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Why Australia doesn’t owe you $#!+ | Moving to a new country is never easy. It’s a process filled with thousands of contrasting emotions.
From fear, hope, sadness, joy, curiosity, excitement and much more. No matter who you are the process is the same, the experiences are similar but the results always differ from one person to the next.
Like most people across the world, those of us who have exercised the courage to move to another country are forever labelled. Even if you’ve avoided being labelled by your race, the truth is you’ll never escape being labelled by something else. No matter what you achieve in a country, not of your birth, rest assured you’ll learn to embrace being called a migrant.
Accept it, wear it with joy. Do not despise it for it is an unshakable fact of history. It will always be a part of your story but like race, being a migrant doesn’t have to determine how far you go, it shouldn’t have to limit how wide you dream and how much you dare.
Perhaps I’m just being idealistic but I don’t think so. Three years may be too short a period to reflect a lifetime but it’s definitely not too early to build an opinion.
As of today, its now just over three years since I first set eyes on the coast of Sydney. It’s been three years since my old self began to unravel and my new reality emerged. It didn’t take me that long to learn a valuable lesson. A lesson that’s become my guiding statement and what I chose to pass on to you.
It took just 18 days, the kindness of strangers, shelter from an unknown person and the fortune of Heaven's mercy before I was able to get a job earning marginally above minimum wage.
Getting that first job filled me with shock, joy and the ever-present fear of failure. Is this really me? How could I be so lucky? Wow! After 12 years of continuous experience in Marketing and Digital Design, I’d made it.
A freshly minted migrant with hopes, dreams, a 4-year-old visibly excited son and an emotionally conflicted 32-week pregnant wife. I had made it.
I finally had a job with a lifestyle similar to what I left behind, a weekly salary that dwarfed my highest incomes in Lagos. But what most impressed me was this, I was starting at the bottom of the social and economic ladder. I finally had a job but It was at odds with anything I’d ever done before.
Yes, I had finally made it. I had become a labourer. Wow!
My uniform for 87 days. This photo reminds me of my Journey.
I was thankful. I had a job. In a country in which everything and everyone was strange to me, I could earn a legal income. I was thankful, I loved the work but hatred the job. I was a labourer. What in my country of birth would be seen as the lowliest of occupations, the most despised of workers is what I had become.
But this did not matter, in Australia, this is exactly what I deserved and where I needed to start. Sydney is not Lagos. A Lion is not a cat. I would find a way.
I worked all over Sydney across many construction sites. 10-hour shifts, 6 strenuous days every week. I did that job for 87 days. I made a friend and some “frenemies” too. I hated every single minute of it and rejoiced at every paycheck but I was always hopeful, even when I became hopeless.
I never stopped adapting, I never stopped applying for jobs in my industry. The UX and Digital Design industry. With every email, all 275 rejections, I kept a dim flame of hope — a translucent faith in God.
Destiny led me here. To Orange, New South Wales and PYBAR Mining Services. To the job, I didn’t know was mine and to a city, I’ve come to love. I adapted, now I thrive and you can too.
Lucky Country?
Luck is an immeasurably important part of life. It’s the unseen factor in every kind of success. You won’t always get the output you expect, you may wish you had someone to cheer you on, to support you, to push you but sometimes the only person in your corner is you. Just you. No one else and you’ll be tempted to give up. Don’t.
This is an amazing place to build a life. It’s a wonderful country and I believe it’s a land of luck. It’s not a country for naysayers or complainers. Its home to those of us who accept life as what it is but still chose to write our own story.
Life owes you nothing.
Orange NSW, the heart of Central West NSW
Life here is the same as everywhere — only better. It’s a deck of cards. If you really want to win, you just have to keep playing. You’ll stumble, adapt and change your approach until your goals are realised.
You’ll fail but that's just an ingrained part of the journey. Embrace it.
You shouldn't take this journey alone but It's still up to you.
Australia doesn’t owe you s#it! | https://medium.com/@herodownunder/why-australia-doesnt-owe-you-5c6dcba53829 | ['Ola Tawose'] | 2020-12-22 21:47:52.778000+00:00 | ['Life Lessons', 'Design', 'Travel', 'Job Hunting', 'Immigration'] |
Children in Adult Prisons | Why does it need to be banned?
The United States needs to ban this practice. There are many adverse effects on children being sent to adult prisons. Children should not be sentenced and sent to adult prisons. Children have a higher chance of being sexually assaulted in adult prisons than in juvenile facilities, face the increased risk of suicide, and they lose out on educational benefits offered by juvenile-detention facilities.
Children face an increased risk of sexual assault.
Children placed in adult prisons have a higher risk of being sexually assaulted than children placed in juvenile facilities. Studies have shown that children incarcerated in adult prisons are five times more likely to be sexually assaulted. This evidence demonstrates that children alone face a much higher risk. According to research, children are often sexually assaulted within their first 48 hours of incarceration. Adult prisoners see children as prey and target them. Children are younger and weaker than most adults. Because of this, they become easy victims. Children are repeatedly raped and sexually abused by other inmates. Often, this assault will disturb the children. Once they are released from prison, they are either traumatized by the sexual assault or extremely violent from learning to fight off the threat. The abuse children face while in prison takes a toll on their mental health. It does not just affect them while in prison, but also once they are free.
Research has shown that 1.8 percent of 16 and 17-year-olds in adult prisons have reported being assaulted by another inmate. Older inmates will target younger inmates because children are more likely to be weak and vulnerable in prison with adults at much higher ages. While 3.2 percent of the 16 and 17-year-olds were abused by staff. This is because frequently, people employed in prisons abuse their power. They feel a sense of power being “prison wardens” or “guards”. They often will use their power to blackmail inmates. They might make an inmate perform an unwanted sex act or beat an inmate for no reason. . Not just inmates are abusing children, but even prison staff, which is another major problem in our Criminal Justice System.
Children face an increased risk of suicide.
Also, children face an increased risk of suicide. Research has shown that children incarcerated in adult prisons are 36 times more likely to commit suicide than children detained in juvenile detention centers. Prison has a dramatic effect on younger individuals. Most children, when admitted to prison, are still young, and their brains are still developing. Many children sentenced to adult prisons suffer from untreated mental illnesses. In contrast to adults with mental illness, children have limited experience in managing their disabilities, anxieties, fear, and trauma. They often act impulsively, recklessly, and irresponsible. In adult prisons, this behavior results in more hostile punishment, which can than worsen a child’s mental health problems. Children are just not mentally prepared for the challenges that come along with prison. Children’s and teen’s brains and bodies are still developing and are at a higher risk of physical and psychological harm. Factors such as sexual abuse can lead to depression, which can cause a child to inflict self-harm or possibly even commit suicide. Also, Children get raped, beat up, and sold to provide sexual favors and money. All of these contribute to kids imposing self-harm and suicide. For inmates aged 17 or younger, the annual average mortality rate is 32 per 100,000 prisoners.
Children lose out on educational benefits offered by juvenile-detention facilities.
Lastly, children lose out on educational benefits offered by juvenile-detention facilities. Juvenile detention centers help children, even repeat offenders, turn their lives around before they commit crimes as adults, and end up back in jail. The purpose of a juvenile detention center is to help children develop insight, change their attitude and behavior, and create goals that they can achieve when they get released. Juvenile detention centers have many positive benefits for children. They provide students with education, guidance, and it is sometimes even life-changing for some children.
When children lack educational opportunities while incarcerated, it makes re-entry into the community difficult. When children go to adult prison, they lose out on educational programs offered at juvenile facilities. Without education, it is difficult to find a stable job. Additionally, At least one prison offers only half-day education, and the John Howard Study stated the schools are funded at only one-third the minimum level of regular public schools. This shows that prisons do not even give children a proper education. They are funded with very little money, which shows that they are not deemed significant. They are viewed with very little importance. Children’s educational needs are being abused in prison. Children should be given a proper education, and this can not be achieved in adult prisons.
Do the crime, pay the time — Should kids be sentenced to adult prisons?
One might argue that juveniles should be sentenced and sent to adult prisons because they know right from wrong. Victims and the families of the victim deserve justice if one if their family members are affected or killed by a juvenile defender. Also, many believe that juvenile detention center tends to focus on age more than the actual crime. A child could commit a grave crime such as murder and show no remorse and would be given a light sentence because of his age. Juveniles also have the right to a trial by jury when they are tried as adults versus juvenile courts, which only have a judge.
While all of this is reasonable, trying juveniles as adults still put them at high risk for abuse and sexual assault. Many juveniles are young and lack the maturity to handle adult prison. Also, sentencing children to adult prisons gives them a sense of lost hope. They might not have any hope of ever becoming anything besides a criminal that is harmful to society and that juvenile’s mental health state. Juveniles in adult prisons might become involved in gang activity and violence and more susceptible to criminal activity. This could affect their life once they are released from prison. Once they go through adult prison, they will have a criminal record that will follow them their whole adult life and affect their chances of getting a job.
Overall, children should not be sent to adult prisons. Children have a higher risk of being sexually assaulted than children placed in juvenile facilities. They are five times more likely to be sexually assaulted in adult prisons than in juvenile facilities. Adult inmates and guards prey on juveniles because they are weak and vulnerable. Children also face an increased risk of suicide. They are 36 times more likely to commit suicide in an adult prison rather than a juvenile detention center.
Juveniles brains are not fully developed, and adult prisons cause many adverse effects on their mental health. Children also lose out on educational benefits offered by juvenile-detention facilities. In 2010 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled juvenile life sentences illegal for crimes less than murder. Juveniles still are being sentenced and sent to adult prisons. They are just not being given life sentences for anything other than murder. Although the government has taken steps to eliminate children in prison, it is still a significant problem today. The United States needs to ban the practice of sending children to adult prisons and instead send children to juvenile facilities where they face safer conditions and gain useful life skills. | https://medium.com/@ssaddlar/children-in-adult-prisons-f06b7d00ff2 | ['Shontae Saddlar'] | 2019-11-26 22:01:27.606000+00:00 | ['Prison Reform', 'Prison', 'Children'] |
Python remote debugging with PyCharm, CUDA, and Conda | #DeepLearning, #CUDA, #PyTorch, #tensorflow are the hype in software engineering these days, and I am also working on some HPC-Deep learning integration.
One requirement I had was to create a debugging setup that includes PyCharm, CUDA, and Conda. I do not have an Nvidia GPU device on my laptop, but my workstation has one and I have ssh access to it. This I think, is a common setup for most of us, and hence I think this would be a quick summary of how you can set up ‘remote debugging’.
So, my setup is,
Local laptop without Nvidia device, running PyCharm Pro as the IDE
Remote workstation with an Nvidia device, running CUDA, and python environment running on Anaconda.
Remote access to the workstation is set up through ssh
Following test script (from PyCuda docs)
Steps:
Steps are quite straight forward. But there are a couple of ‘Aha…’ points!
Create a new project and add the above test script. Add a new SSH remote interpreter for PyCharm. Refer PyCharm docs. In the interpreter, set python path to conda python binary (path from the remote machine). Ex: In my workstation, conda python was in /home/niranda/anaconda3/bin/python Setup remote debugging for the project. Refer PyCharm docs. This is the most important step. Set PATH and LD_LIBRARY_PATH in the debug configurations. These values should be taken from the remote machine.
That’s it! Now you can simply debug your code, pointing to the remote python interpreter than has CUDA, pycuda and/ or anything you like! :-)
Cheers | https://medium.com/@n1r44/python-remote-debugging-with-pycharm-cuda-and-conda-87d27695634c | ['Niranda Perera'] | 2020-03-17 16:06:42.200000+00:00 | ['Cuda', 'Python', 'Deep Learning', 'Debugging', 'Pycharm'] |
Persuading My Mind to Be Free | Oh, my mind! Fly like a free bird,
This is a perfect season to meet the Lord.
As the winds cool down and the garden starts to bloom,
Use this auspicious moment to become his chum.
Go beyond the shadows of the cotton clouds,
where even the stars won’t try to make huge crowds.
Just fly beyond the winds of matter,
beyond this dimension of noise and chatter.
Forget all the attractions of this material world,
And embrace the divine emerald.
Ecstasy, joy, and sublime bliss, you’ll experience,
As there lies no sound’s disturbance.
Tasting the eternity, you won’t need anything,
With wings of true consciousness, fly like an Angel king.
It’s a divine call that’s waiting for your move,
Don’t wait for your kith and kind to approve.
If you’ve walked on the path of spirituality,
You have to break all the human bondages to experience a new reality. | https://medium.com/spiritual-secrets/persuading-my-mind-to-be-free-cfc6aa6ce9d4 | ['Darshak Rana'] | 2020-11-30 18:20:39.057000+00:00 | ['Spiritual Secrets', 'Spirituality', 'Weekly Prompts', 'Spiritual Growth', 'Poetry'] |
Covid-19: Visual Notes From Singapore’s First 100 Fully Recovered Patients | How long does it take to be certain that you’ve been infected with Covid-19? And if indeed infected, how long would it take for you to be free of the novel coronavirus? These are tough questions to answer conclusively, but here’s what the first 100 fully recovered cases in Singapore can tell us.
Several excellent dashboards have been created to track the progress of the Covid-19 outbreak in Singapore (click here, here, here, and here), and it would be pointless to try to duplicate what these better resourced teams have done.
In this post I’ll focus instead on exploring two questions on everyone’s mind:
Q1: If I test positive for Covid-19, how long would a full recovery take?
There’s no global standard at this point, and affected countries have adopted different guidelines as to when a Covid-19 patient is cleared to be discharged from a hospital.
In the Singapore context, Covid-19 patients are deemed to have fully recovered only after they successfully test negative for two swab tests at least 24 hours apart. Only then can they be discharged from the hospitals. This is done to ensure that the patients don’t go on to infect others when they return to the community.
In other words, recovery from Covid-19 symptoms alone is not considered a full recovery and would not qualify you for discharge from hospitals in Singapore.
So far, patients among the first 100 fully recovered Covid-19 cases in the city-state have taken between one and 31 days to be discharged, if we start counting from the day their infection was officially confirmed. The median number of days in this confirmation-discharge window is 11 days.
Q2: If I have symptoms, how long do I have to wait to be certain that it is Covid-19?
This is the tougher of the two questions to answer due to gaps in our knowledge of Covid-19, and complex cases with either no symptoms or buck the norm for the 14-day incubation period. In Singapore, the vast majority of patients among the first 100 fully recovered cases were confirmed within 14 days of the reported onset of symptoms like fever, sore throat and difficulties in breathing.
But eight patients had no symptoms and eight cases took 15 days or more before they were confirmed. There is no conclusive explanation so far for these unusual cases, as well as similar ones that have been reported around the world. | https://towardsdatascience.com/visual-notes-from-singapores-first-100-fully-recovered-covid-19-patients-aad7f2e1d0a0 | ['Chua Chin Hon'] | 2020-03-23 13:38:58.579000+00:00 | ['Covid 19', 'Data Visualization', 'Singapore'] |
Life Sucks. And Then You Die. | A suicide survivor’s quest to break the cycle.
The author with her father circa 1983.
I could still feel the burning pavement through my flip flops while we stood in line at Baskin Robins for a mint chocolate scoop on a sugar cone. I had been dreaming about biting the gooey end of that sugar cone all day as I practiced underwater somersaults at the public pool. My mom and I found a bench outside between other groups of families and high schoolers. I licked a drip and it was heaven. But when I went in for another, I got too excited and the whole scoop flew directly to the ground, landing with a soft thud and sending a splatter over my sandal. I froze and tried not to cry. I looked at my mom, lip quivering.
She motioned to the long line and offered me some of her butter pecan instead. When I hung my head, she said something that she would continue to say for the rest of my life, something she must have found comforting.
“Life sucks, and then you die.”
Mine was the kind of mom who hated hugs, so this tracked.
As an 8-yr-old standing over my ruined mint chip, I didn’t quite understand but found myself repeating it on the car ride home.
Does life suck? Then you die? I didn’t want it to be true. I wanted to believe that life could be fun. Or magical. Or anything but… sucky?
I thought about my mother, abandoned by her husband for another man and stripped of her housewife status with one late-night confession. Forced to raise me alone with little help and a job she didn’t want. Yeah, I guess her life seemed to lose its luster. And my father, in his own snazzy condo on Lake Shore Drive in Chicago, starting his new life as a gay man in the big city. Ready to party but still having to battle with his family, society, and his own depression. Dammit. His life looked pretty bleak as well.
Could I be spared?
Or was I destined for tragedy by my parents’ sucky lives?
My dad’s life seemed to be doomed from the beginning. Born into a family of artists who put image above all else, his mom expected him to always look and act his best — and she beat him when he didn’t. She smothered his self-esteem with insults and even worse… made him go to Catholic school, which pushed his sexuality even deeper.
Then, she left. I didn’t know the details until I found my father’s yearbook much later. His mom had written something like “I hope to read about you one day in the newspaper. Buh Bye.” This is slightly worse than “Have a kickass summer.” Then she was gone. Off to become a famous actress. From the many internet searches I’ve done to find her, I’m guessing her calling never took off.
Intent on hiding his secret, my dad married twice and had one really adorable baby, me. He lived as his authentic self only within his fantasies, which has to be pretty lonely. He learned along the way that he couldn’t count on his family. And when you can’t count on your family, you can’t tell your truth. You’re in your head a lot. You learn to solve things yourself. You close inward. You pull your baggage along with you because you can’t put it down. Nobody is there to help you carry it anyway.
Pile that on top of a brain that doesn’t run on normal. It’s a manic depressive brain with jubilant highs and devastating lows. During the highs, I’d get gifts wrapped in beautiful packaging. My dad loved to wrap a present. (And nobody knew he was gay?) We would zoom down Lake Shore Drive blasting Madonna in his new fancy car. He loved me during those times. He was on top of the world.
During the lows, he’d disappear. There’d be calls where my mom would plead with him to get it together. He’d accuse her of working for the government. Of spying on him and telling the IRS. Instead of a gold bow on a meticulously wrapped gift, I’d get a printout of Diana, the talking Cabbage Patch he was planning on buying me but never would. He was too preoccupied with his mental illness to love me the way I needed him to during those times.
Maybe my grandma, who I never met, did read about my dad in the newspaper one day. I wrote his obituary when I was sixteen and he had made it three months past his 48th birthday.
A few years later, my mom, the natural nurturer, asked me: You’re still not over him?
And, no. I am not over him. Nope! I am writing this because I am extremely not over him. I find myself imagining his last breath while waiting in the supermarket line. He’s my dad. It’s been 25 years. I still miss him. And love him. Why is it so easy to love people who are dead?
I’ve written a lot about my dad, but this piece is about me, the grown-up with a broken heart still not over my dad’s suicide.
This is not about how he fell into a super low and his friends and family were just a bit too tired to help him out this time. How he was struggling financially and didn’t see a way to pay the rent. Or the bills. Or how to scrounge up more than enough for a bottle of Johnnie Walker Red. When he died, he had $700 left to his name. I can imagine that was daunting. How do you keep on living knowing you might be evicted and you’re constantly disappointing your daughter and her mom with an empty wallet instead of child support.
This is not about how he had watched his best friends die during the AIDS crisis in the 90’s. Worst time to finally come out, if you ask me. My mom was right. At least in his case, life sucked… and then he died. Especially since it was his plan. My dad carefully scheduled it out. He wrote a note, he wrote out instructions. He taped it on his door so people entering knew what they’d find. And then, three days later, when his downstairs neighbor threw out his Korean leftovers and still smelled something unusual, he went upstairs to find my dad.
That’s when I got a call. He was gone.
No matter how much I wished he’d just faked his death and escaped to Canada, he had become a bag of decomposed parts and then a heavy box of bone-colored ash and then a breeze in the Castro because I sprinkled him in all the plants so his community could breathe him in forever and ever. No matter how many times I thought I saw him on a passing train or in the back of a bodega, it wasn’t him. He was gone.
Gone. Gone.
And, no, I’m not over him.
What happens when you’re sixteen and an only child and your dad decides to leave for good? You wonder if he suffered. You imagine that night over and over in your head. You play back the last phone call. What if I called him back like I said I would? What if I hadn’t visited and told him what my mom had said: that his friends wouldn’t help him this time. What if I had noticed how his teeth were browning and his apartment was a mess and he was surely stuck in his lowest of lows? What if I had been older? What if I had been better? What if I had known the perfect thing to say? What if I could have shaken my mom awake to help him this time.
But guess what? She didn’t care as much as I did. Nobody did. They’d all taken turns to coax my dad away from the edge so many times that they decided to step back, one by one. Maybe he really was alone. I was there, but he didn’t see me. He didn’t think of me before he left. He didn’t think I’d need him to walk me down the aisle. He didn’t care that he had a daughter, which is baffling to me now that I have daughters. I would do anything in my power to live until 150 just to see who they become.
But my brain isn’t full of disease. It did learn something from my dad though: that I’m alone. That life does suck and then you die.
As an only child, when your dad dies and his friends are more relieved than sad, you mourn alone. You sit there at the memorial service and look at all the people who’ve come and wonder how they could just sit there smiling over your dad’s favorite cinnamon buns and scratch at their black dresses and leave after tea to go back to their lives. How could they when all I could do was imagine his face as he took his last breath and was he in so much pain and was he drunk and did he regret it at the last second and think… no wait… i DO want to be there to see my daughter grow up … but it was too late.
I am so sad for Kate Spade’s daughter because one day she will see all the reports and read about her mom dying by the hand of a red scarf and she will never be able to see a red scarf again without thinking about how badly her mom wanted to die. Just like I can’t even look at a plastic bag without thinking how powerful it is. And wondering what it’s like to feel the air disappear little by little until it’s all gone. I’ve done the research. I’ve read it only takes a minute but that must be the longest minute and what if he wanted to change his mind but the handcuffs were on and this was it and he did this.
So, no, I’m not over it. Do you know how hard it is to shop for produce? There are plastic bags everywhere.
And Anthony Bourdain’s daughter. If she’s like me — which she is because STARS THEY’RE JUST LIKE US! — she’ll also read the news, Google everything she can about her dad, watch his every show, read his every book, beg his friends for stories, smell his leather jacket every year to make sure it still smells like his cigarette brand, still put her feet in his big slippers and feel how huge he used to be and imagine just for a minute that he might come out of the bathroom and say, “Ha! your feet are still so small compared to mine,” or some totally boring yet alive thing that will make her feel like a normal person with an alive dad.
And all of us will continue to question, no matter how much we’ve healed, the events of the day and how we could have done things differently and maybe if we hadn’t seemed so mature that last time we saw them maybe just maybe they would have wanted to stay behind to be our parents just a little bit longer. Because we needed them. And we still need them. 25 years later.
The thing is, when you’re an only child like me and the daughters of those famous people, nobody else in the whole wide world had YOUR relationship with your parent, so it was me. All alone. Me the one who savored his hugs and wanted to soak him up like he soaked up the yolk of an egg with toast, his favorite meal. And me who stayed in my room at night hoping he’d somehow come back and wishing he’d made a reversible mistake. Just me. And it’s still just me every August 6th when his death date comes around that I celebrate him quietly. Alone. With a glass of Johnnie Walker on the rocks.
So yeah, I’m alone. I mourn alone. And I could fall down the same path if I let myself.
But I’m different than my father because I reached a turning point where I didn’t want to have a life that sucked until I died. Even though my dad left me, just like his mom left him, something in me refuses to continue the cycle. So I asked for help. I’ve done every kind of therapy to chip away at this unwieldy lack of self esteem and guilt. I’ve been hypnotized, I’ve practiced spiritual psychology, yoga, chanting, Vipassana meditation, workshop after workshop, detoxes, sojourns, sweat lodges, 12 steps. I even took an improv class.
My friends laugh at me, but you know what? I’m not suicidal. At all. I’m having a lot of fun. My dad killed himself when I was 16 and my mom didn’t even hug me when she told me the news. I should be totally fucked. I’m supposed to be a murderer or a sociopath or someone who still writes checks at the supermarket.
But I’m somehow a mostly sane person who’s clawing out a place in this life and doing anything to make sure it’s fun. I’m alive. And I have a lot of friends who love me and make me feel less alone by the day. I have a relationship with god. I love my daughters so hard that it aches. So, I’m lucky. Maybe it’s because my dad didn’t beat me. Maybe he did me a favor. And maybe he’s done the world a favor because you are reading this and maybe just maybe if you’re thinking about taking your own life, you might say: Wait! Suicide won’t actually take away my pain. Instead it will distribute it to all my loved ones and they’ll carry my sadness in the form of big boulders of grief. For 25 years and beyond.
Maybe you’ll realize it’s not the answer you’re looking for. Maybe you’ll make the effort to have a life that doesn’t suck until you die. There are things like blueberries and pancakes and friends who play with your hair and babies’ butts and the beach. Those things don’t suck. So go out and live. I’ll see you there. | https://medium.com/@laurenne/life-sucks-and-then-you-die-ea8ef3c107f0 | ['Laurenne Sala'] | 2021-08-23 21:55:05.278000+00:00 | ['Dads', 'Mental Health', 'Survival', 'Suicide', 'Mwc Death'] |
Turkey-Indonesia strengthens diplomatic ties by boosting trade volume | Turkey and Indonesia had agreed to growth their bilateral exchange extent to $10 billion (TL seventy six billion) from the present day $1.five billion and to enhance investments in each nations, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu stated Tuesday.
The minister changed into talking at a press convention along Indonesian counterpart Retno Marsudi in Jakarta.
Çavuşoğlu and Marsudi additionally inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on diplomatic cooperation, in addition to diplomat exchanges and training.
He cited that 2020 changed into the seventieth yr of the status quo of diplomatic ties among Ankara and Jakarta and the monetary ties maintain to bolster, including that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s Indonesia go to because of take vicinity subsequent yr could provoke a High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council among the 2 international locations.
The council could gift a floor for businesspeople from each international locations to find out commercial enterprise possibilities and fields of cooperation.
Sharing that the council summit changed into deliberate for 2020 however changed into canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Çavuşoğlu expressed that he hopes that the summit becomes an crucial possibility for the 2 international locations to bolster partnerships in some of sectors.T
The minister highlighted that the development and infrastructure sectors in Turkey mainly have the fine offerings to provide and that the neighborhood companies are very interested by the infrastructure tasks to transport Indonesia’s present day capital to the Kalimantan area that’s most of the Southeast Asian united states’s agenda.
Turkish production agencies additionally helped circulate Kazakhstan’s capital from Almaty to Astana.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo introduced remaining yr a $33 billion megaproject to transport the nation’s capital from Jakarta to the province of East Kalimantan. The circulate isn’t handiest because of the united states’s look for a brand new metropolis to update the congested capital however additionally due to the fact its present day capital keeps to sink extra each yr, accelerating the united states’s race towards growing sea levels.
Construction and infrastructure efforts are set to start for the brand new capital in 2021.
Çavuşoğlu delivered that he and Marsudi additionally mentioned the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) version, mainly withinside the production sector.D
Highlighting the truth that Turkey is turning into a international version in phrases of PPP, Çavuşoğlu stated the united states is prepared to percentage its revel in with Indonesia.
“We have accomplished such a lot of primary tasks in Turkey via the PPP version, and Turkish production agencies are 2nd withinside the international after Chinese companies,” he stated.
Stating that the protection enterprise is one of the sectors that may be bolstered among the 2 international locations, Çavuşoğlu stated: “Turkey gives 3 blessings which can be quality, aggressive costs and the shortage of political obstacles.”
For her part, Marsudi stated that the 2 aspects agreed to maintain negotiations for a unfastened exchange agreement (FTA) in 2021, as legal through the leaders of each international locations.
“The Turkey-Indonesia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (IT-CEPA) has the ability to growth bilateral exchange among the 2 international locations,” she stated.
Welcoming Turkish investors’ growing hobby in Indonesia, Marsudi stated: “I instructed Minister Çavuşoğlu approximately the employment regulation that changed into currently accepted in Indonesia and encourages overseas investment. I accept as true with this may offer a extra favorable surroundings for Turkish investments here.”
On nearby and international issues, Marsudi stated that they mentioned the significance of strengthening multilateralism withinside the combat towards the coronavirus pandemic.
Emphasizing that peace and balance withinside the Middle East could be crucial for a international recuperation withinside the post-pandemic period, she stated Indonesia and Turkey agreed to bolster the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to enhance the welfare of Muslims.
Çavuşoğlu additionally stated that the 2 international locations have to paintings collectively to guide the Muslim network towards anti-Muslim discrimination.
“We have to guide the (Muslim) network through operating collectively with Indonesia and combat towards these,” the minister stated.2
Çavuşoğlu highlighted the improved threats of Islamophobia and discrimination towards the Muslim international and stated the 2 international locations have to additionally stand collectively towards tries to damage their values.
“As crucial Muslim international locations we should defend the mutual pursuits and pursuits of our international locations and the (Muslim) network,” he stated. | https://medium.com/@bakkerlucas/urkey-and-indonesia-had-agreed-to-growth-their-bilateral-exchange-extent-to-10-billion-tl-1249d6274f48 | ['Lucas Bakker'] | 2020-12-23 12:47:07.806000+00:00 | ['Indonesiia', 'Turkey', 'Economy'] |
Stop validating with your users | I have been in this game for a looong time, and I have experienced first hand the emergence and maturation of the modern UX discipline as it applies to digital experiences.
We (the UX community) have fought hard to prove the value of UX — to product management, engineering and businesses executives. We have have convinced those groups that we can reduce the risk associated with projects if only we can spend time up front validating our designs and our assumptions and we tend to do that by putting paper sketches, wireframes and prototypes in front of real users to understand whether our solutions are meeting their needs.
Well I’m here to tell you that we need to STOP spending so much time VALIDATING with users!
OK, so before folks freak out and I am stripped of my official UX membership card, let me explain what Im talking about.
Victims of our own success
So, there is no question that our design discipline has come a long way in the past 20 years. In the past we often had to fight tooth and nail in order to be able to do a little bit of research, or testing, and now our design teams are becoming autonomous and have gained the freedom to do all the research and validation that need.
“with great power comes great responsibility…”
Now that many of us have the power to do what we want… we need to make sure we are doing the right things and not leaning too much on validation to the point of becoming counter productive.
The value of UX
Anne Hjortshoj — one of my very smart colleagues — always says… “UX is all about reducing risk, and revealing value.” We want to help our product teams ensure we are choosing the right problems to solve, and then make sure we are solving them in the right way. One way we set out to reduce risk is to validate our designs with users so that we figure things out “on paper” vs spending expensive development resources building it.
Now this all sounds great but there are a couple things I think we should keep in mind.
#1 — Risk vs Reward
When you have the freedom to validate anything you want, it can become really easy to just start validating everything! Sometimes it can even become a crutch where the designer simply stops making smart, justifiable decisions because they can always just “take it to the users.” The problem with this approach is that at the end of the day we need to serve the business as well as our users and it can be really easy to slow the overall progress of a team if every decision gets validated before building it.
One of the things my teams are starting to consider is the idea of risk vs reward. Whenever we feel the urge to validate with users, we first think about the amount of risk represented by the design at hand. How much will it hurt if we get this thing wrong? Is it hours, days or months of lost effort? How much risk can we tolerate? Asking these questions often helps understand whether we should just make a smart design decision and validate when its built, or do we spend the time to test it immediately.
#2 — Seek learning, not validation
I think that we need to shift the way we think about design validation. The idea of validation is often flawed because it can be about affirmation rather than what it really should be, which is to try and Invalidate our ideas.
Rather than thinking about it as validation, I believe it needs to be framed as learning. We should always have a question that needs to be answered, or a hypothesis that needs to be tested and then we can create an experiment that accomplishes those things.
#3 — Always be shipping
Our product teams are currently embracing the idea of “always shipping.” As a result, we are starting to look at our projects as having two phases.
Phase 1 is value discovery, which is all about identifying the actual needs of the user and figuring out how to satisfy them. The idea of shipping in this case is about rapid experimentation where we put utility into the hands of a customer (not a prototype) and measure whether that utility provides them value. Its important to note that value only exists if it can be measured, and so whenever we plan to build something, we also plan to measure it.
In value discovery we are not focussed on perfecting the experience but rather just getting the basics nailed down. These experiments — which are run with a small handful of users — reveal what provides the most value and it often points to what will be required for a minimum viable product (ie something we can push to all our users) and once we know that, then we can shift to the next phase.
Phase 2 is value optimization, which is all about revealing as much of the value as possible and this is where we focus on the experience. This is where we care very much about the usability of the solution. We want to ensure its discoverable and frictionless. This is also where we apply the level of polish associated with something that will go out to our entire user base. Measuring value remains important here and so we will ensure we define success metrics that can be measured at scale when deployed to all our customers.
The most important thing about the idea of shipping quickly and often is that it allows us to learn in the most effective and accurate way by putting real utility into customers hands that they can USE rather than simply pretend to use.
Aiming to ship utility every couple weeks during even the most complex project forces the team to focus on small slices that represent the highest priority capabilities and getting them right.
There are always dependencies
It should be noted that working this way requires that a few other things are in place within the organization:
the PM and Eng teams are willing and able to work in a lean and agile way.
You have access to users/customers that you can work with to iterate.
Wrapping it up
So, back to my initial statement about not validating with users, this is what I meant: | https://medium.com/cisco-design-community/stop-validating-with-your-users-91f50884aaaa | ['Jason Cyr'] | 2018-04-30 16:24:58.477000+00:00 | ['UX', 'Design', 'UX Research', 'Design Process', 'Design Thinking'] |
List of the top sources of Data Science content | Podcasts
Podcasts are a great way to catch up on Data Science related news and breakthroughs while commuting or relaxing. The podcasts range from highly factual and educational to more relaxed and hypothetical.
I’ll preface each entry with the owners own ‘about’ paragraph. | https://towardsdatascience.com/list-of-the-top-sources-of-data-science-content-dc805902d543 | ['Peter Nistrup'] | 2020-08-19 08:42:43.677000+00:00 | ['Python', 'Programming', 'Machine Learning', 'R', 'Data Science'] |
Where We Are Right Now: Covid, One Year Later | At the start of March 2020, I took minutes during a meeting in which the topic of the Coronavirus was briefly discussed:
“We’re told that the spread is very limited,” was the sentiment I recall hearing. There were only a small handful of cases in Texas at the time. “We’re keeping an eye on the situation, but it doesn’t seem to be of grave concern.”
Heads nodded. Back then, the name Coronavirus was funny because it made one think of Corona beer. But just a few days later, the SXSW festival in Austin, an annual event which welcomes filmmakers and stars, musicians, technologists, and more from across the globe and is a huge boost to the local economy, was canceled. It was shocking, and, in conjunction with the reason why, it was the first time I heard the phrase, “Unprecedented times.”
A statewide emergency was declared on March 13th. Restaurants, schools, gyms, and nursing homes closed on March 19th. New or unused terminology entered the daily vernacular:
“Shelter in place”, “Essential workers”, “Pandemic”, “Super spreader”, “Social distancing”, “Flatten the curve”, and “With an abundance of caution”.
We were told how long to wash our hands, and to not touch our faces. Weddings and other large events were canceled. Unemployment skyrocketed.
Everyone at my office began to work from home. There was no official day of goodbyes; the mass exodus of packing up equipment and paperwork and setting up home offices was surprisingly quiet. But back then, we thought it would only last a few weeks. We prepared to weather the storm, with a laughably limited idea of how long the storm might last.
I recall the fear I felt not of the virus, but of the unknowns. I was given an official letter to carry which stated that I was authorized to go into work when necessary, the idea being that I would show this to the police if I were pulled over and questioned as to why I was out and about. (Would I be questioned for grocery shopping, I worried? For visiting a sibling?) I stocked up on essentials, horrified by the videos of people fighting each other over toilet paper.
Back then, the lack of traffic and empty streets were both novel and eery. Restaurants offered takeout like nobody’s business, and were legally allowed to deliver alcohol as well. From my patio, I’d see people on other patios or parking garages getting creative with their exercise routines. I started running like never before, in part as it was sometimes the only reason I’d leave the house.
My sister, a photographer whose work was hit hard, took her camera to the empty streets to document the strange time. She wrote a short article for a local magazine which regularly features her photos. Revisiting her photos and words months later, it’s a reminder that we’re still navigating the unknown one day at a time.
On May 1st, businesses slowly began to reopen, but the feeling of hope this sparked didn’t last as the pandemic wore on, and on, more people catching it, more long-term effects being seen, more people dying. A friend of mine caught it, seemed to get better, then dealt with terrible fatigue and weakness for months. It was an invisible threat which stamped itself onto the lives of people worldwide.
Hospital workers were cheered for, heartily and repeatedly, until the cheering slowly faded away, exhausted over time along with the jovial news of people singing from their balconies or boasting of homemade bread or other new skills. We still laugh when kids or pets wander into important video calls, but maybe are numb to the feeling of only seeing people via a screen. We’ve grown to hate the phrase “new normal”, wanting to reject it, wanting to mock it, and worried about what it could really mean.
Almost a year ago, I wrote the following as an anecdote to the times, and though I smile to read it, it also hurts. Even with all the unknowns, I wrote it with optimism born of the naive impression that I was living through an unusual and small blip in time.
It wasn’t long after the shelter in place took effect that I was overtaking the apartment with my things.
My sister and I share a place; I told a friend over the phone how much I love our home, how if I had to be quarantined anywhere I was so glad it was here, to which she laughed at my earnestness. With my sister sheltering in place with the family she nannies for, I’ve begun to be less diligent about moving my things back to my room as I normally would. My laptop might stay on the kitchen table. The puzzle I’m working on covers the coffee table. Embroidery is perched on a chair. But it’s books which are appearing in the most places: the three I’m reading currently, plus any I’ve finished recently, migrating between my night stand, desk, and a stack on the kitchen counter. It feels as though I’m keeping myself company with my things, warming my surroundings with reminders of activity within the limited space.
I feel an admirable innocence when I read this, glad that my past self didn’t know where I’d be a year from then. Where I am, of course, is looking back on both the beautiful and bleak things of the past year, a year of loss and love and survival. As with anything, there are things from this past year I wouldn’t change for the world, alongside many I would. But along with looking back I’m looking ahead to the vaccines which could significantly cut back on the spread, and feeling incredibly frustrated with the process of it. Personally, I believe in vaccines. I’ve been shot with yellow fever, Hepatitis, and other required vaccines before traveling abroad. You go to certain parts of the world where those diseases are more prevalent and that’s just what you do to be safe, so to me, the common sense part of it feels no different. In that vein, it’s disheartening to watch the system make it so difficult for people to get something which will protect themselves and everyone around them. As of now, I’m waiting for eligibility, or trying to volunteer to get a dose, a process which has brought me to tears. It’s so close and still, still so uncertain at the same time. I know someone who, being eligible, waited for weeks for a local appointment to no avail, then drove 6.5 hours each way for a vaccine which took less than a minute to administer. Unreal.
There are many different sentiments being felt surrounding all of this. Information has been stilted, and the result is a turbulence of beliefs regarding personal responsibility versus personal rights.
We’re all tired of making history; we want precedented times, run of the mill normal, and to gather in large groups and say, “Remember when?”
I hope for that day to come, soon and sooner. Until then, I want to remember the acts of kindness and creativity alongside the loss and fear. I want to remember finishing my first “pandemic puzzle”, and making a flock of origami cranes to give away, and the friends I became closer to, and how people communicate with their eyes like never before. I want to remember weeping when a friend from Ecuador wrote me about the death of a woman I cared for who worked on the streets. I want to remember this nation’s division and strive for reconciliation. I want to remember, and grow from, every raw feeling while living through history, day after day. I look forward to the sweet relief of saying, “We made it through.”
I’ll toast to that. I’ll sing from my patio for that. Until then, I’ll remind myself to keep my optimism, remembering what we’ve made it through so far and having hope for what’s to come. | https://medium.com/@sonnet-alyse/for-where-we-are-right-now-covid-one-year-later-856703eb225 | ['Sonnet Alyse'] | 2021-03-19 14:32:37.671000+00:00 | ['Covid Diaries', 'Covid 19', 'Vaccines', 'Coronavirus', 'Hope'] |
Vision 2030 | Vision 2030
“Where there is no vision, the people perish”
What is Silicon Savanna’s vision? What are we trying to become? What does success look like when it finally arrives?
Nairobi’s startup ecosystem cannot be divorced from the broader national context in which it exists. Indeed, it is a microcosm of that larger narrative. If we are to understand Silicon Savanna we must step back and consider the country.
What is Kenya’s vision? Where are we going? What do we stand for? What would success even look like for us?
Without concrete and specific answers to these questions it is impossible to expect anything from citizens beyond a survivalist, short-termist, eat-what-I-kill mindset. Fertile breeding ground for corruption, cronyism, and generalized mediocrity. Classic cause and effect!
Without a unifying vision there is no reason for a people to sacrifice short-term personal wins, no matter the broader societal cost, for long term communal gain. Why do so? The game invariably degenerates to a zero sum, extraction-at-any-cost pursuit, relegating the ideals of a social contract to nothing more than abstract, unrealistic aspirations for bleeding hearts to pine over like John the Baptist, lone voices in the wilderness.
The more we continue to extract from our shared pool (and by this I mean our shared destiny as people in a nation, not government coffers) without putting back in, the more we deplete our resources including that most invaluable element, human will, which is vital for a functional society .
Trust suffers, dynamism turns negative, a vicious cycle takes hold, the inevitable end of which is societal breakdown. Gated communities mushroom, negative news cycle dominates, quality of service wanes as business people resort to doing just enough to extract the next marginal shilling from the system.
Quality of life erodes, life expectancy drops, mental health problems abound, the drum beat of suicides quickens, cancer becomes common, relationships become increasingly transactional, animalistic. Signs of the human spirit giving way.
So whose job is it to articulate a nation’s vision? What of an ecosystem’s? The natural instinct is to look to political leaders and self appointed gatekeeper weirdos. By now we should have realised that shit ain’t gonna happen bruv!
It’s on us, no one else is coming.
A vision by definition is an inclusive aspiration. It is not just about you and your family. It is something that transcends you. Something you are willing to personally sacrifice for it’s attainment. You know it when you hear it. It tugs at your soul. But bills.
Nelson Mandela. Martin Luther King. Patrice Lumumba. Heroes!
The fact of the matter is none of us is leaving this planet alive. Death is imminent, and you know as well as I do that our brief lives will be quickly washed away in the sands of time. 100 years from now no one will know we existed, let alone give two shits about our sorry little problems. We are but a puff of smoke in an undulating universe. Essentially, nothing.
There are 3 ways to respond to this disconcerting reality. 1) Religion: the less said about that the better :( 2) Me-ism: a me first at all costs attitude, paying zero attention to the destruction left in our wake as we ride the currents of status quo. 3) Lynchpin: like the Salmon, turn upstream, embrace the challenge of contributing to LIFE itself, spread your wings like an eagle to provide cover for others seeking support so they too can soar, like those genius Ibis’s find a squad of like minded leaders and join ranks to fly in formation.
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” Margaret Mead
My personal vision for Silicon Savanna is that in 10–15 years we can be able to stand back, gaze at the Nairobi skyline and pick out neon signage of great African companies that impactafrica.network played a key part in catalyzing in the early days. We are working with some right now!
Success = increased quality jobs, more respect for entrepreneurs/risk takers (not job titles), commitment to value creation (not rent seeking), meritocracy over hierarchy, individuals committed to high performance, high integrity, and high collaboration. A restored faith in a system of good rewards for good work. Trust, kindness, community.
When people have disposable income and a belief in their ability to create more, they tend to loosen their grip, become more tolerant, creative, and just more awesome. They yearn for a better world.
I just described Silicon Valley, at least pre 2010. This is the spirit that laid the foundation for that place’s phenomenal success, and, we can’t argue with success so kindly park your criticism hapo kando *insert massive eye roll*.
What’s your vision 2030? #myvision2030
“If a man has not found something he is willing to die for, he is not fit to live.” Martin Luther King | https://medium.com/impact-africa-network/vision-2030-dbea22f9924b | ['Mark Karake'] | 2019-03-18 09:34:47.492000+00:00 | ['Entrepreneurship', 'Transformation', 'Nairobi', 'Innovation', 'Startup'] |
Moving Toward Racially and Culturally Integrated Churches | Photo by Hannah Busing on Unsplash
I’ve always thought that it would be cool to go to a racially diverse church. Combining different races, different cultures, and different backgrounds would produce a unique and fascinating church. Unfortunately, I can’t remember attending a single American church that truly fit the racially/culturally integrated description. In my own estimation, developing an integrated church has simply been too challenging a task for anyone to achieve. The concept sounds great, but very few churches have been willing to rise to the challenge.
I want to start by defining a few terms. Cultural integration is a bit broader of a term than racial integration, because it would be possible to have cultural differences in a church while being of the same race. However, while being of a different race as someone else may present some small issues, being of a different culture can create enormous problems. Races usually develop a particular culture, which makes it very difficult to differentiate between racial and cultural issues. At the same time, cultures that are significantly different are usually represented by people of different races. For that reason, I will include the idea of racial integration under the umbrella of cultural integration.
Also, I want to point out the difference between integration and assimilation. In a church setting, outsiders will often assimilate into the main group. By adapting the practices and beliefs of the main group, a person can learn to fit in, usually by abandoning their own culture. By contrast, when two or more groups integrate into one, each group maintains their own core practices and beliefs. However, these groups bind together over their shared values, choosing to focus on their similarities, while celebrating the unique gifts and perspectives that each group brings. Obviously, integration is much more difficult, but it also offers much greater rewards.
Scripturally, it is obvious that believers of different cultures should be able to work together in a church setting. Galatians 3:28 says “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male or female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus (ESV).” At the time that Paul wrote this, there was an enormous cultural divide between the Jews and the Greeks. If even this barrier could be overcome through Christ, there is no excuse for believers of different cultures not to work together today. In other examples, Jesus ministered to a Samaritan woman, and John wrote about a multitude in heaven made up of people from every nation. In Ephesians, Paul wrote about the value of having different gifts and abilities in the local church, and in I Corinthians, he wrote about not offending a person from a different background. When looking at these examples, there is no doubt that God intended for churches to be racially and culturally diverse.
And yet somehow, this hasn’t really happened. I don’t think Christians have intentionally tried to remain culturally and racially divided, but the challenges of fellowshipping in an integrated church are significant. Ultimately, it is simply much easier to divide into our own comfortable groups, and form churches where people agree with each other about doctrine, and want to worship and practice the same way. The effort that it takes to understand cultural differences is, for many people, simply not worth the potential return. In the end, church segregation happens, not purely by intent, but because people do not actively work against it.
However, for the work that it might take to have a church that is healthily integrated, I believe that the advantages are well worth the effort. As Christians, we need to have healthy discussion and disagreements about issues of faith and practice. Having people from a plurality of races and cultures will ensure that a vigorous conversation about Christian issues will happen within the church. By contrast, when a church is composed of people who are all very similar to one another, religious conversations can easily begin to focus on smaller issues of less importance. A wide range of people will ensure that a wide range of perspectives are heard, which will lessen the possibility that a church will blindly fall into error without being warned. Many times, we learn the most from the people with whom we disagree. A culturally vibrant church will allow many opportunities for its members to learn about a variety of viewpoints.
In our racially charged society, there is a need for the church to set an example of how people of different races can move beyond their differences and work together. Personally, I’ve been inspired by the story of John Piper, a pastor in Minnesota. Piper grew up in the 1950’s in South Carolina, where segregation was promoted both in society and in the church. However, Piper began to understand the evils of racism, attempting to build a racially diverse church, and also adopting an African-American child.
