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Why would anyone ever sell their banking data? | Why would anyone ever sell their banking data? Alan Follow Jun 8 · 8 min read
Unbanks is a Web3 company based in Ireland. We are building the world’s first consumer banking data union where users can sell their banking data (transaction history). The Unbanks UK pilot is launching soon (which you can sign up for here) and wanted to answer an important question.
Why would anyone ever sell their banking data?
A fair question and the most common one we have heard. Throughout this article we will give our argument for why you should and explain our thinking behind the Unbanks concept.
At the end you may still wonder “Why would anyone ever sell their banking data?” and that’s fine, we know banking data is inherently personal (probably second only to medical data) and selling it may seem like a new or unusual concept.
As we describe the concept we hope that you see the merits and need for Unbanks. If not, we would love to hear your own opinions in the comments.
The article is divided into 4 sections, by the end we hope that the answer we have built convinces you.
What happens to my banking data now?
Why now?
How is my privacy protected?
What can I get for my banking data?
What happens to my banking data now?
Your data is almost certainly being sold on a data marketplace. Not all banks/card companies take part in this but many do. A quick Google search of “bank selling data <insert bank name>” or “<insert card company> selling data” will show you. There are 2 main ways this data is currently being sold;
It is being sold from source
This means from your bank and/or card company. Your data is legally sold on data market places generally through a third party. They use third parties because they do not want it to be known they are selling the data, that would be bad PR. Banks/Card companies get your consent through terms and conditions forms (that you most likely did not read). This is how it is done unbeknownst to the majority of their customers. The data being sold is not the raw data, it’s anonymized (any personal identifiers are removed).
2. It is being sold by a company who you have granted access to your data
This means you have signed up for some form of financial app that requires you to allow them access to your bank accounts. Think bank account aggregation apps, credit rating apps etc. This is a classic example of “if you are not paying, you are the product”. These companies make money by selling your data (again the data sold is anonymized).
Why now?
It is the convergence of 3 factors that make selling your banking data now possible and beneficial.
> Data Unions and the Data Economy
The new Data economy is increasing in value every year. The EU is drafting legislation called the Digital Markets Act (DMA) which looks to regulate large corporations that possess significant control over enormous data sets. In this context that would be large banks and card companies. This presents a great opportunity for user led opt in data sets, think a kind of Fair-trade data. Enter Data Unions:
A Data Union provides a way to bundle a user’s data together with others and distribute a share of the revenue when someone pays to access it. On its own, a person’s data does not hold much value, but when combined in a data union, it can aggregate into an attractive product for buyers to extract insights.
The team at Streamr have built an secure and scalable Data Union platform which Unbanks will build on top of. This will allow Unbanks to send data (in real time) to the Unbanks Data Union leveraging Streamr decentralized network security. The Data Union platform also enables Unbanks to distribute payments to all users via the same decentralized secure network.
Data Unions are what allow Unbanks can organise the data, sell the data and pay its users.
> Open banking maturity
Open banking is the framework that allows you, the user, to share your banking data with whoever you choose to. Initially Unbanks will be operating in the EU and UK, in these regions the Open Banking legislation was introduced as part of the second Payment Services Directive (EU 2015/2366 PSD2) or PSD2 for short. In a nutshell this enables the use of open APIs that allow third-party developers to build applications and services around the financial institution. As PSD2 is EU (and UK*) legislation the banks must provide these APIs for third party companies to use. A user’s banking data can only be retrieved by a third party once the user has given explicit permission to that third party. PSD2 APIs are how Unbanks receives banking data from members of the Data Union.
*PSD2 was introduce pre-Brexit and hence has been adopted by the UK post-Brexit
> Consumers willingness to share data for something in return
While the previous two factors were a combination of technology/legislation being built which allows new functionality, the third factor is very much a user behavior. Since there has been personal data the default action has been to keep it from view as much as possible. We believe that this should still be the case, however we also believe that if we can take the “personal” out of “personal data” then everybody has an opportunity to benefit from the data they create. This is what we are doing, we make your data completely anonymous so it contains only numbers and predefined values that cannot identify a user in any way. Privacy is our main concern.
Up until now it has not been possible to sell data in this friction-less, secure and anonymous way and there has not been a reason to. Now we can, with the first two factors mentioned Data Union/Data Economy and Open Banking it is possible and the users can get paid for it. As the option is now on the table we believe we will see users’ attitudes to data sharing and selling will change. Our job is to ensure and prove to the users over and over again the security and anonymity of the Unbanks platform.
How Unbanks works
How is my privacy protected?
As alluded to in the previous section privacy is of course the main concern. This is why, of the data Unbanks collects, we will only send 5 fields to the Data Union, each of which have predefined values or is a number. The fields are as follows;
{
timestamp: ‘must be in the format YYYY-MM-DD-T-HH:MM:SS’,
transaction_type: ‘can only be “CREDIT” or “DEBIT”’,
transaction_category: ‘one of 17 predefined values e.g “DIRECT DEBIT”,
amount: ‘must be an integer’,
currency: ‘must be a legitimate ISO 4217 alpha-3 currency code’
}
An example of what we would send onto the data union;
{
timestamp: ‘2021–06–08T11:35:18Z’,
transaction_type: ‘DEBIT’,
transaction_category: ‘PURCHASE’,
amount: 4.20,
currency: ‘EUR’
}
There will be no personal data sold, shared or sent to the Data Union. The data is completely anonymised, users are identified on the Unbanks platform only by their “sub_id” which is a 33 alphanumeric id for example ‘e14rf34e-05a1–4911-a2a1–52e638347ee2’.
It is paramount to us to communicate very clearly how we handle your data in Unbanks. We have found this to be the biggest concern for users and rightly so. Our next article will be solely dedicated to how we handle data in Unbanks, keep an eye out for that one.
What can I get for my banking data?
We think we can give you $10/month but we are running a pilot to confirm. As the Data Economy grows more companies will be looking for “Fairtrade Data”, the more buyers the more money you get.
Our pilot will last 3 months (so you are guaranteed $30 in total) and will be available to people who have a bank account the UK 🇬🇧.
As Unbanks matures we will offer other benefits (as well as cash) for being a member of the Data Union, vouchers, special offers etc.
Now, to come back and answer the question;
Q: Why would anyone ever sell their banking data?
A: Your banking data is already being sold but you do not see any benefit. The technology now exists that makes it possible to not only have control over your banking data but to also benefit from it. Your banking data can be sold completely anonymously to create a stream of income for you.
Banking transactional data is very sought after, it has been called the holy grail of data for marketers its one of the reasons Visa wanted to buy Plaid and in 2019 its where 1/4 of Mastercards revenue came from. The demand is growing but we want to make sure the people who create the data are the people who get paid for the data. Moving into the future we think Data will be treated as labour is now and everyone will be able to have a stream of income from their data. This is why we are building Unbanks and its why we believe users should consider selling their banking data on the Unbanks platform.
A bit about the Unbanks
Unbanks is a Web3 company based in Ireland. We are two people, Alan and Ger (cousins) operating out of Cork and Dublin. With a combined 25 years in Tech and Banking multi-nations we have built the Unbanks platform and are excited to launch!
The Unbanks platform is world’s first consumer banking data union where users can sell their banking data (transaction history). A users grants Unbanks permission to access their banking data through Open Banking (PSD2) and Unbanks periodically pulls the data from the banks APIs. The data is anonymised and sent to our Data Union. The Data Union will (hopefully) have hundreds of thousands of users providing data to it. Unbanks then sells access to the Data Union data to companies. Once the data is sold the users who provided the data will be paid. Unbanks will take a small admin fee.
The Pilot
We are running a pilot before we fully launch. The only difference with the pilot is that instead of paying users when data is sold we are committing to pay each user $10/month for 3 months regardless. The pilot is limited to 50 users, so you will need to be quick to get a spot!
To be the first to hear when the pilot opens sign up at unbanks.me
You can also follow us on twitter or say [email protected] | https://medium.com/unbanks/why-would-anyone-ever-sell-their-banking-data-df3a14fb6cf7 | [] | 2021-06-15 08:26:12.092000+00:00 | ['Data Economy', 'Fintech', 'Web3', 'Ethereum', 'Open Banking'] |
The New Restaurant Experience: Robot Servers, Cooks And Hostesses | At the new Alibaba restaurant, Robot.he, in Shanghai the human hostesses have been relegated to smiling and pointing at touch screens. The hard work of interacting with guests and serving dinner is done by mobile phones and mobile robots that look oddly similar to Amazon’s warehouse rovers. Cao Haitao of Robot.he explains Alibaba’s rationale, “In Shanghai, a waiter costs up to 10,000 yuan ($1,460) per month. That’s hundreds of thousands in cost every year. And two shifts of people are needed.” Bots, Haitao exclaims, work everyday without complaint. Already the machines are receiving glowing reviews from patrons who see huge savings in their bill, “Normally for two to three people, a meal costs about 300–400 yuan ($44-$58), but here, all this table of food is just over 100 yuan ($15),” explains diner Ma Shenpeng.
Alibaba’s competitor, JD.com is following suit by announcing it will open a thousand robot-staffed restaurants by 2020. According to Nikkei Asian Review the first location was suppose to open this August but as of today there have been no grand openings. However, the e-commerce giant has been seen scouting out locations throughout China for its 400 square meter fast food experience. Rumor has it that they already have a menu of more than 30 items. While automated dining has been around since the age of the Automat, which first open its doors in 1895 in Germany, the executions by Alibaba and JD.com are more than just novelties. Rising labor costs and rents worldwide are driving retail establishments toward a mechanical future, potentially leaving 66 million human workers in jeopardy.
Last May, Las Vegas’ Culinary Workers Union voted to authorize a strike against casinos that are adopting new technologies. While a tentative deal was reached between the parties, the main sticking points were the effect of robots on its 60,000 members, which include: porters, bellmen, housekeepers, bartenders, cocktail/food servers, cooks and other kitchen staff. According to the Union’s website, “As a consequence of this wave of automation, casino resort workers represented by the Culinary Union Local 226 have made it clear they want their voice heard when it comes to robots entering their field of work. Their newly arranged tentative deals and signed 5-year contracts have language dedicated to technology introduction and how it could potentially affect their existing responsibilities.” The casinos were quick to halt the possibility of a strike as the economic fallout could cost over $10 million a day. This action comes on the heels of a very well publicized negotiation between the Teamsters Union and United Parcel Service over the use of drones, driverless trucks and other automation technologies. As organized labor grabbles to understand its role relative to automation technologies, it is clear that the inevitability of adoption is accelerating past the point of no return.
To digest the impact of unmanned systems on the food service industry, I reached out to John Ha of Bear Robotics. Last year, I had the pleasure of meeting the restauranteur turned roboticist at an industry conference. Since then, Ha has been making headlines with his game changing product: “Penny — The Runner Robot.” Ha shared with me the evolution of his whimsically named mechanical waitress. He started his career at Google working long hours and in between coding, the former engineer would eat dinners at a small Korean restaurant minutes from Mountain View. Ha eventually bought the Kang Nam Tofu House with the dream of starting his own chain of casual Korean dining experiences. Instead Ha sighs, “I experienced the challenges faced by many operators in this industry. When my employees would show up late to work — or not show up at all — I had to step in and carry the load. And yes, that meant cooking, dishwashing, serving, bussing, hiring, etc.” Then after two years of slaving away, “A light bulb finally flashed over me when I was knee-deep into this. I said to myself: there has to be a better way to run these establishments.” After testing several concepts, Ha finally landed on the idea of a “food runner robot.” In his experience, “This is a simple task that restaurants can use to take a burden off of servers.” He continues, “From a front-of-house perspective, running food from one location to another does not add tremendous value. So, why not automate this?”
I asked Ha if he thinks Penny could mean the death of the food service profession, he retorted, “This was less about replacing servers with a robot, and more about changing the nature of a server’s daily work.” Using the Tofu House as his laboratory, Ha found that his servers spent less time running marathons of shuttling food than with customers. Proving his thesis, Ha boasted that his “servers generated an 18% increase in tips,” after Penny took flight. He also thinks that another side benefit of robots will be longer employee retention by making their work more enjoyable. As Ha describes, “Imagine yourself walking or running five to seven miles a day juggling multiple trays of food and drinks in a narrow and crowded environment. If you can picture this, then also think of how physically taxing it is.”
After the unfortunate news of Jibo and Kuri, it is refreshing to see entrepreneurs solve real problems for their respective industries. Unlike Pepper’s boastful claims of being the be-all-end-all of robots in one adorable package, Penny is specifically attacking hospitality’s biggest pain point — employee turnover. According to The National Restaurant Association, waitstaff churn is climbing to more than 72% of all employees, a third higher than the national average for other sectors. That same report estimates that the average establishment loses over $150,00 a year from server discontent, which for a restaurant like the ToFu House is a considerable percentage of their bottomline. If the statistics hold the true, Ha’s robot will pay for itself in a matter of months.
The market for automated food service is quickly growing with other startups entering the fray to ferry delicacies to hungry patrons, most notably Pudu and Savioke. Chinese manufacturer Suzhou Pangolin Robot Corp., Ltd. has been building fleets of robots since 2004, claiming leadership in the hospitality market for food preparation and service. As Suzhou controls the entire supply chain it could potentially undersell competitors with its line of robots. Its restaurant product, Amy (shown above) is similar to other Asian iterations that not only bring convenience to the dinner table, but personality through a humanoid package. In discussing this with Bear Robotics’ Chief Operating Officer, Juan Higueros, says he is not discouraged as Penny has already successfully served over 25,000 satisfied customers. Higueros states that the real opportunity for his company is to partner with restaurant brands, such as Darden’s Olive Garden and Yum’s Pizza Hut, to deploy its “Bear Operating System for remote fleet management and on-site operation,” on a global scale. In the meantime, the team of Ha and Higueros is busy perfecting Penny’s AI-human interface to amplify the value proposition. As the son of a restaurateur whose father worked 25-hour days, cyborg-enabled waitstaff could be a welcome blessing for proprietors and their families.
Reserve today for the next RobotLab Forum on Retail Robotics when we discuss how automation is changing the restaurant industry and more with Pano Anthos of XRC Labs and Ken Pilot, formerly President of Gap on October 17th in New York City. | https://robotrabbi.medium.com/the-new-restaurant-experience-robot-servers-cooks-and-hostesses-ff25c261879e | ['Oliver Mitchell'] | 2018-09-17 12:11:48.727000+00:00 | ['Technology', 'Startup', 'Retail', 'Robotics', 'AI'] |
- mundoanimalselvagem | 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/mundoanimalselvagem/canto-do-curi%C3%B3-bdb1eb8a374c | ['Mundo Animal Selvagem'] | 2020-12-30 18:23:51.067000+00:00 | ['Canto Do Curió', 'Oryzoborus Angolensis', 'Pássaro Curió', 'Curió', 'Birds'] |
How to easily Query Live Streams of data with Kafka and Flink SQL | Real time data querying is becoming a modern standard. Who wants to wait until the next day or week when needing to take decision now?
Apache Flink SQL is an engine now offering SQL on bounded/unbounded streams of data. The streams can come from various sources and here we picked the popular Apache Kafka, which also has the separate ksqlDB.
This tutorial is based on the great Flink SQL demo Building an End-to-End Streaming Application but focuses on the end user querying experience.
Components
To keep things simple, all the pieces have been put together in a “one-click” Docker Compose project which contains:
We also bumped the Flink version from 1.11.0 to 1.11.1 as the SQL Gateway requires it. As Flink can query various sources (Kafka, MySql, Elastic Search), some additional connector dependencies have also been pre-installed in the images. | https://medium.com/data-querying/how-to-easily-query-live-streams-of-data-with-kafka-and-flink-sql-7fa80731e9bd | ['Romain Rigaux'] | 2020-12-30 07:26:28.632000+00:00 | ['Kafka', 'Stream', 'Flink', 'Sql', 'Ksqldb'] |
Sending Bitcoin with Ruby | One of the basic things you’d want to achieve in building on top of the Bitcoin ecosystem is to send Bitcoin. With, that I’ve written down some things that I’ve learned along the way in the most simplified way I can think of.
Here’s a step by step guide in sending Bitcoin with ruby by leveraging bitcoind’s JSON RPC endpoint.
You’ll need to have:
bitcoind running with -rpcallowip , configured with rpcusername and rpcpassword and more importantly -testnet . This will act as your ‘hot wallet’.
, configured with and more importantly . This will act as your ‘hot wallet’. bitcoiner gem, a wrapper for bitcoind’s JSON RPC interface
gem, a wrapper for bitcoind’s JSON RPC interface a testnet wallet with testnet accounts.
an open tab with this: https://bitcoincore.org/en/doc/0.17.0/ or whatever version you’re using.
What if someone gets access to my private keys? What if someone brute forces the username/password of my bitcoind’s JSON RPC endpoint? etc.
Security is another topic worth another post (limit the surface of attack, pod/vm-level restrictions, network-level restraints, multiple bitcoind’s, not keeping large amounts of bitcoin in your hot wallet, etc.) but for now, let’s send some bitcoins 😄
Concept (simplified)
A transaction in the Bitcoin network is made of in’s and out’s.
Inputs are where you get your BTC from. These are past transactions with addresses you can control.
Outputs are where they go. Usually there’s 2. 1 for the recipient, and 1 for you. “Why me?” because you’ll need to send the difference back to yourself. More on that later.
Example
You have 5BTC in your wallet, it’s split up in 4 different addresses. yeah, I mean, I’m actually saying addresses, but it’s actually “unspent transaction outputs” ❓🙄❓🙄❓ Stick with me for now and I’ll point this out later.
1addr has 2 BTC
2addr has 1.5BTC
3addr has 0.5BTC
4addr has 1BTC
You want to send 0.01BTC to someone named Person A, you’d need to use some of your BTC in those 4 address. Let’s say we want to use 3addr, and Person A gave you their address: 1some1. Your transaction would look like this:
Inputs 3addr = 0.5BTC
Outputs 1some1 = 0.01BTC
This isn’t complete though, so what happens to the 0.49BTC? Well you’d need to send it back to yourself of course! Otherwise it’ll all go to the miners. Best to generate a new address and put it there. Lets call that new address as 5addr. Now our transaction looks like this:
Inputs 3addr = 0.5BTC
Outputs 1some1 = 0.01BTC | 5addr = 0.49BTC
What about those transaction fees? How do I set them?
The transaction fee is the difference between the sum of your inputs and sum of your output amounts. Let’s say the transaction fees would be 0.000178BTC
So the final transaction would look like:
Inputs 3addr = 0.5BTC
Outputs 1some1 = 0.01BTC | 5addr = (0.49BTC — 0.000178BTC)
If you still didn’t get it, it’s okay! If you understand concepts better when you’re writing the code and tests, then it’ll probably click as you go along 😃
Getting the fees
First we’ll want to set what type of fees are “fast”, so that we can use the right number when creating the transaction. We can stuff this code inside some simple service class.
module Bitcoinzzz
class GetFees
AVE_TX_BYTES = 250.0 def self.call
client = Bitcoiner.new(<your creds here>) # whats the fee for 3 blocks?
response = client.request("estimatesmartfee", 3) if response["errors"].any?
# ... do something
end
# estimatesmartfee is a bitcoind JSON RPC call
# it returns the optimal fee per kB (1000 bytes), given the
# number of blocks you want your transaction to confirm
#
# we only want the fee for 250bytes (average tx size).
# you can also compute for tx size if you want to.
fee = response["feerate"].to_d * (AVE_TX_SIZE / 1000.0)
fee
end end
end
Sending bitcoin with the fees
Can’t we just use sendtoaddress? (sendtoaddress is a bitcoind JSON RPC call)
Yes you can! That’s definitely the easiest way to do this, but if you want more control on fees, outputs being spent; splitting up what sendtoaddress does would be one step to that direction (a.k.a. small refactors using the Ship of Theseus method.), and we get to learn along the way too!
So here’s the steps to mimic sendtoaddress similarly
Getting your unspent money (What can I use for my inputs?)
To build the transaction you’ll need to get “spendable outputs”. To simplify the explanation, this is where the BTC will come from, a list of unspent addresses in the bitcoind wallet.
# listunspent is another bitcoind JSON RPC call, it lists all the
# previous txs/addresses that you contains your
unspent = client.request("listunspent") unspent.inspect
#=> [
{
"address": "1addr",
"amount": 2.0,
"confirmations": 1000,
"desc": "some_text",
"redeemScript": "some_redeem_script",
"safe": true,
"scriptPubKey": "some_script_pubkey",
"solvable": true,
"spendable": true,
"txid": "the_remote_txid",
"vout": 0
},
{
"address": "2addr",
"amount": 1.5,
"confirmations": 1000,
"desc": "some_text",
"redeemScript": "some_redeem_script",
"safe": true,
"scriptPubKey": "some_script_pubkey",
"solvable": true,
"spendable": true,
"txid": "the_remote_txid",
"vout": 0
},
...
]
Remember earlier I said this?
yeah, I mean, I’m actually saying addresses, but it’s actually “unspent transaction outputs” ❓🙄❓🙄❓ Stick with me for now and I’ll point this out later.
Sometimes you will see here 2 items with the same address but different vout values. It means that the address was used multiple times. So what this list really represents are unspent transaction outputs (UTXO) . These are previous transactions where the outputs are addresses that your bitcoind ‘hot wallet’ controls a.k.a. someone sending your hot wallet some BTC, or “change amounts” from previous transactions you made (more on that later)
Filter what you’ll use (What can I use for my inputs?)
Presented with this list, just grab what’s “spendable”. It means that this transaction can be used by bitcoind for sending (underneath, all that means is that the bitcoind has the keys to use that address).
# what you want your recipient to actually receive
receivable_amount = 0.01 # sample fee from Bitcoinzzz::GetFees.()
fee = 0.000178 # filter all spendable
spendable = unspent.map do |output|
output if output["spendable"]
end.compact
If you’re sending 0.01BTC + 0.000178BTC , you won’t need all the “spendable outputs”, so just get the right amount of outputs.
total_usable = 0 # total amount you'll spend: 0.01 + 0.000178
sending_amount = receivable_amount + fee # just get the right amount of outputs
usable = spendable.map do |output|
if total_usable < sending_amount
total_usable += output["amount"]
output
end
end.compact # based on the unspent example, 'usable' array will only contain the 1addr hash by now. You're only sending 0.01BTC + 0.000178BTC anyway. 1addr contains 2BTC
Get a change address (Where will I send it? My outputs?)
Remember what I said earlier about outputs?
You’ll need to send the difference back to yourself. More on that later.
Of course you only want to send 0.01BTC + 0.000178BTC (fees) . Right now, you have 0.5BTC worth of (ins) that funds your transaction! You’ll want to send the rest back to your own wallet. This is called a change address, you can get one using bitcoind’s JSON RPC again.
receiving_address = "SOME_ADDRESS_HERE" # getrawchangeaddress is another bitcoind JSON RPC call that gives
# you a new address where you can send change to change_address = client.request(
"getrawchangeaddress",
"bech32", # bech32 adoption would be very nice, lower tx size.
) # Lets compute what we'll send back to yourself and what we'll send
# to the change_address
#
# total_usable = 2BTC from 1addr
# sending_amount = 0.01BTC + 0.000178 (fees) change_amount = total_usable - sending_amount
Build the transaction hash (Putting my outputs and inputs together)
Once you’ve determined where you’ll get the money from (inputs), and where it’ll go (outputs). Let’s prepare a json object for createrawtransaction
ins = usable.map do |output|
{
"txid" => output["txid"],
"vout" => output["vout"],
}
end outs = [
{ destination_address => receivable_amount },
{ change_address => change_amount },
]
outs.inspect
#=> [
{ "1some1" => 0.01 },
{ "change_address" => 1.98922 },
] tx_to_submit = { ins: ins, outs: outs } # createrawtransaction builds your transaction ready for signing.
# the result will be a hex-encoded string
raw_tx = client.request(
"createrawtransaction",
tx_to_submit[:ins],
tx_to_submit[:outs],
0, # locktime
true, # replaceable
)
Sign the transaction
After getting the hex-encoded transaction via createrawtransaction , sign it.
# signrawtransactionwithwallet is a bitcoind JSON RPC call that will
# sign your transaction with the keys for those addresses
resp = client.request(
"signrawtransactionwithwallet",
raw_tx,
) if resp["errors"].present?
raise StandardError, "Error with signing transaction - #{resp}"
end signed_tx = resp["hex"]
Send the transaction
You can now send the signed transaction to the local bitcoind node and to the network!
# you can check the tx_id returned in a blockchain explorer like
# blockstream.info or blockchain.com
tx_id = client.request("sendrawtransaction", signed_tx)
Testing Sending Bitcoin
Yey! Let’s grab our handy-dandy vcr: { record: :once } Here’s a simple test for all that work we just did.
require "rails_helper" # Put all of the things that we did in some decoupled class so that it's easy to test. Here it assumes we can just write an integration test for a Bitcoinzzz::Send class that does everything we talked about module Bitcoinzzz
RSpec.describe Send do let(:fee) { Bitcoinzzz::GetFees.() }
let(:client) do
Bitcoiner.new(<test_net_credentials>)
end
let(:address) { client.request("getnewaddress") } it(
"sends BTC",
vcr: {
record: :once,
match_requests_on: %i[body uri method],
},
) do
current_balance = client.request("getbalance") result_tx_id = described_class.(
tx_fee_in_btc: fee,
destination_address: address,
receivable_amount: 0.002,
) after_send_balance = client.request("getbalance") # expect the balance differences to be for the tx_fee since we
# sent it back to our self
expected_diff = current_balance - after_send_balance
expect(expected_diff.round(7).to_d).to eq fee expect(result_tx_id).not_to be_nil
expect(result_tx_id).to be_a String
remote_tx = client.request(
"getrawtransaction",
result_tx_id,
true, # verbose, gets you json instead of a hex string
)
# parse that remote_tx and do your expectations
end end
end
Next steps
There you go! You can now send Bitcoin with Ruby. Although, what if this service class gets called a lot? And at the same time?
You can probably use something like sidekiq-unique-jobs and line all the withdrawal requests in a worker queue so that you won’t have race conditions.
and line all the withdrawal requests in a worker queue so that you won’t have race conditions. You can also have balance validations at the start via getbalance if the wallet still has spendable money and you can fail the job accordingly.
There are more ways but you can definitely make this a safe service class to use via defensive programming.
Another next-level implementation for this is to not rely on bitcoind’s wallet for getting the unspent outputs, building and signing the transaction hashes. This allows you to feed multiple inputs coming from a cold wallet, and multi-sig keys from different signers.
You can use lower-level libraries such as bitcoin-ruby to achieve this, but you’ll have to keep track of your addresses, keys, transactions on your own a.k.a. implementing/complementing bitcoind’s wallet capabilities.
Hopefully this guide has eased you into how to work with Bitcoin and bitcoind. | https://medium.com/bloomx/sending-bitcoin-with-ruby-568b1f0de748 | ['Ace Subido'] | 2019-08-09 12:02:38.552000+00:00 | ['Ruby on Rails', 'Bitcoin', 'Ruby'] |
Coming Soon: Immunity Passports…..! | The Deep South is a subregion in the Southern United States.
Otherwise known as Cotton States, this includes the present day regions of Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina, Mississippi, and Louisiana.
Travelling back in time, one could trace the region as most dependent on plantations. Slave societies thrived there during the pre-Civil War period where white masters could buy and sell slaves on their fancy. It turned into one of the poorest areas by the end of Civil War in 1865, but continued to be a major site of racial tension, white supremacy, lynching and so on. Only silver lining is that it also played as the cradle of American civil rights movement later on.
Within Deep South was Antebellum New Orleans, the abode of thriving cotton industry. A place whites dominated blacks and enslaved them through legally sanctioned means of violence during those days. At the peak of Slavery, came another evil social order named “Acclimated citizens.” In no time, this class climbed atop the social pyramid, placing “Unacclimated strangers” next and everyone else thereafter.
This social order was created by a pandemic. Yellow Fever….!
With no vaccination and no known treatment available for long, surviving Yellow Fever was otherwise described as the “baptism of citizenship.” It is believed that only a person chosen by God would survive the deadly virus, and such a survival would establish him as a legitimate and permanent player in the Cotton Kingdom.
Mosquito-borne flavivirus that caused the deadly Yellow Fever was a frequent visitor to the region during the period and unleashed terror among the communities in every possible manner, killing 150,000 people in one go and more in the nearby cities.
Mortality was very high to the extent that it killed about half of those infected with the virus, and most succumbing to violent end like vomiting thick black blood. But in the end, the other half who survived the viral attack became immune for life and are known as “Acclimated.”
In the decades that followed, it would lead to a widespread new social order in the region. As the order raged, “Unacclimated” whites were considered unemployable because they could get the infection anytime and can spread it to others before it is detected.
With no access to health care, Blacks were so scared of the virus too. The top gainers were the master of “Acclimated” slaves. Those enslaved blacks with immunity could command a premium of 50 percent and above of the value.
And this was the beginning of Yellow Fever Capitalism.
In those communities, the “Acclimated” status was certified by issuing a card which used to be the ultimate passport of life. The practice continued for very long time since then.
The remnants of that Yellow Fever card is still active in many parts of the world. There are countries which still insist on Yellow Fever Vaccination Certificate named “Carte Jaune” to allow people cross into their borders. The Yellow Card today is the International Certificate of Vaccination issued by the World Health Organization and recognised globally.
Corona Pass sans Immunity Card
As the larger world moves into month 3 of COVID19 spread, indications are that nation states have begun seriously considering an “Acclimated” status for people with Corona immunity, and thinking about issuing an “Immunity Passport” to people who acquired immunity against the virus.
The ‘passport’ will certify that the holder is immune to SARS-CoV-2 after performing an antibody test and a virus test. The antibody test is to verity an infection and the consequent development of the antibodies that remains in the body for long. The virus test will look for any active infection in the body. The ‘passport’ can be granted if the antibody test is positive and the virus test is negative.
The document would entitle the person to go back to work, travel and participate in society without restrictions like face masks and social distancing which are otherwise the norms of the day.
Apparently, policymakers in Germany, Italy, the US and UK have been toying with the idea of “Immunity Passport” at least for the people who have contracted the virus, recovered, and has since developed immunity. The idea stems from the fact that an infected person cannot get infected again because of the acquired immunity and, therefore, will not pose a public health risk. Once introduced, such a passport could be lapped up by corporations, airlines and communities.
Remember, UAE carrier Emirates had conducted rapid Covid-19 blood tests on its airline passengers three weeks ago to fly them to Tunisia, and asserted that they are working to scale up testing capabilities to extend it to more flights. The airline went one step further to conduct on-site tests and provide immediate confirmation to passengers traveling to countries which require COVID-19 test certificates.
Seeing this as an opportunity for an emerging business, many are jumping into the fray. Among them “CoronaPass” by a start-up named Bizagi in UK is making headlines. It is an app that stores the user’s immune status data obtained from an official healthcare authority, and presents a QR code that scan to check the user’s immunity status. The company claims that it is HIPAA-compliant and only stores the immunity status of people in encrypted databases. It also promises that the data will only be accessible to governments or companies with approved access to the “requesting” side of the app.
Technology to Help Immunity Passport
There has also been reports of using blockchain technology for adding value to the “passport” from multiple points, track the points of verification and offer seamless access to verification parties. It can help update every time a test is done by the holder of the ‘passport,’ give legitimate access to entities to check the status and record every verification in real-time. Blockchain would also help remove issues of transparency and forgery and make it more acceptable across the board.
Vottun, a company specializing in the certification and traceability of data on the blockchain, has entered the space and explained that its “Immunity Passport” can be verified at any time anywhere using cryptography by any mobile phone that can read a QR code. It is rumoured that PwC in Spain is an early user of the company’s solution.
This would open space and opportunity for large and reputed corporations with enormous experience and patents in blockchain technology. Such trusted corporations with high level of reputation would be able to offer an across the border solution, should they decide to get into the space and should the nations and corporations embrace it as a legitimate verification document.
As the technology interface begin to unroll, many countries would attempt to integrate an “Immunity Passport” initiative with their COVID19 Track and Trace app since this would be a natural progression of the existing capabilities of the app.
Apps like ArogyaSetu of India, CovidSafe of Australia, SMS of South Korea, PEPP-PT of Germany and the Chinese and Italian government sponsored apps can easily move to the next level by capturing the testing data from their national medical servers.
And then, the Track and Trace apps are ready to issue the “Immunity Passport”…………..!
Re-infections and Validity of Immunity
“Mystery In Wuhan: Recovered Coronavirus Patients Test Negative … Then Positive” — so screamed a headline by the NPR on March 27.
Soon thereafter similar reports have begun coming from China and South Korea, challenging the age-old theory of developing immunity after an infection.
World Health Organisation jumped into the forefront and stuck its neck out, “As of 24 April 2020, no study has evaluated whether the presence of antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 confers immunity to subsequent infection by this virus in humans”.
Taking on the “Immunity Passport” lobby head on, the world health body concluded by suggesting that “at this point in the pandemic, there is not enough evidence about the effectiveness of antibody-mediated immunity to guarantee the accuracy of an “immunity passport” or “risk-free certificate.”
Before dwelling into the details, let’s understand how the immunity development in human body works.
As soon as you are attacked by a colony of virus, your body responds with an innate reaction. Under this first line of counter-attack, various constituents of your body cells force the virus to slow down its progression. In the second phase, the cell makes antibodies that goes and specifically bind to the virus and destroy it. These antibodies are nothing but proteins otherwise called immunoglobulins. As this happens, the body also produces another set of cells called T-cells that identify and eliminate body cells already infected with the virus. Collectively known as cellular immunity, this process can take up to two weeks in healthy individuals.
This combined response may clear the virus from the body. In strong enough response, it eliminate the virus from the body, prevent progression to severe illness or re-infection by the same virus later on. This process of immunity development can be measured by the presence of antibodies in blood therafter.
The argument of WHO went like this: Most of the studies show that people who have recovered from infection have antibodies to the virus. However, some people have very low levels of neutralizing antibodies suggesting that cellular immunity may also be critical for recovery.
The main argument of WHO against “Immunity Passport” was that it felt people who assume they are immune to a second infection because they have received a positive test result may ignore public health advice. “The use of such certificates may therefore increase the risks of continued transmission,” it concluded.
However, the global health body couldn’t hold on for long. Evidence emerged from different quarters that cases of re-infections could be rightly attributed to testing errors. Body of scientific studies, lab reports and opinions of medical experts were brought to the notice of the global health watchdog. Let’s dive into the details:
PCR tests generally look for the genetic material of the virus and not for active virus. As the body began recovering from an infection, it clears out inactive debris of viral cells from the lungs which can be coughed up into the throat, from where clinicians take a sample swab. A sensitive diagnostic test might mistake such viral debris for an active infection.
So, within 48 hours of issuing the first statement WHO retreated by issuing another tweet, “We expect that most people who are infected with #COVID19 will develop an antibody response that will provide some level of protection”.
And it was put to rest.
Other questions linger around include as to how long the acquired immunity can last. Insights from studying on other members of the coronavirus family like SARS shows that it can average two years.
Additionally, the first serology test authorized by the FDA only boasts of 94 per cent accuracy for positive and 96 per cent for negative results, leaving six out of 100 false results who can go back to work and society with an “Immunity Passport”. Besides, FDA has allowed number of companies to market their serology test kits without authorisation.
Will one miss the “Immunity Passport,” if s/he is infected but hasn’t developed the antibodies at the time of testing? Is it possible to have antibodies without sickness, but not protect from an another infection with a larger viral load? Scientific community does not have answers to most of these immune response questions because of insufficient data at this early stage.
Above all these, the deafening challenges are the sociological implications….!
Immunocapital and Immunoprivilaged, the New World Order
History reminds us that the sociological consequences of Yellow Fever Capitalism ranges from extreme to wild. Life insurers rejected “Unacclimated” applicants or charged them huge premium, none offered them credit, no girls agreed to marry them. New immigrants, therefore, sought Yellow Fever, by cramping in unhygienic dwellings, using the beds where infected died and so on.
In brief, it widened the gap between rich and poor in the Cotton Kingdom.
High mortality in such situations is beneficial to the rich because it would make the migrant workers insecure and make them available at low wages. Politicians and administrators will not spend money for improving the living conditions of underprivileged sections because they would want the disease to spread and the nations develop herd immunity.
