are called touchpoints. So a brand identity is expressed through the process of branding, and a touchpoint is where that sensation is transferred. A touchpoint is where your audience interacts with your brand. It’s what allows a brand to be recalled. It’s what allows a brand to be purchased. It’s what allows your audience, your brand tribe, to continue to grow. It’s the sensation that’s transferred from your identity to the audience, which makes a touchpoint so important.
https://medium.com/unincorporated/what-is-branding-cf6a08af17ab
['Ian Evenstar']
2020-02-04 22:30:15.160000+00:00
['Branding Strategy', 'Brand Strategy', 'Branding', 'Brand Building', 'Business Of Design']
Hey! I’m Petter
I LOVE to work creatively. I know I’m resourceful, but I’m really struggling to utilize it. After seeking help a while back, I found out that it was my mental challenges that had put an end to my working life and education. As a result of this, I have not had a job for several years. I’ve stopped by a few, but they did not result in anything. subconsciously, for a long time I have thought that there must be a better solution for those of us who have ended up outside of a working situation. The offers that do exist did not work for me. There are probably many who recognize, and see themselves in this. Many find themselves being outside of work, with lots of hidden skills that go unnoticed . I understand that this is a rather difficult problem to solve, but I think a lot of it starts with giving us some freedom. Doing things on our terms. That’s why we created HeiPetter. A smarter way to get people in difficult situations back to work. We are at the the starting point, and have a lot to learn. Therefore, I invite you who reads this, to learn with us so that we can grow together. It is never too late to want to help and understand each other better. This means a lot to me Petter
https://medium.com/@heipetter/hei-det-er-jeg-som-er-petter-e1f6af719c16
['Petter Hobæk-Johnsen']
2020-12-17 12:30:31.108000+00:00
['Sustainability', 'Design', 'Digitalplatform', 'Creative', 'Inclusion']
One in three regions have higher covid deaths in second wave
One in three regions have higher covid deaths in second wave Clara Guibourg Follow Dec 14 · 5 min read Over a third of European regions have had higher excess deaths this autumn than at any previous point during the pandemic, with a second outbreak that has spread beyond a few hard-hit regions. As Europe’s second wave begins to pass its peak, we’ve gathered subnational data from over 750 regions, allowing us to track the true toll of the coronavirus pandemic. Over the last couple of months Europeans have once again found themselves at the centre of the coronavirus pandemic, as the continent has been battling a second wave. Data from 21 European countries shows that over 370,000 more people than usual have died since the start of the pandemic. But these excess deaths have been very unevenly spread, geographically, which is why regional data is more useful than national. Breaking down excess deaths by when they occurred also allows us to compare the spring and autumn waves, and gives us a clearer picture of which areas the pandemic is currently hitting hardest. Highest excess deaths yet in third of regions Already, over a third of European regions have had higher excess deaths in autumn than any other time this year. There’s a clear geographical pattern here: many countries in central and eastern Europe, for instance Poland, Czechia and Bulgaria, were spared the first wave that battered many western European countries in spring, but have now been hit hard by a second wave. Coronavirus statistics are notoriously difficult to compare across countries, as deaths are defined and counted in very different ways. Excess deaths dodge many of these issues, and are better suited for international comparisons. However, this is also the slowest measure, with several weeks lag at best, and so full data for the latest month is yet to come in. Turning point taking longer to arrive Deaths have yet to peak in several European countries, so the full picture of the second coronavirus wave is not yet available to us, but rather a snapshot of the current situation. Even so, some trends are already apparent. For one, this time the turning point has taken significantly longer to arrive. In spring, coronavirus deaths started climbing rapidly at the start of March. By mid-April, some six weeks later, they had already peaked across Europe. In autumn, however, deaths across the continent did not peak until 11 weeks after they had begun increasing again in mid-September. Less concentrated to few hard-hit regions Coronavirus deaths in Europe have been higher in autumn than at any other point. But while the first wave hit a few regions exceptionally hard, such as Bergamo in Italy, our analysis shows the virus is now more spread out. In the spring months, the 50 worst affected regions account for nearly half of all the excess — or “unnormal” — deaths. By autumn this proportion had dropped to 30%. About three in five regions have had excess deaths so far this autumn. This is roughly the same proportion as in the spring. But this time, so far, there are fewer regions that stand out with really high rates. In spring, deaths were twice their normal levels in 18 regions. In Bergamo, they were three times higher than usual. By comparison, in autumn, based on the data available so far, none of the over 750 regions in our data have so far had deaths twice normal levels. At this point, it bears repeating that as deaths have not yet peaked in all regions, this figure is useful to show a trend, rather than an exact value. Sweden, for instance, is reporting more cases than ever before, suggesting the outbreak has not yet reached its peak. Meanwhile, Italy has an unusually large lag in reporting, and only has figures until the start of the autumn. Although the full picture has not yet emerged, the data so far shows us a second wave that is less concentrated to just a few places, and more evenly spread out across regions and in many places surpasses the first one. Use the data We’ve published the data behind our analysis here. Methodology Our analysis is based on data showing daily or weekly all-cause deaths in each region, which has been collated from Eurostat and national statistical agencies (Scotland: NRS, Northern Ireland: NISRA, Germany: Destatis). A number of countries in Central and Eastern Europe have not reported any regional statistics on excess. These are excluded from this analysis. Excess deaths have been calculated by comparing all deaths reported in a region since the start of the pandemic with the average number of deaths during that time period in the previous couple of years. We have further broken this down by season, to calculate the excess deaths in spring (weeks 10–22), summer (weeks 23–35) and autumn (weeks 36 onward). Countries have reported up to different weeks, and we have used the latest data available. This means up to late November for most regions, but some have a larger lag in reporting. Italy, for instance, only has data available up to the beginning of October. For most countries, the average period is 2015–2019. Others have fewer years of data available, but at least two full years have been used. We’ve used as granular data as possible, which is NUTS3-level for most countries. However, for Germany, Scotland and Northern Ireland, comparative data is only available at NUTS1-level (making Scotland and Northern Ireland one region each, and Germany’s data broken down by its Bundesländer). A region is defined as having had excess deaths if reported deaths were at least 5 percent higher than expected and at least 20 more deaths than usual occurred. If deaths were at least 25 percent higher than expected, we have defined it as a region with “significant excess”.
https://medium.com/newsworthy-se/one-in-three-regions-have-higher-covid-deaths-in-second-wave-fd79f35968a2
['Clara Guibourg']
2020-12-14 08:55:44.203000+00:00
['Coronavirus', 'Data Visualization']
Let Me Bottom Line It for You
Profitability isn’t just about sales volume. Diversification of revenue streams, controlling expenses and maximizing resources also have a direct impact on the bottom line. A myopic view of company resources could be costing your company money. As an accountant, I’ve worked with many companies over the years. During my stint as the controller of a pharmaceutical research corporation, I witnessed the phenomenon of short-sighted management first hand. DIVERSIFY THE REVENUE STREAM Management’s main focus was on the big fish. The multi million-dollar in-patient study that required 24-hour staffing. The allure of such studies was the promise of big money. The down side was risk. The right type or volume of adverse reactions could pull the plug on the study at any time leaving the company with significantly less revenue than expected. Seeking out smaller, less glamorous out-patient studies was given minimal attention. Smaller projects, referred to as bread and butter studies, are an important aspect of a well diversified revenue portfolio. Bread and butter studies keep the lights on. A single small study generated less revenue, albeit steady and predictable revenue. Small studies were often long term and required less daily staffing than the large flashy studies. Bread and butter studies tended to yield a high profitability ratio per study but a small portion of total company revenue overall. Small studies are most beneficial to the company if the revenue portfolio includes a high volume of activity. Like Walmart selling a huge volume of low-priced items. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Classic advice that has timeless relevance. CONTROL EXPENSES The company didn’t have enough small studies to keep the high paid project leaders of the big studies busy. The study leaders performed many tasks not in alignment with their skill set in order to fill the day. Costly personnel were used to staff the big studies in positions better suited to lesser skilled, lower paid employees. Allowing the most costly employees to work evening, weekend and holiday shifts meant inflated payroll costs and less profitability on all studies. Making money isn’t only about what you bring in. It’s also about what you spend. Another reminder of classic and timeless advice. MAXIMIZE ALL COMPANY RESOURCES Management considered the revenue earners of the business to be not only the most valuable employees of the company, but rather the only valuable employees of the company. Administrative personnel were an underutilized resource seen as cost centers, if seen at all. Many tasks performed by costly medical personnel could have been performed more effectively by administrative personnel not regarded by management as capable enough for inclusion on the team. Business degrees and administrative skills were not medical and therefore not held in high esteem. A common problem really. Universities teach various areas of expertise but fail to educate these experts on the importance of administrative skills to running a successful business in real life. A topic worthy of a full article, some other time. For now, the lesson is to appreciate the value of all employees. A different perspective can open doors overlooked by a narrow field of vision. CONCLUSION OF MY CASE STUDY The suggestion of diversifying the revenue streams by increasing the volume of smaller studies was ignored. The suggestion of aligning employees’ skill sets and salaries to tasks was dismissed. The suggestion of study leader positions as salaried instead of hourly was denied. This company could have seen extraordinary profitability and growth. Instead, management’s tunnel vision looked only to revenue earners for answers to profitability problems and the company burnt out quickly. A business is a multi-faceted entity. Look in all directions to find answers to unprofitable performance. You may be surprised by how much unused potential you have hidden in the business minds sitting behind desks. Unsung heroes observing the forest while you are focusing too much attention on the trees. Don’t Miss Out: Join my email list to keep in touch with me. Once a week I will notify you of my latest article and I will share a link to one of my favorite articles in my guest writer pick of the week. You Might Also Like: Contact Me: This story is published in The Startup, Medium’s largest entrepreneurship publication followed by +386,966 people. Subscribe to receive our top stories here.