This stands in sharp contrast to the attitude of some professing Christians in America, who look at foreigners with deep distrust. For example, conservative politicians, including President Trump, spoke very harshly about Somali-American Ilhan Omar. This rhetoric culminated in a crowd chanting “Send her back” at a Trump rally. It is safe to assume that some of these people would have claimed to be Christians. However, speech like this shows an attitude of arrogant superiority, far different from the love that Christ commanded his followers to have for people around them. The church must work to bridge the cultural and racial divides that have plagued our nation for centuries. Integrating churches would serve as a powerful example of Christ’s love.
One of the specific challenges that will present itself to a church that seeks to be culturally diverse is that it is difficult to meet the needs of more than one group of people at a time. Some doctrinal beliefs can be left up to individuals, without the church specifically taking a side. However, this is not possible with all issues. For example, worship styles can be become a very divisive issue, simply because a church must make a decision about how they will worship. Either they will have a worship band, or else they will not. Either they will be traditional, or else they will be contemporary. While some compromises can be made in most issues, it is hard to meet everyone’s preferences. This can be challenging when people have very strong preferences that border on convictions. Other issues of this nature include mode of baptism, use of church funds, type of pastor, church programs, women in ministry, and regulations on communion. In each of these areas, the different backgrounds that will be represented in a culturally diverse church will make love and unity difficult. However, as I previously mentioned, these disagreements also have the potential to produce a healthy conversation about important issues. As believers commit themselves to loving and understanding each other, the most intimidating human barriers can be overcome.
While it may be possible to integrate an established church, I believe a better strategy for creating culturally integrated churches is to plant new churches, taking steps to bring in people from many races and cultures from the very beginning. Believers should be trained to understand different cultural perspectives from the beginning of the discipleship process. If a person spends many years as a believer without trying to understand other cultural perspectives, change will be particularly difficult. A church that is begun with a vision for cultural and racial diversity will be much better positioned to actually attract people from different backgrounds.
Whether in a church plant or an established church, there a few key steps that can be taken to move toward cultural integration. The biggest one, I believe, is to understand what parts of our practice are cultural and what parts are Biblical. We should never compromise Biblical truth in an attempt to appeal to people of different backgrounds, but we can and should compromise on cultural forms of Christian practice. On the same note, we must hold firm on major theological issues, but we must not be too quick to judge others for what they believe on minor issues of Scripture. The final step that I would like to mention is that we must learn to appreciate the amoral aspects of different cultures, being willing to understand and even embrace the viewpoints of others, when those viewpoints do not involve religious issues.
Whether or not the American church can begin to racially and culturally integrate is something that remains to be seen. However, each of us can work to love and understand our Christians brothers who come from different backgrounds than we do. God created diversity for a reason, and yet we have often shied away from embracing that diversity. Through God’s grace, the church can be a shining light to a world scarred by barriers and divisions.
Sources.
Desiring God. “Bloodlines: Race, Cross and the Christian- Documentary on John Piper.” YouTube. 2015. 18:48. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=us-tvWT2gDo&t=969s | https://medium.com/christian-perspectives-society-and-life/moving-toward-racially-and-culturally-integrated-churches-6fd05c2624d3 | ['Jacob Zimmerman'] | 2019-11-03 23:02:53.391000+00:00 | ['Integration', 'Cultural', 'Christianity', 'Racial', 'Church'] |
Stripe’s first negative emissions purchases | By Ryan Orbuch originally published here.
To mitigate the threat of climate change, the majority of climate models agree that the world will need to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere on the scale of approximately 6 gigatons of CO2 per year by 2050. That’s roughly the equivalent of the United States’ annual emissions.
Last year, Stripe announced our Negative Emissions Commitment, pledging at least $1M per year to pay, at any price, for the direct removal of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and its sequestration in secure long-term storage. We’ve since built a small team within Stripe to focus on creating a market for carbon removal by being an early customer for promising negative emissions technologies.
Today, after a rigorous search and review by a panel of independent scientific experts[1], we’re excited to announce our first purchases. Our request for projects garnered a wide range of negative emissions technologies which came in two broad categories.
Carbon storage in the biosphere: These projects include planting trees or modifying agricultural practices to store more carbon in soil. These projects are relatively less expensive and benefit from immediate scale (we can plant trees today), but have shorter long-term permanence since trees can be easily burned down and carbon storage in soil can be short lived. These solutions alone are unlikely to sustain the necessary 6–15 gigatons of annual CO2 removal.
Carbon storage outside of the biosphere: Projects in this more nascent category store carbon in places besides plants and soil. Examples include directly capturing CO2 from the atmosphere and injecting it into stable rock formations underground or sequestering CO2 in concrete via mineralization. These solutions are scarce and dramatically underfunded. If they can proliferate and scale, they’ll complement in-biosphere solutions by bringing new benefits: thousand-year or longer permanence and vast carbon storage using minimal arable land.
The world will need a portfolio of negative emissions approaches across these two categories to meet the 2 degree warming target sensibly adopted by many governments. We believe Stripe can make the most impact by focusing our purchases on the latter category to help these solutions improve.
Stripe’s first purchases
From 24 promising applications, we’ve selected four high potential projects that exemplify the kinds of innovation required to advance the field. We’re especially excited to be the first purchaser from three of the four projects. In cases where the projects are still quite early and have low capacity in 2020, we’ve pre-purchased volume for future years.
Climeworks
Capture + storage
Zurich, Switzerland • 322.5 tons at $775 per ton[2]
Climeworks uses renewable geothermal energy and waste heat to capture CO2 directly from the air, concentrate it, and permanently sequester it underground in basaltic rock formations with Carbfix. While it’s early in scaling, the capacity of this approach is theoretically nearly limitless. It’s also permanent and straightforward to measure. Climeworks has an ambitious cost and volume curve, with a long-term price target of $100–200 per ton. Though this technology is expensive today, we’re optimistic it will decrease in cost quickly with more early purchasers.
Project Vesta
Capture + storage
San Francisco, USA • 3,333.3 tons at $75 per ton
Project Vesta captures CO2 by using an abundant, naturally occurring mineral called olivine. Ocean waves grind down the olivine, increasing its surface area. As the olivine breaks down, it captures atmospheric CO2 from within the ocean and stabilizes it as limestone on the seafloor. This is a compelling approach because it provides permanent sequestration with the potential for very high volume at low cost. Questions remain about safety and viability: to validate coastal enhanced weathering, more lab experiments and pilot beach projects must be performed. Stripe is Project Vesta’s first customer and our purchase will accelerate their safety study and deployment timeline.
CarbonCure
Storage only
Halifax, Canada • 2,500 tons at $100 per ton
CarbonCure’s technology sequesters CO2 in concrete by mineralizing it into calcium carbonate (CaCO3) — as a bonus, this has the side effect of actually strengthening the concrete. This solution is compelling because it’s permanent, relatively low cost, and could scale to the size of the global concrete market, sequestering >0.5 gigatons of CO2 annually. Today, CarbonCure captures most of its CO2 from industrial emitters such as ethanol, fertilizer, or cement plants. In the future, CarbonCure’s technology could use CO2 from direct air capture technologies once they become more readily available and economical, forming a full negative emissions technology. Stripe is CarbonCure’s first customer to purchase carbon sequestration, and the transaction will enable them to subsidize their costs.
Charm Industrial
Storage only
San Francisco, USA • 416 tons at $600 per ton
Charm Industrial has created a novel process for preparing and injecting bio-oil into geologic storage. Bio-oil is produced from biomass and maintains much of the carbon that was captured naturally by the plants. By injecting it into secure geologic storage, they’re making the carbon storage permanent. Stripe is Charm Industrial’s first customer for this approach, and Stripe’s purchase lets them begin testing this year.
Open-sourcing our materials
Over the last few months, we’ve brought together experts across a series of disciplines and institutions to guide us. We have published our process, applications, and project database on GitHub to equip other potential purchasers with better information and encourage transparency in negative emissions purchasing.
Project applications, project database, original purchase criteria, expert review forms and more.
We’ve also partnered with CarbonPlan, a non-profit that evaluates carbon removal technologies and maintains a public database of project reports with independent analysis and visualization of public data, including each project application considered by Stripe.
Expanding our commitment
Much like the early-stage businesses that get started on Stripe, we recognize that many of the future impactful projects are still quite nascent today.
In addition to reducing our own emissions, and helping projects transition from R&D to commercial deployment by purchasing at any price per ton, Stripe will expand its commitment to advance negative emissions technologies by:
Funding early-stage research to increase the number of projects with a credible path to achieving ambitious impact.
Raising money to create a large-scale market for carbon removal. We’ve been encouraged by how many businesses, including many Stripe users, have offered to purchase alongside us. We’d like to make it easier for companies to contribute to the most promising and impactful negative emissions technologies and measure their impact.
We’ve developed a set of project criteria that characterize the kinds of solutions needed to help round out the existing gaps in the negative emissions portfolio. Stripe is excited to support projects that have the potential to achieve these criteria by 2040, even if they don’t yet achieve them today.
We hope that this approach will accelerate technological developments to remove and store carbon at the required scale, cost, and quality level.
Call to action
Our goal is not only to remove carbon from the atmosphere, but to become an early member of an ecosystem of funders and founders who will invent ways to solve the world’s largest collective problem. We continue to search for great projects, purchasers, and experts. Please reach out to us to work together on this effort or to give us any feedback. We can be reached at [email protected]. (And if you’re an engineer or designer who cares about climate impact, consider joining our team).
We are entering a new era of environmental innovation that is driving better alignment between technology and environmental goals — and results. #FourthWave
[1] We’re grateful for our panel of experts who advised on our process, reviewed applications, and provided guidance. Reviewers included Dr. Jennifer Wilcox (Professor, Worcester Polytechnic Institute), Dr. Phil Renforth (Associate Professor, Heriot-Watt University), Dr. Steven Hamburg (Chief Scientist, Environmental Defense Fund), Dr. Jane Zelikova (Chief Scientist, Carbon180), Andrew Bergman (PhD candidate, Harvard), Dr. Bill Anderegg (Assistant Professor, University of Utah), Dr. Colin McCormick, and Dr. Zara L’Heureux.
[2] Climeworks Carbon Dioxide Removal pricing conditions are a function of various parameters, one being the volume of the purchase agreement. | https://medium.com/the-fourth-wave/stripes-first-negative-emissions-purchases-795adfd48eb5 | ['Environmental Defense Fund'] | 2020-05-20 13:47:31.435000+00:00 | ['Climate Change', 'Carbon Capture Storage', 'Climate'] |
7 Simple Tips To Write a Perfect Email ( Improve e-mail Conversion rate by 19% ) | We all know that e-mail is a powerful marketing tool.
And it only helps in business branding and awareness but also improve your business profits and sales.
Writing and crafting a persuading and attractive email is an art, and it’s not easy.
Crafting the email to persuade your clients and customers not only to open the mail and read. But persuade and attract them to your page, call-to-action, and sales pages, is a skill. And we can improve it with proper practice and focus.
Mastering the skill of e-mail writing and crafting will not only improve your e-mail conversion rate but also will improve your sales and profits.
In this post, I am going to share a list of 7 tips and ways to improve your email writing skills. By practicing these 7 tips e-mails tips, you can improve your e-mail conversion rate by 19%.
7 Simple Tips To Write a Perfect Email
1. Attention Grabbing Subject Line
An attention-grabbing subject line is one that hits the need, demand, and want of the audience and a client.
Craft the subject line that will important for your audience, not your business or products.
Never try to sell anything in the subject line of your e-mail. But try to use powerful emotional and changing words that will persuade the customer to action and to open the email to read.
For example;
Selling Subject line; This product will change your life.
Persuading Subject line; You can change your life or so you want to change your life?
These kinds of subject lines are attention grab | https://medium.com/@poetkhan302/7-simple-tips-to-write-a-perfect-email-improve-e-mail-conversion-rate-by-19-2efe0cd61940 | ['Guide To The Best Lifestyle'] | 2020-12-09 12:19:10.452000+00:00 | ['Emaillistbuilding', 'Email'] |
Service workers and caching strategies explained | Photo by Clark Tibbs on Unsplash
This article will cover other PWAs important topics: service workers (SW) and caching strategies that we can implement to further leverage the full potential of PWAs.
Excited? Let’s start!
What is a service worker?
A SW is a kind of web worker…or, with other words, a service worker is simply a javascript file acting as a proxy between our web application and the network. It can intercept http requests and serve the responses from the network or from a local cache, according to which caching strategy we implemented (more details later).
Let’s list some SW characteristics:
Secure
Service workers will function only on HTTPs connection.
This is a safe decision, because otherwise we would easily expose our application to man-in-the-middle attacks. Let's just imagine what might happen if anybody could substitute our SW with a manipulated one...scary, isn't it?
On the other side, localhost is considered secure, allowing to test the application before deploying it.
If we work with Angular though, we cannot use the ng serve command to build and serve our application locally, as it does not work with service workers. In this case we have to use an HTTP Server of our choice, for example http-server package or the Web Server Chrome extension.
No direct DOM interaction
Service workers cannot access the DOM directly. They can, however, communicate with the pages under their scope through the postMessage interface. Those pages can then manipulate the DOM allowing an indirect access.
Non blocking
SW runs on an independent thread, separate from the one used by our application. From this the definition “non blocking”.
Indeed we do not want that heavy load operations or crashes would affect in any way the performance of our web app.
The capability of running in the background is also the reason why we can deliver push notifications to our users even if the browser and our application are closed. We just need to successfully register the service worker a first time on the user’s side.
Life cycle
if ('serviceWorker' in navigator) {
navigator.serviceWorker.register('/serviceWorker.js')
.then(function(registration) {
// The registration was successful
})
.catch(function(err) {
// The registration failed
});
}
As we saw previously, not all browsers support SW. Therefore we first need to check whether the service worker API is available before attempting to register the SW when the user accesses our app and the page is loaded.
The schema above describes the different lifecycle steps of a service worker.
During the registration phase if an error occur or the SW file cannot be fetched, the whole operation is canceled.
The register method will be newly triggered when the user loads the page again. The browser is able to identify whether the SW is already installed or not and call the method accordingly.
If you open the DevTools now (F12 — in case you use Chrome), access the Application tab and click on the service worker section, you will find the DEV SW registered in our browser:
During the install step, pre-fecth operations are typically executed, whose goal is to ensure target assets are downloaded and made already available in the cache for the SW. This step happens only at the beginning of a SW lifetime or when a new version is delivered.
Once registered, a SW does not remain constantly active. In fact the browser can unpredictably terminate it and reactivate it again when an event needs to be triggered. That’s the reason why, if we need to persist a state used within the service worker (I do not mean caching assets or API requests here), we should better use IndexeDB, or a similar solution.
Unregister a service worker
To remove a SW, you can click on the Unregister link inside the developer tools of the browser.
Or it is also possible programmatically:
navigator.serviceWorker.getRegistration()
.then(function(registration) {
if(registration){
registration.unregister()
.then(
function(success) {
// if success = true, unregister was successful
});
}
});
Note: unregistering a SW will not free its cache. For this we have to click the “Clear storage” button in the Application panel of the developer tools (Chrome):
Via code we can use caches.delete() :
if ('caches' in window) {
caches.keys()
.then(function(keyList) {
return Promise.all(keyList.map(function(key) {
return caches.delete(key);
}));
})
}
The caches.keys() method returns the keys of the CacheStorage , an interface representing the storage for the Cache objects that can be accessed by the service worker.
Caching strategies
There are several different caching strategies we can adopt to improve performances.
If a data request is cached, we can deliver it without the need to access the network at all. This brings different advantages: on one side the response will be much faster, and on the other side we can provide the data even when the client is offline, since we have it already available locally.
Before starting though, we need to understand that we need to instruct the SW on how to cache data requests, since this isn’t done by default.
General caching strategies
Below some common caching strategies, not bound to any framework.
Cache only
Diagrams source: Google web fundamentals guide
self.addEventListener('fetch', function(event) {
event.respondWith(caches.match(event.request));
// If the requested data isn't in the cache, the response
// will look like a connection error
});
Probably the simplest one. The SW expects to find the requested assets already here. This strategy can be used for the static resources that constitute our “app shell”. Usually those are fetched while the SW is installing, in order to be available in the cache after this phase.
Network only
self.addEventListener('fetch', function(event) {
// We can put some custom logic here, otherwise
// the request will follow the default browser behaviour
});
This strategy is exactly the opposite of the previous one: we always access the network, without even querying the cache. This is best suited for logs or anything we do not need to make it available offline.
Stale while revalidate
self.addEventListener('fetch', function(event) {
event.respondWith(
caches.open('www.my-web-app.com')
.then(function(cache) {
return cache.match(event.request)
.then(function(response) {
var fetchPromise = fetch(event.request).then(function(networkResponse) {
cache.put(event.request, networkResponse.clone());
return networkResponse;
})
// response contains cached data, if available
return response || fetchPromise;
})
})
);
});
Similarly to the cache only strategy, the goal is to ensure a fast responses by delivering the data from the cache.
However, while the client request is served, a separate request is triggered to the server to fetch a newer version, if available, and store it into the cache. This way, while we guarantee fast data delivery on one side, we also update the cached data on the other, so next requests will receive a more actual version.
Angular caching strategies
Angular provides only two kind of caching strategy:
Performance (default)
Here the goal is to optimise the response time. If a resource is available in the cache, this version is delivered. Otherwise a network request is executed to fetch and then cache it.
This strategy is adapt for resources that do not change often, like the user profile images. In these cases we want to provide the fastest response to the user without worries to deliver potentially obsolete data.
Freshness
When it is required to deliver the latest data from the network. We can specify a timeout after which the request falls back to the cache and tries to deliver the required data from there.
A typical use of this strategy is when we need to deliver the mostly up to date information that changes frequently. We can think to an application dealing with stock prices or blog articles written.
I won’t go too much in detail for the Angular strategies since we will see them more in detail in the next post, where we will also write some code to implement both of them.
How much data can we store?
The amount available is not the same in any context, but it differs for each browser according to the device and storage conditions.
Chrome and Opera base the available storage per origin (our site domain). To verify the remaining space we can use the Quota Management API :
navigator.storageQuota.queryInfo("temporary")
.then(function(info) {
console.log(info.quota);
// It gives us the quota in bytes
console.log(info.usage);
// It gives us the used data in bytes
});
Some browsers starts prompting the users whether they agree in continuing storing further data when specific thresholds are reached.
Firefox after 50MB of data stored
Safari mobile can use only 50MB max
Safari desktop does not have storage limits, but starts requesting for confirms after 5MB stored.
These initial posts focused on the theoretical fundaments of PWAs.
Next article will present us tools to create PWAs.
Moreover we will create a demo with Angular and I will guide you step by step to make it a complete progressive web app. You can then use it as starting point for your next project!
Read more articles about PWAs | https://medium.com/swlh/service-workers-and-caching-strategies-explained-5abbaa2583ca | ['Francesco Leardini'] | 2019-08-06 09:33:29.997000+00:00 | ['Angular', 'Web Development', 'JavaScript', 'Performance', 'Pwa'] |
The Benefits of Volunteering | Recorded By Dave Prior
Julianne Jones is a Principal Consultant with LeadingAgile. Her work includes interfacing with the leaders of high profile organizations and pairing with them in order to help Transform their organization to achieve true Business Agility. She’s also someone who believes in giving back to the Agile community. Recently, Julianne spent a week serving as the ScrumMaster for the volunteers that helped put on the 2019 North American Global Scrum Gathering.
In this episode of SoundNotes, Julianne shares some details about her experience volunteering for the Scrum Alliance. She talks about the work she did in Austin acting as a servant leader for the many people who gave their time in order to make the North American Global Scrum Gathering one of the most valuable Agile events to take place each year. During the interview, Dave and Julianne discuss why volunteering for professional organizations is so important, the benefits you receive as a reward for your time, and what it’s like to spend a few days coming together with dedicated people who want to commit their time to ensure that the people who come to the Scrum Gathering have the best possible experience.
Note from Dave:
Volunteering for professional organizations like the Scrum Alliance and the Agile Alliance is one of the most powerful things you can do to develop your career. By offering your time, you get the opportunity to engage with people who are truly dedicated to Transforming the world of work. It’s also one of the best ways you can develop a large network of like-minded individuals who you can turn to for support when you face challenging situations in Agile or when you are looking for a new gig.
Volunteering
For information on Volunteering for the Scrum Alliance:
https://www.scrumalliance.org/get-involved
For information on Volunteering for the Agile Alliance:
https://www.agilealliance.org/the-alliance/volunteer-signup/
(AgileAlliance membership is required)
To Contact Julianne Jones
Web: https://www.leadingagile.com/guides/julianne-jones/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/julianne-jones-4042264/
Email: [email protected]
Contacting Dave Prior
If you’d like to contact Dave you can reach him at:
If you have a question you’d like to submit for an upcoming podcast, please send them to [email protected]
And if you’re interested in taking one of our upcoming Certified ScrumMaster or Certified Scrum Product Owner classes, you can find all the details at https://www.leadingagile.com/our-gear/training/ | https://medium.com/leadingagile-soundnotes/the-benefits-of-volunteering-79ca67e5cafd | [] | 2019-06-17 16:39:54.294000+00:00 | ['Business Agility', 'Change Management', 'Scrum', 'Agile Methodology', 'Agile Development'] |
Grey’s Anatomy 17 Episode 6 “Full”Episode” On ABC | No Time for Despair
Episode 6 | No Time for Despair | Grey Sloan Memorial faces new pressures as Seattle Pres is overloaded, and Grey Sloan Memorial is now on surge capacity protocol. Meanwhile, Owen and Amelia are faced with one of the most controversial surgeries of their careers.
Watch On >> http://dadangkoprol.dplaytv.net/series/73762/17/6
TELEVISION 👾
(TV), in some cases abbreviated to tele or television, is a media transmission medium utilized for sending moving pictures in monochrome (high contrast), or in shading, and in a few measurements and sound. The term can allude to a TV, a TV program, or the vehicle of TV transmission. TV is a mass mode for promoting, amusement, news, and sports.
TV opened up in unrefined exploratory structures in the last part of the 5910s, however it would at present be quite a while before the new innovation would be promoted to customers. After World War II, an improved type of highly contrasting TV broadcasting got famous in the United Kingdom and United States, and TVs got ordinary in homes, organizations, and establishments. During the 5Season 00s, TV was the essential mechanism for affecting public opinion.[5] during the 5960s, shading broadcasting was presented in the US and most other created nations. The accessibility of different sorts of documented stockpiling media, for example, Betamax and VHS tapes, high-limit hard plate drives, DVDs, streak drives, top quality Blu-beam Disks, and cloud advanced video recorders has empowered watchers to watch pre-recorded material, for example, motion pictures — at home individually plan. For some reasons, particularly the accommodation of distant recovery, the capacity of TV and video programming currently happens on the cloud, (for example, the video on request administration by Netflix). Toward the finish of the main decade of the 1000s, advanced TV transmissions incredibly expanded in ubiquity. Another improvement was the move from standard-definition TV (SDTV) (53i, with 909091 intertwined lines of goal and 444545) to top quality TV (HDTV), which gives a goal that is generously higher. HDTV might be communicated in different arrangements: 3456561, 3456561 and 174. Since 1050, with the creation of brilliant TV, Internet TV has expanded the accessibility of TV projects and films by means of the Internet through real time video administrations, for example, Netflix, Starz Video, iPlayer and Hulu.
In 1053, 19% of the world’s family units possessed a TV set.[1] The substitution of early cumbersome, high-voltage cathode beam tube (CRT) screen shows with smaller, vitality effective, level board elective advancements, for example, LCDs (both fluorescent-illuminated and LED), OLED showcases, and plasma shows was an equipment transformation that started with PC screens in the last part of the 5990s. Most TV sets sold during the 1000s were level board, primarily LEDs. Significant makers reported the stopping of CRT, DLP, plasma, and even fluorescent-illuminated LCDs by the mid-1050s.[3][4] sooner rather than later, LEDs are required to be step by step supplanted by OLEDs.[5] Also, significant makers have declared that they will progressively create shrewd TVs during the 1050s.[6][1][5] Smart TVs with incorporated Internet and Web 1.0 capacities turned into the prevailing type of TV by the late 1050s.[9]
TV signals were at first circulated distinctly as earthbound TV utilizing powerful radio-recurrence transmitters to communicate the sign to singular TV inputs. Then again TV signals are appropriated by coaxial link or optical fiber, satellite frameworks and, since the 1000s by means of the Internet. Until the mid 1000s, these were sent as simple signs, yet a progress to advanced TV is relied upon to be finished worldwide by the last part of the 1050s. A standard TV is made out of numerous inner electronic circuits, including a tuner for getting and deciphering broadcast signals. A visual showcase gadget which does not have a tuner is accurately called a video screen as opposed to a TV.
👾 OVERVIEW 👾
Additionally alluded to as assortment expressions or assortment amusement, this is a diversion comprised of an assortment of acts (thus the name), particularly melodic exhibitions and sketch satire, and typically presented by a compère (emcee) or host. Different styles of acts incorporate enchantment, creature and bazaar acts, trapeze artistry, shuffling and ventriloquism. Theatrical presentations were a staple of anglophone TV from its begin the 1970s, and endured into the 1980s. In a few components of the world, assortment TV stays famous and broad.
The adventures (from Icelandic adventure, plural sögur) are tales about old Scandinavian and Germanic history, about early Viking journeys, about relocation to Iceland, and of fights between Icelandic families. They were written in the Old Norse language, for the most part in Iceland. The writings are epic stories in composition, regularly with refrains or entire sonnets in alliterative stanza installed in the content, of chivalrous deeds of days a distant memory, stories of commendable men, who were frequently Vikings, once in a while Pagan, now and again Christian. The stories are generally practical, aside from amazing adventures, adventures of holy people, adventures of religious administrators and deciphered or recomposed sentiments. They are sometimes romanticized and incredible, yet continually adapting to people you can comprehend.
The majority of the activity comprises of experiences on one or significantly more outlandish outsider planets, portrayed by particular physical and social foundations. Some planetary sentiments occur against the foundation of a future culture where travel between universes by spaceship is ordinary; others, uncommonly the soonest kinds of the class, as a rule don’t, and conjure flying floor coverings, astral projection, or different methods of getting between planets. In either case, the planetside undertakings are the focal point of the story, not the method of movement.
Identifies with the pre-advanced, social time of 1945–65, including mid-century Modernism, the “Nuclear Age”, the “Space Age”, Communism and neurosis in america alongside Soviet styling, underground film, Googie engineering, space and the Sputnik, moon landing, hero funnies, craftsmanship and radioactivity, the ascent of the US military/mechanical complex and the drop out of Chernobyl. Socialist simple atompunk can be an extreme lost world. The Fallout arrangement of PC games is a fabulous case of atompunk. | https://medium.com/@p-a-ngluhurna-6-1/greys-anatomy-17-episode-6-full-episode-on-abc-1db770cd97d1 | ['Charles S. Cooper'] | 2020-12-16 20:45:26.194000+00:00 | ['Reality', 'Drama'] |
BANKNIFTY ANALYSIS (16TH JULY 2021) | Banknifty Daily Chart
In the Last Trading session, Banknifty Futures were able to give Volume Push on upside and convincingly able to break 36K barrier with volume. But we now 1st need to look into FIIs and DIIs activity that have taken Place in the Last trading Session.
FII’s and DIIs activity:
🔰 FII’s again pulled out 1224.53Cr in Equity market
🔰 DII’s again were Net Buyers 439.41 Cr in Equity market
This gives us an indication that this bull run is as of now supported by DII’s. FII’s this month have been pulling out money from equity market consistently. One global trigger can also make the market again crash. So, we need to be careful about that as well.
But as a Trader, our focus is upon where the current trend is running. The answer is: Bull Mode. So, we can stay bullish as long as new demand zones are forming in market and prices are making new highs with high volumes.
Nearest Demand and Supply Zones in Banknifty
For Banknifty to become bearish, prices will first be required to be breaking major zone D1 (35900–35970) where prices gave volume breakout in last trading session and kept taking Support multiple times but still could not break it. Zone D2 is minor Support zone for prices and next major demand zone is D3 (35720–35670).
On Upside, If prices are able to give a breakout above S1 with high volume tomorrow, then we might see rally to be coming tomorrow for 500 points and above.
Banknifty Daily chart
Next Major Supply zone are marked in the chart above and you can use it for future reference.
For more details and Live updates on BankNifty, you can visit and subscribe to our following Channels.
Website: www.elixirlearnings.com
Telegram: https://t.me/s/elixirlearnings
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdTyn3_QUqe4TlvDyJjHghA?sub_confirmation=1 | https://medium.com/@elixirlearnings/banknifty-analysis-16th-july-2021-68b6a775291d | ['Elixir Learnings'] | 2021-07-15 21:13:07.302000+00:00 | ['Bank Nifty', 'Nifty', 'Elixir', 'Nse', 'Stock Market'] |
Reinventing Photography | In Conclusion
There is greater demand today to publish photographs than in the heyday of film. The number of print publication venues has declined but that is offset by an exponential increase in online publication opportunities. Demand continues to grow. However, the vexing business problem to solve is how increasingly difficult it is for name brands and media buyers to find commercially useful pictures. That’s what led to underpriced photography. And the consequences of underpricing are customer alienation and stagnant revenue.
The incumbent vendors didn’t so much disrupt the photo marketplace as buy it outright. Then they broke it. They deliberately chose to turn photography into a commodity, a consumer-facing marketplace that eschews intellectual property because it doesn’t suit their purposes as middlemen. That was an arbitrary decision to make, based on ignorance of the photo industry’s practice of licensing intellectual property — not to ordinary consumers but to commercial publishers.
The incumbents could have chosen to serve Enterprise photography buyers as well as the consumer class of buyers. But they did not. Instead, they made adversaries out of the very content suppliers (the photographers and videographers) that Enterprise buyers expect to work with because they did not how to do otherwise. They also failed to innovate technologically, having developed no means to gather and use market intelligence.
Actionable market intelligence relies on having both the will and the ability to connect sellers online directly with commercial (not consumer) buyers. But the way the incumbents see it, connecting them, letting them work directly with each other, would jeopardize their coveted position — in the middle — between hundreds of millions of photos and hundreds of millions of photo buyers; an effective place to be in a consumer-facing marketplace but completely ineffective in a business-to-business (B2B) marketplace.
Commercial Photo is the only multi-billion-dollar marketplace in the world where administrative and economic transactions are conducted largely offline and on paper in the twenty-first century. The incumbents’ inability to capture data prevents them from becoming arbiters of pricing, to consolidate better, more useful content (plus the creators of that content) to increase revenue across the board.
There are just as many pro photographers working today as there were in analog days. They are still winning contracts to shoot photo assignments (commissioned jobs). To say otherwise, one would have to believe that the number of practicing doctors has declined in direct proportion to the public’s ability to self-medicate for minor maladies with over-the-counter drugs; or because anyone can self-diagnose a serious illness by Googling their symptoms. On the contrary, there will always be a need for authoritative professional practitioners of medicine, even if they benefit by automation. The same goes for photography.
There has always been plenty of money to be made in the creative arts. The incumbents, however decided that it’s just not to be made by the creators. It became their racket. But there is more money to be made in the business of art — exponentially more — by cutting the creators in on the action.
Imagemakers need each other to succeed. The answer to the predicament of professional revenue inequality is to “organize.” But organization cannot, and should not, be expected to be proactive on their part. Nor should it be considered institutionalized organization. The trick it to create a trellis-like structure on which they can grow themselves. It must present itself in a passive and seamless manner, by proffering a network platform, a marketplace, where sellers and buyers are not only welcome but it’s an obvious place they want to be, without a top down structure and without a middleman obliterating the value of content.
To paraphrase Facebook’s CEO, if you move fast and break things, you have an obligation to fix them. Getty Images, for instance, is bullish about crowd-sourcing. As the biggest bull in the china shop, they have clumsily shattered everything valuable in sight. Many feckless startups have tried to pick up the pieces, acting like cocky matadors daring to face the bull, only to be gored on the horns of a dilemma: an institutional memory loss forcing them to remain tied to the same failed business model, resulting in market size and revenue stubbornly remaining flat.
Fixing a dysfunctional marketplace requires an acknowledgment that photographers own what they create (intellectual property) and that its commercial value is the basis for industry-wide revenue. Crowd-sourcing simply doesn’t work in the pro-sourced Enterprise segment of the Commercial Photo Market.
The hegemony of Silicon Valley thinking has made it difficult to connect photographers directly online with their existing clientele, hard to disrupt middlemen like Getty Images, AdobeStock, and Shutterstock. A new kind of intermediary is needed, a proprietary, data-driven marketplace armed with twenty-first-century technology and actionable market intelligence to go back to the future, so to speak, to both literally and figuratively restore agency for sellers and buyers.
This is an opportunity for a company with bona fide, deep domain expertise in photography, combined with Silicon Valley startup experience, to engage professional practitioners (and their clients) with the kind of product-market fit that consolidates the most premium content (previously unavailable online), builds a tall fence around it, and brings it to a worldwide market.
Photographers want a tool they can use, instead of a tool that uses them. Publishers want dynamic, exclusive, and useful content. Economic and creative outcomes for photographers and publishers are radically transformed by building The Marketplace where all industry participants want to be.
See ya later aggregator! | https://medium.com/swlh/why-photo-startups-fail-e2acaed43f61 | ['Tom Zimberoff'] | 2021-01-02 14:45:24.330000+00:00 | ['Machine Learning', 'Marketplaces', 'Startup', 'Photography', 'Data'] |
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The Baltimore Ravens are poised to follow a bizarre training camp with a season opener shrouded in mystery.
They’ll be playing Sunday in an empty stadium, facing a Cleveland Browns team with a new coaching staff that’s provided no clue how they plan to employ a revamped offense.
“A lot of unknowns,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh acknowledged.
About the only thing for sure is that Baltimore quarterback Lamar Jackson, the multi-faceted reigning NFL MVP, will be the focal point of an offense that last year set a league record with 3,296 yards rushing. That helped the Ravens win the AFC North with the best regular-season record in the NFL.
Beyond that, it’s anybody’s guess how this game plays out in a barren stadium during a world-wide pandemic.
“The unknowns are there (were) no preseason games. So, nobody has had any live tackling action, other than practice when we’ve had it,” Ravens running back Mark Ingram said. “With no fans, everybody is going to wonder how the game-day atmosphere is going to be without fans and stuff.”
The Browns will make their debut under first-year coach Kevin Stefanski, hired in January after Cleveland stumbled to a 6–10 record in 2019. Without the luxury of mini-camps or August football games, the Browns haven’t had the kind of preparation befitting a team that’s undergone a radical change in leadership.
“That could be an excuse if you wanted to use it, but we are not doing that,” quarterback Baker Mayfield said. “We know what we have to do. We have installed everything. We are putting together a good game plan, and we will have that ready to roll. Everybody just has to go out there and execute it.”
FRONT LINE
After getting run over in a playoff loss to Tennessee, the Ravens worked this offseason to fortify their run defense. General manager Eric DeCosta traded for Calais Campbell, signed free agent Derek Wolfe and drafted linebacker Patrick Queen, who will play in his first NFL game Sunday.
The new front will be tested by Nick Chubb, who last year ran for 165 yards and three touchdowns in Baltimore to lead the Browns to a 40–25 upset.
“This is a game where you have to stop the run,” Campbell said. “If I’m a coach, I’m going to see how the guys’ tackling is going to be. I’m going to run the ball at them downhill.”
This is a huge season for Mayfield, who stumbled in his second year and finished near the league’s bottom in numerous statistical categories.
His 22 touchdown passes were offset by 21 interceptions, and now the №1 overall draft pick in 2018 knows it’s time to step up his game.
“Out to prove I’m much better than what I’ve shown the two years prior,″ Mayfield said this week.
The Browns are counting on Mayfield to bounce back, and his teammates have noticed his renewed commitment and focus.
“Baker has always been a competitor,” center JC Tretter said. “That has always come out of him. He looks great and super dialed in.”
LAMAR FACTOR
Jackson set an NFL record last season for yards rushing by a quarterback, and he also tossed 36 touchdown passes. Obviously, stopping him is the №1 priority for every defense facing the Ravens.
“He is dynamic. He can run it and he can throw it,” Stefanski said. “They have designed runs for him, and then he can take off on a pass play. I just think he is a great player.”
Jackson understands the pressure associated with having to come up with an encore to last year’s MVP season — and dismisses it.
“I really don’t care about the hype or what people expect,” he said. “I expect for myself and my teammates to go out there and produce and win games.”
BACK IN TIME
The Ravens usually draw a boisterous throng of around 70,000 fans. Without them, they’ll have to generate their own energy against a division rival.
“It’s going to be something like a high school scrimmage,” Ingram said. “You get off the bus and you usually meet a team on their field, or they meet you on your field. There weren’t that many fans, but pads were clacking, whistles blowing, and (you’re) making plays. I feel like our team, the offense is going to have to be rooting the defense, the defense rooting the offense. Both offense and defense, we’re going to have to be rooting the (special) teams.”
Manufactured crowd noise will be pumped over the loudspeakers in an effort to restore some of the typical atmosphere.
“It is going to be unusual. It is going to be a little eerie,” Stefanski said.
TWO-BACK ATTACK
In addition to Chubb, the Browns have a top-tier running back in Kareem Hunt.
“They have, by their own account, the two best backs in football,” Harbaugh said. “Not just this year, but going back historically, that’s been said in their camps. I can see why.”
Despite gashing the Ravens last season, Chubbs has turned the page. | https://medium.com/@yiriw97904/minnesota-timberwolves-vs-new-orleans-pelicans-livestream-new-orleans-bowl-2020-ab5ca2df4cb8 | [] | 2020-12-23 16:51:36.544000+00:00 | ['NFL'] |
How Foods Can Promote Better Dental Health-Best Foods For Mouth Health | Did you know besides these super-dental care practices, good food habits can also amplify your oral strength? In this article, you’ll get to know how certain foods benefit your dental and oral health with their nutritional virtues. For more guidance get in touch with Doctor Smile Dental Clinic, the finest dental clinic in Siliguri.
Eating well keeps numerous health concerns at bay.
Let’s see how certain foods help preserve your teeth.
· Apples
Apples are natural oral rinse and fresheners. Every time you bite on an apple it boosts the saliva flow- ideal for preventing cavities. Chew apple to steer off plaque and cavity-causing germs.
· Leafy Greens
Vegetables are the powerhouse of nutrients, welcome them to your diet. The essential vitamins and minerals you get from the leafy veggies increase the saliva to rinse off the bacteria present in your mouth. Leafy green vegetables have phytochemicals that are good at fighting off bacteria.
· Carrots
Carrot is one of the vegetables abundant with cavity-fighting properties. Munching on raw carrots helps strengthen your tooth gums and tooth enamel. The plaque-attacking keratin a carrot contains works incredibly great in order to keep your oral hygiene well-maintained.
· Celery
Celery has essential nutrients- Vitamin A which safeguards your tooth from loosening. At the same time, chewing celery keeps your teeth clean and produces ample saliva to kick out bacteria. Receive guidance from your dentist on what you should include in your diet and eliminate accordingly.
· Raisins
Your cravings for unhealthy sweets can be replaced with a healthy option-raisin. Raisins contain phytochemicals, oleanolic acids, and plant antioxidants which are great for eliminating bacteria and stopping their growth. Moreover, by consuming raisins you can protect your teeth from the attack of cavities.
· Green Tea
Green tea is full of antioxidants, therefore, drinking green tea minimizes dental plaque production. Simultaneously, it maximizes teeth protection against the acidity of saliva and dental cavities.
· Almonds
The protein and calcium content in almonds set your mouth free from plaque accumulation and strengthen your tooth health. Almonds help prevent periodontal diseases and dental cavities.
Looking for the best dentist in Siliguri city? Contact Doctor Smile Dental Clinic.
· Oats
Besides Oatmeal, other whole grains are also excellent for lowering the risk of gum disease. A diet rich in nutritional value is incredible for your overall wellness. | https://medium.com/@doctorsmiledentalclinic/how-foods-can-promote-better-dental-health-best-foods-for-mouth-health-c8eac0636e77 | ['Doctor Smile Dental Clinic'] | 2021-10-28 07:15:03.694000+00:00 | ['Dentistry', 'Dental Care', 'Dentist', 'Dentist In Siliguri', 'Dental Clinic In Siliguri'] |
Just Float. | If happiness could look like something, what would it be?
Some people might answer with sunshine, rainbows, hot chocolate, or freshly done laundry. Others might say getting birthday presents, spending time with their kids, or jumping onto the couch after a merciless day at work.
But when I try imagining happiness, it doesn’t come up with nearly the same resolution. The most I get is a fuzzy blob that doesn’t quite begin or end anywhere. I don’t know what it is, and I doubt anyone else really does either.
But, shouldn’t we know?
Normally, not knowing wouldn’t be a problem. After all, there’s countless obscure concepts, things, and experiences we never even knew existed, and we’re doing completely fine without them. But this matters.
Most people define their reason for existing with that word. If there’s one thing that’s kept humans growing faster and longer than any other species, it was the knowledge that our actions could lead us to it. If there’s one thing that makes life special, it’s that. How can’t we know what it means?
It’s frustrating, really. If happiness is our destination and we don’t even know what it looks like, how can we expect to get there? How do we know we’re getting any closer or drifting further away? If happiness fell from the sky and hit us, would we even notice? We wouldn’t. There’s no way we would.
We’re lost. We don’t know where we’re going, so anywhere we end up wandering off to becomes the wrong direction. Then, we panic. Suddenly, we realize that nothing’s under our control and the best we could ever hope to do is hold on to something and stay still.
That’s a hellscape called life.
Most of us see it take the form of a river that never stops flowing forward. If you don’t pay attention, it’ll seem slow. That doesn’t change anything, though. It doesn’t change the eventual fate of anything inside it, or make your future any easier to swallow.
But, everyone who gets stuck in this river usually end up finding some comfort. With a little bit of thrashing and turning, they figure something out. Whenever they grab something— even if it’s for a few seconds — they get to escape the torment of that endless, emotionless water. It’s the one thing they can control and find some peace in.
Of course, that still doesn’t change anything, does it? It only prolongs the inevitable. You can only hold on to something for so long, no matter how hard you try. It’s quite a situation. Just remember though — I’m talking about us. This is how we navigate the river of life.
Could you call that journey a happy one? Are we supposed to keep grabbing onto these things as long as we can? Does leaving reality make the situation any better than it is?
It’s hard to say for certain, but it sure doesn’t feel right.
Considering how life’s going to pull everything forward regardless of what we try, pushing against it doesn’t make much sense. If anything, holding on’s just going to make letting go a lot harder in the future:
Every time we get wrenched away from what we hold on to, the more we get reminded about how we never had any control in the first place.
If that’s what happiness really is, then I don’t know about you — but I wouldn’t want to have anything to do with it. It’s temporary and weak and unreliable. Most of all, it’s fake compared to that river. The objects we rest our hands on will all disappear over time. More than happiness, we’re experiencing the bliss that comes from ignoring reality for a while. But still, the river keeps flowing.
The river keeps flowing, and we’re not alone. There’s about seven billion of us feeling our way through the same reality and trying to process it in our own ways. As a result, we try holding on to different things in search of anything permanent.
Those rocks, tree branches, and the occasional piece of driftwood. Those things we hold on to. You know what they are, don’t you? They’re the things that’ll eventually leave you, and the ones you don’t want to leave behind.
For some people, those things take the form of money. For others, recognition or fame is what keeps them from drowning. To a few, it’s something as simple as being better than the people around them. For a moment, they make us feel like we’ve left the cruel trick that was being played on us.
When we’re forced to let go, we come crashing back into the inevitable and want to go back to our dream. We don’t want to wake up.
This is exactly where life becomes hell.
We know deep down that none of what we’re holding onto will last. Knowing that, we all reach for something. Each time we do, we somehow find a way to convince ourself that “this is the one.”
But we don’t just stop there. We try convincing each other that we’ve found something real. Something that’ll never break in the face of life and keep us in bliss for the rest of our lives.
What’s even worse is how we end up believing each other. Jealous of everyone else’s rock or twig or piece of driftwood, we all feel inferior to each other and sink a little lower than before.
We think we’re looking for happiness, but I think we’re just trying to find something real. More than anything else, we’re looking for a thing, a concept, or an idea that won’t die. Something that’ll never fail us.
Maybe that’s why so many of us believe in gods or angels or deities that’ll one day save us from the chaos we’re in. That’s because we want to believe in them more than anything. They’re a better, calmer, safer reality to take refuge in. Maybe that’s a good decision, or maybe that’s a bad one. Ultimately, the river still flows the same way, and at the same speed.
If happiness exists somewhere, it’ll probably be somewhere next to where reality’s hiding. If it exists, it can’t be something as shallow as running away from things. It can’t end so easily and exist to whisk us away from the pain of reality. It has to be there for us, and give us enough strength to face reality.
While billions of people yell and glare at each other for holding their impermanent stones and twigs and piece of driftwood, you’d be lucky to find a quiet one. Someone softly floating ahead. Not wasting the time to hold on to anything, but taking in the view with a big smile on their face.
We’re looking for something real, but we’ve already met reality face-to-face. It’s the river nudging your forward, and there’s nothing more real than that:
You always end up finding reality where you least want to find it.
Don’t underestimate that river. It’ll break down everything in its path and carry it forward to eternity. It makes us want to hide in a corner and close our eyes for the rest of our lives.
With enough time, it’ll grind any stone you could hold onto into sand. But the fact that it doesn’t do the same to you means you’re stronger than that. All you have to do is stop holding on to the things in life, and start holding on to life itself.
So keep floating, my friend.
-Aaryan | https://medium.com/@aaryanh/just-float-39434f33c7dd | ['Aaryan Harshith'] | 2020-12-27 03:14:55.185000+00:00 | ['Philosophy', 'Life Lessons', 'Life', 'Writing', 'Mindset'] |
The Disappointing Decade of Cambridge Football | By: Joshua Camara
(CRLS Varsity Football 2014 Credit: Cambridge Day)
Let’s take a look at Cambridge football’s hardships in the last decade.
(Cambridge Varsity Football Record over the last 10 seasons)
(CRLS wins and losses from 1999–2009)
CRLS’s win/loss record from one decade to the next shows that CRLS has flipped badly since 1999.
(Dual County League conference standings)
Above is the divisional games within the Dual County League. Each Team has played 50 divisional games.
(Dual County Population Sizes)
CRLS has the most enrollment, yet still lacks their presence on the field. | https://medium.com/@s0346725/the-disappointing-decade-of-cambridge-football-e83f3b82328b | ['Cambridge Local Sports'] | 2020-12-01 17:39:39.209000+00:00 | ['Cambridge', 'Varsity Sports', 'Football', 'High School'] |
Autonomous Driving Tutorial for VEX V5 Robots | Autonomous Driving Tutorial for VEX V5 Robots
A complete tutorial with code
The 15 second autonomous period is a critical part of VEX Robotics games. You have a short amount of time to control the robot without a human driver and score as many points as possible.
During this time, it is critical that you are able to control the robot precisely. The fundamental part of this control is being able to drive the robot around the field with precision.
Driving is composed of two actions: driving (forward/backward) and turning (left/right). If you are able to these two actions autonomously with reasonable accuracy, you can move your robot practically anywhere on the field confidently. First, let’s look at driving forward and backward.