Recall that in the last two months of COVID spread, unemployment rose across nations. Health care workers, drivers, cleaners, delivery boys, cooks and caretakers are getting into the streets facing the heat of the police high handedness at many places to oil the engines of economy to keep it moving. Ministers, bureaucrats, corporate executives, lawyers, professors, stock traders and tech managers sit in the comforts of home, work online, take huge benefits and fatty pay checks, and enjoy health insurance. Hasn’t it clearly divided the society and benefitting one section?
Beyond all these, “Immunity Passports” can be found to be challenging the established good behaviours against discrimination and lack of equity.
In one straight move, “Immunity Passports” would create an artificial roadblock as to who cannot participate in social, civic, and economic activities, thereby force uninfected citizens to seek out infection. More so from among sections of the society who cannot afford long absence from work. Most incentivised to seek out infection would be those who cannot afford healthcare, especially in countries where there is no universal healthcare access.
This will complicate with business lobbies working overtime to ensure governments send workforce back to workplace to benefit from the immuno-capital of the workforce. It can compound the existing gender, race, ethnicity, religious and nationality inequities.
In addition to it, this has the potential to become yet another platform for lack of transparency and implicit bias. Socio-economic, racial, religious and ethnic inequities might be reflected in its administration as to who can access antibody testing, and who get preference in the queue and the lengthy and complicated process that would become burdensome for underprivileged sections of the society.
In the immediate future, all institutions including the judiciary would overlook such concerns as everyone would be inclined to look at the gains of immuno-capital and its benefits to the nation states.
And ignore the immuno-privileges being enjoyed by the rich and the mighty……!
Recommended for Further Reading:
1. NPR.org March 27, 2020 Mystery In Wuhan: Recovered Coronavirus Patients Test Negative … Then Positive
2. Quartz, qz.com, April 15, 2020 Why some Covid-19 patients might have tested positive twice
3. The Medical Futurist, April 30, 2020 An Immunity Passport After COVID-19 And How Digital Health Can Support It
4. Quartz, qz.com, April 16, 2020 Is it too soon for a “CoronaPass” immunity app?
5. The New York Times, April 12, 2020 The Dangerous History of Immunoprivilege
6. The Federalist, March 25, 2020 How Medical ‘Chickenpox Parties’ Could Turn The Tide Of The Wuhan Virus
7. Corona Pass https://www.coronapass.org/home
8. Indian Journal of Medical Research April 28, 2020 Time to revisit national response to pandemics
9. World Health Oganisation 24 April 2020 “Immunity passports” in the context of COVID-19
10. World Health Organisation on Twitter April 26, 2020 https://twitter.com/who/status/1254160937805926405?lang=en
11. The Lancet May 4, 2020 COVID-19 immunity passports and vaccination certificates: scientific, equitable, and legal challenges | https://medium.com/@ameershahul/coming-soon-immunity-passports-9d7545a811c1 | ['Ameer Shahul'] | 2020-05-13 05:06:22.576000+00:00 | ['Covid 19', 'Health', 'Coronavirus', 'Virus', 'Medicine'] |
Reason why you should grow with NRG | NRG — A token of prestige
New Royals Gold was designed to be a token of prestige and as we all know, prestige comes with a hefty price tag.
Our token will carry just as much prestige as our brand.
As we increase the prestige of being associated with our brand and grow, this correlates to increase in the value of NRG!
With limited supply and large buy orders (due to the high cost of our products and New Royals Club membership requirements), NRG will grow exponentially in value!
It’s simple economics! Join us now at https://newroyals.io
Read more on our whitepaper at https://www.newroyals.io/New-Royals-Gold-Whitepaper.pdf | https://medium.com/new-royals/reason-why-you-should-grow-with-nrg-67596dd3347e | ['New Royals Team'] | 2018-03-10 04:21:18.838000+00:00 | ['Coinbase', 'Cryptocoin', 'Eth', 'Bitcoin', 'Cryptocurrency'] |
Home is Where the Bidding War is | Home is Where the Bidding War is
The spring selling season got off to a late start, and it’s officially bonkers.
Image courtesy of u_f8awlsnb
There has been much speculation regarding the impact of COVID-19 on real estate. While the spring selling season got off to a slow start due to shelter in place orders, with sales resuming the lack of inventory and pent up demand have produced a seller’s market fueling both prices and bidding wars. It remains to be seen what the ultimate impact of COVID-19 will be on real estate. Sales data on home sales tends to lag significantly— and it can take months if not a quarter or two to really see a trend. But in trying to make sense of what we are seeing, there are several issues to consider.
First, as Americans spend more time at home working remotely (and with schools and childcare interrupted) what people need from their home is changing. Competing Zoom calls mean dedicated office space with a door that can close becomes more desirable. With so many of us on top of each other for hours on end, everyone wants more square footage. Outdoor spaces, whether for dining or play, become more important as socializing heads outside and people feel safer hanging at home.
Where that home is also seems to be shifting. New York real estate took a dive, while sales to suburban and even rural areas increased. Density and small spaces, the hallmark of urban living, have become detriments during the pandemic. Sales of second homes are increasing as the wealthy and those with means cancel vacations and seek to secure a location outside of their main city residence.
But while all of these are compelling reasons to explain the intense competition for home sales, there are plenty of reasons for caution. First, while the stock market continues apace, seemingly impervious to reality, high unemployment numbers if they are sustained present a ticking time bomb. Especially as case counts soar and a new wave of closues and shelter-in-place orders are unveiled. While foreclosures are temporarily suspended, selling under duress could rebalance the equation. Already, a number of short term rental investors are finding themselves overextended and unable to make payments on their multiple properties. While some have shifted to long term leases, high unemployment and eviction moratoriums don’t guarantee this strategy will work.
Foreign investment, which has been driving sales in many major markets for the last decade, is threatened with travel and visa restrictions, in addition to economic uncertainty more generally. It’s not yet clear if this trend will continue, or what impact its removal may have on housing markets.
Uncertainty over COVID-19 extends well beyond real estate, but with home sales serving as both an economic indicator and a potential major driver, which way sales are heading is worth paying at least some attention to. Interest rates are at historic lows, and the Fed has signaled this is likely to remain the case for some time. The consensus seems to be that sales will remain strong, with some going so far as to suggest a role for real estate in the recovery. This seems misguided. We’ve been in a situation where home sales took off, but at prices that put them well outside the ability of people to afford them. The idea that we would return to that dynamic seems in no way healthy, especially if it results from a lack of salary for buyers in the first place. It’s possible you could see home ownership levels drop, with investors and second or even third or fourth home buyers accounting for the change, but even that seems unlikely except in a few markets. The argument that the lack of inventory will keep prices from dropping assumes you won’t see household formation trend down, a difficult supposition in an economy being rocked by the disruptions of COVID-19.
It pays to be a bit cautious when everyone thinks they know which way the story is going to end. When everyone thinks they are right, it’s usually the case that no one is. In the meantime, watch the trend line and wait for the data to come in.
Gain Access to Expert View — Subscribe to DDI Intel | https://medium.com/datadriveninvestor/home-is-where-the-bidding-war-is-729ce5343a9d | ['Kk Holland'] | 2020-08-04 23:11:16.804000+00:00 | ['Covid 19', 'Economics', 'Real Estate', 'Housing'] |
Choosing the Right Web Hosting Company | Understanding the importance of choosing the right web hosting company is just as important as that breakthrough business idea, as important as the website, and just as important as your content. This fact has been ignored as many business owners do not thoroughly investigate the best option available.
Choosing a web hosting company based on a tip, whim or something like price alone can be very detrimental and have a negative effect on your website and in return, your business as a whole. You need to understand your business needs and research on the perfect web host for it.
Here are some tips on choosing the right web hosting company that will help you understand your website requirements.
Identify your needs: It is critical you understand and clearly identify your web hosting needs. That includes identifying what kind of website you are operating? What platform to use? Do you need special software to code your site? How much traffic are you expecting? What is the plan for the next year? These questions help you get a better understanding of the fundamental requirement for the web hosting.
Server operating system: On the list of important things is having a 24/7 operating web host that is reliable with a minimum of 99%up-time, after all you expect your site to be clicked on from any and every part of the world regardless of time zone. You’ll need a web host that is stable in terms of network connections and in terms of their server as well.
Anything below 99%, even for shared hosting is unacceptable. You can obtain web host up-time information by reading reviews or alternatively, you can simply track your web host with server monitoring tools. Learn about NomfroHost Datacenter & Network Details.
Disk space, Bandwidth and Account restrictions: Put into consideration the amount of expected traffic to be generated and figure out the web host with the best bandwidth offer, also known s the amount of bytes downloaded from your site to visitors. Compare View and Compare NomfroHost Plans Here
Read the company’s terms of service to get a clearer definition of the limits they impose or lack thereof for limited or unlimited hosting services. Is the web hosting company transparent? Are their restriction and limitation policy clear? Be wary of unlimited offers.
Web site security. There are certain facts of life, like your computer crashing, or your equipment failing, or even someone hacking your system, which can be out of your control. Whether you have a personal site such as a blog, a small scale, or especially a large scale business, security is paramount. Identify how their back-up system operates, how often the host back-up its server, what methods they use and where the back-up is stored. You and your business should endeavor to back-up your data but it is a great plus to see you can trust your web host to have your data backed-up and should be able to restore your site, if not everything, a huge chunk of it at least, rendering a form of security. Read NomfroHost Data Protection & Disaster Recovery Plans
User Interface/ Control Panel. Get a web host with a user friendly based control panel which allows easy manage of your website. Find out if the web hosting company use cPanel or Plesk. Compare NomfroHost cPanel Hosting Plans and Plesk Hosting Plans
Cost: Draw up a budget for how much you are willing to spend on a web host keeping in consideration the signup and renewal price. Usually the signup price is lower than the renewal price so research to know which is best for you and also be sure you can maintain it. Also bear in mind that cheaper isn’t better some web host that are cheap end up being slow, having little disk space and band width etc.
Depending on your needs, you have to put into consideration their refund policy and free trial period as some web hosting companies have cancellation charges or extra fees.
Speed: No one wants a slow web site. Customers will get frustrated and leave your site causing your business to suffer a great loss. Soon customers will stop visiting the site which is very bad for business. A fast website means more leads and in turn more sales and a better user experience, happy customers, more recommendation and shares.
Your website speed also affects how Google and other search engines rank you in search results.
Check out reviews: Refer to reputable websites when conducting research on the reliability and reputation of the web hosting company. Testimonials are important as they are a great form of recommendation. Go online and read reviews about the web hosting company that you are considering to host your website. READ NOMFROHOST CUSTOMERS REVIEWS
Check out their telephone support or if they have a live chat platform and ask questions until you are satisfied.
Conclusion
Your web host provides a virtual storefront for your business, so you should carefully select your web hosting company as you would a physical store or office location.
At Nomfro Technologies, we have a team of web hosting geeks behind our servers to make web hosting company selection process easier and transparent.` | https://medium.com/@ajadamssmart/choosing-the-right-web-hosting-company-2f1092decf32 | ['A.J. Smart'] | 2021-11-25 23:30:26.327000+00:00 | ['Webhosting'] |
Build Progressive Web Apps — Chapter 2 | In building PWA, there are several components that must be used. The following is a brief explanation of some of the PWA components that we will learn. There are some mandatory components and there are also optional components. Mandatory components are components that will always be used every time they create PWA, while optional components are components that do not affect PWA performance but can be used to enrich PWA features.
Service Worker
Service Worker is a script that is run by the browser in the background, which is separate from other scripts on the web page of the browser. Service workers are written using the JavaScript programming language but are called in a different way from JavaScript code in general. By using a service worker, we can utilize resources that have been stored in the cache to display even in offline network mode.
Shell App
Application shell or commonly abbreviated as app shell is an application interface framework built by several page components and other assets. They are stored in the cache first so they can appear instantly when the application is opened. Generally, the page components that are part of the shell app are the components that are always there for all pages such as the header, sidebar, and footer. The components of the page content will be loaded dynamically and asynchronously.
Cache
Cache is a local repository used by browsers to store resources to be used again for future calls without sending more requests to the network. There are 2 types of cache in the browser, namely Browser-managed cache and Application-managed cache. The browser-managed cache is a temporary cache for storing browser download files automatically. This type of cache is set by the browser and is not available in offline network mode. The application-managed cache is a cache created by the application using the Cache API and separate from the cache that is managed by the browser. This type of cache that we can use to store resources and can be displayed in offline network mode through the service worker.
Web App Manifest
Web app manifest is a simple JSON file that controls how applications are displayed and run on the user’s side. Generally, this file is named manifest.json. When the application is first opened in the browser, the browser will read the manifest file, download the resource and display the content.
Fetch API
The Fetch API is one of the web APIs that can be used to retrieve resources from servers inside and across networks asynchronously. If you are familiar with AJAX techniques, then you will be very familiar with the fetch API. The Fetch API is the same as using the XMLHttpRequest API but has some better features.
Progressive Enhancement
Progressive enhancement is an approach in web development where we start the development of features that are common in all browsers. Then we gradually increase functionality in accordance with the capabilities of the type of browser used by each user. Every time we use a web API we need to pay attention to whether the API is already supported by the default browser of our application users. We also need to take care when the browser used by users does not yet support the web API features that we use. For example, do a fallback to similar features that have been supported or display a message to update the browser version or urge to always use a modern browser.
PWA Architecture Styles
PWA Architecture Styles means the approach used in building PWA in terms of the back-end technology used and application performance requirements. Some terms related to this include the shell app, server-side rendering, client-side rendering, and so on.
IndexedDB
IndexedDB is a NoSQL-based local storage system in the browser. We can store any data in the user’s browser for application purposes. You can perform a search, update and delete data actions.
Push Notification
Notification is a popup message that appears on the user’s device. Our PWA application supports notification appearing to notify users about certain updates in the application. The PWA application can also accept push events sent by the server and display popup messages even if the user is not opening the application.
Workbox
Workbox is a collection of libraries and tools that we can use to generate worker service files, pre-caching, routing, and runtime-caching. Workbox makes it easy for us to write PWA code with a simpler and easier to manage syntax. | https://medium.com/easyread/build-progressive-web-apps-chapter-2-pwa-components-428295c2d524 | ['Jansutris Apriten Purba'] | 2019-12-09 12:17:42.593000+00:00 | ['Architecture', 'Pwa', 'Components', 'Web Development', 'Pwa Series Jansutris'] |
Test Automation | Test automation is the management and performance of test activities, to include the development and execution of test scripts so as to verify test requirements, using an automated test tool.
Types of Automated Testing
Code-driven — Unit Tests GUI(End to End Test Automation) API/Service Test Automation — Restful APIs, SOAP Mobile Test Automation — Android, iOS, Hybrid
Automated Tools
• Ranorex
• Selenium
• HP UFT( Unified Functional Test)
• Watir
TestComplete
Postman
Benefits of a Test Automation Framework
• Costs and efficiency
• Time economy
Quality
Reusability
Barriers of a Test Automation Framework
Need better tools and training
A lot of testing areas left uncovered
Lack of experience
Lack of clear goals
Selenium
Selenium is a suite of open source software testing automation tools used to validate web applications across different browsers and platforms. Multiple programming languages like Java, C#, Python can be used to create Selenium Test Scripts. Testing done using the Selenium testing tool is usually referred to as Selenium Testing.
Selenium Suite Of Tools
Selenium Integrated Development Environment (IDE)
Selenium Remote Control (RC)
WebDriver
Selenium Grid
Selenium IDE
In 2006, Shinya Kastani from Japan had donated his Selenium IDE prototype to Apache’s Selenium project. It was a Firefox plugin for faster creation of test cases.
IDE implemented a record and playback model wherein, test cases are created by recording the interactions which the user had with the web browser. These tests can then be played back any number of times. The advantage with Selenium IDE is that, tests recorded via the plugin can be exported in different programming languages like: Java, Ruby, Python etc.
Selenium RC
Selenium Core was the first tool in the Selenium project. But, Selenium Core hit a roadblock in terms of cross-domain testing because of the same-origin policy. The same-origin policy prohibits JavaScript code from accessing web elements that are hosted on a different domain compared to where the JavaScript was launched.
Selenium WebDriver
Selenium WebDriver, founded by Simon Stewart in 2006, was the first cross-platform testing framework that could control the browser from OS level. It provides a programming interface to create and execute test cases. WebDriver is an upgrade to RC because it is much faster. Unlike Selenium RC, WebDriver does not rely on JavaScript for Selenium Automation Testing. It controls the browser by directly communicating with it. Each browser has its own driver on which the application runs. The different WebDrivers are:
Firefox Driver (Gecko Driver)
Chrome Driver
Internet Explorer Driver
Opera Driver
Safari Driver and
HTM Unit Driver
Selenium Grid
Selenium Grid was developed by Patrick Lightbody and initially called HostedQA (initially a part of Selenium v1).This is used together with Selenium RC to run parallel tests across different machines and different browsers all at the same time. Parallel execution means running multiple tests at once. | https://medium.com/@supuniuthpalameegahapola/test-automation-f304bc3e1b67 | ['Supuni Uthpala'] | 2021-01-21 16:32:54.404000+00:00 | ['Selenium', 'Test Automation'] |
Top Trends in SEO and Content Writing | The world of the internet and its users is a fast-moving one. The strategy that works for SEO and content writing one year can be wildly out of date the next. If your business depends on internet traffic, it’s vital to stay abreast of current trends in content writing.
SEO and Content Writing
One of the ongoing challenges in creating SEO-friendly content is that trends in user search patterns and user intent are constantly changing, as internet searchers tweak their browsing habits, shift from computer searches to mobile searches, and generally become more savvy about the types of websites they trust and want to support.
In response to shifting user behavior, search engines like Google revise their ever-changing algorithm to get the most useful and trustworthy sites in front of users. Google reports that in 2019 alone, they made 3,620 updates to the search algorithm.
As a result, if you’re working to produce content that’s SEO-friendly and get that content in front of the users who care about it, you have to constantly review content writing trends and how they relate to SEO. Failing to keep up with these trends will result in your falling behind in search engine rankings and struggling to connect with your customers.
Content Writing Trends for 2021
The internet is perpetually expanding, with more and more websites vying for the attention of users. In addition, the content those websites produce can be all too repetitive. SEO can help you use keywords and headings that will tailor the content to your desired audience. Still, the fact remains that while you can tweak your content to be SEO-friendly, there’s no real shortcut to creating great content. If you want to convince search engines that you’re a trustworthy source, your best bet is to actually be a trustworthy source.
A major content writing trend is that users are growing to favor longer articles that provide more in-depth information speaking to what they need. Even though a majority of people will admit to skimming blog posts, it’s also true that longer blog posts drive more engagement. (One exception to this rule is listicles, which continue to get more engagement than blog posts of comparable length that aren’t in a list format.)
Whereas in the past, blog posts of about 1,000 words have been ideal, experts in the field report that blog posts of 2,000 words, or even longer have been consistently outperforming shorter posts. Longer blog posts take more time to research and to write, so they do require a greater investment of energy. However, when the result is an informative, thorough post on a topic your customers care about, it’s well worth the effort.
Create Content that’s E-A-T
What this reveals is that, in an era of abundant misinformation, users are willing to spend more time on a site that they feel is giving them reliable info — which returns us to E-A-T, one of the staples of SEO content writing. The goal of the Google Search algorithm is to identify content that fulfills the E-A-T criteria of expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness.
The recent trends in favor of longer blog posts shows us that users are more likely to spend time with, trust, and share content that goes into more depth on the topics it covers. Remember that search engine algorithms can determine how long a user stays on your website after clicking it. A longer stay indicates to the algorithms that the user is finding your content valuable.
Citing your sources is a strong signal of reliability, and it will enhance your content’s appeal to users and the Google Search algorithm if they’re able to see where you got your facts. Make sure that you’re pulling information from reliable sources! Not only does linking to your sources within the blog post help your users find more information on subjects they care about, but it also tells search engines that you’ve done your homework and are choosing to engage with reputable websites in your field.
Tailor Content to Your Clients
When thinking about content writing, it’s easy to make the mistake of casting as wide a net as possible. But in an online landscape where users are overwhelmed with choice, you’ll have a better chance of building a loyal client base if you’re able to create and maintain a consistent brand identity. When a user sees your website pop up in search engine results pages (SERPs), they’re more likely to click on your site over another if they’re familiar with you in the first place.
That familiarity, which is so crucial to incoming traffic, arises from providing a consistent, well-planned user experience. If your content is impersonal, readers will quickly forget about it. Instead, focus on creating a consistent and engaging voice for your brand.
Understanding what your audience needs goes hand in hand with creating a voice for your content. While all sites should keep a close eye on their metrics, it’s particularly important to use those metrics to learn as much as possible about what’s known as user intent. What did the searchers hope to find when they used the specific keyword that brought them to your site? What other searches are people who used those keywords likely to perform? This information will guide you to creating content that provides exactly what the users need. | https://medium.com/wordsmyth-creative-content-marketing/top-trends-in-seo-and-content-writing-3f8d39e15b41 | ['Danielle Smyth'] | 2020-12-22 15:30:53.220000+00:00 | ['Blog', 'Search Engine Optimizati', 'SEO', 'Content Writing'] |
A Throwback Dessert that Still Holds Up | When I think of food from the 1950s and 60s, it evokes images of gelatin, fondue, canned food, and lots of mayo. It makes me think of Betty Draper in Mad Men serving Chicken Kiev and Ambrosia Salad. In other words, these decades do not represent the pinnacle of fresh, delicious food in America. However, a recipe from my grandmother is one shining light that helps redeem this era of food. Hello, Dolly Bars are a dessert that is simple to make but still brings the “wow factor.”
Hello, Dolly Bars Never Disappoint!
On the surface, this dessert might seem like an odd hodge-podge of ingredients: graham crackers, chocolate chips, coconut, walnuts, butterscotch chips, and sweetened condensed milk. A mixture of these foods sounds more like it would result in a greasy, overly sweet type of trail mix than a tasty dish, but that’s precisely the charm of this recipe. After thirty minutes in the oven, you are blessed with deliciously chewy, moist, and sweet bars. The technique is almost too easy- one merely has to layer the pan's ingredients in the correct order and bake. The simplicity of this recipe- and the lack of any knives (except for the nuts) or stove use- makes it a safe and good means of introducing kids into the kitchen; they can help smash the graham crackers into small pieces and layer in the ingredients. Exhibit A: I made these frequently as a child, and here I am writing about baking recipes in my free time. | https://medium.com/the-cookbook-for-all/a-throwback-dessert-that-still-holds-up-3daf050e7cf4 | ['Mary Andino'] | 2020-11-17 00:42:07.301000+00:00 | ['Cooking', 'Dessert', 'American', 'Baking', 'Recipes For Cooking'] |
Gaslighting in Photojournalism: | Stunningly and inexcusably, the editors behind this piece seemed unaware of Cathy Newman’s book that documented 100 years of contributions by women photographers to the pages of National Geographic. The book, “Women Photographers at the National Geographic” was published by the National Geographic almost twenty years ago!
Photographer and educator Todd Bigelow reacted to the article best and I agree:
“The narrative has been hijacked to some degree in an effort to make it seem like the male barrier has just now been pierced…that’s simply revisionist history. It’s just not true, but it serves the two-minute cycle of those with big social media followings. I grew up in this profession looking up to all the women listed here BECAUSE they broke through by creating incredible bodies of work. And have continued to lead the way as well.”
We –- the women who have preceded our younger sisters in the profession — have fought the good fight for diversity, equality and opportunity for over 35 years.
I remember 1997 was a breakthrough year for women in photojournalism. Looking back now, we established that women stood firmly on an even playing field across the entire industry. We had a collective voice that was raised and listened to by dint of the power and quality of our work.
Women swept awards that were previously bestowed largely to a field of men. It was the year Carol Guzy, Gail Fisher and I dominated the NPPA/Pictures of the Year competition (I won Magazine Photographer of the Year — only the second time it was awarded to a woman; the first time, 42 years earlier!). Corinne Dufka won the Robert Capa medal. Women swept the Overseas Press Club awards and top categories within the World Press Photo — the industry’s highest honors at the time. This story by Sherry Ricchardi retells what women faced then. | https://yunghi.medium.com/gaslighting-in-photojournalism-c3b3a0236d7c | ['Yunghi Kim'] | 2020-01-16 02:46:36.458000+00:00 | ['Photojournalism', 'Journalism', 'Photography', 'Women', 'Documentary'] |
Embrace the season’s darkness | Many moons ago, I remember clearly seeing the Milky Way for the first time in ages. I stood starstruck at the twinkling, gem-like brilliance overhead.
In the evening chill, I gazed transfixed, awestruck. Of course, the setting alone provided that opportunity. I had just stepped out of the historic El Tovar Hotel at the Grand Canyon’s edge in northern Arizona.
I felt like a child again, my mind racing back to forgotten summer nights when I would lay on my back in the coolness of the grass and watch the stars and planets. My family lived in a suburb of a blue-collar steel town in northeast Ohio. We could still see the heavens above.
Back then, light pollution was not an issue. Street lights were fewer, and their incandescent bulbs radiated soft light. I even remember being able to track satellites from our front yard.
Somehow, somewhere we North Americans became afraid of the dark. More and brighter street lights and security lights multiplied, all in the name of blotting out the darkness. Now, light pollution prevents 80 percent of the U.S. population from seeing the stars.
The evolution of lighting up streets, buildings, and entire cities has grown exponentially with urban sprawl. In today’s world, most people have to travel out into the country to see the stars.
Seeing the night sky was one of the benefits of living in a rural area like Holmes County, Ohio, where I lived for four decades. The air was so clean that Amish buggies rode by at night with no lights on at all until they heard a vehicle coming. Though it wasn’t a safe thing to do, the point was that the horse and driver didn’t need lights to guide them.
We chose the house we now live in near Harrisonburg, Virginia, in the daytime. Being able to see the night sky on a clear night came as a bonus. Our expansive housing development has no street lights.
Light fills our modern night lives, too much of which is bright, blue illumination from all of our electronics. Cell phones, computers, and TV screens stimulate us rather than relax us before bedtime.
Humans need the darkness of nights to get proper sleep. Some people have to use black nightshades to cover their windows to shut out external, artificial light to get some sleep. Sleep deprivation can lead to too many negatives for us humans.
Excessive night lighting disturbs wildlife, too. More than 60% of invertebrates and 30% of vertebrates are nocturnal. Each year, millions of migrating birds die by flying into urban windows illuminated at night long after employees have gone home.
Newly hatched sea turtles crawl to the brightest light, which used to be the stars and moon twinkling over the sea. Now, the turtles turn the wrong way and perish unless the artificial lighting is turned off.
Nighttime photos of urban areas taken from space may look pretty, but such massive lighting causes problems and is extremely expensive. Imagine the money and resources society would save by simply turning off all those unnecessary lights. Plus, too many of the lights point skyward instead of down.
We shouldn’t be afraid of the dark. Nighttime is good for our rest, our bodies, our souls, our ecosystem. As we enter the winter’s season of darkness, we should embrace it, not try to either eliminate or illuminate it.
Yes, darkness arrives early now and will continue to do so into the New Year. Until then, I’ll steal an opening line from Simon and Garfunkel: “Hello darkness, my old friend…” | https://medium.com/age-of-awareness/embrace-the-seasons-darkness-ecf286f36c71 | ['Bruce Stambaugh'] | 2020-11-06 19:30:32.703000+00:00 | ['Seasons', 'Writing', 'Reflections', 'Darkness'] |
The Case for Moral Realism | I’m happy to share that after spending a year or so in the existential void, I am no longer a nihilist nor an existentialist, the latter of which I’ve come to view as a glorified nihilist. After accepting the nihilist’s rejection of objective meaning, the existentialist is supposed to create his or her own meaning, but nothing external gives that meaning legitimacy, forcing the existentialist to desperately hope and/or pretend that it has some. Thus the existentialist is typically not spared from recurring existential dread with no real solution.
Do objective moral standards like justice exist? Source: Daredevil (Netflix)
While my fully fleshed out Antidote to Existential Dreadᵀᴹ is still in the works, at the core of it and my discontent with these schools of thought is that I’m a moral realist, which by definition prevents me from being a nihilist or existentialist. It means that I believe that there exist objective moral truths such as “genocide is bad.” Seems pretty obvious, right? I find it a little ridiculous that I have to spell this one out. Yet I find that many of the (nonreligious) people I talk to nowadays are moral relativists, who believe that morality is subjective and there is no objective right and wrong. For a moral relativist, anything regarding ethics is opinion rather than fact. In fact, to be a nihilist or existentialist, you must necessarily be a moral relativist, or at least a moral anti-realist (a more general term that denies the existence of objective moral truth), as objective moral truth is a subset of the objective meaning that these schools of thought reject. Seeing as I haven’t yet found a defense of moral realism on the Internet that’s both accessible to laypeople and of satisfactory quality, I’ve decided to write one myself. While I obviously can’t prove the existence of objective moral truth or what I call ‘moral axioms’ (since axioms can’t be proved), my goal in this article is to give you sufficient reason to accept them as true and thus liberate you from the clutches of nihilism. To be clear, I’m not arguing that a particular moral axiom like “genocide is bad” holds; rather, my focus here is to convince you that at least one such axiom exists, whatever it may be. But first, a brief aside on truth.
How do we know something is true? It’s a more complicated question than it seems — the entire branch of philosophy known as epistemology seeks to answer it. Some argue that what our senses inform us must be true (e.g., “the sky is blue”), while others like René Descartes argue it may all be the work of an Evil Demon deceiving our senses. Meanwhile, Descartes argues that the self is all that can be known to exist for certain (recall his well-known quote cogito ergo sum or “I think therefore I am”), while others like Derek Parfit in Reasons and Persons and Douglas Hofstadter in Gödel, Escher, Bach convincingly argue that the self is merely an illusion. Many people, especially in the West, believe that if any accepted truth is free from scrutiny, it must be in math and science. Who can doubt 1+1=2 or the laws of physics? And yet, Einstein showed us that Newton’s model of physics wasn’t exactly correct, and it may very well be the case that we overturn Einstein’s model in the future. All of science is the result of induction: we take many observations and infer the principle that gave rise to them. Yet the principle we derive isn’t required to be true. For example, if we observe two metal objects being drawn toward each other, we could hypothesize that (1) an invisible magnetic force is pulling them together, (2) some invisible but sentient ghost is pushing them together, or an infinite amount of alternate hypotheses. Sure, we can gather enough evidence to be more confident in our choice of (1), but we can never be 100% sure that it is the true description: however unlikely, perhaps every magnetic force that has ever acted on an object was really a ghost. The difference between our 99.9% confidence and 100% constitutes a small leap of faith. What about math and logic, then, with all those airtight proofs? Surely they are beyond doubt? In math, we can indeed derive truth, but only if certain assumptions hold. When we trace back the chain of assumptions we end up at the dead end of axioms: statements we must accept as true without proof, our starting point for any sort of mathematical system. One famous example of an axiom is Euclid’s fifth postulate, which states that parallel lines never meet. It seems obvious, but it can’t be proved, and in the 19th century mathematician Henri Poincaré found an alternate yet perfectly valid system of geometry in which Euclid’s fifth postulate doesn’t hold. What I’m getting at is that, whether we like it or not, at the core of both math and science is faith. We all put our faith in certain axioms without evidence, and here I am simply attempting to expand your circle of accepted axioms to include those of the moral variety. Science is “value-free” in that it doesn’t really give us directions on ethical matters, but just because science is value-free doesn’t mean everything we accept as true has to be as well.
Without further ado, here are four reasons why I’m a moral realist and why I think you should be one too.
The Semantic Argument. Let a value statement be a statement of the form “x is right” or “x is wrong.” When someone states that a certain action, event, individual, etc. is “bad” or “wrong” (e.g. “killing is wrong”), what does that mean? The moral realist has an easy answer for that: if something is “wrong,” it is violating some objective standard of “rightness.” The moral anti-realist, however, doesn’t believe that such objective standards exist. When the anti-realist says something is wrong, it is violating his or her subjective standard of wrongness, or what he or she thinks is wrong. In fact, a true moral anti-realist can’t even say statements of the form “x is wrong,” as when people say things like that, they usually mean “x is objectively wrong.” In the anti-realist’s world, such statements are nonsense. By definition, he or she has lost the ability to make value statements. Now, as if that weren’t already bad enough, I would argue the anti-realist would have trouble with value opinions too, where I define a value opinion as a statement of the form “I think x is right/wrong.” Since the anti-realist is unable to make a value statement, any time he or she says “x is wrong,” he or she must actually mean “x is subjectively wrong,” or, equivalently, “I think x is wrong.” An anti-realist’s value statement reduces to a value opinion. This is already problematic, as a valid response to “I think x is wrong” would be “…Who cares what you think?” (Sure, you could give scientific reasons to support the opinion, but for any moral argument you’re almost certainly going to eventually end up with another value opinion. For example, “I think we should fight climate change because I think killing off an endangered species is wrong.” Eventually you’d end up with something irreducible. Science is value-free, remember?) Now, recall that for an anti-realist, “wrong” just means what he or she thinks is wrong. It’s a label he or she has come up with in order to categorize the world into highly personalized bins of “right” and “wrong.” Since it’s subjective, this categorization doesn’t hold for anyone else. To anyone else, “wrong” can (and often does) mean something else entirely. So, since it’s a label that only has meaning for the person who says it, it’s meaningless to whoever he’s saying it to. He might as well be saying total nonsense like “x is a Kikimora¹,” as both “Kikimora” and “wrong” are labels the anti-realist has made up for himself that don’t apply to anyone else. Thus, the moral anti-realist is stripped of the ability to make value statements or even value opinions. Indeed, for the anti-realist, any disagreement on a moral issue is a total waste of time, since there is no actual truth of the matter. Here’s my argument in one sentence: If you’ve ever said “that’s messed up” and meant something by it, you’re a moral realist. Because in doing so, you’re implying that whatever you’re referring to is inherently, objectively messed up by its very nature. It’s the difference between saying “genocide is wrong” and “genocide is a Kikimora.” One can lead to fruitful discussion and/or courses of action (e.g. stopping a genocide) while the other can only lead to a confused “…Okay?”
[1] If you get this reference, toss a coin to your Witcher. The Practical Argument. This one’s sort of a proof by contradiction, in which assuming the opposite of the statement to be proved leads to a nonsensical outcome. Let’s say that you’re not a moral realist, and you don’t believe in objective right or wrong. Moreover, you make an effort to be consistent with your beliefs in your day-to-day life, i.e. you put your theory into practice and behave accordingly to your belief that right and wrong don’t exist. (Otherwise, if you say one thing but do another, you’re being hypocritical and undermining your own position.) I would argue that no one can actually live like that without becoming a psychopath. If you genuinely embody your beliefs, you lose the ability to have any meaningful discussion about morality, as shown with the semantic argument. You can no longer condemn or even resent the actions of a heinous criminal — after all, perhaps his individual sense of right and wrong allows for murder and rape. The entire rich philosophical field of ethics might as well be meaningless scribbles. Justice, freedom, peace, and any other value-based ideal dissolve away. You would genuinely believe that there is no injustice being perpetrated in any capacity, anywhere in the world because justice wouldn’t exist. Just like a psychopath, you can lie, cheat, steal, kill, etc. without an inkling of remorse, because morality is all relative anyway. You would go your entire life believing you and everyone else in the history of the universe never did anything wrong because there is no “wrong.” Slavery, the Holocaust, the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Rwandan genocide, the Nanjing Massacre, terrorism — morally speaking, there’s no difference between these events and your morning commute. Truly aligning your thoughts and actions with moral anti-realism forces you to throw away the very thing that is often cited as what makes us human: our empathy and our conscience. If matching your lifestyle to a belief causes that much cognitive dissonance between the resulting lifestyle and the fundamental human experience, perhaps it’s time to reconsider the belief. As a simple exercise to see if it’s possible to be a moral anti-realist in practice, try going as long as you can without making any value statements. That includes expression of agreement or disagreement with other people’s value statements. Good luck with that. The Game-Theoretic Argument. This one’s a bit contrived but I threw it in for fun; feel free to skip it if you’re not familiar with basic probability and decision theory. In the aside on truth earlier in the article, we’ve mentioned that science doesn’t give a whole lot of answers when it comes to values, but that’s okay because it’s not necessarily the only avenue to truth. Even if science is value-free, is it possible to derive morality from a scientific perspective? Famous philosopher David Hume didn’t think so, claiming you can’t get an “ought” from an “is.” Author Sam Harris, however, seeks to do just that in his book The Moral Landscape: How Science Can Determine Moral Values. While it isn’t taken super seriously by many philosophers, the TL;DR is the following:
(1) A world where every conscious being is maximally suffering is morally bad. (I’m ok with this; it appeals to intuition like my Argument 4.)