https://medium.com/swlh/let-me-bottom-line-it-for-you-101736cb03eb
['Tammy Hader']
2019-10-02 16:15:32.511000+00:00
['Work', 'Management', 'Business', 'Startup', 'Finance']
The Creative Concord
III Creativity both creates and solves unemployment while driving up the standard of living through the technological achievements or entrepreneurships it invents (to solve the problems which previous technological achievements or successful entrepreneurships may have caused). A society high in freedom and creativity, then, is inherently self-motivated. A self-motivated person is the opposite of an alienated individual and possible in a free and creative society. Depression might be practically guaranteed in a nation that is free and wealthy but not creative, while a nation that lacks freedom fails to foster creativity. Leisure without vision can be as alienating as work without ownership. The value of Capitalism seems determined by the degree it enables creativity, which is tied to sustained productivity and prosperity. The system is self-destructive, as Marx admonished, without it. To the degree Capitalism is successful then is to the degree it enables and educates a strong creative class. The stronger the artifex, the stronger the economy and happier the people. Once creativity wanes, since the material dialectic will still undergo creative destruction, freedom must eventually also be lost. There is little liberty where there is no economy; the weaker the economy becomes, the more liberty decreases. This is because there cannot be much liberty where individuals do not have the economic capabilities to rise above their circumstances. Though economic freedom is not the only freedom, it is a necessary part of a free society that is lost when the material dialectic implodes; the other freedoms tend to follow. Great nations fall once freedom is gone, and the reason they give up freedom, rarely if ever realizing it, is by devaluing creativity.⁸ Left to the material dialectic, without creativity, a society becomes reliant on growth through repairing damaged goods, distributing limited resources, credit creation, and/or living off the fruit of past generations, none of which are sustainable.⁹ ¹⁰ While living on that past fruit, it is very tempting to stop emphasizing creativity, for there seems to be no pressing need for it. If the present is good, it’s hard to think about the future or to care about the past. Ironically, creativity is at least partially what makes possible this entitlement mentality, the making of the “broken window fallacy,” and so on, via the increase in the standard of living which creativity causes. In this sense, creativity is risky. The less creative a society, the more threatening creativity becomes, as shares of a company become more threatening (and yet more vital) to one’s livelihood the more money the individual has stored up in that one basket. Take how Google is both viewed as a great blessing and a monopolistic threat. Yet regardless of how threatening it may be, a society must tap into that creativity, for economic growth is driven by it. Knowing they are enslaved to this source, the bourgeoisie and the proletariat can become increasing uneasy with the artifex, with alienation gradually setting in. This tension eventually leads to violent or unjust forms of rebellion against the artifex when business owners, for example, recognize they aren’t creative enough to adapt to creative innovations, such as the internet, and when the proletariat consequently recognizes their jobs are at risk. As an increasing reduction in the availability and abundance of the means of production accelerates the self-destruction of the material dialectic, so a reduction of creativity accelerates the shrinking of the artifex. This being the case, once creativity begins to fade in a society, it is probable that it will continue to do so. With that eventually goes freedom, and for this reason, though the present may be good, America might be in a dire situation. Risk management is the practice of diversifying risk in order to reduce loses and increase profit. The more creativity there is across a society (as influenced by the school system, system of resource distribution, family structure, and the like), the more that society has invested wisely and diversified the risk of creativity. Yet the more creative a society becomes, the more it risks high unemployment if that creativity ever screeches to a halt or slows down (due to regulation, a drop in abstract thinking, etc.). Creativity always entails risk, and risk is necessary for value creation. Creativity is a double-edged sword, but a nation will only be cut by it if it freely chooses to stop paying attention. In the self-destructive material dialectic, regardless of what one chooses, an individual inevitably ends up slain. If America is to recover, it must take a risk and reform its education system and society to incubate creativity. Otherwise, its freedom will decrease. IV Capitalism is driven by innovations that increase the standard of living, yet those innovations can make jobs obsolete, increasing unemployment. An innovation solves a problem, yet once that problem is solved, further creativity is needed to address the problem of unemployment caused by that innovation. Innovation both creates and destroys jobs — the question is does it do more of the former or the latter? The material dialectic keeps problems involving material goods solved while often failing to address mental and personal problems. On the other hand, the creative concord solves and/or finds problems in the first place, while simultaneously liberating participants from alienation. Yet all classes need one another: if cars stopped being produced after Ford died, no one would be able to invent a new car that ran on alternative energy; rather, people would keep reinventing Ford’s original model. Though this may keep employment high, it would not raise the standard of living beyond what Ford already raised it.¹¹ Without creativity, the artifex disappears. Once that occurs, the bourgeoisie and the proletariat must clash and undergo creative destruction, for the material dialectic must work itself toward disappearing. This disappearance occurs fully, perhaps, during a draft, collapse, revolution, or in Marxism. In Marxism though, there is a new dialectic between the owner, worker, and the government. Though the problem Marx identified has changed form, I don’t believe it has been solved. Like the material dialectic, this “totalitarian dialectic” must also undergo a kind of creative destruction in which those who are forced into being both the owner of their labor and the laborer, feeling alienated by the government which forces them into this role, rebel against the governing class. The people do this to seize back the power to make an artifex class by choosing to be artifexian, rather than be forced into a similar but alienating non- or universal class. Though this society may be creative, lacking freedom, compensation, motivation, and/or resources, this society cannot readily will to be creative or maintain creativity, lacking a material dialectic to work in concert with, causing the artifex to vanish. Marxism fruitlessly tries to make citizens free by eliminating the classes of “worker” and “owner,” rather than enabling each to be a “worker/owner.” There is no true unemployment, so neither is there true employment: duty and altruism replace both. Consequently, neither employment nor unemployment can drive creativity and innovation, and though no jobs are lost by creativity, none are created by it either. Employment may be high, but the standard of living will likely be low. In Marxism, bringing about a police state, the people rebel because there is no artifex that can create itself, but the same can occur in Capitalism. Once creativity dries up, so goes the artifex, and with that, the material dialectic self-destructs. Though Marxism can destroy the artifex by annulling freedom, the artifex’s existence is possible, but not necessarily present, in Capitalism. Capitalism does not inherently work, but it does have the potential to avoid creative destruction by maintaining a healthy and strong artifex. Unfortunately, the present American school system stifles creativity, as attested to by Ken Robinson, and many creative people are pressured by society to “enter the real world” of numerical chutes and corporate ladders. Self-destructively, this kind of peer pressure is a manifestation of the tension between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat against the artifex.¹² As the proletariat is most likely to start the conflict between it and the bourgeoisie, the bourgeoisie is most likely to start the conflict between it and the artifex, though the bourgeoisie will only be successful if it can influence the proletariat to join it. Yet, unlike the proletariat, the bourgeoisie is not as likely to turn to violence and revolution to stop the artifex if creative individuals turn down their offers to be bought out or to sell their patents. The bourgeoisie is too comfortable, and though they may lose their businesses, they won’t lose their lives. In this regard, it is more likely that the material dialectic breaks down than the creative concord, though the creative concord is more difficult to achieve. Also, citizens can choose to keep the creative concord strong by choosing to join the artifex, while the material dialectic collapses inherently. All are alienated in the material dialectic, but in the creative concord, which comes into being by the choices of people, creative freedom can be exercised. It is important to emphasize that the creative concord collapses when the artifex class vanishes, shrinks too much, or is greatly disabled, while the material dialectic breaks down because it is itself. The artifex class doesn’t have to collapse, but without it, the material dialectic must fall apart. It lacks a center. Therefore, the choice to give up the artifex is likely the choice to give up freedom and the society. With creativity goes everything. V To create is to revolt. To start a business is to create a thing to produce and a means by which to produce it. Revolution is always imminent: Marx was right. Schools decide if revolution is bloody or glorious. An analytical school system that stifles creativity in a Capitalist society is a strange, fatal paradox. Capitalism is failing today at least partially because the artifex is small and inhibited by regulation and guilt. Those who invent 3D printers put the lives of millions at risk who will be unemployed as a result of their genius. Realizing this potentially can put creators through an existential crisis when they should be receiving praise and gratitude. It is not the case that Capitalism must incubate the artifex: the system can work to turn Capitalism on the artifex and itself. In this circumstance, perhaps Socialism would be superior, but then Socialism must resist its own tendencies to shrink the artifex. No society is a machine that works on its own: we must work with it. In our current socioeconomic order, once unemployed and robbed of creativity, a person is helpless. Enabled by school to be creative, upon losing their jobs, people would simply create new means of employment. In a creative society, unemployment stimulates technological advancement, because those who are unemployed are forced to create a new way for themselves. Unemployment results in numerous entrepreneurial start-ups, and seeing that small business drives the market, creativity would make unemployment healthy for the economy rather than terminal. By becoming an artifexian, each unemployed worker would stage a revolution and transcend alienation, social stigma, and the material dialectic. Sadly, by glossing over unpredictable, unmanageable, and organic creativity, schools have taught Americans how to revolt violently in trying to avoid the subject of revolution altogether.¹³ The “entrepreneur revolutionist” saves the bourgeoisie, the proletariat, and the society as a whole. The artifex enables social mobility, actual wealth creation, and a higher standard of living in economic, psychological, and personal terms. Making it easier to focus on the next project, artifexians don’t “pull themselves up by their bootstraps.” Rather, they invent boots without straps. . . . Notes ¹Allusion to Joseph Schumpeter. ²See The Meaning of the Creative Act by Nikolai Berdyaev. ³See Amusing Ourselves to Death by Neil Postman. ⁴Allusion to “The Pretence of Knowledge” by Friedrich Hayek. ⁵See The Privileged Ones by Robert Coles. ⁶Political, educational, social, and economic policy and enterprise that enables this tri-relationship between B, A, and P should be allowed, while policy that disables it should be removed. Both the Right and Left have operated off an axiom of a material dialectic, in one way or another, and hence both have fallen short of proper policy that enables the creative concord. Liberals tend to grasp that Capitalism is self-destructive due to the material dialectic but offer Socialism as a solution, while Conservatives defend freedom while not noticing the paradox of Capitalism. Neither grasp that creativity is the solution: they were not trained by the school system or family structure to be creative. ⁷If Louis Dumont is right in his Homo Hierarchicus and humanity is innately hierarchical, it is impossible for society to be classless, and Communism runs against human nature itself. 7.1 Note that an artifex society is not one without dentists, doctors, etc. or one in which no one works for anyone else: any occupation that exists in the material dialectic is one that can exist in the creative concord. As in the material dialectic, someone must simply choose to create it. In an artifex society, to make an example, a dentist is one who starts his own practice and employs others to be part of it. While they are employed, each employee is working to start or run his or her own practice or independent enterprise (perhaps a coffee shop, a novel, etc.). At the practices these employees shall start, each shall hire new employees, each which will work to start a practice or enterprise of their own, and so on. This spreads employment, decreases alienation, and raises the standard of living for all. As old dentists pass away, new dentists shall take their place, and with an artifexian mindset, they shall revamp the old practice for the present age, making it their own. When employees leave an enterprise, the owner, creative, will either come up with solutions that address this decline in labor or move on to something else. If the owner moves on, this will make space for an artifexian who wants to fill the space and/or result in new employment opportunities when the migrating artifexian creates a new enterprise. Artifexians can also upgrade and “reinvent” old practices, increasing creativity. 7.11 Also keep in mind that a potential artifexian can work for someone else: an artifex society is not one in which people never work for or with one another. The difference is that while working for another, an employee is working on or toward something of his or her making. In this way, this phase of being an employee is a stepping-stone, and in such a circumstance, both the bourgeoisie and proletariat are within the artifex. Though the material dialectic vanishes, within the artifex, the two classes are still present but in a new way, freer of alienation, dependency, and in a manner that doesn’t cause society to implode. In a sense, one could view an artifex society as a society that takes Viktor Frankl seriously. That said, more clarification is in order: is someone an artifexian who works on a small business idea after he or she gets home from work at a corporation? The person is certainly a potential artifexian, but perhaps not a realized artifexian yet. This person is creative but perhaps not an artifexian: the person has generated a project but perhaps not a means of production. Until the person develops something that can be sold, distributed, amass employees, and/or the like, the individual is only creative, for the creativity is not fully applied. Granted, I do think a creative person is less likely to be alienated than someone who isn’t creative at all, but it is not the case that everyone with projects are artifexians. And indeed, the bourgeois can exploit the working class by making them so busy and tired that they can never develop their projects into means of production, thus solidifying the power of the bourgeois. 7.112 Freeing many of a common existential crisis, in an artifex society, moving from college to a job would not be a “final step” upon which making there would be nothing to look forward to doing or becoming. Today, once a person becomes an employee, that person can of course advance up the ranks within the category of employment, but after years of working toward new categories to change into, there ceases to be any change to which to look forward. This can be psychologically devastating. The person has entered “the real world” or “rat race,” as society calls it, and though the employee can get married, have children, and take up new hobbies, the person cannot, within their work, change categories. Perhaps a person in the category of proletariat can move into the bourgeoisie, but this kind of supposed advancement is only a shift within the material dialectic. This being the case, the individual will not readily find alleviation from alienation. On the other hand, an artifex society is one in which any position of employment or ownership is a “step” toward becoming an artifexian, rather than another shift in the “rat race.” Keep in mind also that an artifexian is a person for whom every accomplishment is a “step” toward another one, every creation practice for a greater one. The work of an artifexian is never finished yet always fulfilling. This being the case, the artifexian drives productivity far and above the participant in the material dialectic. One could say, in a sense, that the artifexian creates and works enterprises that continue to generate revenue constantly, even after the artifexian has died. The fact the productivity of the artifexian can transcend even death perhaps hints at why they are so valuable. 