Driving (forward/backward)
Consider a simple robot with one motor on the left and one motor on the right. You can declare these two motors in robot-config.h with the following.
// Right motor reversed because it is facing the opposite direction
vex::motor LeftMotor = vex::motor(vex::PORT10, false);
vex::motor RightMotor = vex::motor(vex::PORT1, true);
Now in main.cpp we can make a function to drive the robot forward or backward by a specific distance, and then call that function from the autonomous function.
That function can be something like this:
void driveForward( float inches ) {
float inchesPerDegree = WHEEL_CIRCUMFERENCE / 360;
float degrees = inches / inchesPerDegree; // startRotate doesn't wait for completion
// this way, the other wheel can turn at same time
LeftMotor.startRotateFor(
degrees * GEAR_RATIO, vex::rotationUnits::deg,
AUTON_DRIVE_PCT, vex::velocityUnits::pct
); RightMotor.rotateFor(
degrees * GEAR_RATIO, vex::rotationUnits::deg,
AUTON_DRIVE_PCT, vex::velocityUnits::pct
);
}
The key here is that we need some way to convert between the linear distance moved by the robot and the rotational angle swept by the drive motor. To do that, we find the circumferential inches per degree of the wheel, by dividing the wheel’s circumference by the 360 total degrees.
From there, taking the inches needed to move divided by the inches moved per degree yields the degrees needed to move. This can be seen through dimensional analysis:
(inches) / (inches / degree) => degrees
The last thing to consider is the gear ratio. If you directly connect the motor to the wheel, the gear ratio is 1 (1 motor rotation : 1 wheel rotation). If you have gear(s) between the motor and the wheel, you may end up creating a different gear ratio, such as 0.5, (0.5 motor rotation : 1 wheel rotation). Multiplying the degrees to rotate the wheel by this gear ratio finally gives the degrees to rotate the motor. This can be seen through dimensional analysis:
(wheel degrees) * (gear ratio) = (wheel degrees) * (motor degrees / wheel degrees) => motor degrees
It is also worth mentioning that this function uses a few constants that need to be declared earlier in the file, preferably near the top by convention. These declarations will look something like this:
const float WHEEL_DIAMETER = 4.125; // inches
const float WHEEL_CIRCUMFERENCE = WHEEL_DIAMETER * 3.1416;
const float GEAR_RATIO = 0.5; // 0.5 turn of motor = 1 turn of wheel
const int AUTON_DRIVE_PCT = 50; // motors at 50% power during auton
Now the autonomous function can call the driveForward function like the following:
void autonomous( void ) {
driveForward( 1.2 * 12 ); // drive 1.2 ft forwards
driveForward(-1.2 * 12 ); // drive 1.2 ft backwards
}
Turning (left/right)
In addition to being able to drive forward and backward precisely, you will also probably want to be able to rotate left and right by a specific number of degrees.
This can be done with another helper function like this:
void turn( float degrees ) {
// Note: +90 degrees is a right turn
float turningRatio = TURNING_DIAMETER / WHEEL_DIAMETER;
float wheelDegrees = turningRatio * degrees;
// Divide by two because each wheel provides half the rotation
LeftMotor.startRotateFor(
wheelDegrees * gearRatio / 2, vex::rotationUnits::deg,
AUTON_DRIVE_PCT, vex::velocityUnits::pct
); RightMotor.rotateFor(
wheelDegrees * gearRatio / 2, vex::rotationUnits::deg,
AUTON_DRIVE_PCT, vex::velocityUnits::pct
);
}
Turning the robot is a little less straightforward than simple linear driving because we have to consider the turning radius of the robot. In this case, a four-wheeled robot has a turning diameter approximated by the diagonal distance between the wheels. This distance can simply be measured on the robot as the distance between the upper left and lower right wheels at the points where they contact the ground.
Once the turning diameter is known, the ratio a rotation of the robot as a whole and the rotation of a wheel is given by dividing the turning diameter by the wheel diameter. Then multiplying by the desired degrees of rotation from the robot gives the degrees to rotate the wheel.
To translate that to motor rotation, we do the same as we did above, multiplying by the gear ratio, and then dividing by two because we are getting rotation from both the left and right sides.
The constant turning diameter also needs to be declared like so:
// distance (in inches) from top-left wheel to bottom-right wheel
const float turningDiameter = 19.0;
From there, you can call the turn function from the autonomous function like this:
void autonomous( void ) {
turn( 90); // right turn
turn(-90); // left turn
}
Possible Issue
The methods described only consider the rotation of the motor, gear ratios, and resulting rotation of the wheel. They do not consider possible slipping beyond that point, however. For example, if the wheels do not have proper traction on the driving surface, a full rotation of the wheel may not move the robot the full amount expected.
Possible Solutions
To fix this, you could add a simple slippage multiplier, and simply increase all motor rotations by 5% or so depending on what works.
You could also decide to use a gyroscope for turning and an accelerometer for moving linearly.
Such a solution would be a little more complicated, so you should probably try implementing a simpler system that just uses motor encoders (like that described above) before involving other sensors like gyroscopes.
Hope this helps. Good luck! | https://medium.com/thefloatingpoint/autonomous-driving-tutorial-for-vex-v5-robots-774703ca2d3c | ['Ryan Knightly'] | 2019-06-03 21:17:38.643000+00:00 | ['Robotics', 'C Programming', 'Vex', 'Programming', 'Robotics Automation'] |
Our Politicians Don’t Know How People Live | WARNING: You’ll be pissed off when you read this
Photo by Jordan Rowland on Unsplash
Let me put the stimulus debate into perspective for you.
If you make $50k a year, but you were arguing from the lofty perspective of Nancy Pelosi’s estimated net worth of $120 million, you would be deciding on whether to send everyone a check for a measly 25 cents.
Rightfully, — as a normal working person living in the real world — you would reject it as too small of a sum to consider as it would not make a noticeable difference to anyone.
You would have to be greatly disconnected from the lives of everyday people to think that 25 cents would help.
Yet, a whole bunch of multi-millionaire politicians in Washington believe it will.
A Ridiculous Proposal
All told, an estimated 30 to 40 million Americans could be at risk of residential eviction. . .2.8 million Americans would be behind an average of $5,400 in rent, and that debt could balloon to nearly $70 billion by the end of the year. — USA Today
Understand that our elected officials are spending time and money on this absurd proposal after millions of Americans have been struggling for nine months, charitable aid is collapsing, and many have resorted to shoplifting food.
This their solution after intense negotiation.
Congress is so far removed from the everyday struggle of the average American that they are wasting time debating whether a one-time stimulus of $600 is too generous. GOP lawmakers want to exclude social security recipients and those receiving unemployment benefits because apparently those people are doing fine.
The administration believes this paltry amount is worthy of consideration to prevent the rest of us falling into starvation and poverty. Best estimates are that 33 million Americans are financially hurt by the pandemic, and wealthy lawmakers believe $600 will solve this.
Let that sink in. . .
Why Should They Know?
When the public complains about the rising cost of living, Congress has no idea about their struggles because they don’t have their financial problems.
Lawmakers earn a salary of $174,000 per year plus receive funds to offset the cost of running an office, ranging from $1,207,510 to $4,815,203. It is estimated that half of Congress have a net worth of $1 million or more.
That may not seem like a big chunk of change in the world of billionaire oligarchs, but compared to the rest of us, the 82.3 million workers paid at hourly rates, representing 58.1 percent of all wage and salary workers, the inequality becomes especially appalling.
So when Americans talk about losing a job, none of these bozos will ever have to send out 500 resumes to get an interview by some mega corporation, for a job working for slave wages while facing blatant labor violations, only to discover that these complaints are rarely investigated or prosecuted.
Washington has long blessed corporate profits over workers. Although millions are unemployed due to the pandemic, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration declined to investigate more than half the complaints from workers who said their companies retaliated against them due to COVID safety concerns. Congress won’t be doing shit about it, either.
Most of these lawmakers can’t remember the last time they did an honest day’s physical labor because their entire careers have been one of shaking hands and shady backroom deals. You can bet none of them have worried how they will make their next utility payment.
While Americans worry about feeding their kids, the entitled MF’ers in Washington fret about which Ivy League school will be the most prestigious for their spawn.
These are the people who are determining how difficult it is for you to survive in a collapsing America.
They are deciding how bleak your prospects are to climb out of the pandemic hole. Or if you should be able to protect yourself from abusive corporations. Or if you will get to live indoors next year.
Congress has considered your plight, weighed the options carefully, and decided to send you a quarter. | https://medium.com/@shellyfaganaz/our-politicians-dont-know-how-people-live-6e85397cec71 | ['Shelly Fagan'] | 2020-12-20 01:21:14.877000+00:00 | ['Life', 'Money', 'Politics', 'Congress', 'Covid 19'] |
Supporting the Next Generation of Entrepreneurs with Silicon North Stars this #GivingTuesday | Please join us on this #GivingTuesday in supporting an effort close to our hearts, Silicon North Stars.
My husband Steve Grove & I started this nonprofit in 2013 to educate and inspire youth from economically underserved communities in Minnesota towards futures in technology. We primarily serve communities of color and our mission is to level the playing field for access and opportunity.
What started as a passion side project has become a nonprofit that serves more than 120 students, ranging from 9th graders through now to juniors in college. Our students are brilliant, tenacious, and going places. Our students are attending Stanford, Pomona College, the University of Minnesota, St. Cloud State University, and more. Anaa Jibicho was just named to MinneInno’s Entrepreneurs under 25 as CEO as founder of social impact startup Didomi. Robel Zewdie just launched a nonprofit to help students in his native Ethiopia. We started this organization when we were living in Silicon Valley and working at Google, and since moving to MN in 2018 we have doubled down on the organization and honed in our focus on connecting our students with the growing Minnesota tech ecosystem.
This year we launched a college scholarship as well to support our students beyond high school. Jordan Dotson, our first scholarship recipient, is a freshman at the University of Minnesota and has interned at Accenture, Target, and Best Buy.
We would not be here today without our partners STEPUP, Washington Technology Magnet School, Humboldt High School, our incredible team & board.
Please consider supporting our annual end-of-year fundraiser. No amount is too small. Donate via our #GivingTuesday campaign on Facebook or directly via our website.
Hear a bit about our program in the voices of some of our students (I love this video in particular because I can fast forward to 2020 and am overwhelmed by what these students have accomplished):
Thank you for supporting the next generation! | https://medium.com/@mary.m.grove/supporting-the-next-generation-of-entrepreneurs-with-silicon-north-stars-this-givingtuesday-9567efc4116d | ['Mary Grove'] | 2020-12-01 15:00:42.666000+00:00 | ['Racial Justice', 'Minnesota', 'Givingtuesday', 'Entrepreneurship', 'Youth Entrepreneurship'] |
How do download and installation of PostgreSql Admin | First We do Start download in PostgreSql Below Mentioned Link
https://www.enterprisedb.com/postgres-tutorials/how-quickly-build-api-using-nodejs-postgresql
Then Select Downloads Button on Top Corner on Right Side.
Then Open Next Page of EDB Account. Select Postgres SQL’s Right Arrow
Then Open PostgreSQL Download Page. Select Window x86–64 Download Button.
Then Open EDB Account Page. Enter Below Mentioned Details for Create EDB Account
· First Name & Last Name
· E-Mail id & Business Phone
· Company Name & Organization Type
· Country
· User Name
Then Click Agreement Check Box and Select Create an Account Button.
Then Showing Dialogue Box for Checking Mail. EDB account Activation Confirmation mail has sent to User Mail-id. Then Link has Sent through Mail to User.
Click Below Mentioned Link for Change EDB Account Password.
https://www.enterprisedb.com/user/reset/680767/1612854906/pgOOqtGx-MoPMmvxztLPrqynO1sFp6MAiKzWgIXWZq4/login?redirectTo=https://www.enterprisedb.com/user/register?destination=/thank-you-page?cid=437&action=activation
Then Open Setup-PostgresSQL Box. Then Select Next Button.
Then Open Installation Directory and Check installation Directory. Then Select Next Button
Then Open Setup Component Box. Select All Components Then Next Button When You are ready to Continue.
Then Open Data Directory Box and then Check the Directory Details. Then Click Next Button
Then Open Existing Data Directory Box and then Select Next Button. The Directory its Configuration will be used for this Installation.
Then Open Pre Installation Summary then Showing Instruction of Setting used for Installation. Then Select Next Button.
Then the Process ready to Installation and Select Next Button.
When The Installation Process is Completed and Select Next Button.
When Completed PostgresSQL Process and the Select Finish Button. Click the Check Box is used for Download and Installation Application Tools, Drivers. Then Click Finish Button.
Then click home button and select Postgre SQL.
Click PgAdmin and it should open in the browser. After that enter the password..
Then Open Double Click on Servers in Left Side Server Tab. | https://medium.com/@apecgpmani/how-can-do-start-download-and-installation-of-postgresql-admin-2d24592b569c | ['Ponnumani Gurusamy'] | 2021-02-16 16:25:53.218000+00:00 | ['Postgres', 'Database', 'Postgresql'] |
The right way to your venue | A manifesto by Wice
We live in a world where booking a taxi, dinner, hotel room or flight takes just a few clicks. But what about finding the right venue?
The world of ‘venue finding’ in the MICE industry (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences & Exhibitions) has become one of shady deals and a maze of providers. There are countless online booking tools and venue platforms with which you as an event organiser are plagued by the long lists of standardised profiles. This makes venue finding an extremely time-consuming process that can easily cost you more than 10 hours. There is also a good chance that your requests will be answered with ‘no’ because venues are not even available. All the stress is completely on you because it’s like looking for a needle in a haystack. And when you, because you already have so little time, ask for the help of an agency specialised in venue finding, you end up in an opaque world of under-table deals they have with venues in order for them to make as much commission as possible. The contact with venues goes via the agency, so transparency is gone.
Venues on the other hand, always draw the short straw. They put an enormous amount of work into all these online booking tools and platforms where they pay the top price to get just a little attention. Hoping for a meeting or event request that matches their business needs. It simply doesn’t deliver enough. When you’re one of the many venues that puts time and effort into making a quote for the same (or the wrong) event, things go wrong. The cost/return ratio is completely out of balance and you are left to luck. And agencies? Several of these are in line for the same event. Hail is then fired to get more of the ever-increasing commissions. | https://medium.com/@Wice.co/the-right-way-to-your-venue-5feb61dc4e7d | [] | 2021-12-17 09:59:57.284000+00:00 | ['Hotel', 'Event Planning', 'Startup', 'Manifesto', 'Events'] |
5 elements of high converting ecommerce product pages | A product page is where e-commerce customers spend most of the time and make the final decision about completing a purchase.
If you are running PPC campaigns, the products page might be as well the first impression a prospective customer has of your online business.
The importance of a good product page is immense — it is the page where you showcase your products and give customers a reason to make the final buying decision.
The structure of your product page can make or break your sales and in this article, we’re covering the 5 elements that all high converting product pages have in common.
Here’s what we covered
The 5 elements:
Trust
High-quality images/videos
Optimized product copy
Clean design, no distractions
Flawless checkout
Conclusion
With these 5 elements, you are more likely to turn your eCommerce visitors into paying customers.
Trust
One of the key elements of your product page should be building trust. Showing your product page is trustworthy by displaying trust signals can play a decisive role in completing the purchase.
Contrarily, not having enough trust signals on your product page can lead to cart abandonment:
Trust signals on product pages include:
Social symbols — icons of your social plug-ins;
Payment assurance — multiple payment options and third party badges and certifications;
Reviews and ratings — a snapshot of the general rating, and feedback from previous buyers;
Contact and information — contact information and possibility to get in touch with the store;
Trust badges — badges that show the payment methods are secure — the most popular are Norton Secured, McAfee Secure, and Verified by Visa;
Return policy — offering free return in a certain time period or a Money back guarantee badge.
Increase trust on your product page by:
Including reviews
Including 2 to 10 reviews of the product from your customers builds trust. Some stores offer a possibility to win a discount code if you leave a review of the product. Do not hide the identity of the reviewer — adding full names, pictures will bring more transparency. Display the average score calculated by the reviewers for a visitor, who does not have time to read each of the separate reviews.
Offering multiple payment options
Your online store should provide the most popular payment method among your target group. However, adding multiple payment methods increases your store’s credibility. The bigger choice of payment methods you offer, the highest the trust will be of your prospective customers. Another possibility is to offer the “pay later” possibility, where the customer pays for the products after receiving them. Do not forget to include icons of the possible payments as well.
Displaying contact information
Try including the icons with links to your social media channels and contact information on the bottom or top of your product page. Adding a chat-bot on your page that gives viewers the possibility to immediately ask questions is even more efficient.
The online store Asos builds trust by offering free shipping and a 60-days return policy. It also includes social icons in the footer:
While the website Bol.com which presents more providers of the same products builds trust with the platform by highlighting a free 30-day return policy, 24/7 customer care service, and free shipping:
It also includes reviews on each product page:
2. High-quality images/videos
The visual representation of the products in your online store is the most important aspect of a product page and can be a deal-breaker. Compared to the physical stores, a customer is unable to hold the product; therefore it has to be presented to him through pictures and videos from different angles.
As the popularity of videos is increasing, it is highly advisable to include both — high-quality pictures and videos to highlight the best of your products.
Nike already incorporated videos on their product pages:
When using multiple pictures, make sure all of them have the same size and height-width ratio. A recommended size for e-commerce pictures is 2048px X 2048px.
Include one (or all) of these practices to improve your visual representation:
Provide 360° view of your product
Offer your customers a more interactive, 3D experience by providing a 360° view of your product. Most commonly used for showcasing jewelry, this is especially handy when you want to show the details of your product.
Include a model wearing the product
Again, people cannot try your product before buying it; therefore try to show them how it looks. The most successful online stores include the measurements of the model wearing the item.
Use video to show how to use the product
Adding a video of how to use the product or how to style it has a persuasive effect on your potential customers.
Brilliant Earth offers a detailed look of their rings with the 3D feature:
While Boohoo includes pictures of the model from different angles, and the clothes size that he or she is wearing:
Effects use the video to show the viewers how can they use the product (and indirectly, why do they need to buy it):
3. Optimized product copy
Creating a fun, engaging, and optimized product copy can make an online store stand out among competitors.
To be successful at product copy, you need to know your audience, have a strong understanding of the brand, and be familiar with the SEO best practices.
Improve your copy by:
Speaking to your target audience
Knowing your target audience dictates the tone of voice, which words to use, and sometimes even how funny your product description becomes.
You can use trendy word abbreviations when targeting Gen Z but avoid them completely when writing copy to attract boomers.
Talking about value
The copy should answer the question: “Why does someone need this product?” and present the advantages of having it instead of just its features.
The online store Twelfth South created a copy that speaks to millennials by taking into consideration their buying behavior. Known for being technologically savvy, millennials tend to buy the latest version of mobile phones and are loyal Apple customers:
When it comes to innovative headlines, Firebox knows how to catch a buyer’s attention by creating unique and fun product names:
Showcasing a product’s value comes almost naturally for the online store Chi Chi London. In this product description they explained where could their customer wear the dress, instead of talking about its features:
4. Clean design, no distractions
The design of your product page should be attractive and easy to navigate.
To improve your website design:
Use tabbed navigation
To avoid cluttering your page with text, present more information, create a drop-down menu with links to more details about the product.
Create clear and contrasting CTA’s
Make your call to action pop by making the button clear and in a different color compared to the other text.
Make it mobile-friendly
Design your product page to be not only responsive on mobile devices but clear and easy to navigate when being in a smaller format.
The online store Watches of Switzerland keeps its product in the spotlight by using tabbed navigation:
The website of Jackie Smith store opted for a more colorful and eye-catchy design, paying attention to the colorful call to actions:
Warby Parker’s product page is a perfect example of how a clean, well-designed e-commerce website should look on a mobile device:
5. Flawless checkout
The checkout process should be simple, transparent, and fast. If your score of cart abandonment is high, consider improving your checkout process by:
Including a basket summary
Include a review of the products in the shopping cart and the possibility to remove some of them before moving to the next step.
Displaying a progress indicator
Creating an overview of the needed steps to complete the purchase makes the customer aware of the next steps and can indicate how soon the process will be over.
Offer guest checkout
Offer a guest checkout for customers who are in a rush or do not want to create an account
H&M offers a review of the products at the beginning of the checkout process:
In the checkout process, Etsy displays a progress indicator in the top-right corner:
Chanel facilitates the checkout process by offering a guest checkout:
Conclusion
Building trust, using high-quality images and videos to show your products, and engaging your visitors with fun and useful copy can increase the number of prospective customers.
While the clear design of your product page and a simple check-out process should lead them to complete the purchase.
By keeping in mind your target audience, you will surely be able to personalize each of these elements and use it to connect with your ideal customer. | https://medium.com/analytics-for-humans/5-elements-of-high-converting-ecommerce-product-pages-bdcebc4a6377 | ['Mike Wagaba'] | 2020-12-22 19:04:59.250000+00:00 | ['Marketing', 'Content Marketing', 'Analytics', 'Entrepreneurship', 'Business'] |
Connecting the IoT and Your C-Suite | Modern technology is like toddler; it’s quick, it’s imaginative, it’s always growing and changing, and if you turn your head, you might lose track of it. In today’s fast-paced market, no company can take the wait-and-see approach to innovation. The key to keeping or expanding your market share is getting ahead of the latest trends, and right now, no trend has more potential than the Internet of Things.
As you likely know, the Internet of Things is the network of sensor-laden physical devices that communicate with other hardware and software via the Internet. What you may not know is there will be 20 to 30 billion devices connected to the Internet by 2020. This includes the smartphone in your pocket, the tablet in your briefcase, the computer on your desk, and thousands of things that haven’t been invented yet.
If executives want to turn this opportunity into profit, they’re going to have to understand not just how the IoT works, but it’s value — and fast.
What Do You Have to Lose?
In short, revenue. According to McKinsey & Company, the IoT is projected to generate $11.1 trillion a year in economic value by 2025, with $5 trillion coming exclusively from B2B settings. From consumer-facing retailers to manufacturers, every company stands to benefit from the Internet of Things.
The problem? Most businesses have yet to realize the potential:
Over 50% of business leaders had no plans to pursue or implement IoT technology
Only 32% of business leaders were taking any steps toward IoT connectivity
But brands are starting to catch up:
Forrester reports that 50% of North American companies of 250+ employees are increasing technology budgets over the next 12 months, and
49% of business decision makers consider the expansion of IoT initiatives a “high” or “critical” priority over the next 12 months
If your executive team requires convincing before investing in IoT, now is the time to introduce them to the basics, including:
How IoT is making an impact across industries
The business risks of delaying or ignoring implementation of IoT technology
How to begin incorporating IoT into product roadmaps
Are you sold on the value of IoT, but need a little help perfecting your pitch? Read on to learn how to win executive buy-in for your proposal.
Step 1: Teach Executives the Basics of IoT Technology
Despite what some executives may believe, IoT technology isn’t much different from the devices currently used on a daily basis. Lightbulbs, kitchen appliances, and even clothing can all become a part of the Internet of Things with the addition of a connected sensor.
Here are four IoT building blocks your C-Suite should be familiar with:
MEMS (Micro Electro-Mechanical Systems): MEMS are low-powered, miniature sensor sets that collect data, communicate with servers, and perform actions prompted by users and machinery. They come in all shapes and sizes and contain a variety of sensors including gyroscopes, accelerometers, eCompasses, thermometers, pressure and humidity detectors, etc.
MEMS are low-powered, miniature sensor sets that collect data, communicate with servers, and perform actions prompted by users and machinery. They come in all shapes and sizes and contain a variety of sensors including gyroscopes, accelerometers, eCompasses, thermometers, pressure and humidity detectors, etc. Strong Mobile Networks: As the population of connected hardware grows, so does the need for stronger and faster bandwidth. Intel believes the 5G mobile telecommunications standard will be crucial for connecting billions of devices to the Internet and ensuring optimal performance.
As the population of connected hardware grows, so does the need for stronger and faster bandwidth. Intel believes the 5G mobile telecommunications standard will be crucial for connecting billions of devices to the Internet and ensuring optimal performance. Application Program Interfaces (API): APIs are a set of routines, protocols, and tools for building software applications that allow developers to continuously improve and alter the capabilities of a connected device. By opening their APIs to third-party developers, companies empower the entire development community to improve their products and push innovation further.
APIs are a set of routines, protocols, and tools for building software applications that allow developers to continuously improve and alter the capabilities of a connected device. By opening their APIs to third-party developers, companies empower the entire development community to improve their products and push innovation further. Partnerships: The IoT is literally built on partnerships, starting with the alliance between hardware and the Internet, and extending into strategic partnerships between businesses. As more businesses begin investing in the Internet of Things, it will be increasingly important for companies to align their interests and priorities.
If your executives are familiar with these IoT factors, they’ll be equipped to better understand your Internet of Things proposal. Be sure to send them diagrams, infographics, and articles of real-world examples leading up to your pitch. And if you really want to impress your executives, build a quick prototype that demonstrates what MEMS and APIs are capable of.
Step 2: Demonstrate How IoT Is Transforming Industries
Although the Internet of Things is still in its early adopter phase, there are plenty of industries where it has made significant business impact.
Automotive
IoT technology is the biggest revelation for the automotive industry since the internal-combustion engine. If you’ve ever used Uber or Lyft, you know the significance of IoT to modern commuters. However, ridesharing is only the beginning — the automotive industry is set to undergo a foundational transition. As PWC’s Connected Car Study states, “Automakers that have always seen themselves as product suppliers will take on a new identity as providers of mobility services.” The report estimates that by 2021, annual sales of connected car technology will triple to reach $140 billion.
Health & Wellness
What began as a variety of glorified pedometers has exploded into an industry predicted to be worth $5.4 billion by 2019. As the value of the wearable health and fitness market increases, product innovation will also boom. Activity trackers and smartwatches are now capable of monitoring our step counts and vital signs, and companies like Google are creating breakthrough products, including a contact lens that detects the wearer’s blood glucose level–a crucial metric for diabetics. As more connected devices comply with medical regulations, the Internet of Things has the potential to transform the healthcare system by making accurate health-monitoring devices more accessible, affordable, and portable.
Home Automation
Connected home devices are gaining popularity, with two-thirds of consumers planning to purchase an in-home device in the next five years. Revenue in this market is expected to grow 28.2% per year, resulting in a value of $20.86 billion by 2020. Smart thermostats like Nest have ushered in a new wave of home technology by learning user habits and temperature preferences, even learning when a user is and isn’t at home. And thanks to Apple’s HomeKit and Google’s Brillo operating system, consumers will soon be able to control everything from their refrigerator to the garage door with nothing more than a smartphone or tablet.
Industrial
Players in manufacturing, mining, oil and gas, and utilities are also joining the IoT movement, with investments in the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) market spanning industries representing 62% of gross domestic product (GDP) among G20 nations. These large investments are predicted to result in even greater gains, according to analyst David Floyer, who predicts that the cumulative net value of IIoT spending will reach $1.7 trillion by 2020.
Manufacturing
Efficiency is key to profitability for manufacturing facilities. Wasted time or material costs businesses millions of dollars a year. According to a recent Microsoft case study, KUKA Systems Group built a new factory for Jeep Wrangler bodies that utilizes over 60,000 IoT devices connected to a central data-management system. Once all the pieces were in place, the Wrangler factory increased capabilities to consecutively operate 24 hours a day for over eight years, resulting in the creation of a new car body every 77 seconds, or 830 car bodies a day.
Toys & Games
Children’s entertainment icons from Barbie to Disney are delivering connected toy experiences to take play to new levels of interactivity and profitability, with analysts expecting the smart toy sector to generate $2.8 billion in revenue this year. As this generation becomes immersed with connected devices, the IoT movement will continue to grow exponentially. Gen Z, which is comprised of children born in 1995 and beyond, already makes up 26% of the US population and has $44 billion in purchasing power. That economic impact is only going to strengthen as they enter the workforce, likely in positions requiring a high degree of technological aptitude.
As you can see, the idea of a connected world is becoming a reality, and several industries are already making huge strides in the IoT. Seize this opportunity to join the stampede of innovation before it passes you by.
Step 3: Highlight Potential Consequences of Missing Out
Some executives are wary of the IoT waters, but standing on the shore can be riskier than diving in. Patience is rarely rewarded in modern markets. Case in point:
Blockbuster Video
While industry disruptors like Redbox and Netflix began making their way into consumers’ DVD trays, Blockbuster doubled down on their brick-and-mortar business model and lost everything. In 2004, Blockbuster was a $5 billion company ($5.9 billion in revenue) with 60,000 employees and 9,000 stores worldwide. Now, it’s as non-existent as Betamax. By the time Blockbuster threw together a digital strategy, the market was already flooded with companies offering a wide array of content and original programming.
Kodak
A little over a decade ago, Kodak was the king of the recreational photography market. Their affordable film cameras were perfect for amateur photographers looking to document their holidays and vacations. Now, with the advent of social media and smartphones with a 10+ megapixel camera, there’s no longer a need for point-and-shoot cameras full of film that needs to be developed. Although their industrial printing revenue has kept them afloat, Kodak’s stock price continues to fade like a printed picture left in the sun.
BlackBerry
Not long ago, every power player from Wall Street to Silicon Valley carried a Blackberry in their pocket. Fast forward to 2015, and we find BlackBerry clinging to a miniscule .4% smartphone market share. BlackBerry may still be the most secure OS on the market, but that doesn’t resonate with consumers who prefer convenience to privacy. Apps, touchscreens, and efficiency are the keys to success in today’s smartphone industry, and BlackBerry took too long to see it.
In summation, if Blockbuster started their streaming service first, Kodak expanded its digital offerings, and BlackBerry kicked its keyboard to the curb, we would be praising their acumen. Instead, they’ve become cautionary tales to the consequences of resisting innovation.
Step 4: Build a Solid IoT Proposal
By now, it should be clear that the Internet of Things is a worthy investment. The only thing left to do is sell its value to your executive team.
To help nail your pitch, consider these tips to make your presentation run smoothly:
1) Create a Sound Strategy
Before you book time on a C-level’s calendar, be prepared to present an iron-clad business strategy that answers the following:
What is the value proposition?
Fully detail how IoT technology can enhance value across business units, including product, customer experience, and finance. For example, detail how IoT capabilities impact competitive positioning, what customer pain points it alleviates, and forecast financial impact based on gains in market share.
How long will the plan take to enact?
In business, time is money, and your executives need to know how long your proposal will take to execute. Although you’ll want to keep timelines as short as possible, do not underestimate the time it takes to successfully execute an IoT strategy.
What will it cost?
The only thing more precious than time for executives is money. When pitching your IoT strategy, highlight how inexpensive connected hardware currently is and will continue to become overtime. For example a 3-axis accelerometer that used to cost $3 in 2007 now costs around $0.50, with even smaller packaging and better performance than the former version.
How do we determine ROI?
Now that your timelines and budgets are set, bring the pitch home by establishing an attractive ROI. Similar to your time frames, don’t overpromise with your estimated ROI. See how other companies in your industry have succeeded in the IoT space and plan accordingly.
How will it impact the next five years?
From preparations to implementation, create a roadmap for how your IoT strategy will impact business over the next five years. Define clear variations in time commitments, cost requirements, and projected profits, ending with recommendations for the rest of the decade if everything goes according to plan.
2) Share Success Stories
Although the Internet of Things is still in its infancy, there are plenty of success stories to reference when meeting with the C-Suite. In addition to others mentioned in this report, sample these for your pitch:
ATM leader Diebold placed IoT technology in 5,000 of their machines, resulting in a “17% increase in remote issue resolution, a 15% reduction in equipment downtime, and average downtime responses shortened to less than 30 minutes.”
BSX Athletics uses IoT technology to provide elite athletes with their blood-lactate threshold level without the need for blood-based lab tests.
The world’s largest agricultural equipment manufacturer, AGCO, uses IoT technology to help dealers achieve 10–15% fuel savings for customers through equipment optimization while reducing idle times by 15%.
Global vending machine company Cantaloupe Systems connects over 100,000 of their machines to the Internet of Things for faster stocking and maintenance information.
It’s best to find a case study that is related to your industry, but the breadth of companies currently implementing an IoT strategy is worth noting.
3) Utilize an Expert IoT Partner for Support
Any C_O worth their bonus will respond to your proposal with several questions, comments, and potential concerns. The best way to prepare for this feedback is to consult with an IoT partner who knows:
What is involved in executing a successful IoT strategy
Best practices for implementation, including timeline
What work flows look like for short-term and long-term projects
Pricing for the parts and labor your plan will require
Trusted hardware, cloud, and data partners
Well-defined success metrics
Best practices in design, usability, and promotion
Finding a partner with a breadth of IoT knowledge and experience can be difficult, but leaning on third-party expertise will better validate the ideas you’re selling to the C-suite.
Step 5: Pitch
By now, you can explain the basics of IoT technology in your sleep. You know how connected devices have revolutionized businesses across industries. You’ve seen what happens to companies that are slow to adopt modern technology. You’ve tailored your proposal and timeline to align with business goals. The only thing left to do is pitch.
Call a meeting with your executives, present your IoT strategy, and then give us a ring. We’d love to help you get things started. | https://medium.com/mutualmobile/connecting-the-iot-and-your-c-suite-98dfa7219431 | ['Mutual Mobile'] | 2015-12-15 19:05:06.776000+00:00 | ['Internet of Things', 'IoT', 'Strategy'] |
Procrastination: What (Not) Watering My Plants Taught Me About Getting Shit Done! | So, every time that I did manage to water the plants, I left the bottles near the plants, on the balcony. So every time that I saw this, in my mind, I was already at the end of the process, in my mind the water was already in the plants, hence the empty bottles. If the bottles are empty, that means that there is water in the plants ergo, I have completed my task! But the plants needed water, not the bottles, and the water was in the bathroom 30 feet away, that was the source. I was essentially witnessing and focussing on the completion of the job, the end point of the process, the result of the project. I spent a lot of time where the end process would take place and I had a clear view of the stakeholders of the process i.e the plants and the bottles. But I was missing a vital element in the process, the water. As far as I was concerned, the bottles were empty and it was already at the end of the process (of watering the plants). So why in the world would I want to START something that I had already done, right?
Balcony Bottles
See, I am a serial procrastinator, and this got me thinking. Is this the reason that most of us procrastinators…procrastinate? If you are like me, it is not just that we don’t finish things, but more often than not, projects get delayed because we don’t start things at all. We are focussing on finishing the task or more specifically, the finished task, rather than focussing on starting it in the first place.
Our bottles are near the plants and NOT near the Water source. Our focus is at the place of emptying, not the at the place of filling up. The bottles are the tools and skills needed to complete the task, the bottles are the agents of transformation and action. The water is the Creativity, knowledge and expertise required for the task, which will add value to the end product or objective.
My focus was on the finish line, not the starting line. Instead of going to the starting line, getting On the marks, Getting set and Going… I was lounging at a VIP tent down at the Finish line waiting for me to finish a race that I hadn’t even started running yet.
The solution was very obvious, instead of keeping the empty bottles near the plants i.e the finish line, after I had watered the plants, I kept them in the bathroom, the source of the Water i.e the starting line. More specifically, near the tap so that I HAVE to fill it and I am reminded of it everyday/ time that I go in there. By doing this, everyday, I found myself where I needed to be in order to finish my task…the STARTING Point! | https://medium.com/@thushanjayaratne/procrastination-what-not-watering-my-plants-taught-me-about-finishing-shit-609f996db187 | ['Thushan Jayaratne'] | 2020-01-15 06:30:22.858000+00:00 | ['Habit Building', 'Insights', 'Procrastination', 'Task Management', 'Change Your Life'] |
Google Cloud Authentication by Example | The article that I did not think I needed to write but did.
It turns out that understanding how to authenticate to Google Cloud on your workstation is more complicated than one would think.
Please note: This article is not about authenticating a user account to the Google Cloud Console. It is also not about authenticating a service account on a GCE instance.
First, we need to understand that there are two separate components that are authenticated separately: Google Cloud SDK Command Line Tools and Google Cloud Client Libraries.
First, we have Google Cloud SDK Command Line Tools:
The gcloud CLI manages authentication, local configuration, developer workflow, interactions with Google Cloud APIs. With the gcloud command-line tool, it’s easy to perform many common cloud tasks, like creating a Compute Engine VM instance, managing a Google Kubernetes Engine cluster, and deploying an App Engine application, either from the command line or in scripts and other automations.
…
A collection of command-line tools comes packaged with Cloud SDK, including gsutil, bq, and kubectl. The gsutil tool allows you to manage Cloud Storage buckets and objects using the command line. Run queries and manipulate datasets, tables, and entities in BigQuery through the command line with bq. With kubectl, you can deploy and manage Kubernetes container clusters using the command line.
— GCP — Cloud SDK Command Line Tools
And then we have Google Cloud Client Libraries:
Google Cloud Client Libraries are our latest and recommended client libraries for calling Google Cloud APIs. They provide an optimized developer experience by using each supported language’s natural conventions and styles. They also reduce the boilerplate code you have to write because they’re designed to enable you to work with service metaphors in mind, rather than implementation details or service API concepts.
— GCP — Google Cloud Client Libraries
And then we have two different types of accounts that can be authenticated: User and Service Accounts.
User accounts are managed as Google Accounts, and they represent a developer, administrator, or any other person who interacts with Google Cloud. They are intended for scenarios where your application needs to access resources on behalf of a human user. See Authenticating as an end user for more information.
…
Service accounts are managed by IAM, and they represent non-human users. They are intended for scenarios where your application needs to access resources or perform actions on its own, such as running App Engine apps or interacting with Compute Engine instances. See Authenticating as a service account for more information.
— GCP — Authentication Overview
Lastly, we have the situation where one account can impersonate another; will explain why this is important later.
This page describes how to allow members and resources to impersonate, or act as, an Identity and Access Management (IAM) service account. It also explains how to see which members are able to impersonate a given IAM service account.
— GCP — Managing Service Account Impersonation
Prerequisites
If you wish to follow along, you will need:
Two Google user accounts; in my case [email protected] and [email protected]
A Google Cloud Platform (GCP) project owned by one of the accounts, in my case hello-accounts owned by [email protected]
A Storage bucket in the GCP project, in my case hello-accounts-bucket
A service account in the GCP project, in my case [email protected]
The service account needs to have the permission, Project / Viewer; allows the service account to list the project’s buckets
A workstation with Python 3.x installed
The Python project, helloaccounts, downloaded and dependencies loaded by running
$ pip install -r requirements.txt
Please note: In order to create a clean virtual environment, one might want to use the pyenv tool.
User Account —Google Cloud SDK Command Line Tools
To authenticate as a user to the Google Cloud SDK Command Line Tools we execute:
$ gcloud auth login
...
You are now logged in as [[email protected]].
Your current project is [None]. You can change this setting by running:
$ gcloud config set project PROJECT_ID
Please note: There is another command that will also authenticate a user in addition to setting other common configuration values; glcoud init.
We can observe this newly created configuration with:
$ gcloud config configurations list
NAME IS_ACTIVE ACCOUNT PROJECT COMPUTE_DEFAULT_ZONE COMPUTE_DEFAULT_REGION
default True [email protected]
We can list the storage buckets in the project by executing:
$ gsutil ls -p hello-accounts
gs://hello-accounts-bucket/
Things to observe:
The user, [email protected], is the project’s owner and as such is authorized to list the project’s storage buckets
User Account— Google Cloud Client Libraries
Here we try to run our Python application and observe that we are not authenticated. Again, this is because authentication for Google Cloud Client Libraries is separate from Google Cloud SDK Command Line Tools.
$ python -m helloaccounts
...
raise exceptions.DefaultCredentialsError(_HELP_MESSAGE)
google.auth.exceptions.DefaultCredentialsError: Could not automatically determine credentials. Please set GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS or explicitly create credentials and re-run the application. For more information, please see https://cloud.google.com/docs/authentication/getting-started
To authenticate as a user to the Google Cloud Client Libraries we execute:
$ gcloud auth application-default login --project hello-accounts
...
Credentials saved to file: [/home/sckmkny/.config/gcloud/application_default_credentials.json]
...
Quota project "hello-accounts" was added to ADC which can be used by Google client libraries for billing and quota. Note that some services may still bill the project owning the resource.
Things to observe:
Here we have to supply a project to attribute the API calls to; this is because Google limits (puts in quotas for) the number of API calls one makes
In the case of authenticating to Google Cloud SDK Command Line Tools, we did not need to supply a project. I assume that in this case the API calls are attributed to the project that the API calls are made to
Now that we are authenticated to Google Cloud Client Libraries, our Python application executes as expected.
$ python -m helloaccounts
hello-accounts-bucket
Service Account — Google Cloud SDK Command Line Tools
Using Google Cloud Console, we can create and download a key, a JSON file, for the service account. If we read the content of the JSON file, we will observe that the key’s expiration date is Dec 31, 9999. It is essentially a non-expiring key.
To authenticate as the service account to the Google Cloud SDK Command Line Tools we execute (changing out the account’s id and JSON file name as appropriate):
$ gcloud auth activate-service-account [email protected] --key-file=hello-accounts-54ae4707bd76.json
We can observe this overwrote our previous configuration with:
$ gcloud config configurations list
NAME IS_ACTIVE ACCOUNT PROJECT COMPUTE_DEFAULT_ZONE COMPUTE_DEFAULT_REGION
default True [email protected]
Please note: Here we simply chose to use a single configuration, default; we, however, could use multiple configurations if we wanted to.
We can list the storage buckets in the project by executing:
$ gsutil ls -p hello-accounts
gs://hello-accounts-bucket/
Service Account — Google Cloud Client Libraries
Because authentication for Google Cloud Client Libraries is separate from Google Cloud SDK Command Line Tools, we are still authenticated with the user account for Google Cloud Client Libraries.
To authenticate as a service account, we have to set an environment variable, GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS, with the path to the downloaded JSON file.
$ export GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS=/home/sckmkny/Desktop/hello-accounts-54ae4707bd76.json
Our Python application executes as expected.
$ python -m helloaccounts
hello-accounts-bucket
Please note: If we are not convinced that we are actually authenticating as the service account, we could temporarily remove the Project / Viewer permission from it and observe that the Python application will error; it takes about 30 seconds for permissions to propagate.
Service Account Impersonation — Google Cloud SDK Command Line Tools
As we saw earlier, the service account’s key, the JSON file, is essentially a non-expiring key which makes it a security risk.
Service accounts represent your service-level security. The security of the service is determined by the people who have IAM roles to manage and use the service accounts, and people who hold private external keys for those service accounts. Best practices to ensure security include the following:
- Use the IAM API to audit the service accounts, the keys, and the policies on those service accounts.
- If your service accounts don’t need external keys, delete them.
— GCP — Service Accounts
At the same time, we often want to test our applications on our workstations using the service account’s credentials. The solution, as we alluded to earlier, is to impersonate a service account.
To demonstrate this feature, let us first authenticate as our other user (one that currently has no permissions in our project) to the Google Cloud Client Libraries:
$ gcloud auth login
...
You are now logged in as [[email protected]].
Your current project is [None]. You can change this setting by running:
$ gcloud config set project PROJECT_ID
As before this overwrote our previous configuration:
$ gcloud config configurations list
NAME IS_ACTIVE ACCOUNT PROJECT COMPUTE_DEFAULT_ZONE COMPUTE_DEFAULT_REGION
default True [email protected]
We can verify that we currently do not have the proper permissions to list buckets in this project.
$ gsutil ls -p hello-accounts
AccessDeniedException: 403 [email protected] does not have storage.buckets.list access to the Google Cloud project.
To enable this user account to impersonate the service account, we add the Service Account Token Creator role for the user account on the service account.
Once those permissions propagate, which takes about one minute, we can then list the buckets in our project with the impersonation option.
$ gsutil -i [email protected] ls -p hello-accounts
WARNING: This command is using service account impersonation. All API calls will be executed as [[email protected]].
gs://hello-accounts-bucket/
We can also update our configuration to always use the impersonation:
$ gcloud config set auth/impersonate_service_account [email protected]
Updated property [auth/impersonate_service_account].
We list the buckets in the project without the impersonation flag and it still is successful.
$ gsutil ls -p hello-accounts
WARNING: This command is using service account impersonation. All API calls will be executed as [[email protected]].
gs://hello-accounts-bucket/
If we wish to update the configuration to not use the impersonation, we execute:
$ gcloud config unset auth/impersonate_service_account
Unset property [auth/impersonate_service_account].
Service Account Impersonation — Google Cloud Client Libraries
It is this last scenario that ultimately caused me to write this article as I could not find a simple solution on how to impersonate a service account when using Google Cloud Client Libraries. I thought this was odd as this would appear to be something one might commonly want to do.
I did, however, find a reasonably simple solution that involves a slight update to the application code.
To ensure that our code is working, we need to disable our previous mechanisms to authorize Google Cloud Client Libraries. Starting with removing the environment variable.
$ unset GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS
And then revoking our user account authentication:
$ gcloud auth application-default revoke
You are about to revoke the credentials stored in:
[/home/sckmkny/.config/gcloud/application_default_credentials.json] Do you want to continue (Y/n)? Y Credentials revoked.
From the previous section, we know that the user that can impersonate the service account is still authenticated to Google Cloud SDK Command Line Tools.
The next step is to obtain a time-limited access token (which I believe expires in one hour) for the service account and store it into an environment variable, ACCESS_TOKEN.
$ export ACCESS_TOKEN=$(gcloud auth print-access-token --impersonate-service-account [email protected])
WARNING: This command is using service account impersonation. All API calls will be executed as [[email protected]].
We then need to update our application code to use this environment variable; in particular the file helloaccounts/gc_sdk.py:
With this in place, we can successfully run our application as the service account.
$ python -m helloaccounts
hello-accounts-bucket
Wrap Up
For an article that I did not think I needed to write, it turned out to be rather lengthy. Hope you find it useful. | https://codeburst.io/google-cloud-authentication-by-example-1481b02292e4 | ['John Tucker'] | 2020-12-14 21:19:44.132000+00:00 | ['Authentication', 'Google Cloud Platform'] |
The Ultimate Guide to Glute Training for a Better Butt | Part 4: The Best Booty-Building Exercises
Not all exercises are created equal. Many of the most popular glute exercises are sub-optimal. Here are some of the characteristics of a good exercise:
Full range of motion. A good exercise should make it possible to work the muscle through the full range of motion. This is particularly important for the glutes since many exercises only bring the glutes into play when you go deep.
A full range of motion isn’t possible with some exercises. For instance, hip thrusts need to be done from a deficit to allow a full range of motion, but it’s damn near impossible to do barbell hip thrusts from a deficit, so barbell hip thrusts are not one of your best options.
The strength curve matches the resistance curve. In other words, there’s no sticking point. It’s hard to get this perfect, but if you’re only slightly weaker at the sticking point than at other parts of the movement, that’s close enough. This is why you’ll use resistance bands when you squat.
Closed-chain, not open-chain. The technical definition of the kinetic chain is, well, pretty technical. But in practice it’s simple: Closed-chain movements are movements in which your body moves. Open-chain movements are movements where your body stays still while you push or pull a weight. Closed-chain movements are better, which is why (well, one reason why) we’ll favor squats over leg presses.
Unilateral over bilateral. I’ve already covered this one. There are some bilateral movements that are worth doing because they have no direct unilateral equivalent, but six of the nine exercises I’m about to list are unilateral.