(2) Therefore the moral thing to do is to maximize the total well-being of all conscious beings in a utilitarian fashion. (This is the main flaw in the argument — it’s a pretty big leap from (1).)
(3) Science can determine values because we have tools in neuroscience to approximate well-being in conscious beings. (This step is fine with me too.)
Whether or not you buy his argument, in the spirit of trying to derive values from science and being somewhat inspired by my background in computer science, I’ve come up with a game theory derivation of the Golden Rule, or “Treat others as you would like to be treated.” As simple and obvious as it is, it’s remarkably comprehensive and useful in prescribing actions toward other conscious beings. The problem setting is as follows:
Consider two agents, X and Y. Both are rational agents that seek to maximize their own expected utility (i.e. they maximize individual well-being, which is pretty much what evolution and society have hard-wired us to do and what any reinforcement learning agent aims to do). X can take the following actions toward Y:
Action 1: Harm, which lowers Y’s utility by 1 but increases X’s utility by 1.
Action 2: Help, which increases Y’s utility by 1 but does nothing for X.
Action 3: Inaction, which does nothing for either agent.
Y can take the same actions towards X. (This is structurally very similar to the Prisoner’s Dilemma.) Right away we can see that although at first it seems Harm would be the best action for each individual agent, if both agents use Harm, the result (utility = 0 for both) is worse than if both agents had used Help (utility = 1 for both). To mitigate this confusion, let’s add some additional rules. First, a key characteristic of this world is that the “soul” of each agent is randomly assigned to one of two bodies, which we will call A and B. This is designed to mirror reality in that the unique circumstances of your birth are out of your control, meaning that your body is in a sense randomly chosen for you. Imagine a queue of souls waiting in heaven to be dispatched to various bodies at the moment of birth. Although I doubt it’s what’s actually going on, it’s consistent with the phenomenon we see with life, in which you can be born anywhere to anyone. Furthermore, the agent is required to choose his action before the random assignment: X chooses for Body A, Y chooses for Body B. While this doesn’t precisely mirror reality (we can choose our actions after being born), I’m adding this requirement to force our agents to incorporate this “random assignment” rule into their decision-making processes. The real life analogue is simply reminding people that they could just as easily have been in anyone else’s shoes. For this reason, it instills an “Empathy Bonus” of sorts—instead of the agents being purely selfish, they now have to consider that they could be on the receiving end of their own actions. Now, given this 50% chance to be in either body, let’s use the Total Probability Rule to see what the expected utility U(·) of each action is for X.
U(Harm) = Pr(Body A) * U(Harm | Body A) + Pr(Body B) * U(Harm | Body B) = 0.5 * 1 + 0.5 * -1 = 0
U(Help) = Pr(Body A) * U(Help | Body A) + Pr(Body B) * U(Help | Body B) = 0.5 * 0 + 0.5 * 1 = 0.5
U(Inaction) = Pr(Body A) * U(Inaction | Body A) + Pr(Body B) * U(Inaction | Body B) = 0.5 * 0 + 0.5 * 0 = 0
By symmetry, Y has the exact same expected utilities. We conclude that the optimal action is to Help, even from an entirely rational and selfish perspective. In choosing this, our agents have discovered the Golden Rule: I’d rather be Helped, so I’ll Help you too. The Common Sense Argument. For this one I appeal to that same inner voice hopefully ringing the alarm bells as you read the implications of the Practical Argument, which you perhaps tried to silence with intellectual force. This argument is for the right brain as much as, if not more than, it is for the left brain. If there’s a society that tortures defenseless children for fun, is there something objectively wrong about that, or is it okay just because that society believes it’s okay? Is there something inherently problematic about executing an innocent man? Some moral truths are so obvious that they don’t have to be proved — it’s knowledge that comes through the avenue of intuition rather than experience (or, in the parlance of epistemology, a priori knowledge instead of a posteriori knowledge). It’s what the Founding Fathers meant when they said “we hold these truths to be self-evident” — a moral axiom doesn’t need to be proved because it’s self-evident, and usually obvious to anyone with a pulse. That isn’t to say that the axioms are all simple, black-and-white statements of the form “x is bad,” as they’re often much more nuanced and context-dependent than that, but that doesn’t mean that they don’t exist at all. It should take quite a low p-value (metaphorically speaking) to reject the null hypothesis our intuition offers us — if we’re going to reject a core component of our reality, we better have good reason for doing so. Sure, we could believe our sense information is actually the work of the Evil Demon, but hardly anyone has reason to believe that. The most prominent counterargument to this Common Sense Argument cites evolutionary biology, psychology, etc. as an explanation for our innate moral compass — our innermost sense of right and wrong is simply an artifact of the random process of evolution within humanity’s complex social structure, and the rest of our values come from the society we’re raised in. This counterargument is certainly compelling, and perhaps it does indeed explain where our moral sentiment comes from. However it overlooks a subtle but crucial step: in order to cite evolutionary biology, psychology, etc. as the cause of morality itself, one must reduce morality to moral sentiment. In other words, one must show that morality just boils down to feelings about morality and nothing more. I would argue that this is not the case. Moral axioms could, for example, be laws of nature like gravity and the conservation of energy, independent of our feelings about them. Recall the society that tortures children for fun: is there something intrinsically off about that, or is it just in our imagination? To further illustrate what I mean, consider the following thought experiment. Say you are presented with a button, and if you press said button, you can stop a genocide from occurring with no side effects whatsoever. Press it and you save countless lives and prevent an enormous amount of suffering. Neglect it and the genocide occurs as planned. It’s like the trolley problem with no tradeoff — let it kill the person on the tracks or move it safely to another track with no one on it. The question is, in this scenario, do you have an obligation to press the button, or do you just feel obligated to press the button (due to societal norms, etc.)? I would say the former, and in fact, most modern philosophers agree with me. 56% of modern philosophers are moral realists while only 28% are anti-realists.
If these arguments don’t convince you and you insist on being a psychopath (kidding!), that’s okay. Realism versus anti-realism has been and continues to be hotly debated in metaethics (philosophy about the nature of morality), and I’m certainly not an authority on modern metaethics. Nevertheless, hopefully the article gives you food for thought and a glimpse into my thought process on the subject. In a sense, all I’ve done for myself here is a “one-step backup” for what I believe in. I went from the Existentialist/Absurdist viewpoint of “I believe in certain moral truths and values because I get to decide them myself” to “I believe in certain moral truths and values because I believe they are based on some objective moral truths.” While initially this may not seem like much, I still consider it a valuable step to take. Under the former system, I’m often plagued by doubt as to whether the subjective truths hold, as it seems totally arbitrary. Who am I to decide moral truth itself? I feel that I have to constantly delude myself into believing the truths hold, playing the “distraction game” I reference in my previous article. Under the new system, however, I place my faith in a stable source of legitimacy external to myself and can comfortably derive my personal value system from that.
So, the question remains, if we accept that moral axioms exist, what are they and where do they come from? For people who don’t believe in a deity, what external source could possibly exist to give them legitimacy? My answer to that is complicated and controversial but it provides an answer to questions of meaning, morality and everything in between. Stay tuned! | https://medium.com/@ryanhoque/the-case-for-moral-realism-59cadb5f8ac2 | ['Ryan Hoque'] | 2020-01-09 03:12:29.693000+00:00 | ['Philosophy', 'Ethics', 'Morality', 'Existentialism', 'Moral Relativism'] |
The Oubliette | The Oubliette
Photo by Chen Mizrach on Unsplash
I dream
of black holes,
jaguar splotches,
and freckles on
the cheeks of
lovers past.
I dream
of white ensōs,
polka dots,
and the gaping O
in the middle of
the word, God.
I dream
of them as if they were
the circles upon
a yin-yang —
opposing, but of
the same illusory
whole.
Lucid,
I merge them
into the image of
a simple eye —
a black dot
atop
a white circle.
And though this eye
is perfect and complete,
I can’t help myself
from lifting its pupil,
as if peeking beneath a rug
laid out upon the floor —
checking for something
covered up long ago,
like a secret door
that might lead me
somewhere ever
deeper. | https://psiloveyou.xyz/the-oubliette-6560d3cb081 | ['Aaron Quist'] | 2020-12-27 13:02:56.635000+00:00 | ['God', 'Soul Searching', 'Poetry Sunday', 'Love', 'Spirituality'] |
‘No sweat’ said my EarPods, just before they drowned | ‘No sweat’ said my EarPods, just before they drowned
Making identical products for different conditions is a bad idea
Touchscreens and wet fingers don’t gel (Photo by Vanderlei Longo from Pexels)
Most of the electronic gadgets I get in India seem to be designed for countries with cooler climates where humidity is not a factor. Looking at it that way, I would say there is still room for growth in the stagnating mobile phone industry if phone makers focus on customizing their phones for different markets. In India, I would say price sensitivity is a key factor affecting sales. In fact, Apple has recently accepted that its high pricing strategy won’t get it anywhere in India and is beginning to look into assembling iPhones in India in order to avoid the high import taxes.
However, weather conditions don’t seem to be getting much attention. The recent models of iPhones may be waterproof, but touchscreens don’t work too well with sweaty fingers. As for the bundled accessories like headsets, they aren’t even waterproof, and this is an issue.
Dew point and muggy days
Indian Summers are not something you look forward to in India. It’s not yet peak summer and I stay in a city located around 400m above sea-level. But temperatures are already nudging 40℃ (100℉). However, what really gets me is the oppressive humidity, which leaves me drenched in sweat and wreaks havoc with my gadgets.
Here’s what the weather was like this evening at my place. The key figure is the dew point as explained by the linked website, which I quote below. That 22℃ (72℉) gives an idea of how muggy the weather is in India.
…once the dew point gets between 55 F and 65 F, the NWS says the outdoors will feel “sticky with muggy evenings.” Anything above 65 F means there’s a lot of moisture in the air, and most people will start to feel uncomfortable. Once that dew point temperature hits 70 F (21 C), things are getting oppressive, if not outright dangerous. High dew points are uncomfortable because the air’s moisture is slowing down the rate at which our sweat evaporates off our bodies. It’s how we cool down. So, if you’re in some place with a very high temperature and a low dew point, your body is going to sweat and that sweat will evaporate. It’s also very easy to become dehydrated in this situation.
Killer Sweat
Normally, I use my gadgets indoors, where ACs and fans take the sweat out of the equation. However, this changed when I began jogging a few years ago. Like lots of amateur joggers, the music on my headphones is what keeps me going during my 5km morning run. Though a simple headset without a mic can do the job, a headset with remote controls allows me to easily control the sound volume, and skip tracks until I find a song that matches the cadence of my footsteps pounding the pavement. That’s a lifesaver on days when I lack energy as the beat motivates me to maintain my pace and complete my run.
The Apple Earpods that come with iPhones is perfect for this task. They allow me to control music and volume and even take calls while jogging. Unfortunately, Apple’s Earpods are not waterproof. I found this out the hard way when its buttons stopped working midway through a sweaty run. The sound cut off as I fumbled with the remote to change a song. Once I got home, I tried to fix the Earpods by cleaning them as best as I could but to no avail. My guess is sweat must have entered the remote, and corroded the electrical points inside. I even tried burying the headset in a sack of rice as it’s supposed to be an effective way to absorb the moisture. No luck. After waiting patiently but unsuccessfully for a couple of months, I mournfully dropped the dead headset in the dustbin.
After that, I switched back to my old iPod’s EarPods, which come without remote controls. The Earpods are not waterproof either but they kept going, probably because there aren’t too many sweat glands inside the human ears. But I missed my remote. It was a pain to pull my phone from my pocket while jogging every time I needed to change a song or increase/reduce the volume.
Around this time, Bluetooth headsets started becoming affordable. I tested the waters with a cheap Chinese brand from Amazon. It lasted around a year before it stopped working, and I assumed that it was due to its poor quality. On hindsight, it might have again been the sweat. A little while later, I spotted a JBL set going for under ₹2000 ($29), I gave in to temptation and got myself a pair, conveniently ignoring the fact that it didn’t mention anywhere that it was sweatproof or even waterproof. That was in December 2017.
In South India where I live, the major difference between winter and summer is a slight drop in temperature and humidity. Basically, you sweat less in winter. Moisture, however, didn’t seem to be an issue for my new Bluetooth headset. I relished the freedom of once again going wireless, though the JBL’s remote could only control the volume. Maybe it was luck or maybe the summer of 2018 wasn’t that humid, and the JBL survived a year of running.
Just as I was beginning to think sweat was no longer an issue, my wireless world came crashing down. Or up, to be precise. It happened midway through a sweaty run a week ago. The volume on my JBL headset suddenly started shooting up to deafening levels. I thought maybe a volume button was being pressed accidentally somewhere. But the buttons on my phone and the headset’s remote didn’t seem to be pressed. However, pressing the buttons on the JBL’s remote got me no response. So I pulled out my phone and used the physical volume button on the phone’s side. It worked. But as I was about to put my phone back, the volume began to rise again, and I could see the volume slider on my phone’s lockscreen beginning to move right again as if being pulled by some invisible hand. So I unplugged my ears, turned off the Bluetooth, and resigned myself to a run sans music. The next day, I went back to my mic-less Earpods but it was cumbersome as I was used to being wireless.
However, I had almost lost three headsets to sweat. Something had to change.
I say ‘almost’ because somewhat surprisingly, the JBL headset regained its full powers after a few days, with all buttons becoming functional. However, I didn’t want to push my luck by taking it out jogging again.
A case of mistaken identity
It’s not just headsets which have an issue with sweat. Take Apple’s Touch ID. This is a wonderful innovation but it too doesn’t work too well when it’s humid and your fingers are sweating. The thing is unlike wet fingers, sweaty fingers won’t get perfectly dry by wiping them as sweat is being constantly generated. This can lead to a maddening experience where my phone stubbornly refuses to believe I am me. If I’m lucky, my phone will sometimes relent and give me the option of entering a passcode to unlock it. If it’s a bad day, I will have to keep jabbing away at the home button and onscreen buttons for a while till you get the passcode option, and then hope you can type out your passcode with your sweaty fingers.
In fact, one of my sad memories is the day I beat my personal best timing for a 5 km run by going under 28 minutes. But my clock says I crossed 28 minutes, simply because the phone refused to recognize my sweaty finger desperately swiping away at the ‘stop’ button on my running app.
Of course, there are workarounds. There always are.
Saving a wet fingerprint sometimes works. But ‘sometimes’ is not a good solution.
Upgrading to a phone with Face ID is another option. This can get you past the lockscreen even if you have sweaty fingers. But you still have to deal with the maddening ‘swipe-that-won’t-swipe’ that happens with sweaty fingers. Besides, Indian taxes make iPhones cost more than anywhere else on earth. Like a 64GB iPhone XS Max costs ₹106,999 ($1547), and that’s after a recent price cut of ₹4000. There’s also the fact that my iPhone 6S+ is fine apart from this sweaty issue. It should easily last another couple of years with the battery change I made a couple of months ago. It just doesn’t make sense to upgrade my iPhone so I can get past my lockscreen when my fingers are sweaty.
AirPods are another option as you can bypass the touch function, by using voice control with Siri. But again AirPods are an expensive solution as the new AirPods 2 with standard (wired charging) casing costs ₹14,900 ($215).
The need of the hour is an economical solution.
Sports headsets
Earlier this year, I made a resolution to avoid adding to the world’s growing electronic junk by cutting down on my consumerism. But this is a genuine need. So I ordered a sports headset from Xiaomi for a tenth the price of the AirPods at ₹1499 ($22). What makes the Mi a sports headset is its IPX4 splash and sweat-proofing.
Xiaomi is a Chinese company that has a reputation for making relatively good quality, value-for-money phones and accessories under the Mi, Redmi and Poco brands. My short personal experience, sort of backs that up. I have been using my sweat resistant Bluetooth headset for three days, and I’m quite impressed with it.
The Mi is more suited than the JBL for jogging, and it’s not just the IPX4 rating. The JBL has two components, a battery and the remote component attached to its headset apart. These bounce around uncomfortably on my neck when I go jogging, and the sound of them bouncing off my neck clashes with the music. It takes some practice to tune out the disturbance.
On the other hand, the Mi’s short cable and light remote unit (which combines battery and remote) mean it doesn’t bounce around on my neck like the JBL, and interfere with the music. Xiaomi has also made track skipping work by a long press on the volume buttons, something which normally won’t happen on cheaper, non-Apple devices.
Mi also claims the battery will last for 9 hours. I doubt this but I think there will be substantial savings in power consumption with the Mi as they have done one simple thing. Unlike the JBL and most other Bluetooth brands, which have a bright ‘always on’ light to serve as an indicator that the device is turned on, the Mi has a lower power ‘on’ light that blinks once every ten seconds or so.
Making things better
In that sense, a lot of what Xiaomi did with the sweat-proof headset is just common sense. But I like the thought process by which they fine-tuned the gadget for a jogger’s needs.
I must add that the Mi products do have their disadvantages. Xiaomi has to cut corners to keep the price down on its products. Like I have a Mi Band which I got in Sep 2016 for ₹2000 ($29). I use it to keep time, count my steps, and vibrate to alert me when my phone is in silent mode and someone calls. It has done this job well for two and a half years. But the screen began to go dim a couple of weeks ago, and I will have to replace the whole gadget. In comparison, my Apple products seem to last forever, with even my old clickwheel iPod still in sound working condition. But the way I look at it, $29 for a product that needed to be charged just once a month, yet delivered non-stop service for 30 months is pretty good value for money.
Coming back to the Bluetooth headset, the Mi’s cable doesn’t feel as sturdy as the JBL’s flat, tangle-free one. The JBL also has magnets in the earpieces to hold them together around your neck, unlike the little clip that the Mi uses. In fact, the overall build quality of the JBL just feels better. But the reality is the flimsier Mi is actually far better at the job of being a jogger’s headset.
In that sense, Xiaomi has taken a page out of Apple’s Playbook of taking an existing product and creating a better version of it. But Mi has an edge on Apple as it manages to do this while keeping its price lower than competitors instead of higher. This explains why Apple has only a 1% share of India’s cellphone market while Xiaomi is the market leader with 28.9%.
To sum up, if Apple and other phone makers apply Xiaomi’s simple principles, and tackle the specific needs of customers in different locations, I see no reason why they can’t reverse the current global trend of falling phone sales. | https://medium.com/hackernoon/no-sweat-said-my-earpods-just-before-they-drowned-5ab3719a3fa5 | [] | 2019-11-11 08:31:42.594000+00:00 | ['Sweat', 'Electronics', 'Water Damage', 'India', 'Apple'] |
“Surging interest sends bitcoin to peak above $23,000”, “Bitcoin News” | Cryptocurrency jumps 10.5%, taking its gains this year past 220%
Bitcoin rose to a record high on Thursday, just a day after passing the $20,000 milestone for the first time, amid surging interest from larger investors.
The world’s highest-profile cryptocurrency jumped 10.5% to $23,655, taking its gains this year past 220%, buoyed by demand from larger investors attracted to its potential for quick gains and perceived inflation-hedging qualities. https://BitcoinBot.uk
Smaller coin ethereum, which often moves in tandem with bitcoin, was trading 1.75% higher.
With bitcoin’s supply capped at 21 million, investors see in the cryptocurrency a hedge against the risk of inflation as governments and central banks turn on the stimulus taps in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“There will be a search for alternative currencies due to constant fiat money debasement,” Deutsche Bank analysts wrote in a note. “It does feel that bitcoin will continue to be in high demand.” https://BitcoinBot.uk
Cryptocurrencies emerged over a decade ago but quickly became associated with crime, trading glitches, hacks and wild price swings. It is only in the past few years that they have started attracting more mainstream interest.
Bitcoin remains less regulated than most traditional assets, but institutional investors have begun to shed scepticism towards cryptocurrencies as better market infrastructure makes crypto markets more accessible.
The 2020 rally has also been driven by increasing expectations it will become a mainstream payment method, with PayPal opening its network to cryptocurrencies.
Still, few people or businesses use bitcoin for commerce.
Yang Li of digital foreign exchange platform Ziglu said modern personal money apps were at the forefront of ensuring easy, safe and fast access to cryptocurrency.
“Wider adoption will grow the value of bitcoin even more — this is just the start,” Li said. https://BitcoinBot.uk
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Bitcoin Price Chart, Bitcoin app, Bitcoin mining, Bitcoin login, Bitcoin Wallet, Bitcoin Business, Bitcoin Buy, Bitcoin Account, Bitcoin Account Create, Bitcoin ATM, Bitcoin Account Sign Up, Bitcoin Currency, Bitcoin Demand, https://BitcoinBot.uk | https://medium.com/@bitcoinbotengland/surging-interest-sends-bitcoin-to-peak-above-23-000-bitcoin-news-988e162830d8 | [] | 2020-12-21 16:05:36.053000+00:00 | ['Bitcoin News', 'Bitcoin', 'Btc', 'Bitcoin Wallet', 'Bitcoincash'] |
IPOC stock rockets | IPOC stock rockets
Is this due to a change in the billionaire investor: | https://medium.com/@harry101/ipoc-stock-rockets-87ad9bd03f85 | [] | 2020-12-23 07:45:06.202000+00:00 | ['Ipoc', 'Stocks'] |
Vegetarians, Vegans, Halal, and More — Understanding Dietary Preferences | Vegetarians, Vegans, Halal, and More — Understanding Dietary Preferences
A new form of social awareness to avoid asking dumb questions
Image by GraphicMama-team from Pixabay
Food is at the center of everything we do — it provides us the required fuel to go through our lives, and is also an essential part of most social aspects of our lives.
Whether it is for a friends’ meetup, a professional networking session, a formal meeting, or any other social construct, breakfasts, lunches, and dinners are often the backdrop or format for social gatherings.
Having spent the last three years of my life in Hong Kong — a country where the majority of the population, both native and expatriate, is used to a largely no-restrictions diet, being a vegetarian is not that easy.
This isn’t because you don’t find enough food and supplies for a vegetarian, but more to do with the ignorance of people about what being a vegetarian really means. With the variety of other different dietary preferences coming into play — vegans, pescatarians, ovo-vegetarians, and so on, keeping track can be hard.
After telling a waiter at a restaurant that I am vegetarian and being run through a list of the “fish” that’s available, it is indeed an annoying experience.
Another thing I hate is when dietary “preferences” are commonly referred to as “dietary restrictions” — there is a BIG difference. I am not “restricted” by any rules or health considerations from eating something — I just CHOOSE a certain dietary set and so the right word to use is “preferences”.
So here is a quick reference guide for understanding the various types of dietary preferences. | https://medium.com/illumination-curated/vegetarians-vegans-halal-and-more-understanding-dietary-preferences-7e0ab15bcdc5 | ['The Maverick Files'] | 2020-10-03 11:12:32.815000+00:00 | ['Food', 'World', 'Culture', 'Health', 'Awareness'] |
Game of Human | Book Review: The Ph.D. Grind | Recently I read the [The Ph.D. Grind: A Ph.D. Student Memoir](http://read.pudn.com/downloads796/doc/3141880/pguo-PhD-grind.pdf) by Phillip Guo. The book is a memoir about the six-year-long Ph.D. program of the author at Stanford University.
The author spent the first three years working on a project called Klee which he is not interested in at all and made no paper published about it. Later on, he explored based on his own interests in programming efficiency and built five different tools to improve programming efficiency, and finally combined these five projects into his dissertation.
In this memorial, the author reflects on his programs and talk about several useful tips and common properties about Ph.D. program and academia. Compared with the book The A-Z of the Ph.D. Trajectory, this book is more private and more emotional instead of only a reference book.
From my perspective, what impressed me most from the book is that we should remember that everyone in this academic game (advisor, professor, colleague, classmates..) is human-being instead of some academic/writing machine — — It is straightforward but ignorant easily. They have their own motivations or purposes. When the author tries to propel one project with his advisor, the project doesn’t align with the research field of his advisor. So though the advisor agreed with his proposal, the professor doesn’t so focus on this project which leads to the failure.
Another example is ‘Klee’ itself. The advisor of the author is tenured, which the advisor can take risks of making difficult and long-term projects. But the cycle of a Ph.D. program is pretty short, it can be dangerous for a student to devote to such a project with the risk of no output in five or six years. The inconsistency of the purposes of the advisor and students thus leads to the failure (drop) of the student.
The book is helpful also in many other aspects. The author talks about how the process of the publication of the paper and the process of the whole Ph.D. program from the view of a student. What’s more, the book discusses what we should do if some paper gets rejected.
The book is about the Ph.D. program in the computer science department, but it did show some common features of any Ph.D. program. And I’d like to recommend the book to any Ph.D. student. | https://medium.com/@wglite/game-of-human-book-review-the-ph-d-grind-ca89b2d56981 | ['Wei Guo'] | 2020-12-26 22:28:25.796000+00:00 | ['PhD', 'Book Review'] |
Why Don’t Websites Use Sound? | It’s a question I sometimes ask myself, having grown up in the era of Adobe Flash websites and Myspace profiles with your favourite songs installed. 15 years ago sound was much more prevalent on websites. I’ve recently returned from a trip to Japan and let me tell you something; Japan embraces sound at every opportunity, it’s overwhelming.
Photo by Alex Knight on Unsplash
On my return from my trip to Japan, to provide some relief from holiday blues, I went to my favourite local Japanese restaurant and visited their site to find a phone number. I was amused to hear some music on the site! Not a great website but it’s Japanese, and it features music, check it out here.
It got me thinking, why do we in the west not use sound on websites? Maybe it’s a cultural thing? If you watch the typical documentary on North Korea, a big thing they empathise is the constant propaganda pumping out from loudspeakers on the streets.
The street level sound is something you get in Japan as well, everything talks, sings, informs and exclaims. Shibuya like crossings across japan regularly feature live tv, and when exploring the streets of Japan you often pass an arcade, accidentally triggering the automatic door, releasing a cacophony of noise.
In the evening, residential streets have calming piano music often in polyphonic ringtone style, or more often than not some dinner jazz. Each train station has its own jingle and set of birdsong, presumably to auto awake sleepy commuters.
In the western world, I can’t think of a parallel, music in our culture music is personal, we wouldn’t play music from loudspeakers in the street, because first off it would be annoying and secondly how would it be to everyone’s taste? When I ask around, “Why don’t people use sound and music on websites anymore” Those are the two words I hear, it’s annoying and not my taste.
I’ve seen a lot of website projects in my time and the thought of adding sound often crosses my mind, purely to differentiate, to stand out in the crowd. You see big established businesses like Bloomberg making crazy bold and different website designs that really grab your attention. Featuring animation, video, bold typography and layouts. Surely the next step is using sound?
One article on this subject by Simon Mills from Liquid Light who made an excellent point, in film he argues picture and sound work together, the sound evokes emotions and connects to the viewer, but the key to the process is to not distract you from the experience.
Another Quora article exclaims “NEVER USE SOUND WITHOUT THE USERS PERMISSION”. Again this goes back to the premise that it’s not to taste, and I agree it’s annoying if a tab in your browser starts making a sound, in fact, it reminds me of those pesky adverts and popups hidden away that you desperately try to find and close.
The point is that nowadays it’s a massively accepted or enforced user experience rule that you should never make a sound without the permission of the user. But then again aren’t rules there to be broken?
Here are some example websites that use sound
The Wilderness Down
An Arcade Fire, interactive Music Video designed by new media artist Chris Milk. Chris Milk inspired me to take website development and design seriously and was a big inspiration for starting a digital business.
Chrome Music Lab
Chrome Music Lab is a website that makes learning music more accessible through fun, hands-on experiments.
Super Looper
Plug alert, we made this.
Peanut Gallery
Create your own inter titles to silent film.
ZOMBO.COM
This example is a parody. This is ZomboCOM anything is possible on zombocom. Zombo.com is a single-serving site that was created in 1999, utilising the new technology of Flash animation. Formerly a faculty and student joke from the George Washington University Center for Professional Development, the site parodies Flash introductory web pages that play while the rest of a site’s content loads.
10 Hotel websites that use sound
An interesting article about websites that use autoplay sound to delight users and increase conversion rates and an interesting debate on the subject in the comments. | https://medium.com/universlabs/why-dont-websites-use-sound-8f52f2781725 | ['Univers Labs'] | 2018-03-26 10:01:17.235000+00:00 | ['User Experience', 'Technology', 'Web Development', 'Web Design'] |
Why I Stopped Setting Goals (And What I Do Instead) | Photo by Amy Sibert on Unsplash — Woman sits at the top of a mountain looking out at a valley below
Most small business owners I know have an “it’s complicated” type of relationship to setting goals.
They know they’re supposed to set goals for their life and business. They know they’re supposed to make plans to meet those goals. Some do, some don’t.
Some set goals one month only to abandon them the next. Some set goals and power through them even when new information comes to light. Some spend months (or longer) just trying to figure out what goals to set. Some swear by their goal-setting process but end up judging themselves or their actions harshly when it doesn’t quite work out.
I get it.
My relationship with goal-setting has always been complicated, too. I’m an achievement-oriented, hyper-competitive, winning-is-my-personal-identity type. Setting goals and racing toward the finish line was just how I functioned.
I’ve never seen a shiny medal I didn’t want to win.
Unfortunately, chasing medals and merit badges hasn’t always led me down the right-for-me path. My personal specialty is choosing a goal based on limited (and often faulty) information and then calculating the fastest path to achieving it without regard for long-term ramifications.
Promotions, scholarships, leadership roles, partnerships…
…if it feels like a step up, it’s the step I want to take as quickly as I can. In other words, I’m a ladder climber. Academic ladders, professional ladders, social ladders, athletic ladders–I will work the system to get higher and higher.
I’ve not done it particularly well or with a master plan the way some folks do. But the drive to prove myself worthy of another step up has dominated how I approach life, work, and play.
In high school, it was paramount to me to be the 1st chair trombonist — to climb over the other players to get to the top.
In college, my goal was to be in charge of the weekly worship services on campus and also to be the top student in the religion department. Oh, and to be drum major — that was important, too.
In my over-before-it-began graduate school experience, I realized that I had no idea how to climb the ladder and that I maybe hadn’t even been on the right ladder in the first place. So I quit.
Quitting graduate school led to working in retail — where the siren song of promotion after promotion kept me from seeing that I was climbing a ladder I didn’t even want to be climbing in the first place.
When I started my business, I found myself on a new ladder and looked to others to figure out what goals to set so I could start climbing.
Every achievement someone else made was a rung on the ladder I could use to move up.
At this point, you’re probably either nodding along thinking, “Yeah, me too,” or you’re thinking “Woah, that’s messed up.”
Maybe you’re thinking both. It’s taken a lot of work to get to the point where I can say both.
Anyhow, a little over 4 years ago now, I started to question all the ladder climbing. I started to wonder how I could do things differently. Then, I didn’t have much of a grasp on specifics — I just had a persistent inkling that I needed to recalibrate.
These past 4 years have been full of reflection, analysis, and awareness-building. While I’m more sure than ever that I don’t want to climb the ladder anymore, I know that my default mode is still to try to ascend. My identity is still tightly wrapped around each rung.
Recently, I heard Sonya Renee Taylor, author of The Body Is Not An Apology, talk about our drive to climb the ladder. A line from she said has stuck with me — boring itself into my very being. Sonya said:
“The ladder is real only because we keep trying to climb it.”
To this point, my recalibration has been to try to ignore the ladder. To keep my eyes on my own paper and ignore how others are getting further ahead — making more money, growing bigger teams, speaking to larger audiences, running faster, lifting more weight, growing bigger quads (I know, I know…).
But ladder-climbing is so entrenched in me that I didn’t realize that I was still seeing the world as a hierarchy.
It was a hierarchy I was trying to detach myself from, but a hierarchy nonetheless.
But what Sonya was saying is that…
…there is no hierarchy.
There is no higher or lower. There is no better or worse. There is no stronger or weaker.
Oof.
Which is not to say there is no difference in who has access to power — but that is a conversation for a different day. Also, it doesn’t mean there is no difference at all. But difference doesn’t exist to give us a way to rank each other (and ourselves).
Climbing the ladder has driven the choices I’ve made. It’s helped me figure out where I stand with others. It has set my goals for me. It’s made my plans for me.
What do I do next if there is no ladder to climb?
I realize, at this point, it sounds like I’ve been in the midst of an existential crisis. I’m not. The truth is that I’ve been wrestling with this for years and that this is a new — and extremely important — layer to that ongoing search for myself and what I want to create in this world.
I think this idea — that there is no ladder — hit me with particular force because we’ve all been experiencing this Great Reset. We’ve all be recalibrating, reexamining. We’ve all been taking stock of what’s truly important to us, to our businesses, to our families, and to our communities.
I hear it in the conversations I facilitate in our community and with our mastermind groups. I see it bubbling up on social media. I witness it in direct messages and virtual coffee dates.
Some of us continue to try to wait it out until a familiar structure, a familiar order of things returns. (And honestly, I think many of us fall into this group in our moments of greatest stress and anxiety.)
Some of us are actively working to create structures that don’t rely on the ladder.
What I have come to realize over the last few years is that:
Climbing up the ladder is only one way I can orient my life and business.
When I see that the ladder isn’t real (or when I see it for what it is — a system of control & oppression), I can choose from an array of orientations that serve me better. I can orient myself toward greater resilience. I can orient myself to my sense of adventure. I can orient myself toward uncertainty or systems or visibility.
Each of these orientations (for myself or for my business) is infinitely more expansive, creative, and satisfying than constantly orienting myself up the ladder.
So what does this mean for the nuts & bolts of how I lead myself and my business?
Well, first it starts with goal-setting. Or, rather, it starts with a lack of goal-setting. You see, I simply have not been able to detach goal-setting from ladder climbing. You might be able to. I have not (yet) been successful.
So I stopped goal-setting.
Instead, I make commitments.
Instead of being results-oriented the way a goal is, a commitment is process-oriented.
If a goal is the destination, a commitment is the compass.
My commitments give me orientation for how I want to approach my strategic priorities for my business, the projects I want to bring to life, and the work I do every day. My commitments help me make decisions and guide my problem-solving.
A goal is saying you want to end up at the beach. A commitment is hopping in your car and driving toward the coast.
Now, that might seem like semantics. And maybe when it comes to the car metaphor, it is.
But when it comes to your life or business? There’s a fundamental difference.
Setting a goal asks you to name the thing you want without regard for the process of achieving it. At best, it’s a stab in the dark most of the time. At worst, it means you can easily get yourself into a pickle when you realize your goal is going to require you to spend your time, money, or energy in ways that don’t align with who you are or what you’re all about.
Sometimes it works out. Maybe you discover that you actually like a new way of operating or you break out of your comfort zone to do something that seemed impossible.
But other times, you end up halfway to your goal doing all sorts of things you never wanted to do (and still don’t want to do).
Setting a commitment, on the other hand, asks you to own the process first. A commitment is about choosing how you want to show up, what you want to have to guide your choices, and why you will take certain actions and not others.
Setting a commitment puts your attention and intention on how what you want from life or business impacts what you do and who you are on a daily basis.
Let’s take a look at some examples.
In the past, I might have set a goal (okay, I did set a goal) to generate $200,000 in a product launch.
While that goal gives me a specific target, it doesn’t give me any direction on how to create that result. My plan included a whole host of ideas for hitting that number and, when things weren’t going the way I wanted them to go, I started getting creative (i.e. desperate) in the ways I was willing to make that happen.
To be clear, I didn’t do anything awful! But I did do things that didn’t serve my longer-term goals, I put undue pressure on my team and myself, and I just created completely unnecessary stress.
On the other hand, a couple of years ago, I set a commitment to “work the system.”
Working the system applied to my own personal task management. It applied to my marketing & sales strategy. It applied to our offers. It applied to my half marathon training and my powerlifting program.
“Work the system” was a constant reminder that I was committed to sticking with what I started and trusting myself to improve and achieve gradually.
In 2020, my commitments were to Embrace Uncertainty, Question Normal, and Expect Success. They’ve guided me through hard decisions about our offers, led me to create more inclusive content, and helped me follow through on campaigns when I usually would have thrown in the towel.
In 2021, I’m committing to Stay Curious, Open to Belonging, and Adapt & Emerge.
Commitments have helped me develop new habits and retrain my brain.