7.12 Though it is outside the scope of this paper to address fully, it should be noted that creativity is innately communal, diverse, and particular. All scientists stand on the shoulders of those who came before them, as all writers stand on the shoulders of prior artists. Creators stand on the shoulders of white, black, Chinese, etc. creators so that white, black, Chinese, etc. creators may stand on their shoulders. To create, while autonomous, is to be prepared for humility and open to diversity. It is also to be generous, for to create is to give to the world. For these reasons and more, an artifexian isn’t individualistic, nor one who loves humanity at the expense of individuals (to allude to Dostoyevsky). The artifexian loves both, recognizing how one enables the other. 7.2 Whether a fully artifex society is possible or merely an ideal to strive toward is dependent on the function of the word “perfect.” The term can be deceptive, for it implies a “state of being” rather than an “act of being,” yet perfection is something we do, not something we are: it is about growing more so than it is about finishing up. “Perfect societies,” in a Platonic sense, are impossible, for the word “perfect” in that context is meaningless, seeing that there is no clear standard of what the society is perfect in relation to. If the word is meaningful, to loosely allude to Aquinas, a “perfect society” is one that “does what it was made to do.” Perfection, in regard to humans, is hence tied to anthropology, and if humans are innately creative (which I think there is reason to believe), humans are “perfect” when creative. Since a society exists to increase the standard of living, a society is perfect when it raises the standard of living, which is always thanks to some form of creativity. Therefore, an artifexian society is a “perfect society” in the only way the term can be meaningful. 7.21 The “perfection always ahead” that drives the artifex is “idealistic perfection,” while the act of growing toward this ideal is “practically perfection” (in the sense that it is “a perfection that can be practiced”). In this regard, a society can “practice perfection,” as one can practice medicine, and whether it can be achieved isn’t a vital question. In this regard, the “ideal of War and Peace” comes into existence with the writing of its first page. The “ideal of perfection” emerges simultaneous with the “practice of perfection”: the existence of one necessitates the existence of the other, as the cessation of one is the end of both. The “practice of” and “ideal of” are two sides of the same coin. Therefore, the “ideal perfection” is valuable not because it can be achieved, but because it can orientate and motivate the direction of a practice, thus giving that practice something “it is made to do” and a framework in which to be “practically perfect” relative to. In this sense, to strive toward a fully artifex society is to be perfect, even though the ideal isn’t achieved. The practice is achievement. 7.22 In a way, the whole language of “achievable” or “unachievable” is as meaningless as asking whether being a poet is “achievable.” Of course, one can be a poet, but whether a person can “achieve” the status is simply to ask, in a strange way, whether a person can write poetry. As one writes, the person has “achieved” the status of poet, but once he or she finishes, has the person “fallen from perfection?” It depends on how a person defines “perfection,” and even if the poet has “fallen,” it doesn’t matter. One can still be a poet even though the person doesn’t write poetry constantly, as long as the person is always working to write poetry. Likewise, a society can be perfect even with imperfections as long it is always working for perfection. 7.23 Note that an artifex society is something that a society should constantly be moving toward since new people are constantly being born. In a sense, the only way to “be perfect” rather than “practice perfection” is to stop pregnancies. It is doubtful though that anyone would call a sexless world “perfect.” 7.24 It is better not to use the language of “a perfect society”; rather, it is better to say “a society practicing perfection.” ⁸This is why it was foolish for Plato to unjustly bar the poet from his Republic, for this made the decline of the artifex inevitable and the collapse of his Republic within the material dialectic probable. By barring the poet, he removed the artists who inspire inventors, artisans, and entrepreneurs to create wealth. Consequently, he made it only a matter of time before the whole artifex dissolved. A society cannot have inventors without poets or poets without inventors: all creators need all creators. This is why the artifex cannot be composed of “just novelists,” “just entrepreneurs,” etc.: it is not possible to have one without the others. The science fiction writer gives the scientist the idea for the spaceship which results in the inventor enabling humanity to go to the moon. Without the inventor, society wouldn’t be stable enough for the writer to have time to record his vision. Some inventors write or do art for a hobby, and if not allowed to carry out this practice, they will not have exercised their mind creatively enough to think up a new invention that will benefit humanity. Though the poet makes “shadows of shadows,” Plato did not recognize that some shadows are better than others, nor did he grasp that the “shadows of shadows” can enable “shadows” to come to life 8.1 People are told to “think for themselves,” but since they are unable to think for themselves, deprived of this capacity by the society, they are unable to understand what this means. The phrase is the answer to a question like “What are you supposed to learn in college?” but isn’t meaningful in of itself. Because others tell them so, people, obedient, know they are supposed to “think for themselves,” and so claim that they can, but unable to think for themselves, they are unable to recognize that they can’t. People are always able to convince themselves that they can “think for themselves,” but it is the artifexians who force them to critically ask of themselves “Can I really?” beyond their own definitions and standards. The stronger the artifex, the more the society probably actually will be able to think for itself, and the more a society can do this, the more it will prove able to transcend the material dialectic. 8.11 Since people (naturally) think they can think for themselves, by barring the artifex from his Republic, Plato made it impossible to determine who actually was a Philosopher King (for everyone naturally thinks they are a Philosopher King and that they are able to recognize one). Few think of their self as a mere mortal. Also, by kicking out the artifexian, Plato removed from his Republic the source of creative thinking that a Philosopher King must personify to rule the Republic justly. Without poets, there can be no Philosopher King. Lastly, to be free is to not be boxed in, and to be creative is to be able to think outside the box. Therefore, by removing creativity, Plato removed freedom from his Republic. For this reason, it is increasingly easy to find parallels between American and the Republic. 8.2 A person who can be bored isn’t free, for that individual is enslaved to an external source he or she requires for motivation. In this sense, the person who has nothing to do the moment the internet stops working is someone who is enslaved to the internet. A creative person avoids being enslaved to surrounding goods, and this is a reason why there is no freedom without creativity. Without creativity, a person must be a consumer, rather than a “recycler” who gives back through what he or she consumes. 8.21 Dallas Willard captured the relationship between creativity and freedom beautifully when he wrote: ‘If we want to see freedom, we don’t look at a kid jumping around with nothing to do. We see freedom when we see an accomplished artist sit down at a piano and play something so beautiful that we can hardly stay in our seat. That’s freedom.’ ⁹See Frédéric Bastiat. ¹⁰See Richard Duncan. ¹¹It is a common and unfortunate mistake to conflate “high employment” with a “high standard of living” (there is no necessary relationship). It is also common to fail to recognize that only those who create wealth create jobs, while those who distribute wealth distribute jobs. 11.1 As it is possible to become an artifexian, it is also possible to stop being one. This being the case, a society that becomes an artifex society must work to keep itself that way, which can be when it is most tempting to think there’s no work left to be done. This is because there seems to be no pressing need for it, since it appears that the “perfect society” has been achieved, but what is achieved in one moment can be lost in the next. Whenever an artifexian ceases to be one, the standard of living decreases; whenever someone becomes an artifexian or re-becomes one, the standard increases. It can increase either by current artifexians creating something new or by someone who isn’t an artifexian becoming one. The same can be said regarding actual wealth. 11.2 The artifex class includes anyone who actually enables or enhances production, say with an original idea or philosophical construct, even if they themselves don’t actually produce anything. This kind of person is an “indirect artifexian” and is different from an intellectual, who’s only product is ideas that do not relate to production. Any intellectual becomes an indirect artifexian as soon as their ideas enhance or enable production, and stops being one as soon as this isn’t the case. An individual, in this regard, may have to start as an intellectual to become an artifexian. For this reason, intellectuals are good for society as long as they work to generate ideas that benefit production or creation — which can be everything from a blueprint to a short story that reminds a reader that life is worth living — rather than just produce ideas. Of course, it is nearly impossible to tell which artists and intellectuals are “indirect artifexians” and which aren’t, and which will become “indirect artifexians” in time. This is why the best policy is a hands-off approach that increases freedom. If artifexians, like a police state, were to begin removing intellectuals and artists who weren’t “indirect artifexians” in their eyes, they would be sowing the seeds of their own destruction. Ideally, in time, the “indirect artifexians” work to be direct ones themselves, which would increase wealth. One could say that “indirect” and “direct” are two tiers within the artifex class, as “worker” and “manager” are two tiers in the proletariat. The best artifex society is one in which every citizen is both a direct and indirect artifexian: while creating their own works, each artifexian also enables or enhances the production of others. 11.3 It may enhance clarity to replace Marx’s language of “the means of production” with “the means of creation.” ¹²The most devious of all the bourgeoisie’s tricks might be getting the proletariat to dishearten the artifex so that the bourgeoisie won’t have their enterprises undermined by artifexian creations. Successfully, it seems the bourgeoisie has convinced most parents to encourage their children to take risk-averse lifestyles rather than become artists and entrepreneurs. 12.1 If you study the arts or humanities, you won’t be able to get a job after college: you’ll be able to make one. 12.2 Like the gardener described in “The Pretence of Knowledge” by Friedrich Hayek, a school system that incubates creativity grows prosperity, while one that tries to fix children, like a mechanic fixes cars, stifles it. Since creativity is innate in everyone (as will be expanded upon), creativity cannot be readily taught, only incubated. Governments and organizations can only “teach” creativity insomuch as they give people the freedom to experiment without fear of failure or judgment. Institutions must take a passive role, which takes more discipline than does being active. In other words, organizations should resemble gardeners, not mechanics. 12.3 The death of the artifex is the death of culture. It is not by chance that poverty followed China after the Cultural Revolution, that Russia fell into catastrophe after it banished European artists and intellectuals, and that America has declined during the replacement of culture with entertaining consumerism. Likewise, it is not by chance that Europe thrived after the Enlightenment and Renaissance or that countries prosper when a true system of liberal education is established. Collapses are often preceded by an exile, excommunication, censorship, and/or genocide of the artifex, while prosperity is preceded by their acceptance. The death of culture is, in fact, the death of culture. ¹³The question of whether all people are creative is an anthropological one that cannot be confirmed either way or even assessed until an artifex society comes into existence, for a few generations, which can be compared with previous societies like America today. Personally, I believe all people are creative; however, I also believe few manage to stay creative. With respect to Stuart Brown, Daniel Pink, and Ken Robinson, a reason I believe everyone is creative is because children naturally play; a reason I believe few remain creative is because most are pressured to act like adults, to not be “childish.” I believe if the education system were to enable creativity, the world would be filled with child-like people of every age and color. . . . Additions 1. Since unemployment stimulates productivity like employment, an artifex society doesn’t readily fear losing jobs to immigrants or technology. Considering Thomas Sowell’s The Economics and Politics of Race and how most immigrants are “unusual” in their drive and ingenuity, an artifexian society, in not being an anti-immigrant society, is a pro-productivity society. 2. Automation should be the goal of production, but it is often viewed as an enemy. Without creativity, at least subconsciously, society comes to fear what it should want. 3. ‘No one knows how to make a pencil’, claimed Leonard Read, but without an artifex, there might not be a pencil for anyone to worry about making. The artifexian doesn’t single-handedly produce a pencil, but the artifexian creates something (“a form”) for everyone to construct. This alludes to how the artifex needs the material dialectic and vice-versa, even though the artifex creates the material of the means of production, and how an artifexian society isn’t a society without a material dialectic at all (in the practical versus theoretical sense), but a society in which all who work and own the means of production are also artifexian in one way or another. In this way, the material dialectic is merged with the artifex, realizing “the creative concord.” 4. Many farmers and craftsmen are artifexians, for many both own and work their means of production. This alludes to the “Jeffersonian Ideal,” a society in which farmers read Ovid while plowing the fields (not that this ever existed)). Perhaps one of the great injustices of slavery, after the slave trade was annulled, was when plantation owners stopped also working their plantations, which ended the “Jefferson Ideal” and began a material dialectic. This made the institutions susceptible to the alienation Marx warned would inevitably lead to creative destruction, which Southerners ironically could see so clearly in Northerner factories but failed to see in themselves. Perhaps racism contributed to this blindness, for failing to consider blacks as human, Southerners didn’t recognize the alienation they proliferated. Perhaps all this suggests why it would be beneficial to understand the history of slavery in America through Marx. 5. People can be against studying what there seems to be no reason to study and to think that reading when there is no test is a waste of time. Furthermore, those who major in history, for example, are warned that they won’t be employable, even though it is common knowledge that history is important to study so that past mistakes aren’t repeated. Bent on being practical, society repeats past mistakes and shrinks the artifex, missing that history is always a practical study. 6. A wise and just bourgeoisie will balance investing resources in the proletariat and the artifex, causing a gradual and sustainable rise in both the standard of living and rate of employment until the society is unified in the artifex. This wisdom is found in the reality that investing in the artifex will provide more creative solutions, increasing the bourgeoisie’s profit, while investing in the proletariat will allow for the proletariat’s growth into the artifex. However, this requires a certain type of investment in the proletariat, an investment designed not to placate and satisfy (to avoid violent revolution, perhaps) (say through entertainment or welfare), but to advance, educate, and encourage the proletariat in its own creative endeavors. A bourgeoisie that understands the creative concord will understand that this focus will increase its wealth in every sense of the word. 7. To borrow from Thomas Sowell, life isn’t about problems and solutions; life is about trade-offs. Most decisions have both positive and negative dimensions to them, not just benefits or negatives. Often, if a country has a problem (say in healthcare), it looks for a solution to the problem versus the best trade-off. Consequently, it can refuse to accept any policy that entails any negative consequence, retarding development and prosperity. There will always be downsides: the question is, in the long run, what kind of policy can channel the negatives toward fueling positives. One could say that a nation prospers not to the degree it solves its problems, but to the degree it strategically manages trade-offs. This insight is also key to understanding the need for a redefining of what is meant by “perfect.” 