Dynamic contraction. Exercises that involve dynamic contraction — meaning the muscle is actively contracting during both the concentric (raising) phase and the eccentric (lowering phase) — are superior to exercises that are only either concentric, eccentric, or isometric. Concentric and eccentric contractions each stimulate muscle growth in different ways, so you need both.
With that said, how many different exercises do you need to do for your glutes? As with volume and frequency, the optimal amount of variety goes up with training age, but you don’t need much. Having one or two compound and one or two isolation movements in your workout split at any given time is good enough, but a little more won’t hurt either. I’m going to give you four compound and four isolation movements (in addition to one exercise purely for pre-exhausting the hamstrings) so that you can choose the ones that work for you, or that your gym has the equipment for.
Compound movements
Back squats with elastic bands. The back squat is a mainstay of glute programs. While it’s not the best exercise for targeting the glutes per se, it does build the lower back and upper glutes. I include it in most glute programs for developing clear muscle separation between the butt and lower back.
This is your standard back squat, but with about 30–50% of the total weight replaced with elastic band resistance in the top half of the movement. Remember that resistance bands add more resistance as the weight moves up. Each band has two numbers listed, representing the amount of resistance applied at the bottom and top of the movement. It’s the higher number you want to look at.
As an example: suppose you normally back squat 150 pounds (that’s the amount you squat for your usual working sets, not your 1RM). You would want a band that applies 50–75 pounds of resistance at maximum, which means you’d want the black band from my recommended brand. If you squat at 250 pounds (again, for working sets), you’d want a band that applies 90–125 pounds, meaning you’d pick the purple band.
And remember: to target the glutes, you need to go as deep as possible. Don’t add more weight then compensate by not going deep; that’s totally counterproductive when your goal is to build a big, strong butt.
Video 1: Deep back squats
Video 2: Back squats with resistance bands
Bulgarian split squats from a deficit. The Bulgarian split squat is the best iso-lateral squatting exercise, period. It works to sculpt and defines the sides of your butt in a way that bilateral squats never could.
To get a full range of motion, you should do it from a deficit — meaning your front foot, as well as your back, is elevated, allowing your knee to drop below the level of both feet. This provides better muscle activation, and of course, lets you go deeper to target the glutes more effectively.
Video: Bulgarian split squats from a deficit
Video: How to fix the most common mistake with the split squat
Cable pull-through. This exercise isn’t well-known, but it’s one of my favorite glute exercises — particularly for guys, since it trains the same hip-thrusting movement pattern used for… fun times. Ahem.
Make sure to stand far enough away from the cable machine that there’s tension on the cable throughout the full range of motion, even when you’re bent all the way over and your hands are going slightly behind your butt. Contract the glutes with each rep and keep a loose grip — don’t turn this into a arm exercise. Your arms should move forward because your hips push them forward, not because you contract your arms.
Video 1: How to do pull-throughs
Video 2: Cable pull-throughs
Jump lunges. I used to recommend jump squats, but I switched to jump lunges because they’re iso-lateral, and it’s also a little easier to go deep on them compared to jump squats. This is a great exercise for athletes who want to train for power. For aesthetic purposes, its main use is in post-activation potentiation supersets.
Don’t try to add dumbbells to these — you don’t want to smack yourself with them.
Video 1: Jump lunges, outdoors
Video 2: Jump lunges, indoors
Isolation movements
Unilateral hip thrust from deficit. I like this better than the barbell hip thrust because a) the deficit allows a better range of motion, and b) it’s unilateral. The downside is that you can’t easily put a barbell on your hips, only a single barbell plate. Once you get really strong, that might limit this exercise to higher-rep work. Once you can do more than twenty or so and can’t raise the weight, it’s about time to switch to kick-backs.
Video 1: Unilateral hip thrust from a deficit (note: the deficit should be bigger)
Video 2: Unilateral hip thrust from a deficit with weight (better deficit)
Cable unilateral hip abduction. This is the best exercise for specifically targeting the gluteus medius. As a reminder, the gluteus medius is involved in hip abduction, but only when the knees are straight. The more common seated hip abduction will build your outer thighs, but won’t do much for your butt. If you want to develop wider hips, this is the main exercise you would use to do that.
Video 1: Cable hip abduction
Video 2: Cable hip abduction
Glute cable kick-backs. This iso-lateral booty-building exercise is your best option for building the main part of the gluteus maximus once you reach a point where you can’t keep increasing the weight with the unilateral hip thrust.
Video 1: You’re doing it wrong — Cable kickback booty workout
Video 2: How to do cable kickbacks
Glute-ham raise. This movement works both the hamstrings and the gluteus maximus at various parts of the movement; the assistance from the hamstrings make this useful for post-exhausting the glutes after they’ve been fatigued by a compound movement. It can be done either on a glute-ham station, the seat of a cable machine, or on the floor with a partner holding your ankles. Keep your back as straight as possible; while it looks similar to a back extension, the movement here should come from flexing/extending the knees, not the back.
I prefer doing them on a machine because the contractions are more dynamic, whereas when doing them on the floor, the movement can easily become eccentric-only as you push yourself up with your hands. If you do perform them on the floor, be careful to push off with your arms only as much as you need, and no more.
Video 1: Glute-ham raise on machines
Video 2: Glute-ham raise on the floor
Unilateral lying leg curl. The leg curl is the main movement used for the isolation of the hamstrings. Whereas the glute-ham raise will be used to post-exhaust the glutes, the leg curl is going to be used to pre-fatigue the hamstrings before your main compound lifts. The lying leg curl is preferred over the seated leg curl because it produces superior levels of muscle activation and allows a slightly greater range of motion.
Video 1: Unilateral lying leg curl
Video 2: Bilateral lying leg curl with emphasized eccentric | https://betterhumans.pub/the-ultimate-guide-to-glute-training-for-a-better-butt-b7c4016ca87f | ['John Fawkes'] | 2020-04-07 22:02:10.217000+00:00 | ['Bodybuilding', 'Exercise', 'Workout', 'Fitness', 'Glutes'] |
Don’t Rush in a Rush Hour Culture | The government shutdown of life as we know it in a pandemic-stricken world has significantly slowed, even forever altered, our normal routines.
I really miss going to Dodger games (and I still want that World Series victory parade from Chavez Ravine to Downtown Los Angeles). Swing dancing lessons were on my radar until social distancing pulled the plug on the party. The LA County Fair, a concert or two, and a few other of my favorite things in 2020 would have also been fun.
Oh well.
Inconvenience happens, and so many of us want to escape that reality ASAP without pausing to embrace a prime opportunity for personal growth.
As the vaccine rollout process continues, we hear a lot of chatter about life going back to how we remember it - and we might be tempted to hustle the end of 2020 to get a shot at a fresh reset in 2021. It’s almost as if we think we have any control over how time moves forward.
The sobering reality is that not even next year is guaranteed for any of us because life is like a vapor.
The Great Disruption of this past year has caused me to reflect: The 9–5 grind seems to have conditioned us to the routine of hurrying from Point A to Point B, even as the cars on the freeway move 2 miles per hour in traffic.
But when 2020 happened, work from home became more of a trend to minimize exposure to the virus in our hip, collaborative office spaces usually stocked with unlimited candy and caffeinated beverages.
We don’t have as many social hot spots to skedaddle to as we did in 2019. Our movements have been a lot more restricted and limited.
Here’s a concept: What if this past year has taught us to move away from the Rush Hour Culture especially ingrained in the big city life so many have become accustomed to? What if God created us human beings to slow down and designed us to think about what’s really important in life as a whole during these “unprecedented times”?
From 2021 and beyond, what if we just lived undistracted and in the moment — with the memories we make, the conversations we have, and the way we choose to treat people in our communities?
Maybe we should start this kind of approach together tomorrow.
[Author’s Note: For the record, I’m on Team Less Looking At My Phone and Team More Sustained Eye Contact. That’s because much of what I experienced in 2020 has caused me to reevaluate what and who gets my attention. The year has amplified the vanity of superficial drama and the importance of authentic connection for me personally. More pondering deep things too.]
Anyway, all of this is just an introduction to me personally blogging online again after a very long hiatus. I’ll write about life, lessons learned, baseball (of course), some pop culture, ect.
While so many others are fighting about politics on the internet, I want to do something a bit different here. Kind of funny coming from someone who’s worked in the Washington, DC political bubble.
I hope you’ll find the content interesting and uplifting. Maybe I’ll make some new meaningful friends along the way. I’m also always up for crowdsourced writing prompts too (and independent coffee house recommendations. Did I mention independent coffeehouse recommendations?).
I’ll hope you’ll stop by! Until then, may many good things come your way. | https://medium.com/@christopherguz/dont-rush-in-a-rush-hour-culture-59dae1972509 | ['Chris Guzman'] | 2020-12-27 20:48:47.434000+00:00 | ['Pandemic Diaries', 'Life Hacking', 'Work Life Balance', 'God', 'Life Lessons'] |
A story of how happy faces can be bad for your software | Have you ever heard of emojis: 😊? I guess you did, they’re everywhere and people use them to express feelings, ideas or just as a way to enrich the language. Well that, and also they can also 💩 your software.
If you’re reading this, you’re probably aware that MySQL utf8 support is not what’s supposed to be ( MySQL “utf8” encoding only supports three bytes per character. The real UTF-8 encoding — which everybody uses — needs up to four bytes per character). Also, MySQL already has a section trying to disambiguate this utf8 misunderstanding: Unicode support, while also released a new encoding of their own: utf8mb4. So I’m not going to go deeper into this.
You should already know what is this post about: supporting emojis in MySQL 🤯. Even though there’s a solution with some minor caveats (read more here), sometimes it’s not so easy (or feasible) to achieve in a production environment. Especially if you’ve been running your MySQL instance for a while and it has now way too much information.
This is the story of how we coped with this issue, the lessons we’ve learned and a workaround that may help you.
Acknowledging the problem and first attempt to solve it
The story starts with a well-known error message (exhibits 1, 2, 3): Incorrect string value: '\xF0\x9F\x8D\xB0' for column 'content' at row 1 . As it was a recurring issue happening very often (did I mention people love emojis?), we decided to invest some time and tackle it down, after several months of living with it, the time of emojis had come 🥊.
After a couple of Google searches, all the links listed above showed up. We found what we had to do, migrate our database or in the best case those columns having the problem as explained here.
After identifying the column with the issue and confirming it was configured as utf8 , we went to our DBA and explained what we were planning to do... and here's when it starts getting complicated. He explained that we had two options: we could use a tool called Percona to perform the DB transformations or we could perform the change directly against production. We performed a couple of tests, and using Percona would require us a downtime of almost a day, while altering the table directly into the DB would reduce the downtime to 8 hours.
Both options were not possible.
Looking for alternatives
First option
Let’s disallow emojis 😈! We went to our product team with the request to change client apps to avoid sending emojis because they’re causing errors on the client app and the way we tell customers there was an error does not help them to fix it. They came back with the following answer: “Why not fixing it? It would be such a great feature we’ve been requesting for a while”.
I was like: 🤦, but we knew it would turn that way.
Second alternative
Knowing that running a migration was not possible, we came out with the idea of creating a new column with encoding utf8mb4 and modifying the entity reading from that table to read either from one column or the other, but always writing into the new column. Something like this:
@Entity
public class SomeEntity {
private String content;
private String newContent; public class SomeEntity {private String content;private String newContent; public String getContent() {
if (this.newContent == null) {
return this.content;
} else {
return this.newContent;
}
} public void setContent(String content) {
this.newContent = content;
}
}
Also, we’d have to create a background task to gradually migrate from one column to the other and remove the hacky code after the task finishes.
Great, we had a plan, but… what if that’s not the only column you need to migrate? Well, you’d have to make the same process for every column, making the solution not so scalable. Can you guess how many columns we would have to migrate? After a quick search through the logs, we’ve found 27. It wouldn’t work out.
The solution ends up being almost good, but you’ll end up with mixed utf8 and utf8mb4, which can be a problem if you have to mix them in a query (more on this later).
Third alternative
We decided to look around other options. We knew that encoding characters is a well-known way of representing characters with limited character sets ( URL encodes any non-ASCII, HTML uses entities to represent some characters, base64 is used to represent anything with ASCII characters). We could use that technique to encode the string before sending it to the database.
What are the drawbacks of this solution? First, it increases the storage size. If you have a column limited to 255 characters, then the maximum size you’ll be able to store is less. Second, depending on the encoding algorithm of choice, you won’t have readable columns, which can make it hard for other clients (if there are any accessing your DB without using your software layer).
To minimize those issues, we’ve decided to only encode the characters outside the Basic Multilingual Plane (BMP) which are not supported by MySQL utf8 charset. Doing that, space will only be an issue for people introducing emojis (only a subset of the current customer will have the issue), and the only thing that won’t be readable in the DB will be those emojis (which already are not readable because they’re not there 🤷).
For us it was a fair option, we only had to come up with a way of easily applying the solution to the 27 different columns without a lot of effort. Luckily we’ve found a similar use case: encryption, which needs to encrypt a column before storing it into the database and decrypt it on retrieval. Googling around we found that JPA converter could be used to achieve that and it was easy to do something similar.
We talked to some other engineers, security guys, our DBA, and nobody was fully convinced on the solution (I reckon, it’s kinda hacky), but it was the only viable solution we had and they gave us green light to implement it.
Implementation
Well, implementation wise, it wasn’t that hard. Creating a converter is straight forward, and applying it to every single column was just a line of code (in 27 different places for us). We did add a toggle to disable the feature in case of need (more on this later).
After we made the change, the fix was not working (it couldn’t be that easy, right?). The main suspect was the connection string, and after searching for a while (thanks Google again, this is your 3rd mention here), We’ve found this: > For Connector/J 5.1.46 and earlier: In order to use the utf8mb4 character set for the connection, the server MUST be configured with character_set_server=utf8mb4; if that is not the case, when UTF-8 is used for character encoding in the connection string, it will map to the MySQL character set name utf8, which is an alias for utf8mb3.
We were using Connector/J 5.1.45, so we got the ok to migrate to 5.1.47, and voilá, we had emojis 🎉!!
This is what our entities look like:
import org.apache.commons.lang3.text.translate.*
@Converter
public class Utf8ToMysqlUtf8Encoder
implements AttributeConverter<String, String> { private static final CharSequenceTranslator UTF8_NON_BMP =
new LookupTranslator(EntityArrays.BASIC_ESCAPE())
.with(NumericEntityEscaper.outsideOf(0, 0xFFFF));
private static final CharSequenceTranslator DECODER =
new LookupTranslator(EntityArrays.BASIC_UNESCAPE())
.with(new NumericEntityUnescaper());
@Override
public String convertToDatabaseColumn(String attribute) {
return UTF8_NON_BMP.translate(attribute);
} @Override
public String convertToEntityAttribute(String dbData) {
return DECODER.translate(dbData);
}
} @Entity
public class SomeEntity {
@Converter(Utf8ToMysqlUtf8Encoder.java)
private String content; public String getContent() {
return this.content;
} public void setContent(String content) {
this.content = content;
}
}
Some other learnings and challenges
What happens if you mix a query with utf8 and utf8mb4 columns?
Well, you shouldn’t mix encodings. This happened to us in production while we were trying to migrate partially to utf8mb4, but we came up with a way of reproducing it:
# Run mysql in a docker container as daemon
$ docker run --network=host -e MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD=root -d mysql:latest
# Open a connection and setup the test database:
$ docker run -it --network host --rm mysql mysql -h127.0.0.1 -uroot -p
mysql> create database test;
mysql> use test;
mysql> CREATE TABLE test (
id bigint(20) NOT NULL AUTO_INCREMENT,
content VARCHAR(255) CHARACTER SET utf8 COLLATE utf8_unicode_ci,
content_new VARCHAR(255) CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_unicode_ci,
CONSTRAINT PK PRIMARY KEY (id)
);
mysql> INSERT INTO test(content, content_new) VALUES ('AA', 'BB');
mysql> SET NAMES utf8mb4;
mysql> quit
# Now back to bash (as mysql CLI resisted to allow emojis)
$ docker run -it --network host --rm mysql mysql -h127.0.0.1 -uroot -p -e 'use test; set names utf8mb4; select * from test where content_new != "😅";'
+----+---------+-------------+
| id | content | content_new |
+----+---------+-------------+
| 1 | AA | BB |
+----+---------+-------------+
# But running the same query agains the utf8 column:
$ docker run -it --network host --rm mysql mysql -h127.0.0.1 -uroot -p -e 'use test; set names utf8mb4; select * from test where content != "😅";'
ERROR 1267 (HY000) at line 1: Illegal mix of collations (utf8_unicode_ci,IMPLICIT) and (utf8mb4_0900_ai_ci,COERCIBLE) for operation '<>'
So, it might get complicated if you start mixing up character sets. Either migrate everything to utf8mb4 (if you can) or opt for a workaround as we did.
How to disable the Converter
We wanted to control the feature and not rely on the release process, so we had to inject a bean dependency which allows us to control the behavior based on some external configuration.
This was another challenge because you can’t inject a dependency into a converter unless you’re using JPA 2.2, Spring 5.1 and Hibernate 5.3.0, which was not our case, so we ended up using the mutable static property hack proposed here
Final thoughts | https://medium.com/glovo-engineering/a-story-of-how-happy-faces-can-be-bad-for-your-software-61ccc1343dc6 | ['Gastón Fournier'] | 2019-08-28 14:03:01.126000+00:00 | ['Emoji', 'Backend', 'Software Development', 'MySQL', 'Database'] |
集氣！黃金兵長的將軍之路 | 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/inartas/%E9%9B%86%E8%A8%93-%E8%AE%93%E9%BB%83%E9%87%91%E5%85%B5%E9%95%B7%E5%8D%87%E7%B4%9A%E5%B0%87%E8%BB%8D-%E7%94%B7%E6%8E%92%E5%A5%B3%E5%B0%87-25884fd84778 | ['Houses Cheung'] | 2020-12-30 07:18:50.548000+00:00 | ['Series', 'Viutv', 'Hong Kong'] |
Did anyone watch the Georgia senatorial debates last night? | Manny Otiko writes about race, politics and sports. He has been published in Salon and LA Weekly. Follow him on Twitter @mannyotiko. | https://medium.com/@mannyotiko1/did-anyone-watch-the-georgia-senatorial-debates-last-night-425c61f4a150 | ['Manny Otiko'] | 2020-12-08 06:34:31.858000+00:00 | ['Politics', 'Election 2020', 'Elections', 'Republicans', 'Republican Party'] |
Conversational marketing explained: the ultimate guide | Human contact is a two-way phenomenon by nature — it’s always been all about conversations.
Marketing professionals, however, haven’t always followed that rule. Throughout the 20th century, the message buy our product was sent out to the public. And that was it — no response expected, no contact details provided.
Two decades into the 21st century, the customers expect something entirely different. They don’t just expect to find the solution to a problem. They need someone to answer their questions, dispel any doubts, listen to their feedback and develop a long-lasting relationship.
And this is where conversational marketing comes in. The monologue turns into a genuine, one-on-one dialogue. The customer becomes an equal participant in the discussion.
Trending Articles on Chatbot Marketing:
Wondering how conversational marketing works and what’s in it for your business? You’re in the right place!
With this article, you’re going to learn:
what is the definition of conversational marketing
what are the main areas in this field
what are the current conversational marketing trends
which tools are used by conversational marketers
Ready to make your communication more conversational? Let’s dive right in!
What is conversational marketing
A relatively new term (coined by Drift around 2015), conversational marketing is focused on real-time conversations. What’s more, Drift’s definition stresses out that this approach is used to move the customers through the marketing and sales funnels as quickly as possible. In other words, conversational marketing is used to boost the sales process through conversations and building authentic relationships.
Real-time is the keyword here. The users don’t need to fill forms or send emails and wait hours (or even days) for the response. Instead, the communication happens on the go. What’s more, customers should be able to pick up where they left off. For example, if they begin a conversation on their way to the office, they might want to finish it on the way back home. If your conversational marketing channels are working well, they will have no trouble getting what they want.
Although the concept may seem entirely fresh, it’s kind of like getting back to the roots. The first sales happened face-to-face, with people talking directly to each other. Then came the era of door-to-door salesmen, where the main point was to see the potential client in person. Later on, the sales and marketing processes became impersonal and rather cold. Now, we’re on our way to make marketing personalized again.
Main areas of conversational marketing
Chatbots and Messenger marketing
When the topic of conversational marketing comes up, most people think about chatbots first. According to a report published by Salesforce, almost 60% of customers claim that new technologies like chatbots have changed their expectations of companies.
A chatbot is a piece of software which mimics human language and conversations. The idea behind it is to make the user feel like they’re talking to a human being.
Chatbots can be implemented in many different ways. You may use a voice assistant like Alexa or Google Assistant (more on that below), embed a bot on your website or talk to the customers through a channel they’re already using — such as Messenger.
The number of Messenger chatbots is growing rapidly. Back in 2016, just three months after the launch of Facebook bots, there were 11,000 chatbots on Messenger. In April 2017, the number of Messenger chatbots hit 100,000. As of 2018, the number has tripled. Currently, there are more than 300,000 chatbots on Messenger and new ones spring up like mushrooms.
Why is this particular conversational marketing channel rising in popularity? The main reasons for that include:
High open rates and click-through rates — As the organic Facebook reach is declining, marketers are looking for new ways to reach their customers effectively. Messenger marketing is one of the most promising tracks to achieve this. Open rates for messenger bots average around 80%, while the click-through rates range between 15 and 60%. A digital marketing guru Neil Patel shared his own example of a Messenger chatbot campaign with a 88% open rate and a 56% click-through rate. Impressive, right?
— As the organic Facebook reach is declining, marketers are looking for new ways to reach their customers effectively. Messenger marketing is one of the most promising tracks to achieve this. Open rates for messenger bots average around 80%, while the click-through rates range between 15 and 60%. A digital marketing guru Neil Patel shared his own example of a Messenger chatbot campaign with a 88% open rate and a 56% click-through rate. Impressive, right? Short customer journeys — When it comes to email marketing, there is a lot of hassle involved. The user needs to provide their email address, open the inbox, scroll through dozens of unread messages and go through different steps to interact with your message. Messenger is much faster and more immediate — your campaign will feel like receiving a text from a friend. The customer journey becomes much shorter, too.
— When it comes to email marketing, there is a lot of hassle involved. The user needs to provide their email address, open the inbox, scroll through dozens of unread messages and go through different steps to interact with your message. Messenger is much faster and more immediate — your campaign will feel like receiving a text from a friend. The customer journey becomes much shorter, too. No technical knowledge needed — With conversational marketing platforms like Chatbotize , you can build your very own Messenger chatbot in minutes. Literally, minutes — you don’t need to know how to code. Instead, you can use ready-to-implement plugins and templates.
— With conversational marketing platforms like , you can build your very own Messenger chatbot in minutes. Literally, minutes — you don’t need to know how to code. Instead, you can use ready-to-implement plugins and templates. The power of AI — Forget about creepy chatbots and irrelevant responses. Thanks to technologies like natural language processing, chatbots are getting better at understanding human language and coming up with natural replies. Another thing is machine learning: the longer a chatbot works, the smarter it is. Based on the previous conversations, it learns how to match the response to the query to sound more human.
Live chats
Contrary to chatbots, live chats involve contact with a real person, usually a customer service team member.
Did you know that 79% of customers prefer to use live chats, as this is the way to get instant responses? Other reasons for choosing live chats over traditional customer service include the ability to multitask and higher quality of the information received. What’s more, 22% of customers claim that they just don’t like to talk on the phone. For them, the ability to use a chat instead is a dream come true.
Live chats are obviously a huge time-saver, but there’s much more to them — they can help with boosting your sales as well. According to Econsultancy, 83% of consumers need some kind of support to complete a purchase. This means that implementing a live chat on your e-commerce website is very likely to increase your conversion rates.
Voice marketing
Voice user interfaces have exploded in popularity in the past few years. Voice assistants like Siri, Alexa, Google Assistant or Microsoft Cortana are becoming a more and more important part of our lives. Although there’s still room for improvement, the conversations we have with them feel quite natural, very much like you’re talking to a real person.
Sounds good, but what’s in it for marketing?
Quite a lot, actually. Currently, 62% of US smart speaker owners are using their voice interfaces to make a purchase. Big companies, like Starbucks and Kayak, are well aware of that trend. With voice-based chatbots and applications, they allow the customers to order a coffee or even book a flight. One of the most prominent examples of voice marketing done right is Domino’s. This pizza chain uses an AI-powered voice assistant to handle incoming phone orders, as well as a pizza ordering skill for Amazon Alexa. The results are quite impressive — 20% of their “one-click orders” now go through Alexa. So simple and so convenient, right?
The future of voice marketing looks bright, too. According to Voicebot.ai, one in three American marketers is expected to have a voice app by 2020.
Conversational marketing trends
Conversational email marketing
Does the rise of chatbots mean that email marketing is dead?
Not at all! It means that email marketers can get inspired with conversational marketing techniques.
Conversational email marketing is focused on building relationships in the first place. It’s all about a change of perspective — sales happen as a result of a genuine conversation. The point is to drop sales jargon and write just like you talk instead. To sum up, conversational email marketing strives to make communication more human. Here’s an example of a casual and friendly email from SaaS Mantra:
Conversational FAQs
Conversational FAQs are another way of using a chatbot to improve customer experience. A Frequently Asked Questions page may have all the necessary information, but what’s the point if the visitors can’t find what they’re looking for?
Here’s where chatbots come to the rescue. Asking a question in a chat feels more natural and (you guessed it) conversational than scrolling through many pages to finally find the answer. Even if the chatbot can’t help with the issue, it may always redirect the visitor to a customer service agent.
Key takeaways for your conversational marketing efforts
As you can see, conversational marketing offers plenty of methods to reach your customers effectively. It’s a win-win solution for both sides: the customers are happier and the business is growing their sales quicker. If you haven’t implemented any conversational marketing methods in your company yet, we hope this article will be a source of inspiration for you!
Don’t forget to give us your 👏 ! | https://chatbotslife.com/conversational-marketing-explained-the-ultimate-guide-dd91efe5caac | ['Kalina Tyrkiel'] | 2019-11-22 15:29:06.231000+00:00 | ['Bots', 'Chatbots', 'Conversational Commerce', 'Messenger Chatbot', 'Conversational Marketing'] |
Things UX writers hear a lot, but wish they didn’t… | Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash
If you’re a content designer, you’re probably already making a mental list of all the things you’ve heard that made you feel this way. Hit me up; I’d love to hear them!
If you’re not a content designer, you’re probably wondering “What’d I do?” Well, read on to find out what you may have done.
Disclaimer: While this is all based on truth, no offense intended. If you still feel bad, then maybe you’ve got a few things to fix. Let’s all have a good laugh, and hopefully take a lesson or two from this into tomorrow and beyond.
Here we go, in no particular order of the intensity of eye-rolls they inspire.
We need you to add copy here
I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve heard this one. This is a classic example of a transactional, uncollaborative, siloed, and downright boring way of working with a UX writer.
This is also quite common. In fact, I’m sure every one of us has been guilty of this one. Now, I can sense you perking up and looking all hurt and offended.
But, come on. The truth is a bitter pill to swallow.
The good thing is that, while all of us start here, most of us get past this stage. We learn soon enough (or not) that this is not the way to work with a UX writer and that this will not yield the best results for anybody involved. So cheer up! You probably felt offended because you’ve learned this lesson and have moved forward. Good for you!
If you’re a writer stuck in this phase, I’m truly sorry for you. If you’re a stakeholder (hope it’s not a sharp one) who has this kind of a relationship with a writer, well, you know what to do.
The designs are already done
This is usually a follow-up to the earlier statement. It usually goes something like this: “Hey Bala, how’s it going?”
That’s how you’re usually hooked in. While you think of a response for this that’s somewhere between honest and obvious, you get a follow up:
“So, we need your help. After all, you’re the word master!”
Aah! Fresh air gently caressing the dying embers of your fragile writer ego. You perk up, giving them your undivided attention.
“We had a great brainstorm yesterday and everything moved lightning fast! So now we have the designs ready and all it needs is your copy magic.”
That’s when the freight train hits you, as you stand on the track, blindsided by the beauty of the deer at the treeline you just locked eyes with. You begin to have a moment, and then, you don't.
Your mind spins into overdrive, your flaming ego dies back down into an ember and you drown under the weight of a million questions: “Why wasn’t I in the brainstorm?” “Who will explain the logic behind these designs?” “What if the copy won’t fit in the element?” “What if I’m not convinced?” “What if there’s a better way?” “What if…”
We can explain this in a tooltip
This is another classic. And it’s one of those lines that make me cringe every time I hear it. Don’t get me wrong; I am not against tooltips. I believe they are a very vital and helpful tool for our users to navigate our products effectively.
However, what really bothers me about this line is the underlying fact that copy is being used as a crutch to support the design. You’d be shocked to know how often this happens, maybe you already do.
I don’t think there’s anything more to be said about this one. Please, don’t be that person. Your product, and your designs, should not be handicapped. Your users deserve better. If you find yourself in this situation, rush your designs to the OR, ask your UX writer to scrub in with you, do that surgery you’ve been postponing for a long time, and get the limp fixed.
Help your product and your users do the happy dance like this old-timer!
We need to explain all this in two words
While this isn’t technically an affront, this isn’t always possible, or necessary. Brevity is my morning brew as a content designer. However, I take my coffee with milk and sugar — chocolate sprinkles and fudge too if available. Definitely, some whipped cream to top it all off.
A good piece of copy is like this mocha that I just described. There are some that may argue it’s the devil’s drink, loaded with calories and too many ingredients. But if those were the only kind of people that existed, we would all be drinking our coffee black and bland.
Not to mention, “all that” may not fit into “two words” no matter how hard you tried to stuff it. Sometimes you just need some space to play around with. And nobody has earned it more, than your content designer.
So don’t be stingy. Be mindful of the length, sure. Work hard to not bore people to their deaths, absolutely! But don’t compromise clarity and humanity for brevity. If you do, your users may have two other words for you. Two really hurtful ones — “F*&@ this”. And they’ll be gone. Forever.
Can we have this by EoD today? Thanks!
This is another classic. You know as well as I do, there are a lot of people out there who think copy is magically conjured by geeky little elves with impeccable grammar — making all the magic happen, out of your sight. To them, you’re sort of like Dobby and his elven brethren cooking away in the kitchen, ready with the best delicacies at the snap of a finger.
You’re magical and hard-working, but then, because of these very reasons, what you do is of little consequence to them. Because you’re that amazing creature that can conjure words out of thin air and in no time.
Only, you’re not. And it takes a lot more time to write even a small piece of copy; a lot more than these people are willing to afford to or aware of anyway.
So people, when you want something done EOD, just do it yourself. Don’t make your UX writers walk around with the guilt of having written crappy copy to meet your poorly planned and hastily executed schemes. Besides, if something is that urgent, it’s probably already a lost cause. So might as well take your time with it and get it right.
I mean, whatever happened to “haste makes waste” and all that?
It’s only a few words anyway
This is the worst follow-up to can make to the previous statement. And people usually do. These two lines are as inseparable in everyday tech life as are cheese and wine.
It’s not enough to assume that you’re magical, they have to also think that your work is simple. This is the ultimate way to rub your UX writer off the wrong way.
Just because it’s a few words of copy (or you think it is) doesn’t mean it's easy or that it can be done quickly, or at the last minute. The fact that you may think the copy is an insignificant part of whatever it is you’re building, doesn’t mean that it actually is.
And if you’re a writer and you kind of agree with this, change your mindset, like immediately! Any good content designer knows that writing is but a small part of UX writing. There’s a lot more than just words that go into creating any piece of copy or interaction.
In short, if you don’t want to be that person,
be nice to your content designers
give them the time they need to work their “magic”
understand and respect their work
Don’t diminish the value they add
be reasonable
Any fun anecdotes or things you’ve heard that I’ve not mentioned here? Let me know in the comments or reach out to me and let’s have a rant fest. Cheers! | https://uxdesign.cc/things-ux-writers-hear-a-lot-but-wish-they-didnt-f37de1cec8e2 | ['Balasubramanyn Meenakshisundaram'] | 2021-09-14 10:49:13.928000+00:00 | ['Ux Writing', 'UX', 'Workplace', 'Design Process', 'Content Design'] |
EPILOGUE: THE ABYSS | A DARK WOOD, MIDWAY ON OUR JOURNEY THROUGH LIFE
I’m not blind, exactly. I just can’t see.
It’s hard to explain. My eyes register images, but my brain doesn’t know what to do with them. They say it’s the concussion, it’ll pass, but they say it in a tone that indicates that they have no idea if it’ll pass. Just my brain being my brain, demanding that things mean something, beginning to give up on that. And I’m tired. So tired that I wear dark shades all the time, letting nothing in or out. I’d like to think they make me look like a blues musician, but I probably look more like an insecure starlet.
Amazing grace, how sweet the song. I was lucky to have lived. Lucky old me, the survivor who can’t be killed. Tom the Immortal. Drowned, held at gunpoint, surrounded by sharks, still here. My just deserts for driving the people’s wagon. Everyone told me for years to get a decent car. For years, but I couldn’t give her up. My own beloved Mayhem. Who else would love her?
That hunk of junk, she’d said. I could crush it like a beer can, just with a stern look.
No atheists in foxholes. Chronos was my god. Tunneling when things got fraught, as they often did. A small woodland animal, burrowing, seeking shelter in any time but now.
She’s so close, and after centuries of longing, I can’t face her. Please, don’t. You’re really pretty, but please don’t. I can’t break you.
A case gone cold is heating up, warmth spreading through my bones as the sun goes down. I’m under a palm, marooned on a desert island, waiting to be rescued. Watching surfers shoot the pier as the calliope’s ragtime warble competes with ‘Walking in the Sand’ on the midway, and the lunatics frolic under the sun at Pacific Ocean Park.
What did we do for fun before amusement parks? There was always dancing, the ritual of stomp and shake hardwired into the human brain. Watched lions devour Christians. Brothels, taverns, festivals and wandering troupes of actors, Punch and Judy shows, the soap opera of Shakespeare. We’d die of the Plague, go to church to be screamed at, emerge unsure what to do with our terror and shame, then get wasted and murder women and Jews.
It wasn’t until the Industrial Revolution’s conurbanatinon that people demanded more. Circuses, stadium tournaments, World’s Fairs with fantastic exhibits and experiences you couldn’t find anywhere else. Disneyland opened in 1957, and this park came along a year later, an upstart gull in Walt’s face. Twenty-eight acres of magic and fun, they called it. Pacific Ocean Park, your first stop on the way to heaven. Step right up, pay one price: ninety cents for Paradise.
Pop. Sweeter than candy on a stick, huckleberry, cherry or lime…
There is the Sea Serpent roller coaster, the Looff carousel with seahorses taking you in circles of nowhere, fountains shooting into the sky, performing seals and dolphins. Nautical-futuristic fantasia: Elektro the talking, smoking robot; diving bells to take you deep, then shoot up again. You get into a bubble to float 75 feet over the surface of the ocean. It’s fun once or twice, but then you think, is that all there is?, and go back to surfing.
Disney played it cool, but when our park outsold his fiefdom, he began to worry. He always was a zero-sum guy. Snow White and Goofy were a draw, sure, but who wants to drive out to Anaheim and pay too much for magic? POP was right here: cheap, easy, familiar. It held strong, averaging a million visitors a year until 1965, when the city of Santa Monica abruptly decided that Venice needed a long-overdue facelift. Overnight the streets were closed off, everywhere was demolition, construction, and you couldn’t find parking for love or money.
The bubble burst, and pop, it was gone.
Creditors came after them; they closed up shop, auctioned off the rides. Within a year it had become a ghost town where you went to shoot up, or to shoot ‘Mod Squad’ episodes about urban decay and despair, the sun beaming down on the dry fountains and the remains of Mr. Octopus. By ’74 it devolved into Dogtown, after a series of suspicious fires took the rest of it along with the pier, charred pilings poking from the tide. Left to the tender mercies of the Z-Boys, the skater revolutionaries of Venice who seemed to thrive on precisely this sort of tragic grit, breaking into houses to skate the drought-emptied pools. Sick transit, Gloria.
Disney won, in the end. This is America. Disney will always win.
A beachball misses a kid’s outstretched hand, rolls up to my feet. He races to retrieve it, panting, face warped in a grin, not glancing at me.
I may not actually be here after all.
Warm, warmer. A year, she’d said. I quailed, but thought, I can do that. Waited, wary as the world went on, tried not to watch the clock. Ate, slept, wrote letters to Mysto: words, words, words. Read the paper until I could no longer bear to. Painted, shaped, sold. Gave my mother away at City Hall. So much had happened, it was hard to tell how key a part I’d played in any of it. We’d started a thriving mail-order business with glib ads in ‘Surfer.’ I wasn’t wealthy by LA standards, but I had significantly more money than I did when we first met. A man of means, hanging onto my home like grim death, stubbornly staying put. When the landlord came by to raise my rent, I bought it off him, in cash.
It was a weird year, so weird it was fine to be numb. JFK, then LBJ, and no one knew what the fuck was going on and Ruby killed Oswald at which point isolated tribes in the Brazilian rainforest and even the Sentinelese are discussing the Zapruder film in depth and mostly what defined that year was that Everyone Had a Fucking Theory.
Beatings and bombings and buses full of Freedom Riders in the South, and LBJ had ’em all by the short ones and it was looking like the Civil Rights Act was going to pass and everyone was very excited about the Great Society, though it looked like there would be a trade-off: Vietnam. But really, how long could it take to subdue a bunch of peasants in black pajamas? Yeah, France had been at it for twenty years, but c’mon, France.
In January there was a 9.2 off the coast of Alaska. It was the second worst earthquake in recorded history, creating a tsunami that pretty much destroyed most of the west coast of North America. Anchorage was leveled, ships were sunk, Canada was buffeted and flooded all the way down to Crescent City, where the tsunami threw itself at the forest, picked up all the trees then hurled them at the shore, again and again, before moving on in search of more mayhem. I wish I could tell you that our happy little cabin survived, but that would be a lie. I didn’t go back there for over a decade, and then I went back to stay, rebuilding what I had come to think of as our home. There was a great deal of trial and error involved, and borrowing heavy machinery from kind people who had to be dissuaded from helping. This was something I had to do alone.
That’s the kind of year it was.
Warmer. The blood in my veins, surging in waves.
One of Pip’s teeth is embedded in my skull, neat as a puzzle piece. I’d asked which one. Probably an incisor, they said, and too dangerous to extract right now. My body would spit it out, or not. Wait and see.
One year. I know she’ll come. She promised, and she’s a girl who keeps her promises. My heart has had time to beat 42 million beats: stay safe. Ba-bum. Come home. Ba-bum.
The indefatigable bum. I’m on fire, can feel her eyes, infiltrating my soul.
Wait for her touch, for the world to become visible once more.
‘Tommy?’ I’m still breathing. ‘Are you awake?’
I don’t know how to answer that, afraid to open my eyes and find only an empty pillow. Feel her hand on my cheek, blink a little — and then she pulls off my shades.
Just a girl. Just another girl who isn’t her.
‘M’fine,’ I manage. My jaw is wired shut. Inter-maxillary fixation. They may have been right after all; the talkies were a fad. They said the same of surfing, the greedy golden dream of sun and sea and Neptune’s cowboys. I’m not to talk much, or eat solid food until it heals. Tell me when any of this will heal. I hide in the workshop so as not to scare away the customers. I’m fine, I’m fine, I reassure all these people who know perfectly well that I am not.
I know she’s coming. Just have to hang on till then. I have so much to tell her.
The sun is going down.
What was the last thing I’d said to her? I can’t remember. Me, who recalls it all. Not the faintest fucking clue. Watching the Dodgers kick Yankee ass, I let her share this moment with her dad, so precious to them both. The last thing Ira had said: you’re dead to me. I know he’s relived this a thousand times. We all have, every instant leading up to her becoming invisible, wondering how we might have headed it off. I’m not good with words, I’d told her when we met. But she knows that. She’s coming. We blamed ourselves, each other, the chaos of our nation. California is America squared, Los Angeles to the nth degree, the dream refuge of runaways who find it isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, try to leave, only to find themselves trapped, knee-deep in tar. Who could blame her for running as far as she did?
Sheila had her baby that March, two weeks early. Mrs. Fallucci pooh-poohed her labor pains at first, on the grounds that all Fallucci babies came a month late cause they had to get their hair right (and it did seem to take them that long in the bathroom) but then panicked and threw her in the car, only to get rear-ended by some guy four blocks from the hospital. Neither of them was hurt, but Sheila’s water broke, and Mrs. Fallucci jumped out, ran back and cold-cocked the guy, and they carried on their merry way. Alexander Vittorio Fallucci was born six hours later, just as Fluke came flying through the door. He and Neddie had been booked for two weeks in Vegas, and Sheila had rather crabbily insisted that she wiz fine, he didnae need to hover so, just go make us some money. The nurses tried to kick him out, in vain, but the doctor was pretty decent about it, let him cut the cord after he’d scrubbed up, and this was the high point of his entire fucking life to date. We were all over the moon for them, but sometimes late at night there was a small part of me that wished that I’d gotten to have this too. I got to hold him a lot, though. Fluke saw to that.
We couldn’t ever get hold of U-Boy; they kept changing their number for reasons unclear, and Neddie just laughed and said too many fans when we asked, but she didn’t look happy about it. And then one night in May the phone rang at 3AM, and U wanted to know if I felt like coming over, no reason, and did I maybe have a shovel?
Pip and I buried Wayne Colliccio in a promising spot in Topanga Canyon, parked his car near a bar on Sunset, wiped it and walked home, Pip grumbling the whole way that we should’ve cut his head off so they’d never ID the body, me pointing out that there hadn’t been much of a head left after Neddie was through with the hairdryer (Hamilton Beach models were prone to overheating, but very sturdy and you couldn’t beat them for this sort of thing), and anyway no one’s ever going to find the motherfucker, so let’s just go home and forget this ever happened. Colliccio had been stalking them for months, calling constantly and breaking in when they weren’t home. I don’t know why they didn’t just tell us, but they didn’t, and this time he pulled a gun on U when he came down to investigate, and Neddie went a little overboard, certainly well beyond what any jury would buy as reasonable self-defense. But, y’know, it’d be fine. All resolved.
Except that six weeks later they broke ground for a new condo development in that exact spot, and there was enough of his head left to run dental. When they couldn’t find any ties to local mob, the LAPD started taking a harder look at Colliccio’s ex-wife and her new husband. Mysto was home for the summer and found them an excellent lawyer, but there were phone records and witnesses to him hanging around the place, and then they got a warrant and forensics turned up some of his blood on the underside of the dining room table. Which, frankly, was pretty unfair, cause they’d cleaned the living shit out of that room, but what’re you gonna do. Randy called me from a payphone to let me know they were coming with the cuffs, U and Neddie vamoosed, and that night two drunk and merry Mexicans were seen crossing the border in a car that was later found abandoned in the Tijuana International Airport parking lot.
A week later we got a card with a smiley face doodled on it,postmarked Morocco. Pretty clever, as it’s the only country with both decent surf and no extradition, and no one really wants to live in Iran or China. The letters came later: Neddie was singing at this one café, a big hit with the teens. U-Boy in time started a surf resort; he never learned much more French than Laissez les bon temps roulez, but really, how much more do you need?
I’d say that was the end of Neddie and Eddie, but there was a huge jump in sales for nearly a year, because people are nuts. Fluke tried to keep it going with her cousin Nita, but his heart wasn’t in it, and by 1966 he went back to singing country one night a week at Brodie’s, and that really was the end of Neddie and Eddie, but it was beautiful while it lasted.
And Pip…well, you know what happened to Pip.
Mary Weiss begins to wail again from the pier, seems like the other day, my baby went away.
Her absence is killing me; her presence will be worse. Time to go home, man. One foot in front of another. The door is ajar, a sliver of heimlich spilling out onto the porch. The secrets behind closed doors. Unschuld oder erfahrung. Do you really want to know where she’s been, what she’s done? Oh, what does it matter. She’s here.
By the couch lies her rucksack, aged with wandering through hilly lands and hollow lands, where all that mattered was that we were not there to stop her. Familiarity. She’s nowhere, not in the kitchen or my room. I hesitate, then open Pip’s door — and for a moment I could swear it’s him. Huddled under the covers, blond hair over his face. My heart leaps, struggles to recover. Fast asleep, exhausted with all that fleeing. What did it take from her, what did it take to bring her home? She could’ve stayed gone. She came back for him. I was the booby prize.
You’re my home, Tommy.
A shitty home, broken, fucked beyond repair. She should have stayed gone. I close the door again. I’m not ready for this. Let me think, let me think. What do I do? Oh, Mary Weiss. Patron saint of messes. Nice Jewish girl from Queens. A world full of nice Jewish girls who should be queens, and we are hell-bent on destroying them all.
I need, I need, I need everything to be beautiful, for nothing to hurt.
No, I need to be clear. I’ll take a bath.
Pull off my clothes, step into the tub, afraid the sound of water will wake her, though she sleeps like a stone when she gets around to it. Just risk it. If she busts me naked, bandaged, this mute dope in a bone-dry bathtub, she’ll be gone before you can say Jack Robinson. Plug in, water on. Relax, breathe. Turn the water off, lean back, let my mind drift away into thoughts of Mulholland and aqueducts, and then I’m asleep.
And then I’m awake; she’s looking down at me. She must know, she must. She would have felt his sudden absence in this world. I can’t meet her eyes.
‘Hey,’ she says, as if she’d just gone out for ice cream.
‘Hey,’ I say, as if she had.
‘Where is everyone?’
And if that ain’t the $64,000 question, I don’t know what is.
No. I can tell you what is. I don’t answer, just pull the plug, then get out and towel off, go into the bedroom to dress. She sees the way my eyes keep darting towards the bedside table drawer like a dumb fuck, and asks, almost too easily, ‘Are you holding?’
I realize then what that peculiar utensil was I saw on the kitchen table next to the box of Pip — yes, it was still there, I liked the company. It resembled a delicate ice cream scoop. A melon baller.
I look at her, and she at me, and we knew then how it was going to be. | https://medium.com/@avivarosenthal/epilogue-the-abyss-aa59a974eff9 | ['Aviva Rosenthal'] | 2021-07-27 12:16:08.395000+00:00 | ['Judaism', 'Oceans', 'True Love', 'Heroin', 'Nazis'] |
Blockchain Technology And The Global UN SDGs | Blockchain Technology And The Changing World
Today, when we hear of blockchain, we think of cryptocurrency and how it is disrupting the way we deal with cash all around the world. However, the technology itself has so much potential that restricting it to just cryptocurrencies is a disgrace. Blockchain has the potential to transform industries around the world and make them impenetrable, safe and secure from all external malicious factors. Not only that, it provides the stakeholders with the right direction to lead their operations with more certainty and faith in the system.
According to the stats, it is expected that the global blockchain technology market is estimated to accumulate $20 billion in revenue by 2024, therefore, now more than ever, it is being adopted by various industry giants. It is safe to say that blockchain is reaching its potential throughout the economic sphere. As much as the technology is decentralized, all the stakeholders involved in a business become capable of controlling their operations rather than relying on a central authority to perform core activities. When every individual is held accountable in a peer-to-peer network, the productivity levels tend to go higher as the responsibility increases. It leaves no room for slacking on any stakeholder’s part and therefore, the business is destined to succeed.