And all along the way, I’ve been able to celebrate the progress I’m making in the process — instead of waiting to achieve some result and climb up an imaginary rung.
What I’m learning is that I might never be able to rid myself of the call to climb the ladder — it’s woven into the very fabric of our culture here in the United States — but that doesn’t mean I have to structure my life around or plan for my business using it.
I can create a structure and plan that isn’t dependent on the ladder to give me purpose or validate my worthiness. I can anchor myself and my business to a deeper expression of my humanity and find my reward in the small ways I choose to act every day.
My commitments help me stay present instead of always working for some future goal. They help me tune into my habits and behavior patterns so I can adjust the ones that aren’t working for me. They help me see how I’m doing enough and how I can continue to improve. My commitments help me steer my life and business in a direction I feel really, really good about — and that’s something that goals could never quite do. | https://medium.com/@taramcmullin/why-i-stopped-setting-goals-and-what-i-do-instead-1a7cf95d2298 | ['Tara Mcmullin'] | 2020-12-14 15:13:20.470000+00:00 | ['Goals', 'Planning', 'Ideas', 'Self Improvement', 'Small Business'] |
A Quantitative Approach to Sourcing DealFlows | link to repository: https://github.com/noah40povis/Build-Week-2.git
VC firms have been using sourcing algorithms for a few years now because it allows them to be more efficient in identifying potential investments. I do not know to what extent these firms rely on predictive modeling to find the next Uber because VC's like to keep their secret sauce internal so I thought creating a basic predictive model would help me better understand what the potential upside and downside these models could be providing for these firms.
I would assume Top Tier VC firms gather data from the startups they invest in, consider investing in, advance webcrawling techniques, and platforms like PitchBook and Crunchbase. Knowing this and understanding my limited capabilities (and limited funds) as a young data scientist I settled with using Crunchbase's trial period and retrieved all the companies that raised a Seed and Series A round from Dec 31, 2018 — Present.
I wanted to see if the data I gathered could help me predict whether or not a company who raised a Seed round will go on to raising a Series A. My original dataframe contained 27,131 rows and 18 columns. In order to prepare my data for modeling, besides the standard cleaning and wrangling tasks, I had to create my target vector: 'Raised Series A' by identifying all the companies that raised Series A's and labeling them as 1 and the companies that did not as 0. In addition, I took the investor column and industry column that contained multiple strings of investors/industries and split them into their own columns in order to potentially extract more information from them through categorical encoding. I also knew that I would definitely run into potential leakage, so I ran at barebones xgb classifier a few times to pick off certain columns that were giving me an accuracy of over 99%. A few columns that stuck out as leakage columns were 'Total Funding Raised,' and 'Total Funding Amount Currency (in USD).' At this point my dataframe contained 12,623 rows and 24 columns and an accuracy score of 95%.
Columns in Dataframe
The first issue I came across after cleaning up my data was determining how to deal with the inherent skewness of my target vector. In general startups are known to fail at an alarmingly high rate, which is why it is so important for VC's to source multiple deals to diversify their risk.
According to my data over the last two years, startups from around the globe that raised a Seed Round, only 6% of them went on to raise an additional round of funding.
I considered unskewing my target vector to increase my prediction accuracy, but that would be unrealistic and would devalue my models real world application. Instead, I looked into how a binary classification model should be assessed depending on the skewness of the data.
I found three models worth looking into for this project: CatBoost, XGBoost, and Logistic Regression. How I would measure their performance would be on their recall and precision score. I chose these two scoring methods because of the real world implications when it comes to identifying potential investments in Venture Capital. Foremost, a false negative is far more costly than a false positive in Venture Capital because it is often one investment that returns 100x or even 1000x your initial investment (take Accel's initial investment in Facebook compared to it other investments around that time). Thus optimizing for a higher Recall vs Precision will be my goal.
Furthermore, VC's invest thousands to millions of dollars in individual funding rounds only for a majority of them to fail. VC's promise their investors a return so the consequences for False Positives could also be very costly. Take Wework or Theranos as a prime examples of investments that cost private investors millions in dollars as well as a hit to many of their reputations. This also validates the need for models to take an additional look at a company because (historically) individuals get blindsided by the emotions of investing in the "next big thing."
The first model I ran was a XGB Classifier because of its speed and its built in regularization parameters that will help prevent my model from overfitting. In addition, I also added RandomizedSearchCV in order to randomly identify best fitting parameters, particularly for alpha and lambda, which both contribute to the regularization of my model.
XGB Classifier with RandomizedSearchCV
The results did not surpass my baseline, but it was a great starting point to identify potential reason why.
ROC curve is slightly above the dotted line which represents the baseline score. This signifies our model basically has 0 predictive power.
Precision-Recall curve is on the dotted line, which represents the baseline score.
I had hypothesized that my model would do poorly on the first try, so the next things I wanted to add was an nlp technique: topic model, on my company description column. The reason I drew to this conclusion was mainly because I felt like I was lacking in information that could provide true predictive power.
After preprocessing the Organization Description column I plotted a distribution plot because I wanted to see how the description length matched up in terms of companies that did or did not go onto to raise a Series A. Companies that went onto raise an additional round, on average, had lengthier descriptions than companies that did not.
Continuing exploratory analysis, I wanted to see what words were most frequently used to see any underlying trends regarding companies business description. I predicted to see words regarding hot topics during the last few years which I assumed would be related to Big Data, AI, Social Media, Healthcare, and Mobile. All of these topics were references in the word count above.
After fitting and modeling the description column with LDA (LatentDirichletAllocation), I was outputted 10 topics (columns), which I attached to my original dataframe.
Original Dataframe Shape: (12623, 24) New Dataframe Shape: (12623, 34)
This time around my model's precision/recall score did worse. At this point I wanted to know if there were still any potential leakage and if my topic modeling was actually effective. Therefore, I ran a feature importance analysis.
Feature Importance after Topic Modeling
From the looks of the above graph there seemed to be issues with the high cardinality of the investor and industry columns because it would not make sense for their importance to rank above a column like 'Money Raised.' As a result of this outcome, I realized the way I wrangled the original 'Investor' and 'Industry' columns, which both contained comma separated strings, was a mistake. I thought by splitting the columns into multiples for each individual string I could capture more data than the individual column. Yet, when I went back and undid this part and instead ran the two columns through LDA, the model predicted an even worse outcome than my initial score. Additionally, 'Organization Name,' should not hold such a high importance unless it has leakage, so I got rid of this column as well.
Therefore, after adjusting my feature list I ended up using the following columns: ‘Money Raised Currency (in USD)’, ‘Organization Location’, ‘Primary Industry’, 'Investor1', and Topic modeled columns 1–10.
Best score for both Precision and Recall
To my delight I saw a huge gain in both precision and recall scores as well as a reduction in accuracy (reduced overfitting?).
The left image shows my models original results. The right image shows the final results I got after adding LDA and getting rid of features.
Precision Recall Curve after feature reduction and topic modeling also increased for recall score
Confusion Matrix after feature reduction and topic modeling
Redoing my visualizations, all three showed significant improvements with a deeper explanation as to why. My model was able to predict 23 more true positive values, which greatly improved the recall and precision, which is what I was most focused on improving.
I continued to experiment with CatBoosting Classification as well as Logistic Regression, but I was unable to find anything that could topple my score above.
After reviewing my results and thinking of how I could improve this model I have come up with a gameplan for next steps. I want to gather another round of US startups that have raised a Seed Round, but also get information on their founders as well as information about their company that may be available on twitter. Both of these pieces of information require web crawling and scraping techniques that I will focus on learning so I can continue to build upon the progress I made with this model. I want to continue testing my hypotheses regarding what feature combination will help in determining whether or not a company will be able to successfully grow past the Seed stage. All this exploration and testing is so I can eventually deploy a model that will allow a VC to plug in a companies information and see what their likelihood is of succeeding and comparison to companies in a similar domain. In addition, it will feed the VC information on any companies the model feels is relevant for further investigation. This model will continually web crawl for information on new companies/current companies as well as allowing the User to update information from their end. I am excited to continue to grow in my DS journey! | https://medium.com/analytics-vidhya/a-quantitative-approach-to-sourcing-dealflows-1bd90571029a | ['Noah Povis'] | 2020-12-14 16:14:47.826000+00:00 | ['Venture Capital', 'Xgboost', 'NLP', 'Data Science', 'Data Visualization'] |
My Neighborhood is Gentrifying Again: Part 6 | Photo By Author
Social Issues
About two weeks after I began to write this series, the mural pictured in the photograph appeared underneath a train trestle a few blocks north of my home. I do not know who created it or why. If I were to guess, I would suggest it was initiated by a housing activist as a form of protest against the changing landscape. (If anyone in Chicago reads this and knows who created this, please let me know).
Then someone pointed out to me the mural could be read as an advertisement. I had not seen it that way, but gentrification is driven by capitalist market forces. One of the causes of gentrification is speculative buying. This happens when a buyer purchases a home because they believe neighborhood property values will increase, leading to increased equity and personal gain. This person thought a realtor could have created the mural to attract prospective homeowners. A simple statement on a mural highlights the complexities of gentrification.
I have not been unaware that construction of affordable housing has its own unique challenges. It is practically impossible to build affordable housing in the United States without the use of tax credits, federal funding, grants, or other development incentives.¹ When we bought our first property, my perspective on the difficulty level of an individual contribution to a potential solution was somewhat simplistic.
Our property is a three-flat, which has been a form of affordable housing in Chicago for generations. These multi-unit buildings are oversized single family homes split into small apartments. In gentrifying neighborhoods, multi-unit properties are at high risk of being de-converted into single family buildings, if not torn down to be replaced with a more modern luxury single family home. I had lived in rental apartments in multi-unit buildings for over a decade and appreciated how affordable my prior private landlords kept the rent. When we decided to purchase our first home, we thought we might be able to do the same for someone else.
Like many multi-unit properties in Chicago, our building is over one hundred years old. In the past four years of ownership, we have paid for an expensive major electrical issue, multiple furnace replacements, sewer system issues, and other costly repairs. As the property values in the neighborhood have increased, so have property taxes. There are costs to maintaining an old building.
When we had a tenant vacancy, we quickly learned that the moderately priced rent was unaffordable for residents who were actually from the immediate neighborhood. And we had more interest than expected from young professionals with good credit, stable income, and a roommate with which they could split rent. Our unit was a financial stretch for anyone who wanted to stay in the neighborhood, but a bargain for those who could live almost anywhere they wanted.
Despite this, we have been able to preserve our rental unit’s relative affordability thus far. Our current tenant was forced to move from her home of thirty years when her landlord sold the building, a story we found all too common among prospective renters. We hope we can continue to maintain a well-kept, moderately affordable unit. But even though our objectives were counter to the process of gentrification, our entrance was part of a broader sociological reality over which we did not have control.
The book Gentrifier explains “The gentrifier is a social, political, and economic actor…While economics has traditionally overprivileged choice, critical sociology must not respond to this error by failing to interrogate individual choice. Indeed, gentrification does not occur because middle class people decide to be gentrifiers. But deeming all things structural allows middle-class residents to ignore their own agency.”² Gentrification is a systemic issue, but this does not absolve us of an examination of individual participation. When we are middle class and we move into a neighborhood undergoing an acceleration in development, we must identify ourselves as gentrifiers.
Personal relationship to place and community is consequential in urban neighborhoods experiencing gentrification. When the economic principle of utility maximization is exercised in the home-buying decision, we find new residents moving into a community because they can get larger, nicer space for their purchase dollars.
The people already there have the potential to turn our addresses into our communities, rather than merely the location we park our cars at night. But our neighbors are not part of the calculation when a housing decision is fully economically driven. We see this show up in a variety of ways; like when new residents rally to block affordable housing, complain about loud music from a late night family celebration, or call the city when a neighbor violates a building code rather than lending a helping hand. Even when intentions began well, new residents are not always willing to accept an unfamiliar socio-cultural dynamic.
Merely being physically present in a place does not connect a person to the location. Relationships do. It is now possible to live our lives completely isolated from geographic neighbors, even though we share public space with them. And yet, place experienced with others can give us personal identity and common ground on which to unite. Long-time residents in formerly disinvested neighborhoods understand this. They sit on their front porches, while new residents gather with friends in their backyards, out of sight from neighbors.
The expansion of community that technology affords, especially for those of upwardly mobile potential, is not without repercussion. When we have someone nearby to call in a time of crisis, we gain a sense of emotional stability. When we share with those around us, we begin to belong to our place. Global networks are too broad to be meaningful; our impact is where we are present. A luxury home cannot substitute for relationships, even for the wealthiest among us. Yet our collective decisions still prioritize one over the other. Space does not belong to any individual person; it belongs to all of us.
This concludes the current series on gentrification.
Read Parts 1–5
¹https://www.urban.org/urban-wire/how-affordable-housing-gets-built
²Schlichtman, John Joe, Jason Patch, and Marc Lamont Hill. Gentrifier. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2017. | https://medium.com/@profoundhopeindustries/my-neighborhood-is-gentrifying-again-part-6-d7e3aca03e55 | ['Sarah Hope Marshall'] | 2021-02-12 00:02:22.248000+00:00 | ['Cities', 'Diversity', 'Housing', 'Social Issues', 'Economy'] |
Pavel Durov stored his bitcoins on the closed-down WEX exchange, bitcoin is expected to hit $12,000, and the best ways to invest in BTC | Pavel Durov stored his bitcoins on the closed-down WEX exchange, bitcoin is expected to hit $12,000, and the best ways to invest in BTC BestChange Nov 15, 2019·2 min read
Pavel Durov stored bitcoins on the closed-down WEX exchange
A file with a database of WEX crypto-exchange clients is being distributed on the internet. The users found Pavel Durov’s email [email protected] in the document, which he also used when registering Telegram legal entities.
According to the database, the founder of the messenger stored 2,070 BTC on the exchange. Two years ago Durov said that in 2013 he did buy 2,000 bitcoins.
WEX is the successor of BTC-e platform. In 2018 WEX ceased functioning and the clients lost their funds.
Bitcoin is expected to hit $12,000
Benjamin Blunts, popular Twitter-analyst, thinks tat bitcoin is going to reach $12,000 within the next weeks. At the same time, according to him, altcoins are not going to follow the world’s first cryptocurrency.
“Sooner or later btc is gonna chad straight up to 12k. The question is are you gonna be in it or left on the sides with heavy bags of alts while it happens”, — the trader wrote in his account.
Benjamin attached an image with the formation of a falling wedge. The growth to the specified level would start it case of breaking the mark of $8,800.
Binance exchange named the best strategy of investing in bitcoin
Analytics of Binance, the world’s largest crypto platform said that “hodling” is the most profitable strategy of working with bitcoin.
“Hodl” is a strategy of long-term keeping of cryptocurrency, despite any price drawdowns.
Binance Research published a chart in their Twitter-account which shows how the days with the maximum increase in the value of bitcoin affected the annual result.
For example, on 7 December 2017 BTC showed the highest daily absolute price increase — for $3,608 (25%). | https://medium.com/@bestchange/pavel-durov-stored-his-bitcoins-on-the-closed-down-wex-exchange-bitcoin-is-expected-to-hit-e53ab9ecedfd | [] | 2019-11-15 15:01:44.896000+00:00 | ['Bitcoin', 'Blockchain', 'Cryptocurrency', 'Binance'] |
What I’m Reading | International Developments to Keep an Eye On
I recommended a powerful visual story about the humanitarian crisis unfolding in Ethiopia two weeks ago. Recently, I read two articles that steered my thoughts back to those pictures from the Tigray region and my writing about them.
The first of those articles is a background story about the conflict and the role Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed plays in the current situation.
The New York Times writer Declan Walsh beautifully explains the context of the Tigray crisis. There’s a great depth of important information in this story; facts and anecdotes that help readers make sense of and understand what is happening in Tigray.
From Nobel Hero to Driver of War, Ethiopia’s Leader Faces Voters starts us off with a powerful anecdote that shows the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize winner as a leader who’s more interested in showing visiting politicians economic success stories than addressing an ongoing war.
I highly recommend you give this story your attention, for it rewards you with the facts and perspective you need to follow Ethiopia’s path.
There are also stunning pictures by Finbarr O’Reilly that add emotional depth to our understanding of the country, its difficult path, and its people.
The second read I want to talk about is not about Ethiopia. It’s from a different crisis, but I found myself thinking about very similar topics and questions when I came across the Taliban Enter Key Cities in Afghanistan’s North After Swift Offensive.
It’s a “simple” and short update on Afghanistan written by Thomas Gibbons-Neff and Najim Rahim, informing us of the Taliban retaking strategically important cities.
The political decision that international troops are leaving Afghanistan has been long in the making. Ever since the first withdrawals came to effect, the Taliban increased their attacks and pushed for renewed control over the country and its people.
It’s a sad and frustrating situation. Without trying to enter into a political discussion about the western military presence in the region, here are a few interesting reads about:
I hope there’s something in this collection of articles you find interesting. | https://medium.com/of-pictures-words/what-im-reading-2f319c07f1fd | ['Florian Schoppmeier'] | 2021-06-29 16:01:07.162000+00:00 | ['Ethiopia', 'Afghanistan', 'India', 'Journalism', 'Photojournalism'] |
Due Diligence for Trade Risk | When conducting due diligence on a multinational company, consider the heightened risk of trade disruptions and loss of goodwill with foreign customers resulting from our ongoing trade negotiations.
On November 30, 2018, the United States, Canada, and Mexico agreed to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement (“NAFTA”) with the United States Mexico Canada Agreement (“USMCA”). The new agreement has been marked by fraught negotiations provisions, resulting in a heightened sense of trade uncertainty for the middle market. While the new USMCA still largely resembles NAFTA and includes positive elements drawn from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (“TPP”), it remains to be ratified by a deeply-divided Congress.
Assuming USMCA is ratified, the trade agreement would not eliminate Section 232 national security tariffs on steel, aluminum, and potentially vehicles from our closest trade partners, Canada and Mexico. Beyond North America, the United States is engaged in a trade tiff with China, involving tariffs and retaliatory tariffs on hundreds of billions of trade between the US and China.
Now, a recently introduced bill in Congress dubbed the “Reciprocal Trade Act” is threatening to increase trade uncertainty. The Act would expand the President’s statutorily delegated authority to impose tariffs. Moreover, it would enable him to match any tariff applied to products by trading partners. While last week’s State of the Union touted the bill’s stated goal of encouraging foreign markets to open up to US producers, the practical effects of the bill could make trade turmoil more severe.
The Reciprocal Trade Act is only the latest salvo in the battle between Congress and the President for expanded control over tariff power. With no resolution in sight, the market is likely to continue to experience trade insecurities that could impact deal considerations. As the uncertainty of the current trade climate deepens, middle market companies should take into account the trade risk.
As part of due diligence, consider a US company’ customer mix, and their reliance on exports as a percentage of total revenue. If a company’s revenue is heavily weighted in foreign earnings, the company may have some political risk if trade negotiations get ugly. Not only could the company face retaliatory tariffs, but trade hostilities may impact the US company’s goodwill with its foreign customers.
Next, look at the company’s reliance on imports of intermediate components or raw materials used in its US manufactured products. Considering close to half the value of imports into the United States is made up of inputs into the production process, a company is unlikely to completely avoid the political risk of an international supply chain.
Bear in mind that some US producers, such as US steelmakers, are taking advantage of tariffs on their foreign competitors by raising the cost of their US made products. This has already begun to be seen in the steel industry. While US steel makers are benefitting from President Trump’s protectionism, US manufacturers using steel inputs are facing higher costs and tighter margins near to mid-term.
It’s not clear if temporary trade risk will negatively impact the level of mergers and acquisitions activity. However, trade uncertainty may affect deal structures, pushing more consideration to earnouts. Knowing the right questions to ask about trade will give middle market companies better footing for managing current political and economic risks.
Companies need to keep sight of how a shift in tariff power may impact not only the cost or availability of imported inputs, but the cost of domestic components as well.
Making decisions on capital expenditures, plant construction, and acquisitions often rests on the reliability of long-term financial forecasting. However, no one can accurately predict the mood of the American voter. For now, boards of directors in corporate development teams should watch policy developments closely to get a sense of whether the US is reverting to a protectionist approach for the foreseeable future, or whether the current protectionist mood will pass in the near term. | https://medium.com/@mcculloughdr/due-diligence-for-trade-risk-4a918be22869 | ['Doug Mccullough'] | 2019-02-15 17:10:44.604000+00:00 | ['Trade', 'Mergers And Acquisitions', 'Nafta', 'Due Diligence'] |
Meri Wali Chai | It’s about one of those Sunday evenings ….
After a week’s hustle and coding, I gather all the courage to get out of my bed and get ready in comfy clothes with my bag packed with sketch pens, a sketchbook, and Laptop (just in case of any production issue) to grab a cup of tea at Chaayos in Galleria market.
Galleria Market, its a shopping complex located in the heart of Gurgaon which happened to have all my favorite dine-in and shopping places back then. I get off the cab and smile, seeing the normal rush at Chaayos from distance.
As I go inside and lookup for my fav back table spot with the view of the whole place, I can hear people chit-chat. As soon as I settle down, here comes someone to greet you with a smile and ask for your order. I place my usual order of Desi Chai with tulsi, adrak, and elaichi. While I wait for the tea, I take out my sketch pens, sketchbook and nicely arrange them over the small table making sure to leave space for tea :)
By this time, unconsciously I have observed everyone sitting around me be it a couple casually enjoying tea after shopping, be it another couple planning/fighting about their future, a couple of aunties having a get-together, people having a business meeting and 2–3 groups of people working on their startup ideas and plans. Within 15 mins, it feels like you know everyone, and trust me, I have overheard a lot of startup ideas over my visits to this place (but never disclosed 😅)
Here comes my tea, and as always I ask for white sugar and a stirrer to make sure it’s as per my taste. While stirring, I decide what to draw by browsing over Pinterest on my phone. Now, my workstation is all set up. So, I fold my legs to be more comfortable not caring about being judged and I take a sip of tea and start sketching. And the moment I start sketching, I am in my own world paying attention to detail with earphones plugged in one ear. By the time I complete my sketching, and chai, and look around, some of the mates had left and new have joined — family enjoying an outing, friends chilling over tea. Suddenly, out of nowhere someone comes and overlooks at my sketches, compliments them, and asks — Did you just draw them here? to make it less weird for me and I nod with a smile :)
Then, either I used to get a work-related ping or a call from my mom due to which I had to leave for home. I remember having this typical conversation with my mom every time — “Are you still there? What you do all alone, don’t you get bored? Anyways go back home it’s late!” I wish I could have explained to her, it doesn’t feel so alone when you are surrounded by a good crowd and good tea :)
After paying for the chai and all the good time I had, I used to leave with a smile on my face and another good memory of this place. | https://medium.com/@mehaksatija1493/meri-wali-chai-e2dc24d8c398 | ['Mehak Satija'] | 2020-05-03 04:50:34.768000+00:00 | ['Tea', 'Sketch', 'Art', 'Chaayos', 'Memoir'] |
When it comes to the environment, our economic system is hindering real progress | In the 1970s, I began to understand the depths of the problem western societies face. Ever since, I have been trying to find the ways we must live in order to live sustainably. For quite prolonged periods of time, I have also tried to live in such ways: to honour and regenerate the living world, rather than exploit and deplete it. This has involved living in various communities, altering my diet, being cold in the winter, requiring very little space and few possessions, planting and growing, caring for wildlife and habitats, reusing and recycling, making and mending; generally making the smallest demands possible.
At other times, I have found myself very short of cash, dissatisfied with the relationships I found myself in in those situations, and feeling at a loss watching others enjoy luxuries that I was denying myself. At times like those, I have dusted off my suit and CV, got myself a job and joined the rat-race again to make up what felt like lost ground.
Activists are campaigning for a more just world, one where the climate and the living environment for billions of humans, and trillions of sentient others, is not being quietly murdered to feed our wealth, luxury and consumption. The movement, the awareness and the strength of feeling is growing by the month, by the year. Eventually the dam may burst. Those trying to make just a bit more profit while they can, turning a blind eye to the destruction, the dispossessed and the downtrodden, may be brought up short.
But, they say, we need them and their industries. Without their chemicals, the wildlife would eat all the crops. Without their walls and guns, we’d be overrun with criminals and terrorists. Without their global operations, we’d have none of the things we need every day.
It’s a whole structure. I’m not interested in making their business models sustainable, I want to see life flourishing and thriving in ways that have worked for billions of years, and which are currently being snuffed out one by one.
Mass extinction should not be a price that life has to pay to maintain stock prices and shareholder value.
But if we started to succeed, if we could find that loose brick at the bottom of the whole Jenga tower and pull it out, it is very likely that the whole thing would collapse. Could we cope with that?
This article first appeared in the Jersey Evening Post on 24 January 2018 | https://medium.com/nine-by-five-media/when-it-comes-to-the-environment-our-economic-system-is-hindering-real-progress-4b1a9e821e0a | ['Nigel Jones'] | 2019-01-26 10:52:22.431000+00:00 | ['Capitalism', 'Extinction', 'Sustainability', 'Business', 'Environment'] |
Poll Workers on Election Day: A Crisis Overcome? | Poll Workers on Election Day: A Crisis Overcome?
Early reports show signs that the massive effort to recruit poll workers across the United States is paying off, though some counties are still in need of help
Photo Credit: Scott Beale / Laughing Squid
Written by Miles Rapoport and Cecily Hines
Six months ago, as the coronavirus grabbed hold of American society and America’s elections, a chilling question arose: Would a massive shortage of poll workers threaten the ability of voters to cast their ballots on election day?
Anyone who has ever voted knows that the poll workers up until now have mainly been seniors who volunteered for this low-paid day of work year after year. This year, however, given the ongoing risk to seniors, that pool of workers has been dramatically reduced, creating the possibility of a dangerous shortage of these critical volunteers in many counties across the country. These shortages can lead to longer lines for voting, fewer polling places, and in some cases potential health risks for voters who are voting in crowded conditions. A 2017 report of the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) said that 60% of volunteer poll workers in 2016 were at least 61 years old, and 25% were at least 71 years old.
Though we won’t know for sure until Election Day, it appears that with a combination of effort from election jurisdictions, non-profit organizations, and a real civic response, this problem may have largely been solved. Many states and jurisdictions report that they are well situated with an ample supply of workers. The states of Virginia, Maryland, and Colorado appear to be fully, or close to fully, recruited.
At an Ash Center event on October 20, Secretary of State Frank LaRose reports that most of the counties in Ohio have now reached their goal of recruiting 150% of their expected need, ready to account for some fall off as well. And Secretary Kathy Boockvar of Pennsylvania and Jocelyn Benson of Michigan expressed confidence that their polls will be fully staffed and ready on November 3rd.
The response has not been entirely even. North Carolina has had a surge in poll workers stepping forward and is fully set in most counties, but there are a number of counties still in need. Nationwide, since recruitment is done at the county level (over 4000 jurisdictions), and data continues to change daily, the most accurate up to the minute picture is obtained by looking county by county. The Stanford-MIT Healthy Elections Project is an excellent resource for up-to-date information on elections, including highlighting key counties where the need for poll workers is still a focus.
“The public’s spirited response to the nationwide call for poll workers has been gratifying to see. We are hopeful that we’re recruiting a new generation of poll workers who will serve this fall and continue to do so in elections for years to come.”
Clearly, the recruitment task this year has been monumental, including the time and costs in training and retaining these new volunteers so that they actually show up on election day, ready to handle what comes their way. But the progress has been remarkable. September 1 was National Poll Worker Recruitment Day, sponsored by the EAC, and the overall effort is paying off, due in large part to major outreach efforts by local election officials and various democracy organizations. Near the end of September, Power the Polls, a nonpartisan umbrella group for recruitment efforts, told CNN that 500,000 volunteers (double their original goal) had signed up since their recruitment began in June. And this week, that number is now close to 685,000. Their efforts have been bolstered by some large corporations like Target and Old Navy, who have encouraged their employees to step up.
Power the Polls relies heavily on data researched and collected by the nonpartisan Fair Elections Center. Work Elections, a project of the Fair Elections Center, provides county by county information on poll workers needed, the requirements of volunteers, and the application itself, making it easier for elections officials and volunteers to connect. A bonus is that, as more young people join the poll worker ranks, there is the opportunity for this to become a lifelong civic commitment for these engaged individuals. Ryan Pierannunzi, at Work Elections, stated “The public’s spirited response to the nationwide call for poll workers has been gratifying to see. We are hopeful that we’re recruiting a new generation of poll workers who will serve this fall and continue to do so in elections for years to come.”
Even though the crisis deficit appears to have been resolved in a number of states, there is still a need in many counties. Illness, jobs, and personal matters are expected to affect the actual numbers of volunteers who will actually show up on election day. Last-minute cancellations are to be expected in any voluntary recruitment effort, but given the vagaries of the pandemic environment, including a community-wide outbreak just before election day, larger numbers are clearly needed.
Most critical of all may be the need for poll workers in some swing state counties. According to NPR this past week, there are still poll workers needed in Pennsylvania, especially in urban areas like Philadelphia, still several thousand short, where a drop in poll workers could cause closing of polling places that could disproportionately affect communities of color. Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar, along with others, has been a champion for a new generation of poll workers, speaking out repeatedly for resources and funding to protect the right to vote in all communities. She praises LeBron James for the work of his organization, More Than a Vote, which is recruiting poll workers in predominantly Black districts. “By making sure that polling locations — including those giant NBA arenas — are fully staffed, we can protect the right to vote in all neighborhoods,” she said. Recruitment efforts are underway by many others, including Bob LaRocca, executive director of the Voter Protection Corp, a nonpartisan group working to recruit poll workers in Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Arizona, and Texas.
The bottom line is a hopeful one. While the pandemic landscape is still unpredictable and the task has been an ongoing challenge, Understanding that there will be real problems in some place, the waves of new poll workers of all ages stepping up across the country may be one tribute to the resiliency of our election process after all. | https://medium.com/election-issues-spotlight/poll-workers-on-election-day-a-crisis-overcome-f712f958ad38 | ['Harvard Ash Center'] | 2020-10-22 12:42:31.095000+00:00 | ['Harvard', 'Elections', 'Democracy', 'Voting', 'Election Day'] |
Speaking with charts — COVID-19 data | Speaking with charts — COVID-19 data
It has been almost a year since the onset of the pandemic. During this time, I am sure that each one of us would have gone through a multitude of changes, both personally & professionally. As we enter the new year (2021), let us hope that things change for the better.
For data enthusiasts, more time gives more data. Now that we have one year’s covid-19 data, it will be interesting to analyze how the pandemic has been behaving across different countries. As the saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words’, let us start looking at the data through some visualization charts.
We will be using the seaborn & matplotlib in Python to create the plots. Code snippets are added below as a reference. Please refer to the git path provided at the end to get access to the complete code.
COVID-19 Word Data
The data provided by the Johns Hopkins University is used in this case study. Details are provided at the end. For this case study, the data was downloaded on 2nd Jan 2021.
Data Preprocessing
The input COVID data files contain the no. of cases in a country for each day starting from 22nd Jan 2020. The files are split as confirmed cases, recovered cases, and death cases.
Sample raw data looks like below
Table by the author. Raw data — confirmed cases
Table by the author. Raw data — confirmed cases
The below code snippet is to read any of these raw data files and do the preprocessing. Following is done
Read the raw data file Keep only the required rows & columns Create simplified dataframes from this data - ordered by country and ordered by date.
3 dataframes are created after running the code on the input file
Sample output: confirmed cases ordered by country (Table by Author)
Sample output: confirmed cases ordered by date (Table by Author)
Sample output: raw data with the total count added (Table by Author)
The above dataframes are samples for the confirmed cases datafile. Similar dataframes are created with the recovered & death data files. The individual dataframes are then merged to get the data for Confirmed, Recovered & Death in a single dataframe.
Once the simplified dataframes are created, we are ready to start exploring the data by plotting some data visualization charts.
Data Visualization
Which is the safest continent?
Image by Author
Europe has the most number of confirmed cases with 28.5% of the total cases reported globally
Australia looks to be the safest place currently with 0.1% of the total reported cases
How quickly do the cases spread across countries?
Here the top10 countries are identified based on the total no. of reported cases. The day the first case was reported for each of these countries is considered as day 1.
The rate at which the cases have grown in each of these countries are compared.
Image by Author
As seen in the graph, the growth of cases has been steepest in the USA followed by India. For countries like Germany, UK, Spain, the rate at which the cases have grown looks to be under better control. But this could also be due to the higher population in countries like USA & India.
Monthly cases reported in Top 10 Countries
Next, we will compare the growth of cases in the top 10 countries month on month.
Image by Author
Here we plot the heatmap using the log normalization on the no. of cases. This is due to the high number of cases being reported in the top couple of countries that prevents us from analyzing the progression in other countries. Using the log-scale makes the chart more readable.
As can be seen from the heatmap, the rate of growth is high in the US followed by India and Brazil.
How has the week been?
We can analyze the data for the last week by comparing the no. of confirmed, recovered and death cases reported each day.
Image by Author
Northern America or Latin America? Where are more cases being reported?
The data is available at the sub-region level. Analyzing this data gives an idea of how the cases are distributed across different regions.
Image by Author
Cases reported over the last year
The data from 3 different input files are merged and ordered by date. This can be used to get an overview of the cases, both on daily basis and with the cumulative count.
Image by Author
Image by Author
Some of the fluctuations seen in the spikes are due to the data corrections that happen (Eg: 14th Dec 2020)
The daily cases show some rise & fall in the reported counts. It will be interesting to check if there is any seasonality based on the day of the week. This could also depend on how each country reports the no. of cases (daily basis or beginning of a week or end of a week).
Conclusion
Using the visualization charts it is possible to derive several insights into the data. In this article, we covered some of the basic visualizations. A lot more analysis and insights can be derived using this data.
Data Source & Code
The data is updated regularly and the latest dataset can be downloaded from the below link.
World: https://data.humdata.org/dataset/novel-coronavirus-2019-ncov-cases
time_series_covid19_confirmed_global_iso3_regions.csv
time_series_covid19_deaths_global_iso3_regions.csv
time_series_covid19_recovered_global_iso3_regions.csv
Feel free to download the latest dataset as of today and start exploring.
The code to convert the raw data and generate the above charts is available here: https://github.com/Lakshmi-1212/Covid19_EDA
Disclaimer
The scope of this article is limited to reading the raw data and creating some basic visualization charts from it. This is only for educational purposes and not intended to make any conclusions/predictions on the situation. | https://medium.com/codex/speaking-with-charts-covid-19-data-b4ea49c6f1a8 | ['Lakshmi Ajay'] | 2021-01-09 04:26:03.994000+00:00 | ['Covid 19', 'Eda', 'Charts', 'Exploratory Data Analysis', 'Data Visualization'] |
The Connection, Reflection and Injection | EVERY OCCASION, EVERY MOMENT, is held by a string. Puppets to our own soul. Who’s the ventriloquist on this quest? We won’t know. Only the rationalists will know the true walkway to maneuvering a connection with an outsider. One way streets only go right if you think about it. This, what is “this”?, it’s a stimulant. A high. That evaporates like the words that roll off their tongue. An expression of reaction, scorched with the power of doubt, sorrow and turmoil.
That’s the preface.
We are built like a place of worship, if only our minds could produce the gilt and glamor of our external presence. How do we break down a new relation when our own ego is only a foundation, not having a metaphorical roof will lead to a lost gap inside the stage you are perceiving. If we only could illustrate the code to soul, love and simplicity, I think we would have a better insight on what it means to be human. A connection must not be taken for granted, it must always turn into a helpful word to better the mind. Sort out the beneficial views and run to the sun with them. Cherish it with no weight on your shoulders. Petals only fall when things need to regrow. Remember that. A connection is a new wave of aiding a soul to their highest potential regardless of the outcome.
What does a mirror do? It gives back. Find the mirror inside your heart and character. Treat the reflection of a yourself like the stars in the sky. Go to a place of contentment, not with a figure, by with just yourself. Invest in knowing who you are, inside and out. It’ll help the rebirth of hidden gems that we all struggle to locate. Paint, create something, enrich the knowledge of not only who you are, but who we are as people. Seek friendship, fall heir to something that gives you direction. Spill your feelings on a blank canvas, drive to the edge of the earth and watch the waves crash up against you. Accept that it’s all going to become clear, but the timeframe on when, is based on you. This could be a letter written to myself, in third person of course. Maybe it is, or maybe it’s for the people that need to hear this. Drafted in script.