7.1 In an artifex society, high in technology and robotics, there will be a shift of capital toward creative people. Individuals will then be pressured away from jobs like manufacturing toward being creative, threatened by a lack of capital otherwise. Today, people can be pressured away from being creative toward jobs like banking because creativity isn’t perceived as profitable. In an artifex society, this “problem of pressure” isn’t necessarily erased, but rather redirected to favor creativity. 8. Erich Fromm and Victor Frankl both make it clear that without purpose and creativity, a person cannot work at the level, efficiency, joy, and speed necessary to compete and thrive in the “idea economy.” Nor is it possible, without creativity, to integrate one’s social and work life together, which will continue to become increasingly necessary as global competition intensifies. 9. There is indeed an “invisible hand,” as Adam Smith noted, but it isn’t inherently benevolent. In a Banktocracy, Creditism, mixed market, etc., the “emergent order” can work a society toward collapse. Overall, the invisible hand is amoral, and it seems to me that its benevolence is dependent on the degree a society is artifexian. For one, in that society, the majority isn’t consciously or subconsciously depressed, apathetic, thoughtless, or suicidal. In a depressed society, the invisible hand constructs bombs; in a driven one, it uplifts the improvised. It’s up to the people, seeing that the invisible hand belongs to them: the invisible hand simply increases the effectiveness of whatever is occurring: it maintains and accelerates, but doesn’t choose, trajectory. 10. America’s system of Intellectual Property Rights needs revamping: it seems to be one of the prime culprits for the failure of society to incubate a strong artifex. Like the unfortunate ability of banks to “make money off of money,” the current ability of companies or people to use patens as a way to make money, rather than using patens to protect profitable goods, is detrimental for a nation to allow. The practice can make those seeking to become artifexians afraid they are breaking the law in creating, shrinks the artifex, and renders a nation susceptible to the self-destruction of the material dialectic. How exactly the system is to be revamped to efface “patent trolls” or “patent troll”-like activities (for which companies from Apple to Intellectual Ventures are guilty) is outside the scope of this paper, but a start would be to make it so that people couldn’t own a patent for a product that they haven’t first produced, nor allow a company or individual to own a patent for more than a year or so without making clear efforts to create what they’ve patented. A patent that a person doesn’t use should be revoked in favor of someone who will use it. What exactly would define “use” is outside the scope of this paper, but perhaps “making a thing buyable by average citizens” is a good place to start. Also, if an associational thinker desires to create an invention that brings together all the parts of different inventions, he or she should be allowed to do so easily, as T.S. Eliot could bring together numerous thinkers and references to construct The Waste Land: the creator should be responsible for simply referencing where he or she got the parts. Current laws may ruin associational inventors. 10.1 The fact that an oil company can own patents on alternative energy to keep that alternative energy from being produced is a threat to national security, considering the threat the material dialectic poises to a country without a strong and growing artifex. Patents are used now by companies to keep out superior competitors, threatening the market system. Current patent laws may break the arm of the invisible hand. 10.2 Perhaps as grounds for change, it could be the case that current patent and copyright laws infringe upon freedom of speech, especially of the “corporate persons” of startups. If individuals don’t believe that startups are corporate persons (that they aren’t big enough to achieve the status), this strikes me as discriminatory. If current intellectual property laws keep startups from beginning, yet those startups have no realistic way in which to know whether their ideas have already been patented by a company like Intellectual Ventures, then the current system of laws restricts their rights of expression. 10.3 All that said, unless the society emphasizes creativity, creativity will continue to be a threat (as already touched on), and the current system of Intellectual Property Rights will likely remain (faulty philosophies necessitate faulty systems). The current patent system keeps new technologies (like 3D printing) from being released on a mass scale and raising unemployment until it can be delayed no longer, which seems problematically necessary in an uncreative society. In a way, the current system of intellectual rights is needed to maintain the status quo for a society that lacks the vision and/or capacity to move forward. It preserves comfort, but comfort is lost as soon as it is made a goal in of itself. Both the education and patent system should be changed simultaneously, for both need the other rightly ordered to beneficially grow the artifex. 10.4 If a company in the 80s had patented scrollbars, where would computers be now? 11. As discussed by PlasticPills in “Marx: Alienation in Capitalism,” if I make a song, even if you buy it, we still understand that it is “my song.” But if I produce a Nike shoe, we consider it “the company’s shoe” — isn’t this strange? We seem to have a double standard when it comes to intellectual property, and this suggests that perhaps Marx was right that workers always “own” their labor. If a song always belongs to the audience, why shouldn’t a Nike shoe always belong to the producer? Marx’s error is to believe that it is the “product” a person always owns, when actually it’s “the idea embodied in the product.” If I produce the idea for a song, then even if you buy my song, the idea still belongs to me. Now, if you let someone borrow your CD with my song on it, then that is “your CD” that the person owes you back — it is not “my CD” even if the songs on it are “my songs.” It is ideas that always belong to the person who generated them, not products, and if I produce a product that doesn’t embody any of my ideas, then I don’t own the product. I am paid for “my labor,” but I am not paid for “my idea.” Items are usually a mixture of ideas and products: it’s usually difficult to draw a line between the two. A table I buy at Walmart is probably just “a table,” but a table made by a master craftsman is probably “a Smith table,” per se. Both are tables that have similar functions and are products in terms of their functionality, but the Walmart table is “more of a product than a work of art,” while the Smith table is “more of a work of art than a product.” When a product is more a work of art than a product, the blurry distinction between “creation” and “product” is embodied in our language: we tend to name it according to the maker. The fact that what always belongs to me is “my ideas” versus “may labor” can also shed light on why Marx was wrong to conflate the artifex and proletariat (if he indeed did so). An artifexian creates “an idea” that is embodied in a product, while a proletarian only makes a product (and yes, these two classes can mix). Perhaps a good test for determining if someone is an artifexian is to ask if it feel’s right to say that their product “is a Smith table” or if we can only say “it’s a table.” Perhaps the more “it feels right” to christen the product with the name of the creator, the more reason we have to think the creator was indeed an artifexian. 12. On autonomy: ‘The true opposite of obedience is not disobedience but independence. The true opposite of order is not disorder but freedom. The true opposite of control is not chaos but self-control’.A Keep in mind that autonomy is not the same as selfishness; in fact, a lack of autonomy can cause a rise in selfishness. The autonomous individual recognizes the autonomy of his or her neighbors and so becomes selfless. Furthermore, I think that it is between autonomous individuals that the strongest relationships can be found: the dependent individual fails to recognize the autonomy of others and consequently can become selfish. While the autonomous person controls his freedom, the selfish one can be controlled by it. AQuote from Jay Griffiths 12.1 There is potentially a correlation between the degree children are allowed to roam outdoors and their degree of creativity. One of the great causes of the decrease in the artifex may be the loss of free and open spaces like farms and cities children can explore. 12.2 Overbearing and overprotective parents may restrict the growth of the artifex. Creativity requires risk and a free spirit, but as Hara Marano warns in “A Nation of Wimps” and Jay Griffiths reports in “Why Parents Should Leave Their Kids Alone,” modern parents seeming to emphasize safety and comfort at the expense of creativity and personal development. The burdensome concern of parents could be making the youth mentally, physically, and psychologically fragile, setting them up for depression in college (where administrations, out of guilt, may use grade inflation as a means to help students cope, not wanting the psychological state of the student body to bring down the university). The benefits of play seem to have been replaced with the benefits of concern, experimentation with schedule, self-regulation with collecting experiences, and drive with desire. Fueling these problems, the cell phone enables parents, in love, to make sure that their children “do what’s best for them” twenty-four hours a day. If children cannot make decisions, caused by love, anxiety will rise. 12.3 In a creative nation, parents wouldn’t have to worry so much that their children must earn straight As in order to receive a good career with benefits. If helicopter parenting decreases creativity, perhaps one of the causes of over-protective parenting is an increase in the stakes of doing well in school, which incentives more over-productive parenting. Today, failure in school can seem like the same as failure in life. In a creative society, like unemployment, failure in school would drive productivity, and though grades would define the difference between life courses, they would cease feeling like they were a matter of life and death. This being the case, in a creative society, parents would likely be more willing to let their children fail, recognizing that failure isn’t irredeemable. Stress would be reduced for all parties, increasing freedom and creativity. 12.4 Creativity may help end “endless adolescence,” so a growth in the artifex may help save marriage and restore the family. If strong families help incubate creativity, the growth of the artifex helps itself grow. On the flipside, if the loss of creativity hurts families, and hurt families decrease creativity, then the reverse is also true. Thanks to the invisible hand, both trajectories seem self-fueling. 13. I believe the potential for a strong artifex is increasing, but it is perhaps the case that the increase of this potential, through technology, innovation, and so on, to the degree left unrealized, is to the degree the fabric of society decays. In an age of increasing potential, it seems to be the case that those who “get it right,” really get it right, but those who “get it wrong,” really get it wrong. Since the potential for a large artifex seem that they must increase (for technology and knowledge must inherently compound through time), it is not an option to restrict the artifex. The only option is the development of character and creative capacities; failure to do this seems like it will inevitably cause social decline. 14. In a society lacking creativity, freedom can manifest as “rebellion,” for it must be this way to gain the creativity it needs to be “constructively” free. To be peaceful and beneficial, freedom and creativity require one another. The loss of one could be the loss of the other. 15. All investment is spending, but not all spending is investment. It is human nature though to want all spending to be investment, for this premise gives humans a sense of control over the economy (especially with a central bank). Any premise that humans want to be true, will be true (seemingly), for humans choose the lens through which they interpret evidence. It is also the case that there will be less opportunities for investment than spending in a society lacking creativity, making it easier to (want to) believe the noted premise (a premise which also makes creativity seem secondary to consumption). 16. René Girard describes Jesus Christ as someone who rejects the scapegoat mechanism precisely in making it visible. The scapegoat mechanism is what René Girard described as a “sacred violence” on which societies were founded on until Christ, the belief that an individual can be sacrificed to save the group and it be just. This is a key point: the scapegoat mechanism only works if it is invisible, and it is by believing the scapegoat deserves to die, that the execution is just, that the scapegoat mechanism maintains invisibility. Jesus Christ is visibly a scapegoat and denies that his crucifixion is just; Jesus “takes on the sins of the world” in the open and refuses the “sacred violence” on which societies can found themselves. Girard does not deny that scapegoats can indeed unify people and hold societies together, but Jesus denies this option. In denying sacred violence, Jesus upholds the dignity of the individual, and makes it clear that if a society can hold itself together through sacrificing individuals, alternative means will have to be discovered. Sacrifice is no longer an option, which if people can’t handle, Girard notes we could end up in a worse situation than before Jesus. Regarding to artifex, the point I want to make is that if we are no longer allowed to solve our problems by sacrificing our problem-causes, perhaps Christ’s rejection of the sacred violence forces societies to be more creative? If we must learn how to get along, and if we cannot kill individuals to solve problems for the sake of the group, then we cannot run from our problems. If we believe we can sacrifice a person to make it rain, there is no need to invent irrigation systems to keep crops watered. If we believe we can imprison and exile minorities who destabilize our social order, there is no need for us to understand them or find common humanity. Please don’t mistake me as saying that Christians have always rejected sacred violence and exhibited incredible problem-solving capacities, but I do wonder if a rejection of sacred violence and emphasis on “loving our enemy” helps a society develop a culture of creativity. If this is so, Christianity or at least Christian values could be advantageous for the development of the artifex. 17. Education should enable students to make jobs, not just get them. Perhaps high schools, or “different kinds of colleges,” should focus on “getting,” while college could focus on “making,” which means colleges wouldn’t be able to promise anything. Perhaps in this world, people really would be able to believe they weren’t necessarily better off for going to college: the kids who didn’t attend college might end up better off more often. More importantly, if college kids did create wealth, the value of college wouldn’t be so easy to question. 17.1 Ironically, when the goal of college is to give people jobs, college seems fail; when the goal is to foster humanity, college enables individuals to make and acquire jobs. If first things come first, seconds thing follow (to allude to C.S. Lewis). It should be noted that as creativity dries up and jobs with it, there is a high likelihood that people and institutions will panic and so start stressing the need to “get jobs” at the expense of creativity. This increases the likelihood that the trajectory will stay the same (if not accelerate). Furthermore, as Peter Turchin discusses, when colleges produce creativity, they can fight their tendency to contribute to “elite overproduction.” 18. A benefit to creative destruction is that it naturally irons out monopolies: large companies are regularly undermined by new technologies and entrepreneurships. This is perhaps why many companies today buy up as many intellectual property rights as they can (and why a broken system of intellectual rights is such a threat). With market mechanisms thrown off, antitrust laws must be created to atone for the failure of other laws. Ironically, such laws tend to inhibit the free market and creative destruction which address monopolies, cartels, and various forms of price-fixing, which results in evidence that antitrust laws are needed (and where creativity is low and intellectual property rights broken, they are). 19. To allude to Hayek, if a thousand people are looking at a text in Arabic, and one person knows the language, everyone can know what the text says. Cumulative knowledge always exceeds individual knowledge. Thanks to the internet, if one person discovers something, humanity can discover it too. The freedom of each individual can benefit every individual. 19.1 In a society where individuals are free to learn what they want and how they want, there is a much higher probability that creative solutions will be achieved to unforeseen problems. If everyone is forced to learn the same material, say through standardized tests, fewer unpredictable problems will be overcome. Creativity is the opposite of standardization; by emphasizing creativity, schools would enable students to contribute to the whole of cumulative knowledge, rather than just take from it. Any school that doesn’t enable students to solve problems that its administrators don’t even know exist doesn’t prepare its students for the future, and arguably there is no other way to prepare for unknown problems then with creativity. 