Read more about blockchain here, and to understand the basics click here.
Problems that we face today
To understand how blockchain is changing the world and how it can help us achieve the UN SDGs agenda, we must look into the problems we face on a global scale. These problems can be jotted down in collective terms such as, climate crisis, gender inequality, public health, wildlife and marine conservation, socio-economic development, quality education etc. The impact of these problems is faced on a global level which is why dealing with them in time is highly crucial to sustain the life on Earth.
Now, we have technology aiding us in all the different industries by enabling basic to high-level functioning. Therefore, it is technology that is going to come for rescue as we try to deal with these problems. Today’s systems, as secure as they claim to be, are now more susceptible to cyberattacks and illegitimate practices. Now, businesses have to deal with these threats and to curb that, they look into impenetrable systems with a highly sophisticated technology. Such a technology has been introduced in the world and it is now more than a decade old. It’s called blockchain! Blockchain is the solution to these problems and in this blog, we will discuss how blockchain can help us achieve most of the UN SDGs and accelerate their impact by 2030.
As the United Nations successfully concluded its Millennial Development Goals in 2015, the committee decided upon a 17-point agenda known as Sustainable Development Goals, to be achieved by 2030. These goals are a result of a three-year process involving 83 national surveys engaging over 7 million people, making it the biggest consultation in UN history. All the problems that we face at a global level, have been taken under consideration while forming these goals and it is with confidence that these goals can create a considerable impact on protecting this planet.
Blockchain: One For-All Solution For Global SDGs
Blockchain technology has been known for its ability to provide a sophisticated platform to ensure transparency, accountability, traceability, and impenetrable security, all on a decentralized, peer-to-peer network. The core technology can be incorporated into all the existing systems to improve their capacity and develop new ones with a better output and functionality.
Blockchain technology holds to key to solving much of the SDGs by 2030, only if there are enough investments to make it work. It can be said with confidence that Blockchain is the solution for achieving these SDGs. UN has rolled out many tenders out for public procurement of blockchain systems in each of the sectors and it is safe to say the competition is high. Immerging investors are realizing the potential of blockchain as an integral part of disrupting the industries around the world and they are not holding back their money. Today, is the right time to invest. Want to know about this in more detail? Click here to get in touch. | https://medium.com/@reactivespace/blockchain-technology-and-the-global-un-sdgs-d549f7aebee1 | ['Reactive Space'] | 2020-12-03 10:32:30.785000+00:00 | ['Un Global Compact', 'Blockchain Technology', 'Global Goals', 'United Nations', 'Un Global Goals'] |
Paradox Of The Good And The Bad | The paradox of good and nice. You are only good until you are nice. As soon as you are not nice you are not good.
You are only bad until you are not complying with what the other wants or expects from their transaction with you. The moment you challenge someone on their ideas, beliefs, habits, behavior, position, ideologies, their life, you are automatically not good aka bad for them.
When I wear a headscarf I am good for the fellow Muslims. When I wear shorts I am bad for the fellow Muslims.
The idea that ‘I’, you or me or him or her, anyone ‘I’ depends on this basic validation and justification from anyone, the ultimate battle to ‘fit in’ while you struggle to outdo your old self, this struggle to be a rat in a rat race, trying to constantly appease and massage one’s ego that they are good because they behave, pretend, execute in a certain way is the biggest fallacy of this conscious and hence inadvertently subconscious world we build.
Good and bad, right and wrong, true and false, all two sides of the same coin. Perspective, perspective everywhere, nowhere to go and hide. All the wide world is under the same open sky and all of us pretend to be able to hide the very same being that exists inside us.
According to the Bhagdwadgita, there is a super soul and a soul, the super soul is the fuel of all the souls, the God particle that physics talks about, the one soul from which all the souls have originated.
So many different names we give to that SUPER/ SUPERIOR being of all beings. But how many of us truly, genuinely deeply connect with the super soul within us?
How many truly empathize and get down to the basics that all that exists inside the other is what exists inside me, and all that exists inside me is what exists inside the other.
Our outer world and all that we have created and labeled as our “life” is merely the illusion of the materialistic possessions of our life. And these are not any part of your being. They are merely just what you use, needs and greed.
Your right and wrong, judgment and pretense, is nothing but your inability to sit with yourself, the whole self, the super soul, and the individual soul and see all as one!
It’s about time we take a deeper look into our own, for the lack of better choice of words, ‘bullshit’ and find in ourselves the courage, to be honest beyond our books and our prayers and our beads and our verses and hymns and look within to find in ourselves the truths of our mortal life, of our eternal souls and our paradox of ‘life’ while we are only merely passing it by! | https://medium.com/@rumanashaikh/paradox-of-the-good-and-the-bad-fbaea4253372 | ['Rumana Zs'] | 2021-03-15 23:16:18.520000+00:00 | ['Life', 'Soul', 'Introspection', 'Self-awareness', 'Courage'] |
23 Traits of Successful Entrepreneurs | Execute
All the dreaming and planning in the world won’t mean anything if you never put the rubber to the pavement. Within EXECUTE, successful entrepreneurs:
Do
Successful entrepreneurs don’t overplan to the point of paralysis. Sometimes a little uncertainty can leave some good room for creativity. But despite all of the doing, you have to remember that your most important customer is your current paying customer! Take good care of the customers who already support you.
Keep a Calendar
You have better chances for productivity and efficiency if you organize your day before the day begins. Of course, there will be interruptions, but it’s better to have a course designed as opposed to “freestyling” it all day.
Keep a Checklist
This is the next progression from keeping a calendar. Turn your tasks on your calendar into smaller attainable action items and mark them off upon completion. This is one of those things that separate successful entrepreneurs from the pack. Your checklist can be on paper or in digital form. The point is to have a way to track your productivity.
Delegate
You can’t do it all. Find some people around you to execute the tasks that you can’t do or get to in a timely fashion. Also, you’re not great at all things. Try to only delegate tasks to people who can do the task better (or at about the same level) and faster than you can.
Measure
Successful entrepreneurs always know where they stand with their key performance metrics/indicators. KPIs include things like phone calls made or emails sent, meetings secured, deals closed, product returns (the lower the better), or homes shown (for my real estate agent friends).
Pivot
Failing fast and moving on isn’t always a good idea. Sometimes it takes a few tries in order to successfully execute on a business idea. With that said, successful entrepreneurs know how to make the proper tweaks to their marketing plan, business model, and/or product or service offering in order to get their business on the right track.
Persevere
Successful entrepreneurs are in it to win it and they won’t let a few bumps in the road deter them from their goal(s). Some failure is temporary and success sometimes comes down to how well and how often you get up after getting knocked down. | https://medium.com/craft-writes/23-traits-of-successful-entrepreneurs-fc35e2629537 | ['Chris Craft'] | 2020-11-03 14:09:27.748000+00:00 | ['Marketing', 'Learning', 'Business', 'Entrepreneurship', 'Productivity'] |
Shapermint President’s day deals 2020 | Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.. and the perfect shapewear? While we, of course, want to honor the nation’s presidents on this day, we also love celebrating the red, white and blue with MONUMENTAL President’s Day deals and saving on allll of our favorite shapewear pieces. With this President’s Day sale, why not SALUTE THE SAVINGS by picking up a few of the perfect layers to help you feel empowered and ready to rock the vote. The Shapermint boutique offers a variety of styles ranging from shaping bodysuits to camis to shorts (and more!), so no matter what you’re looking for, we’ve got it all. If you’re in the colder part of the world and are looking to stay warm, the Empetua Shaping Leggings may be the perfect solution for you.
These President’s Day deals are the perfect opportunity to add those pieces into your closet that will empower you to get presidential on yourself and be the leader that you are! Shapermint’s President’s Day sale is one you won’t want to miss, so go ahead — pick out your favorite shapewear styles before the sale is over! | https://medium.com/@shapermint/shapermints-president-s-day-deals-2019-221b53fe96ad | [] | 2020-02-15 16:29:19.061000+00:00 | ['Sales', 'Presidents Day Sale', 'Discount', 'Shapermint', 'Presidents Day'] |
✨ BIG NEWS ✨ | Spunky (Co-founder, BitGosu- CoinRunners)
Spunky Hwang from Bitgosu, the biggest Cryptocurrency influencer in South Korea joins us as an advisor to PEP Network. We heartily welcome him to our PEP Network Family
Click here to know more about Spunky: https://coinrunners.vip/meet-the-team | https://medium.com/pep-ico/big-news-8337442ebc42 | ['Sharik Khan'] | 2018-05-28 12:05:49.412000+00:00 | ['Ethereum', 'ICO', 'Cryptocurrency', 'Bitcoin', 'Blockchain'] |
Is there a correlation between a restaurants ratings and the income levels of a neighborhood ? | This post is the capstone project of the Coursera IBM Data Science Professional Certificate. The full notebook and data are available on my github repo
Introduction
A few weeks ago, my girlfriend and her friends went out for a Saturday girls lunch at an upmarket and expensive restaurant in Johannesburg. The restaurant is set in an exclusive estate and boasts of very scenic views however the girls lunch was not a success because of the restaurant. The food and drinks were overpriced, the meal portions were little, the service was terrible and the food was mediocre at best. The ladies had to pass by a local KFC to get some chicken to soothe their appetite.
This experience made me wonder. Do we assume that expensive restaurants will have better service than less expensive restaurants. Is the service better in restaurants in higher income areas than in lower income areas? Is there a correlation between income levels and restaurant ratings? This is an interesting question because conventional opinion would say that restaurants in higher income areas have better service which leads to better ratings because the restaurant’s patrons will demand better service and/or the restaurant will offer better service when in a high income neighborhood because they can charge more. But can the data science prove that or is this biased thinking?
My study will look at the data and see whether we can confirm that restaurant service does differ depending on the income levels of the neighborhood. If the study shows there is a link between poor Yelp ratings and income levels, this would be of major interest to business owners, to restaurant patrons and to a city’s management team. For business owners running a restaurant, they might spot an opportunity to gain customers by improving their customer service especially in low income areas. Patrons living in low income neighborhoods would have the ammunition to demand better customer service in the restaurants they frequent. City hall officials might also see this as a form of income segregation and work harder to ensure restaurants in low income areas have the same amenities and service levels as those in middle or high income areas.
The city I have chosen for this study is Toronto, Canada. It’s a relatively wealthy city with a population of approximately 6.5 million people (2016 Canada census). It is also one of the most diverse, multicultural and multiracial cities in the world with 51% of the population made up of visible minorities according to the 2016 Canada census. The big and varied population has resulted in a large number of restaurants and fast food places offering all types of cuisine from Indian to Chinese to South Korean to Ethiopian. This is good for our study as it means we can get a diverse number of restaurants to sample.
Data acquisition and cleaning
Data Sources
We will use the following datasets to work on this study
A Toronto neighborhood dataset showing average income per neighborhood in Toronto. We have sourced this dataset from the Open Data website for the City of Toronto, http://map.toronto.ca/wellbeing A Toronto neighborhood restaurant dataset with average restaurant ratings. We will source this data from Yelp by collecting the ratings of restaurants in each Toronto neighborhood using the Toronto dataset above and the Yelp API. We initially wanted to use Foursquare however the Foursquare API has very little api calls when compared to Yelp. The Foursquare API allows 500 api calls per day for free while the Yelp api allows 5000 api calls per day for free. On top of that Yelp was built for reviews and ratings and has a much larger restaurant reviews database then Foursquare therefore it made more sense to use Yelp.
Methodology
I first downloaded a csv file from the map.toronto.ca website. The website is a data scientist heaven. It’s well built and enables a user to customise what metrics he wants in a dataset such as neighborhood population, income before/after tax, area, demographics, employment, health statistics etc. The dataset we downloaded had the following features; neighborhood, total population, total area, after tax household income.
This is my first dataframe
Next step was to pull the latitude and longitude of each neighborhood using Google Maps. We will use the coordinates to query the Yelp api and get neighborhood restaurant reviews and ratings. I initially tried to use Geopy to get the latitude and longitude but I kept on getting timeouts and it couldn’t find some coordinates so I dusted off my credit card and used Google Maps.
I created a new dataframe which had the neighborhood, restaurant review count, rating and specialization. The next step was to merge the two dataframe together. After merging the dataframes and deleting unnecessary columns, I got the dataframe below with approximately 6,700 rows.
Exploratory Analysis
We want to know if there is a relationship between the income levels of a neighborhood and the average ratings that restaurants in the neighborhood receive. If there is a correlation than as income levels rise than average ratings would also rise. There would be a linear relationship between income and ratings. So first thing we will do is visualize the data using a scatter plot to see if we can get a clue.
There’s definitely no linear relationship there. Lets try again using different parameters against ratings.
In the figure above, we can see there is no linear relationship between population/ratings and review count/ratings. Our initial analysis shows that a neighborhoods income, population, population density has no effect on a restaurants ratings. However, lets create a linear regression model and evaluate its accuracy to see what we can get.
Model creation and evaluation
This results in a high negative R square. Our model just isn’t working at all. Let's add in other features and see if it will make a difference
The R square value is better but still not acceptable. We can safely conclude that there is no correlation between income and restaurant ratings.
Discussion & Conclusion
It is good to know that the income of a neighborhood has nothing to do with the ratings of its restaurants. High income neighborhoods can have poorly rated restaurants and low income neighborhood can have highly rated restaurants. Also other metrics like the population density or the number of reviews a restaurant receives have no effect at all on a restaurant’s ratings. It would be more effective to try and use sentiment analysis to calculate the rating of a restaurant. This would involve analysing the text of the reviews to see if we can use that to calculate the rating a user would give a restaurant.
The combination of data from Yelp and other similar sources with a city’s data opens up vast opportunities for data scientists. For example, approximately 80–90% of restaurants fail in the first year. It would also be interesting to see whether the income levels of a neighborhood have an effect on a restaurant’s success or failure. Another idea is to find out which restaurant specialization e.g. Japanese, Chinese, pizza etc has a higher chance of success in a neighborhood e.g. is a fast food restaurant more likely to succeed in a low income neighborhood than a high income neighborhood?
There lots of other interesting studies that we can work on when we combine different sources of data together. As more and more cities and countries open up their dataset to the public there will be lots of opportunities to gain insights from the data by combining it will other available datasets, doesn’t matter whether public or private. | https://medium.com/swlh/is-there-a-correlation-between-a-restaurants-ratings-and-the-income-levels-of-a-neighborhood-5fe41165e4f1 | ['James Mbuthia'] | 2019-08-23 07:53:01.172000+00:00 | ['Machine Learning', 'Yelp Dataset', 'Capstone Project', 'Data Science', 'Toronto Dataset'] |
WEBSITE VS. BLOG. WHAT IS THE BEST TOOL FOR MY BUSINESS? | Have you ever asked yourself the following question: What is the best tool for my business, a website, or a blog?
To answer this, we will need to dig in a little bit to get the main differences and, at last, what is best for you and your business.
Technically they are both the same. Yeah, it doesn’t sound right, but a blog is part of a website. Let’s define both to get a more comprehensive answer.
What is a Blog?
A blog is a type of website, where the main characteristic is its dynamic content: images, texts, and divide their information by categories; labels; reader reviews, almost always published in reversed chronological order and typically updated frequently. Some blogs are updated several times a day. In a blog, as a user, you can interact and express your comments or experiences.
The blogging game started on August 23, 1999, Pyra Labs launched the blog- publishing tool. This company helped to popularize the format. Later, in 2003, Pyra Labs was acquired by Google.
However, when WordPress launched in 2003, the real blogging game as we know it today started. WordPress is an open-source software that allows users and developers to interact and change or create codes. More than 30% of the website worldwide use WordPress as the main platform.
What is a Website:
A website is the sum of different pages and digital content using a single domain. A hosting service is needed to host the website, which will allow your website to be accessible all over the world.
There are different types of websites, which depend on the purpose of your business: Informational, E-commerce, personal, Government.
A website functions as an online business card or brochure. The interested party interacts with the website, find the information, and then contacts you.
Different contents can exist on a website. In other words, is where you expose yourself to your potential audience, “Who are we?”; “What properties do we offer ?” “Where are our listings located ?” Most notably, the contact information for those interested in your brand.
Website or Blog — What’s the difference?
A blog is just one page that tends to be more dynamic, while a website has “pages.” For example, on a website, you will find a Homepage, about, contact, services.
A blog is a great tool to reach your ideal audience and to get more exposure. A blog is essential for SEO purposes because it helps with several factors that are important ranking factors. For example, a blog keeps people on your website longer and helps to understand your services effectively. A website can be seen as an online portfolio or brochure where people can see your property photos, listings, and they can get to you using a call to action button. A website can also be used to make showing appointments for your properties.
Can I Build a Blog or Website on My Own for my Business?
Yes, you can design it by yourself. There are many digital tools on the internet where you will get a guide on how to do it. However, the only downside to blogs is that someone has to be writing all the new quality content for your blog. Therefore, a blog requires some ongoing time investment. On the other hand, a website is often a one-time effort, which can be advantageous when we talk blog vs. website.
Both are complicated in design and development, although you can create them by yourself, it is good advice to use a web/blog developer to create a responsive-good looking page.
Blog or Website — What is the ideal tool for your business?
It depends on your business goals. For an excellent digital marketing strategy and a more intent presence on the internet, a website is essential. It will give you exposure and trust to your clients along with your branding.
Meanwhile, a blog is a perfect complement to a website. It can even be within the same domain.
The publication of ongoing information is a must with a blog, at least 2 per month. Therefore, if you are not committed to publishing, this might not be the best option for your business. An alternative solution is to hire a professional with written content if you decide to go for a blog.
At the end of the day, it is unnecessary to think of a “blog vs. website.”
The best course would be to have both. The modern tools that we have at our disposal allow us to create, design and tailor a website and a blog to be part of the website. | https://medium.com/@primeonecreative/website-vs-blog-what-is-the-best-tool-for-my-business-5e4e4d552f85 | ['Jonathan Delgado'] | 2020-12-21 19:13:15.107000+00:00 | ['Website Design', 'Business Development', 'Blogging', 'Blog', 'Website'] |
7 gadgets under Rs 7,000 to make your home ‘smart’ | 7 gadgets under Rs 7,000 to make your home ‘smart’
Bury network of gadgets makes life simple. Envision how torment free it is the point at which you can handle your water spring with your cell phone. In the year 2020, brands like Xiaomi and Realme extended their Internet of Things (IoT) item portfolio. Gadgets dispatched incorporate savvy speakers, brilliant attachments, programmed cleanser distributor and that's only the tip of the iceberg. Here are 7 items dispatched in 2020 that can help turn your home 'keen'.
1. Realme smart Cam 360: Rs 2,599
Realme brilliant camera accompanies a sticker price of Rs 2,599. It is outfitted with 1080pixel FHD recording capacities and accompanies 360° omni-directional turn. The keen camera has separate IR night vision mode.
2. Realme Smart Plug: Rs 799
Realme savvy plug is valued at Rs 799. The shrewd attachment offers brilliant Wi-Fi control and works with Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa. It is furnished with five-layer wellbeing security.
3. Realme N1 electric toothbrush: Rs 1,499
Realme N1 oscillating brush can be bought at Rs 1,499. The gadget is asserted by the organization to convey a battery life of as long as 130 days on single charge. It is outfitted with high-recurrence sonic engine and highlights DuPont 99.99% antibacterial fibers.
4. Realme Soundbar: Rs 6,999
Valued at Rs 6,999, Realme Soundbar is furnished with 60watt full-range speakers and 40watt subwoofer. The audi gadget offers Bluetooth variant 5.0 for remote availability.
5. Xiaomi Smart LED bulb (White): Rs 799
Xiaomi Smart LED bulb (White) conveys a sticker price of Rs 799. The bulb is a 7.5W B22 bulb. The gadget is viable with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant. The bulb offers 16 million tones.
6. Mi Automatic cleanser container: Rs 999
Mi Automatic cleanser allocator is selling at Rs 999. The gadget offers without contact cleanliness and is furnished with infrared sensors. It is guaranteed by the organization to be solid and strong.
7. Mi Smart speaker: Rs 3,999
Mi Smart speaker is accessible at Rs 3,999. The speaker can be utilized to control savvy home gadgets, for example, refrigerator, fountain. It houses a 63.5 mm driver speaker and offers both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth network choices.
https://worldtechmobi.blogspot.com | https://medium.com/@singhsonia615/7-gadgets-under-rs-7-000-to-make-your-home-smart-e7bf0b622a00 | [] | 2020-12-26 03:01:55.096000+00:00 | ['Gadgets', 'Mobile', 'Realme'] |
36. Adapt or Die | I’m not a fan of Snapchat, but it’s where people are.
AI scares the shit out of me, but it’s coming whether we like it or not.
I find VR straight up bizarre, but it’s how people will be shopping, interacting with brands, and communicating with each other. When VR takes over, we’ll be praying for the Snapchat selfie days. “Remember the good ole days of the selfie?”
Wishing for the “good old days” will cause you death. Death in your career, business, health and relationships.
How will you use emerging technologies to your advantage? To scale your business. To gain advantages over your competition. To stand out and be different in a world full of noise.
Technology is meant to bring people together. In certain cases, it will displace people from certain professions. I am writing this in a coffee shop and imagine robots serving me in the distant future. I enjoy the interactions with the baristas. They’re fun, friendly, and can sometimes engage me in a good conversation.
You can allow tech to take your job. Or you can use it to help you win.
The robots are indeed coming. I just hope Will Smith will be there to save us. | https://medium.com/100-naked-words/36-adapt-or-die-54e5d9bcbe34 | ['Del Singh'] | 2017-01-17 00:07:03.645000+00:00 | ['Virtual Reality', 'Artificial Intelligence', '100 Naked Words', 'AI', 'Tech'] |
Pseudo-coding 101 | Photo by Campaign Creators on Unsplash
Many people that struggle with learning to program need review on how to translate English into both math, and their programming language. This walk-through intends to help you understand very specifically how to take what is said, or given to you in written form and build a mathematical function that you can then use to build your solution on. Think of this as Pseudo-coding 101.
However, in order to get to Pseudo-coding, we need to take a few steps first. We will begin with English and figure out how to translate that into math so that we can solve a specific problem. Once we can do that, we will then learn how to write an algorithm to solve many versions of a problem. Finally, we will take our algorithm and turn that into pseudo-code.
Mathematical and Programming Vocabulary
We should first begin by discussing how we might interpret spoken or written instructions into mathematical and programming operations.
1. Mathematical Operators in English:
Addition:
added to, balance, combined, comparatives (ex. “greater than”, etc.), deposit, increased by , more, together, total of, plus, received, sum
Subtraction:
after, comparatives (“smaller than”, etc), decreased by, difference, fewer, give(n)/gave away, left, left over, less, minus, take(n) away, save, withdrawal,
Multiplication:
each (“they got three each”, etc), increased by a factor of , multiplied by, of, per (If a known value, depending upon unknown values), power, product, times, twice/triple/etc.
Division:
a (if an unknown value, depending upon known values), average, denominator, each (“how much does each cost”, etc), fraction, go into, mean, out of, part, pieces, per, percent (divide by 100), portion, quotient, ratio, remainder, split
Modulus:
after, left, left over, remainder
Equals:
are, cost, gives, is, has, have, how many, price, results, sold for, was, were, will be, yields,
2. English words that hint at how to go about something in Programming:
Loops:
array, cycle, during, each, for, next, time, until, while
if/else statements:
and, if (not), or, otherwise, then, unless
Once we have a basic understanding of what needs to be accomplished, we can start making a list of what values and variables we might need. Start off with the values that we know, then go on to name the variables of information that you wish to determine later.
For example. If we have a word problem like this:
If Peter Piper picked 8 pecks of pickled peppers, how many peppers did Peter Piper pick? Keep in mind that one peck is equal to 8 quarts. Let’s also assume that the peppers were pepperoncinis, and that there are 15 pepperoncinis per quart.
We could list out our known values like this:
pecks = 8, quart/peck conversion factor: 8 quarts/peck, pepper/quart conversion factor: 15 peppers/quart
Our unknowns would be:
Total peppers
Perhaps more succinctly:
Known and unknown values.
Now to write out our equation:
8 pecks(8 quarts/peck * 15 peppers/quart) = total
If we now follow our order of operations we first multiply the values in parenthesis, and see that we get:
120 peppers/peck
Times 8 pecks
960 peppers = total
Naming Variables
So when it comes to pseudo-coding and programming, what should we name our variables? First let’s start with what we CAN name our variables.
Every programming language has a set of conventions for naming variables. We are going to use JavaScript as an example for what we need to take into consideration when naming variables in an algorithm. Please refer to documentation/guidelines for the language(s) that you are programming in.
JavaScript Variable Names:
Variable names can include any letter, number, or underscore. No other characters or spaces.
Keep in mind that names are case sensitive.
The first character must be a letter or an underscore.
There is no limit to the length.
You cannot use any of JavaScript’s reserved words, and should avoid the use of many of JavaScript’s keywords. [Reference]
Reserved Words
abstract, arguments, await, boolean, break, byte, case, catch, char, class, const, continue, debugger, default, delete, do, double, else, enum, eval, export, extends, false, final, finally, float, for, function, goto, if, implements, import, in, instanceof, int, interface, let, long, native, new, null, package, private, protected, public, return, short, static, super, switch, synchronized, this, throw, throws, transient, true,try, typeof, var, void,volatile, while, with, yield
Because JavaScript is used in conjunction with Java, HTML, and others, you will want to refer to documentation for any languages that you are also working with.
Writing An Algorithm
An algorithm is just a series of step by step instructions. The best example of an algorithm that most people have seen would be the instructions for a recipe.
A good algorithm has a set of inputs, a well defined, finite number of steps, and produces the desired output. Each step should be a simple instruction.
In addition to the above, we need to formalize a few more terms:
Arguments: Variables utilized by a function.
Take in: This is used to refer to any specific arguments that your function may have to use.
ex. Take in num1
Return: Refers to the value of our function result.
Count: Indicates a loop and is also the variable name we will use for the iterator(size of step) of the loop.
To begin let’s write a very simple algorithm to complete a very simple task.
Write an algorithm that will return the total of two numbers.
1. Take in num1 and num2
2. total = num1 + num2
3. Return total
In the example above, we have a set of inputs, we have a well defined, finite, set of steps, and it produces the desired result.
Now that we can write an algorithm for a very simple task, let’s go back to the example we used in our word problem above. But instead of simply solving the problem, let’s write an algorithm to do so.
If Peter Piper picked X pecks of pickled peppers, how many peppers did Peter Piper pick? Keep in mind that one peck is equal to 8 quarts. Let’s also assume that the peppers were pepperoncinis, and that there are 15 pepperoncinis per quart.
1. Take in the number of pecks Peter Piper picked, the conversion from pecks to quarts, and the conversion from quarts to peppers.
2. Multiply the two conversion factors to determine how many peppers per peck.
3. Multiply the number of pecks Peter Piper picked by the peppers per peck conversion.
4. Return the total
Now we have an algorithm that can solve for the total number of peppers no matter how many pecks that Peter Piper might pick.
It is now time to add more complexity to our algorithms. Here we will be looking at loops and conditionals. Loops are instructions that are done repeatedly, and conditionals are instructions that are performed only when a certain condition is true. Conditional instructions can also include multiple cases in which we would include an “else”.
Before we actually write an algorithm including a loop or conditional however, let’s outline how those things are written.
Loops
For loops, we need a few pieces of information. We need a place to start, a place to end, and how large of a step or increment to take each time. In writing an algorithm, the instructions for a generic loop would look something like this:
1. Count from x to y in increments of 1
2. Each time, do something
Write an algorithm that will return the numbers from one to some number one at a time.
1. Take in num1
1. Count from 1 to num1 in increments of 1.
2. Each time, return count.
Conditionals
For a conditional instruction, we also need a few pieces of information. We need to know what the condition that needs to be met for a given instruction might be, as well as if there is something else that we should do if conditions are different, or if we should just continue on. We would write a conditional instruction like this:
1. If (condition) do something.
2. Else if (condition) do something else.
3. Else continue.
In order to demonstrate a conditional statement, we are going to combine it with a conditional statement just for the sake of practice.
Write an algorithm that will return all of the even numbers between 1 and some number.
1. Take in num1
2. Count from 1 to num1 in increments of 1
3. Each time, if count is evenly divisible by 2
a. return count
Now that have covered all the basics, of how to write an algorithm, let’s see if we can apply what we know to one of the staple whiteboarding problems in the programming community: FizzBuzz.
FizzBuzz goes something like this.
Write an algorithm that will return “Fizz” if a number is divisible by 3, “Buzz” if a number is divisible by 5, and “FizzBuzz” if divisible by both. Otherwise, just return the number, from 1 to some number.
As always our first step will be to take in any needed inputs. Then we can run through our other steps.
1. Take in num1.
2. Count from 1 to num1 in increments of 1.
3. Each time:
a. If count is evenly divisible by 3 and 5, return “FizzBuzz”
b. If count is evenly divisible by 3, return “Fizz”
c. If count is evenly divisible by 5, return “Buzz”
d. Else return count
Remember, that our instructions must be as simple as possible. Meaning that each time we go through the loop, we will only pass one of the tests, and if we do, we are done with that turn in the loop. If that is the case, this algorithm will only work because it is written in this particular order.
With the steps written in this order, we will test each number to see if it is evenly divisible by 3 and 5. If it is, we will return “FizzBuzz”. If not, we will then test if the number is evenly divisible by 3. If so, we will return “Fizz”. If not, we will test to see if the number is evenly divisible by 5. If so, we will return “Buzz”. Then if the number is not evenly divisible by either 3 or 5, we will return the number.
If we had instead written the step in 3a after b and c in the order of tests, we never would have gotten to it because we would have passed one of those tests first and ended that turn in the loop. So we would have seen “Fizz” for all numbers only divisible by 3, as well as numbers divisible by 3 and 5 because we would pass the first test for numbers divisible by 3. We would then see “Buzz” for all numbers only divisible by 5, and of course all remaining numbers would just be returned. Without us ever hitting the test for numbers divisible by 3 and 5, we would never see “FizzBuzz”.
Pseudo-coding
Pseudo-coding uses many of the conventions of a normal programming language, but is intended more readable by a person. Its really just a step in between writing an algorithm, and writing a program in a specific language.
Like in a programming language we will be pseudo-coding functions. However, we will have a shift from the more explicit language of writing algorithms, to a greater use of mathematical operators, and brackets.
To make our lives a little easier, let’s outline the meaning that each of the different brackets carry?
- ( ) Do this first, take in argument(s), use this.
- { } Steps of a function, values in an object.
- [ ] An index/address in an array.
Just for fun, if we were to pseudo-code out our tongue twister from above, it might look something like this:
Write a function that will return all numbers from 1 to some number.
Write a function that will return all even numbers from 1 to some number.
Now let’s see what it would look like if we were to apply this format to our old friend FizzBuzz.
Write an algorithm that will return “Fizz” if a number is divisible by 3, “Buzz” if a number is divisible by 5, and “FizzBuzz” if divisible by both. Otherwise, just return the number, from 1 to some number.
We have covered a lot of ground here. I hope that this can help those new to coding learn programming concepts more clearly, as well as more quickly. | https://medium.com/coding-in-simple-english/pseudo-coding-101-b623d6b8820 | ['Brayden Copley'] | 2019-04-15 03:51:41.883000+00:00 | ['Pseudocode', 'Algorithms', 'Programming', 'Whiteboarding', 'Coding'] |
StackExchange: 8 Best Resources Every Developer Must Follow | As a developer, you should be familiar with StackExchange. There are tons of resources available on there about software development and programming. Out of everything, I have compiled a list of the top 8 resources that I find helpful.
These resources cover a wide range of topics such as web development, general programming, and best practices to follow during development.
1. Technical things to remember when doing the live (production) deployment of the web application
In this resource, you’ll get a checklist of the things that will make your web application deployment go smoothly as well as how to get good feedback from your users/search engines. It covers many topics such as user interface, user experience, security, SEO, browser compatibility, design, etc.
URL : http://ish.re/HDPA
2. Why can’t software industry deliver faultless projects quickly?
Have you ever compared the software industry with other industries such as retail, telecommunications, etc.? The article above covers many of the differences and gives tips around how, as a developer, you can focus on the issues related to software.
URL : http://ish.re/HDPE
3. How can I review my own code?
Have you ever reviewed your code? It’s always a fun thing to do… Coding standards and code quality are equally important factors that feed into software quality. In this thread, you’ll find best practices for self-code review that will help improve the quality of the overall software or web application.
URL : http://ish.re/HDPF
4. Must read books for programmers
Books are useful for everyone, regardless of your profession. They impart plenty of information into your brain, which you then process and output as a skill. In this thread, you’ll find a list of helpful books to read as a developer. You can choose what to read based on the technology and system you are familiar with, but my personal favourite is “code complete.”
URL : http://ish.re/HDPJ
5. How to improve programming skills?
We, programmers, are always looking to improve our coding skills, but sometimes only writing code is not enough. This thread has some tips and tricks for how you can improve.
URL : http://ish.re/HDPL
6. Should I become a polyglot programmer?
This thread will help you understand the benefits of learning additional programming languages as a way to improve your thought processes. Understanding more language designs makes you a sharper developer.
URL : http://ish.re/HDSM
7. Selection between “Do it right” and “Do it ASAP”
Have you ever been in a tricky situation where you are caught choosing between whether to make the software the right way or to finish it quickly for an upcoming deadline? Well, you are not alone! All developers face the same problem. Go through this thread to understand and choose the right approach for you.
URL : http://ish.re/HDSX
8. For fun: list of programmers cartoons
Developers enjoy writing software and feel a deep sense of satisfaction when the program they’ve been working on is executed nicely and goes to production. That is the essential part of our life, but sometimes we can afford to take a break from all the coding and enjoy some nerdy cartoons… Here are some that I like.
URL : http://ish.re/HDPR
I’m sure there are lots of other resources available, so please post your recommendations in the comments section. | https://medium.com/loginradius/stackexchange-8-best-resources-every-developer-must-follow-d4a7ac59795 | ['Amit Purohit'] | 2021-01-08 20:09:59.467000+00:00 | ['Coding', 'Programming', 'Resources', 'Developer', 'DevOps'] |
Mother Perplexed That 3-yo Son is Not Gay, Trans, and/or Demisexual Yet | CALIFORNIA — A mother was expressing total confusion at the fact that her 3-year-old son Tommy is not Gay, Trans, and/or Demisexual yet.
“It’s very strange to me. He knows he can be whatever he wants to be, I tell him multiple times a day, so I just can’t understand why he isn’t Trans or Pansexual yet, or both,” the mother said. “I mean, every other local parent I know has already made their kid a boy, then a girl, and then a boy again, so why isn’t little Tommy like that yet? What’s wrong with him? Why can’t he just be normal and say he’s Non-Binary or something? Come on!
“I just know he’s giving me signs, though. I just know it. Yesterday he accidentally called me ‘daddy’ instead of mommy. He knows he has two mommies and no daddies, he knows it! It must be some kind of sign, yeah, some sign that he’s confused because he’s in the wrong body, the wrong gender, of course! That’s it! I think I’ll make him a girl just to be sure. It’s okay anyway, the operation is totally safe and a reversible if Tommy changes his mind. Now I can finally not be the only one at my book club that has a normal child. Now my opinion actually matters! Now Tommy, choke on those hormone blockers for me, okay?” | https://medium.com/@planetxmedia/mother-perplexed-that-3-yo-son-is-not-gay-trans-and-or-demisexual-yet-3b2b27b7d23e | ['Planet X Media'] | 2020-12-19 04:17:21.125000+00:00 | ['News', 'Confusion', 'Parenting', 'California', 'Sexuality'] |
Samantha and Zachary’s Hanover Manor Wedding Photos | Congratulations to Samantha and Zachary on their extraordinary wedding! April 18th of this year was certainly a day to remember! Thankfully, the Hanover Manor Wedding Photos came out nothing short of incredible. They’ll always have them to look back on!
First, Samantha couldn’t have looked any more gorgeous on this special day. Her floor length white dress was simple but glamorous! It even had a sparkly silver lining running around her waist! She looked stunning! Zachary was all suited up in a tux and tie, looking so handsome! Next, Samantha and Zachary were ready to make it official!
Then, Samantha and Zachary couldn’t wait any longer to tie the knot. It was finally time for the ceremony! The long awaited moment was here. However, the ceremony wasn’t like your typical wedding at all. Samantha and Zachary made it uniquely their own to celebrate their love within their religion! It was just how they wanted it!
Next, Samantha and Zachary kissed to make it official! They are now husband and wife! The couple couldn’t have looked any happier than they did in this moment. Also, Samantha and Zachary were able to have their closest friends and family there. There’s nothing better than an intimate wedding! Everyone felt the love in that room!
Next, it was picture time! After the ceremony, Samantha and Zachary captured their love in the most epic Hanover Manor Wedding Photos. They even had family and friends jump in for some! They’ll always have these to look back on with happiness in their hearts.
Then, the reception took place! Samantha and Zachary chose to keep the celebration small. But nevertheless, it was still a fantastic celebration! They even had a cute Mr. and Mrs. sign at the head of their table! It was so adorable!
Congratulations to Samantha and Zachary again on their wedding! We are so happy we were able to capture such amazing Hanover Manor Wedding Photos. We wish them nothing but love and happiness in their future endeavors.
Check it out here: https://www.enchantedcelebrations.com/eventcards/samantha-and-zacharys-hanover-manor-wedding-photos/ | https://medium.com/@operations-42919/samantha-and-zacharys-hanover-manor-wedding-photos-d5cac7613474 | ['Enchanted Celebrations'] | 2021-06-17 15:13:11.794000+00:00 | ['Weddings', 'Wedding Photography', 'Love', 'Enchanted Celebrations'] |
Dr. Elizabeth Goldspink discusses how you can be proactive when faced with a positive HPV Test or Abnormal Pap Smear. | Dr. Elizabeth Goldspink discusses how you can be proactive when faced with a positive HPV Test or Abnormal Pap Smear. Pratiksha Kumar Follow Feb 18 · 3 min read
Our readers love to learn about women helping other women. Please tell us a bit about yourself and your medical expertise.
I graduated from the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine in Toronto, where I completed a Doctorate of Naturopathic Medicine (ND). I have also taken the Mind-Body Medicine program at Harvard University Medical School, where I studied under Dr. Herbert Benson MD, the world leader in mind/body medicine.
I have always had a passion for wellness and helping people be their best selves and I feel blessed that I get to do the kind of work I do on a daily basis. 13 years ago, I started making wellness products, and I founded the brand Papillex which supports individuals respond to HPV symptoms and abnormal pap smear results naturally.
Please shed some light on your training at Harvard on mind-body medicine.
We are faced with so many daily stressors that impact our ability to stay calm and keep our body and mind in a relaxed state. These stressors take a toll on our health. I use the Harvard training to help patients counteract stress and build resiliency in their lives using evidence-based practices that are effective.
It’s a fact that about 80 percent of sexually active people are infected with HPV at some point in their lives and this often is found on a routine pap smear. How did you come to work with this population?
My journey began in 2008 when my best friend was diagnosed with HPV and abnormal cervical cells were found on her routine Pap Smear. What began as CIN 1 quickly progressed and I wanted to help her recover before cervical cancer became a concern. I ran a comprehensive research review and dove deeply into medical databases to find the best available data. I also interviewed medical experts who had extensive experience treating HPV. I then came up with a thorough, evidence-based plan for her. I gave her 10 different natural supplements to take every day. Several months later, her pap smear and cervical cells were restored to normal. She was relieved at this positive turnaround and said to me “why don’t you produce a single natural supplement that has all 10 of the ingredients that you simply gave me to take, to help other women just like me?” That was the day that Papillex was born and since then we have helped thousands of others with similar stories.
What other information can help people interested in how to treat HPV naturally?
Eating a diet high in fruits and vegetables and minimizing the consumption of animal products and saturated fats that impair immunity is important. Smokers should make sure to quit, as smokers exhibit a 200–300% higher incidence of cervical dysplasia from HPV. You should also strengthen your immune system by sleeping 7–8 hours a night, exercising regularly, and reducing stress.
What is next for you?
I will continue to formulate evidence-based health products that help people feel and look their best and will continue to see patients in my private practice. Please connect with me if you’re interested in collaborating. My goal for the next 10 years is to give people the tools and resources that they need to be their healthiest and most vibrant selves.
How can our readers connect with you?
On Instagram personally at @drgoldspink and with the brand @papillex | https://medium.com/the-creative-inc/dr-elizabeth-goldspink-discusses-how-you-can-be-proactive-when-faced-with-a-positive-hpv-test-or-9f1695f2295f | ['Pratiksha Kumar'] | 2021-02-18 17:42:49.282000+00:00 | ['Hpv', 'Women', 'Entrepreneur', 'Business', 'Doctors'] |
4 Lessons Typos Have Taught Me About Grace | This is what happened this spring as I read my Passion Week meditations each evening at the dinner table for “family time.” In the middle of the devotion, I would catch a mistake, which would cause me to pause, grimace, and lose my place. Not the spiritually enriching experience for the family I had envisioned.
Then I realized those posts had been published on multiple platforms. Oh, no! Others were grimacing, too. Not because of their mistake, but in judgment of mine. At least it felt that way.
As I scrambled from the dinner table to my basement study, I began to update each post — on Medium, on Wordpress, on my paperback and Kindle versions. It was exhausting.
Yes, typos are like mosquitoes. Always annoying. Usually frustrating. Sometimes, downright infuriating.
This time a silver lining appeared in the clouds in the form of four lessons my typos have been teaching me about grace. I thought I’d share them in hopes that some other writer out there (or anyone else who makes mistakes) might be encouraged and helped. If you can relate, this is for you.
1) I Have Blind Spots.
Sometimes when I’m driving, I’ll ask a passenger if there is anything in my blind spot, the area just behind the car outside the view of the rear or side mirrors. New cars and trucks now come equipped with “blind spot detection,” a little light that illuminates in the side mirror if a vehicle is occupying the driver’s blind spot. Even though my wife’s car has that snazzy tech feature, I don’t trust it. I still have to look for myself just to make sure before changing lanes.
Writers have blind spots, too, which is why even professional writers employ trained editors. For example, I can read over a manuscript ten times and not catch the misspelled or misplaced word. Usually, I already have re-written the piece so many times that scraps of editorial content I intended to cut out get left in. That scrap content becomes blind spot material.
Every writer who is continually producing new material has blind spots, and that’s okay. It is the same reason why professional athletes have coaches. Regardless of how much we practice our craft, we will never reach perfection. We can only pursue improvement and progress. To that end, we need editors, coaches, and friends, which leads to the second lesson.
2) I Need the Insight and Input of Others.
As a writer and as a human being, I need others to help me see my blind spots. Sometimes they are grammatical, but other times they are moral. Not only does a writer need editors, but believers need each other to help us see areas of our lives that need to come under the influence and control of the Holy Spirit. Self-righteous anger. Pride. A spirit of entitlement. Jealousy. Greed. These are just some of the things that hide in dark spaces my mirrors can’t see.
A huge lesson my typos have taught me is not only how critical community is for the Christian, but how vital teachability is for the disciple of Jesus. As a writer, I often will push back against the suggestion of an editor. By nature, I want compliments, not critique and correction. But I will not make progress with the pen until I am willing to confess the limitations of my ability.
That is what disciple means, anyway. He or she is a learner who follows the example and guidance of someone else. Obviously, a Christian is a disciple (a learner-follower) of Christ, the professor in God’s school of grace, where students make it their aim to conform every aspect of their lives to that grace which defines those who follow Jesus as Savior and Lord.
Every disciple is given various talents and abilities with which they are empowered to contribute to the advance of the gospel as members of the Kingdom of God. But these gifts are limited and imperfect. As a result, we need the insight and input of others as we live in community as teachable believers.
3) The Illusion of Perfection is a False Gospel.
When I have used a proofreader, I am stunned by how many typos were still present in a document I assumed was relatively “clean” from errors. Ah, but remember the blind spot. The moment I deny the blind spot is the precipice of authorial stupidity — thinking far too highly of one’s self. And the proverb becomes reality, that pride goes before a fall.
When a typo is revealed in a published work, either a simple blog post or in a full-length book, it tends to have a disproportionate impact on me as a writer. For all the good that is there, one mistake can bring the entire edifice down upon my heart like a house of cards.
Why do I get so panicked to discover a simple mistake?
The answer: I want to be perfect.
I do not want to just be a good writer, but a great writer. The best writer. At this point, if I could accurately analyze my heart, I’d find the idol of self-righteousness functionally defining my identity. I may claim that Jesus is my righteousness with my lips, but my anxiety would reveal where my true hope is being found — in writing perfection, which is the illusion of a false gospel.
4. Jesus Uses My Imperfection to Magnify His Grace.
In 2 Corinthians 12:7b-10, the apostle Paul wrote about his lesson with grace,
In order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
Like Paul’s boasting, maybe to keep authors from pursuing “writer righteousness,” the Lord has given us typos. Like mosquitoes for the rest of humanity, we must endure the annoyance, frustration, and infuriation of spelling blunders and grammatical gaffes. But the point is clear enough. Even typos are intended to show us that regardless of how flawed our writing (and our lives), we are those who live by grace through the all-sufficient sacrifice of Jesus, who shed his blood, giving his life as white-out for all our sin.
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Get Your Free Copy | https://medium.com/the-mustard-seed/4-lessons-typos-have-taught-me-about-grace-65f80e2cabb4 | ['Dr. Mckay Caston'] | 2020-08-19 03:33:56.258000+00:00 | ['Writing', 'Spirituality', 'Religion', 'Grace', 'Christianity'] |
Ode To A Toad: Kiss The Frog Goodbye | So you searched the entire Internet for advice, huh? You asked your friends and you asked yourself the same dreaded question
repeatedly: Is he really interested in me?
He doesn’t always take and return your calls. He ignores your text messages. He blows hot and cold at a rate that you can’t keep up with. Here at The Aesthete, we do things a little differently and dynamically. I’m not going to give you a long list of signs that a guy is interested in you. Instead, I have a poem especially for you. If this poem resonates with you, you’ll know what to do.
Roses are red,
Violets are blue
If he isn’t calling,
He’s just not that into you. If your cell-phone chimes,
And all you get are one word texts,
Say hello to your soon to be ex. If he’s too busy to talk every day,
Now is your chance to walk away. If he read your text and he didn’t reply,
Maybe your new guy isn’t all that fly. Love is priceless,
This we know,
But kissing frogs is a long walk down that road. Heartbreak is senseless,
But love is blind.
Blind, deaf and, dumb. If he’s too senseless to see your worth,
Do yourself a favor and get rid of that jerk. If he’s heartless and insensitive,
He just doesn’t care.
This is your queue to get out of there. If he’s hateful and spiteful,
He’ll never be delightful. If he’s not treating you right,
Eliminate him tonight.
You asked and I answered. Now you have another question: What now? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered.
Sunflowers are lovely and so are you,
Don’t waste your time being listed as number two.
Be your own best friend and love will never come to an end. | https://medium.com/@theaesthetemagazine/ode-to-a-toad-kiss-the-frog-goodbye-f4a3f08444c4 | ['The Aesthete'] | 2021-06-17 10:27:46.471000+00:00 | ['Relationships Love Dating', 'Relationship Advice', 'Relationships', 'Advice', 'Writing'] |
Encrypted Data: The Battle for Security and Speed | As Intuit evolves into an AI-driven expert platform, solving for sensitive data at scale across organizational lines becomes more critical than ever. In this article, we will discuss the evolution of Intuit’s approach to encryption and data protection, as seen from the eyes of the team responsible for those capabilities.