A symbolic meaning to the feeling of being absorbed in thought. Injection, from a needle that you share meals with, talk to, and laugh with. What if I’m not describing another person? What if that needle is just yourself? Dread, and worry coursing through your veins because of the lost thoughts of these cold sweats. Everyone you meet doesn’t have to end in a loss for self-confidence. It should add to the foundation blocks of making you better. Ego trips are healthy if you know how to govern them. Take time. Grow. Water yourself. Laugh, cry, we don’t have much time here. Make the best of it for you, not for anyone else. Try new things. Learn, dive into a world that is unknown. You might strike gold for the soul. We can hope.
These three words of affirmation are the sharp truth in searching for yourself.
DW | https://medium.com/@greenboard747/the-connection-reflection-and-injection-fc619913c6c3 | [] | 2020-12-17 14:52:45.643000+00:00 | ['Helpful Tips', 'Humanity', 'Life Lessons', 'Feelings', 'Connection'] |
Why Are So Many Millionaires Buying Private Jets? | The ‘tremendous’ tax changes
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017
I’m sure you’ve heard of this act before. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 lowered income taxes by a few percent for all income brackets and cut the corporate tax rate down to 21%.
The TCJA was intended to help boost the economy in multiple ways, and that includes changes to the way specific expenses can be deducted. One of those changes is called bonus depreciation.
Bonus Depreciation
Usually, when a business purchases a piece of equipment, the depreciation cost is amortized (spread across multiple years) until its end-of-life date. With bonus depreciation, companies are allowed to expense 100% of the cost of certain assets. This was previously 50%.
CARES Act of 2020
The CARES Act of 2020 was one of the largest spending packages passed in US history and for understandable reasons. This was passed to stimulate the rapidly declining economy.
Specific tax relief programs were put in place to help businesses stay afloat. Of course, there will always be individuals who take advantage of this aid and use it for their own personal gain.
One important part of the CARES Act was the allowance of net operating loss carryback.
Net Operating Loss (NOL) Carryback
Net operating loss is calculated using adjusted gross income - deductions. When you have a net operating loss, you are now allowed to “carryback” any additional loss to the previous year’s profits. This wasn’t allowed under the TCJA but was changed with the passing of the CARES Act. | https://medium.com/@ryanjf/why-are-so-many-millionaires-buying-private-jets-aa9520105f52 | ['Ryan Fulton'] | 2020-12-14 18:40:05.821000+00:00 | ['Money', 'Politics', 'Taxes', 'Finance', 'Economy'] |
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"Only invest money that you can afford to lose" | https://medium.com/@k.pongsametrey/get-instant-200trx-free-register-here-https-trx-tronvips-com-m-reg-php-t-xtrx10660132-1f71546abb10 | ['K. Pongsametrey'] | 2021-05-03 03:59:25.416000+00:00 | ['Smart Contracts', 'Trx', 'Tronvips', 'Tronipay', 'Trx Defi'] |
Uncovering The Hidden Significance Behind The Hawaiian Fish Hook Necklace | Every custom made Hawaiian jewelry is believed to have a hidden meaning pertaining to the ancient time. That is why this Hawaiian Jewelry is well retained by its natives who pass on its significance to the next generations. And, such is the significance of a fish hook necklace also.
Image Courtesy: Living Aloha Creation
The Hawaiian fish hook necklace is commonly known as Makau. As its design suggests, this handmade Hawaiian Jewelry symbolizes a connection between the wearer and the ocean. The jewelry is a symbol of energy, strength, prosperity, abundance, and good luck. Since the ancient Hawaiian livelihood was very much dependent on the ocean waters, so, the fish hook necklace signifies a deep respect and love towards the oceans.
As per the ancient Hawaiian belief, it also signifies that once it is worn, the fish hook becomes a part of the wearer’s spirit. Hence, on being handed over to anyone in the wearer’s family, it establishes a sacred, spiritual link between the closed ones and bridges the gap between time and distance. Therefore, this handmade heirloom Hawaiian Jewelry forms a very integral part of a family throughout the generations.
Besides, signifying the great reverence of the Hawaiians for the sea/ocean waters, the Hawaiian fishermen, especially anglers, are wearing this fish hook necklace since the ancient times. This signifies the strength and determination that a fisherman needs for a good catch. According to a Hawaiian tradition, the jewelry has sustained and thus, saved many lives in the past by providing a great catch. It is also believed to have fished up many Hawaiian Islands.
Also, Makau is considered to be a symbol of good luck and prosperity. Perhaps, this is the reason why it is worn by captains, mates, and especially travelers to ensure a safe journey. At present, this custom made Hawaiian Jewelry is often gifted as a good luck charm to the travelers, tourists, anglers, and the non-anglers. Many even wear it just as a fancy adornment.
The pendant of the fish hook necklace is carved out of jade, bone or wood. Usually made from the bone of water buffalo, the Hawaiian bone fish hook necklace is also known as carabao. This is most commonly worn by the Hawaiian natives. One of the most cherished features of this handmade Hawaiian Jewelry is that the white in color bone necklace when worn, it will gradually absorb the body’s natural oil. And, with time, it develops a honey golden hue. It is believed that the more the pendant absorbs the body oil, the more golden it turns and hence, the greater is its treasure value. What a surreal beauty this Hawaiian Jewelry is!
Similar Link: Handmade Hawaii Jewelry: The Taste Of Allure For A Trendy You!
At present, the fish hook necklace is worn as a beautiful adornment carved out of Koa wood with linings of sterling silver to make it more appealing. Though with the advancement of time, the traditional Hawaiian fish hook necklace has got a bit modern touch in its design and carvings yet it has managed to treasure the ancient Hawaiian meaning behind it. Its significance and purpose still remain the same. Perhaps this has what helped the Hawaiians to keep their Aloha spirit alive. | https://medium.com/@Livingalohacreation/uncovering-the-hidden-significance-behind-the-hawaiian-fish-hook-necklace-670f210f0fee | ['Living Aloha Creation'] | 2018-07-08 16:09:55.041000+00:00 | ['Jewelry', 'Fashion', 'Shopping'] |
A Cryptographic asset management system | What is Cloud 2.0?
The Cloud Wallet version 2.0 is a fully distributed wealth management digital wallet that integrates all blockchain cryptographic assets into one platform. Powered by the state of the art blockchain 4.0 technology, Cloud 2.0 is equipped with a comprehensive toolset that enables users to not only secure all transactions but also store, earn, and spend cryptocurrency anytime, anywhere. To prioritize the security of users’ assets, the wallet has undergone various compression tests and is protected by powerful anti-theft technology to maintain the security and integrity of a user’s digital assets.
The decentralized nature of blockchain is one of the differentiating factors which makes it a leading technology and constitutes the system’s security — which is why Cloud Wallet Version 2.0 has leveraged the 4th generation blockchain technology to support multiple digital currency storage and perform speedy transactions. The advanced technology distributes information across different networks via nodes, enabling cross-chain encryption trading and payments.
Designed by a team of highly-skilled blockchain developers, Cloud 2.0 creates a unique, multi-faceted platform empowering users to experience the benefits of the blockchain 4.0 technology through its easy-to-navigate mobile interface. The features of the platform are summarized below:
Cloud 2.0: A Diverse Ecosystem at Your Fingertips
Cloud 2.0 is more than just a wallet or an AI trading bot. It is an ecosystem connecting all users to shape a wealthy society and empowers individuals as well as organizations to utilize digital assets in a variety of ways — all through the app itself.
Cloud OTC — collect profits and purchase different cryptocurrencies on the Ribbons DEX (Decentralized Exchange)
CloudSIM — obtain the multi-functional global data sim by using your profits
CloudRedeem — manage and redeem rewards and deals at participating outlets and service providers
CloudTravel — liquidize digital assets for the array of travel essentials offered
Cloud Merchant Program — build sustainable wealth for businesses
CloudChat — An in-app anonymous community where members and teams connect to discuss and interact
Atomic Swap — exchange cryptocurrencies seamlessly
Cloud 2.0: An Economic System
Seeking to provide true financial freedom through the integrated social and wealth management ecosystem, Cloud Wallet delivers a continuous wealth-building environment for individuals and works to address the inequality of the current financial system. Cloud 2.0 is capable of changing and contributing to the betterment of one’s lifestyle by unleashing the full potential of the underlying blockchain technology as well as the use of digital assets.
Ronald Aai, one of the masterminds of Cloud 2.0, explains the power of blockchain and the long-term economic plan of Cloud 2.0 below:
“What exactly is the blockchain? In layman terms, it’s a system that keeps you informed of the whereabouts of your money at all times. This stands in contrast to current banking systems, whereby the whereabouts of your deposited money is unknown. Most would assume the money remains in their bank account, but in reality, your assets are lent to businesses who in return, repay interest to the bank. Businesses use your money to pay tax to the government based on the profit generated, which means your money is in the hands of the government. Given the current economic situation, most businesses are unfortunately failing. This could mean that you may lose your assets anytime as the government could bail out the banks that have lent out your money to businesses.”
“With the introduction of the revolutionary blockchain technology, it’s safe to say that its decentralized and transparent nature has eliminated our fear of the unknown. Compelled by the potential opportunities of blockchain, Cloud 2.0 has implemented the technology to not only help people store their assets securely but also earn rewards by simply storing assets within the wallet. This act is known as “compound financing” and it is exactly what banks are attempting to achieve, i.e generating sustainable yield for the people. The idea is for users to collateralize the vested tokens, the yield is returned to the users to be spent on local businesses. This would facilitate a healthy economic and financial market cycle by generating more tax yields which benefit both the people and the government.”
“The traditional way of thought implies that when people are wealthy they spend more, and in return contributes to the betterment of the national economy. However, this is not exactly true. For that to happen, spendings must be performed within the local economy for it to benefit the country. How do we ensure that society is empowered to spend and stimulate the local economy? The answer lies in the following logic: Most of the working population pays taxes. By converting tax into tokenized collateral, which can then be used by the government to return to the people. The collateral can be used by the people to shop at local businesses, which in turn can use the collateral to deduct their taxes. This way, the government will not be losing any income and hence, can create a higher GDP. Cloud 2.0 is currently hard at work with government agencies to launch this comprehensive plan.”
To summarize, the cutting-edge blockchain 4.0 technology underpinning Cloud 2.0 is integrated with advanced Artificial Intelligence (AI) and online technology to foster a stable, long-term ecosystem capable of benefiting individuals, families, communities, and even countries. The vision is well underway with various features of the Cloud Wallet version 2.0 already being executed all across Southeast Asia. Further down the line, the development of Cloud 2.0 is set to greatly contribute to the development of nations and transform the economic system. Be part of the future, be part of Cloud 2.0. Download the app today!
For more information, please visit www.cloudtokenwallet.com.
A brief introduction of Ronald Aai:
Ronald Aai, the face of Cloud 2.0, is the mastermind of the formation of Cloud 2.0 and is responsible for the technical and programming aspects of the project.
Ronald has been a serial entrepreneur in the technology field for twenty-five years. In the early days of his career, Ronald has successfully built several online businesses and generated new technologies for social media, payments, mobile wallets, mobile phones, telecommunications systems, games, and blockchain technologies.
Born in the year of 1977 in Malaysia, Ronald Aai was exposed to programming under the influence of his father. At just the age of 15, he was invited to write the first version of antivirus software for DOS. At 19, Ronald Aai developed an online social networking system in just 6 months which quickly reached 350,000 members. This system was subsequently sold to a well-known Malaysian company.
His skills and achievement continued to grow his career. Ronald was hired by a technical agency cooperating with the Malaysian Ministry of Defense (MINDEF) to develop an enterprise resource planning system (ERP — Enterprise Resource Planning) based on UNSPSC (The United Nations Standard Products and Services Code). Amidst handling major projects, Ronald managed a huge team in developing Material Requirements Planning (MRP) at Perodua, Malaysia’s largest car manufacturer.
At the beginning of the 21st century, his in-depth knowledge and expertise of mobile devices led Ronald Aai to international opportunities in Argentina and South Korea as well as to the best software engineers at Samsung, Sewon, and LG, where he quickly familiarized with internal research even before the smartphone was launched to the official market.
A few years later, he worked with Danish engineers on the development of chipsets for Skyworks, Sagem, and Wavecom. Later in 2003, he became the Director of Technology responsible for the software and hardware design for a large mobile phone manufacturer in Shenzhen, China, and introduced more than 20 templates in one year for major cell phone manufacturers such as Sony and Motorola.
In 2004, Ronald established a smartphone and software-producing business, Maxitech. The company was well recognized for its exceptional achievements in the technological field and won various awards across the United States and Asia. Maxitech successfully attracted over 50 million users of the virtual gaming console platform, which was then acquired by Corous360 Pte Ltd based in Singapore.
In the year 2017 in Singapore, Ronald and his team created a mobile technology-focused company, Bit Beta Pte Ltd. The Bit Beta system is a revolutionary technology based on the fourth-generation blockchain which is shared by all network participants. It is the only ultra-fast blockchain network in the world for mobile devices (smartphones, IoT devices, etc.).
Ronald Aai is now fully engaged in the Cloud 2.0 project, focusing on bringing the breakthrough platform to the forefront of the technological and economic world. | https://medium.com/@cloudtoken621/a-cryptographic-asset-management-system-97713cf65fd8 | [] | 2020-05-05 10:09:02.910000+00:00 | ['Cloud Token', 'Cryptocurrency', 'Bitcoin', 'Cloud Token Wallet', 'Cryptography'] |
Outlier — ¡Inscríbete para ser un ponente! | Sign up for The 'Gale
By Nightingale
Keep up with the latest from Nightingale, the journal of the Data Visualization Society Take a look | https://medium.com/nightingale/outlier-inscr%C3%ADbete-para-ser-un-ponente-3231d46484da | ['Mollie Pettit'] | 2020-10-16 16:12:04.418000+00:00 | ['Community', 'Outlierconference', 'Data Visualization', 'Dataviz', 'Conference'] |
Latest picks: In case you missed them: | Sign up for The Variable
By Towards Data Science
Every Thursday, the Variable delivers the very best of Towards Data Science: from hands-on tutorials and cutting-edge research to original features you don't want to miss. Take a look. | https://towardsdatascience.com/latest-picks-3-types-of-contextualized-word-embeddings-from-bert-using-transfer-learning-75cec368c97a | ['Tds Editors'] | 2021-01-14 14:28:32.789000+00:00 | ['Editors Pick', 'Towards Data Science', 'The Daily Pick', 'Data Science', 'Machine Learning'] |
The Choice to Heal | To anyone who has suffered from any type of trauma, we know that healing is a journey. Yet it takes so many different routes to get to our destination. I believe that healing does not come from a book, a therapist, support groups, family members, friends or medication. These can all be different road maps leading destination. However, healing comes from a desire:
● the desire to be better,
● the desire to improve yourself and your life,
● the desire to get past the pain,
● the desire to leave what is not beneficial to your health behind and move forward.
The ability and capability to heal is within you. By using external aids, such as those mentioned above can be great resources. Unless you truly desire it, that healing is impossible to attain even with that much help at your fingertips. Think about this for a second, can rehab save someone with an addiction unless that person is fully ready to commit to giving up whatever they are addicted to? So I ask you, are you ready to give yourself permission to heal?
M.V.
www.thpnj.org | https://medium.com/@theharmonyplacenj/the-choice-to-heal-69f358b6be46 | ['The Harmony Place'] | 2019-03-18 18:02:22.245000+00:00 | ['PTSD', 'Growth', 'Life Lessons', 'Healing From Trauma'] |
What is the difference between Git and GitHub? | What is the difference between Git and GitHub? pandaquests Follow Oct 4 · 2 min read
Often new programmers confuse Git and GitHub. Both are used by software developers on a daily basis. These two are complementary, but they are not the same. In this article I’ll explain the main difference between these two, so you’ll never confuse them ever again.
Photo by Luke Chesser on Unsplash
Git
Git is a software to manage different version of your code. These functionality is also called version control or source code management. It runs locally on your computer as a command line tool, i.e. you typically interact with it via the terminal, even though there exists plenty of Git clients in order to make working with Git more convenient.
Git is not the only tool for version control or source code management. Besides Git you have Subversion (SVN), Mercurial, CVS, etc.
Here is a list of different version control software.
GitHub
GitHub is a web service where you can upload your code repository. As a web application it provides a web interface with buttons, textboxes, etc. that you can use to interact with it. It provides functionalities of Git and also some of its own.
Besides GitHub there are also other similar web services, for example: GitLab, BitBucket, SourceForge, etc.
Here is a list of GitHub alternatives.
Summary
Below I list the main differences between GitHub and Git
Do you have any questions? Did I miss anything? Share your thoughts and comment below | https://medium.com/javascript-in-plain-english/what-is-the-difference-between-git-and-github-23fc6ac62b13 | [] | 2020-10-04 19:14:30.839000+00:00 | ['Version Control', 'Git', 'Software Engineering', 'Software Development', 'Github'] |
The Reflection of Home Training 🇳🇬 | “Home Training” This means a lot to any growing child in my days. It’s relative, and passes some important messages.
It's cross-gender and not bias of our age class. Once spoken, it activates a reset button and queries your moral standards all the way home.
Though the language was abused and replaced as an insult for some derogatory remarks. But the actual logic behind it was pure Reset!
The home is the first institution of a state. It gives you an idea of who an individual is, the values they posses and how best you can place your sense of judgement on their potentials or more.
No matter how far we journey to other countries around the world, we’re identified by our origin before other virtues or disciplines present itself for recognition.
The home is a huge determining factor of early successes. Though proven methodologies can argue this further but the home represents a huge part of our lives. If you’re making a decision to start a family, ensure the foundation is solid because of your seeds.
If you think 🇳🇬 is not good enough and you represent an origin of this land, you may consider choosing your words wisely to international communities or your friends on social media.
The Home places a remarkable role in our lives. Let’s protect it!💪 | https://medium.com/@arijekenny_10016/the-reflection-of-home-training-705e45a79311 | ['Kehinde Arije'] | 2020-12-05 17:58:33.445000+00:00 | ['Protect', 'Nation Building', 'Home', 'Training', 'Nigeria'] |
If You’re Out of Shape, You’re Lucky | If You’re Out of Shape, You’re Lucky
A new way to look at exercise
Photo by lucas Favre on Unsplash
Exercise isn’t about the far-off goal of being a “fit” person. Exercise is about the very real goal of feeling better, today.
I’ve heard many people say it, from Matthew McConaughey to Joe Rogan:
“Break a sweat every day.”
Beginners Have the Advantage of Time
If all it takes to break a sweat is a jog around the block, then that’s all you have to do.
Eventually, you will need to go farther and farther to really get your heart beating, but that’s not something you have to worry about right now. Right now, all you have to do is break a sweat every day.
I have always hated running. I finally realized it was because I was doing it all wrong. I tried to run way too fast, way too early. I thought about the long-term goals of being a “runner.” I bought a bunch of fancy running shit and then gave up 2 weeks later.
Now I love running. Daily running can be as slow as I want it to be. As long as I work up a little sweat, I know that my mood will be elevated for the rest of the day. That’s the result that I use to motivate myself — not losing weight or getting healthy. Those are just too far off.
Just 7 Minutes
At the beginning of my journey, running literally 7 minutes would be enough to have me huffing and puffing. I would stop there, go inside, and enjoy my endorphins for the rest of the day. I didn’t realize until much later how lucky I was in the beginning stages. Back then, it took so little to improve my mood, I could do it in under 10 minutes.
True, now I enjoy exercise so much that I am happy to do it for 40 minutes or more, but nothing beats the 7-minute mood boost of being a totally out of shape person. If you’re currently this out of shape, I envy you. You could go outside right now, run for a little over 5 minutes, and improve your mood for the rest of the day.
We Evolved to Move
For millions of years, when something made us anxious, we moved our bodies. It wasn’t until very recently that something like an email could cross our path, cause us massive anxiety, and we had no reason to run or attack.
The long-term result is chronic anxiety. We never shake off our feelings, literally. They stick with us day and night, and we suffer a mental breakdown. The antidote is so simple that I ignored it for most of my life. Exercise.
I ignored it not only because it was simple, but also because I thought I was too late. I wasn’t an athlete. I wasn’t a runner. I didn’t want to start. If I could go back and talk to my younger self, I would tell him how lucky he was to be a beginner. It’s so easy to shake off a day’s worth of anxiety when you’re in terrible shape. Just run around the block!
It’s Not A Competition
If I had done that every single day for years, I would be a much better runner than I am now. That’s the only trick — you have to do it every single day. Actually, have to is the wrong way to think about it. Get to, more like. No one wants to go through their day with anxiety. Exercise is the easiest cure for it.
We just never allow ourselves to start because we think there is some competition and we already lost. The only competition is with ourselves and we only lose if we don’t get a little better each day. It doesn’t have to suck. It can be fun and make us feel good. Why didn’t I know this?
I missed out on a magic pill to end my suffering. I know that anxiety takes all forms and not everyone will cure it through exercise, but it is better than medication for many. I knew this, I just didn’t know how easy it was to implement. I didn’t realize that I just needed to make sure to do a bare minimum every single day.
Avoid the “Exercise Kick” Trap
One of the more counterproductive things I did was get into an “exercise kick.” Often with a friend, we would decide to get in shape. Sometimes it lasted a week, sometimes a year, but it always ended. To feel good, we need to integrate moving our bodies into our normal lives.
I can’t stress this enough — it can be as goddamn easy as you want it to be. Just do it every day. Don’t have far-off goals — just the goal to feel good today. Don’t push too hard, especially in the beginning. | https://medium.com/the-ascent/if-youre-out-of-shape-you-re-lucky-1552a52b3176 | ['Taylor Foreman'] | 2020-12-20 14:01:18.969000+00:00 | ['Progress', 'Lifestyle', 'Life', 'Exercise', 'Motivation'] |
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Contact us to learn the details: [email protected] | https://medium.com/serenity-project/serenity-partnership-program-3476edb5a122 | ['Serenity Financial'] | 2019-07-22 14:21:20.566000+00:00 | ['Ethereum Blockchain', 'Forex Trading', 'Ethereum', 'Blockchain'] |
Linda’s Last Flight | Photo by Wesley Tingey on Unsplash
He’d started the letter to his brother twice now. He opened the bottle of Southern Comfort an hour ago and already it was half gone.
Jesse Wagner lived in a squalid ground floor apartment so old the floorboards were the color of dirt. He never cared much about the place. It didn’t matter to him where he lived, he was out on the road most of the time.
Normally.
None of it mattered now anyway.
Jesse took another long pull from the bottle before shrugging into his coat and heading out the door. He needed to buy some more before the liquor store closed. He made his way down the uneven sidewalk not caring how steady his walk appeared to passers-by.
None of it mattered now anyway.
Shep was behind the counter when Jesse finally made his way down the street and into the distressed storefront. He bought another bottle of Southern Comfort and added a bottle of Scotch. Shep raised an eyebrow but didn’t say anything as he wrapped the bottles up in paper bags and handed them over. Jesse recognized two other men loitering off to one side but said nothing. Usually, he enjoyed his trips down to the store when Shep was there and had spent more than one long afternoon in the company of the other customers there. But today Jesse said nothing and the other men treated him with arm’s length compassion, watching him quietly as he skulked out the door and into the early evening street. No one had said much to Jesse since he’d returned from the bike show.
Since the accident.
Four days earlier he and his girlfriend, Linda, had jumped onto Jesse’s bike for the ride back into the city after spending a weekend at a camping site along with dozens of other bikers. The weekend had been drenched in alcohol and laughter. The show had been a particularly good one and Jesse had been relieved to see Linda laughing more than once, something she hadn’t done in the months preceding the rally. Jesse had tried to get her out of her funk several times, but no dice. She kept insisting she was fine, that she was just distracted.
Jesse let himself back into his apartment and tossed his keys onto the nicked wooden table inside the door. He shuffled back to the wooden bench he used as a worktable and sat down, placing the bag down with a heavy thud and staring out the window. Linda loved sunsets. Often, they’d wander the streets together as the sun went down, circling the sprawling city blocks well into the night. Jesse sighed again and rubbed his red-rimmed eyes with a shaky hand. He realized his first bottle of Southern Comfort was empty and he set about opening the one he’d just brought home. Once he had the cap off and another pull, he got out a piece of paper and, for the umpteenth time that day, started the letter to his brother.
The brothers had been born to a tough woman who’d grown up in the dusty slums of West Virginia before moving to the gritty streets of Detroit. She’d named both her sons after famous outlaws, christening them Jesse James and William Hickock Wagner. They’d been a surly pair as youths, graduating from terrorizing neighborhood girls with worms and snails to terrorizing them with fast cars and fistfights. Jesse had elected to go to a Vo-Tech school and had fallen in love with mechanics, eventually earning a degree and securing steady, albeit hard, work in a local garage. William, called Billy by most, had never lost his love of crime, the temptation of an easy buck proving too strong too often. He was currently serving a three year stretch in prison for a botched burglary he’d carried out in a drunken stupor. He had no idea what had happened.
Linda and Jesse had met soon after he’d landed his job. She had come in to have her bike tuned up and she and Jesse had gone off together to a rally two weeks later. As they were getting ready to leave it began to rain. Jesse had his leather jeans but Linda hadn’t brought any and the prices the vendors were selling them for were nothing short of highway robbery. Linda had solved the problem by wrapping her jeans in several thick layers of duct tape. As Jesse watched her rolling the tape over her legs he knew he’d found the woman of his dreams.
That was two years ago.
Jesse took another long drink and began writing.
This past weekend had been perfect. They’d explored the woods together and made love near a small stream they stumbled upon one afternoon. They sat up all night watching the stars and lying happily on the grass. When they were preparing to leave Linda had hugged him tightly, kissing him on the lips and smiling into his eyes. Jesse had been thinking of getting home and into bed.
Jesse had always loved riding with Linda snuggled close behind him, her legs gripping him around the hips, her arms crossed tightly over his chest. She leaned into him until they were almost one person. He never worried about going around tight curves or dodging in and out of traffic when she was on the bike. She leaned with him around turns, tightened her legs around him as they dipped around cars and swerved around trucks. Jesse often got lost in the sensation of her body against his, gripping him tightly, literally holding on for dear life as the needle of his speedometer wavered past 100. Fuel-injected exhilaration, she called it.
As they got on the bike Sunday, he’d felt her hands sliding over the back of his jeans, tucking her fingers quickly into the waistband. Jesse had smiled, happy to feel her soft flesh against him, if only for a moment. As they set off she braced herself around him as she always did, squeezing his body tightly for a moment as the bike roared to life.
Jesse drained the bottle of Southern Comfort down to the quarter mark and steadied his hands. He stood and stretched, walking over to the stereo and flipping it on, letting a stream from the local radio station fill the apartment. He walked into the kitchen and searched for the bag of dry roasted peanuts he knew he had. He finally found them in the refrigerator. He ate a handful without thinking about it as he walked back to the table and sat down again.
Around five miles or so before their exit on the highway, Jesse had felt Linda squeeze him tightly. Her strong thighs pressed against him and her surprisingly strong arms seized him tightly for a moment. Jesse smiled to himself and wished he could return the gesture. He squeezed the accelerator instead, eager to get her home. But then, in an instant, everything changed. He felt Linda’s legs pushing down, felt the resistance of her arms spreading open, and then the bike fishtailing, the sudden absence of weight. A morbid symphony of squealing tires and honking horns exploding behind him.
Jesse managed to control the bike long enough to pull over and throw a desperate glance over his shoulder. Behind him a truck had come to a squealing halt, throwing its back end across the other lane of traffic. Among the cars stopped in front of the truck, stood a small, yellow VW Beetle.
Linda was sprawled across the dented hood and shattered windshield.
Jesse could see nothing else. He stumbled off his bike, letting it crash onto the ground as he made his way through stopped cars and people running towards him. He barrelled through them, shoving them out of the way. By the time he made it to Linda, he could already hear the approaching sirens. He took his helmet off and fell to his knees beside the small car, his chest heaving, his mind blank.
Other motorists gave the description required by police. Linda had launched herself off the bike in one fluid movement, spreading her arms wide and pushing off with her legs. The wind had picked her up and sent her sailing directly into the windshield of Robert Mitchell’s VW Beetle. She’d never looked behind her, never waved her arms. Robert had described it as a bird taking off into flight to the investigators as he shook under the scratchy green blanket an EMT had placed around his shoulders.
Jesse sat with an anxious looking patrolman, watching as medics zipped Linda up into a long, black bag. Eventually, he was taken home in a patrol car, his bike delivered later that day with silent condolences from his boss.
Jesse hadn’t spoken to anyone since the day of the accident and he didn’t feel much like starting anytime soon.
But he wanted to tell Billy what had happened. Linda had sent Billy regular letters updating him about the rallies they went to, complete with pictures. She’d been the one to remember the care packages on his birthday and at Christmas. Jesse wasn’t sure how to tell him those regular acts of thoughtfulness would be ending.
Jesse opened the Scotch. | https://medium.com/@einsteinshrugged-92813/lindas-last-flight-e368a0ac150a | ['Einstein Shrugged'] | 2020-12-09 02:11:46.203000+00:00 | ['Suicide', 'Death', 'Dark Fiction', 'Fiction'] |
Reforms Won’t Save Us | Reformist reforms operate to maintain the status quo and do not address systems fueled by capitalism and white supremacy that does not value all life equally or even at all. The majority of policies implemented in the United States government on a federal, state, county, and local level, whether conservative or liberal, fall under the umbrella of reformist reform. These types of reforms barely scratch the surface of the necessary changes that need to be implemented to address the needs of all people, often leaving those who are already the most vulnerable in a much worse position than before said reforms are implemented. Reformist reforms are often supported by those outside of the affected communities, these methods are quite a lot like trying to heal a gunshot wound with gauze, they do not a deep wound and scarring that capitalist systems have resulted in and allowing the infection to continue to spread, while those who create policy pat themselves on the back for a job well done, and little tangible and sustainable positive change is seen in peoples lived realities. This article addresses several methods of reformist reforms related to gun violence suggested by policymakers and will outline why these methods do not actually address the root cause of gun violence or any social inequities in this nation.
The privatization of prisons has resulted in making the incarceration of humans a lucrative, multi-billion dollar industry, now referred to as the prison industrial complex. The War on Drugs and the positioning of those from under-resourced neighborhoods, usually Black, indigenous, Latinx, immigrant, and poor, as hypervisible and criminalized even though white people commit crimes at around the same rates, laid the foundations for the concept of “superpredators,”, a term used by Hillary Clinton in a now-infamous 1996 speech, to describe inner city mostly Black, mostly young people surviving conditions with little opportunity as a choice. This is a concept that heavily relies on centuries-old racist tropes of savage black men coming for white women and children, which played directly into the deeply conditioned, generationally ingrained fears that white Americans have had for Black people since the founding of this nation. This speech played a significant and foundational role in shaping the current trend towards highly militarized police forces being used to terrorize and criminalize urban communities of color. It also laid the foundation for the zero-tolerance policies that have led to the school-to-prison pipeline, which punishes children in under-resourced communities, instead of investing in their communities to provide adequate education, access to quality healthcare, mental health, social and other services, and support, rather than punishment. Instead, they are corralled into the juvenile and criminal justice systems and criminalized for behaviors that white and socioeconomically privileged children rarely are.
So why would those who profit off of the War on Drugs, which continues devastating communities across the nation with enhanced police militarization and operations, and resulting in the school to prison pipeline in primarily black communities, ever want to stop any of this? Well, they do not, and that is why reformist reforms exist. Rather than address the historical and current economic, and sociopolitical policies that have shaped many urban and other under-resourced communities today, that are subject to continual state violence and disenfranchisement, reform is used as a tool to placate citizens while no substantial or lasting change that betters communities is implemented. As Kay Whitlock writes in the article Endgame: How Bipartisan Criminal Justice Reform Institutionalizes a Right-Wing, Neoliberal Agenda, “about 60 percent of those incarcerated are people of color, mostly Black, Latinx, and Indigenous. The rate of growth for the incarceration of women, particularly Black women, has outpaced that of men. At the intersections of race and class, LGBTQ and gender-nonconforming people, and people with disabilities and mental illness are heavily policed and incarcerated.” (Whitlock) The United States has quickly become one of the most heavily incarcerated nations in the entire world, and when prisons become overpopulated, the solution is more prisons, rather than addressing the complex social, economic and racial issues that are responsible for the rise in prison and incarceration numbers (Ifill 2018). In 2010 Michelle Alexander released the groundbreaking book, The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, and bringing awareness of the epidemic of imprisonment and the predatory nature of the prison industrial complex out of political, academic, and activist circles and into the mainstream public spotlight. Alexander details specifically how private prisons not only profit on the mere incarceration of people, particularly Black people, but how they also utilize those who are incarcerated to provide cheap, nearly free labor for the mass production of products. A new Jim Crow, as she calls it. Many have referred to it as a new version of slavery, as well.
A complete overhaul of the criminal justice system and all systems is necessary. Many policies enacted under the notion of reform resulted in the increase of surveillance in overpoliced communities that are already the primary target of law enforcement and the criminal justice system. Police shootings of unarmed Black civilians have historically been brushed off as a bi-product of high crime rates. The onus of belief has always laid upon the officer, but in recent years, thanks to camera phones, the documentation of police interactions in Black communities has brought to light to society at large, the different police strategies implemented in marginalized communities versus white and more economically resourced communities. By now, all of white America has watched camera phone footage of police murdering numerous Black people who were not armed and posed zero threat. Police violence against Black people has become a form of entertainment for white America, deemed trauma porn by many, it has become fodder for intellectual debate, while no change that ends this state sanctioned violence occurs. Even with camera evidence, the benefit of the doubt is still given to the officer, and any past transgressions of the victims are dug up to convince the American public of why they deserved to die. Black death, pain, sorrow, and trauma is still and has always been entertainment to white America. Much like the lynching parties of the early 20th century, people can now stream these murders right into their phones and homes. Videos of police violence against black people have attained some of the highest views on Youtube and other platforms. But the murders persist, and in the last few weeks we have seen nationwide uprisings around the nation after a wave of more Black death at the hands of law enforcement and white America, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and Tony McDade, all murdered this year, and entire communities have risen up to say, enough. The general lack of trust that Black communities have for law enforcement dates back centuries, with policing being rooted in slavery, but modern day police militarization has taken police brutality and lack of accountability and transparency to a new level.
Advocacy groups such as the ACLU and NAACP, call for police to now be outfitted with body cameras in the field, purporting that it is a method that will promote trust in police officers from those in communities, as well as implement accountability and transparency. The argument is that when monitored, police are more thoughtful in their actions and that less abuse and misuse of their power will occur. There is a great lack of evidence supporting these claims. There are mountains of footage from cases throughout the nation where even with video evidence, from the dash, body cam, or a bystander, police are still not being held accountable for their inhumane actions, one example is the murder of Philando Castille in Minnesota in 2016. Even with video footage, the officer who killed him was acquitted. There are cases all over the nation where officers are not even charged for murdering Black people, even with video evidence. The benefit of the doubt is always given to the officer, and the victims are always criminalized by the media to justify their murder. Adding body cams to the equation will not reduce violence, the only way forward is to create a new system that is holistic in nature and treats all people with compassion and humanity, utilizing a team care approach that includes mental health and addiction specialists, social workers, healthcare, cultural, and spiritual workers help heal, rather than further criminalize communities. Adding more surveillance to already targeted communities will only further fuel the prison industrial complex, it will not protect communities. Instead of further monitoring under-resourced communities that have been subject to generations of racist policies, the goal should be instead to address the social and economic inequities that lead to higher crime rates. The desired goal should be healing and upliftment for communities devastated from generational oppression and violence, not more police, and certainly not more surveillance. The entire system and culture of policing must be dismantled. Officers of the law should act to deescalate, protect and serve, but currently, they act with violence first, then as questions later. This should be a great concern to the public, but we have seen little reform implemented within policing methods at all, and given the communities most impacted by police violence are predominantly low-income communities of color, there isn’t a sense of public urgency that there would be were this impacting white communities at the same rates. These words were written over a year ago, and as I edit and update this article, I am writing from a much different world. One of global pandemic and uprising. There are no excuses anymore, now the whole world knows.