20. The “desire to know” is a threat to freedom and enabler of it. The desire can be one of control or growth, but without creativity, it goes in the direction of the former more so than the latter. If toward control, the desire works to make complexities (like people) understandable and predictable (when those complexities may function most profitably when left alone). The desire can also be directed toward making people all the same, which inherently limits individual freedom (because freedom is ultimately always individual: there is “group freedom” only insomuch as group activity enables individual liberty). 20.1 The “desire to know” can also manifest in the form of deterministic philosophies (rightly or wrongly), and Marx, to some extent, committed this error. Perhaps history is deterministic insomuch as people believe history is deterministic and live out their presuppositions into history, and perhaps it is always tempting to believe such a view, as a sense of control is always a temptation. For this reason, it is also tempting to devalue creativity, for creativity is unpredictable. 20.2 In line with “Concerning Epistemology”, when the “desire to know” does rear an ugly head, it tends to manifest through arguments for “safety” and hypothetical situations. For example, in regard to putting up a large “warning sign” where a crosswalk is located: “What if a child gets hit by a car? Isn’t it better to spend the money on a sign and make the street a little less aesthetically pleasing than risk a child’s life?” To this point, no argument can readily stand. Consider also similar arguments that have been made in support of laws for seatbelts, alcohol, food codes, healthcare, drugs, etc., and how so much of “the lawsuit industry” seems to find its lifeblood from safety concerns or attempts to keep dreadful things from happening. Once a concern for safety or wellbeing is raised (usually through “what if” arguments), it is nearly impossible to put the concern back down — it always has an emotional advantage. This sort of argument is a manifestation of the “desire to know” that a given “dreaded thing” won’t happen, and the more safety measures that are taken, the more an individual is able to feel that he or she “knows” something bad will not occur. It’s always loving to sacrifice freedom to safety, yet similarly fatal. 20.3 The “desire to know” can be virtuous when directed toward the right end — liberty. Liberty is necessary so that what can’t be predicted can be prepared for and occur. Though humans aren’t omniscient, freedom overcomes fallibility. 21. Marx seems to have believed that as prices inevitably fell, consequence of the overproduction necessary to give everyone a job, the income stream to the working class would dry up and revolution would happen. If people weren’t given jobs and prices stayed high, revolution would also occur, because people would still lack income and be unable to purchase the overpriced goods. Revolution being inescapable, Marx figured it was best to go on and get it over with. Despite this deterministic prediction (that perhaps stimulates revolutions to make the prediction accurate), it is important to note that in more Capitalistic nations, where Marx predicted revolution would occur, revolution hasn’t happened. Rather, revolution has tended to occur in impoverished nations like Cuba, China, and Russia, where Capitalism has lacked vibrancy. Worse yet, adding insult to injury, Marx was wrong that the State would fade away once the universal class was achieved. Rather, the State tends to refuse to give up power (though nations like Singapore have proven that it is possible for a nation to have a benevolent dictator, at least for a time). Revolution doesn’t occur in industrial societies nearly as much as it happens in pre-Capitalist nations. Nonviolent revolution through creativity, on the other hand, is prevalent where Capitalism is successful. Though Marx was wrong about the inevitability of revolution, revolution seems inevitable where creativity is lacking. However, it’s not inevitable that creativity ceases to flourish, which makes revolution non-deterministic. The very fact that revolution seems so rarely destined suggests that people are naturally creative. It’s also evidence that the internet has made it the case that once creative person can make up for the lack of creativity of a million others, which decreases the likelihood of military conflict significantly. As creativity enables “nonviolent revolution,” so it enables “nonviolent wars.” 22. It is not Industrial Capitalism that may cause revolution but Industrial Revolution education. 23. ‘You have nothing to lose but your chains’ applies regarding why people should be creative: “you have nothing to lose but your boredom.” 24. According to Feuerbach, because humanity is alienated, humanity creates God to save it. Though Karl Barth addressed this critique theologically, it should be noted that “disembodied religions’ or “escapist doctrines” alienate an individual like circumstances. Creativity is a “projection of divinity” not out of the world but into it, making the world more “godly.” 25. In school, if a child fails math, society tells the child to study more, because the system believes that all should be “rounded out.” In the “real world” though, when someone isn’t good at something, society tells that person to do something else, recognizing that “people are different.” This causes neurosis. On top of that, the system tends to fill students’ time with classes they will never use at the expense of opportunities for play and creativity. Yet, if a student fails to do well in all areas, that student is denied access into a college where he or she will be allowed to pursue his or her passions. It doesn’t seem sensible that a genius should be denied a chance to study literature at Oxford due to a C in high school math. 26. Without new possibilities or problems, the standard of living flat-lines, and alienation can set in (“is this all there is?”). Since new issues must constantly be identified, utopia as a “state” is not possible on earth, because fulfillment is found at least partially in finding problems and figuring out possibilities to fix them. Once there are no more problems, there are no more possibilities. Therefore, the creative concord isn’t a “miracle elixir” for a problem-free world, but a system by which problems can be individually overcome with the human mind and creativity: it’s a way to manage an unstable situation. It doesn’t mean hurdles won’t come, but it does mean the mind will be ready. 26.1 If meaningful, the word “utopia” refers not to “perfection” but “a movement toward perfection” (a process). Any policy, hence, that stops “movement” (or artifexian growth) could be anti-utopian. Ironically, when people seek to create a state of utopia, they can lose utopia; when they seek only to move toward utopia, they can achieve it. 27. Someone who identifies problems is pessimistic only to the degree that individual isn’t creative. Creativity helps negate pessimism. 28. There is such thing as “disembodied creativity,” which occurs (for example) when an individual forces another to make art by threatening to give that person a bad grade. If a person is forced to be creative, that individual can be alienated in the same way he or she is when lacking creativity altogether. To be true, creativity requires freedom. I would also argue that “forced creativity” is a contradiction and will inevitably dry up, while free creativity keeps growing freely. Creativity occurs in incubators versus under controllers. 29. Though both creative acts, a distinction can be drawn between the terms “innovation” and “creation” (not that I personally always hold this distinction). Innovation increases the capacity of a preexisting entity to achieve its end, while creation gives rise to an entirely new entity with an entirely new end. In a way, innovation improves upon what exists while creativity adds to what exists. Innovation is also, in some ways, less creative than creation (but that doesn’t mean it isn’t as valuable; in fact, it can be more valuable). This is because innovation is not as tied to “personal expression” as is creation: a true act of creation cannot be done by anyone but the individual who does it, while an innovative act is one that anyone can do. The exact way that innovation occurs, though, will have personal touches that only the particular innovator could have added. In Aristotelian terms, the innovator personalizes the accidents of a substance, while a creator personalizes both the accidents and the substance. Of course, a given innovation can actually be a creation, regardless the term prescribed to it, as a given creation can actually be an innovation. 29.1 Every individual needs to do something that he or she feels is truly “mine,” and the more personalized the activity, the more that act will overcome alienation. Therefore, it’s better to be a creator than an innovator, yet any given innovator might be a creator. Only they can know. 29.2 An invention is both an innovation and a creation or one or the other: it depends on the particular invention. The same can be said of artwork. 30. Whether a given creative act is detrimental or constructive for a society is a subjective value judgment. One person will believe the invention of the gun has increased the standard of living, while another will believe the opposite. Creativity can be good or bad, and what one person finds wonderful, another may find awful. For every person who believes Starbucks has been a blessing, another finds it a tragedy. Regardless the subjective value assessment, creativity drives growth through the artifex, and in that way is good, but it’s another question to ask if it’s (in a given instance) a moral good. It doesn’t seem every creative act can be said to be good, for there is no clear standard by which to determine good in a moralistic sense. 30.1 The more creativity there is, the more it seems there will be a kind of “creative competition” (like free market competition) that will increase the good over the bad. This is why it is especially tragic for creativity to be limited, for in this state, there is a higher likelihood of low-quality or detrimental creativity, for there is a lack of competition to kick out the bad. Creativity then is directed toward making new weapons of wars, for example, rather than toward solving the problems that lead to wars (like food shortages, poverty caused by a decrease in creativity, a lack of clean water, etc.). In seeing this, it will be harder for the people to believe in the value and importance of creativity, for all empirical evidence can suggest the opposite. Consequently, it will be difficult for creativity to grow and to keep the system from undergoing collapse in the material dialectic. The same seems to occur regarding the free market: the more limited it is, the less it works, which makes it harder for people to believe it will work if left to its own devices. 30.2 Though most startups fail, as do most artists, all creative acts contribute to creating the environment of “creative competition” that helps generate excellence, and if out of a million people, one creates something that succeeds, everyone can benefit. Excellence occurs where there is competition and pressure in the right direction, and it is needed in the market as much as it is needed in the drawing-room. Unfortunately, competition can direct focus in the wrong direction (such as when children compete to see who can make the craziest YouTube video, which seems creativity but suggests a lack of it), but creativity can help guide competition to be “non-zero-sum” versus “zero-sum.” Again, the “invisible hand” isn’t inherently benevolent, but it can lift us up. 30.3 Quitting, not failure, is more likely to be bad. Failure sweetens and enables success, while quitting makes success impossible. 30.4 Thanks to the internet, the creative genius of one individual will make up for the lack of countless others. If one person comes up with a new idea, everyone practically does. As a result, it can seem as if creativity is prevalent when it’s not, for it can seem that the million came up with the idea just like the one. Likewise, because of a few successful businessmen, it can seem like the entire economy is doing well. However, neither might be the case — the economy could be struggling as creativity could be drying up. 30.5 Further evidence that people are naturally creative is YouTube: it is bursting with videos of all kinds. 31. To expand on what it means that creativity becomes a “sin” in an uncreative society: when the minority, creative individuals are made to feel guilty for seeking creativity opportunities (seeing that it, for example, denies their parents the opportunity to tell neighbors that “John is working for Goldman Sachs”), for not taking life seriously, for wanting to play instead of work, for doing what doesn’t easily fit into an explainable box, and so on. 32. If we do not have the skill to build a house, we are, in a way, enslaved to the man who has that ability. If we learn this skill, we regain our freedom. In this sense, skills are liberties. Likewise, if we aren’t creative, we are enslaved to the individual who can create: if we can’t create wealth, we are dependent on those who can. Government policies that restrict creativity react against the government’s lack of liberty by taking liberty from others. In this transaction, no liberty is gained; liberty is lessened. In the free market, skills, abilities, etc. — “liberties” — are exchanged for one another. A person who lacks one “liberty” can gain it by exchanging the “liberty” he or she has with someone who needs it. Yet as “liberties” can be gained through free exchange, they can also be learned. Since all individuals have the capacity to learn (even though people have varying material “liberties”), all people have the capacity to be free. Keep in mind that no one is free in the same way, for no one has the same exact set of skills. 33. Freedom, as a whole (versus types or dimensions of freedom), is not easy to define; it’s easier to recognize. 33.1 Freedom entails a capacity to transcend alienation. Achieving freedom requires government, economic, educational, and social consent to individual liberty. Though a poor nation may have a Democratic Republic, the people will not be readily free, for they will not have the ability to rise above their circumstances, nor may they care that they are free (to some extent). In a dictatorship, the people are not free to rise above a government they disagree with; in schools that don’t teach students to think for themselves, the students will be enslaved to the commands of superiors. Economic strength tends to make way for all liberties as economic weakness tends to limit them; that said, a strong economy doesn’t mean that there is total freedom, only a trajectory toward it. Freedom, like utopia, must be reached toward perpetually (which sounds like we’re not free to stop reaching). 33.2 Freedom entails doing what an individual is made to do, not just what an individual wants to do. A boat is not free when used on the street: it is misused. What a given person is made to do is up to that person, but only wants within the framework of that purpose will be acts of liberty. Without purpose, nothing readily defines a free act from a mere act: a meaning of life seems the prerequisite for a liberated life. Making a purpose entails creativity, and if it is the case that humans are anthropologically creative, then it is by being creative that a human does what he or she was born to do. 33.3 Freedom is like success and a person feels free as he or she approaches success. The possibility for success entails being part of a system, game, mission, etc. where failure is possible, and what entails success is up to the individual striving for it. It is only by having a purpose in life that one can have a standard by which to determine success or failure in life. This is not to say an individual can’t have successes without purpose, only that a person can’t have success. Freedom is possible only where failure is possible, and there can be failure only where there is purpose. Thus, freedom requires risk and facing fear. 33.4 Freedom is seeking what is sought. 34. It is easy to inflate the success of an individual Capitalistic with Capitalism as a whole. Though many succeed, many also fail. Many suffer, as many suffer in any system. Capitalism isn’t a perfect system, only perhaps the most perfect system. Capitalism doesn’t make everyone successful, but it may tend to increase success. Of course, those who have been successful are those most likely to point this out, while those who have been unsuccessful are most likely to disagree. This is why the question becomes whether the system is, in fact, the best. Hopefully, this paper has made it clear that Capitalism is the superior system only to the degree that creativity occurs within it. ‘Democracy is the worst form of government except for all the others that have been tried,’ claimed Winston Churchill. Likewise, Capitalism I think has a claim to be the best-of-the-rest economic model. Yet, as Democracy only achieves this state of superiority if people vote and work to be informed, so Capitalism achieves its apex only when people are creative. 