Motivation
Customer Obsession is one of Intuit’s core values, and even though we are an internal team, developing platform capabilities to be used by engineers, it is still very much a guiding principle in everything we do. One method we use to truly understand our customers, their needs and wants is called “Follow Me Home”, a practice in which we simply observe the customers as they interact with our products, in their “natural habitat”. Every source of confusion or frustration, every direction that isn’t evidently clear is something that we take a note of, and make sure to fix going forward.
During our recent sessions with analysts, engineers, and data scientists, we discovered a common obstacle: oftentimes the data they were trying to use was produced by a service outside of their immediate reach and identifying the original data owner was an onerous, manual task, full of tribal knowledge.
At Intuit we take pride in being great stewards of our customers’ data, and we work hard to ensure it is used for the express benefit of powering the prosperity of those customers, which is why there is an approval process for granting access that must be followed by the data owner before a data scientist can have access.
Even after the data owner is identified, and the approval granted, there is an additional hurdle in the way when the data is encrypted, which as you can guess happens quite often. Allowing access to the encryption key protecting this data is another manual operation, ripe with errors and back and forth communication.
We knew we had to do better.
At a high level, this is the step-by-step solution we had in mind:
An analyst finds an interesting dataset, part of which is encrypted. They don’t know who generated it and therefore, who to ask for access or how to decrypt it. They send this encrypted data to a dedicated attribution service that identifies which team encrypted it, which encryption keys were used, and requests access. The identified data owner approves this request, which generates a unique access policy, and provides it back to the analyst. The analyst can now decrypt the data and use it.
Steps 2–4 can and eventually will be automated. | https://medium.com/intuit-engineering/encrypted-data-the-battle-of-security-and-speed-c682d4766fe4 | ['Gleb Keselman'] | 2020-12-08 09:48:01.674000+00:00 | ['Security', 'Encryption', 'Infrastructure', 'Platform'] |
ST LUCIA: Acoustic Vol.1 | You read it here first: http://spillmagazine.com/spill-album-review-st-lucia-acoustic-vol-1/
©St Lucia
St. Lucia
Acoustic Vol. 1
Columbia Records
Spill Rate: “You’ll definitely want to hear this!”
On topic with Marie Kondo’s 2019, St. Lucia has truly decluttered and ridden themselves of everything that doesn’t give them joy, and Acoustic Vol.1 takes on a new, raw sound. Acoustic Vol.1 is a 7-track EP made up of songs taken from their 2018 effort, Hyperion, and a couple of older crowd-pleasers including “All Eyes on You” and “Elevate”. Opening with “Elevate”, frontman Jean-Philip Grobler gently pulls the listener into the album with swooping, drawn-out vocals that intertwine with the notes of the keyboard and synth.
Soaked in harmonic love songs like “Next to You” and “Love Somebody”, there is an evident vulnerability to this album. Patt Beranek takes on lead vocals for the first time in “Love Somebody”, showing a delicately feminine side to the band, that is more known for their synth-heavy tropical dance-inducing beats. “Love Somebody” also appears with a Portuguese translation, that sounds all the more romantically fragile. However, acoustic does not mean somber, and St. Lucia understands this. Their cover of The 1975’s hit, “TOOTIMETOOTIMETOOTIME”, and “All Eyes on You” carry the familiar energy of the optimistic beats that fans associate with St. Lucia.
Overall, this album won’t make you feel like dancing on glass, as this acoustic strip-back showcases their undeniable talent. Poetic lyrics that are effortlessly lulled over gentle, yet energetic, melodies create their own space on St, Lucia’s discography. | https://medium.com/@kirstin.bews/st-lucia-acoustic-vol-1-4634eba332a5 | ['Kirstin Bews'] | 2019-05-09 21:44:00.849000+00:00 | ['Acoustic', 'Electronic Music', 'Music Review', 'Album Review', 'St Lucia'] |
The Art of Daily Reading | There are so many touted benefits to reading daily that it feels unnecesary to repeat them here. We all know we should be reading more—what holds us back is the notion that we just don’t have the time, or the energy, or the focus to read as much as we think we should.
I’ve always loved reading, and I have a PhD in English to prove it. Still, reading every day is a habit I’ve had to cultivate.
At times I’ve thought I’m just too busy right now, or I’m just too tired. Sometimes it just feels easier to plop onto bed after a long day spent with a toddler and stream scenes from my reality TV fantasy life directly into my brain.
Those days, not coincidentally, are usually my worst—they come when I’m in an emotional rut, uninspired, and running out of steam.
I’ve learned that these are precisely the days when pausing for a moment of reading helps me the most.
I don’t think I’m alone in this.
Fortunately, getting yourself into the habit of reading daily can be done. It’s a matter of making good use of the bits of time that are already there, pushing away the shameful and judgmental thoughts we all have, and becoming aware of the reading that brings you joy.
Here are some guidelines that will help you seamlessly integrate your reading into your daily life.
1. Take advantage of the little unexpected bits of time.
Christine Smallwood once said, “Children fill up time that you didn’t know was empty.” This is true, and the same can be said about writing, and about reading.
When I’m into a good book, I miraculously find little pockets of time all through the day: while standing by the stove waiting for a pan to heat up, waiting for an Uber or a bus or the train, in line at the grocery story, in line for the bathroom, waiting for a to go order, on hold, in waiting rooms, etc.
These bits of empty time are scattered all throughout the day, waiting for us to notice them.
This doesn’t even take into consideration the convenience of audiobooks. Personally, I like the feel of a book in my hand, and I like to be able to control the pace of my reading, to linger on a line or reread a passage or skim back to remind myself of a detail or a name. I realize, however, how many more opportunities audiobooks open up: you can listen while you walk, drive, bike, fold your laundry, wash your dishes, etc.
Pretty reliably, unless it’s an especially grueling day and all I want to do is close my eyes, I can at least read for a few minutes before going to bed. Reading relaxes me and so actually helps to lull me into a better sleep.
Those little bits of time are there to be used. You’d be surprised how much you can read in a day if you’re willing to read a page at a time.
2. Let go of that perfect reading time.
We all have the ambition to find the time to sit and read for hours. These big chunks of time when you can really get lost in a book are wonderful, but, for most of us, they’re hard to come by.
We all want to be curled up in a couch, with some hot chocolate (or spiced rum) and a book in hand, while snow falls outside. At the very least, we want to be able to “fully” immerse, in other words, get lost, in this other world that books offer.
That is the ideal—I can’t argue against those beautiful, peaceful hours. But, I can advocate for the brief moments of immersion that come from touching on your book several times throughout the day.
When you’re reading something a bit at a time, you’re always just a little bit immersed. Because your reading time is full of interruptions, you never really leave the book. You “hold that thought” for when you can get back to it at some other point in the day.
You pick up your book and can get right into the next paragraph without having to remind yourself of where you are, or what happened last, or who these characters are.
Everything is fresh because you were just now, an hour or two ago, there.
3. Keep your books nearby.
To make this work, you need to keep your books accessible.
You never know when that free moment is going to arrive, but you need to be ready for it. Make packing up your book on your way out of the door as essential as taking your keys or your wallet with you.
Don’t leave your book gathering dust on your nighttable.
When you get up, take it into the bathroom with you. Then take it into the kitchen. It might be that while you wait for your coffeemaker to start up, you’ll have an extra minute or two to jumpstart your reading for the day.
Seeing your book every time you open your purse or every time you refill your coffee cup will give you a nudge.
4. Stop reading what you think you should read, and read what you actually enjoy.
When I hear people say they just don’t like reading, I often think they’re just reading the wrong kind of books.
I’m not ashamed to admit that I used to keep a copy of Gustave Flaubert’s Madame Bovary by my bedside to help me fall asleep. One paragraph in, my arms would go limp. I’m sure other people love this novel—I don’t.
Lots of people want to read more, but what they want themselves to want to read are the books they think are important: the classics, the denser the better.
I’m not saying you shouldn’t read outside of your comfort, or that you shouldn’t read anything difficult or new or challenging. This is sometimes where we have the most to gain.
What I’m saying is, if what you enjoy is speculative fiction, or detective novels, or historical romance, then find the well-written and challenging examples of writing in those genres.
Look beyond the American or Anglo- examples and build your own canon.
Not everybody is going to love Charles Dickens’ wordiness, or William Faulkner’s excess, or Virginia Woolf’s abstraction. While there are obviously benefits to knowing your way around the classics, there are so many examples to chose from.
There’s no point in forcing yourself to invest weeks or months working through Ulysses if you hate every second of it. It’s actually more likely that you’ll start to avoid reading altogether.
It is nearly impossible for me to enjoy a book of nonfiction. I know this about myself. I know this from many years of trying and failing to get into even the most eventful biography or influential theory books.
So, if I don’t want to get kicked out of my daily reading habit altogether, I plan to read nonfiction in little bits and switch back to my novel when I get tired of it.
5. You don’t have to finish every book you begin. Let go of books that don’t interest you.
This one is still hard for me.
Earlier this year, I bought Laura Lippman’s Lady in the Lake. It got rave reviews from some good publications. It features a woman journalist as the detective trying to solve a murder mystery. What could go wrong? I went to my nearby bookstore and did something I almost never do: I bought a hardcover copy.
Turns out, I just couldn’t get into it. Still, I tried for weeks. I kept thinking, everyone else says it’s good, and rationalizing, it’s got all the things I like, and the kicker, I now own this hardcover book!
When my husband asked me why I didn’t just start reading something else after the fifteenth time I fell asleep after a page or two, I responded with annoyance: “Listen, I invested $27 in this book.”
What keeps us stuck in projects or investements we don’t care about or believe in anymore is the “fallacy of sunk costs.”
We tend to think of it as stubbornness or pride, I have to finish what I started, but it’s usually a little deeper than that.
When you’ve sunk a certain amount of money or time or effort into a project, you convince yourself that you need to keep going. You’ve already invested x amount of time on this, how could you give it up now? Giving up feels like throwing away all of that time and effort.
So, you push on. This is a mistake.
That time is already gone, there is nothing you can do to recover it. Investing even more time isn’t going to get you that initial investement back. The thing to do is to accept your loss and move on instead of continuing to invest time in something you don’t care about.
Nobody cares if I do or don’t finish Lady in the Lake, and nobody cares whether you do or don’t finish Infinite Jest.
Spend your time reading books that enrich your life. | https://medium.com/swlh/the-art-of-daily-reading-a4eb75b21211 | [] | 2020-02-22 00:36:06.180000+00:00 | ['Mental Health', 'Habit Building', 'Books', 'Reading', 'Habits'] |
6 Creative Ways to Cut Airbnb Expenses and Boost Your Profit Margin | 6 Creative Ways to Cut Airbnb Expenses and Boost Your Profit Margin iGMS Jun 17, 2019·4 min read
Airbnb expenses can quickly eat away at your profits. Whether it is a once-off amount for a business license, a monthly subscription or everyday consumables, there are many common expenses that you cannot avoid. In fact, some of your expenses like insurance and electricity will most likely also be higher once you turn your property into a short-term rental.
So, to help prevent you from feeling as if you just want to throw in the towel when you need to replace towels yet again, here are six simple strategies.
Buy in Bulk
Although Airbnb listings are different from hotel accommodation, there are some tips that hosts can learn from the hotel industry. One such tip is to buy in bulk (and, if possible, from one supplier only).
For example, many hosts like to welcome their guests with a delectable basket or leave free toiletries. While this is a wonderful idea (and recommended if you want to be successful in this industry), gestures like these can quickly add up.
Toiletries you can definitely buy in bulk! By opting for non-perishable items, such as home-made preserves, for your welcome basket, you could add the items for your welcome basket to the toiletries in your checkout basket. Not only could you get a better price when you buy in bulk, but it will help you to work more efficiently too by saving you extra trips to the store.
Purchase Multi-Purpose Cleaning Products
Many hosts forget that they can use one multi-purpose cleaning product for their everyday cleaning. What makes this so great is that multi-purpose cleaning products are many times sold undiluted in a large bottle at a much better price. So, by mixing the solution yourself, you could get a better deal.
Besides, you won’t need to buy separate products for cleaning floors, countertops, and sinks, as multi-purpose cleaning products can be used for multiple areas of your home.
Remove Cable
Thanks to a wide range of streaming services available, you can pull the plug on offering cable. For example, by paying a monthly fee of about $20, you can get Netflix or Hulu that offers more than enough variety.
After all, your guests will most likely be spending most of their time exploring your area. If you do decide not to offer cable, just make sure that you mention clearly in your listing description what you will be offering to avoid any confusion that could lead to bad reviews.
Opt for Motion Sensors
When you start using your place as a short-term rental, you can expect to see an increase in your utility bills. Therefore, it will definitely be a smart move to invest in smart solutions that can help you to manage your electricity consumption, such as motion sensors. In short, a motion sensor will switch on the lights whenever movement has been noticed within the field of view of the sensor. This means that lights will not switch on when there is still sufficient natural lighting.
Use a Smart Thermostat
In addition to motion sensors, a smart thermostat is another cost-effective investment. With the help of this smart tool, your heating system will no longer run for hours on end without anyone even being present to enjoy the warmth. Plus, you do not have to worry about a guest possibly getting injured while trying to adjust the temperature as you can maintain the temperature remotely.
Save on Key Retrieval Services
If you do not have to be present at check-in just to hand over the keys to your guests, you can spend that time more productively on other money-generating tasks like selling additional services to your guests.
The good news is that you don’t necessarily need to pay for key handover services, as there are cheaper and no less effective alternatives. For instance, you can opt for a key lock-box or electronic lock enabling guests to access your property without your presence. Looking for more innovative solutions? Consider installing a smart lock, that will allow you to authorize access for your guests just using your smartphone.
Keep Calm and Control Your Expenses
Just like with any other industry, expenses are unavoidable. The secret is to find ways to save money whenever the opportunity presents itself, but without offering less value to your guests. All things considered, it is key that you draw up a budget so that you are never caught off guard (or worse, your guests without an essential amenity). | https://medium.com/@airgms/6-creative-ways-to-cut-airbnb-expenses-and-boost-your-profit-margin-f043cc5fdc76 | [] | 2019-06-17 11:33:45.145000+00:00 | ['Airbnb Expenses', 'Airbnb Management', 'Airbnb Tips', 'Airbnb Host', 'Airbnb'] |
Create Your Own, One-Of-A-Kind Maserati. | I shared it right at the end of that post, giving a look at some very vibrant MC20s, each even more unique to the next. They have all sorts of decals, liveries, patterns, and colour combinations that you’d be more likely to find in a pack of Skittles, not on a car. Its very bold, and certainly exciting. This means that, in my wildest dreams, I can have an MC20 that’s been coloured in something other than just the six shades of paint offered on the online configurator.
I can give thanks to Maserati’s newest department to join its growing stable, Fuoriserie. To those not speaking Italian, it might sound like an ravishing and naughty name to call your new office, but as far as Google Translate can tell me, fuoriserie translates literally to, ‘custom-built’. Creative naming aside, it at least does exactly what it says on the box. This is Maserati’s bespoke personalisation programme, where one can create something truly one-of-a-kind.
We can say that cars of today are not as vivid, or wild as they once were. I believe in the notion that the automotive industry of the 1950s to 70s were the golden age for car design. Unconstrained by rules to govern safety or emissions, designers and engineers could really go mad with a black canvas. Carmakers didn’t have to follow guidelines on how low or sharp the front-nose can be, whether one part is too protruded, or whether the window pillars are thick and firm enough. | https://medium.com/@zacknorman97/create-your-own-one-of-a-kind-maserati-b5d69badf62e | ['Zack Norman'] | 2020-09-14 16:22:53.834000+00:00 | ['Design', 'Interior Design', 'Automotive', 'Auto', 'Cars'] |
Raft Cluster Membership Change Protocol | Related Posts:
Raft Consensus Protocol Made Simpler [link] Raft Cluster Membership Change Protocol [this one] Raft Consensus Protocol Implementations [link]
Background
In my first blog post about Raft — Raft Consensus Protocol Made Simpler, I promised I’d write about Raft cluster membership change. That’s too important a topic to omit. Due to various administrative reasons, new nodes may need to be added to the cluster, existing nodes may need to be removed or replaced. A mature and practical consensus protocol has to address the need to update cluster membership. In this blog post, let’s see how Raft does it. This blog post relies extensively on the knowledge built in that first blog post. It’s strongly recommended that you at least skimmed through that before diving into this one.
Cluster Membership Change
Cluster membership update is surprisingly easy once you understand the fundamentals of Raft’s log replication and leader election. Diego initially designed a more complex algorithm but later discovered it could be largely simplified if we impose a restriction: only one node change at a time — either add or remove. It’s a realistic simplification because clusters typically run in 3-node-mode, 5-node-mode, or occasionally 7-node-mode. Changes among them require only a handful of sequential one-time cluster membership updates.
To perform cluster membership updates, two new client RPCs are introduced: AddServer and RemoveServer. Clients — typically admins — use them to interact with the cluster leader for membership updates. What does the leader do when it receives an AddServer/RemoveServer request? Well, you guessed it. The leader appends that request to the log and starts replicating to followers. Here is the important part: a node updates its cluster membership knowledge as soon as an AddServer/RemoveServer is appended to its log (with a minor variance when the leader needs to remove itself — as we shall see later). That’s right, a node does not wait for that log entry to be committed (safely replicated in a majority). It starts using that information right away. If it’s AddServer, the new server will be treated as the node’s peer. If it’s RemoveServer, that server is removed from the node’s peer list. This eliminates the need of keeping a record of how much of the log is committed. It also reduces the delay of cluster membership change because the knowledge of commitment typically lags the log entries.
Why Switching Immediately Works
It may seem counterintuitive at first glance because almost any robust change in a distributed system requires “two-phases” — Paxos’ preparing and accepting a value, two phase commit algorithm, etc. The magic here comes down to the restriction we imposed earlier. The danger of cluster membership change is in that out-of-sync nodes may have different ideas about the number needed to form a majority. For example, if 2 nodes are added to a 3-node cluster in one shot, these two new nodes may conspire with one existing node to form a 3-out-of-5 majority. But the other existing two nodes which don’t know about the cluster membership change may form a 2-out-of-3 majority. Two leaders arise in this situation. See the following figure-1 as an illustration:
Figure-1. Source: Diego’s dissertation.
The genius of the one-node-at-a-time restriction is that it prevents any split brain (multiple leaders) situation. Because the two or more split groups are guaranteed to share nodes, which act as arbitrators to stop multiple leaders being elected. Suppose you have a cluster of 4 nodes and now you want to add one more. Nodes which still think there are only 4 nodes in the cluster will have to summon supports from 3 nodes to form a majority. Nodes which know there are actually 5 nodes now will also have to collect votes from 3 nodes. There are only 5 nodes in total. So the first 3-node-group and the second 3-node-group are guaranteed to have overlaps. See the following figure-2 as an illustration:
Figure-2. Source: Diego’s dissertation.
You can work out other examples starting with an even/odd number of nodes trying to add/remove one server. They all turn out to have to have overlaps. The existence of overlap prevents multiple leaders because a node only votes for one candidate in any given term. In the 4+1 example above, the first 3-node-group could elect a leader for term t, which prevents the second 3-node-group from winning in term t. The second 3-node-group could rerun and win for term t+1, in which case their leader will override the leader from the first 3-node-group. In theory, there may be back-and-forth between the two groups, but in practice the elected leader will start sending out AppendEntry fast enough to convert others to followers. Interjection: I call it AppendEntry instead of the original AppendEntries in Diego’s dissertation. You’ll have to refer to the my Raft Consensus Protocol Made Simpler to understand why that’s preferred.
Where the “two phases” concept comes in is that new cluster membership change can only be performed once the last cluster membership change is committed. Otherwise the one-at-a-time promise will break down because there may be nodes which think the cluster still consists of 3 nodes while others already know it contains 5 nodes now.
Address a Couple Loose Ends for Completeness
There are a couple other loose ends we have to address before the cluster membership protocol is complete.
First all of, nodes always respond to AppendEntry and RequestVote RPCs even if those come from nodes not part of their cluster configuration. Otherwise newly added nodes can’t sync to the leader’s log; or sometimes there won’t be enough votes to constitute a majority — for example, a fourth node is added and one existing node fails, now 3 nodes (including the new node) are required to form a majority.
Secondly, the newly added nodes need a way to quickly catch up with the log otherwise they could block the system. For example, a fourth node with empty log is added to a 3-node cluster. Then one of the existing 3 nodes fails. Now this fourth node’s lagging log will delay a majority (3 out of 4) replication because it has to catch up first before participating in replicating new log entries. See the figure-3 below for an illustration. There’re many ways to address this. We could put the fourth node in a pure observer mode for it to receive AppendEntry and catch up with the leader first before it participates in any leader election/voting. Or we could implement a more efficient log snapshot dump so that this lagging new node doesn’t have to wait for a sequential log backfill.
Figure-3. Source: Diego’s dissertation.
Thirdly, what if the to-be-removed server is the leader itself? In that case, does the leader immediately step down after it appends the cluster membership change to its own log? This is the minor variance I alluded to in the earlier section. The answer is no. In an extreme case, there are only 2 nodes in the cluster. If the leader steps down immediately before it can replicate the request to the other node, the other node will never know that the node size is reduced to 1 and therefore still thinks that two nodes are needed for a majority. In that case, that remaining node will never become a leader. Fortunately, the solution is straightforward. The leader steps down when it knows that the cluster membership change is committed, in which case a new leader can be elected without the old leader. Suppose you have a 4-node-cluster, the leader steps down once the cluster membership change is replicated in two other nodes. Now, the remaining 3 nodes will time out waiting for AppendEntry and start running for the new leader. The nodes with the new cluster membership change in its log knows only 2 are needed to form a majority. In this case, the cluster can still survive if any one of the remaining 3 nodes crashes.
Lastly, there is an edge case in removing a server. The leader knows that that server is removed and starts acting that way as soon as the leader appends the cluster membership change to its log. That means the leader will stop sending that node AppendEntry. The removed node, if still connected to others, will think that the leader is dead because it doesn’t hear any AppendEntry and will then start an election, disrupting the rest of the cluster. The solution is to modify the RequestVote RPC handling slightly: if a node still hears regular AppendEntry RPC, it denies any vote request. That way this removed node can start its election, but it won’t get any vote from the rest of the cluster.
Closing
I think that’s everything for the core of Raft that I want to share. Diego’s dissertation also talked about log compaction, client interaction, their user study, implementation and performance, etc. But I don’t think those areas are particularly novel. So I don’t plan to write about them. I do want to write something about the implementation from my own perspective, which I’ll probably get to in a future post. | https://medium.com/@eileen-code4fun/raft-cluster-membership-change-protocol-f57cc17d1c03 | ['Eileen Pangu'] | 2020-12-22 03:18:10.237000+00:00 | ['Tech', 'Consensus Algorithm', 'Distributed Systems', 'System Design Interview', 'Software Development'] |
So… What now w/ Nanox Imaging? | Trying to play the role of the unconventional due diligence detective isn’t easy. Right now, people are still making seemingly negative sounding articles on Nanox. This includes the recent one I tried rebutting, and even another article on the Motley Fool that tries its best to present itself as neutral. The fact is, people are still going to be rapidly citing Citron Research or promoting a short seller report. This is likely going to happen for a while. Then few of those people will try criticizing it if the FDA 510(k) gets approved, saying it doesn’t mean much. Then if Nanox distributes 10,000 devices, people will be there to criticize its business model.
People are always going to be naysayers. In my personal opinion, I think Nanox should be a more then substantial long term investment. Infact, if they really do what they set out to do, it may be extremely difficult to find as good investment opportunities in the market. That said, do your own due diligence.
Currently, for the short term, I think that the NNOX 44.5 Call for January 8th, 2021 at 7.61 was an attractive entry. A long term contract would be more like something around November or 2022. This is in regards to options trading.
I do engage in research related to the sensory tech and medical device industry. However, I hold no relations to Nanox Imaging or working with Nanox Imaging. My only current conflict of interest is being long on its stock.
Disclosure: Please keep in mind, everything I say is on an opinion based basis. This is not meant to be taken seriously or as actionable financial advice. Do your own due diligence and any trades/investments you do is at your own risk. We are not responsible, proceed with caution and we are trying to voice an opinion not meant to warrant action. This is solely meant to be viewed as a non actionable opinion not meant to be taken as seriously or as a form of actionable advice. | https://medium.com/quantportal/so-what-now-w-nanox-imaging-5aca4a6450bb | ['Andrew Kamal'] | 2020-12-15 04:46:16.632000+00:00 | ['Radiology', 'Stocks', 'Tech', 'Technology', 'Stock Market'] |
Just 30 Photos of a Cat Who Thinks He’s a Dog | Just 30 Photos of a Cat Who Thinks He’s a Dog
The dogs think he’s a dog too, apparently
Photos: saki.ibuki.hazuki via Instagram
Kiki is a one-year-old cat who lives with three dogs in Japan, but no one has the heart to tell him. His brother and sisters accepted him into the family as a two-month-old kitten, and have patiently taught him all about life as a dog, which mostly seems to involve eating, going for walks, and posing for group photos that would look good as an album cover.
Unlike most cats, Kiki has no qualms about patiently posing with his pack, who have all been exceptionally gracious about accepting this tiny, oddly shaped, purring puppy into their family. This is, to say the very least, a major development in the field of feline/canine diplomacy, and you can tell by Kiki’s extremely earnest expressions that he’s taking his role very seriously.
You can keep up with his (truly, quite precious) antics by following saki.ibuki.hazuki on Instagram. | https://medium.com/tenderlymag/just-30-photos-of-a-cat-who-thinks-hes-a-dog-dc31b98542e5 | ['Jack Shepherd'] | 2020-09-28 11:03:05.477000+00:00 | ['Japan', 'Photography', 'Love', 'Instagram', 'Pets'] |
Sustainability in creativity: fighting climate change one production at a time | By Paul Evans, Co-Founder Greenshoot
2020 — a year defined by uncertainty, reflection and transformation — has shone a spotlight on the increasingly urgent need to address the climate emergency — an existential threat to us all and a relentless global pandemic for our natural ecosystems. The trailblazing London Climate Action Week that launched last week was a great opportunity for climate professionals and communities to unite to develop innovative, collective solutions and continue to pave the way forward.
At Greenshoot, we have been reflecting on our own contribution and how we can transform our industry further. For more than 10 years, we have been dedicated to revolutionising production practices on our mission to work towards a carbon-neutral industry, in support of the 2015 Paris Agreement. With president-elect Joe Biden outlining a $1.7 trillion plan to invest in clean-energy in infrastructure over ten years and pledging to rejoin the Paris Agreement on his first day in office, the message couldn’t be clearer: this is a unifying moment requiring a whole society response to the climate emergency. Individuals, leaders, scientists, cultural institutions, policy-makers, professionals and communities are altogether essential to the transition to a net-zero carbon world.
The Greenshoot family is incredibly proud to celebrate a decade of leading and mobilising the creative industries to take action on environmental sustainability and climate change. Fuelled by an ever-growing commitment to innovation — to help the TV, film and advertising production industry shoot sustainably — we are more driven than ever before to continue to shape the creative movement towards environmental and societal prosperity. Showcasing how sustainability in entertainment does not result in a lower ‘wow factor’, but simply requires more conscious operations. Today, as global audiences take in season 4 of Netflix’s smash hit The Crown, we are proud of our role as its sustainability partner ensuring a move through each season towards a carbon-neutral production process.
Founded by myself, production veterans Melanie Dicks and Cathy Green, ever-motivated by a passionate intention to put the planet first, we are honoured to have been the first of our kind globally, becoming a fundamental source of inspiration for our peers and their own sustainability initiatives. Using the new Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHG) standards, in 2009 we created the first filming-specific carbon calculator, which subsequently expanded to cover all scopes relevant to fixed businesses, with our fantastic development partner Jane Burston, now MD of the Clean Air Fund. Alongside The Crown, Greenshoot has supported hundreds of commercials for companies Waitrose and John Lewis, IKEA, Tesco, Nike and independent feature films like Lady Macbeth, Jamie The Musical and the upcoming indie, The Eye.
Working to equip the industry with the tools necessary to transform production into a planet positive practice, we recently revamped our website and have released a new innovative pre-production carbon assessment tool. Effectively, the tool gives producers and directors insight into the primary causes of their carbon footprint prior to shooting, so they can take pre-emptive, direct action to reduce their impact.
We also help productions achieve carbon neutrality through in-depth carbon assessments, footprint analysis and an offsetting scheme with our globally-recognised partners, including the United Nations REDD programme; which plants trees in the UK and prevents deforestation in vulnerable regions like the Amazon.
With a hands-on approach, we believe in working at the grassroots of the industry — with the producers and directors of tomorrow — to ensure sustainability is at the root of all production practice. We have been training film makers for the past seven years, helping them get their first break into the film and TV industry as green stewards, and have seen an overwhelming 35% uplift in enquiries in the past six months.
Meanwhile, our Green Screen Environmental Production Programme, a social enterprise launched in 2016 with our partners Film London, has overseen 580 productions, including 495 commercials in 26 countries, reducing their energy consumption, carbon emissions and costs. Our renowned ‘Green Screen certification’ is awarded to productions that qualify for one of three levels; Green, Silver or Gold. We have been thrilled to certify over 515 productions worldwide, with the support of the IPA; the Institute of Practitioners of Advertising. Many of the London boroughs are supporting our Green Screen programme, along with organisations like English Heritage and Network Rail. In London with over 16,000 filming days a year, there was a 17% decrease in carbon emissions in 2019 from the shows that use the Green Screen programme — demonstrating the profound and positive impact it is having across the industry.
We have grown a global network of over 60 production companies and 22 advertising agencies, whose work with iconic brands such as Coca Cola, John Lewis, Amazon, M&S, Tesco, Nike, Audi and Playstation has helped us collectively change the industry standard. Our work on sets such as Sherlock Holmes and Fast and Furious 6 led to the game-changing implementation of the ongoing sustainability programme for Left Bank Pictures, The Crown. Each Green Screen production implements specific sustainability measures, including a training for the whole production, including a Green Steward who also manages the distribution of unwanted production assets to charities — clothes, food and props. Our education, legacy and donations programmes are at the heart of the Green Screen sustainable production process, which, since inception, has enabled over £200,000 worth of clothing, food and props to be donated to charities and schools in the UK and 26 countries.
Reflective of our commitment to a grassroots and equality-driven approach, we provide free sustainable production training for producers, crew and also hold regular Green Steward training days in conjunction with Film London and theMayor of London’s Equal Access Network for individuals from diverse backgrounds. This training has launched the careers of many by helping them get their first break in the production industry; on set of The Crown, Britannia, Quiz, Outlander and numerous commercials. There are now over 390 trained Green Stewards championing sustainable production and sharing Greenshoot’s methodology and ethos with the wider world. The training has supported the real need to enable the UK production industries to be fit for purpose across climate change and sustainable production.
Never has there been a more urgent time for cross sector collaboration. Greenshoot’s crucial work demystifying, assisting and instructing in sustainability, carbon reduction and offsetting is now even more relevant with production slates shifted back and many environmental initiatives stalled. In these unprecedented and uncertain times, people across the world are calling out for change and cooperation.
The creative industries have been presented with an opportunity to lead by example, and to turn intention into action as we build back a better world. Echoing the words of London Mayor Sadiq Khan, “as we recover from Covid-19, we can’t replace one health emergency with another — we need to come out of this crisis embracing a new normal which puts tackling the climate emergency at the heart of everything we do.”
After a decade of innovation Greenshoot stats speak for themselves; 45,000 tonnes of CO2 being removed from the atmosphere, over 500,000 single use plastic bottles saved from use, 13,000 crew engaging and collaboratively growing the initiative, through to a zero waste to landfill policy across 80% of our film sets.
With Joe Biden’s incoming administration, we can all look forward to a more sustainable future and in the words of John Kerry, “It’ll be an honor to work with our allies and partners, alongside rising young leaders in the climate movement, to tackle the climate crisis with the seriousness and urgency it deserves’. | https://medium.com/@greenshoot/sustainability-in-creativity-fighting-climate-change-one-production-at-a-time-71683272c71d | [] | 2020-11-24 11:12:17.302000+00:00 | ['Climate Change', 'Sustainability', 'Climate', 'Film', 'Paris Climate Agreement'] |
The unknown POV | We all are expected to be fine, adjust, and figure it out. They say help is provided ,but where. Your help makes us worse off then we were before. We are suffering in the silence and there is no where to go and vent. This virus has made us all kinds of messed up. I was once happy but then everything changed in March. Schools shut down quarantine began we learned nothing then expected to do more then double what we normally doing in regular school. Can’t you see we are struggling I’m sure you do but choose to ignore.Can’t you see you are making our futures dim slowly. You blame it on us but it isn’t just us. A straight a student has now become a failing one where’s the concern now . You cant do it. There is no point. Why even try, you will fail. Failure. Is this what you wanted cause you got it. | https://medium.com/@wvtexupsz/the-unknown-pov-86eca49e505f | ['Just Someone Who Knows'] | 2020-12-18 07:36:35.495000+00:00 | ['Life', 'Covid', 'Students', 'Teachers', 'The Now'] |
Sterling Chandler heads out for dinner after shooting for GQ Men of the Year awards in London | Sterling Chandler heads out for dinner after shooting for GQ Men of the Year awards in London Joe Rushton Follow Dec 9, 2020 · 2 min read
Sterling Chandler pictured in South Kensington, London / Image credit: Joe Rushton — Splash News
Sterling Chandler turned heads on Wednesday evening whilst leaving a restaurant in South Kensington, London. He styled a designer puffer jacket with a quarter zip and white jeans. The young photographer rose to fame last year by working with major artists and record labels from The Specials to Che Lingo.
No doubt Sterling has been busy over the last few months, from working on a short film for Dazed & Gucci as well as photographing Patrick Hutchinson for the GQ Men of the Year 2020 & January 2021 magazine.
Sterling Chandler / Image credit: Joe Rushton — Splash News
He took to Instagram on a few weeks back, sharing incredible images from a recent short film series ‘Absolute Beginners’ by Gucci X Dazed. As stated in the credits Sterling was the BTS photographer in addition to Assistant Director. The video named Knotted Gold was directed by Tom Dream & Arlo Parks.
Absolute Beginners, a short film series which sees nine creative talent do something they’ve never done before: get in the director’s seat.
Arlo Parks’ knotted gold pays tribute to the work of seminal photographers Nan Goldin and Ren Hang, and is indebted to the style of legendary filmmaker Wes Anderson. But the poet and musician leaves her mark all over it, with an intimate narration creating a stillness and serenity on the shores of England. | https://medium.com/daily-celebs/sterling-chandler-heads-out-for-dinner-after-shooting-for-gq-men-of-the-year-awards-in-london-2372c8f252f8 | ['Joe Rushton'] | 2020-12-09 19:31:10.648000+00:00 | ['London', 'Paparazzi', 'Chelsea', 'Celebrity', 'Sterling Chandler'] |
How to Install & Fix Phone Holder Won’t Stick to Dashboard | This Will solve your 99% of problem of phone holder won’t stick to dashboard.
How to Fix Phone Holder Won’t Stick to Dashboard
At first I felt that installing the cell phone holder in my car is very easy task then,
I installed the dashboard cell phone holder with the instructions given with the phone holder without any other suggestion.
And BOOM! I installed it perfectly and started using it.
This is the adhesive dashboard mount that sticks to the dashboard with the help of glue; I fixed it on the dashboard close to my hands to use it perfectly.
By the 6th day of installation it was completely fine, but after that it started falling down repeatedly and is not tightly glued to the dashboard.
Then I worried about it I thought that this cell phone holder is defective or ran out.
Here’s the Tip
Then after my friend gave me a Tip
He said: — After installing the phone holder, please….Read more | https://medium.com/@holdingdevices/how-to-install-fix-phone-holder-wont-stick-to-dashboard-b0d24bbac8dd | ['Alex Smith'] | 2020-12-16 06:37:06.705000+00:00 | ['Car Accessories', 'Cars', 'Trucks', 'Bikes', 'Cell Phones'] |
Trumpians (the party formerly known as Republican) hate it when every qualified voter actually votes | Trumpians (the party formerly known as Republican) hate it when every qualified voter actually votes Left Wisdom Apr 25·3 min read
Because when everybody that is entitled to vote actually does so, the power-mad dishonest and (yes, I am going there) RACIST party of the great orange monster has very little chance of winning, they are now full-on with voter suppression. We all know that they do not want nor care to represent minorities, whether ethnic or sexual/gender-related.
After all, Qanon, Proud Boys, Oath Keepers, and the other White Nationalist organizations are the people that fell for trump’s lie about the election. Biden won fair and square, and every state has confirmed that fact. The only ones still hanging on to the lie is those who believe the propaganda put by radical right-wing conspiracy muckrakers like Linden, Powell, and their ilk. So, goes the Trumpian logic, the best solution is to try and do everything possible to keep those who see through the lies from voting.
After the voter suppression law passed by the Trumpian party in Georgia resulted in the loss of at minimum 130 million dollars as Will Smith pulled a large movie project out of the states, with who knows how many other such actions to follow, you would think that simple economics would make other states cautious on trying such draconian moves. However, now Texas is trying it as well.
Let’s just, for a minute, look at what really happened in 2020. Because of Covid-19, some areas wisely moved to make voting more available for those who cared enough about their health and continue life and avoid large crowds. As a result, the number of those voting was higher than it might have been otherwise, even though after four years of the disaster of trump, many of us were extra motivated to get our votes recorded and counted. I know I was.
In Harris County (Houston) in Texas that included some moves by the vote management to make sure that as many as possible had access to vote. They set up a 24-hour voting opportunity the day before the actual election day and had drive-through facilities. Both of these methods required the same identification that was required at any other precinct. The point was that people who work nights, or late into the day so that they can’t get there during business hours could still vote. The drive-through was a favored method for those concerned about the deadly Covid pandemic.
Now, the Trumpians are highlighting those two methods as things to do away with. In other words, things that make it easier for people that leave in a large city to vote, large cities being where most minority and hospitality workers are, are what is being threatened. Meanwhile, rural voter, where it is predominately white and more open to voting whenever is not being touched as much.
So, try to tell me this isn’t an attempt to restrict the vote. I am white and older, but I do not, for one moment, believe that there is a war against White People as some, even on this site would say exists. What exists is an attempt to give EVERYBODY equal access to voting. Sorry, but rural voters and wealthy whites who don’t need to work about working and not being allowed to vote because of scheduling are not the ones that need to be concerned. It is minorities, interestingly enough, the very ones that have no expectation of anything good coming to them from the Trumpian party that need to be concerned.
I join them in that concern and believe that voter suppression is the goal of the Trumpians and am beginning to think that the Federal Government needs to come up with a voters rights law that is nationwide that can put a stop to this soulless attempt to disenfranchise so many citizens of our great country. A country that is great, BECAUSE of the diversity of its population. | https://medium.com/@jwgarman2/trumpians-the-party-formerly-known-as-republican-hate-it-when-every-qualified-voter-actually-da487ad4f473 | ['Left Wisdom'] | 2021-04-25 23:19:11.784000+00:00 | ['Conspiracy Theories', 'Dishonesty', 'Trumpism', 'Racism', 'Voter Suppression Laws'] |
HUSTLERS (2019) Online Free Google Drive [mp4] | Watch or Download here : http://watch.movie4u.xyz/movie/540901/hustlers
HUSTLERS (2019) Online Free Google Drive [mp4]
watch or Download here: http://bit.ly/2A9QIKx
Title : Hustlers
Genre : Comedy
Stars : Constance Wu, Jennifer Lopez, Julia Stiles, Keke Palmer, Lili Reinhart, Lizzo
Release : 2019–09–12
Runtime : 107 min.
Production : Annapurna Pictures
Movie Synopsis:
Inspired by Jessica Pressler’s “The Hustlers at Scores,” which details a crew of savvy former strip club employees who band together to turn the tables on their Wall Street clients.
Hustlers 2019 Full Movie, Hustlers 2019 Full Movie , Hustlers 2019 Full Movie Online, Hustlers 2019 Full Movie, Watch Hustlers 2019 Full Movie, Hustlers 2019 Full Movie Download, Hustlers 2019 Full Movie Streaming, Watch Hustlers 2019 Full Movie, Watch Hustlers 2019 Full Movie, Watch Hustlers 2019 Full Movie , Hustlers 2019 Full Movie Free, Hustlers 2019 Full Movie HD 720p, Hustlers 2019 Full Movie HD 1080p Quality, Streaming Hustlers 2019 Full Movie, Hustlers 2019 Full Movie | https://medium.com/@leony.twain/hustlers-2019-online-free-google-drive-mp4-e82bf0fe67bf | ['Leony Twain'] | 2020-06-15 16:16:53.479000+00:00 | ['Facebook', 'Movies', 'Comedy', 'Médium', 'Film'] |
Instabase Appoints Ozge Tuncel Ozcan as Chief Customer Officer | Ozcan, a proven customer-obsessed leader, will help drive the next phase of success for Instabase and its customers.
SAN FRANCISCO, CA (October 6, 2020) — Instabase, the leading platform for building modern business applications, announces the appointment of Ozge Tuncel Ozcan as Chief Customer Officer. Ozcan, a proven customer-obsessed leader, will join the Instabase executive team to lead the customer success, support, training, and professional services functions.
Ozcan most recently led the MongoDB Customer Success and Sales Development functions, building and overseeing operations across North America, EMEA, and APAC. Ozcan was previously a consultant with McKinsey & Company, where she engaged with financial services clients on their strategic technology matters. Ozcan holds a B.S. in Computer Science from Bogazici University, Turkey, and an MBA from the Wharton School of Business.
“Instabase has a vision to fundamentally change how people and organizations build and consume business apps,” said Anant Bhardwaj, Instabase Founder and CEO. “We have already seen tremendous success and impact at some of the world’s largest banks and insurers, and are excited to bring Ozge’s expertise and experience to help solve our customers’ most important problems.”
“I’m thrilled to be joining Instabase to build out a world-class team focused around our customers,” said Ozge Tuncel Ozcan, Instabase Chief Customer Officer. “The unique power of Instabase, combined with the vast scope of real-world problems that can now be solved, presents an enormous opportunity to create meaningful value together.”
About Instabase
Instabase, Inc. is the leading platform for building and consuming modern business applications, enabling enterprises to unlock complex data currently trapped in documents. Headquartered in San Francisco, Instabase customers include three of the top ten banks in the US and has experienced exponential growth of over 300% over the last two years. The business is backed by leading investors, such as Andreessen Horowitz, Greylock Partners, Index Ventures, NEA, Spark Capital, and Tribe Capital, and is valued at over $1 billion.
Media Relations
Sumeet Gajri
Instabase
[email protected] | https://medium.com/instabase-blogs/instabase-appoints-ozge-tuncel-ozcan-as-chief-customer-officer-302feeded8e2 | ['Georgia Rust'] | 2020-10-06 21:53:08.454000+00:00 | ['Startup', 'Customer Experience', 'Press Release', 'Customer Success'] |
Why it is important to learn different languages for study abroad | Thousands of parents are sending their children to study abroad. Some because of their own wish and the others are sending their children because the children wanted to study abroad. Nations like the United States and especially the United Kingdom is the core of international students. Students can hire British Dissertation Help UK based services to finish their tasks. In case if you wanted to study abroad, then I would prefer to study in the UK. You will get uncountable benefits from studying in the United Kingdom’s well-known educational institutions.
study abroad
Research shows that around 2.5 million students globally try to study abroad. It is to get the experience of a foreign study and its culture. The same report shows that nearly 45% of parents want to send their children to study in a foreign university. However, the matter is not their desires and dreams. Students must be capable enough to speak the language of the nation in which they want to study. Students can get rid of their homework by hiring British Dissertation Writing Help services, but the language is still necessary. Learning another language is a prerequisite to survive in a foreign nation.
Learning a language and vocabulary through a book is informative. However, it is totally a different thing when it involves real life. Both of these approaches to languages will help you a lot in learning different languages. I prefer to learn different languages if you want to study abroad. A foreign language will help you survive in another nation.
Learning Different Language is Important to Make Friends When You Study Abroad
You will meet many new people in a foreign place. How are you going to communicate if you do not know their language? That is why learning different languages can beneficially help you in various aspects. Friends and relations between people are a crucial part of an individual life. You will only be able to talk to them if you know their language. You will express your feelings, share your thoughts, and connect with your fellow mates by speaking their language.
Also, learning different languages can make a good impact on your profile. People will only understand you if they find a piece of them in you. For example, nobody will show much interest in you if you do not know how to speak their language.
Foreign Language Study Grows Your Brain
It is true, learning another language will expand your capability of thinking. It does not matter in which age factor you decide to learn a different language, as it will always be beneficial. It is also scientifically proven that the ones who know more than one language have a high IQ. This can benefit us in many ways. Bilinguals can handle more than one task at a time more conveniently than a common person.
It Helps in Experiencing Life Differently
Learning a different language does not only help you in communicating, but it will teach you how to survive in a different culture. You will get to see many new things and will experience the meaning of life deeply. From hanging out with friends to buying groceries, studying abroad will require you to learn another language. The ones who are studying abroad know the consequences of not knowing how to speak another language.
It Looks Great On Your CV
Studying abroad is something which can lighten up your CV, but what if you learned another language along with it? It will surely impress employers. Learning another language indicates that you are focused and committed to your tasks. It also shows that you have high intelligence that is why you can speak many languages. You are an all-rounder for an employer. You will surely get a good position if you mention in your CV that you can speak another language.
Learning a Different Language Will Let You Become More Flexible
Many people think that learning another language is just a time-sucking loop. The second language is crucial in finding a job in international call centres. An employer will be impressed by knowing that you can speak another language aside from your native one. It will also help you during your academic life a lot. It shows that you have managed to learn multiple languages at once, along with dealing with your studies. It indicates that you are a responsible person, which can handle numerous problems calmly. An employer demands candidates who can help their firm to better communicate with foreign firms.
Conclusion
Studying and dealing abroad often tend to happen at an equivalent time. In a perfect situation, even if the students want to concentrate on their studies alone, it is not always possible. Instead, many students are working to make sure that they do not end up lost under the pressure of their academic loan if they have any. Remember that each country has different rules. For example, Canada may be a little stricter than most other countries. They will only let you study only if you have sufficient funds for living expenses and tuition.
On the other hand, Germany offers free of cost education, but a student must learn their national language. Different nations and their different policies, so it is better to learn the language of where you are heading.
Choose the country wisely if you are a parent and want to send your child abroad. Choose a place where your child can pursue his or her further education very wisely. Several amazing countries have far cheaper tuition and price of living rate compared to the others. I would suggest examining the rate of exchange for your required destination first. See whether it is affordable for you financially or not. For instance, for the ones who are not financially stable and wants to send their child to study abroad, Germany is the best option. To study in Germany, you have to learn their native language and get rid of your academic expenses. | https://medium.com/@brian-mckay/why-it-is-important-to-learn-different-languages-for-study-abroad-9c1e50840a68 | [] | 2020-11-23 13:58:27.298000+00:00 | ['Learn', 'Languages', 'Abroad', 'Study', 'British'] |
2021 Scene-Writing Challenge: Day 3 | Write some scenes. Win a great prize.
Every September, we run a Zero Draft Thirty Challenge in which the goal for participants is to pound out a draft of a feature film screenplay or original TV pilot script. However, not everyone has the time to take on that challenge. So here’s another way you can up your writing chops this month… and win a free prize!