Another topic that ties into this discussion is gun violence in schools. Gun violence in schools has been at the forefront of many political platforms since the shooting at Columbine 20 years ago. We have only seen an upswing in school shootings since. According to the Center for Homeland Security and Defense K-12 Shooting Database, gun violence in schools has been increasing since the late 1980s, in 1987 there were 97 injured or killed due to gun violence in schools, and throughout the 1990s, there have been around 20–70 people injured or killed by gun violence in schools annually. 2017 had the most injured or killed by gun violence since 1997, with 78, and last year there were 165. So in 2019 when this article was written, 31 people had been injured or killed due to gun violence in schools. Tuesday, May 7, 2019, there was yet another school shooting in Colorado (Yan 2019). It is important to note, that while gun violence has been an issue in this nation for decades, the focus has been concentrated on mostly low-income communities of color, even though school shootings have been primarily white students in white communities. Homicides from guns are primarily in cities, with half of all the gun deaths in the US taking place in just 127 cities, and are more prevalent in racially segregated communities, particularly those in economic and social distress. The majority of people killed by gun violence in the US are Black, as Black people are 10 times more likely to be killed by gun violence than white people, with Black men 15 times more likely to be victims of gun violence than white men (Gun Violence in America 2019).
And while there has been a large public outcry for better gun control regulations, the election of Trump and the stance of his administration on this topic has greatly attributed to the lack of action in implementing better regulations. The fact that gun violence still primarily affects communities of color, can also be attributed as to why there has been no movement forward with policy in this respect. Even though the majority of school shootings are in primarily white neighborhoods, the reforms that have been implemented thus far haven’t been effective at reducing gun violence rates nationwide. One of the most troubling reforms that many conservatives have proposed is to arm teachers in the classroom, which is a terrifying thought to anyone with school-aged children, but this is especially concerning for the parents of Black and brown youth. As discussed earlier, behaviors that are often considered part of the coming of age of youth for white children, Black and brown youth are not given the same pass for, and are often punished and criminalized and then placed into the juvenile justice system. In a country where teachers do not approach the behavioral issues of Black and brown youth with the same compassion as they do white children, arming teachers, particularly in communities of color, is a terrifying and dangerous proposal. On May 5, 2019, Time published an article titled, “Black Children Will Be the Victims of Armed Teachers,” corroborating the fears and concerns many parents of Black and brown youth have when sending their youth to institutions of learning. In this article, they provide data from the National Women’s Law Center (NWLC) and the U.S. Department of Education to support the claim of the title. Black girls are suspended more than 5.5 times than white students, while 5% of white boys are handed out of school suspensions, compared to 18% of Black boys. These numbers are alarming. With a president in support of policies that arm teachers, who has spent his entire presidency inciting racist violence, inflaming racial tensions, and further emboldening violent racists, it would be a deadly type of reformist reform to arm teachers in classrooms.
In conclusion, it is not difficult to see the link between the rise in gun violence and the rise in general fear of white Americans, many of whom believe they are becoming a minority and that they actually experience some form of racial oppression themselves. On the flip side, many are still for the most part unbothered by the continued oppression, trauma, and slow genocide of marginalized people in the United States. A change in the old guard is needed and reformist reforms do nothing to actually uplift historically oppressed people, which is absolutely necessary if liberation and self-determination for oppressed people are to ever be achieved. Liberation, unlike equity, is rooted in the idea that the current systems in place cannot be reformed and must be subverted and completely dismantled, allowing for new non-hierarchal, non-hegemonic systems that are truly inclusive, where all life is valued, to arise. Self-determination is the right of all humans to determine their destiny and live in the ways they see fit as long as they are harming no others. This is the way forward. This is the only way a society that is safe, just, and healthy for all can ever truly be achieved. Reform doesn’t and has never led to the path of anyone’s liberation.
References
Gun Violence in America — EverytownResearch.org. (n.d.). Retrieved May 9, 2019, from https://everytownresearch.org/gun-violence-america/
(5) 1996: Hillary Clinton on "superpredators" (C-SPAN) — YouTube. (n.d.). Retrieved May 4, 2019, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0uCrA7ePno
Ariel, B., Sutherland, A., Henstock, D., Young, J., Drover, P., Sykes, J., … Henderson, R. (2016). Report: increases in police use of force in the presence of body-worn cameras are driven by officer discretion: a protocol-based subgroup analysis of ten randomized experiments. Journal of Experimental Criminology, 12(3), 453–463. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11292-016-9261-3
Hedberg, E. C., Katz, C. M., & Choate, D. E. (2017). Body-Worn Cameras and Citizen Interactions with Police Officers: Estimating Plausible Effects Given Varying Compliance Levels. Justice Quarterly, 34(4), 627–651. https://doi.org/10.1080/07418825.2016.1198825
Held, A. (2017). Authorities Release Dashcam Video From Shooting Of Philando Castile : The Two-Way : NPR. Retrieved May 6, 2019, from https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/06/20/533711841/authorities-release-dashcam-video-from-shooting-of-philando-castile
Ifill, S. (n.d.). Black Children Will Be the Victims of Armed Teachers | Time. Retrieved from http://time.com/5186040/sherrilyn-ifill-black-children-classroom/
Whitlock, K. (2017). Endgame: How “Bipartisan Criminal Justice Reform” Institutionalizes a Right-Wing, Neoliberal Agenda | Political Research Associates. Retrieved April 29, 2019, from https://www.politicalresearch.org/2017/06/06/endgame-how-bipartisan-criminal-justice-reform-institutionalizes-a-right-wing-neoliberal-agenda/
Yan, H., & McLean, S. (2019). Suspects in Colorado school shooting make first court appearances — CNN. Retrieved May 9, 2019, from https://www.cnn.com/2019/05/08/us/denver-stem-school-shooting-wednesday/index.html | https://medium.com/@shelaghbrown/reforms-wont-save-us-101a6c46c11a | ['Shelagh Brown'] | 2020-06-18 16:53:03.026000+00:00 | ['Racism', 'School To Prison Pipeline', 'Prison Industrial Complex', 'Criminal Justice Reform', 'Police Brutality'] |
If You Don’t Agree with Me You Are Bad! | If You Don’t Agree with Me You Are Bad!
Stupid is as stupid does, Forrest
Photo by Usman Yousaf on Unsplash
Warning: This article uses strong language. If you don’t want to read that, turn away now.
Living in this world today makes someone want to pull their hair out. Well, those of us that are adults. Those that are older, in case you’re wondering, have a little bit of this thing called life experience. As you grow up in life you start to learn a lot. It is through that learning we come to better understand ourselves. We are living in very dangerous times and if we don’t address it now, we will repeat our sins of the past. It’s time to rethink what we are doing.
Opinions
In this world, all of us have what we are called opinions. We may feel passionate about a certain subject. For example, my favorite music is the blues. I consider this to be the best music on the planet. I listened to old artists such as Muddy Waters, Howling Wolf, Buddy Guy, and so on. Today a lot of people like rap music. I don’t like it. I love blues, soul, and funk music. I’m just not keen on the modern rap style. This music does nothing for me. This is only my opinion.
Your Bad, You Don’t Agree!!
The main reason why this world isn’t so much shit today is that we have lost the ability to agree to disagree.
You like rap music and that is fine. You are free to listen to rap music because I know you enjoy it. I am free to listen to blues music because I enjoy that. That is what it means to have an opinion. Today we have lost the ability to agree to disagree. We try to force our opinions upon someone else.
We automatically expect them to believe what we believe. When they don’t believe what we believe, we force our opinion down their throat. In many cases, this results in violence across the country and around the world. We have decided that our opinion is the only opinion that matters. It is my way or the highway. This is why we are seeing conflict escalating in all areas of our world. We lack the ability to see the other side of an argument. We have gone from reasonable and rational adults to hypersensitive control freaks.
Nazis Everywhere!
I hate to break it to you, but the vast majority of people in America are not Nazis. It is true, there are Nazi groups in America. They’re always been Nazi groups in America, they probably always will be. There will always be people that have that sort of ideology. Now everything is coming up Nazi. There is a Nazi over here, and a Nazi over there. Of course, we can push back against “actual nazis,” but this isn’t everyone!
This word really doesn’t have any meaning today. If America doesn’t fact have 70 million+ Nazis, I’m afraid the country is in a world of shit. They were only around 13.6 million soldiers or so in Nazi Germany in the 1930s and 40s that fought in the Second World War. Not all of these German troops were nazis. We’re using the word Nazi today to label someone that doesn’t agree with us. It’s completely and utterly ridiculous.
Shunning
I love this concept of shunning. Someone has a different opinion and you do whatever you can to destroy their life. Do you know who used to do this? This was done by actual Nazis in Germany in the 1930s or 40s. People today throw around the word Nazi without understanding what the flaming fuck the word means. I think those that are using the word Nazi all the time should actually pick up a book and learn about the real Nazis.
You see, the Nazis took their hatred towards the Jewish people and destroyed their lives. The Jews had different opinions. They crushed their will and spirit to live and eventually took them off to concentration camps where they gassed and killed them. The world didn’t quite know the extent of these atrocities until the later stages of the war when the Allies found these concentration camps. This is where hatred goes. This is where it always goes.
We’ve seen it in other places in the world with ethnic cleansing such as the Bosnia and Herzegovina War. Shunning and de-platforming a person today, may need to do something unspeakable in the future. It doesn’t occur right away. Someone might be persecuted for many years before the unthinkable happens. We start to see people that have different opinions than us as subhuman. We will have right think and wrong think. If you don’t think our world is starting to go this way then I have a bridge to sell you on the River of Denial.
Ending Racism and Hate
Using hatred to end racism and hate will not work. Ignorance and a lack of understanding are the worst things we have in this world. We are kept this way by those that wish to divide us. To end racism and hate we have to use education. We have to educate our population about racism and hate. What we have been doing is de-platforming people that have normal opinions. A lot of these people are not hateful or even racist.
Racism is another word that has lost all meaning. We throw around the word racism without understanding what it even means. Now we think anyone that doesn’t have the same opinion we do is racist. It’s not even actual racist people that are racist, everything today is racist! Things are racist! It really doesn’t matter what opinion someone has people out there will somehow find a way to call it racist. I might as well call America, Nuttersville.
Communicate
We seem to lack the ability to communicate properly with other human beings. Screaming and hollering at each other nonstop will not solve any of our issues in this world.
Stamping your feet and screaming that your opinion is the right one is not going to work. When we are younger, we lack a lot of communication skills because we haven’t done it enough in our lives. There’s a need for all of us to open our hearts and minds and to communicate with those we don’t agree with.
To have a functioning society there has to be some sort of middle ground. It is 100% impossible to have everyone agree with you 24/7. This will never happen and you should never expect it to happen. No country has ever agreed with each other 100%. Everyone has their opinions and we should all feel free to express our opinions.
If we never want to listen to another person, then our future won’t be bright at all. We will always be at odds with each other because we can never agree on anything. I go back to Nazi Germany. They took away the Jewish people’s ability to lead their lives normally. They were shunned and ostracized and eventually they were killed. This is where we are going.
Conclusion
Learn from history or repeat it. I hate to say that we are repeating it.
We have to have mutual agreements or nothing happens. I have to make a contract agreement with my client so that they get writing done and I get paid. If I can’t agree on that contract then my client doesn’t get writing and I don’t get paid. You can take that simple arrangement and apply it to anything in life.
I may have to accept a little bit less money to work with the client. I may also have to convince them to pay me a little bit more because I feel that my writing is worth more than what they are offering. We have to come to some sort of mutual understanding of the work to get done. We are agreeing to disagree even though we have different opinions on the payment for that work.
We have to learn to once more agree to disagree or we will have nothing but absolute chaos. | https://medium.com/i-dont-have-a-lawn-but-get-off-of-it/if-you-dont-agree-with-me-you-are-bad-61da0ef2314b | ['Brian Lamacraft'] | 2020-11-19 18:03:49.361000+00:00 | ['Ignorance', 'Politics', 'Racism', 'Nazis', 'Opinions'] |
Improving the Quality of Education through the Great Teacher Selection Program | pixabay.com
By Ahmad Hidayat, M.Pd
Teachers are the key to the quality of a nation’s education. Teacher is a profession that can awaken a nation that is in decline. A history study occurred when Nagasaki and Hiroshima were devastated by the atomic bomb explosion. Emperor Hirohito immediately gathered all the generals who were still alive, and asked them “How many teachers are left?”. The question certainly confused all the generals. At that moment, Emperor Hirohito thought far ahead. To this day, the teaching profession in Japan is highly respected, they call it “sensei” which means honor.
Japan’s concern and understanding of the strategic role of the teaching profession have made Japan continue to conduct evaluations in improving the quality of their teachers. Thanks to these conditions, Japan is currently one of the countries with the best education in the world. This statement is based on research conducted by the social progress imperative which put Japan in second place regarding the level of basic education worldwide as presented in the social progress index in 2017.
Ho Chi Minh who is the father of the Vietnamese nation said that “No teacher, no education, no education, no economic and social development” means that without teachers there is no education, and without education there is no economic and social development. This statement implies that teachers have an important role in the progress of education and the progress of a nation. Vietnam continues to improve education and improve the quality of teachers. Even the allocation of education funds in Vietnam touches 20% or the same as our country. But amazingly, the quality of Vietnam’s education is able to surpass Indonesia based on 2017 World Bank data.
The commemoration of National Teachers’ Day (November 25) during this pandemic period should certainly be a momentum for policy makers and for all Indonesian people, especially those who are engaged in education to think harder and fight even stronger in facing such a huge challenge. One of the things that must be considered is how to improve teacher quality as an effort to improve the quality of education. The program the writer offers is a great teacher screening program. This program consists of three phases of implementation. The first phase begins when the college accepts student teacher candidates, the author calls it the pre-teacher phase.
The improvement in the government’s attention to the welfare of teachers by allocating large enough education funds has made the public enthusiastic about enrolling their children in the Teaching Faculty or the Tarbiyah Faculty. This phenomenon has occurred in the past few years. Based on data taken from resources.ristekdikti.com in 2017, it is estimated that out of 1.5 million Indonesian students, about 300,000 undergraduate students have graduated from education per year. Meanwhile, the need for teachers is only about 40,000 people per year. This means that there is a serious over supply.
In this pre-teacher phase, the government should set clear standards for prospective teacher students. These standards then serve as a guide for selected universities to determine qualified teacher student candidates. Today many universities or colleges accept teacher students so easily. Meanwhile, candidates for other professions such as Medicine, Police, Army, and even other vocational schools have quite complicated requirements with high levels of intelligence and physical standards. We need to learn from Finland about what is special about teacher students there.
After that, students who have been selected are really well nurtured. Give a new theory of knowledge, which is in line with the projections of 21st century education. Lecturers who teach should not be arbitrary, because it is from them that students learn to become teachers who are full of talent, full of manners and full of knowledge. If the student selection is good, the resulting output will be good. If this is the case, the next phase is the phase when you become a teacher. The author calls this the post-teacher phase.
This phase is the most decisive phase in the success of improving teacher quality. In this phase, teachers are given regular training as a way for them to continue learning. The first training is focused on the interests of students, teachers must be closely supervised when educating students in the first assignments by the competent authority. They are also given directions about building the students’ character as a whole (knowing character, feeling character and action character). Only when they are really ready, let the teacher be independent in teaching, also in learning.
The next training is soft skill training, the first is training on the use of technology in learning. Of course in the future we hope that there will be no more technology-illiterate teachers. The number of evaluations of online teaching and learning activities during this pandemic must be an example so that they do not happen again in the future. The second is writing training (scientific papers, lesson plans, textbooks, or works of fiction). This training is very important for creating teachers who are creative in literacy and express their ideas. And lastly is training to be a good speaker and listener (discussion, seminar or presentation) as a form of educating and opening insights and a means of sharing knowledge.
The last phase is the phase when the teacher has retired. The author calls this the post-teacher phase. In this phase the teachers who have retired are given the opportunity to share with young teachers, as learning and as material for evaluation. Isn’t experience the best teacher? Yes, even though every era has different ways of solving problems, there are always positive values generated from teachers who already have decades of experience. Such is the great teacher screening program. Of course there is no instant for a big change, as in the world of education. Starting from zero then darting, or standing still like this but walking nowhere. Glorious has always been educated in Indonesia. | https://medium.com/@ahmadhidayat421/improving-the-quality-of-education-through-the-great-teacher-selection-program-3f7999d38c04 | [] | 2020-12-01 08:26:25.445000+00:00 | ['Teachers', 'Quality', 'Education'] |
4 FASCINATING FACTS ABOUT HOW BABIES SLEEP | 4 FASCINATING FACTS ABOUT HOW BABIES SLEEP
4 Fascinating Facts About How Babies Sleep? When people use the phrase “sleeping sort of a baby”, they’re probably not being literal, and that’s because new parents are usually tired and exhausted trying to seek out the simplest strategies for getting their little ones to sleep. Emley Amber Mar 3, 2020·4 min read
4-Fascinating-Facts-about-How-Babies-Sleep
While we can’t erase the exhaustion that comes with taking care of a baby, we will assist you to worry a touchless and take some comfort within the incontrovertible fact that some of your baby’s sleep habits aren’t a cause for alarm, but are literally markers of excellent health. These are:
#1 Baby Sleep Style Are Different from Adult Sleep Style.
We adults depend upon circadian rhythms to manage our sleep patterns — that’s, the timing and duration of sleeping hours — but babies aren’t born with a built-in biological clock already ticking.
The rhythm takes time to develop, which is why new child sleep schedules are so erratic and unpredictable. A normal infant won’t have a daily sleep pattern till they’re about 3 to six months old.
Moreover, even after sleep patterns are established, babies will still sleep differently, because they don’t undergo the stages of sleep an equivalent way adults do. We undergo one sleep cycle — from light sleep to paradoxical sleep — every 90 minutes approximately. For babies, it only takes about 50 minutes, and that they don’t catch up to the adult standard until they reach their toddler years.
#2 Babies Are Light Sleepers
You probably know this already, but have you ever asked yourself why?
For one, it’s to try to with those shorter sleep cycles. Infants, particularly newborns, may very well awaken between full cycles, so it’s not such a lot of light sleeping because it is really learning the way to sleep properly.
On top of this, babies spend about the same amount of time in both non-REM (quiet) and REM (active) sleep; compared to adults that spend only about 20% of their slumber in REM sleep.
Deep sleep actually occurs right before paradoxical sleep and is that the last of the three stages of NREM — the opposite two being a part of light sleep.
What does this all mean?
Not only is that the infant sleep cycle shorter, but it also includes a lower percentage of deep sleep.
It can take up to twenty minutes of sunshine sleep before your baby sleeps into a deep slumber, and even then, paradoxical sleep ensues shortly after. This is a part of why they have to sleep so often.
4-Fascinating-Facts-about-How-Babies-Sleep
#3 when it involves Daytime Naps, Every Baby Is Different
Let’s settle this, before doctors and other health professionals get into an uproar. Yes, there are ideal numbers: an honest nap is usually considered to be a minimum of about an hour and a half long. There also are commonly prescribed amounts of naps per day, counting on age range — three to four naps from three to 5 months, two to 3 naps from six to nine months, and up to 2 thereafter and into the toddler ages. Newborns don’t nap, the maximum amount as they need short windows of waking moments, in between sleeping periods of two to four hours at a time throughout the whole day.
Your baby’s actual sleep habits could also be on the brink of this, or completely different — depending on factors like temperament, environment, daily routine, and more.
If your baby’s naps are unusually short, but they nap more often or sleep through the night with relative ease — waking only to feed — that’s fine.
If your baby naps for quite an hour and a half but takes fewer naps overall, that’s fine, too.
What’s most important is the total number of hours spent sleeping in a day — about 11 to 18 hours, depending on the baby’s age.
The point is that your baby hasn’t read the baby books you have, and they don’t understand what their pediatrician says during checkups.
As long as they’re happy and healthy, deviating from standard daytime sleep habits isn’t such an enormous deal.
#4 Babies Process Information and Gain Even During Sleep.
Contrary to what some may believe, babies get tons of sleep. This is good news because sleep influences learning and memory; and if that’s true for adults that spend one-third of their lives asleep, what more for babies that spend up to 75% of their time in slumber? From training themselves to acknowledge their parent’s voices to deciding working non-verbal cues to precise feelings like hunger or pain — and far, much, more — babies learn and test the limits of their environment continuously when they’re awake.
What they examine is then consolidated and bolstered by periods of sleep in between their waking moments. And even though there’s no conclusive proof that learning while sleeping works with adults — most studies on this actually refer to memory reactivation, which requires previous learning while awake — it can actually work with toddlers.
If you battle with your kids sleeping through the night. And would like to know how to get your LO to persistently sleep through the night…
Click here for a short free video that can help point you in the right direction, because it can change and or save your life. | https://medium.com/@everything9805/4-fascinating-facts-about-how-babies-sleep-2ade917b9c6b | ['Emley Amber'] | 2020-03-03 11:11:45.341000+00:00 | ['Newbie', 'Baby', 'Newborn', 'Baby Boomers', 'Babysitting'] |
MongoDB Java Driver for Polymorphism | When using MongoDB with a strong OOP language like Java, it’s a no brainer to want to hack the MongoDB Java Driver to serialize data to different sub-classes of model classes given different shapes of data, because MongoDB doesn’t have a strict schema restriction for a collection, which makes it a perfect match to store data models with polymorphism or inheritance into the same collection. This post will explore into how can we adapt polymorphism to MongoDB Java Driver.
Example
The post will use invoice line items as an example to demonstrate how to achieve polymorphism in MongoDB.
For line item, it always comes with a SKU (Stock Keeping Unit) representing the type of products. When we store line items into a collection, line items with different SKUs might have different shapes. For different SKUs, we might want to store different extra information about the product. For example, if it’s a T-shirt, we’d like to include the size info for the specific item, and we also want to include the expiration date if the item is food. To represent them in Java code, we can either use inheritance or composition. We can achieve both with MongoDB Java Driver, but before we jumping into those 2 directions, I’ll first introduce some common setups for both directions.
Setup
We first need to have a MongoCollection object to access the collection.
Main.java
public class Main {
public static void main() {
MongoCollection<LineItem> collection =
MongoClients.create("mongodb://localhost:27017")
.getDatabase("testdb")
.getCollection("lineItems", LineItem.class)
.withCodecRegistry(getCodecRegistry());
}
}
Note that we need to provide a CodecRegistry object, the getCodecRegistry will look like the following:
Main.java
protected static CodecRegistry getCodecRegistry() {
return fromRegistries(MongoClientSettings.getDefaultCodecRegistry(),
fromProviders(PojoCodecProvider.builder()
.conventions(DEFAULT_CONVENTIONS)
.register(getClassesToRegister())
.automatic(true).build()));
}
The code snippet does the following things:
Set the conventions to use DEFAULT_CONVENTIONS . The DEFAULT_CONVENTIONS has 3 different conventions — we will need 2 of them here: CLASS_AND_PROPERTY_CONVENTION and ANNOTATION_CONVENTION . More documentation for each convention can be found on their respective documentation page: CLASS_AND_PROPERTY_CONVENTION and ANNOTATION_CONVENTION Register other classes that could be used while encoding a LineItem object. It has different implication for inheritance and composition style, so getClassesToRegister will be elaborated for both of them respectively later.
Polymorphism from Inheritance
For inheritance style, the concrete class will contain detailed info for different types respectively. I’ll make the assumption that all different line items will have their special info, thus the following code:
LineItem.java
@BsonDiscriminator(key = "sku")
abstract public class BaseLineItem<T> {
@BsonId
protected ObjectId _id;
@BsonProperty("sku")
protected String sku;
@BsonProperty("quantity")
protected double quantity;
@BsonProperty
protected String unit;
@BsonProperty("info")
protected T info;
public BaseLineItem() {
}
public double getQuantity() {
return quantity;
}
public ObjectId getId() {
return _id;
}
public String getSku() {
return sku;
}
public String getUnit() {
return unit;
}
public T getInfo() {
return info;
}
public void setInfo(T info) {
this.info = info;
}
public void setId(ObjectId _id) {
this._id = _id;
}
public void setQuantity(double quantity) {
this.quantity = quantity;
}
public void setSku(String sku) {
this.sku = sku;
}
public void setUnit(String unit) {
this.unit = unit;
}
}
A few things to note here:
As the base class for line item, @BsonDiscriminator(key = “sku”) needs to be set to let MongoDB Java Driver to know that the sku field will be used to differentiate which sub-class to use. All the fields needs to be saved in the database should be annotated with BsonProperty , and the id field needs to be annotated with BsonId . We also need to define the setters and getters for those fields. An empty constructor needs to be provided; Note that we can’t use BaseLineItem directly for encoding even it’s not abstract . The reason is that the driver can’t use a class with generic for codec. more detail, see the official doc. This actually makes sense, because for a class with generic, it’s easy to insert it into database, but it will have trouble loading the data from the database because the driver doesn’t know which class to use. To address this, we can make sub-class of BaseLineItem without generic, which the driver will happily accept.
MilkLineItem.java
@BsonDiscriminator(key = "sku", value = "MILK")
public class MilkLineItem extends BaseLineItem<MilkInfo> {
public MilkLineItem() {}
public MilkLineItem(ObjectId _id,
String sku,
double quantity,
String unit,
MilkInfo info) {
super(_id, sku, quantity, unit, info);
}
}
Things to note:
@BsonDiscriminator(key = “sku”, value = “MILK”) is provided here, letting the driver know that only when the sku equals MILK this sub-class will be used. An empty constructor is also needed here.
MilkInfo.java
public class MilkInfo {
@BsonProperty
Date expirationDate;
public MilkInfo() {}
public MilkInfo(Date date) {this.expirationDate = date;}
public Date getExpirationDate() {
return expirationDate;
}
public void setExpirationDate(Date expirationDate) {
this.expirationDate = expirationDate;
}
}
We mentioned earlier that we will need to register other classes needs to be used by the driver. Here, we need to register MilkLineItem because the driver needs to know what classes to use when the discriminator key — sku, has its value equals MILK .
we will add the following:
Main.java
protected static Class<?>[] getSubClasses() {
return new Class<?>[]{MilkLineItem.class};
}
We can test the code by adding the following lines to the main method:
Main.java
collection.insertOne(new MilkLineItem(new ObjectId(), "MILK", 11, "HOUR", new MilkInfo(new Date()))); BaseLineItem first = document.find().first();
System.out.println("line item quantity: " + first.getQuantity());
In mongoDB, we will see the following document:
{
"_id" : ObjectId("5fcdc455aef85552c266f37d"),
"sku" : "MILK",
"info" : {
"expirationDate" : ISODate("2020-12-07T05:57:41.610Z")
},
"quantity" : 11,
"unit" : "LITER"
}
Polymorphism from Composition
With composition style, we also assume that all the line items will have their specialized info. And since we use composition, we will use LineItem class directly to represent all the variations.
@BsonDiscriminator
public class LineItem {
@BsonId
protected ObjectId _id;
@BsonProperty("sku")
protected String sku;
@BsonProperty("quantity")
protected double quantity;
@BsonProperty
protected String unit;
@BsonProperty(value = "info", useDiscriminator = true)
protected Info info;
public LineItem() {
}
public LineItem(ObjectId _id, String sku,
double quantity, String unit, Info info) {
this._id = _id;
this.sku = sku;
this.quantity = quantity;
this.unit = unit;
this.info = info;
}
public double getQuantity() {
return quantity;
}
public ObjectId getId() {
return _id;
}
public String getSku() {
return sku;
}
public String getUnit() {
return unit;
}
public Info getInfo() {
return info;
}
public void setInfo(Info info) {
this.info = info;
}
public void setId(ObjectId _id) {
this._id = _id;
}
public void setQuantity(double quantity) {
this.quantity = quantity;
}
public void setSku(String sku) {
this.sku = sku;
}
public void setUnit(String unit) {
this.unit = unit;
}
}
Note:
We still have to note 2 and 3 listed for BaseLineItem in previous section Instead of @BsonDiscriminator(key=”sku”) , we simply put @BsonDiscriminator , which means that we will store a special field _t in the database, and the value will the full class name with it’s package path.
Info.java
@BsonDiscriminator
public interface Info {
}
MilkInfo.java
@BsonDiscriminator
public class MilkInfo implements Info {
@BsonProperty
Date expirationDate;
public MilkInfo() {}
public MilkInfo(Date date) {this.expirationDate = date;}
public Date getExpirationDate() {
return expirationDate;
}
public void setExpirationDate(Date expirationDate) {
this.expirationDate = expirationDate;
}
}
With composition style, as Info sub-classes are the ones holding BsonDiscriminator , the concrete Info classes needs to be registered, so we need to add the following to the main class:
Main.java
protected static Class<?>[] getSubClasses() {
return new Class<?>[]{MilkInfo.class, TShirtInfo.class};
}
Again we can add the following code to the main method to test it works:
Main.java
document.insertOne(new LineItem(new ObjectId(), "MILK", 11, "LITER", new MilkInfo(new Date())));
LineItem first = document.find().first();
System.out.println("line item quantity: " + first.getQuantity());
In the database, the document looks a bit different from that when using inheritance:
> db.lineItems.find().pretty()
{
"_id" : ObjectId("5fcdc76699b6323dcfc1882d"),
"_t" : "src.model.billing.LineItem",
"info" : {
"_t" : "src.model.metrics.MilkInfo",
"expirationDate" : ISODate("2020-12-07T06:10:46.108Z")
},
"quantity" : 11,
"sku" : "MILK",
"unit" : "LITER"
}
Conclusion
That’s all you have to know when using MongoDB with Java to support Polymorphism. I’ll update later with a repo with sample code. | https://medium.com/@zx77/mongodb-java-driver-for-polymorphism-8d8a9e28ec24 | [] | 2020-12-07 16:16:50.085000+00:00 | ['Java', 'Inheritance', 'Polymorphism', 'Mongodb Tutorial', 'Mongodb'] |
The One Simple Trick I Use in the Morning to Start the Day Right | Why does it work?
It works because it forms a habit, and habits keep you going.
You are basically creating a habit of “if I do XYZ, then I will also start working”. Your brain will eventually connect an action that you were already doing every morning, to start working.
What’s easy about this method is that you’ve already won half of the battle. Half of this trigger is something you are already doing.
Notice that this trick has nothing to do with motivation. Because motivation is a myth. You can have all the motivation in the world but it’s useless if you don’t start doing it.
Motivation is something you get, from yourself, automatically, from feeling good about achieving small successes — Jeff Haden (The Motivation Myth)
But as mentioned, starting is the hardest part. The entire goal of this trick is to force you to START DOING. Once you start, everything else will fall into place. This will bring incremental success, which generates more motivation and momentum to keep you going.
By having a trigger, it can put you in a focused state of mind and allow you to concentrate on the things that are truly important.
Motivation comes and goes, but habits will stick with you for life. Even on the weekends, I find myself searching for meaningful work to do after I take the first sip of coffee. If I don’t start working right away, I feel bad.
Photo by Corey Agopian on Unsplash
Think about pre-pandemic times, when most of us had to physically go to the office to work. In a way, that is a focus trigger.
Because you had to psychically go to the office every single morning to work, your mind starts to associate that period of time with what’s coming next: work.
On the bus ride or walk to the office, your mind starts to prepare you for a day’s work by narrowing your focus.
This is why a lot of us experienced some loss of discipline when first starting to work from home because we lost that association. But we can create another habit to get ourselves “in the zone”.
It will be hard in the beginning, because forming a habit is hard. But hey I promised you this trick is simple but never said it was easy. But if you put in the effort, you will reap the reward.
You can also take this trick to other things. It doesn’t have to be work, but anything you want to pursue that you find yourself having a hard time getting started. | https://medium.com/the-ascent/the-one-simple-trick-i-use-in-the-morning-to-start-the-day-right-211aed11e277 | ['Michael Chi'] | 2020-12-14 15:57:55.906000+00:00 | ['Self Development', 'Focus', 'Habit Building', 'Self Improvement', 'Productivity'] |
6 Things to Remember Before a Media Interview | TransFunnel Consulting
While most people wait for the moment they can stand in front of the media and make their first public address, the actual moment can be quite daunting when it finally arrives. Several spokespeople have often complained about not having the right answers to media queries, being stumped by statements and questions, and oftentimes being deviated from the set track of the interview.
To help you overcome these challenges, we’ve listed a few salient rules that you can follow to ensure that your interview sails through seamlessly and provides the outcome you are looking to achieve.
Jot down the points you want to convey and rehearse your interview
Take time off to craft a story and see how you want it to flow. Make sure you have all the points covered and spend some time practicing how you want to deliver this story to the media person. This often provides clarity in thought and allows you to streamline the conversation.
2. Do your research on the media person
Check their social media profiles, read some of the stories they have written before, and understand the stance they take. This prepares you for unmitigated circumstances where the media person might toss you a curveball and you will be able to hit it out of the park successfully.
3. Run a mock interview with possible negative questions
Get a person to play devil’s advocate and ask you the tougher questions and the ones that might possibly lead to a controversy. Prepare your answers to these and keep them handy. More often than not, when answering the difficult questions, you’re going to be at ease with this practice.
4. Relax before an interview
Grab a cup of coffee and just take a few moments to gather your thoughts. Walking into an interview with confidence often reflects in the outcome. A confident spokesperson bolsters the image of the company on the whole.
5. Stay clear of un-truths
You’d rather say that you are unsure and you will get back to them with the right numbers or facts than concocting information. The media is always well prepared and will catch the falsified facts. The repercussions of this could be grave.
6. Stay in control of the interview
Ensure you are staying on track with the story you decided to go with. The interview may meander around a few additional points, but make sure to find your way back to the story you intended to convey. Never stop the media from asking their questions, but stay on course.
With these tips in mind, you’re geared to take on your next interview. Good luck! | https://medium.com/@transfunnel/6-things-to-remember-before-a-media-interview-df7333fdd0b7 | ['Transfunnel Consulting'] | 2019-02-07 07:23:30.298000+00:00 | ['Interview Questions', 'Media', 'Media Interview Tips', 'Interview', 'Media Interview Training'] |
sleepBaby Sleep at 2 Months — How to Help the Baby Get Better Sleep? | Baby sleep at 2 months is still a fragile phase when you cannot perform a sleep training program. Although there are some tips for you and your little one that will help you two sleep better! It is the right moment to start replacing sleep schedule for a sleep routine! How to do that? I say more about it in my How to teach a baby to fall asleep alone book, but here I have some tips for you.
Waking and feeding
Baby sleep at 2 months should take 18 hours a day but stay awake would last for only 2 hours in between. Remember that your baby’s stomach is small and breastmilk is digested relatively quickly. Although if your baby doesn’t’ wake up for longer than three hours — there is no need of waking for feeding.
Sleep environment
Blinding shades, white noise machine, and proper room temperature — make sure you have those provided! Whether the baby is co-sleeping in your room or you are away at grandparent’s house, always keep right sleeping conditions in mind.
Wrapping
Some children sleep better when their movements are restricted; one of the methods is wrapping a baby. It is what it sounds — wrap your little one in a swaddle, like a burrito! The pressure will comfort your baby, strengthening the sleep.
You will find exact graphics instruction in my book.
Drowsy but awake
Baby sleep at 2 months should start on baby’s own. Not while rocking, not during the feeding. Try to put your kid in the crib drowsy but awake. If you succeed now — sleep training may not be even necessary!
It is also helpful to establish a bedtime routine. Repetitive scheme every evening will give your baby a sense of security at some point. Remember, baby sleep at 2 months is a halfway to sleep training at 4 months old. You can do it!
Susan Urban | https://medium.com/@contact_96166/baby-sleep-at-2-months-how-to-help-the-baby-get-better-sleep-1e0ad5b00c4b | ['Susan Urban'] | 2019-06-17 07:28:40.209000+00:00 | ['Moms', 'Baby Sleep', 'Sleep Training', 'Parenting', 'Sleep'] |
Getting your financial Rights? | It may have occurred to you just how complex and vital ‘getting it right’ is when it comes to saving, investing, maximizing the value of your wealth and planning for a safe, comfortable retirement. If so, you’ve probably asked yourself if you should employ a financial planner or advisor.
Similarly, if you’ve felt the pressure of deciding on a big investment, such as a home or education — or felt overwhelmed with the financial details after a wedding, the birth of a child, divorce, death of a spouse, or major illness — you’ve probably wondered about finding someone to advise you.
https://www.fiverr.com/akramdurrani1/do-financial-analysis-ratio-analysis-and-investment-appraisal | https://medium.com/@iaromaphotography/getting-your-financial-rights-49d19de6f3b6 | ['Business Ideas'] | 2020-12-24 19:03:40.369000+00:00 | ['Accounting', 'Analysis', 'Startups', 'Business', 'Finance'] |
Ban Abuse | In case you don´t know none of these films, you might be wondering “what do these three films have in common?