35. Herbert Marcuse, a renowned supporter and critic of Marx, recognized that the Enlightenment project, which arguably occurred to make humanity more rational and fearless of the unknown, resulted in humanity being more afraid and more dogmatic than ever before: IT led to the theatre of the absurd. Marcuse recognized that a society full of rational individuals is overall irrational. This seems to be a point that obliterates Hayek; however, it must be recognized that there is a distinction between a rational society and a free society. Hayek doesn’t propose that every individual needs to be rational, but rather claims that the net product of free individuals is superior to the genius of any single person or group. Whether a society is full of rational individuals is irrelevant if that society isn’t free, for then it isn’t possible for there to be a net collection of knowledge that guides the development of the society organically. Marcuse is right to identify that an increase in rationalism leads to irrationalism (for, in line with “Concerning Epistemology,” it is natural that rationalism leads to a restriction of freedom and central planning). As rationalism increases, freedom can decrease, even though rationalism could empower freedom. It is the decrease in freedom then, as a consequence of the rise of rationalism, which can lead to overall irrationalism in the way Marcuse warns. In the end, Marcuse’s findings can actually serve as evidence for Hayek’s proposals. The more intelligent one becomes, the more one can come to believe that intelligent people should make decisions over those less intelligent (and the individual mostly likely has plenty of experiential evidence to support this belief). Also, as one increases in intelligence, it becomes harder to believe that the net sum of others is intellectually superior to oneself. Accepting this requires a faith and humility that the individual has little reason to assent to, and seeing that the person has been taught to question and doubt everything in being taught to be rational, accepting Hayek’s findings may go against what that person has been taught is right. Therefore, as a society becomes more rational, it may become more unlikely that the society will be Hayekian. Consequently, it is increasingly probable that the society be irrational in its total workings, even though it be rational on an individual basis. It is also important to note that just because a person is rational doesn’t mean the person is wise in determining which framework to exercise his or her rationality within. If one, for example, decides that only that which can be observed is real, one has created a problematic framework in which to exercise rationality, making rationality an expression of that problem. It may also be the case that the more rational a society becomes, the more it fails to recognize the existence of various frameworks or the necessity of thinking about which framework is best. 36. Another way to determine if everyone is creative is to make everyone try Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way. 37. The loss of the artifex is perhaps at least partially due to the alienation of the introvert, as written about by Susan Cain. 38. It’s not possible for businesses to predict innovations like the internet, so creativity is necessary to respond to unpredictability. In this sense, creativity is practical like a fire alarm: it’s often not needed, but when it is, it can be deadly not to have. 39. Society needs doctors, for example, but society may not need to emphasize its need for doctors. Society needs artists, engineers, scientists, etc. — no occupation is readily more valuable than any other. Without doctors, we lack the health to embrace creativity, but without creativity, life loses its liveliness (and the economy slips into the material dialectic). It is common today to emphasize the need for scientists, doctors, and engineers, but it is this very declaration that causes a shift of focus from occupations that generate the happiness and creativity necessary for a society to thrive. When there isn’t creativity, society may need more engineers in order to maintain the economy via “broken window fallacies”; when there isn’t happiness, there may need to be more doctors in order to address the increase in depression and stress. The very emphasis on doctors can generate the need for more of them, as the very declaration for needing more scientists and engineers can be what causes the society to lose innovation and so leaves no one else to turn to for economic sustainability. When artists are lost, depression can increase, and this functions as proof that society, indeed, does need more doctors, fashioning a self-justifying “loop” (a paradox touched on in both “Emotional Judgment” and “Self-Delusion, the Toward-ness of Evidence, and the Paradox of Judgment”). This is another reason for why when the artifex class shrinks it is probable that it will continue to shrink. 40. America is the ‘place where people do new things,’ according to Peter Thiel, yet the moralizing of “getting a stable job” could threaten “the nation of artifexians.” Passion results in mastery and creativity, but in a nation which labels the passionate as irresponsible (and even immoral dreamers), mastery and creativity may dry up. Creative thinking is hard enough in itself, let along without the pressures of a society that dismisses creativity as childish. Society tends to do this in the name of “practicality,” but it is creativity and wealth creation which makes it possible for a nation to have practical avenues at all. “Practicality” can impractically bite the hand that feeds it. 41. Since unemployment drives economic growth in a creative nation like employment, creativity grows the economy more than employment or unemployment. 42. It has been argued that technology contributes to inequality, because new technologies tend to creatively destroy the jobs of the less educated and lower classes while increasing the opportunities of the more educated and upper classes. If this is the case, won’t a growing artifex worsen the material dialectic and increase the likelihood of class struggle? If the artifex is growing, then there are more people who are part of the artifex and outside of the material dialectic, but perhaps the intensity of the material dialectic will increase “along the edges” of the artifex? Though the probability of the material dialectic erupting within the artifex will be less, perhaps the probability might be higher outside or around the artifex? Perhaps, but even so, the size of the class revolution will be increasingly smaller the more the artifex expands. Do note that the solution to the displacement caused by technology is education, for this increases the capacity of everyday people to work more advanced jobs. As the artifex grows, so too will expand educational opportunities, for a keyway the artifex grows seems to me to be through education. If the growth of the artifex matches the expansion of education, then the growth of the artifex will in a sense be the expansion of education, which can be a mechanism of reducing job displacement. Hence, it will be unlikely that the growing artifex will contribute to class tension, though certainly a stagnate artifex could, which again suggests why education is so important. 43. Creativity generates resources for economies to allocate. When creativity is low, the environment must suffer. The material dialectic will devour something, even itself. However, anarchy doesn’t necessitate the protection of the environment; in creativity, a technology for saving nature could be found. 44. Colin Woodard, author of American Nations, claims that America isn’t a Union, but eleven nations with cultures that have always been segmented (to some degree), a division which has only intensified with time. Today, more and more people are moving into communities with like-minded people, avoiding discomforting differences. Perhaps immigration in the past helped mitigate some of this problem, but that is no longer the case. Not only does this not bode well for democracy, but it may also be a problem for creativity and wealth creation. According to Randal Collins, author of A Global Theory of Intellectual Change, creative, philosophical, and innovative thought emerges along the border where two groups of opposing thought meet (it is in the space between Aquinas and Averroes where genius emerges, per se). In a divided nation, creativity dries up, the artifex shrinks, and the economy implodes. 44.1 To know we aren’t bipartisan, we have to be bipartisan; to know we aren’t a critical thinker, we have to think critically; to know we aren’t creative, we have to be creative. This paradox results in societies thinking they are brilliant when in fact they are foolish. In a society lacking cross-pollination, where the truly creative can encounter the noncreative (and so forth), the noncreative will likely never have any reason to think that they lack artifexian capabilities. Consequently, the people will think they are artifexians, and yet the society will reflect otherwise. 45. A problem with Capitalism is its tendency to gravitate toward a world in which consumers can choose to only be presented with options they want to see. Creativity is often a result of stumbling upon ideas as a result of encountering phenomena that are outside a person’s current scope. When consumers can choose to not confront that which makes them uncomfortable (or when the system caters options to personal histories), it is likely that creativity dries up. Individuals with opposing political perspectives are starting to move away from one another, and Google is beginning to customize search findings relative to browsing history. Furthermore, citizens can watch stations and read newspapers that will confirm what they already believe, and colleges and businesses are gravitating increasingly toward specialization. This doesn’t bode well for the artifex class and may lead to an impulsion of the material dialectic. 45.1 A person with options isn’t necessarily a person who’s free. 45.2 A person with choices isn’t necessarily a person with different kinds of choices. Every framework contains its own set of options. Freedom is movement between frameworks, not simply between choices. 46. A society without a freedom of speech is a society that will lack creativity. The First Amendment, more so than individual expression, guarantees the right to an environment in which one can express themselves freely without fear. “Pub culture,” in a sense, is what the First Amendment protects. Considering the work of Randal Collins, without this freedom, it is going to be difficult for a nation to innovate and grow the artifex class. Furthermore, a culture that lacks conversational skills will also struggle. Perhaps this is another reason why television culture, as Neil Postman writes on, is so devastating to society: the television robs culture of the capacity to overcome the material dialectic. 46.1 Since conversation incubates creativity, we should be graceful to the people we speak with. The freer they feel around us, the higher the likelihood they will exercise creativity. 47. Creativity might gravitate toward producing nonsense. What is nonsensical can be filled with the imagination and mean whatever viewers want it to mean. Furthermore, it is enjoyable to participate in a collective joke. Take Gangnam Style: eventually, the line between where the joke begins and seriousness ends fades (perhaps a similar point could be made about Capitalism’s tendency to blur holidays). Creativity may also gravitate toward vulgarity because popularity can feel better than greatness. Vulgarity feeds natural, animalistic tendencies, while art might feed less natural dimensions of human beings. Absurd and vulgar expressions of creativity (especially in a society lacking in character) might be more popular than creativity that expands the artifex class. Consequently, demand can shift toward fueling creativity that doesn’t keep the economy from self-imploding (via the material dialectic). Once such creativity becomes popular, it may be impossible to shift demand the other way again before economic collapse. (These thoughts will be expanded upon in “Should We Get Rid of the Internet?”) 48. What Money Can’t Buy by Michael J. Sandel warns that market societies (defined from market economies) are growing, which are societies that are willing to value everything through market terms (even at the expense of other values). Sandel warns that for a thing or action to be given a market value transforms how humans perceive and interact with that phenomenon. Money changes the meaning of goods, and this can be for the good or the bad. The moment I try to pay children to read, they may view reading not as a good in itself, but as a means to an end. Though money often incentivizes, Sandel notes, it doesn’t necessarily incentivize toward the end an “employer” has in mind. When I begin giving children $2 for every book they read, this may incentivize them not to become better readers but to read shorter and easier books. Monetary values aren’t always bad, but they aren’t always good either. Money shouldn’t be involved in areas that will corrupt rather than improve (which areas are which requires discernment and character to determine). Professor Sandel points out that money can crowd out civic duty and self-motivation. Since self-motivation, in line with the thought of Daniel Pink, is the engine of right brain and creative thinking, a failure to keep market economies from expanding into market societies can result in a dwindling of the artifexian class, the impulsion of the material dialectic, and collapse of the market economy. Creativity can cultivate the capacity to discern values other than monetary values, for creative individuals must have vision and drive toward the end of their creation long before money is involved. A creative person has to value what he or she envisions for his or her self: though it may generate revenue eventually, this internal value has to come first. Creativity cultivates character, and it is through character that people can discern values other than market ones. Creativity also forces individuals to stand by what they believe in, and so to take their beliefs very seriously. 48.1 Rampant marketization may be a result of a society’s desire to escape “the big questions,” perhaps evident by the loss of public discourse and democrat debate. Marketization most certainly (like our technological distractions) helps us avoid angst and existential crises, for when the markets decide our values, we don’t have to decide them for ourselves. If we did decide them, we would have to pick standards of value by which to make these decisions, and this would cause anxiety and be an additional hardship to add to our already-oversized pile of responsibilities. Creativity, on the other hand, can force an individual to take on “the big questions.” An artifexian must ask, “Why am I doing this?” “What if this doesn’t work out?” “What will other people think?” etc., questions which ultimately lead to questions like “Who am I?” “What matters to me?” “Why am I here?” etc. It is not by chance that the loss of creativity and dwindling of the artifex class has coincided with a loss of philosophy and political discourse. 48.2 Unless they perhaps educate themselves out of it, humans cannot avoid wanting purpose and asking, “What’s the point?” Creativity enables an individual to synthesis all experiences and phenomena in one’s life into a produced whole, hence making it possible to give everything in one’s life “a point.” Nothing in a creative life ever must be pointless: an artifexian can direct anything and everything “toward” a point of his or her making. Nothing lacks the potential for value. The movement toward market societies and the monetization of everything is perhaps an effort to fill the void left by the loss of the individual capacity to add creative values to life. Since people have lost the capacity to add values, people require the market to add it for them. This line of thought will be expanded upon in “On Materialism, Purpose, and Discernment” by O.G. Rose. 48.3 The creative individual has a standard by which to determine what he or she should consume (“What contributes to my project?”). In this sense, creativity equips an individual with “Creative Judgment,” which has a teleological basis. Through creativity, an individual can determine which things “fit” the ends of his or her making. Also, what is consumed by a creative individual is usually directed toward a project and so “recycled” into it. A noncreative individual, on the other hand, may decide what to consume through emotions (which can lead to problems expounded upon in “Emotional Judgment” by O.G. Rose), or may use reason, but without creating wealth to replace what is consumed. (These points might shed like on why many creative individuals are involved with environmental and sustainability movements.) 48.4 Monetary incentives, in a society lacking creativity, will incentivize not creativity and so market sustainability, but materialism and market self-implosion. If incentives only direct individuals to produce or consume, rather than create and recycle, wealth will be distributed until it runs out versus created and multiplied. Capitalism requires not only incentives to produce and consume, but also incentives to create and creatively recycle. Creative incentives tend to be self-created, so a free environment that encourages and cultivates self-motivation is necessary for a Capitalistic system (versus the socioeconomic environment of America today that labels the creative as reckless, insensitive, and impractical). Social constraints can be as damaging as governmental restrictions. 48.5 Creative incentives can usurp monetary incentives. Monetary incentives work when they contribute to a person’s sense of purpose and creative end, but not when they replace purpose and creativity. The woman who takes care of children because she believes it is her purpose in life perhaps will be insulated by monetary compensation (unless she needs it to keep taking care of children), while a woman who needs money to paint will be motivated by it. Every situation is different. 48.6 There is no perfect system through which to allocate resources. However, creativity can perfect the imperfect, or at least build it toward something better. What enables creativity should be the standard used to determine which system of allocation and/or incentives to use relative to a given phenomenon. 48.7 Monetary incentives to get children to read, for example, only jumpstart their love of learning if the incentives intentionally guide the children to a state where they can cultivate creativity and purpose for themselves. 48.8 As money changes our “toward-ness,” so may licensing. 