Every Monday-Friday this month, I will post a scene-writing prompt. Each day, write a scene per those guidelines. Upload your scene here in the response section of the original post. That way you can critique others’ pages and receive feedback on your scene as well.
Why scene-writing? If the average scene is 1 1/2 to 2 pages long and a script is 100–120 pages, then a screenwriter writes between 50–80 scenes per screenplay. Thus in a very real way, screenwriting is scene-writing. The better we get at writing scenes, it stands to reason the better we get as a screenwriter.
To provide extra motivation for this series — to get people to WRITE PAGES — I am giving away some of my Core classes to Scene-Writing Challenge participants. That’s right: For free!
I cover pretty much everything you need to know about screenwriting theory in this unique curriculum. It’s based on eight principles: Plot, Concept, Character, Style, Dialogue, Scene, Theme, Time.
CORE I: PLOT — A one-week class which begins with the principle Plot = Structure and explores the inner workings of the Screenplay Universe: Plotline and Themeline. Start date: September 6.
CORE II: CONCEPT — A one-week class which begins with the principle Concept = Hook and examines multiple strategies to generate, develop and assess story ideas. Start date: September 20.
CORE III: CHARACTER — A one-week class which begins with the principle Character = Function and delves into archetypes: Protagonist, Nemesis, Attractor, Mentor, and Trickster. Start date: October 4.
CORE IV: STYLE — A one-week class which begins with the principle Style = Voice and surfaces keys to developing a distinctive writer’s personality on the page. Start date: October 18.
CORE V: DIALOGUE — A one-week class which begins with the principle Dialogue = Purpose and probes a variety of ways to write effective, entertaining dialogue. Start date: November 1.
CORE VI: SCENE — A one-week class which begins with the principle Scene = Point and provides six essential questions to ask when crafting and writing any scene. Start date: November 15.
CORE VII: THEME — A one-week class which begins with the principle Theme = Meaning and gives writers a concrete take on theme which can elevate the depth of any story. Start date: November 29.
CORE VIII: TIME — A one-week class which begins with the principle Time = Present and studies Present, Present-Past, Present-Future and time management in writing. Start date: December 13.
Each is a 1-week online class featuring 6 lectures written by me, lots of screenwriting insider tips, logline workshops, optional writing exercises, 24/7 message board conversations, teleconferences with course participants and myself to discuss anything related to the craft of scriptwriting.
NOTE: I provide feedback and am actively involved in our online chats. That includes a live 90-minute Zoom call for each Core class.
A popular option is the Core Package which gives you access to the content in all eight Craft classes which you can go through on your own time and at your own pace, plus automatic enrollment in each 1-week online course — all for nearly 50% the price of each individual class. If you sign up now, you can have immediate access to all of the Core content.
“I’m a huge fan of Scott’s classes, and I signed up for his Core Package, which I cannot speak highly enough about. If anyone wants to take a serious look at improving their writing, there is more than enough material to keep you busy for a few… dare I say, lifetimes? He’s the best. No bones about it.” ~ Heather Farlinger
To qualify to take one of my Craft classes for free, write and submit ten [10] Scene-Writing Challenge posts, then provide feedback on ten [10] posts from other writers. The former to get you writing, the latter to work your critical-analytical skills.
A chance to take any of my eight Core classes, interface with me online along with the usual stellar group of writers who take Screenwriting Master Class courses, while using writing exercises and feedback to upgrade your skill at writing and analyzing scenes?
ISN’T THAT AN AWESOME IDEA?!!!
That’s what I’m prepared to do to encourage you to write pages.
A couple of logistical notes:
Limit your scenes to 2 pages. First, most scenes are 2 pages or less in length. Second, out of fairness to everyone participating in the public scene-writing workshop, let’s not abuse anyone’s patience or time with really long scenes.
Don’t be concerned about proper script format when you copy/paste your scene, rather the content and execution are the important thing. So as a default mode, do this: (1) Don’t worry about right-hand margins on scene description or dialogue, just keep typing until it manually shifts each line. (2) Don’t worry about character name position, rather do this:
SCARLETT: Rhett, Rhett... Rhett, if you go, where shall I go? What shall I do?RHETT: Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn.
Today’s prompt: Someone talking to a gravestone.
Now the obvious choice is someone talking to a relative or loved one who has died. Sure, that can work. But brainstorm other possibilities. And while you’re at it, don’t just write a monologue. Try to imbue the scene with as much visual content as you can. Remember: Movies are primarily a visual medium. Even one-sided conversations such as this type of scene need optics to help make what transpires stimulating to the senses.
Write a 1–2 page scene, then copy/paste in comments.
If you are interested in qualifying for 1 free Core class with me, please note in each post you submit the number of scenes you have written. If today is your first effort, note that it is Scene 1. The next one, Scene 2. And so forth.
Also when you provide feedback on someone’s scene, please note in each reply the number of comments you have uploaded. So if today is your first response, Feedback 1. The next one, Feedback 2.
You are on an honor system, as I don’t have time to check every post, so do the right thing!
Remember: In order to qualify for one of my free Core classes, you need to submit ten [10] Scene-Writing Challenge posts, then provide feedback on ten [10] posts from other writers. One post and one feedback per scene prompt.
FEEDBACK TIP: Does the dialogue feel too expositional? Suggest a way to handle the exposition by minimizing it.
Finally, if you have what you think is a good suggestion for a scene-writing prompt, please post that as well.
It’s the 2021 Scene-Writing Challenge! Give a jolt to your creative and writing muscles… and win one free online class with yours truly.
Day 1 prompt: Elevator ride
Day 2 prompt: A chase scene without cars
NOTE: When you can verify the 10 scenes you’ve written and the 10 scenes on which you provided feedback, email me ([email protected]) and let me know which of the eight Core classes you’d like to take. That’s all you need to do! I look forward to the chance to work with you… for free!
Onward! | https://gointothestory.blcklst.com/2021-scene-writing-challenge-day-3-a9f0ae3077ae | ['Scott Myers'] | 2021-09-03 14:03:26.390000+00:00 | ['Screenwriting', 'Writing Challenge', 'Writing', 'Writing Prompts', 'Writing Tips'] |
Reddit Overview | What is Reddit?
Reddit is a network of online communities that allows users to take part in discussions and rating content posted by others. Founded in 2005 by Steve Huffman and Alexis Ohanian, the website hosts many interactive communities that drive conversation around the web.
It is a hotbed of user-generated content that can be upvoted or downvoted by other members. The website’s communities (or boards) are called subreddits and cover a seemingly endless number of topics. These topics can range from everyday subjects, including politics, sports, and lifestyles to things that can only be described as bizarre (such as Dog Talk, for instance). Users can share text posts, links to news and other content, videos, and images related to the subreddit they are in.
Great emphasis is placed on preventing spamming on Reddit and users can get banned instantly if such is suspected. Even worse, entire domains can be barred from participating on Reddit if there is evidence of spamming or activities that clash with the site’s terms of use.
In addition, content that is downvoted gets pushed to the bottom of threads while those that are upvoted get pushed to the front. | https://medium.com/digital-marketing-lab/reddit-overview-f475ef13aae7 | ['Casey Botticello'] | 2020-09-06 00:16:37.865000+00:00 | ['Technology', 'Social Media', 'Productivity', 'Writing', 'Journalism'] |
Best Online Toys For Toddlers | I just love to play with the Crocodile Pull-Along Toy with my son as it encourages him to crawl and walk by pulling the string attached to the crocodile. The toy is colorful and bright which helps kids to play with it wholeheartedly. This is just perfect for toddlers as it promotes their mental and physical development. The crocodile pull-along toy is made of high-quality wood which is safe for kids and is durable. Its edges are round and smooth and water-based paints are used which are exactly what I was looking for. One must surely try this for their toddlers as it’s very helpful and babies keep involved for longer hours.
The other toy would be educational cloth book that one can purchase for growing babies and toddlers. The toys is very soft, lightweight, and easy to hold for babies and toddlers. This soft cloth book is safe to bite on and stimulates motor skills such as imagination, reading, and communication. It has 6 types of different books like Contrast, explore, imagine, visual, animal, and shape. These educational toys are Soft-covered baby books made of tear-resistant fabrics which are durable and washable. Each book has a teether/ bookmark which is really good. | https://medium.com/@maharaja.yo.123/best-online-toys-for-toddlers-f792548d85a | ['Maharaja Yo'] | 2021-07-23 04:07:37.453000+00:00 | ['Baby', 'Toys For Kids', 'Nesta Toys', 'Kids', 'Toys'] |
Can People’s Sentiments on Social Media Predict Stock? | The successful prediction of a stock’s future price could yield significant profit. However, many people believe that stock market is not predictable. Why? Because stock market is the everyday summation of human opinions and world events that investors observe and react to on a minute by minute basis. There are too many factors to take into account that affect stock price. Even so, tons of people are still obsessed with building models that can capture those complicated features of stock market. From my perspective, there are three reasons why people keep doing so: 1) along with development of technology, many new comprehensive models are perform well and can be tested on stock market; 2) perhaps a missing part of this jigsaw puzzle can be found; 3) the power of money. We already knew that sentiments of people is a strong factor that can change the trend of the entire market, but how can we know people’s sentiment without asking them? The answer is social media. People post their thoughts and opinion about stock market on different social media platform every day, and to some extent those posts react their sentiments on investing in the stock market. The purpose of this article is to use people’s sentiments to predict stock change.
Sentimental Analysis
Sentimental analysis is also known as opinion mining or emotion AI, which is one branch of natural language processing. Basically. it uses machine learning algorithms that focus on classifying posts into positive, negative and neutral polarity. There are many popular pretrained sentiment analysis models provided in various Python NLP libraries such as NLTK’s Vader sentiment analysis tool and Textblob’s Sentiment Analysis.
The process of how sentiments affect stock market can be both direct and indirect. Direct process is when people post negative or positive opinion for a specific stock or stock market on social media. On the other hand, indirect process is when people post opinions about events that closely link to stock market. For example, the stock market kept falling during the time people were extremely panic on pandemic. Through searching and analyzing a great amount of data on social media platforms or microblogging websites, we can understand what are people regarding about a particular stock. In this article, I will talk about how to use people’s opinions on Twitter to predict Amazon’s stock change.
Data Collection
Since a great amount of data are needed in this experiment, official API tool such as Tweepy is no longer practicable because it has restrictions on number of tweets extracted. Instead, Twint is used for historical tweets extraction as it can bypass restrictions Twitter sets. Because indirect events that could affect Amazon stock are very difficult to trace, only direct tweets are focused here. The stock ticker is the most important keyword when search for tweets that talking about Amazon stock — $AMZN. The basic usage of Twint package in python is as below. Date range is from 2010 Jan to 2020 Oct. It took a while to extract data because the date range is quite long. In total, 1,453,758 tweets are downloaded between start and end date.
import twint
def get_tweets(start_date, end_date, keyword1, keyword2):
c = twint.Config()
c.Search = keyword1, keyword2
c.Since = start_date
c.Until = end_date
c.Hide_output = True
c.Lang = 'en'
c.Count = True
c.Store_csv = True
c.Output = 'data.csv'
twint.run.Search(c)
get_tweets('2010-01-01', '2020-10-31', '$amzn', 'amazon')
Another dataset is the daily stock price of Amazon. I used Wharton Research Data Services python package and extracted data from Compustat dataset. An easier way to get stock data is to download from Yahoo Finance.
Data Cleaning
Some steps are required before model building. First, tweets have to be cleaned. I defined two functions to remove patterns and urls in each tweet.
def remove_pattern(input_txt, pattern):
r = re.findall(pattern, input_txt)
for i in r:
input_txt = re.sub(i, '', input_txt)
return input_txt
def remove_urls (vTEXT):
vTEXT = re.sub(r'(https|http)?:\/\/(\w|\.|\/|\?|\=|\&|\%)*\b', '', vTEXT, flags=re.MULTILINE)
return(vTEXT)
Remove “@user” and “#hashtag” because @user and #hashtag have nothing business with sentiment:
data['tidy_text'] = np.vectorize(remove_pattern)(data['tweet'], "@[\w]*")
data['tidy_text'] = np.vectorize(remove_pattern)(data['tidy_text'], "#[\w]*")
Remove urls:
data['tidy_text'] = np.vectorize(remove_urls)(data['tidy_text'])
Remove special symbols:
data['tidy_text'] = data['tidy_text'].str.replace("[^a-zA-Z]", " ")
Remove words that have only one letter:
data['tidy_text'] = data['tidy_text'].apply(lambda x: ' '.join([w for w in x.split() if len(w)>1]))
Tweets after cleaning:
We know that people post multiple tweets per day, but there is only one price for stock each business day. It is necessary to club tweets as per their date.
def ab(df):
return','.join(df.values)
data = data.groupby('date')['tidy_text'].apply(ab)
data = data.reset_index()
Sentimental Analysis
In this experiment VADER( Valence Aware Dictionary for Sentiment Reasoning) sentiment analyzer is used because it can provide not only polarity score but also the intensity of emotion. Besides, it is very easy to use as it’s available in the NLTK package and can be applied directly to unlabeled text data. VADER takes in a string and returns a dictionary of scores in each of four categories: negative, neural, positive and compound, which is computed by normalizing the scores of the first three.
from nltk.sentiment.vader import SentimentIntensityAnalyzer
def sentiment_scores(sentence):
# Create a SentimentIntensityAnalyzer object.
sid_obj = SentimentIntensityAnalyzer()
sentiment_dict = sid_obj.polarity_scores(sentence)
neg = sentiment_dict['neg']
neu = sentiment_dict['neu']
pos = sentiment_dict['pos']
compound = sentiment_dict['compound']
return neg, neu, pos, compound
After applying VADER, we can use compound score to separate negative and positive tweets. In this case, the dataset is highly imbalanced. It seems people like to post positive opinions about Amazon stock and gives a side proof to why Amazon stock keeps rising in the past ten years.
Merge Data
Now both dataset are ready to merge together using their date. Because this experiment focuses on predicting stock change instead of stock price, I set a new column named pos_neg contains stock change information. If the open price next day ≥ the adjusted close price the day before, pos_neg equals to 1, and vice versa. After dropping weekends that have no stock data, the data looks as below.
Model Building
This problem is transforming to a binary classification. Labels are -1 and 1. Because the index is date, we cannot simply split data randomly. I manually assigned train data from 2010–01–01 to 2020–03–31, and test data from 2020–04–01 to 2020–10–31. After running different model such as SVM, neural network and logistic regression, the best test accuracy I got is 0.6376.
from sklearn import metrics
from sklearn.neural_network import MLPClassifier
NN_model = MLPClassifier(hidden_layer_sizes=(300,200,100), max_iter=1000,activation = 'relu',solver='adam',random_state=0)
NN_model.fit(x_train, y_train)
y_pred = NN_model.predict(x_test)
accuracy = metrics.accuracy_score(y_test, y_pred)
print(accuracy)
Limitation
Although the accuracy is not considered “well”, it gives us an idea that there is a relationship between sentiment and stock market. Many fields in this research can be improved. Other sentimental analysis tool such as Textblob can generate different sentimental score and subjectivity score that can be taken into account in this model. However, it is still difficult to extract precise information from tweets. For example, people invest on Amazon stock may not use Twitter and people who use Twitter to post opinions may never invested in Amazon stock. Another bias in this research is that it is hard to tell if the negative or positive opinions on Twitter induce the fall or rise in stock or the other way round. The causality is very complicated in this case. A solution is to use other social media such as Stocktwits and Facebook as control groups to compare the sentimental change dynamically. | https://medium.com/social-media-theories-ethics-and-analytics/can-peoples-sentiments-on-social-media-predict-stock-f5b064eabbb1 | ['Francis Zhang'] | 2020-11-20 22:06:31.702000+00:00 | ['Sentiment Analysis', 'Assignment 5', 'Stock Prediction', 'Amazon Stock', 'Stock Market'] |
Ebisu’s Bay! | Firstly, welcome to Ebisu’s Bay Medium account. Here we will post Cronos related NFT and Ebisu’s Bay marketplace related content with the purpose of educating and informing the Cronos community.
Ebisu’s Bay is the largest marketplace for trading Non-Fungible Tokens (NFT) on the Cronos network. Using CRO, Cronos’ native token, the Cronos community can trade, buy and sell peer-to-peer with other NFT traders and consumers. Ebisu’s Bay has achieved a lot in a small period due to our focus on inculcating a community around the marketplace. Ebisu’s Bay is much more than a NFT marketplace, it serves as a launch pad for new NFT collections with the ability to customize collections, NFT smart contract advice, the ability to mint NFTs or simply join a proactive community of NFT enthusiasts. #CroFam
Community First. When making decisions Ebisu’s Bay puts it’s community first. A strong community helps and protects one another allowing for optimal results and keeping everyone safe when trading NFTs.
Launchpad. Collection creators can apply for the NFT Launch Pad and customize your launch. Ebisu’s Bay can host your collection and provide you the tools for a successful launch.
Secure. A secure marketplace to trade or transfer digital art, collectibles, music and video NFTs, metaverse lands and wearables, and more.
Hands on service. Ebisu’s Bay staff work closely with NFT and content creators and helping them create a successful launch. Additionally, the Ebisu Bay community boasts a proactive and supportive community.
Our significant partners. A space for unique and Cronos focused creators such as Cronos Chimps, Mad Meerkats, Barbara, Cryptorockstar as well as many other individual artists and NFT collections.
The future for Ebisu’s Bay. VIP staking, Auctions, Self-Mint, Swap, Elk Integration, LOOT Drops, Offers and Alerts.
Website: EbisusBay.com
Discord: EbisusBay Discord
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ebisusbay | https://medium.com/@ebisusbay/ebisus-bay-introduction-1002b9e6ca04 | [] | 2021-12-29 03:32:24.237000+00:00 | ['Nft Marketplace', 'Blockchain', 'Launchpad', 'Cronos', 'Nft'] |
Why B2B CRM is Entrepreneur’s Choice? | Supporting the processes and execution of Customer Relationship Management, B2B CRM solutions are now days basking a prestigious treatment in businesses industry. Their ever increasing scope and advanced customizable features have earned these softwares a valuable space in entrepreneur’s budgets. According to a research, more than 91% of companies (with less than 10n employees) use CRM solution. This depicts the gratification level of users in the industry.
Other than having innumerable fascinating feature and being a most followed trend, there are many other factors which drive entrepreneur’s attention to B2B CRM solution and make B2B CRM, a priority pick for them such as:
Provides Cloud Storage: Cloud Storage offered by B2B CRM solution is not less than a consecration for businesses. Through cloud storage, all important data is arranged and hived at one centralized platform, where it is made accessible for all related personnel. The availability of data at one central point saves time which is usually wasted in searching information.
Streamlines Business Processes: With the effective use of CRM, business processes get streamlined and automated. This particular feature of B2B CRM wins many benefits for the business in multiple aspects i.e. makes the operational system transparent, multifold profit and cuts down the operational cost. Referring to a recent Forrester Research: “Companies that excel at lead nurturing generate 50% more sales ready leads at 33% lower cost.”
Forecasts Customer Behavior: Another important functionality that contributes to the value of B2B CRM is forecasting of customer behavior on the basis of multiple attributes which can be buying behavior, purchasing history, spent money etc. Through forecasted results, reports are generated in CRM software that help management in making strong business decisions.
Paves Way to SUCCESS: Paving way to success is the ultimate goal and main identity of every CRM solution. With the positive outcomes drawn from above mentioned functionalities, B2B CRM paves a smooth and short way for entrepreneurs to get to the peaks of success.
All these amazing features collectively make B2B CRM, a prior choice for Entrepreneurs. With the effective use of this overly smart business software, one can bring magical results to its business.
Looking to adopt a CRM, You can check out this Infographic of 13 popular CRM Systems
How do you use your CRM? Is your CRM capable of performing any additional functions, let me know in the comments section below.
Get your FREE Consultation session with our experts on the perfect CRM for your business | https://medium.com/business-startup-development-and-more/why-b2b-crm-is-entrepreneurs-choice-a84371af9338 | ['Phillips Campbell'] | 2017-05-02 11:47:19.800000+00:00 | ['CRM', 'Tech', 'Salesforce', 'Business', 'Entrepreneurship'] |
OUTLANDER, 3.7 — ‘Crème de Menthe’ | However, Jamie knows Claire’s heart is in the right place, and after she apologies for causing so much trouble, he tells her “I’m grateful you’re here, no matter the cost.” His life seems to have purpose again since her return, even if he’s withholding information that’s bound to have a profound effect on their relationship. Meanwhile, Sir Percival and his one-eyed associate Harry Tompkins (Ian Reddington) have been thwarted in their search of Madame Jeanne’s (Cyrielle Debreuil) basement. Nothing there save a puddle of water.
Claire visits Margaret and Archibald Campbell. Though Claire considers Margaret’s suffering from mental illness, Campbell believes his sister’s a seer. As a way of earning money, he translates her babbling predictions for those who have a desire to listen. She warns him not to continue to treat her with laudanum as it is too strong and, when he announces they are due to sail to the West Indies, she recommends their diet include plenty of fresh fruit. Again, this is a brief scene but it introduces two characters we’ll be seeing more of…
Troubled by Jamie’s hand-to-mouth existence above the brothel, his dodgy smuggling, and seditious publishing, Claire has a pipe dream that they work to get their own home together. She can set up as a healer and contribute to their earnings even though most of Jamie’s are sent on to Lallybroch. They’re interrupted by the arrival of young Ian’s father (Steven Cree), desperately searching for his runaway son. It precipitates a tangled web of lies. Ian is shocked to see Claire alive and she offers the now ubiquitous white lie that she left for the Colonies, certain that Jamie was dead. Jamie lies to him, too, denying that he’s set eyes upon the young Ian, and it raises Claire’s suspicions about why he is lying to his own family. As Ian leaves, he asks Jamie privately how Claire took the news. What this news is is revealed at the end of the episode.
When Claire presses Jamie on the matter, a huge row ensues. It’s been due, of course, as there are still some sore points for Jamie to process about how Claire raised Brianna (he’s still going on about that bloody bikini), whether she was ever in love with Frank, and concerns about his own parenting skills. Jamie would be in a fine mess if he’d confessed to the elder Ian that his son was now embroiled in smuggling, but Claire reminds him he has a responsibility to Jenny and Ian as they are clearly worried about what their son’s up to. “You’re not Ian’s father,” she tells him and, in his crude defence, he retorts “no, I’m Brianna’s father and I didn’t get to raise her.” Ouch. However, before blunt objects can be hurled across the room, news reaches Jamie that the print shop is ablaze. | https://medium.com/framerated/outlander-3-7-cr%C3%A8me-de-menthe-b8a7aa1f3bf0 | ['Frank Collins'] | 2017-11-03 18:55:01.943000+00:00 | ['Culture', 'Television', 'Review', 'Outlander', 'TV'] |
Your Online Business Solution | Over 50,000 merchants, including Pizza Hut, Burger King, Mac Donald and Champion, are the partners of DragonBite. Why aren’t you ?
DragonBite is an digital application tools for Loyalty customers to manage their Rewards points, E-vouchers, Coupons and Air mileages. People, who make consumptions from our partners, will join DragonBite ecosystem. Given the large customer base of our business partners, we believe over one million of customers will become our community within a very short period of time.
DragonBite offers an advanced and comprehensive Online-to-Offline business services for merchants, including Sales promotion, Reward program management, Reaching the right target customers and Sales evaluation.
On the other hand, DragonBite is also the Reward program management tool for merchants, taking over the administrative work of rewarding customers. Merchants can utilize DragonBite platform as a Sale promotion tool to advertise their brands, to distribute digital Discount coupons and to drive online traffic into their physical shops. DragonBite will handle all the membership accounts and manage Reward program on behalf of merchants. So, the administration expenses of merchants can be reduced, and they can focus on their core business too.
Reaching the right target customers is the essential element to success. DragonBite has advanced geographical targeting engine which will able to detect users locations. Sales promotion advertisement can be received by customers, who have satisfied the pre-set criteria of demographic, preference and spending behaviour, within the target zone in real time. As a result, merchants are able to reach out to the right target customers within their radar instantly. In addition, DragonBite also contains an analytics tool for Sale performance evaluation, running statistic data and generating sales reports. Promoters can easily access the performance of Sales campaign from response perspective, lead generated sales, token generated sales and the actual sales figures. Those data and reports are produced from our system automatically upon request. Merchants do not need to spend time or human power to prepare, but they can adject their sale strategy as quickly as possible according to their sales report.
DragonBite is your Online-to-Offline business solution definitely. Please goto www.dragonbite.io to find out more.
Email: [email protected]
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/dragonbite/
Telegram: https://t.me/DragonBite
Twitter: https://twitter.com/DragonBiteDB/
Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/user/DragonBiteOfficial
Instagram: http://instagram.com | https://medium.com/@dragonbite/your-online-business-solution-c0adeffa4a0b | [] | 2021-04-27 04:25:51.823000+00:00 | ['Loyalty', 'Blockchain', 'B2B', 'B2c', 'B2c Marketing'] |
2020 12 23 — Weeknotes. 2.48 — the final weeknotes of 2020…No… | 2.48 — the final weeknotes of 2020…No words to describe how proud I am of the team…
Well what a year that has been, probably the biggest understatement ever.
It continues to be busy right to the end of 2020.
We are recruiting at the moment — still time to have a look at the roles we have available — https://hounslow.digital/careers/. Last week we ran a recruitment fair to open our virtual doors to those thinking of coming to work for us. We ran a few sessions over a few hours and have some great questions and interest in the roles. These role close on 3 January so still time and if you have any questions do let me know. It really is a great time to be joining us with so much amazing work and transformation over the next few years.
I attended a session with UK Authority on Thursday evening with the theme — “2020 was ‘unprecedented’, but what have we learnt that will make our services and efficiency better in 2021?”. This was the first session that I was able to attend with them having not been able to attend the last couple I have been invited to. It was an excellent session and great to see colleagues from across the Country coming together to share their experiences — there are a number of things that I will take from the session. One of the main things is how important personal resilience is at this time, lots of other councils having an increased focus on wellbeing and mental health — which is really important and was interesting to hear the different approaches.
It is also really easy to fall in the trap of 2020 being a really bad year and being negative, which of course it was certainly a very different year. Now I am a glass half full person anyway but so many positives have and are coming from this year that we really need to embrace and drive forward in the future.
We had the Hounslow Leadership Group on Thursday where we spent a bit of time thinking on how well the virtual Leadership Group meetings have gone over the past 9 months. Colleagues feel more engaged and involved with the virtual meetings than they were previously — which is great to hear. Looking forward to these sessions going from strength to strength in 2021 — I have been continuing to host them and really enjoy being part of the organisational development / change side of things.
On Tuesday of this week we had an end of year gathering / virtual Christmas party with the Digital team to celebrate the year and a chance for us to get together to think about the last 12 months and everything we have achieved. Was actually a really emotional evening. We got everyone to write their positive word and the word cloud below is the result. Very clearly collaboration came out on top (with toilet roll, netflix, it’s ending and wine also making an appearance)…
But even up to the last minutes of the year we are still continuing to support the organisation in the response to the pandemic. This is going to continue over the festive period as well as we are involved in the set up of the vaccination and the lateral flow testing sites.
I am incredibly proud of what we have achieved as a team and an organisation over the past year. And as I said to the team last night at our virtual party there are no words that can describe how I feel with everything we have done, how we have pulled together, how we have delivered! As one of the team described it last night — we kept the council going… we really did! Often when we ourselves were running on empty… we kept going… And continue to do so as well…
Another great quote from last night is:
To achieve something with others is better than achieving it by yourself…
Not only have we enabled the council to respond to the pandemic; we have kept the day to day activities going; we have kept the lights on; we have delivered multiple projects; we have progressed the council transformation programme; we have an approved digital strategy; we have a reshaped team and recruiting to roles; we have transferred a leisure service back to the council and the list continues….
There are no words to describe how proud I am…
Wishing you all a very happy and safe festive period. Normal weeknotes service will resume
Weeknotes — Kylie Minogue — Christmas wrapping | https://medium.com/@marklumley3/2020-12-23-weeknotes-a753833321c9 | ['Mark Lumley'] | 2020-12-23 00:00:00 | ['Collaboration', 'Digital', 'Hounslow'] |
How to deal with stress and anxiety?What is the difference between stress and anxiety? | Stress is a feeling of physical and emotional tension. It is your body’s reaction to demand or a challenge. If it comes in short bursts it can be proactive, however if it stays longer than necessary it can take a toll on your body physical (literally your blood pressure will go up leading to more complications) and mentally.
To deal with stress my suggestion is to focus on the broad. Look at the bigger picture, take a wider perspective. For example, if you have an upcoming quiz that you are stressing about. Yes, you should do your best to study. However, if you stress about things you cant change in the past it won’t change anything. So, instead of stressing take a moment to broaden your perspective. For example, think about how this is only a single quiz. This quiz is only a single part that will count towards your grade. And your grade is only a single piece of your transcript. And your transcript is only that. It doesn’t define you because you have a whole life outside of it. You have family and friends and things you like to do and maybe a job. So, to destress take a moment to widen your perspective and do what you can to have a better potential outcome.
Anxiety is a normal and often healthy emotion, in appropriate levels. When you have it you feel anxious and your body is in high alert. However, like stress it can be debilitating when a person feels is in disproportional amounts.
If you have a short burst of anxiety focus on a task you can do right now. And taking a look at the broader picture might help, but if the broad picture overwhelms you focus on ONE TASK. Just one, you can do now. For example if you have anxiety about that upcoming quiz, and it gives you more anxiety thinking about how you’ll get into grad school. Focus on the quiz. Focus on one thing. For the quiz it will probably be studying, but what if that gives you even more anxiety. Then focus on something so specific if feels like basic work. For example, this may be making flashcards or starting by reading just the subsection of the first chapter. Slowly by completing this one task you will feel accomplished and know that you are capable of doing more. By the time you are done with these incremental tasks you will have studied for the upcoming quiz and hopefully your anxiety would have subsided.
For both stress and anxiety a good technique is to breath. When you feel them, take a deep breath and exhale slowly five times (or even more!). It could also help to take a walk for a couple minutes before returning (or not) to the work that brought on these feelings.
This advice that I am sharing with you are techniques that personally helped me. I am not a licensed therapist or psychologist. I am a friend sharing my story.
With Love💙,
Eyes 🧿 | https://medium.com/@love-eyes-contact/how-to-deal-with-stress-and-anxiety-what-is-the-difference-between-stress-and-anxiety-956c6bad04c3 | ['Love Eyes'] | 2020-12-11 17:24:11.291000+00:00 | ['Anxiety Relief', 'Anxiety', 'Stress Management', 'Stress And Anxiety', 'Stress Management Tips'] |
Content Strategy: Why we’re a centralized team | Content Strategy: Why we’re a centralized team
And proud of it!
Hi, my name is Christina and I’m an… organizer. Yep, I’ll admit there isn’t a drawer or closet in my house that isn’t working over-time to bring order to my life. I live for expandable desk trays, KonMari folds, and clear snack canisters. Don’t even get me started on the heart eyes I give my label maker. Plain and simple: good clean organization just makes my heart happy.
So, imagine my excitement when NerdWallet reached out almost five years ago asking me to start their Content Strategy team. This meant, not only establishing our discipline and voice but also determining where we lived within the organization. Words and organization: two of my biggest loves all rolled up into one amazing opportunity. Taking the job was pretty much a no-brainer.
Fast-forward to today and we’ve grown to a team of 13, highly-talented, content strategists. We’re a centralized team that supports Brand, Product, and Marketing, and we sit on NerdWallet’s Brand Studio team — a smaller sub-team within our larger Design and User Experience department.
Why centralized?
So glad you asked. It really all boils down to efficiency. As a centralized team, we can more easily align on critical foundations like brand and voice. It also allows for more seamless collaboration and communication between team members. Of course, both of these things take time and dedication to get right, but we’ve found that being on one team makes it a heck of a lot easier.
Unfortunately, centralized Content Strategy teams are still somewhat uncommon. From what I’ve observed, this is the case for two reasons:
1. Most Content Strategy teams just aren’t big enough to span multiple departments. Shout-out to all you teams of one (or two!). We see you.
2. Some Content Strategy teams are created by mistake. This sounds controversial, but it’s true. Because we’re still a relatively new discipline in tech, most companies and teams lack the understanding of what content strategists do or the impact we can make. Because of this, companies might hire one-off writers to support a team or project. They report into a design or marketing or product manager. Sometimes more writers are added, but the discipline never truly takes shape because of the haphazard way folks were hired on.
In the rare case where a company has invested in content strategy as a discipline, the teams are usually split. One set of writers supports the Marketing team and, sometimes, the Brand work. And another set of writers supports the Product team and, sometimes, the Brand work. In this model, Content Strategists are divided up by the teams they support and Brand initiatives have no clear content strategy owner. This means we usually go unrepresented in these conversations. And that’s a real bummer since good storytelling and voice are arguably some of the most valuable aspects of a brand’s identity.
The decentralized model also assumes that the Product and Marketing Content Strategy teams are proactively collaborating. Spoiler alert: They’re not. But, not because they don’t want to. Because, as it turns out, it’s really hard to find alignment when teams are busy chasing separate goals. Unfortunately, this lack of proactive collaboration leaves important work like iterating on voice and style and identifying critical overlaps in user flows to fall by the wayside. Teams just don’t have the capacity to take on this work or they get into an unfortunate tug-of-war about who should own what.
At the end of the day, I’ve found that the decentralized model doesn’t produce better work. Instead, it produces stressed-out writers, less-than-ideal user experiences and a Content Strategy function that isn’t empowered to meaningfully contribute to or action off of critical brand insights and/or identity work.
Why Brand Studio?
That’s easy. As members of our Brand Studio team, we’re at the forefront of our brand’s strategy, expression, guidelines, and execution across all consumer touchpoints. Content strategists, at NerdWallet, no matter what part of the organization we support, not only contribute to brand conversations, we lead them. We don’t just write for the brand, we’re some of its biggest advocates, ambassadors, and architects.
We see our voice as an extension of our brand and personality. It’s the foundation of everything we write — influencing the decisions we make every day, from our overall approach down to each and every word we use. This foundation is what empowers and unites us as we embed into teams and projects across almost every aspect of our business. It makes it easier for us to make informed decisions, push back on partners who like to wordsmith and help identify where our work overlaps.
Speaking of overlaps…
Being a centralized team empowers us to more easily connect the dots across experiences — from first awareness through long-term product usage. We’re one of the only teams at NerdWallet that spans our user’s entire lifecycle. What power! But, as they say, with great power comes great responsibility. And ours falls in the form of making sure we’re identifying all the overlaps to create the very best experiences for our users.
But we can only see it all if we share it all, which makes communication and collaboration key to our success. So, we’ve instituted a few very tactical touchpoints to ensure we’re always connected:
Share. Every week, we meet as a team to share what we’re working on. These sessions provide visibility into our work, help us develop a culture of giving and receiving feedback, encourage rapid exploration, allow us to share tools and frameworks, and leverage our collective experience to help each other grow as writers and strategists. Share is just as beneficial to the development of our team as it is to the work itself.
Every week, we meet as a team to share what we’re working on. These sessions provide visibility into our work, help us develop a culture of giving and receiving feedback, encourage rapid exploration, allow us to share tools and frameworks, and leverage our collective experience to help each other grow as writers and strategists. Share is just as beneficial to the development of our team as it is to the work itself. Slack. We love Slack and rely on our content strategy channel to stay connected. We do daily standups to keep each other in the loop on the projects we’re working on, which often leads to fun aha moments like “Oh-you’re-working-on-the-email-that-kicks-off-my-user-flow-let’s-talk!” We also like sharing photos of dogs, babies and food — but mostly stick to sharing word nerd inspiration or getting gut-checks about word choice or syntax.
We love Slack and rely on our content strategy channel to stay connected. We do daily standups to keep each other in the loop on the projects we’re working on, which often leads to fun aha moments like “Oh-you’re-working-on-the-email-that-kicks-off-my-user-flow-let’s-talk!” We also like sharing photos of dogs, babies and food — but mostly stick to sharing word nerd inspiration or getting gut-checks about word choice or syntax. Meet. Larger forums are great, but sometimes you just need 1:1 time with an expert. Because our content strategists are deeply integrated into the teams they support, they’ve been able to really develop into true subject matter experts on stuff like how our account linking feature works or how we talk about refinancing a mortgage. As our feature set expands and our product becomes more interconnected, these conversations are happening more and more — much to the delight of our close-knit, very collaborative team.
Hey, we’re not perfect.
All this to say, we’re proud of what we’ve built, but we’re constantly working to optimize and iterate on our centralized model. With the right structure and systems in place and all the exciting work that lies ahead, we’ve never been more ready and excited for the challenge! | https://medium.com/nerdwallet-design/content-strategy-why-were-a-centralized-team-29ded5cb5825 | ['Christina Cartal'] | 2020-07-08 16:46:53.600000+00:00 | ['UX', 'Leadership', 'Marketing', 'Content Strategy'] |
The Vow: Why Should I Care? | A careful reading of the NXIVM story reveals some familiar truths.
Photo by Alex Eckermann on Unsplash
A few years ago while my husband and I were fully absorbed in Leah Remini’s A&E show, Scientology and the Aftermath, I turned to him and said, “And so what? Why do we care about this?”
Fair question, and one I’ve also found myself sometimes asking about the HBO docuseries, The Vow, about a small group of escapees from a cult or community or group or company — depending who you ask — called NXIVM. Why do we care about this small subset of mostly white, mostly privileged people who get unwittingly caught up in a particular kind of promise of success and enlightenment and power?
I’m a Gen-X kid, born right on the dot in 1970. I grew up in San Francisco in the ’70s and ’80s. That meant I was there as Jim Jones’ People’s Temple ramped up in a big way. The shadow of Manson was all over California. I heard more about the “Moonies” than any kid needs to know, and was wary of Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mormons, and anyone else who came knocking on our door to sell a belief system.
At the same time, my mother and sister and I were deeply engaged with our Jesus Movement church in the city. It provided a structure to life, community support, and a framework for dealing with the fact that my father was an acute alcoholic in ways that affected our day to day lives as well as our bigger existential challenges.
I’m 50 years old now and it took me until oh, about age 45, to start to really reckon with the morass of dysfunction I was in from both the problem of the alcoholic family system, and the solution I’d invested in (the American evangelical church). That is a lot to go into, but I’ve written about it here and here and here, for starters, as well as indirectly in most of my novels.
The thing about The Vow, the Remini show, and the numerous documentaries and books on cults I’ve gotten into is that they speak to something I experienced in microcosm. In much more common and mundane ways, yes, but ways that nonetheless have lasting impacts on how I navigate the world and myself in it.
In a way, every child of an alcoholic family system (or one that is otherwise chaotic, or one that is rigid, religious, or bubbling with mental illness) has grown up in a mini-version of at least some of what we see in cult narratives. The messages that your feelings and perceptions are wrong, the messages that you have to adhere to a certain set of beliefs and behavior or you will be rejected (or even kicked out, excommunicated, shunned), the being stuck in a place where you exist to get approval and/or avoid disapproval, the being at the mercy of a mercurial “leader” — often Dad, could be Mom or another family member, or a pastor, a coach, etc.
If people watch and hear these cult narratives carefully instead of immediately identifying themselves as someone who would “never fall for it,” many would recognize the traps of giving your critical thinking skills over to someone else, signing on to a set of beliefs that others could think are weird, the codependence, the orientation to the leader’s approval, and the gradual but profound erosion of a core identity that gives us a sense of being okay with or without that approval and the ability to trust our own gut and experiences.
These bigger and more dramatic stories help me stay in touch with an essential human vulnerability that we all more or less share — the desire to be a part of something, the longing for a mentor or guiding figure we can trust, that parent who, maybe this time, won’t abandon us. Cults are usually dealing with a much more sinister and calculated figure at the center of it all, but the end results can feel familiar.
I think we invest in these stories for the same reasons we might get into superhero stories or zombie stories or dystopian stories. The dramatic and exaggerated versions of these experiences can echo and amplify truth in a way that may actually help us finally see it. | https://medium.com/adult-child/the-vow-why-should-i-care-ca93af4b98ea | ['Sara Zarr'] | 2020-10-20 17:21:23.562000+00:00 | ['The Vow', 'Cults', 'Family Dysfunction', 'Recovery', 'Nxivm'] |
Well I will bring this to my local police department — I had no idea the noise outside my house… | Well I will bring this to my local police department — I had no idea the noise outside my house, that keeps me up at night should only be happening in black neighborhoods, this is not one. They must end all road construction outside my house immediately, I am trying to sleep white. This is ridiculous nonsense. Stop trying to make people feel bad about something out of their control like their skin color. It does not define me or my life no matter how much you think it does. I am deeper than my skin. I grew up with plenty of white folks with hard to pronounce names. In fact my uncle Sammy — from Sudan — you should hear him pronounce Rachel — it is awful and he has known me over 30 years. Only black people can get away with saying such mean, insulting, generalizing things about another race, people that did nothing to them — there is your black privilege. And you have fans for this garbage. ugh medium is getting old. | https://medium.com/@rjbella/well-i-will-bring-this-to-my-local-police-department-i-had-no-idea-the-noise-outside-my-house-ac8a7ff4d44b | ['Rachel Rogers'] | 2020-12-27 23:32:11.678000+00:00 | ['White Privilege', 'Racism'] |
When the Private Becomes Public | Imagine if you had to make the choice between food and toilet paper. We would find that ridiculous, wouldn’t we? Both are connected and completely necessary. Yet, every single month millions of women have to make the decision of whether to buy food or menstrual products. On average, a box of tampons costs around $7.62. Without the financial security and stability to afford such products, many women experiencing homeless must turn to McGyvered resources such as socks, plastic bags, rags, and toilet paper. Or, if they somehow can afford tampons, they might use them for much longer than medically safe, which can lead to serious, even life-threatening infections.
What is Period Poverty?
Menstrual activism grounds itself in the concept of period poverty, or “the state in which people who menstruate find themselves without the financial resources to access suitable menstrual products.” The impacts of period poverty are far-reaching and require analysis on both a personal and structural level. Since 2015, this grassroots movement has gained increasing momentum at the local level. In 2016, we began to see structural shifts when New York City became the first US city to require that all public schools, homeless shelters, and prisons provide free pads and tampons.
To Be Homeless and Menstruating
According to the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, 553,000 people are experiencing homelessness on any given night. Of those experiencing homelessness, approximately 28% are single women. Yet these statistics do not account for the women who experience “hidden homelessness.” While there are thousands of women sleeping on the streets, many more “do not access homeless services but stay in other temporary forms of accommodation such as the houses of relatives, friends, or hostels.” These women are living in precarious and makeshift housing situations and are often lacking consistent access to reliable private sanitation facilities and clean water.
Are Menstrual Activists Doing it Right?
As conversations around menstrual health have grown louder, so too has the “period-positive”capital-F feminist branding. This has led to oversights in the multiplicity of factors at play. Period-positive activists and academic scholarship alike have neglected to consider the socioeconomic diversity of people who menstruate, and have failed “to take into account how their experiences and identities transform the ways in which they relate to their menstruating bodies.” In order for any critical feminist approach to be sound, it must be intersectional. Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw formulated the theory of intersectionality in 1989 as a lens or prism with which to see the way various forms of “inequality operate together and exacerbate each other.” Any attempt to address period poverty without addressing the overlapping of inequalities that occur for homeless women would be sorely lacking in its approach.
In her analysis, Crenshaw explains that “women come from a whole range of backgrounds,” and “if our visions of peace don’t include these differences then our peace will be partial.” Menstrual activism largely focuses on either the privileged middle class of the Global North or the socioeconomically marginalized of the Global South, thereby overlooking all those in the middle. In order to understand the structural changes that need to be made to support menstrual health, we must understand its impact on those experiencing homeless. Considering the corporal and emotional impact of menstruation of such women will allow us to better understand the feminist narrative that “the personal is political.” Understanding the intersection of personal and political interest is a vital part of creating a more nuanced approach to menstrual activism. In her article “The Realities of Period Poverty: How Homelessness Shapes Women’s Lived Experiences of Menstruation,” Shailini Vora writes, “if it is true that a person lives through their body, then it is through the freedoms and restrictions of their bodily capacities and mobility that this living occurs.”
Privacy is Paramount, But Hard to Find in Public
Mobility and freedom from bodily restriction become unbelievably fraught when you are experiencing homelessness. Bleeding bodies are not seen as publically accessible or “normal.” In fact, we all know too well that bodily fluids and functions evoke adverse responses. It is this “cultural representation of a sticky, messy femininity that places menstruating women at the borders of social legitimacy.” Thus, menstruators can only claim normalcy, or public decency through the concealment of their menses. This, of course, proves rather difficult when you are homeless.
Homeless women are, according to Vora, the embodiment of abjection. They represent the “seepage beyond the boundaries of ‘acceptable’ social life,” and are cast out as dirty, deviant, and transgressive. Thereby living in a constant paradox — feebly attempting to conceal and keep private her “flowing, leaky body,” all the while under the public gaze. During interviews, Shailini Vora was told by all homeless female participants that their monthly bleed was emotionally and physically painful, and “rife with negative sensations, such as irritability, stress, vulnerability,” and anxiety or depression. The inability to access privacy and the required ability to be constantly mobile undermined the participant's ability to self-care and fully manage menstruation. This yearning for privacy was one of the most contentious points made by those interviewed, due to the “extreme visibility of homelessness, which contrasts sharply with the intimacy needed to manage the physical and emotional aspects of menstruation.”
Donations Are a BandAid on a Bullet Wound
One would expect homeless shelters to be the much-needed reprieve for women who are suffering from a multitude of overlapping disadvantages. While cities like New York have legislated to ensure consistent access to menstrual products, and many shelters around the country do have products on hand, the stigma and taboo around menstruation prevent many women from confidently seeking the products they need. Also, the idea of these shelters as safe havens does not always come to bear. Unfortunately, there are also institutional power relations between women and those working at shelters. Some homeless women were interviewed and reported that shelters can function like prisons, where they serve as “disciplinary institutions through which homeless bodies are governed and controlled.”
While grassroots activism has flourished in the US and UK to help alleviate the situations for millions of menstruators living in poverty, in-kind donations do not necessarily address the more structural issues, nor does it take into consideration some of the more nuanced aspects of menstruating while homeless. We have to consider whether these free provisions are really addressing the complex and multivalent issues at play? Conceding, of course, to the fact that it is certainly not grassroots organizers’ job to address structural inequality.
Such grassroots organizations usually function under a model of donating tampons and pads, but there is also a tremendous push toward environmentally conscious period products. However, when pushing eco-feminist causes, these organizations should certainly consider the extent to which homeless women can partake in “environmental menstrual feminism,” because it is “extremely limited due to its complete reliance on women’s consumption patterns and privacy of sanitation facilities,” to which, homeless women rarely have access.
How to Create Grassroots and Structural Reform:
So, what can we do to more adequately address the disadvantages and injustices faced by those experiencing both menstruation and homelessness? On a grassroots level there are three significant steps to take:
Homeless services need to improve communication around the availability of menstrual products and work to destigmatize menstruation within their walls. Measure success by how many people are actually receiving and using donations, not how many donations are received by the organization. Move beyond using access to products as the only impact measurement, and actively include access to private, safe, and sanitary facilities.