Well, one thing is for sure. If there´s a word that these have in common is “ABUSE”
How come?
All of these three films have a different representation of one of the most controversial subject matters of the 21st Century; “Conversion Therapy”
What´s Conversion Therapy?
According to the Trevor´s Project, “conversion therapy is any of several dangerous and discredited practices aimed at changing an individual´s sexual orientation or gender identity”
What do they do?
“Conversion therapists use a variety of shaming, emotionally traumatic or physically painful stimuli to make their victims associate those stimuli with their LGBTQ identities” (The Trevor Project, sf)
As a queer person, I was a little bit reluctant of watching those films, because even though they were being made by people who had studied about the subject or even educated themselves, it was something that I didn´t really know what my final reaction would be.
So first of all I decided to start with the one who had that comedy aspect of it and was the lightest of all of them.
But I´m a Cheerleader (1999) Dir. Jamie Babbit
Okay, if I´m honest the idea of having a film with Natasha Lyonne and Clea Duvall was something that was actually very appealing to me since the beginning, but the truth is that I was quite scared of the context of their roles in this.
The plot of the film is Lyonne´s character who as the title says is a cheerleader who comes from a Christian family, living in a conservative lifestyle. She has a boyfriend who she doesn´t really like and has “a lot of friends”.
However one day they stage an intervention in order to make her realise she might be “a homosexual”. Obviously they tell her that based on ridiculous observations they make like: you´re a vegetarian, you touch a lot your girlfriends and you don´t like to kiss your boyfriend.
YEAH RIGHT 🙄🙄🙄
Once she listens to them, she is told by RuPaul, YES RUPAUL, that there can be a “solution” for this in a conversion therapy camp called “True Directions”. And this is where the gender roles thing starts.
The moment we meet “True Directions” we find a group of kids being brainwashed that they´ll be able to find their true direction and stop being homosexuals if they follow a series of steps like:
Admitting you´re a homosexual Rediscovering your gender identity Family therapy Demystify the opposite sex Simulated sexual experience
Of course, through all of these steps we find most of the kids struggling with them and even though this is shown in a satirical, comedy form, some of these scenes are actually pretty tough. In more than a way heteronormativity and gender roles are ridiculed, this makes us see that the members of the own center have no idea what they are doing and it is also implied that they have their own struggles that they don´t want to face.
Lyonne´s character, “Megan”, focuses and trusts the program, but in the way Duvall´s character (Graham) shows her that she doesn´t need to change who she really is, she just needs to make them think that the program is working and once she graduates she does whatever she wants. Through the course of the film we see their forbidden love story and how the encourage each other´s goals.
What I loved about this film is that it was one of the first depictions of conversion therapy shown in the film industry, it was directed and brought to the audience by a queer woman and it also showed various depictions on labels, stereotypes and repression. By the way the performances of the whole cast is A+ and it also let the audience see the huge problem centers like these are and how a lot of hate factors contribute to it.
Happy 20th anniversary But I´m a Cheerleader! 💟🏳🌈
The Miseducation of Cameron Post (2018) Dir. Desiree Akhavan
This one had been on my list for a while for a lot of reasons. From being in love with Quinn Shephard (BLAME) to being in love with Moretz performances and Sasha Lane´s “American Honey”, there were just so many reasons for me to watch this film.
The Miseducation of Cameron Post is a coming of age film directed by Desiree Akhavan based on the 2012 novel of the same name written by Emily M. Danforth which was influenced by Zach Stark´s story, who when he was 16 years old came out to his parents and was sent to a Christian conversion therapy program. He documented his experience in “Love To Action” through his MySpace blog in 2005, where he would describe what was actually happening there and because of this, it became an international scandal and a lot of protests for the programs abolition started.
This story not only influenced The Miseducation of Cameron Post but also a documentary film called “This is What Love in Action Looks like”, which shows interviews with ex members of the program, with Zach himself and with the ex former director “John Smid”.
The Miseducation of Cameron Post tells the story of Cameron (Moretz) , a highschooler who is discovered making out with her best friend (Shephard) by her boyfriend. After this incident she is sent by her very religious aunt to a conversion therapy camp called “God´s Promise” where she befriends two other teens called Jane Fonda (Sasha Lane) and Adam (Forrest Goodluck), the three of them don´t believe in the camp´s purposes and fight to get through it. During her time in the camp she finds herself hating the way she is and relating her homosexuality to her parents deaths. There they make every kid feel ashamed and terrible about themselves.
There is a lot of repression and self-loathing coming from them, specially from Cameron´s roommate, Erin (Emily Skeggs). Another one of Cameron´s peers in the camp, Mark, struggles a lot with his masculinity and the way he feels alienated to his father because of this, his emotional consequences end up showing in the film.
We see everyone in the film hopeless about their lives and how the camp is affecting them in various ways, even one of the siblings who runs the camp doubts on what they are doing and is manipulated by his sister, who claims to have cured him of his “homosexuality” (he might be loosely based on John Smid)
One of the things of the film that is related to the real life events of “Love To Action” is the part where officials and investigators go to check the camp based on evidence that it might imply what´s happening there. However the investigation is dropped because they didn´t find evidence of child abuse.
In 2008 John Smid left the program.
The film itself is a big achievement for director, Desiree Akhavan, a queer woman herself who was fascinated by the book and wanted to focus on the conversion therapy part excluding Camerons early life as a child. It has elements of Todd Haynes film “Safe” which is starred by Julianne Moore and it also shows the reality of the program´s intentions and misleading purposes.
Boy Erased (2018) Dir. Joel Edgerton
Boy Erased is a biographical drama film based on the Garrard Conley´s memoir of the same name, which tell us his story living as an only child of a Christian family, his experience in “Love in Action” and everything that came with it.
Boy Erased is basically his story being told through a fictional character named Jared played impeccably by Lucas Hedges, who goes through the same things he went in real life. At the beginning of the film we get to see a lot of familiar queer faces like my idol Xavier Dolan 💙 and Troye Sivan, though their characters are based in real life people Garrard met, we witness their shocking and powerful performances.
Dolan´s character for example believes in the program´s purposes though it´s imply this is because of the emotional and physical abuse he has gone through in his household, he goes that extreme that he rejects to have any physical contact with any man, not even for a handshake.
In the other hand, Sivan´s performance is actually regular until he steals one of the film´s scenes where he tells Hedges character (Jared) that he only needs to play the part and make them think the program is working even though he knows is not.
“Become the man you are not”, “Fake it ´til you make it” these are some of the things they tell the program attendees. The emotional and verbal abuse they go through is something that is seen a lot through the course of the film, from classifying masculinity to insulting them with slurs like “faggot”, it´s non stoppable all the terrible things they do to them.
To make sure they don´t lose the kids, they force them to remain silence of the activities, “in order for them to properly help them”. Through the film´s running time we also get to see Jared´s past and experiences with his own sexuality in his college years, one of them showing a very traumatic scene with Joe Aldwyn´s character, a horrible experience the same Gonley went through but also we get to see a beautiful scene with a guy he met in an exposition and how he finally felt in peace.
He expresses as part of his “recovery” how these might have influenced his homosexuality and how he “sinned”.
In contrast with the other films, Boy Erased actually has something authentic about it and it´s the fact that this is the real life story of a man´s life and experiences finding out his sexuality. We feel what he feels, we suffer what he suffers and we see what he sees. Although the film shows us a raw reality and very disturbing scenes, all of these never feel forced or just put there for shock but to make the audience think about the reality of these centers.
I think we need to give a big shoutout to both Nicole Kidman and Russell Crowe as the conservative religious parents, because out of the labels and stereotypes of their characters, they push the limits and give raw and real performances. Their character developments through the film are that powerful and human in the sense that they were portraying real people´s feelings on how they might feel when their kids are facing their own identities.
One of the similarities this film and The Miseducation of Cameron Post have is the fact that both of these films are based on real cases related to “Life in Action” and John Smid. In Boy Erased, he´s portrayed by Joel Edgerton who also wrote and directed the film, I want to recognize his amazing work in this because he wanted to make sure he was telling Garrard´s story and by this, he did not only work behind the camera but also as an actor, he had to prepare to play a real man who caused a lot of pain based on his own repression and self-loathing. It really helped a lot to clarify by the end where all the people involved are now.
Overall, Boy Erased is a must see film everyone should see in order to fully understand the damages these centers do to people and also really knowing what to do if someone they know or love is suffering because they are afraid of showing who they really are. Also witnessing Garrard Conleys experiences through his coming of age is something so personal, human and neccessary that might help people who are going through the same.
Epilogue
Films are a powerful way of communicating a subject in various ways, whether if it´s a cheesy comedy or an autobiographical coming of age , all of these help us to understand and empathize with the characters and face a global problematic. I can´t imagine myself being in their situations, fortunately I´ve been surrounded by people that love and accept me no matter what and I must admit that I´m privileged, we´re all living in this world where everyone is facing their own battles and we keep learning everyday new things, we keep adapting and we never really stop growing up.
Fortunately we´ve come a long way through in history, LGBTQ rights are happening through the whole world and I´m really proud to say as an example that in my country, Mexico City has already banned conversion therapy. But this isn´t it, it´s far from over. There are a lot of countries around the world allowing conversion therapy, not measuring the damages and consequences it has on the members of it.
If we really want this to come to an end, we need to keep raising our voices and show people that this is happening and we will not remain silent. We will keep fighting so the future generations can live in an environment where they feel freedom to be themselves, accept and respect each other´s differences. | https://medium.com/@jorg2001/ban-abuse-b7b949d8a421 | ['Emilio San'] | 2020-12-11 18:50:08.558000+00:00 | ['Representation', 'Queer', 'Lgbtq Rights', 'Conversion Therapy', 'Child Abuse'] |
A wonderful story on pain & pleasure. | Tony’s technique is exceptional. It pushes you to tune your behavior so you can take prompt action. And that helps in killing procrastination. | https://medium.com/@preetisingh15/a-wonderful-story-on-pain-pleasure-590006bd7471 | ['Dr. Preeti Singh'] | 2020-12-26 16:16:59.336000+00:00 | ['Pain'] |
Train the Brain and Maximize Your Mindset | Train the brain and maximize your mindset
The mind is the most powerful instrument.
The right mindset is essential in trading and investing. There are certain ways to train your brain in order to maximize your mindset for its full potential in trading. Continue reading this short article for key ways to help your psyche in trading.
Self Awareness is a Revelation
Knowing yourself in the world of trading already gives you a competitive edge, because not many traders take trading psychology into account. Coming to this revelation and understanding your own personal risk appetite, can allow you to have a moment, take a step back and create a plan prior to your trade without bringing emotion into the game. After all, a large portion of volatility in trading is due to traders emotional decision making.
Immediate decision making can affect your trading choices more directly and generally causes one to make a choice they wouldn’t usually make logically. A trader can combat this issue by creating a trade plan that is realistic in a way where he or she would not let emotions affect the on-going trade. That is to say that the trader should create a strategy, or plan where if an investment is lost, they understand that this is the simple reality; because, after all, the markets are considered to be a gamble at times.
Another way to tackle this issue is to pause. Through self-awareness a trader is able to realize that some emotions can get in the way such as anger, sadness, irritation or being overly happy. In turn, when self realization of these type of emotions occur the trader should pause before making a decision so as to not make impulsive decisions that he or she might regret, or lose out on in the end.
Confidence is King
Having just the right amount of confidence can solidify your trading strategy and put your mind at ease. Confidence is a type of emotion that backs up a traders initial plan, or, with too much confidence can give a trader unnecessary emotions such as greed, or too much happiness and can lead to illogical decision making. Trading psychologist, Normal Welz writes, “Once a trade is not going the way you want it to, emotions jeopardise your actions because any uncertainty is perceived by our brain as a disturbing emotion that sometimes causes devastating actions to be triggered”. In trading acquiring confidence to be able to not deviate from the plan and make logical decisions is when confidence is considered king.
Any trader who truly takes the time to understand trading psychology and their own behavior has the potential to save time, nerves, and money. Get to know your psyche and give yourself a competitive edge in trading today.
Disclaimer: This material is considered a marketing communication and does not contain, and should not be construed as containing investing advice or a recommendation, or an offer of or solicitation for any transactions in financial instruments or a guarantee or a prediction of future performance. Past performance is not a guarantee of or prediction of future performance.
Risk Warning: CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 79.92% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money. | https://medium.com/@excentral/train-the-brain-and-maximize-your-mindset-e594c0e3dacf | [] | 2021-08-03 08:05:09.567000+00:00 | ['Trading', 'Forex', 'Success', 'Mindset', 'Excentral'] |
This utterly decadent Harman Kardon Bluetooth speaker is 64% off today | A good portable speaker can bring your tunes wherever you go, whether you're moving around your house, hanging out in the yard, or heading out on an adventure. And today on Walmart, you can get the super high-end Harman Kardon Go + Play Portable Bluetooth Speaker for $180, down from a list price of $500.
This portable speaker connects to your phone or other mobile device wirelessly via Bluetooth, so you can conveniently play your music even from across the room. We haven't reviewed it, but the Go + Play should offer very good sound thanks to its dual woofers and tweeters, along with two passive radiators.
A rechargeable battery provides up to eight hours of playtime on a charge, so you can keep the music going all day long. In addition, a built-in dual microphone conferencing system means you can make and take calls right through the speaker, and a built-in handle makes it extra portable so you can easily take it along with you wherever you go.
This speaker averages 4.6 stars out of 5 across more than 150 user ratings on Walmart.com.
[ Today's deal: Harman Kardon Go + Play Portable Bluetooth Speaker from Walmart for $180 ]
Note: When you purchase something after clicking links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. Read our affiliate link policy for more details. | https://medium.com/@shane01172495/this-utterly-decadent-harman-kardon-bluetooth-speaker-is-64-off-today-dfe516c5859b | [] | 2020-12-23 23:26:18.126000+00:00 | ['Mobile', 'Music', 'Audio'] |
Using AI & Analytics to Stop Police Brutality Against Minorities | Recently, there have been many debates on how law enforcement uses AI to watch citizens and violate our privacy. However, turning this idea on its head, why can’t AI be used to watch police officers, thus ensuring they also follow the rules? Applied artificial intelligence can provide a more automated and objective way to ensure justice for racial minorities and prevent police brutality.
There may be hesitation in using machine learning for surveillance due to the moral nature of the issue. However, I will note that this is already happening in white-collar workplaces. For example, investment banks routinely monitor all communications for insider trading and money laundering. This monitoring is critical to ensuring that banks do not incur massive penalties for violating regulations.
The modern-day police force has regulations and rules of engagement in place to handle day to day operations such as resisting arrest or addicts overdosing. Police departments already collect data in the form of incident reports and arrest reports. Unfortunately, data quality can sometimes be lacking. As the New York Times reported, the police report for Breonna Taylor’s incident completely lacked the necessary details to investigate the issue.
Police also collect data on dash cameras and body cameras. These became especially popular in 2014 after the tragic incident resulting in the unarmed shooting of Michael Brown, which led to nationwide riots and social unrest.
Let’s use this data to train a machine learning model and generate a scorecard for each officer. We want to know for each interaction with a given officer, was the officer compliant, and how did she or he handles the interaction compared to a baseline. This scorecard isn’t a replacement for internal auditors who review police incidents and complaints, but rather a tool to help with monitoring police interactions. Manually sifting through every police interaction is not feasible, why not use machine learning to automate the process and remove bias.
How Do We Do It
The first step is to train the existing dash/body camera and voice data to determine if the actions taken by officers were compliant. To do this, we need to extract information from the video/audio, such as sentiment analysis and the sequence of events. Next, we want to train a machine learning model to determine if the actions were compliant. Finally, we want to build a dashboard to visualize and score each officer.
Prepare The Data
Audio Analysis
The first step for audio analysis is to transcribe the audio to text. We can use a combination of using Spacy and neural networking packages, such as Keras or Tensor Flow, or cloud services such as Google Voice AI and Amazon Transcribe to achieve this.
Post-processing, there are many insights we may want to extract, such as Sentiment analysis based on language to determine if the language used by officers were overly hostile or violent.
NLP and time series analysis can also be applied to determine if the order of sentences follows the expected procedure for a given situation.
The challenge here is distinguishing between officers, bystanders, and the suspect. There are two possible routes here: 1. have the algorithm recognize the officer’s voice, through speech recognition input, and identify the voice uniquely. 2. Determine the role based on the context of speech.
Video Analysis
In our video analysis, we want to use a neural network package or leverage cloud solutions such as AWS Rekognition or Google Video AI to tag interactions in the video. This model will identify specific behaviors such as resisting arrest and physical altercation, being handcuffed. Once these behaviors are labeled, a time-series sequence of events is created to understand what happened in the interaction.
Train a Neural Network
Going through a set of police reports with the body cam videos, an auditor can tag whether or not the incident complies with the documented procedure. Next, train the data using a Neural Network such as Keras or Pytorch. In this case, the objective function will be- Was the officer compliant in the given situation? This machine learning model should specify for future interaction if the actions taken by officers were or were not compliant with procedures.
Metric Scoring
Using this information we want to build a scorecard to create a compliance score for each officer. This scorecard will be used to identify officers at high risk of using excessive force or using racial bias.
Example Metrics-
Language sentiment (hostile, friendly, neutral)
Was protocol followed- example Miranda rights
Was there racial bias in the interaction?
Did the officer try to de-escalate the situation before applying force? For example, the time between conversation and force used.
Example dashboard
The tool’s intended usage is to assist the police force in preventing incidents instead of punishing officers. Today, law enforcement is highly subjective; however, there are many data points collected by police to create a more objective way to view police interactions. Ultimately, I think a tool like this would be highly beneficial and effective in building trust within the community and holding law enforcement to a higher standard. | https://medium.com/swlh/using-ai-analytics-to-stop-police-brutality-against-minorities-a6352d4db7eb | ['Gary Cheung'] | 2020-07-05 16:00:16.801000+00:00 | ['Racial Justice', 'Artificial Intelligence', 'Police Brutality', 'Data Science', 'Big Data'] |
Positively Unprecedented in 2020 | Hypothetically speaking, the word “unprecedented” is not one that should be used often. For something to be completely unknown or unexperienced is a rarity in the complex world we live in; yet, 2020 has found a way to insert this word into our headlines with a regular cadence. In addition to Coronavirus, sky-rocketing unemployment, stay-at-home orders, and more, it seems worth-while to consider the positive, less frequently discussed “unprecedented” pieces of the world we live in today.
TECHNOLOGY
Video conferencing and cell phones didn’t exist in 1918 when an estimated one-third of the world’s population became infected with the Spanish Flu. An individual’s ability to connect with loved ones was limited to those that happened to be in their immediate vicinity when the pandemic hit.
Today our ability to connect with people around the globe is limitless. With the click of a button we are able to tell our children who live two states away that we love them. With video-calls we are able to provide bed-side comfort to our Grandparents battling illnesses in the hospital where guests are not allowed.
Zoom has grown from a video-conferencing tool utilized by others in the SaaS industry, to a household name. They have enabled companies to continue operating with a mobile workforce; and they’ve enabled children to continue learning through online teaching and student engagement.
Indeed our technological advancements are unprecedented and have allowed us to continue to connect and cope.
GIG SERVICES
The average 21st century household is dependent upon the community in which it exists. When that household is suddenly being encouraged to not interact with others, dependencies are even more apparent. No dining out? No school and/or childcare? Work and educate from home? No social interaction?
The creation and availability of gig services has come at a time when we need them the most. Grocery delivery services such as Instacart have seen their highest ever demand in 2020.
UberEats has not only assisted restaurants struggling to stay afloat, but they also have provided food and assistance to those who have been getting claustrophobic at home.
Londr provides households with a much needed break by enabling them to outsource their laundry so that they have one less thing creating unnecessary stress at home.
If there is anything we can take away from our year thus far it is that (1) we can’t predict what will be in our headlines tomorrow, and (2) our world is full of incredible minds, inventors, and entrepreneurs who continue creating positively unprecedented solutions to the complexities of life, and of 2020. | https://medium.com/@londr_llc/positively-unprecedented-in-2020-461e3edf288 | ['Londr'] | 2020-07-07 18:51:46.965000+00:00 | ['Gig Economy', 'Instacart', 'Lockdown', 'Zoom', 'Technology Trends'] |
Trump, Trolling, and the Re-Wilding of the American Failed State | Trumpian Republicanism is infamous for trolling its opponents, but there’s some potential for confusion in observing as much, because there are two senses of “trolling” that both apply.
Angling for Attention
First, there’s the shady practice on internet chat rooms that’s comparable to “trolling” in the sense of angling for fish. The root meaning of “troll” in this case is from French and German words that mean “to run here and there, to ramble, or to walk or run in short steps.” In fishing the practice is to lure fish by jerking the line up and down, to animate the lure and fool the fish, sometimes just by trailing multiple lines from the back of a slow-moving boat.
Early users of the internet saw that as analogous to the abuse of anonymity in posting inflammatory, insincere comments to get a rise out of certain users who would take the bait and engage in lengthy, heated, ultimately pointless arguments.
The troll would automate her provocations by sending out lures in multiple forums, the point of the comparison being that just as fishing can be done automatically, by allowing the slow-moving boat to move multiple fishing lines and intrigue the fish, the medium of the internet can be used against certain users. Some people are so high-strung that they’re triggered by a random, bogus comment posted by a stranger.
This sense of trolling applies to the more well-intentioned conservatives who mean to expose the smugness and hypocrisy of their liberal opponents, testing the latters’ patience by pretending to be more authoritarian, uninformed, and savage than they really are. By caricaturing themselves, conservatives hope to expose the hollowness of the left-winger’s civic faith that all Americans share the same noble values. When the liberal or progressive takes the bait and argues as if the conservative weren’t merely being sarcastic or performing a role to amuse others who are in on the joke, the left-winger has been trolled.
Trolls from the Wilderness
But this sense of “trolling” is already confused with a second one, as is evident from the associated warning, “Don’t feed the troll,” meaning “Don’t take the bait.” Here it’s the noun rather than the verb that’s paramount, and the relevant sense of “troll” derives from Scandinavian folklore. The troll in folklore is a type of demon or more precisely a demonized non-Christian, who lives in dark places and is hostile or at least unhelpful to Christians. “Troll” in this sense is similar to “witch”: both are Christian labels for demonizing those who haven’t been Christianized.
Thus, the internet troll has an appetite for mischief and you only make matters worse by taking his provocations at face value and engaging him in conversation, because you’re only encouraging the troll to return. Ideally, those who operate in good faith would ignore the trolls until the trolls would take the hint, leave, and crawl back under their rocks, as it were.
Trollness in this case is about the fear of uncivilized foreigners. We presume the correctness of Christendom or of the neoliberal world order, so anyone who’s left out of that society must be defective.
Hillary Clinton’s remark in 2016 that Donald Trump’s followers are a “basket of deplorables” picks up on this second, negative sense of “troll.” The split in this case is obviously between Democrats and Republicans, but it’s also between urban and rural areas of the country. Big-city life is taken as the cutting edge of civilization, so that those stuck in small towns or who are living off the grid, perhaps in dying industries, have been left behind and consequently they regress to the point of becoming monstrous.
If you asked conservatives about their trolling behaviour, they’ll admit to the first kind but not exactly to the second one. They’ll say they mock Democrats, revealing that the latters’ sophistication and elite mores are mere pretenses, since these liberals are so easily “triggered.” The “salt of the earth” conservatives think of themselves as the “real Americans,” and they implicitly compare themselves to the rugged pioneers who fled the Old World decadence to practice their more authentic, Protestant Christianity in North America.
Still, if you taunted them with facts that make nonsense of their conspiracy theories or if you pointed to the obvious inhumanity of President Trump, their mascot, American conservatives may concede to being negative trolls in a limited respect. The meme in this case is that if you expect someone to be monstrous, she may oblige, so you should be careful what you wish for. In other words, if you insult someone by having such low expectations of her, she may return the insult by living down to that standard you’ve set.
The Re-Wilding of Failed States
The figure of President Trump combines both senses of trolling and he’s done so with such brazenness that we’ve reached a paradoxical kind of interaction between civilization and the wilderness.
What’s supposed to happen is that the former rides roughshod over the latter. With human ingenuity and hubris, we tame wild places. The Church sent its missionaries and its knights to win the world for Christ. Likewise, neoliberals in both parties spread the miracle of capitalism far and wide, producing a consumer monoculture that’s supposed to end poverty and lead to technological advances and economic growth.
In folklore, trolls symbolize untamed nature — again, with the presumption that Christianity was the mark of the opposite in being the catalyst for the arrival of God’s supernatural kingdom, whereas in the interim, nature is the province of demonic powers. Trolls live in dark places, emerging only at night and perhaps even turning to stone in sunlight. They ransack villages and eat people, like wild animals.
The existence of the analogue of trolls or of savages within the United States is, of course, an indictment of the civilization in question. We needn’t be so preoccupied with the culture war between big cities and rural areas that we lose sight of the bigger picture, which is that if the red states are populated largely by trolls in the negative, irredeemable sense, the United States isn’t so united and the highness of neoliberal civilization must itself be a ruse.
The disunity is due to the individualism of America’s founders and to the country’s enthusiasm for capitalism. In more collectivist, Eastern societies, the Christian lesson that those who are well off show their civility and spirituality by not allowing huge numbers of their countrymen to fall behind is taken as a prerequisite for society as such.
According to the frontier mentality, though, you have to earn your way and there’s no one to aid or to stop you, because the country hasn’t yet been widely explored or “civilized” by European standards. American capitalism carries forward this pragmatic individualism, since the economic goal is to compete for profit and wherever possible to exploit loopholes in the law, defraud the masses, horde wealth, capture the government and build a monopoly or a shadow empire.
This predatory capitalism obviously conflicts not just with elementary Christianity, but with the essence of society, with the project of living peacefully together with other families, tribes, villages, or cities by adopting a shared outlook.
American individualism has been pushed to such extremes that “socialism” has become a dirty word. This is like the monstrous troll’s sneering at the notion of Christendom. To the extent that socialism is just a matter of the government’s pooling of resources to preserve the population’s shared mission and to prevent a collapse of parts of the country, socialism is synonymous with the compromise of collectivism (with the focus on the social good, not on the abstraction of what would be good for isolated individuals, as though they weren’t part of a larger body).
In libertarian circles where there’s no such compromise with the individualist’s principle of self-reliance, there’s likewise no society as such. Libertarian or strictly capitalistic society is a cynical charade in which the individualists pretend to tolerate each other even while plotting to out-compete everyone else, whereupon they’d decline to lend the losers a helping hand. With no ethos or sense of shared purpose, this social Darwinian Potemkin village exists in a state of cold war between ever-diminishing tribes.
Likewise, Christians faced the dreaded problem of evil: if their God created the universe, why is nature overrun with demons and trolls beyond the Christian borders? Perhaps God isn’t in charge after all or there’s no benevolent deity in the first place.
Trump’s Barbarism and the Hollowness of American Society
Again, what’s supposed to happen in the context of negative trolling is that civilization eclipses the wilderness, leaving no untamed, unassimilated, or “haunted” grounds within its borders. In the case of a failed or failing state, however, trolls no longer lurk just over the hills and far away, but may pop up next to you when you’re going about your business. When the civilization in question is only superficial or is somehow fraudulent or internally conflicted, the eclipse is partial at best and nature has the last laugh.
But returning to the figure of Trump, we now face an even more astonishing scenario. What happens when trolls learn to live in the sunlight, when they’re no longer content to eke out their savage living in caves or valleys, slums or de-industrialized zones? What happens when a reckless political party nurtures and co-opts these resentful savages, much as the CIA supported the mujahedeen in Afghanistan to jab a thorn into the side of the Soviet Union?
What happens when a troll, the embodiment of anti-civility, becomes president of the country?
The recent run-up to Trumpism is instructive. At first glance George W. Bush wasn’t a troll, since in 2001 he took his neoconservative ideology to be a civilizing force. In response to 9/11, he intended to tame the savage terrorists and bring democracy to the Middle East that had resisted modernization, by invading Iraq under the pretext that Saddam Hussein couldn’t be trusted with his weapons of mass destruction.
But once again, in the end there was no such taming of that “wild” place, because the highness of American civilization under Bush was exposed as a sham. Although the American military destroyed Saddam’s regime, Bush’s WMD pretext for the invasion fell through and his neoconservatives were only academic devotees to certain prejudices, with no real-world knowledge of Middle Eastern cultures. As a result, the Iraq War didn’t go as planned: with the dictator removed, the insurgent tribes fought the Americans and themselves, producing ISIL and benefitting Iran.
In effect, Bush Jr.’s Texan swagger was a case of quasi-trolling, since he adopted those mannerisms to widen his base of political support and to conceal the fact that he wasn’t really a peasant or a barbarian, but was educated at Yale and relied on his father’s name as his dynastic heir.
The real American barbarians or “trolls” wanted a more genuine spokesman for their anarchic cause. Sarah Palin was their next offering, in 2008, but she and John McCain were defeated by Obama who symbolized cosmopolitan high culture, despite his skin colour which repelled the racist alt right.
In 2016, Donald Trump capitalized on that appetite for payback, not just as a nihilistic, “transactional” con artist but as a genuine outsider who never fit into New York’s high society, whose buildings were panned as tacky, whose business acumen was suspect because of his multiple bankruptcies, and who was ridiculed for pretending to be richer than he was. Trump was likely an outsider also because of his obvious antisocial personality disorder which prevented him from caring about others and thus from fitting into polite society.
President Trump pushed out his party’s moderates and turned the Republican Party into an alt right cult whose most vocal supporters are the white supremacist and Evangelical trolls that meant to use Trump as a weapon against the establishment, the neoliberal deep state, and the forces of globalization such as free trade and multiculturalism. Their arguments may have little intellectual merit, but that’s irrelevant since they’ve invalidated the neoliberal world order just by existing in the United States in their uncivilized form and by emerging from the shadows and managing to desecrate the White House with a full-blown troll or savage, that is, with a blundering enemy of civilization.
No further proof of American hypocrisy is needed. However incredulous Barack Obama appears in his speeches campaigning for Joe Biden, as he ridicules Trump’s inappropriate abnormality, the joke is on Obama and on America’s standing in the neoliberal world order.
When a troll becomes emperor, the empire has fallen. | https://medium.com/discourse/trump-trolling-and-the-re-wilding-of-the-american-failed-state-55852970d001 | ['Benjamin Cain'] | 2020-10-28 16:49:04.535000+00:00 | ['Trolls', 'Politics', 'Republican Party', 'Donald Trump', 'America'] |
#HERchanger Founder Feature: Anne Cheng | #HERchanger is someone who is fostering a more human, empathetic, and responsible startup ecosystem for ALL. SheTransacts (em)powers female founders to unlock the most aligned global resources as they fundraise and grow their companies together. We’re replacing the winner takes all startup world with a cooperative and more sustainable way to succeed together. Real founders in real time really changing the world together. We’re .Live sharing #HERchanger stories to amplify their trajectory of success. Join us in helping these world changing ideas get featured, funded and implemented.
We’re so honored to be introducing today’s featured SheTransacts community member and female founder, Anne Cheng. She launching this month her crowdfunding campaign on Republic. She resides between Singapore and California with her puppy and she shares with us her world changing company.
What world changing problems are you solving?
SDG #5 Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
As a minority female founder who identifies as LGBTQ Anne Cheng is part of the SheTransacts ecosystem providing a more collaborative way for founders to raise and grow their world changing ideas together by connecting them globally with their most aligned allies and investors. Currently less than 2% of VC dollars get funded . Let’s change this by accelerating Anne’s current fundraise and her June crowdfunding campaign Republic .
In addition to being a female minority founder, she is also solving the problems around client acquisition and marketing strategies which require a steep learning curve and trial and error, before getting optimized. This is largely a human process, and this creates a huge backlog and inefficient work processes within the industry. Marketing strategies and client acquisition requires deep research to understand the target audience, and current marketing and sales software solutions don’t replicate the human strategy that’s required. Supercharge Lab will have a positive impact for many world changing products and services to be seen and sold. Such an important solution for the start up ecosystem and scaling larger businesses.
Startups are important in creating social change — in fact, they have a greater opportunity to lead the charge towards change that we can believe in. From building ethical technologies to ensuring conscious business models, we must realize that startups are in fact, tomorrow’s corporations and enterprises. I’ve written in a previous article that if we want to create a non-dystopian future, startups must begin with a strong ethical compass, and continually audit its purpose of existence. Starting with a strong sense of why can get you much further than you think. It is equally important to continue asking “why” as you scale, pivot, and succeed.
Why is this important to you as the founder?
“Cognitive computing is in its infancy, and if we start to understand motivations and thoughts better, we can all perform better, and create a better world for future generations.”
SheTransacts’ Member Ann Cheng CEO of Supercharge-lab
Interested in learning more as an investor in Supercharge Lab contact us at [email protected] and our success manager will be happy to assist.
At SheTransacts, we’re manufacturing serendipity to attract better alignments between founders and investors across the startup ecosystem.
Our REAL TIME continuous due diligence, recommendations and collaboration tool is available whenever you may need or want to implement and scale your world changing company.
Register as a founder for your FREE fundraising resource guide and join the HER movement! https://www.wetransact.live/shetransacts | https://medium.com/shetransacts/herchanger-founder-feature-anne-cheng-f94722a99673 | ['Wetransact.Live Ecosystem'] | 2021-08-08 03:17:18.680000+00:00 | ['Sustainable Business', 'Sustainability', 'Sdgs', 'Cognitive Computing', 'AI'] |
15 years of The Office and popularity among fans | The TV show has more fans in the Reddit community than other comedies
“Would I rather be feared of loved? Easy. Both. I want people to be afraid of how much they love me.” Michael Scott’s line, Steve Carell’s character, is one of the most remembered by fans of The Office. The American adaptation turned 15 in March this year and aired four years after the original, British, created by Ricky Gervais.
The series shows a paper company being filmed for a documentary. The mockumentary style, or pseudo-documentary, brings proximity to the fictional story, allowing almost direct contact between audience and characters, who often speak directly to the camera. With its nine seasons, Greg Daniels’s version continues successful and has over a million fans in its community on the social network Reddit, surpassing other famous comedy series.
The Office has a larger Reddit fan community than other comedy series
Reddit, created in 2005, is a forum-style website where you can create posts within groups, the subreddits. As shown above, The Office’s community is more popular than the award-winning Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and the tradicional Seinfeld and Friends, and this isn’t related to when the show was created nor its duration. To journalist Lucas Salgado, from Cine Pop, the British format with the American humor is what makes The Office unique. “Other importante factors are Steve Carell’s talent, a charismatic cast, a script that had space for all the characters to have their moment and the setting in a generic office, which easily generates identification by the spectator”, he adds.
Christmas party from the third season — “A Benihana Christmas” / Photo: NBC
After a decade and a half, the series’s popularity, for the journalist, is the characters’s fault. “The fan’s relationship with The Office is interesting, because you start by not enjoying all the characters. Dwight is just the bizarre guy, Michael is the clueless, Andy is the bore”. He highlights the role of Michael, the boss. “The character was quite modified after the first season, moving away from the original inspiration (David Brent, played by Ricky Gervais) and presenting himself as someone with a big heart. A great protagonist added to an inspired support cast ended up generating all this attachment and engagement with the series.”
Michael Scott is the head of the Scranton branch of the Dunder Mifflin paper company. Even with responsibilities as a regional manager, he strives to be friendly with employees, always being relaxed even during working hours and prioritizing the personal side despite professional pressure. The character equivalent to his in the British version, David Brent, is considered unpleasant, while Michael’s slips are offset by his good intention.
Elói, known as Kromwulf on Reddit, is one of the fans who have Michael as a favorite character, mentioning Dwight, Andy and Creed next. For a long time, Elói saw memes and gifs of the characters on the internet, and that was a motivation to see the series. “I don’t even like TV shows, the only ones I’ve seen were Dexter and half of The Big Bang Theory, and then The Office”, he says, adding that the the only show community that he’s a part of on Reddit is r/DunderMifflin, for The Office.
With the same name as the paper company portrayed in the series, r/DunderMifflin proves Michael Scott’s relevance to the public. Present in seven of the nine seasons, in addition to a participation in the last episode, his time of direct interaction with the camera totals a little more than four hours. Creed, one of Elói’s favorites, is in sixth place considering the number of mentions in the community, despite adding approximately six minutes of interaction.