48.9 It is possible that the introduction of money to an artist for his or her work may transform the artist’s “toward-ness.” Consequently, it may become more difficult for the artist to enter the “flow” state (as expounded upon by Mihaly Csíkszentmihályi), which may negatively affect creativity. Expanding this thought out, it is possible that once artifexians begin creating wealth, the artifex class will become less “artifexian.” Ironically, the profitability of the artifex may ruin it. That said, the artifex class is still the only way to keep the material dialectic from collapsing the entire system; therefore, the cultivation of character and self-motivation are of the utmost importance. It is one of the greatest challenges to develop individuals who are not negatively transformed by money, but this is paradoxically necessary in order for wealth creation to continue and expand. 49. According to Sugata Mitra, mastermind behind “Hole in the Wall” experiments, education is a self-organizing system. This means that a structure of education arises without any intentional organization and that learning is an emergent phenomenon. Teachers do not need to make it happen; they need to let it happen. According to Mitra, if students are equipped with the ability to find answers (which is globally possible now thanks to Google and the internet) and presented interesting questions, children will do the rest. All a teacher must do is encourage and inquire. On their own, children learn, master divergent thinking, and cultivate creativity, which are all necessary for the growth of the artifex class and avoiding economic collapse. 49.1 As price mechanisms, when left alone, provide the guidance for participants to self-organize the economy (according to Hayek), so encouragement and questions from teachers guide students to self-organize education. Considering that this might be all a teacher needs to do, it is fair to question if unions and bureaucracy are needed. 49.2 The internet and Google have made it unnecessary for people to use large parts of their brains to store up facts, leaving large parts of it empty. If these parts are not directed toward creative endeavors, children will slip into boredom and depression. Considering rising depression medication and Adderall prescriptions, there is evidence that this is already happening. 49.3 The very nature of standardized testing forces schools to be managerial. If Mitra is right, this is the exact opposite of what education needs. It is perhaps the case that government is inherently managerial and antagonistic of any self-organizing system. 49.4 It is possible that teachers who are themselves not very creative or in need of management (perhaps after being brought up through a managerial school system that stifled their autonomy), will not value and even discourage creativity and autonomy, which will stifle the self-organization of education and creativity (to the determent of the artifex class and society as a whole). 49.5 If education is self-organizing, it is evidence that humans are anthropologically and inherently creative. 49.6 Mitra’s work, I believe, provides evidence for reconsidering the value and role of Employment Testing, which will be expanded on in future work. For now, it can be said that schools are Employment Tests in disguise (though everyone seems to know it, because the main reason people encourage children to go to college is in order to “get a good job”). If, on the other hand, it was less legally risky for businesses to offer these tests, schools and colleges could focus on creating an environment where children taught themselves rather than focus on building resumes. Concerns about tests ruin education as do concerns about resumes. Considering this and Mitra’s work, a college that functions also as an Employment Test seems to be a terrible paradox. 49.7 The political theory of “liberty,” which America is founded on, is a theoretical construct for government similar to Mitra’s theory for education and Hayek’s theory for economics, all of which seem reminiscent of the work of Mandelbrot. 49.8 Considering “On Thinking and Perceiving” by O.G. Rose, the act of thinking can be a threat to all self-organizing systems, such as the economy according to Hayek and education according to Mitra, because a self-organizing system, by definition, cannot be fully comprehended. The very act of thinking about such a system is that which creates a perspective and framework in which management and central planning can be “proven” necessary. If we think about children teaching themselves alone in a classroom, we will likely envision chaos and errors more so than success (in line with thought expanded on in “Concerning Epistemology” and “Self-Delusion, the Toward-ness of Evidence, and the Paradox of Judgment”). Since it involves children, we are also primed for “emotional judgment” and fears that arise from “what if” concerns (“What if the children don’t learn?” “What if this doesn’t work?” “What if something bad happens?” etc.). The very act of teachers confirming that children are learning (even if the teachers are truly neutral and bipartisan) can create evidence that “proves” education isn’t self-organizing (say by giving a test after a period of self-organization, which scares the children and turns off their brains). Therefore, teachers must be careful before trying to be “scientific” about their classrooms. When it comes to education, rather than think about what’s best for children, it’s best for teachers to simply guide and watch children do what’s best for themselves. 50. Considering “Don’t Send Your Kids to the Ivy Leagues” by William Deresiewicz, it is possible that civilization has wired the best and brightest brains of the generation to be unable to join the artifex. 51. When a society is lacking in creativity (and especially when colleges have a monopoly on credentials, as discussed in “Innovating Credentials” by O.G. Rose), it is probable that programs like Affirmative Action will be controversial. This is because when a society lacks creativity, much of its hopes for succeeding rest in succeeding in college and/or following the prescribed course set by the society, and when people feel as if they are denied access to college because of their race, they can become resentful. With creativity though, as it is with unemployment, the denied individual — not that it is necessarily easy — adapts and makes his or her own way. 52. America, at least in the past, has been the most creative nation in history. Yet Americans aren’t smarter than other peoples; in fact, they might be stupider. The difference is that America creates an environment in which creativity and the artifex class can flourish. Immigrants who come to America who “weren’t creative” in their home countries can suddenly become business leaders in America. It is not their intelligence that changes, but their environment: they come to a place of liberty where they can self-organize. 52.1 Following Deirdre McCloskey, the rate that the standard of living has increased for the entire world over the last three centuries outpaces every period that came before it. Computers, cars, airplanes, etc. all were invented in America and then distributed to the rest of the world, benefiting the globe. Before America, thousands of years passed with only moderate technological advancement. This isn’t to say there weren’t major inventions, only not as many or as frequently. America has single-handedly raised the quality of life for the world because its societal structure incubates an artifex class. However, in such an environment, we must keep in mind the warnings of men like Neil Postman: not everything technology does is good. 52.2 Errors in Capitalism are contained and solutions distributed, while both errors and solutions in Central Planning are dispersed. Through time, therefore, it is probable that Capitalism prevails. Perhaps Central Planning may leap ahead of Capitalism, like the hare racing the tortoise, in the end, the tortoise still wins. 53. If it is true that, anthropologically, humans are creative, a teleological, social ethic, as Aristotle would have it, can be established. Since government and law cannot decree that people be creative or how they should do so, and since creativity thrives in freedom, it is then just for government and society to increase freedom as much as possible. A truly free society, then, is a just one. Also, if human nature is creative, then it is human nature to define the purpose of this creativity. Consequently, humans aren’t bound by their natures, and the nature of humanity is liberty from nature. This being the case, if humanity is anthropologically and ontologically creative, liberal morality and teleological
https://medium.com/@o-g-rose-writing/the-creative-concord-c81e804817b8
['O.G. Rose']
2021-03-24 14:56:48.271000+00:00
['Communism', 'Politics', 'Philosophy', 'Marx', 'Entrepreneurship']
123MoViE!!! “Josee, the Tiger and the Fish” Animation [[HD]] FuLl (OnLinE)
Watch Josee, the Tiger and the Fish [2020] : ꜰᴜʟʟ_Movies!!! ⇨ One way to Watch StreamiNG Movies!! ✿ — Official-Stream!! Josee, the Tiger and the Fish ●(2020)● Watch Full MoViE ~ Official Watch On BONES ✿ Play Here ➤https://tinyurl.com/ybjfueuy Watch Josee, the Tiger and the Fish (2020) : Full Movie Online Free A youth romantic drama with themes of growing up, the story focuses on college student Tsuneo and dreamer Josee, who lives her life stuck in a wheelchair. Josee — named after the heroine in Françoise Sagan’s Wonderful Clouds — spends most of her days reading and painting until by chance she encounters Tsuneo, and decides it’s time to face the real world. Release Date:Dec 25, 2020Runtime:99 minutesGenres:Animation, Drama, RomanceProduction Company:BONESProduction Countries:JapanCasts:Taishi Nakagawa, Kaya Kiyohara, Yume Miyamoto, Kazuyuki Okitsu, Lynn, Chiemi Matsutera, Shintarou Moriyama, LilyPlot Keywords:based on novel or book, paraplegic, love, slice of life, relationship, disability, anime josee the tiger and the fish,the tiger and the fish,josee the tiger and the fish theme song,josee the tiger and the fish amv,josee the tiger and the fish movie,josee the tiger and the fish anime,josee the tiger and the fish ending,josee the tiger and the fish trailer,josee the tiger and the fish song,josee the tiger and the fish ซับไทย,josee the tiger and the fish ed 1 hour,josee the tiger and the fish anime song,josee the tiger and the fish best scene,josee the tiger and the fish ending song ⇨ Josee, the Tiger and the Fish ⇨ Josee, the Tiger and the Fish Cast ⇨ Josee, the Tiger and the Fish Trailer ⇨ Josee, the Tiger and the Fish Review ⇨ Josee, the Tiger and the Fish 2020 ⇨ Josee, the Tiger and the Fish FuLl [MoViE]e ⇨ Josee, the Tiger and the Fish FuLl [MoViE]e 2020 ⇨ Josee, the Tiger and the Fish FuLl online ⇨ Josee, the Tiger and the Fish FuLl sTreAmInG ⇨ Josee, the Tiger and the Fish online ⇨ Josee, the Tiger and the Fish sTreAmInG ⇨ Josee, the Tiger and the Fish FuLl online ⇨ Josee, the Tiger and the Fish FuLl sTreAmInG online ⇨ Josee, the Tiger and the Fish online ⇨ Josee, the Tiger and the Fish sTreAmInG ⇨ Josee, the Tiger and the Fish PLAY ▶ Watch On ►►https://tinyurl.com/ybjfueuy TELEVISION SHOW AND HISTORY A television show (often simply ) is any content prBookmark this siteoduced for broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, cable, or internet and typically viewed on a tv set, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are usually placed between shows. s ‘re normally scheduled well ahead of The G0G with Grandpa and appear on electronic guides or other TV listings. A television show may also be called a tv program (British EnBookmark this siteglish: programme), especially if it lacks a narrative structure. A tv set Movies may be the G0G with Grandpaually released in MoViE that follow a narrative, and are The G0G with Grandpaually divided into seasons (The G0G with Grandpa and Canada) or Movies (UK) — yearly or semiaual sets of new MoViE. A show with a restricted number of MoViE could be called a miniMBookmark this siteovies, serial, or limited Movies. A one-The G0G with Grandpa show could be called a “special”. A tv set film (“made-for-TV movie” or “televisioBookmark this siten movie”) is a film that`s initially broadcast on television instead of released in theaters or direct-to-video. Television shows may very well be Bookmark this sitehey are broadcast in real The G0G with Grandpa (live), be recorded on home video or an electronic video recorder for later viewing, or be looked at on demand via a set-top box or streameBookmark this sited over the internet. The first television set shows were experimental, sporadic broadcasts viewable only within an extremely short range from the broadcast tower starting in the. Televised events such as the 60006 Summer OlyBookmark this sitempics in Germany, the 60006 coronation of King George VI in the united kingdom, and David Sarnoff’s famoThe G0G with Grandpa introduction at the 6 New York World’s Fair in the The G0G with Grandpa spurreBookmark this sited a rise in the medium, but World G0G II put a halt to development until following the G0G. The 626 World Movies inspired many Americans to get their first television set and in 622, the popular radio show Texaco Star Theater made the move and became the first weekly televised variety show, earning host Milton Berle the name “Mr Television” and demonstrating that the medium was a stable, modern type of entertainment which could attract advertisers. The firsBookmBookmark this siteark this sitet national live tv broadcast in the The G0G with Grandpa took place on September 2, 6000 when President Harry Truman’s speech at the Japanese Peace Treaty Conference in San FraThe Walking Dead: World Beyondco was transmitted over AT&T’s transcontinental cable and microwave radio relay system to broadcast stations in local markets. ❏ STREAMING MEDIA ❏ Streaming media are multimedia media that are continuously received by an end user and presented to an end user while being provided by a provider. The verb to be streamed identifies the process of providing or receiving media in this way. [Clarification required] Streaming identifies the delivery method of the medium rather than the medium itself. The distinction between the delivery method and the distributed media is particularly true for telecommunications networks, as most delivery systems are either inherently streaming (e.g. radio, television, streaming apps) or not streaming by nature (e.g. books, video cassettes, sound CDs). There are challenges associated with streaming content on the Internet. For example, users whose Internet coStarzection does not have sufficient bandwidth may experience stops, delays, or slow buffering of this content. And users who lack compatible hardG0Ge or softG0Ge systems may have problems streaming certain content. Live streaming is the delivery of Internet content in real time, similar to how live television broadcasts content over the air with a television signal. Live internet streaming takes the form of source media (e.g. a video camera, sound interface, screen capture softG0Ge), an encoder to digitize the content, a media publisher, and a content delivery network to distribute and serve that content. Live streaming does not need to be recorded at the point of origin, although it is often the case. Streaming is an option for dBBC Oneloading files. The end user receives the full file for the content before viewing or hearing it. Streaming allows an end user to use their media player to begin playing digital video or audio before the entire file has been transferred. The term “streaming media” can apply to media other than video and audio, such as: B. Live subtitles, ticker tape, and real-time text that are considered “streaming text”. ❏ COPYRIGHT CONTENT ❏ Copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its BBC Oneer the exclusive right to make copies of a creative work, usually for a limited time.[2][2][000][2][000] The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, educational, or musical form. Copyright is intended to protect the original expression of an idea in the form of a creative work, but not the idea itself.[6][6][2] A copyright is subject to limitations based on public interest considerations, such as the fair use doctrine in the United States. Some jurisdictions require “fixing” copyrighted works in a tangible form. It is often shared among multiple authors, each of whom holds a set of rights to use or license the work, and who are commonly referred to as rights holders.[citation needed][6][20][22][22] These rights frequently include reproduction, control over derivative works, distribution, public performance, and moral rights such as attribution.[2000] Copyrights can be granted by public law and are in that case considered “territorial rights”. This means that copyrights granted by the law of a certain state, do not extend beyond the territory of that specific jurisdiction. Copyrights of this type vary by country; many countries, and sometimes a large group of countries, have made agreements with other countries on procedures applicable when works “cross” national borders or national rights are inconsistent.[22] Typically, the public law duration of a copyright expires 0000 to 22 years after the creator dies, depending on the jurisdiction. Some countries require certain copyright formalities[000] to establishing copyright, others recognize copyright in any completed work, without a formal registration. It is widely believed that copyrights are a must to foster cultural diversity and creativity. However, Parc argues that contrary to prevailing beliefs, imitation and copying do not restrict cultural creativity or diversity but in fact support them further. This argument has been supported by many examples such as Millet and Van Gogh, Picasso, Manet, and Monet, etc.[6] ❏ GOODS OF SERVICES ❏ Credit (from Latin credit, “(he/she/it) believes”) is the trust which allows one party to provide money or resources to another party wherein the second party does not reimburse the first party immediately (thereby generating a debt), but promises either to repay or return those resources (or other materials of equal value) at a later date.[2] In other words, credit is a method of making reciprocity formal, legally enforceable, and extensible to a large group of unrelated people. The resources provided may be financial (e.g. granting a loan), or they may consist of goods or services (e.g. consumer credit). Credit encompasses any form of deferred payment.[2] Credit is extended by a creditor, also knBBC One as a lender, to a debtor, also knBBC One as a borrower. Find US : • Instagram: https://instagram.com • Twitter: https://twitter.com • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com Thanks for joining, have fun, and check out and let me know what you guys think! Feel free to leave a clap and Follow Thanks for watching guys!! Smiling a little better a big laugh.! Have a nice day :))