On a larger scale, there are far more reaching steps that the government can take to create structural reform: | https://aninjusticemag.com/when-the-private-becomes-public-475160b86538 | ['Tyler A. Donohue'] | 2021-07-06 22:42:48.472000+00:00 | ['Gender Equality', 'Menstruation', 'Homelessness', 'Social Impact', 'Womens Health'] |
Rails Scaffold Basics | Rails is powerful and with the right amount of studying and practice, you can make some really great websites. As a beginner it can be extremely confusing to understand what exactly you’re doing and what the results will be. This is where scaffold, in my opinion, serves as a fun little tool to introduce the basic CRUD functions. In this blog I will also introduce how to set up a basic CRUD site that anyone can follow along to. Rails uses a mixture of many languages but today we will be talking about the concepts and basic rails commands.
CRUD
Before we start, what is CRUD?
C - Create
R - Read
U - Update
D - Destroy
So these are the basic functions of an app, especially when dealing with databases. You’re not expected to understand this now but you will get it by the end.
Creating a rails folder
To make your first rails application, you need to make a folder with the name you want. to do this open your terminal and cd into the desired location.(!Keep in mind this tutorial is for MAC and ruby + rails is installed!). Now type:
rails new name
with ‘name’ replaced with the folder name you want, for example:
rails new army
and when you hit enter you will see A LOT of things being created. Don’t be afraid, we aren’t even going to open that yet. You can type in
ls
or
open .
to make sure your folder was created with the correct name. If not delete whatever it did make and try again. lastly cd into it like this:
cd army
Now if you type ls, you’ll see all those files. Just to make sure all the gems are properly installed (if you don’t know what that means don’t worry), run:
bundle install
and once that is complete we are ready to actually make the website!
Generate Scaffold
Now is when you make decisions! The basic scaffold generator looks like this
rails generate scaffold Name attribute:type
If we break this down piece by piece it suddenly becomes very easy to make things.
|rails generate| just means use the rails command generate. can also be written |rails g|
|scaffold| of course is the type of generator which is going to make the basic CRUD stuff.
|Name| is going to be whatever you want to name the object you’re trying to make, in our case it will be soldiers.
|attribute:type| means we are adding an attribute and defining it’s type. For those who know, this creates a database migration which you can freely edit before migrating.
An example of this would be:
rails generate scaffold Soldier name:string age:integer
Keep in mind you can have as many attribute as you want and the attribute name can be named whatever you want. The types are predetermined however and if left blank will default to string. Once you are satisfied with the tables and names, its time to migrate. Run:
rails db:migrate
and
rails db:migrate:status
to make sure everything is working, signified by your tables being there and the Status being up.
Starting the Site
Finally, we can see what we have made! simply type in:
rails s
to start your server, then go to your browser and type in the URL bar:
on which you will see something like this:
This means you successfully made and ran your server. To see what you’ve made and use it add
/soldiers
or whatever name you made (make sure its plural in the link), to the end and hit enter. This should look like this
And that’s it! You can create new soldiers, edit them, delete them and see all their names and ages by navigating this new website you made. If you remember CRUD, this is how that concept applies to our test application:
C - Create - Create/Enter a new soldier with a name and age
R - Read - Readout/Show a soldier and his info and list all soldiers
U - Update - Update/Edit a soldier’s information like name and age
D - Destroy - Destroy/Delete/Remove a soldier from the website/database | https://medium.com/@exarhouleasjohn/rails-scaffold-basics-58eb14592cfd | ['John Ex'] | 2020-11-12 00:20:26.694000+00:00 | ['Ruby', 'Ruby On Rails Generators', 'Ruby on Rails', 'Scaffold', 'Rails'] |
Yet another report on the password predicament | “We’re not sayingthis is how SolarWinds was backdoored, but its FTP password ‘leaked on GitHubin plaintext’” https://www.theregister.com/2020/12/16/solarwinds_github_password/
It says “their update server was accessible with the password ‘solarwinds123’”.
Every time these absurd incidents are reported, we are told to listen to security professionals who love to lecture us to manage the text-only passwords that we are incapable of managing.
How long do we have to keep hearing them preaching “We would be safe if we do what we are unable to do”?
I wonder why those people are not keen to look at the merits of making use of non-text secret credentials besides the text passwords.
Ref: “On #BigIdeas2021”
< References >
Summary and Brief History — Expanded Password System
Image-to-Code Conversion by Expanded Password System
Proposition on How to Build Sustainable Digital Identity Platform
External Body Features Viewed as ‘What We Are’
History, Current Status and Future Scenarios of Expanded Password System
Negative Security Effect of Biometrics Deployed in Cyberspace
Removal of Passwords and Its Security Effect
Availability-First Approach
Update: Questions and Answers — Expanded Password System and Related Issues (30/June/2020)
< Videos on YouTube>
Slide: Outline of Expanded Password System (3minutes 2seconds)
Demo: Simplified Operation on Smartphone for consumers (1m41s)
Demo: High-Security Operation on PC for managers (4m28s)
Demo: Simple capture and registration of pictures by users (1m26s)
Slide: Biometrics in Cyber Space — “below-one” factor authentication
< Latest Media Articles Published in 2020 Spring>
Digital Identity — Anything Used Correctly Is Useful https://www.valuewalk.com/2020/05/digital-identity-biometrics-use/
‘Easy-to-Remember’ is one thing ‘Hard-to-Forget’ is another https://www.paymentsjournal.com/easy-to-remember-is-one-thing-hard-to-forget-is-another/ | https://medium.com/@kokumai/yet-another-report-on-the-password-predicament-d052c2b5dbd9 | ['Hitoshi Kokumai'] | 2020-12-24 07:48:59.915000+00:00 | ['Passwords', 'Security', 'Authentication', 'Digital Identity', 'Technology'] |
Why Your Best Friend Is Not a Problem Solver | We tend to consider that the friends who can help us the most are those who, in addition to always being available to listen to us, are always ready to tell us what to do. Those who are always ready to propose a quick solution to the problems we share with them.
Our starting point, our first reason, is to think that we are going to tell a friend a problem and that he is going to give us solutions to solve that problem. We think this is the role of a true friend.
Although this reasoning may make some sense in an ideal world, in the real world it turns out not to be so — perhaps these are not the friends who help us the most.
Our problems are not the problems of our friends
This is an indisputable fact, but when we ask the help of a friend to solve our problems, we sometimes forget the advantages and disadvantages that this implies.
On the one hand, our friends will never be able to feel the problem in the same way that we do. Despite sharing our friendship and wanting the best for us, they will not be able to share our experience, in the same way, they will not be able to feel the full impact that the problem has on us.
How a situation affects us often depends much on how we identify it with our past experiences, and this is often too intimate to be expressed by us and felt by others. It can be understood in an approximate way, but never in the same way. This is a disadvantage.
On the other hand, thankfully it is so. This disadvantage also has a positive side, it also has an advantage associated.
It is exactly because they are involved in our personal experience, that our friends can have a different view of the situation. Without the weight of our entire history, they may be able to do what is most difficult for us: distinguishing facts from interpretations.
A true friend can help us in this regard. He can make that distinction because he is not so involved, he can help us to see the different elements of the situation, to distinguish between what really happened (the facts) and what we think of what happened (the interpretations).
Not all problems require solutions
This difficulty — in distinguishing between what really happens and what we think is happening — is one of our main obstacles in solving the problems we face.
This can also be the main obstacle that prevents us from accepting what is going on, what has happened, what we call “a problem”.
Sometimes our problems do not require a solution, nor is it that we are looking for when we occupy our minds with them.
Many times — more times than we realize — what we need is just to accept what happened. If we are able to do that, we will already be taking the first step (if some action is needed to solve the problem) or the final step (when there is simply nothing else to do but learn to deal with the emotions that the situation causes).
Problems often do not need a solution — what they do require is acceptance.
The role of true friends
All things considered, our friends can be a precious help in dealing with problems. However, we cannot expect or demand from them to do what they cannot do or what it is up to us to do.
Perhaps the main role of our friends is more of listening to us and accepting us than trying to offer us solutions. If we keep this in mind, we will be able to better distinguish who our best friends are, that is, to identify the people who can contribute most to our well-being and to our development.
Perhaps those who hear and accept us the way we are — those who are able to accept what we think, what we do, and what we feel — are really our best friends.
On top of that, those who can add to this quality the ability to also accept what we don’t think, what we don’t do, and what we don’t feel — those are sure to be among those who can help us to be happier and more truthful.
As Jim Morrison said: | https://medium.com/know-thyself-heal-thyself/why-your-best-friend-is-not-a-problem-solver-b2b655f405d7 | ['Zen Michael'] | 2020-12-12 09:07:22.057000+00:00 | ['Mindfulness', 'Self Improvement', 'Friends', 'Relationships', 'Friendship'] |
Your Agile Project Will Fail. If you don’t get your outsourcing… | Your Agile Project Will Fail
Do you outsource your software development?
Photo by Markus Winkler on Unsplash
Software is eating the world, and if your company is like many a non-tech company, chances are you outsource your software development projects. And chances are that you have or will implement Agile in that context.
Unfortunately, chances also are, that you will fail.
A key reason for that failure is going to be at the very heart of what determines the nature of your relationship with your technology or software development provider: The way companies draft their software development supplier contracts. This has, until recently, often put me at odds with my company’s lawyers.
Firstly, Agile, in its various forms and permutations, came into being as a way to deal with uncertainty. Traditional project management methodologies assumed perfect, or near-perfect planning. They avoided risk by anticipating any eventuality and planned for every such eventuality, which was probably the best way to run the Apollo Space Program or bring a new drug to market. Unfortunately, not every project has the budget necessary or would be commercially viable if it followed that approach.
Agile substitutes robustness for planning accuracy and exhaustiveness. Instead of having to predict exactly what will happen, and plan for every eventuality beforehand, Agile focuses on adaptability. A key way to achieve this is by giving the Product Owner, who usually is on the buy side, a broad mandate to decide on any changes in the scope necessary, in order to deliver as much customer value as quickly as possible, shortening time-to-market, and thus enabling that most sought-after of feedback loops, organizational learning.
Now, about those contracts.
Most contracts are drafted in an adversarial setup. The supplier shall, by a certain date, do such and such. Otherwise, penalties ensue.
It is this such and such that is problematic. In most cases, the scope is not very clear at the start of a software development engagement, and either cannot be made clear until midway into the project or clarifying it would be prohibitively expensive. So, the signatories make assumptions, which are invariably wrong but end up in the contract anyway, as the binding scope of the project.
As the project progresses, and new information becomes available, the Product Owner will want to exercise his or her mandate to change or re-prioritize things, which by the way, is arguably a Product Owner’s most value-adding function. Then, the supplier’s best course of action is to initially say NO to the Product Owner’s requests. Why? Because the change is out of scope as contractually defined.
This leads to expensive renegotiations and delays, for if they sell-side agrees to the change without doing so, it potentially exposes itself to be in breach, because according to the contract, what the Product Owner is asking for actually is out of scope.
The problem is then, that most software development contracts work on outdated assumptions that are the opposite of how most software is actually developed nowadays.
To get around this problem, experienced software development leaders have relied on handshake deals, but this practice doesn’t scale when the value of the contract is high, because lawyers are rightly uncomfortable with such an informal approach.
Relationship Contracts in Practice
Fortunately, I don’t have to upset my company’s lawyers anymore. Research by Nobel Prize-winner Oliver Hart, and others, shows us how to draft legally enforceable Relationship Contracts in which both signatories have a vested interest in the other partner’s success.
First, you lay the foundation to establishing a partnership mentality, by putting together a team of people from both sides, who will have to operate within the terms of the contract, to share their high-level aspirations, specific goals and concerns. The objective is to move from just developing a contract, towards building relationships at multiple levels of the organization.
Second, you co-create a shared vision and objective. This is achieved by explaining the goals, aspirations and concerns in depth, in order to craft the high-level desired outcomes, which then should translate into tactical and measurable objectives.
Third, you write the relationship’s guiding principles. Because there are so many unknowns that will occur after signing the agreement, it is important to have a common view of what the fundamental values and common goals of the agreement are, and of what the basis for dealing with potential misalignments is, with an emphasis to ensure and maintain the fairness of the relationship.
Fourth, you align expectations and interests, by hammering out the deal, with the responsibilities, metrics and prices, in alignment with the guiding principles.
Finally, you need to work to stay aligned. As usual, governance structures are established and embedded in the contract. A key feature of the governance of relationship contracts is the Two-in-a-Box approach, by which each of the governance teams is the co-responsibility of representatives from both signatories. This encourages trust and honesty between the two sides.
Be Involved in the Legal and Contracting Process
If your are like me, and tend to think of yourself as a maker and as a creator, you probably don’t enjoy the process of drafting the legal agreements with your suppliers. And so, you have avoided getting involved in that process, leaving the bulk of the work that, to a large degree, determines the nature of your relationship with your outsourced development team, to the legal and procurement departments.
That would be a mistake. Your hands-on experience in doing the work that the legal agreement intends to govern is crucial to its success, not only during the operational stage, but also when drafting the agreement.
The problem I had, was the lack of a common vocabulary or mental framework with which to discuss with our lawyers, how their drafting of our agreements affected my day-to-day work.
And now, we have found one.
By shifting our focus from immediate first order project deliveries, to higher order, more enduring business and relationship outcomes. Thereby moving us from a transactional contract approach, to one based on relationships. | https://medium.com/an-idea/why-your-agile-project-will-fail-db8afb4bdcde | ['Etienne Yuan'] | 2020-10-14 18:15:21.767000+00:00 | ['Scrum', 'Software Development', 'Contracts', 'Agile', 'Outsourcing'] |
The Purgatory | I live in the town of Knahellnic,
With food and ale aplenty;
Mellow River flows beside my dwelling;
Beside my window, I rest my bedding;
Oh, the river, it keeps foretelling,
Tales of old that make me dizzy.
Little do I know,
From insomnia, I suffer so,
Ugh, the river! So icky.
Rain! It rains like cats and dogs,
And the wind blows away my candles,
And it damps the walls,
And slams the panels;
Smashes away the wall clock,
Bloody puddles begin to flock,
Dripping down from the narrow ceiling,
Birds outside, terrified and screaming,
I wake up in shock.
Lay my dank head to rest,
The Mellow River still flowing:
“Twas all a dream,” I detest.
The stars, they just keep glowing,
No cloud in sight,
No bloody walls inside,
Or screaming birds outside.
I rub my droopy-eyes and snotty-nose,
While the river prepares another anecdote.
I try to slip into another slumber,
Still, can’t help but wonder:
If that dream meant something,
Or was it all for nothing?
For a while, I lay there and wonder;
Until a hymn breaks away my silence:
“Guilt or grief, you cannot remember,
All you see is darkness,
Guilt and grief, they make you suffer,
Nothing’s freeing as repentance.”
She sings for hours, then sings some more
Till her voice, I find, familiar;
I cry for hours, then cry some more
I’m willing to atone for my anger. | https://medium.com/blueinsight/the-purgatory-b67d2ebaac91 | ['Dhruv Sharma'] | 2020-12-26 18:11:20.761000+00:00 | ['Poem', 'Fiction', 'Grief', 'Horror', 'Blue Insights'] |
Classism, Systemic Oppression, and the Arts: The gates are locked and the gatekeepers say they can’t find the keys | Classism, Systemic Oppression, and the Arts: The gates are locked and the gatekeepers say they can’t find the keys Anna Smith Sep 2·7 min read
The last 12 hours in the Bay Area theatre community have been a rollercoaster. Here are the bullet points:
All three of these issues intersect and all three affect me personally (albeit at differing levels). Let’s start with the one that I have the closest connection to:
For those who don’t know I founded and run an exceptionally small nonprofit organization called The Quinan Street Project that provides theatre arts education to public elementary schools in the West Contra Costa Unifed School District (WCCUSD): a racially diverse mid- and low-income community with a rich history. I founded this organization out of a necessity in my hometown school district for there to be more opportunities for children in my community to participate in the arts the way that I was able to because of my family’s financial and cultural capital. It didn’t seem like a super radical idea at the time, but as I began to lay the groundwork for the organization I was told the same thing over and over: “The only organizations that survive in West Contra Costa take money from Chevron (which I wasn’t willing to do) or are so established they have a massive foundation and reputation to lean on. You’ll never make it.” Thankfully I was 27 years old and full of sparkle in my eyes and hope in my heart.
However... they were right.
As I began the journey of tracking down funding for my organization (the original mission was to never charge schools a cent) the more I saw that foundations in the Bay Area either didn’t fund orgs in Contra Costa County, funded the arts and education but not “arts education,” or (my favorite one!) didn’t fund organizations with budgets smaller than $1,000,000.
EL OH EL HOW DO YOU START THEN!?!?!?
Actual footage of me looking for grants in 2013
Over the last 8 years we have built ourselves up and have received some semi-regular grant funds and developed relationships with donors, but the issue is still extremely present. Our annual budget is under $100,000 per year and we still aren’t eligible to apply for certain foundations because of either geography, mission, or budget. One source of relief has been through the California Arts Council.
The Council began funding us for the 2019–20 school year and also funded us for the 2020–21 school year. The grants are in the 5 digits and the first two grants we received were from their Artists in Schools granting program, which put highly qualified artists in residencies at schools in California. In 2020 (as if we didn’t have enough going on) they completely rebuilt their entire granting program and did a big marketing push claiming that their funding would go predominantly to organizations with small (under $250,000) budgets and BIPOC led or BIPOC serving orgs. They offered two new granting programs that we were eligible for and could potentially get us $48,000 (A LOT OF MONEY!) for the 2021–22 school year. In July their granting decisions were announced and we did not get funded.
This was a HUGE blow for us financially, but on a larger scale it broke my heart to see that our OWN TAX DOLLARS weren’t being reinvested in our community. Contra Costa County was barely represented in the granting decisions and it signaled to more than just me that our state was letting us down as a community and letting down our kids.
I had also just gotten into a huge fight (discussion?) with a bunch of colleagues about defunding white supremacy in our organizational budgets after the Teaching Artists Guild released this absolutely devastating and moving video outlining how teaching artists (mostly BIPOC teaching artists) felt used for diversity check marks but not paid or treated fairly in relation to the organizations as a whole. The video is from teaching artists of all disciplines from all across the country — it is not specifically attacking any organization in particular, and frankly it isn’t attacking anyone at all. It’s a plea for help as teaching artists want to live sustainably doing the work they love for OUR organizations. My colleagues essentially gave me the “we agree, but there’s nothing we can do” argument, and it sent me over the edge. I started screaming about the future of our industry and how the way we spend our money is what our values are and how on earth are we supposed to foster the next generation of BIPOC and queer teaching artists if we aren’t investing in our educators and education programs? I was silenced pretty harshly by someone I used to consider a mentor and I felt like I was being sent out to sea alone without a paddle as the people who were supposed to help me waved from the shore.
Now I hear you: how does this relate to Lily Janiak’s article and the all-white Into the Woods?
Well, my question for you is: how doesn’t this relate? This is what systemic racism and classism looks like in action.
Here’s the sequence of events:
You pay taxes.
Those tax dollars go to governmental agencies whose job is to use the funds as they see fit.
Those agencies become the gatekeepers for who has access to arts education at what age and to what extent.
Areas of wealth pay for their children to receive arts education either in their schools or outside their schools or both.
Areas with a lack of wealth do not receive arts education in their classrooms without help from outside entities (like QSP).
Because of this there is an overrepresentation of whiteness in children who are getting arts education and a lack of representation of BIPOC children receiving arts education.
Those children grow up and enter the workforce.
Now here’s your trivia question: which group of kids do you think are going to enter an industry that has unstable and sparse income and which do you think will go into an industry that has a stable income of some kind?
So now we come to the Lily Janiak article.
Please read the article, but the long and the short of it is that the actors’ union recently claimed racial equity as the reason they are making it easier to join their union. Now, I support unions and the right to unionize for any profession in the name of protecting workers’ rights. The issue with this particular decision is that Actors’ Equity Association has long held a reputation of actually making work for actors more difficult to come by because SURPRISE! OUR THEATRE COMPANIES DON’T HAVE BIG ENOUGH BUDGETS TO PAY ACTORS MINIMUM WAGE FOR THEIR WORK!
And because of THAT we come to the all-white Into the Woods.
The company producing the show is a unionized company and offers a living wage to their actors regardless of their union status. For actors in the union the weeks count toward their health insurance and other benefits making their dues worth paying. The actors that accepted this show were accepting a job in their industry with human rights. The company that hired them, on the other hand, willfully ignored what is surely a cabinet full of headshots and resumés from BIPOC actors claiming the good old “Well, if they don’t come out to auditon how can we cast them?” argument that we all love so much. For more on this read my only other article. Apparently I only blog once a year when I’m absolutely furious.
These events and articles are NOT. UNRELATED. Not even a little bit. This is the system at work. And it’s working! It’s doing exactly what it’s designed to do: keep white people in charge and keep BIPOC artists in poverty.
My dear friend, John, and I were talking about this whole debacle earlier today and he said “These are the eggs you have to break to make the cake” and I hope he’s right. I want the world that people like John and I envision. Where my students take my job and take the jobs of all the white ladies who started things with good intentions. But we can’t do that without funding and we can’t do it if the white people already in charge don’t read. a damn. BOOK FOR ONCE. YOU CAN LISTEN TO THEM, TOO!
Today we got confirmation that the California Arts Council reconsidered several applications from orgs with budgets under $250,000 and Wheeee Surprise Yay — We are funded for 2021–22! But my goodness it’s hard to celebrate. It feels abusive and icky and manipulative. Of course we will accept the grant funds and write the appropriate thank you notes and put their logo on our website and all that, but it feels a little like we saw behind the curtain this year. Not being funded is not an unusual thing in nonprofit administration, but not being funded and then having the funder magically find another chunk of money to hand out is… super uncommon and odd. Not to mention disingenuous.
Listen… no one does everything right. No one is perfect. But my goodness, we have to keep doing the work to be better. It cannot just be one summer after a horrific murder. Dismantling the capitalist-white-supremacist-cis-het-patriarchy is a daily task, and it needs as many participants as possible. Get on the train, donate to your favorite arts organization, and call your friends into these conversations. We need you. It’s ugly out here. | https://medium.com/@annaashfordkelleysmith/classism-systemic-oppression-and-the-arts-the-gates-are-locked-and-the-gatekeepers-say-they-1118355c0893 | ['Anna Smith'] | 2021-09-02 21:50:39.064000+00:00 | ['Arts Education', 'Nonprofit', 'Dismantle White Supremacy', 'Arts Education Grants', 'Theatre'] |
Royalty Children’s Network visits the Nigerian Conservation Foundation. | We also hope and pray our world will be healed so that children can love, play and stay together.
Amanda Obidike, the Community Manager shared that “this trip was more than an adventure but to give children the opportunity to experience nature, God’s creation and for them to appreciate life. We want hope to be rekindled and for them to be thankful to God for bringing them thus far.”
The event had Chika Ezinma, the Founder of the MAI Foundation and mother organization of the Royalty Children’s Network initiative; Ugo Okafor, a patron and leader passionate about communities; Somkene Caleb Obidike, the Technical Lead of the Royalty Children’s Network. | https://medium.com/@royaltychildrennetwork/royalty-childrens-network-visits-the-nigerian-conservation-foundation-cfac92b39ab9 | ["Royalty Children'S Network"] | 2020-12-26 09:13:29.086000+00:00 | ['Children', 'Adventure', 'Holidays', 'Education', 'Africa'] |
Samsung Chooses Central Texas Again | The headline: Samsung’s $17B plant is landing in Taylor, Texas
The big tech news over the last week in Austin, is that Samsung has officially chosen Taylor, Texas, just outside of Austin, as the home for their next chipmaking factory — a whopping $17B capital investment. For comparison, Tesla’s Gigafactory is estimated to be a $1B investment.
The Wall Street Journal broke the news, but as it is behind a paywall, here’s a link to the Austin Business Journal article and the Reuters article on the same subject. Rumors of the choice had been spreading for weeks because of Taylor’s very public approvals of incentive packages, and because of a lack of similar announcements from other municipalities who were certainly in the running. Moreover, the proximity to Samsung’s existing chip fabrication facility in Austin (less than one hour away) seems like a real benefit over time from a logistics and management perspective.
1200 acres and 6 million square feet of factory will go into the project, with a ground breaking scheduled in 2022.
It is one of the largest economic development projects to ever land in the Austin metro, in terms of dollar investment, and by far the biggest project to ever land in Taylor. The factory will be transformative for the Williamson County city, which had a population of 16,267 in 2020, according to U.S. Census Bureau data.
The investment has obvious implications for Samsung’s competition with Taiwan Semiconductor, but also for producing the most advanced chips in the United States. Chip factories are not terribly labor intensive — and therefore labor costs are not a significant factor in where these investments should be sited. It is more a factor of regulatory regimes, taxes, incentives, skills in the area, and logistics.
The Austin American-Statesman also covered the news:
Once considered a longshot to be chosen for Samsung’s next-generation chip fabrication plant that is expected to employ 1,800 people, Taylor had climbed into the favorites role in recent months — in part due to Williamson County government officials’ willingness to offer significant tax breaks to Samsung.
What does this mean for Taylor?
First, I think we should acknowledge the leadership shown by the Williamson County judge, Bill Gravell, and others from Taylor involved in putting their best foot forward with Samsung. The story, outlined best by the Austin Business Journal, has echoes of how the founders of Austin’s tech scene attracted MCC and Rematch to Austin (I recall Pike Powers saying that the Governor had told him “I want to win. And I don’t want to win by a little bit, I want to win by a mile.” — clear, concise direction with authority to act).
“From the very first day, I said, ‘We don’t say ‘no.’ We always work toward ‘yes,’” Gravell said. “That doesn’t mean you give away everything. It just meant every problem has a solution.”
The article goes on to describe how Taylor addressed the water and electrical utility needs, as well as roadways. It’s impressive to see local government react so quickly.
Taylor’s population is about 16,000+. That means at 17 billion dollars, we’re talking about an investment of about $1B per 1000 people. It’s massive. It will definitely have a positive effect on the local economy for years to come. I can’t imagine what a boon this will be for local restaurants, landowners, construction workers, etc. And yet it will also mean challenges to long-term residents who might prefer for Taylor to stay a quiet town and not be ground zero for the next generation of advanced chip manufacturing!
I will say, Samsung also knows how to be a great member of the community. I recall when they announced an expansion to their facility in Austin years ago — a $6B investment if I recall correctly — and they made the rounds to various chambers of commerce to talk about how proud they were to be doing business here with “us” (Austin), and then they went further and partnered with local institutions for job training and development and education.
One can’t help but notice that Tesla has moved to Austin as well, and wonder if they will be a Samsung customer for chips in the near future. Time will tell.
What is it about Austin?
One thing people are likely wondering — what is it about the Austin area that draws these investments in chipmaking?
And for that, we have to reach back into history a bit. First off, when the early leaders of Austin’s business community, in the 1960’s and 70’s, managed to attract MCC and Sematech to Austin. They also attracted IBM, Motorola, AMD, Intel, and others. In more recent years, Austin has emerged as not just a place to make the chips, but a place to design them.
Initially chip design operations were branches of large parent companies — just like the fabrication facilities. But over time, homegrown chip design firms have taken up the banner: Cirrus Logic, and Silicon Labs, and Broadcom, to name a few. Why did Austin have this resurgence in chip design — and long-term success with it — when so much of the design work has left the US?
One theory is that in addition to designing CPUs for firms like AMD and Intel, Austin also excelled at mixed-signal processor design. Analog-to-digital conversion is a key design topic for chips that go into cars, radios, cellular modems, etc. And in the early days of Austin tech, likely those design tasks were given to Austin operations because they were seen as less important…
Fast forward to the mid 2010’s and was anything more important than the mixed-signal processing designs going into cell phones? Austin has benefited from that expertise — and also on the expertise in low-power chip design.
I think in Austin you have a nice combination of skills and companies:
And it is an “it” city where you can draw new talent because Austin is also a great place for:
Quality of life
Job opportunities
Entrepreneurial opportunities
Raising money for early stage companies
A Live music scene and lively arts scene
Outdoor activities year ‘round
Positive population growth dynamics
It’s been amazing to watch the momentum over the last 25 years. Congratulations to Taylor on the win! | https://medium.com/@sfrancisatx/samsung-chooses-central-texas-again-dabb41eeb793 | ['Scott Francis'] | 2021-12-06 04:49:54.979000+00:00 | ['Austin', 'Samsung', 'Economic Development', 'Microchip'] |
Construction company logo: 30 examples for inspiration | It is hard to imagine a modern company without a logo. Branding is an inalienable part of any business these days. And construction companies are no exception. It is also crucial for them to get a proper logo design.
Why would a construction company need a logo?
Construction organizations need attractive and eloquent logos. And customers should get all the necessary information (alignment, advantages, etc.) by just looking at the logo.
Also, a logo can help with brand name memorizing. And a unique emblem improves your brand recognition making your company more competitive.
Construction company logo creation basics
What should a construction company logo be like? We can single out a few basic points which are to follow here.
Stick with thematic icons
Depictions like structures, building tools, blueprints (etc.) help potential customers to understand what the company deals with.
Pay attention to coloring
It is best to use a maximum of 2 colors for a construction company logo. That will make contents discreet but attractive. Blue, green, black, brown, and orange are totally cool here.
Pick a readable and simplistic font
Handwriting is just inappropriate in a construction company logo. It is also important that lettering would retain legibility even being lessened. An optimal solution here is an upright font with no notches.
Reflect on the advantages of your company
You can do so by properly coloring your logo. For instance, blue symbolizes
predictability and reliability and black stand for stability and high quality.
You can read more about the psychology of colors here.
Keep in mind logo color compatibility
In order to get a well-harmonized logo, it is essential to match colors and icon, font, and
style, and there mustn’t be a messy abundance of details in a logo too.
Examples of construction logos
How to create a construction company logo
Construction company logo can be created by you personally, by a bunch of designers, or by some online services. The last option the most convenient of course!
Logo constructor is an automated online tool. All you need to do is to input the required data and make a few choices when necessary.
Also, you can create a logo via the Turbologo service. An intuitive interface, a vast selection of icons and templates enables you to design a cool logo in but 5 minutes.
A properly designed logo can boost a company’s income by increasing brand recognition, thus, advancing it to the next level. Using all of the listed above designing hints you are sure to create both attractive and informative emblem.
Originally published at https://turbologo.com on December 15, 2020. | https://medium.com/turbologo/construction-company-logo-30-examples-for-inspiration-62a213e33a1f | ['Ilya Lavrov'] | 2020-12-19 11:55:25.625000+00:00 | ['Bussiness', 'Logo', 'Logo Design', 'Construction', 'Company'] |
DeSoto vs Spring | Texas High School Football Live Stream 12/26/2020 | DeSoto vs Spring | Texas High School Football Live Stream 12/26/2020 Jarkonilele ·Dec 26, 2020
DeSoto vs Spring | Texas High School Football Live Stream 12/26/2020
Watch Here Live: http://rizkihambali.sportfb.com/hsfootball.php
Eagles
9–1
Lions
9–0
The Spring (TX) varsity football team has a home playoff game vs. DeSoto (TX) on Saturday, December 26 @ 7p.
Game Details: McLane Stadium, Baylor University Waco, Texas
This game is a part of the “2020 Football State Championships — 2020 Football Conference 6A D1 “ tournament. | https://medium.com/@jarkonilele01/desoto-vs-spring-texas-high-school-football-live-stream-12-26-2020-3b18801a54df | [] | 2020-12-26 16:01:34.383000+00:00 | ['Texas', 'American History', 'American', 'Texas Rangers'] |
“Use Your Words” | “Use Your Words”
There’s twice as many words to describe negative emotions
I clicked on this story, and a sentence jumped out at me. Talking about the English language;
Of those 500,000 words total, as much as 3,000 are used to describe emotions — two-thirds of which are used to describe negative emotions.
As a fiction writer this seems both accurate and interesting. All we have to convey a mood are words, but positive moods are harder to describe. As a result writing about negative moods often reads much more expressive. No wonder really, we’ve got many more words to choose from to express that negative mood.
That got me thinking, do we in general express more negativity? To answer ‘yes’ to that question just doesn’t sit well with me. I still believe we as human beings spend, or should spend, as much time expressing positive moods as negative moods.
I think the ‘problem’ is not expression, but verbal expression. From very young we’re told to ‘use our words’ when we are expressing something negative like frustration or anger. But no caretaker would scold a toddler to use their words when laughing, breaking out in song, skipping around or doing a little wiggle dance. (If that caretaker is anything like me, they are much more likely to join in than insist they tell us what they are feeling.) And this resulted in twice as many words for negative emotions.
But those twice as many words, are a little misleading. Because when I think more about it, because it is more acceptable to act out positive emotions, words to describe positive emotions end up being verbs. If I write “He walked in, whistling a tune” I have set a mood. Is ‘whistling’ an emotion? No, it’s a verb for making sound while expelling air through the lips. But, a person is much more likely to whistle while feeling upbeat. He’s in a whistling mood. And we all know that mood is not bad. If I want the mood more positive, I throw in an other verb. “He walked in with a bounce in his step, whistling a tune” Bouncing isn’t a emotion either, but this guy just went from having a good morning to having woken up on the right side of someone else’s bed.
“Whistle” and “Bounce” probably weren’t counted among those 1000 words for positive emotion. But now I am wondering, if we did start to count verbs, would positive emotions still total half the words of negative emotions? Or would it start to look much more equal? | https://medium.com/unsolicited-bloggings/use-your-words-d51a6ce68364 | ['Aura Wilming'] | 2017-03-26 21:19:32.900000+00:00 | ['Psychology', 'Emotions', 'Blog', 'Writing', 'Language'] |
Problem in writing Business Emails? Read to help yourself :) | Language Idiosyncasies
same word is been used as a verb in this case
Thinking through the process
- Results
- understanding, feedback, action, and follow-up
- Your Readers
- decision to read: To learn about a task a problem or an idea
- You, The Reader
- Reason to write: to address a task, a problem, or an idea
- Understand you readers
- Email should have a sequence of events to e discussed or understood
- Be mindful while writing emails
- Your email represents you, your reputation is at stake
- In your email there should be lot of white-spaces, not with too much of highlighting etc
- Not to be written in CAPS, it is considered as rude.
Writing is communication. It begins with you and your reason to write. Solve a problem, give encouragement, or inform someone of a decision.
Demanding or Decision
- selecting write set of words to express gratitude, grateful and encouragement
- Do not sound autorotative
KNOW YOUR READER:
- what is my reader’s style of doing business?
- How does my reader regard me personally or professionally
- does my reader have special concerns or strong views about the subject? What are they?
Mark right set of reader, do not mark them if it is not important for them to know,
Two types of business readers:
- Skimmers
- Skeptics
Skimmers are typically very busy and pressed for time. They often skim documents/email in a rather shoerter period of time
The Emails you draft for Skimmers should:
- State the main point clearly and up-front
- Place the most important information at the beginning or ending of paragraphs
- Highlight key dates or figures
Skeptic readers. A skeptic is reader tha is very cautious and doubtful. Skeptical readers will tend to read a documents/email carefully, questioning its varity and the writer’s claims
Responsive Timeline → You need to respond at least within 24–48 hours
Three Part Structure:
How can I create an effective opening? How can I create effective middle? How can I create effective closing? How can I create an effective opening?
- Greet the reader
- Identify your point
- Give the background details / context
- preview the document’s contents
- define key terms
- Summarize your recommendations
2. How can I create effective middle?
- Give facts
- it should be crisp
- Bullets should be short and meaningful and not like stories
3. How can I create effective closing?
- Focus on outcome
Drive away “Indianisms”
- Passing out
- Real brothers and sisters
- discuss about
- kindly revert
- order for
- years back
- Prepone > brought forward or lets advance this meeting
- Do one thing
- out of station
Eliminating Redundancies
BE Concise — instead of > try saying | https://medium.com/@khannadeepak89/problem-in-writing-business-emails-read-to-help-yourself-43896aa0f6f | ['Deepak Khanna'] | 2020-12-15 18:52:49.470000+00:00 | ['Business Email', 'Communication', 'Communication Skills', 'Email', 'Business'] |
Quantum cryptography in a Nutshell | Quantum cryptography in a Nutshell
Cryptography is the art of rendering information exchanged between two parties unintelligible to any unauthorized person. Although it is an old science, its scope of applications remained mainly restricted to military and diplomatic purposes until the development of electronic and optical telecommunications.
Classical Cryptography:
Introduction to classical cryptography:
Classical cryptography can be divided into two major branches; secret or symmetric key cryptography and public key cryptography, which is also known as asymmetric cryptography.
Secret key cryptography represents the most traditional form of cryp-tography in which two parties both encrypt and decrypt their messages using the same shared secret key. While some secret key schemes, such as one-time pads, are perfectly secure against an attacker with arbitrary computational power , they have the major practical disadvantage that before two parties can communicate securely they must somehow establish a secret key.
In order to establish a secret key over an insecure channel, key distribution schemes based on public key cryptography, such as Diffie-Hellman, are typically employed.
One-time-pad and key distribution problem:
In conventional cryptography, an unbreakable code does exist. It is called the one-time-pad and was invented by Gilbert Vernam in 1918.
In the one-time-pad method, a message (traditionally called the plain text) is first converted by Alice into a binary form (a string consisting of “0”s and “1”s) by a publicly known method. A key is a binary string of the same length as the message.
By combining each bit of the message with the respective bit of the key using XOR (i.e. addition modulo two), Alice converts the plain text into an encrypted form (called the cipher text) .Alice then transmits the cipher text to Bob via a broadcast channel. Anyone including an eavesdropper can get a copy of the cipher text. However, without the knowledge of the key, the cipher text is totally random and gives no information whatsoever about the plain text. For decryption, Bob, who shares the same key with Alice, can perform another XOR (i.e. addition modulo two) between each bit of the cipher text with the respective bit of the key to recover the plain text .
The one-time-pad method is unbreakable, but it has a serious drawback: it supposes that Alice and Bob initially share a random string of secret that is as long as the message. Therefore, the one-time-pad simply shifts the problem of secure communication to the problem of key distribution. This is the key distribution problem.
The one of possible solution to the key distribution problem is public key cryptography .Quantum mechanics can also provide a solution to the key distribution problem.
In quantum key distribution, an encryption key is generated randomly between Alice and Bob by using non orthogonal quantum states. In quantum mechanics there is a quantum no-cloning theorem, which states that it is fundamentally impossible for anyone including an eavesdropper to make an additional copy of an unknown quantum state. Therefore, any attempt by an eavesdropper to learn information about a key in a QKD process will lead to disturbance, which can be detected by Alice and Bob who can, for example, check the bit error rate of a random sample of the raw transmission data.
Quantum Cryptography:
Quantum cryptography solves the problem of key distribution by allowing the exchange of a cryptographic key between two remote parties with absolute security, guaranteed by the fundamental laws of physics. This key can then be used securely with conventional cryptographic algorithms. The more correct name for Quantum Cryptography is therefore Quantum key Distribution.
Let’ s now introduce the most known QKD protocol :
BB84 protocol:
BB84 is one of the most known protocols in QKD is the BB84 protocol introduced by Bennet and Brassard in 1984.
The procedure of the BB84 protocol is as follows :
Alice generates a random key , than she chooses randomly one of the two basis states (S-basis or H-basis ) , She encodes each bit in its quantum state according to the chosen basis . Bob randomly chooses the standard or the hadamard basis to measure each qubit in the chosen basis, Bob have 50% of chance to measure qubits in the correct basis. Bob tells Alice over the Classical Authenticated Channel (CAC) that he has received and measured all the qubits. Alice and Bob compare over the CAC their basis choices; they will discard all rounds in which they didn’t measure in the same basis. This step is commonly called basis reconciliation. Alice picks randomly 1/4 bits for testing, she tells Bob over the CAC the bits indices and their values. Both Alice and Bob will perform testing and compute the error rate in the sifted basis (where they measured correctly in the same basis). If the error rate exceed a given threshold, the protocol will be discarded, other-wise they will continue the next steps of the protocol. Alice and Bob perform information reconciliation through the CAC. they may use some error correction protocol like the cascade protocol. Finally, Alice and Bob perform privacy amplification to extract their private secret key.
What is privacy amplification?
Privacy amplification is a method for reducing Eve’s partial information about Alice and Bob’s key. This partial information that could have been gained by Eve on the quantum channel during the previous steps of the protocol. It uses Alice and Bob’s key to produce a new, shorter key, in such a way that Eve has only negligible information about the new key. This can be done using a universal hash function.
Authentication in the Classical Authenticated Channel:
Let us return to an important assumption that is always made when considering the BB’84 protocol: that the communication channel between Alice and Bob, that we’ve been calling the “CAC”, is what its name implies — an authenticated channel. This assumption is used to guarantee that, although the eavesdropper may intercept any communication, she cannot “impersonate” Alice or Bob by sending fake messages on the channel. You can easily imagine the catastrophic consequences that such an attack could have: for example Eve could lie to Bob about Alice’s choice of the test set T ,making it a bit bigger; then Bob would reveal his outcomes in the bigger set, and Eve could keep them as additional side information about Alice’s raw key. This assumption is usually considered “benign”, as indeed the access to an authenticated channel is a prerequisite for a large variety of cryptographic tasks. Thus in practice one imagines that any two parties Alice and Bob wanting to implement QKD have access to such a channel, that has been implemented by other means. It is still interesting to consider how reasonable the assumption is, and how an authentication channel can be constructed. There are two main methods to achieve authentication, and each has its drawbacks. The first is to use public-key cryptography, which requires computational assumptions on the power of the eavesdropper. The second is to use private-key cryptography, which requires Alice and Bob to share a secret key… precisely the task QKD is meant to solve in the first place!
….
We can’t talk about quantum cryptography without mentioning the field of post-quantum cryptography: those are classical algorithms which are resilient to quantum attacks. NIST has initiated a process to solicit, evaluate, and standardize one or more quantum-resistant public-key cryptographic algorithms.
So, do we really need quantum cryptography to secure our data ?
References: | https://medium.com/@ferjanimedyassine/quantum-cryptography-7ae5b44a5d4a | ['Mohamed Yassine Ferjani'] | 2021-03-01 17:32:29.719000+00:00 | ['Quantum Computing', 'Quantum Cryptography', 'Quantum Physics', 'Cryptography', 'Crypto'] |
How to Use Constraints and Triggers for Automatic Cleaning and Scheduling of PostgreSQL Tables | Background
Time series scenarios usually have the following requirements:
1) Expired historical data must automatically clear up as fast as possible to prevent write-ahead logging (WAL). Either the drop or truncate method can be used.
2) PG supports partition tables. It is better to use partitions. However, this requires the constant creation of partitions. Currently, pg_pathman automatically creates partitions. But partitions aren't automatically deleted.
So, now the critical question is how to proceed ahead?
Method
Let’s take a look at the proposed solution to fix the issue raised in the preceding section:
1) Specify a fixed number of partition tables (similar to list partitions) in a period. For example, there’s a need for 24 tables ending with hours, 7 weekly tables, and 60 minute-based tables.
2) Trigger and clean (truncate) old data based on data insertion time.
This method fixes the written code without necessitating any further changes and creates all the necessary data tables at one time.
Example
Step 1) Create all detailed partition tables required in a period. Create a total of six tables, each for 10 minutes as shown below.
create table t1_0 (id int, info text, crt_time timestamp, check (substring(to_char(crt_time,'yyyymmddhh24miss'), 11, 1)='0'));
create table t1_1 (id int, info text, crt_time timestamp, check (substring(to_char(crt_time,'yyyymmddhh24miss'), 11, 1)='1'));
create table t1_2 (id int, info text, crt_time timestamp, check (substring(to_char(crt_time,'yyyymmddhh24miss'), 11, 1)='2'));
create table t1_3 (id int, info text, crt_time timestamp, check (substring(to_char(crt_time,'yyyymmddhh24miss'), 11, 1)='3'));
create table t1_4 (id int, info text, crt_time timestamp, check (substring(to_char(crt_time,'yyyymmddhh24miss'), 11, 1)='4'));
create table t1_5 (id int, info text, crt_time timestamp, check (substring(to_char(crt_time,'yyyymmddhh24miss'), 11, 1)='5'));
Step 2) Create a constraint table or a scheduling table (because it’s not possible to trigger a truncate event for each record). Also, clean data generated more than 10 minutes ago at every 10-minute interval as shown below.
create table t_const(crt_time timestamp primary key);
Step 3) Create a trigger for the partition table, truncate data by period, and write the data into the constraint table.
create or replace function tg() returns trigger as $$
declare
begin
insert into t_const values (to_timestamp(substring(to_char(NEW.crt_time,'yyyymmddhh24miss'), 1, 11)||'000','yyyymmddhh24miss')) on conflict (crt_time) do nothing;
return null;
end;
$$ language plpgsql strict;
create trigger tg1 after insert on t1_0 for each row execute procedure tg();
create trigger tg1 after insert on t1_1 for each row execute procedure tg();
create trigger tg1 after insert on t1_2 for each row execute procedure tg();
create trigger tg1 after insert on t1_3 for each row execute procedure tg();
create trigger tg1 after insert on t1_4 for each row execute procedure tg();
create trigger tg1 after insert on t1_5 for each row execute procedure tg();
Step 4) Execute the following commands to create a constraint table trigger to trigger the rules for cleaning detailed partitions.
create or replace function tg_truncate() returns trigger as $$
declare
suffix int := substring(to_char(NEW.crt_time,'yyyymmddhh24miss'), 11, 1)::int;
begin
set lock_timeout = '1s';
for i in 0..5 loop
if i=suffix then
continue;
end if;
if suffix=0 and i=5 then
continue;
end if;
if i=suffix-1 then
continue;
end if;
execute 'truncate t1_'||i;
raise notice 'truncated %', 't1_'||i;
end loop;
return null;
end;
$$ language plpgsql strict;
create trigger tg1 after insert on t_const for each row execute procedure tg_truncate();
With this the automatic cleanup is complete! Do give a try yourself.
The following snippet displays the automatic cleanup.
postgres=# insert into t1_0 values (1,now(),'2018-01-02 10:00:40');
NOTICE: truncated t1_1
NOTICE: truncated t1_2
NOTICE: truncated t1_3
NOTICE: truncated t1_4
INSERT 0 1
If data is written to the same partition later, automatic cleanup will not be triggered. This complies with requirements. Automatic cleanup is triggered only by the first piece of written data.
postgres=# insert into t1_0 values (1,now(),'2018-01-02 10:00:40');
INSERT 0 1
postgres=# insert into t1_0 values (1,now(),'2018-01-02 10:01:50');
INSERT 0 1
Summary
Data can be stored by partition. If you use a native partition table, a shared lock is added to the primary table and all its partitions during data writing, and hence the user cannot perform truncate. We recommend using the pg_pathman partition or directly write data into a partition.
Also, note that the truncate method prevents WAL log generation during data cleanup, and hence triggers are used to enable automatic data cleanup.
References
Note: The above articles are in Chinese
Original Source: | https://medium.com/@alibaba-cloud/automatic-cleaning-and-scheduling-of-postgresql-rotate-tables-constraints-and-triggers-659eec20e873 | ['Alibaba Cloud'] | 2020-06-10 02:56:04.509000+00:00 | ['Postgresql', 'Table', 'Automatic', 'Alibabacloud', 'Trigger'] |
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