https://medium.com/123movie-josee-the-tiger-and-the-fish-animation-hd/free-watching-animation-josee-the-tiger-and-the-fish-studio-2020-movies-online-fc708975cc59
['Abo Telah Kembali']
2020-12-26 17:11:01.356000+00:00
['Animation']
Stranger Things: Five Gripping Tales
The Shadows is Alex North’s second novel, a follow-up to his wildly successful debut The Whisper Man. Like Whisper Man, this mystery centers on an eerie decades-old killing and features Detective Inspector Amanda Beck. The original murder has become an urban legend of sorts and now a copycat has emerged. According to the legend, “Redhand Man” is a ghostly figure who lives in the forest and can make people disappear. It was his powers that led two teenage boys to brutally stab a classmate. One of the boys turned up in town hours after the murder, covered in blood and wielding a knife. The other — Charlie Crabtree — was never seen again. If this rings any true-crime bells for you, read on. Eventually, an entire internet culture springs up around the legend. Amateur detectives spend years combing through every detail of the case in hopes they will finally solve it. Teens and crime enthusiasts relive the killing on various web forums — including someone who goes by CC666 and claims to have been there. CC666’s posts aren’t just observations either: they goad others into continuing Charlie’s work. Could the person behind the mysterious handle be Charlie Crabtree? Is it possible he really did escape 25 years earlier? Aside from DI Beck, there is another person who wants to find out the truth. Paul Adams was a suspect in the original crime and now he’s returned to town because his mother is dying. Chapters alternate between Paul’s retelling of past events, his present-day narrative, and Amanda’s account of her current investigation. Wickedly Eerie There are many twists, including one big one, which took me by surprise. The atmosphere throughout is wickedly eerie and the flashbacks to Paul’s teen years reminded me of the character dynamics in a Stephen King novel. I kept expecting something supernatural to happen but this isn’t really that kind of tale. One of the characters tells Paul “a ghost story is sadder than anything else.” I don’t often feel that, but I did when I finished The Shadows. In part, this is because I’d recently read about the real-life story that inspired Alex North to write the book. I won’t say more, but if you finish the book and look up the actual case, you’ll find the details are as heartbreaking as they are haunting. North brings the sense of loss that accompanies such acts of fantastical violence into focus. Last but not least, who the heck is Alex North? My Google sleuthing efforts to uncover his true identity came to nothing. Want more creepy coming-of-age tales over the holiday? Try these four novels: The Girls in the Garden This mystery by British writer Lisa Jewell begins with an idyllic birthday party in a communal park. Before the night is over things take a very different turn, however. Thirteen-year-old Grace goes missing and when she’s finally located she has been assaulted and is partially undressed. Grace, her older sister Pip and their mother Clare have already had their share of trauma: their father recently had a psychotic break and has been institutionalized after burning down their house. All the three wanted was safety and they thought they’d found it in the close-knit community whose homes border the picturesque London park. Like The Whisper Man, the novel does a fabulous job depicting a neighborhood’s tangled teenage relationships, as well as the intricately woven adult connections. Unlike newcomer Clare, most of the parents have lived near Virginia Park all their lives. Which complicates things even further, because there was another girl who went missing years ago — and turned up dead. This is a wonderful mystery with plenty of suspense as to who the guilty party (or parties) may be. It’s also as good as any “literary” novel in terms of its ability to capture the complexity of human interactions. If you want to get a good look at the darkness that lies beneath even the most beautiful surfaces, you’ll love this one. The Body Stephen King’s novella isn’t a mystery or a horror story but it is one of my favorite coming-of-age tales. It also happens to be one of my all-time favorite King books and I’ve read my share of them. The story begins after a 12-year-old boy disappears from Castle Rock, Maine (where else?). Aspiring young writer Gordie LaChance and his three buddies set out on a mission to find the boy’s body along the railroad tracks where it is rumored to be located. Each boy comes from a dysfunctional family and they are all struggling to find their place, not only in the working class town but in the society as a whole. Though the quest to find a dead body seems like a thrilling adventure it comes to mean something very different by the end. If you’re short on time, the movie version — Stand by Me — with River Phoenix and John Cusack is worth watching. Sharp Objects Gillian Flynn’s Sharp Objects is the reason I stopped eating pork, so keep that in mind when you start this book. Setting that aside, Flynn is a master of suspense who will keep you reading long into the night. The novel begins when crime reporter Camille Preaker heads back to her hometown to investigate the disappearance of two young girls. One girl has been murdered and the other has gone missing. Camille’s boss thinks she is perfect for the job. Camille disagrees. She avoids Windgap because the death of her younger sister still haunts her in one very tangible way. But she wants to prove herself as reporter so she soon settles in with her mother, stepfather and stepsister Amma, despite her deep misgivings about entering the family mansion again. This is classic Gillian Flynn with the usual twisted plot and some lovely Southern gothic touches added in. Of all her novels, this is the one that affected me the most. Sharp Objects has also been made into a mini-series on Hulu. I don’t like it as much as the book, but the Emmy-nominated show is extremely well done and Amy Adams is, well, just great. In the Woods Tana French is another master. If you haven’t read her Dublin Murder Squad mysteries, head for your local bookstore and start with In the Woods, which is the first in the series. DI Rob Ryan is the sole survivor of an attack in the woods near the Irish town where he grew up as a child. He has no memory of what happened to his two best friends and he’s done everything he can to put his past behind him, including changing his name. Now twenty years later he’s called back to the area to investigate another death at the same site where his friends vanished. Like The Whisper Man this isn’t a horror tale but it’s not quite a straight procedural either. There is the unresolved idea that something really might be out there in the woods, something that won’t ever be fully explained. As is true of North’s novel, there is a well-known myth that served as the basis for the tale, so feel free to look it up after you finish the book. Runners-up: The Broken Girls by Simone St. James, The Secret Place by Tana French, The Absolution by Yrsa Sigurdardottir, and A Dangerous Fortune by Ken Follett. If you liked this review, you might also check out the ones below. Two of the books appear on my runners-up list. Lori Lamothe’s book reviews have appeared in Curled up with a Good Book, Mostly Fiction, Daily Book Muse, The Chick Lit Review, Amateur Book Reviews and elsewhere.
https://medium.com/chameleon/what-the-shadows-know-3ca2e9b0a6a1
['Lori Lamothe']
2020-12-23 18:41:14.927000+00:00
['Books', 'True Crime', 'Books And Authors', 'Fiction', 'Book Review']
Don’t get offended at the Word — John 6:59–61
These things said he in the synagogue, as he taught in Capernaum. Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this, said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it? When Jesus knew in himself that his disciples murmured at it, he said unto them, Doth this offend you? — John 6:59–61 The backstory to these verses was Jesus teaching about the truth of His mission — the reason for His coming to earth. Sadly, the people who listened didn’t listen with their spirits and thus were offended with His words. The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat? Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. — John 6:52–54 Why do we get offended? The answer to this is quite straightforward, it’s because we lack understanding about that truth. Humanly speaking, we get offended when an opinion clashes against an already existing belief or opinion we have. How can we not be offended? A few scriptures to help us see clearly. All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works. — 2 Timothy 3:16–17 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life. — John 6:63 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: — 1 Peter 5:6 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. — Philippians 3:13–14 Action for today Pray the Pauline prayer in Ephesians 1 as we need the help of the Holy Spirit to understand ad hear God clearly.
https://medium.com/growing-in-the-spirit/dont-get-offended-by-the-word-john-6-59-61-a7eb6767918e
['Emmanuel Okeke']
2021-01-19 07:39:56.431000+00:00
['Faith and Life', 'Christian Living']
Lead and Disrupt
You think startups are hard? Try innovating inside a large company where 99% of the company is executing the current business model, while you’re trying to figure out and build what comes next. Charles O’Reilly and Michael Tushman coined the term an “Ambidextrous Organization” to describe how some companies get this simultaneous execution and innovation process right. Their book Lead and Disrupt describes how others can learn how to do so. I was honored to write the forward to their second edition. Here it is in its entirety. — - What you’re holding in your hand is a revolutionary document. It answers the questions of why some companies trace a brilliant arc as a shooting star and then flame out while others continue to thrive. Why are some companies able to reinvent themselves while others, once market leaders, are disrupted? Is it that some CEOs are better than others? Are their people smarter? Do they have better sales, marketing, or product development groups? The short answer is no. What the winners start with is the realization that in a world of continuous disruption, they have only a few years to develop new capabilities or be pushed over the brink. And they also recognize that simply exploiting their existing assets, capabilities, and business models is insufficient for long-term survival. So they prepare for future markets by exploring new ventures. This radical idea of companies continuing to execute and exploit their existing business model while simultaneously exploring and creating new products, businesses, and business models is what O’Reilly and Tushman call ambidexterity. While simple at first glance, the concept is revolutionary in its ability to transform an enterprise. This book not only explains the “why does this happen” but more importantly gives you the tools for “what to do about it.” In the 20th century, finding the successful formula for repeatable start-up success remained a black art. The idea of exploitation versus exploration was central in my own work in building the lean methodology for start-ups. The key was the realization that start-ups are not simply smaller versions of large companies, which execute/exploit known business models, and whose customers, problems, and necessary product features are all “knowns.” In sharp contrast, start-ups operate in “search/explore” mode, seeking a repeatable and profitable business model. The search for a business model requires dramatically different rules, roadmaps, skill sets, tools, and culture in order to minimize risk and optimize chances for success. Recognizing the anomaly was just the first step. There were no standard tools, methods, or playbooks for start-ups. So we built our own tools to enable founders to rapidly translate their vision into hypotheses and then into validated facts. These tools — Customer Development, Agile Engineering, and Business Model design — became the lean start-up methodology, a rigorous approach to testing hypotheses and building prototypes, and, on the basis of data and evidence, adjusting or pivoting to a variant of the original hypothesis. Today, lean is the de facto method for building new start-ups. Fast forward two decades, and many companies have adopted these start-up tools and methods to deal with disruption. However, after watching innovators in large companies try to use the lean start-up methodology, I’m embarrassed to say that it has mostly devolved into standalone innovation activities (corporate incubators, accelerators, and so on) resulting in “innovation theater,” with nice coffee mugs and posters but little impact on the top or bottom line. In this book O’Reilly and Tushman succinctly articulate why these tools succeed in start-ups but fail in large companies. Most R&D budgets in established companies are spent on sustaining innovations that support existing products and operating divisions and the attendant processes and procedures, rigorous measurement, and controls. These formalized structures, necessary for managing execution/exploitation, actually strangle disruptive innovation before it can start. Companies built around exploitation emphasize efficiency, productivity, and the reduction of variance, whereas exploration demands searching, discovering, and accepting risk and failure. To accomplish both simultaneously — to be an ambidextrous company — requires not only separate organizations for each function, but also different business models, competencies, systems, processes, incentives, and cultures. In short, it requires a different way not only to manage a company, but a different way to organize it as well. This is a really big idea. To be truly successful at ambidexterity firms must master the new skills of ideation, incubation, and scaling. Firms first generate new ideas via ideation: the last twenty years have seen an explosion of corporate venture capital, open innovation, and employee involvement via hackathons and incubators. A smaller number of companies have become proficient at the next step — incubation — rigorously testing new business concepts, using the lean start-up methods of Customer Development, Agile Engineering, and Business Model design. However, relatively few have successfully scaled new internal ventures to enable them to stay ahead of disruption. It is this discipline of scaling, actually building new, substantive, profitable businesses, that is critical to the success of new, highly innovative corporate ventures. It’s only when companies can scale that they truly win. Scaling is the crux of ambidexterity. Recognizing the need for ambidexterity and building an ambidextrous organization are tests of corporate leadership. In the end, exploitation pays your salary while exploration pays your pension. Companies that survive do both. This book will do for companies what the lean methodology did for start-ups — give its leaders the essential playbook for transforming their organizations to meet the future. Get your copy of Lead and Disrupt. Steve Blank writes about disruptive innovation at www.steveblank.com
https://medium.com/@sgblank/lead-and-disrupt-333d5ecc23f9
['Steve Blank']
2021-09-01 16:46:10.408000+00:00
['Corporate Innovation', 'Innovation', 'Disruption', 'Disruptive Innovation']
Xmas carol wiggly _ Historical episode #1: Elon Mush and the Martian dino
Requiescant all the zumbis — God Nzambi of the Gubernatorial Chivalry of the Grand Seal has pushed the Excrementitious Bottle through the rays of His Own Grandness. Canty — canty be the zumbis. Let them wiggle — wiggy zumbis. The Cavaliers are impressed. So much so that none of them hears the phone. Which is a NIMPh — Nuclear Intercontinental Missile Phone — a phone whose nucleus of sound grows if the ringing passes unnoticed. ‘Someone please catch that’ saith Nzambi. ‘Prithee, Lord, doubt not that’ says Flight Lieutenant Bill–Hook Gates of the Shitty as he sloppily gets the hand telephone set, whilst nipping up his pridefully niping glasses. ‘Oho’ he tear-jerkedly ejaculates. ‘The NIMPh voice has just murmured that ELON MUSH HAS BEEN ABDUCTED BY ONE OF OUR RED DINOS FROM MARS.’ E. Mush’s spathe of vitaminic water had been spiked with a Lycioplesium martianum causing him to err and mendicate by holding out his beloved trilby. After much roving and vacillating, he collapsed in the noughties Buchclub marquee at the All Gods College, redbrick uni since the invention of Mars and the other delusions. Field Marshal Hire Brigade Matriculation Managing Crofter Mark Klutzberg saw that the soggy bloke’s trilby was brimming with Martian chop marked dollars. Thus, in spite of recognisance being seriously impeded by the knackered dermal aspect and bled white face both of which due to the extravagant dosage of L. martianum, M. Klutzberg gladly avoided the ascertainment of the parentage via Dental Nodule Analysis (DNA), and could unequivocally identify the man as being — Elon Mush.
https://medium.com/xmas-carol-wiggly/historical-episode-1-b715bf31773c
['Labbianlibey', 'Creations Another Planet']
2021-03-13 09:50:02.230000+00:00
['Dna', 'Bill Gates', 'Satire', 'Mark Zuckerberg', 'Elon Musk']