Michael is the most popular character on r/DunderMifflin and has the most direct interactions with camera
After Michael, Dwight, Jim and Pam are the most mentioned on Reddit, each with more than one hour of contact with the public, followed by Andy, with forty minutes, although he only joined the series on third season. Creed, beloved by the public, shows the weight of characters seen as secondary, who are successful even with less screen time.
The big regular cast was one of The Office’s impacts on the world of TV shows, in addition to the shooting style. Lucas Salgado believes that the series ushered in a new era of great comedies by NBC, followed by 30 Rock and Parks and Recreation. “The mockumentary style is undoubtedly popularized by the series, and it’s present also in Parks and Modern Family. But more than that. The very notion of a series with numerous important characters ends up gaining strength because of The Office. Today, we can see that in works in shows like Brooklyn Nine-Nine.”
In addition to being a fake documentary, Rayara Lassance thinks that another reason for the fame of the series is the mockery to the classic patterns of American characters. She saw the entire series once, but is always reviewing the episodes. “It’s difficult to choose just one, but I think the classic Dwight setting fire to the office and dinner at Michael’s house with Jan”, she says about her favorite episodes, Stress Relief, from season five, and Dinner Party, from the fourth.
Along with the third, these two seasons are Lucas Cavalcante’s favorites. He only saw the series this year. The recommendation was from his best friend, but he waited a long time to watch. “I tried to see it a few times before, but, as it wasn’t on Netflix, it was a little bit complicated. After I subscribed to Amazon Prime, I got to see everything, and I really saw that it was very good. Today it is one of my favorite series.”
Lucas chooses as the best character the person responsible for the fire in Stress Relief. “Without a doubt, my favorite character is Dwight. I think it’s just great, the characterization of the character, all the satire around him…” Dwight Schrute is the assistant to the regional manager and the main salesman of the team, besides owning a beet farm. His office rival is Jim Halpert, who is a talented salesman but without ambition. The pranks between the two are an importante part of the series.
In the first episode, Jim puts Dwight’s stapler in jelly / Photo: NBC
Michael, Dwight and Jim are considered by Lucas the main characters, along with Pam Beesly, the branch receptionist. “But after Michael left, Andy gained relevance, occupied that space”, he adds. Michael left at the end of the seventh season.
Creed, despite few interactions with the camera, is among popular group on Reddit
Although no character has occupied, in terms of interaction with the public, Michael’s place, the participation of Jim, Dwight and Andy increased in the eighth season. Steve Carell’s departure resulted in the participation of actors such as Will Ferrell, Jim Carrey, James Spader and Catherine Tate, the latter two being incorporated into the cast. Between the special appearances, Lucas highlights Robert California, the character of James Spader, and Karen, played by Rashida Jones, who also acts in Parks and Recreation, a TV show that Lucas is watching because of the same filming style, and was created by Greg Daniels and Michael Schur, screenwriters from The Office.
Daniels is also the creator of Space Force, with Steve Carell, and Upload, which includes science fiction. Schur, known for acting in The Office Dwight’s cousin Mose, is creator of Brooklyn Nine-Nine and The Good Place. Like Schur, Mindy Kaling was a screenwriter for the series and was better known as a character — she played Kelly Kapoor. Mindy recently created the series Never Have I Ever, which tells the story of an American teenager from an Indian family.
Other actors in the series have outstanding projects. Steve Carell recently participated in the series The Morning Show, in addition to Space Force. Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey, Pam and Angela in The Office, launched at the end of 2019 The Office Ladies podcast, in which they discuss the episodes and backstage information. John Krasinski, Jim, directed and acted in A Quiet Place, a horror movie released in 2018 that has a continuation planned for this year, and is doing Some Good News on Youtube during the quarantine, with the proposal to bring only happy news.
The cast met virtually on Some Good News to celebrate the wedding of two fans, made official by Krasinski. To the sound of “Forever”, by Chris Brown, actors and actresses imitated the dance performed at Pam and Jim’s wedding in the show, which Lucas considers one of the most striking musical moments.
Scene happens in the sixth season / Video: NBC
For Elói, the musical highlight is Andy playing “I Will Remember You”, by Sarah McLachlan, while Rayara prefers the Stress Relief scene where Michael sings “I Will Survive”, by Gloria Gaynor, mistaking it for “Stayin’ Alive”, by Bee Gees.
In 202 moments, music was a fundamental part of the series. With 10 originals and 29 parodies, the characters are seen as composers of songs like Diwali Song, 9,986,000 Minutes, That One Night, Lazy Scranton and even a jingle for Dunder Mifflin. The band that appears the most is The Police, with five songs played by Kevin’s band during Phyllis’s wedding. “Car Wash”, by Rose Royce, is the most repeated song — appears three times. The musical talents of Michael, Dwight, Andy, Creed, Kevin and Darryl are evident, but all characters have their own participation, either in one of the company’s Christmas parties, in a wedding or farewell. For The Office fans, this is a key piece in the legacy of the series. | https://medium.com/@barroso.julia/15-years-of-the-office-and-popularity-among-fans-341c8eba3cb | ['Julia Barroso'] | 2020-11-24 22:24:25.157000+00:00 | ['Journalis', 'Muckumentary', 'Reddit', 'Datajournalism', 'The Office'] |
Why I’m Unlikely To Ever Call Myself A Shaman | Despite my many years of experience of nature-based soul and spirit work, my current devotion to shamanic work, and clients calling me a shamaness for years before it was even something in my own awareness, I don’t call myself a shaman and I don’t know if I ever will.
This isn’t a reaction to cultural appropriation or the degradation of the word “It’s even fashionable nowadays for First World ecotourists to visit remote parts of the world, spend a week or two with an indigenous shaman, smoke a few plants, see a few hallucinations, then come back and declare themselves shamans.” Thom Hartmann, foreword to Robert Wolff’s Original Wisdom (one of my favourite books).
It’s because for me, context is crucial.
I live in a world of patterns. And patterns within patterns (it’s one of the incredible gifts of being autistic).
And context is a vital part of a pattern.
Just like how a wolf needs its pack, a shaman needs to be part of a real community (meaning one of interdependence with humans who live in deep connection with their environment – but that’s a whole other post) to be a shaman because a shaman is a role within a community.
It’s a role which requires the shaman to stand with one foot in the human world, one foot in the spirit world and bring whatever’s needed to create balance on behalf of the spirits and on behalf of their community.
Without a real community, who is the shaman acting as an intermediary for in the human world?
And is what they’re doing creating balance between the worlds?
As one of my favourite passages by Rilke says “…be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and to try to love the questions themselves like locked rooms and like books that are written in a very foreign tongue. Do not now seek the answers, which cannot be given you because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answer.”
So these are two of the important questions that I’m living into.
And so for me, as I’m still living into them, calling myself a shaman without having that role within a real community doesn’t make sense.
If you feel otherwise about the word, that’s all good with me. These days not all shamans doing great work have a real community – they’ve redefined “shaman” to answer those questions in a way that works for them and I have no judgement about that.
The truth is, I have very little judgement about what people do. I’ve been told by my ancestors that one of my roles here is as a Taboo Breaker… not that I need to break #allthetaboos myself (thankfully! That would be messy and tiring 😅), it’s about bringing my unconditional love to those who do. So really, do what thou wilt.
And if you still feel that I am a shaman to you, feel free to call me that… Because if I’m ever a shaman, I suspect it will be other humans who let me know when I’ve lived some distant day into the answers.
👑✨♥️ | https://medium.com/@libiti/why-im-unlikely-to-ever-call-myself-a-shaman-d5c9a32d1fe2 | ['Lian Brook-Tyler'] | 2021-08-16 10:06:57.908000+00:00 | ['Psychology', 'Philosophy', 'Spirituality', 'Psychedelics'] |
Every Day for Future: Porsche Impact | Porsche Impact: Going carbon neutral
American Porsche customers are now able to calculate and offset their vehicles’ greenhouse emissions: Last week was the US launch of Porsche Impact, a carbon-offset program developed by Porsche Digital and Porsche AG.
Porsche Impact is a web-based emissions calculator that allows Porsche owners to assess and compensate their car-related CO2 emissions. Customers who seek to offset their carbon footprint can make financial contributions to environmental projects to help combat the growing threat of global warming. Based on annual mileage, average fuel consumption and type of fuel used, they purchase emission offsets and support a specific climate project.
But, of course, it is not only our customers‘ responsibility to tackle climate change — as a company, we are committed to protecting the environment. That’s why our colleagues from Porsche Cars North America (PCNA) announced carbon neutrality for their corporate vehicle fleet, too. All cars at the two Experience Centers in Atlanta and Los Angeles as well as the entire Porsche Passport and Porsche Drive fleet are now enrolled in Porsche Impact.
Stronger together: Supporting sustainable projects with South Pole
Customers can choose from a portfolio of four offsetting projects around the world: biodiversity at Lake Kariba (Zimbabwe), forest protection in Alaska (U.S.), hydropower in Quảng Nam (Vietnam) and solar energy in La Paz (Mexico). These internationally certified projects effect change. By supporting these progressive environmental programs, we are able to deliver tangible long-term benefits to global climate stability as well as local ecosystems and communities.
The Porsche Impact program was launched alongside the new Porsche 992 in November 2018 and has since then been available to customers in Germany, the UK, and Poland. In Germany, our Porsche vehicle fleet including motorsports, are enrolled in Porsche Impact and therefore carbon neutral. The service is managed by South Pole, a Swiss provider of carbon offsetting and sustainability financing that has mobilised climate finance to over 700 projects worldwide.
Ending 2018, Porsche has committed to neutralizing emissions from cars that are already on the road. To date, Porsche and its customers have offset more than 18,000 tonnes of carbon with Porsche Impact.
Porsche Impact: Going carbon neutral
Towards a Low-Carbon Future
Porsche is cutting CO2 emissions on a major scale across its business, aiding the shift to a low-carbon future. In fact, sustainability is an essential part of Porsche’s corporate strategy and part of our vision for the future. Our goal is to have as little climate impact as possible. Therefore, we are continually looking for ways to reduce carbon emissions and improve efficiency. This strategy includes plans to hybridize and electrify our vehicle fleet. This year, the Taycan, our first fully electric sports car, will roll off the production line. We also introduced the S-Rating, sustainability criteria for our more than 7,600 suppliers.
We are very aware that this is only part of the solution and there’s still a long way to go. But we’re committed to tackling this challenge. To having a positive impact — together with our customers, partners and suppliers. | https://medium.com/next-level-german-engineering/every-day-for-future-porsche-impact-a4b9cef9e23f | ['Porsche Digital'] | 2019-06-18 06:57:07.153000+00:00 | ['Web App Development', 'Innovation', 'Sustainability', 'Climate Change', 'Co2 Emissions'] |
Mengenal Lilac: Warna Manis yang Menjadi Primadona | 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://thread.zalora.co.id/mengenal-lilac-warna-manis-yang-menjadi-primadona-1f49506a5c9d | ['A. Thursyna'] | 2021-02-15 04:54:42.742000+00:00 | ['Trends', 'Style Guides', 'Fashion Trends', 'Fashion', 'Style'] |
Capitalism and the Environment: Where I Stand | Photo by ANGELA BENITO on Unsplash
Capitalism is a system many nations heavily rely on but the effects this system has on our environment is often disregarded. Since the Industrial Revolution, humans have been burning fossil fuels that produce greenhouse gases for the sake of the production of goods. I researched two sides of an argument in order to help me form a point of view on my question, “Is capitalism one of the main reasons for climate change and should we as consumers make small changes in order to help the environment?”. The argument I focused on was whether it’s up to consumers or big companies to make sustainable choices in order to help the environment. Although both sides make good arguments, I’ve come to the conclusion that it should be up to big companies to make sustainable changes.
In my second blog post I analyzed two apps that help consumers shop more consciously. One of them is called “Good on You”, the app allows users to search their favorite brands and find out how sustainable and ethical they are. If it turns out the brand isn’t very sustainable, the app then directs users to other brands with similar products they might enjoy buying from. But something that’s often glossed over is that shopping sustainably and ethically is expensive. Shopping consciously involves a lot of investing and quite frankly, not many have the option to do so.
After analyzing an article about capitalism and climate change published by fastcompany.com, I found that constantly blaming individuals for climate change directs the attention away from the ones who are most responsible for greenhouse gas emissions, companies and businesses. Yes the power of consumers is very strong and they have the ability to change the market but not everyone has access to the education we do when it comes to human causes of climate change. And unfortunately, not everyone believes climate change is real either. As I’ve mentioned before, not everyone has the option to shop sustainably but large corporations who are doing well in the competitive market have the money to purchase emission rights which can be used in climate vulnerable communities. The people who work at the top of those companies have access to learning about how they’re negatively affecting the environment when a lot of individuals don’t. It’s unfair to put the blame on individuals of a global issue when not everyone in the world doesn’t even know what’s going on. Even if people do have access to the internet where they can look up a company’s stance on climate change, a lot of the time companies lie in order to get more customers.
In an article focused on corporate honesty published by the NDRC, I discovered that companies can find ways to make it seem like they’re reducing their emissions when in reality they’re not even doing the bare minimum. The article uses Procter and Gamble as an example. If someone were to look up their climate commitment, they’d find that P&G plans to reduce annual emissions 50% by 2030, which sounds amazing. But what lots of people don’t know is that the commitment only applies to what’s known as “Scope 1” and “Scope 2” emissions. These emissions are what’s produced by a corporation’s own facilities. P&G’s climate commitment fails to cover “Scope 3” emissions, “the emissions from the production of its raw materials and the use and disposal of its products.” Scope 3 emissions are what makes up a majority of a company’s greenhouse gas emissions, and like P&G, many companies can make it seem like they want to help fight against climate change when they’re really not by failing to include Scope 3 emissions in their climate commitment.
In the time I’ve spent working on these blog posts, it’s safe to say I’ve learned something new in the process of writing each one. Although I’ve developed a stance on the argument, I still believe individuals making changes in their life to help fight against climate change is something everyone should do, every small action counts. But we’re running out of time and change should start at the source and be made by the people who have the power to make the most impact for the sake of the environment and everyone’s well-being. The people with power such as corporations should be held accountable both by the people and our governments. Once that happens I think the most effective changes will be able to be made. | https://medium.com/@jamie-baranda02/capitalism-and-the-environment-where-i-stand-46c80232d05a | ['Jamie Baranda'] | 2020-12-17 06:09:45.464000+00:00 | ['Conscious Capitalism', 'Environment', 'Conscious Consumerism', 'Climate Change', 'Capitalism'] |
LightGBM, XGBoost and CatBoost — Kaggle — Santander Challenge | LightGBM Model Training
Fundamentals of LightGBM Model
It is a gradient boosting model that makes use of tree based learning algorithms. It is considered to be a fast processing algorithm.
While other algorithms trees grow horizontally, LightGBM algorithm grows vertically, meaning it grows leaf-wise and other algorithms grow level-wise. LightGBM chooses the leaf with large loss to grow. It can lower down more loss than a level wise algorithm when growing the same leaf.
Source of Image
Light GBM is prefixed as Light because of its high speed. Light GBM can handle the large size of data and takes lower memory to run.
Another reason why Light GBM is so popular is because it focuses on accuracy of results. LGBM also supports GPU learning and thus data scientists are widely using LGBM for data science application development.
Leaf growth technique in LightGBM
LightGBM uses leaf-wise (best-first) tree growth. It chooses to grow the leaf that minimizes the loss, allowing a growth of an imbalanced tree. Because it doesn’t grow level-wise, but leaf-wise, over-fitting can happen when data is small. In these cases, it is important to control the tree depth.
When to use LightGBM ?
LightGBM is not preferred for a small volume of datasets as it can easily overfit small data due to its sensitivity. Hence, it generally advised for data having more than 10,000+ rows, though there is no fixed threshold that helps in deciding the usage of LightGBM.
What are LightGBM Parameters?
While, LightGBM has more than 100 parameters that are given in the documentation of LightGBM, let’s checkout the most important ones.
Control Parameters
Max depth: It gives the depth of the tree and also controls the overfitting of the model. If you feel your model is getting overfitted lower down the max depth.
Min_data_in_leaf: Leaf minimum number of records also used for controlling overfitting of the model.
Feature_fraction: It decides the randomly chosen parameter in every iteration for building trees. If it is 0.7 then it means 70% of the parameter would be used.
Bagging_fraction: It checks for the data fraction that will be used in every iteration. Often, used to increase the training speed and avoid overfitting.
Early_stopping_round: If the metric of the validation data does show any improvement in last early_stopping_round rounds. It will lower the imprudent iterations.
Lambda: It states regularization. Its values range from 0 to 1.
Min_gain_to_split: Used to control the number of splits in the tree.
Core Parameters
Task: It tells about the task that is to be performed on the data. It can either train on the data or prediction on the data.
Application: This parameter specifies whether to do regression or classification. LightGBM default parameter for application is regression.
Binary: It is used for binary classification.
Multiclass: It is used for multiclass classification problems.
Regression: It is used for doing regression.
Boosting: It specifies the algorithm type.
rf : Used for Random Forest.
Goss: Gradient-based One Side Sampling.
Num_boost_round: It tells about the boosting iterations.
Learning_rate: The role of learning rate is to power the magnitude of the changes in the approximate that gets updated from each tree’s output. It determines the contribution of each tree on the final outcome and controls how quickly the algorithm proceeds down the gradient descent (learns); Typical values between 0.001–0.3. Smaller values make the model robust to the specific characteristics of each individual tree, thus allowing it to generalize well. Smaller values also make it easier to stop prior to overfitting; however, they increase the risk of not reaching the optimum with a fixed number of trees and are more computationally demanding. This hyperparameter is also called shrinkage. Generally, the smaller this value, the more accurate the model can be but also will require more trees in the sequence.
Num_leaves: It gives the total number of leaves that would be present in a full tree, default value: 31
Metric Parameter
It takes care of the loss while building the model. Some of them are stated below for classification as well as regression.
Mae: Mean absolute error.
Mse: Mean squared error.
Binary_logloss: Binary Classification loss.
Multi_logloss: Multi Classification loss.
def light_gbm_model_run(train_x, train_y, validation_x, validation_y, test_x):
params = {
"objective" : "regression",
"metric" : "rmse",
"num_leaves" : 100,
"learning_rate" : 0.001,
"bagging_fraction" : 0.6,
"feature_fraction" : 0.6,
"bagging_frequency" : 6,
"bagging_seed" : 42,
"verbosity" : -1,
"seed": 42
}
# Given its a regression case, I am using the RMSE as the metric.
lg_train = lgb.Dataset(train_x, label=train_y)
lg_validation = lgb.Dataset(validation_x, label=validation_y)
evals_result_lgbm = {}
model_light_gbm = lgb.train(params, lg_train, 5000,
valid_sets=[lg_train, lg_validation],
early_stopping_rounds=100,
verbose_eval=150,
evals_result=evals_result_lgbm )
pred_test_light_gbm = np.expm1(model_light_gbm.predict(test_x, num_iteration=model_light_gbm.best_iteration ))
return pred_test_light_gbm, model_light_gbm, evals_result_lgbm # Training and output of LightGBM Model
predictions_test_y_light_gbm, model_lgbm, evals_result = light_gbm_model_run(X_train_split, y_train_split, X_validation, y_validation, X_test_original)
print('Output of LightGBM Model training..') Training until validation scores don't improve for 100 rounds
[150] training's rmse: 1.66447 valid_1's rmse: 1.63996
[300] training's rmse: 1.5765 valid_1's rmse: 1.5927
[450] training's rmse: 1.49849 valid_1's rmse: 1.55466
[600] training's rmse: 1.42919 valid_1's rmse: 1.52339
[750] training's rmse: 1.36631 valid_1's rmse: 1.49837
[900] training's rmse: 1.30931 valid_1's rmse: 1.47791
[1050] training's rmse: 1.25734 valid_1's rmse: 1.46143
[1200] training's rmse: 1.20984 valid_1's rmse: 1.44818
[1350] training's rmse: 1.16678 valid_1's rmse: 1.43796
[1500] training's rmse: 1.12698 valid_1's rmse: 1.42969
[1650] training's rmse: 1.09049 valid_1's rmse: 1.42292
[1800] training's rmse: 1.05661 valid_1's rmse: 1.41849
[1950] training's rmse: 1.02528 valid_1's rmse: 1.41488
[2100] training's rmse: 0.995869 valid_1's rmse: 1.41222
[2250] training's rmse: 0.968211 valid_1's rmse: 1.40996
[2400] training's rmse: 0.941985 valid_1's rmse: 1.40807
[2550] training's rmse: 0.917269 valid_1's rmse: 1.40669
[2700] training's rmse: 0.893978 valid_1's rmse: 1.40569
[2850] training's rmse: 0.871822 valid_1's rmse: 1.40492
[3000] training's rmse: 0.850995 valid_1's rmse: 1.40427
[3150] training's rmse: 0.831253 valid_1's rmse: 1.40393
[3300] training's rmse: 0.812591 valid_1's rmse: 1.40376
Early stopping, best iteration is:
[3289] training's rmse: 0.813895 valid_1's rmse: 1.40374
Output of LightGBM Model training..
Hyper-Parameter Tuning in LightGBM
Parameter Tuning is an important part that is usually done by data scientists to achieve a good accuracy, fast result and to deal with overfitting. Let us see quickly some of the parameter tuning you can do for better results.
num_leaves: This parameter is responsible for the complexity of the model. I normally start by trying values in the range [10,100]. But if you have a solid heuristic to choose tree depth you can always use it and set num_leaves to 2^tree_depth — 1
LightGBM Documentation says in respect — This is the main parameter to control the complexity of the tree model. Theoretically, we can set num_leaves = 2^(max_depth) to obtain the same number of leaves as depth-wise tree. However, this simple conversion is not good in practice. The reason is that a leaf-wise tree is typically much deeper than a depth-wise tree for a fixed number of leaves. Unconstrained depth can induce over-fitting. Thus, when trying to tune the num_leaves, we should let it be smaller than 2^(max_depth). For example, when the max_depth=7 the depth-wise tree can get good accuracy, but setting num_leaves to 127 may cause over-fitting, and setting it to 70 or 80 may get better accuracy than depth-wise.
Min_data_in_leaf: Assigning bigger value to this parameter can result in underfitting of the model. Giving it a value of 100 or 1000 is sufficient for a large dataset.
Max_depth: Controls the depth of the individual trees. Typical values range from a depth of 3–8 but it is not uncommon to see a tree depth of 1. Smaller depth trees are computationally efficient (but require more trees); however, higher depth trees allow the algorithm to capture unique interactions but also increase the risk of over-fitting. Larger training data sets are more tolerable to deeper trees.
num_iterations: Num_iterations specifies the number of boosting iterations (trees to build). The more trees you build the more accurate your model can be at the cost of: — Longer training time — Higher chance of over-fitting So typically start with a lower number of trees to build a baseline and increase it later when you want to squeeze the last % out of your model.
It is recommended to use smaller learning_rate with larger num_iterations . Also, we should use early_stopping_rounds if we go for higher num_iterations to stop your training when it is not learning anything useful.
early_stopping_rounds — “early stopping” refers to stopping the training process if the model’s performance on a given validation set does not improve for several consecutive iterations. This parameter will stop training if the validation metric is not improving after the last early stopping round. It should be defined in pair with a number of iterations. If we set it too large we increase the chance of over-fitting. The rule of thumb is to have it at 10% of your num_iterations .
So for my above implementation of LightGBM, initially for two of the LightGBM parameters as below got me a score of 1.47953 (in Kaggle Public Board)
"num_leaves" : 40,
"learning_rate" : 0.004,
And now if I only tune these parameters as below
"num_leaves" : 100,
"learning_rate" : 0.001,
I got my score very very slightly updated to 1.4714 (in Kaggle Public Board)
I also tried the below one (keeping ‘num_leaves’ at 70 to avoid over-fitting)
"num_leaves" : 70,
"learning_rate" : 0.001,
With this — I got a score of 1.47234 (in Kaggle Public Board)
Features Importance in LightGBM | https://medium.com/analytics-vidhya/gradient-boosting-lightgbm-xgboost-and-catboost-kaggle-challenge-santander-f3cf0cc56898 | ['Rohan Paul'] | 2020-11-22 11:27:23.246000+00:00 | ['Python', 'Kaggle', 'Data Science', 'Machine Learning'] |
Sankofa to Awakening: Homage honoring Black History Month | Sankofa to Awakening: Homage honoring Black History Month -Jorge A. Fuller
Recently I came across a former student of mines socail media post stating,
“…I don’t necessarily like Black History month. Mostly cause we have to be reminded where we come from which is an era of Blacks being beaten and ostracized on camera. I understand if you completely disagree with me but I don’t think this is an adequate substitution for the real shit that America owes us.”
I felt as if I failed them and if all they could remember are the parts of our history that are the trials and tribulations, then I didn’t teach them enough. So I responded:
“The purpose of Negro History Week, since 1975 better known as Black History Month was to highlight the contributions made by blacks that were ignored in education and media. My apologies as an educator that I did not do more to expand beyond slavery; to the birth of civilizations within the Nubian Empire, to the complete and utter disruption of economies Mansa Musa, to hygiene practices that help eliminate the black plague Moorish impact which is also proven in architectural designs of cities. Black history has been hidden so much that reparations are last on the list to rectify what happened to indigenous and captured people forced into a free labor system that is still present today. My apologies that so many tales are not spoken because Griots are silenced. Blacks in the US are geniuses who have built technologies but never received adequate acknowledgment because there’s still a clause that states we’re 3/5ths of a man and can be deemed less than so that we’re considered property. I do not want you to stop celebrating this month but to begin truly celebrating and passing the information in greater detail to those younger than yourself and those that have not been afforded the privilege to learn what you can.”
I’m asked how do I honor Black History Month? Looking at the above statements I have to do more. Just because, I acknowledge and celebrate Black History each day, showcasing and using what my ancestors and elders have contributed to (without recognition). Secondly, during the month of February, I encourage educators to place the contributions of Blacks into the forefront of their curriculum. And lastly, I live the historical lessons that were given to me and pass them to future generations.
So, I began by explaining the background of Black History Month formerly known as, “Negro History Week,” and how it was created by Carter G. Woodson in 1926; to provide an opportunity to showcase the many contributions of Black figures throughout history. He chose the second week of February because it covered the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln (February 12) and Fredrick Douglass (February 14) who were common figures during the abolitionary period of the United States of America. Since 1976, it has morphed to be a month-long celebration, yet it amazes me that we sometimes feel limited to a month-long period of celebration. It seems that during the month of February media and classrooms began to display figures of Black History with the intent of honoring them but we must speak of the powerful history located in the motherland, the genius and ingenuity our ancestors had during slavery, and the worldly impact of Civil Rights movement and its supports.
Growing up I refused to read, as it was a task that took me away from running and playing with friends even though my household was full of readers. Every morning my grandparents would read the newspaper as they prepared my twin sister and I to leave for school. I remember my pawpaw reading the encyclopedia and granny reading the bible every night. My ma would read novels and my twin would read anything she got her hands on.
However, I refused to read until I picked up a book about Harriet Tubman.
From that, I learned that reading was outlawed as it could’ve potentially led to the uprising of slaves and them eventually removing themselves from bondage. I found myself acknowledging the ramifications of slavery such as the stripping of language, the branding inferiority, and the gruesome removal of our humanity for a time. Those people cannot be wiped away or forgotten because those stories of resilience birthed and nurtured for centuries to come.
Once there was a slave inventor named Ned “who” created the innovative cotton scraper. The invention was stolen, sold, and patent attempted by slave Master Oscar Stewart. We often celebrate Eli Whitney for patenting the cotton gin (which revolutionized the American economy), but he was white even though stories continue to press that he was black. It is our responsibility to truly tell the story that most of the inventions by slaves go unrecognized. Many took advantage by patenting inventions because slaves or Blacks couldn’t during that time. I ask you to consider who would benefit the most from the invention of such items? Slaves would! So we know who invented them.
Slaves were truly revolutionaries of technology which is simply the process to make life easier.
Honestly, that characteristic did not solely start or end during slavery. We can take it back to ancient Nubian empires that founded civilizations. The creation of recording information was literally written on walls. Bring it forward to the modern-day inventor of the super soaker who is finally getting his royalties. Each day we see a contribution of a Black figure in the technology we use. That genius does not stop here but even continues in the motherland with the growth of their car industry, energy, and communication. These stories are at our fingertips on the pages of social media begging to be shared, questioned, and read.
February is Black History Month created purposely to celebrate how Blacks have impacted society.
It is an opportunity for me to intentionally build in a unit to expose figures of the past that have inventions still in use in present times. In February, we get to encourage the display of figures as we continue to learn that more inventions were made by Blacks that were not allowed to get patents in the United States. My favorite unit has been showing students that the conductor of electrical charge, which illuminates the light bulb, is known as the filament which was created by Luis Latimer even though Thomas Edison gets the credit for the light bulb. Then I get to watch students do a simple circuit experiment lighting their light bulbs. February is the month that is hard for stakeholders to deny the opportunity to teach the impact of our figures, representation dictates that for our students to grow, “we must look back and give credit where it is due.”
Sankofa — the purpose of looking, seeking, and taking back to bring with you. Reviewing one’s history helps to provide rationalization & understanding of one’s present. Each day I reflect or reminisce to seek if my current decisions are improvements of ones made in the past. I find myself considering the quotes that are so commonly used and how they impact my life; am I judging by the “content of another’s character,” or working “by any means necessary,” as often we are not in the position of just Dr. King and Brother X but a combination. I look for those lessons that were taught by stories of Anansi the spider, “to be careful and know what you’re wishing for as each trick that was played is simply one that plays on your own desires.” For me, the lesson to remember is there are always people that aren’t recognized for their contributions, but without them, we wouldn’t have what we have. As the founders of the #MeToo movement and Black Lives Matter continue to press the issues of our mistreatment into the media, we must look to support those movements. I continue to support movements even when others don’t recognize it by simply sharing the information.
Black History Month is designed to showcase the contributions of Black people throughout history because it is not always present in textbooks as the media spends more time showcasing our destruction. It is important to celebrate and honor our history as it gives brief sparks that may become embers in the hearts of youth as it did to me. As a Black man, I must jump at the opportunity to celebrate the contributions of my people. Or I am doing a disservice to ultimately myself. I implore those that have read this far to choose to live black history, encourage its celebration, and seek the lessons from tales each day & share them for the future. Carter G. Woodson created Negro History Week that became Black History Month and in the next chapter hopefully will be the Black Awakening. As Shaili Jha MA so proudly stated, “I am my ancestor’s wildest dreams.”
The opinions expressed in this blog posting are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of Surge Institute. | https://medium.com/surge-institute/sankofa-to-awakening-homage-honoring-black-history-month-370816f49e5a | ['Jorge Fuller'] | 2020-02-21 21:12:23.289000+00:00 | ['Living Black History', 'Share The Our Stories', 'Sankofa', 'Black History Month', 'Awakening'] |
Games On A Writer’s Brain | Games On A Writer’s Brain
Photo by João Ferrão on Unsplash
We’ve all heard the arguments, had parental figures lecture about the terrible effects touching a few buttons can cause. But let’s just be clear, are video games the cause for bad grades and lack of concentration when it comes down to our writing?
Freelance Writer, Sam Fentman argues that computer games can have a positive effect on cognitive memory and motor skills. Her article, ‘What impact do different types of computer games have on your brain?’ pursues scientific findings on how different game types change how our brain activity works.
“One of the undeniable benefits of video games and other interactive training techniques is that they offer a type of engaging and interesting activity that can help players build and practice new skills.” — Sam Fentman
In an American study that was made fairly recently, it was discovered that out of two groups of biology undergrad students, the group who were assigned to play a game called Spore attained a 4% higher grade than the group of students who detained from playing any games.
According to Sam Fentman, online video games are a sure way to succeed in your writing. She states that playing World of Warcraft might just help you with gaining multitasking and teammate communication skills. Smaller, brainteaser games like Angry Birds could potentially help with problem-solving and attention to detail.
As someone who isn’t a true gamer, I’ve always had a negative view on what gaming is, thinking of it as a way to do anything productive. After all it’s easy to be concerned about whether children are getting a good education if they’re playing games most of the time.
However, my outlook on online gaming has begun to change after reading articles like Alison Jones’ positive pro gaming piece.
Playing games seems like the best way to get work experience. This is why commercial airlines have used flight simulations to teach new pilots how to fly. VR headsets are a big step in terms of gaming technology and have taken leaps in advancement since COVID 19 hit us.
One of the ways virtual gaming has come in handy is for training methods, without being able to leave the house sports games will need to be postponed. For footballers like Michail Antonio this might have meant no more practice, if it wasn’t for the VR headset.
“I’m not a footballer known for his awareness on the field. I’m known for my brute strength, power and pace. I’ve noticed that my awareness is starting to improve, knowing where people are coming from. It’s helping.” — West Ham United’s Michail Antonio.
Developers say that the VR offers the same neuroplastic response as a real ball, specifically weighted for each individual.
So, how does gaming affect writing abilities?
While a research project created by UKM, that showed 90% of the participating students revealing that video games helped to improve their vocabulary, and 76.5% of the students said that playing had enhanced their narrative skills and character building abilities.
Along with interactive games that involved plot sequences and good narratives encouraged them with their story writing, the project ended with many of these students stating that they’d be interested in pursuing a writing profession in the future.
Following this however, a Geographic article that was published in 2010 did not hold the same views on the improvement in writing skills, rather showcasing an opposition in gaming being outside of an educational benefit.
“video games aren’t inherently harmful in themselves. Their danger lies in their ability to shift the balance between work and play.”
Young children who spend a lot of time inside playing games have results showing that their writing and reader skills are at a far lower standing than those who don’t play video games, but this in itself can depend upon the individual who uses games as an escapism method rather than a fun learning exercise.
In conclusion what affects our writing if games are considered both good and bad? The answer is simple. Everything. In truth there’s no right answer to how we should be writing, only the writer knows what works best for them. I’m not against playing a good car racing game every once in a while, but I also believe that time away from games is still important. | https://medium.com/@jodilovetoread/games-on-a-writers-brain-8930c99c27ff | ['Jodi Rosebud'] | 2020-04-07 00:22:46.334000+00:00 | ['Writer', 'Writers On Writing', 'Writing', 'Writers Life', 'Games'] |
TIPS FOR A GOOD NIGHT SLEEP, HEALTH, AND WELLNESS | In this article, you will get some information about good HEALTH, Good night’s sleep and you will get benefits.
You know that the biggest problem of health is good night sleep, which means that if you do not sleep well at night,
You may have different types of disease. And if you want to stay healthy, then it is very important to complete sleep at night.
Tell me one thing. Is this happen to you, like you have made many plans in the afternoon but you haven’t succeeded because your mind is not stable. because you haven’t slept at night.
It’s a very big issue, isn’t it? It happens to me several times Especially after being a mother of two,
Good health, good night sleep
That is a prevalent problem. And if you are a mother, you will be completely related. So today, it’s sleeping time. It’s night. And suddenly I thought, I should discuss the techniques to sleep better at night.
The main threat to better sleep is caffeine, which means coffee. A large amount of coffee is present in the tea also. So, I love coffee very much. I used to have it 3–4 times a day.
Read more | https://medium.com/@mmansur004/tips-for-a-good-night-sleep-health-and-wellness-69a4da69cc56 | ['Mansur Hussain'] | 2020-12-25 17:33:52.272000+00:00 | ['Sleep', 'Goodnight', 'Health', 'Sleeping', 'Sleep Disorders'] |
How Santa Uses Mobility-as-a-Service on Christmas Eve | Mobility-as-a-Service is a consumer-centric model for people transportation. It helps fleets increase efficiency and flexibility. And managers gather data and insights faster and easier. So, why would Santa be using MaaS?
Depending on the MaaS platform, we can have the following data available:
the fastest route to a specific place;
performance reports on previous trips;
if a vehicle has to go in service;
the reason a vehicle has to go in service;
the battery/fuel level;
the costs;
behavior in traffic;
team’s status.
I bet he uses his own MaaS solution. Check out his performance and you’ll see. You can spy on his Christmas Eve journey around the world Google’s tool. They even record his journey live on Youtube. And, if you want to analyze the situation more, they have his previous trips available there too.
Remember when Helsinki shook the world in 2017 with Whim? According to them, it’s “the first all-inclusive MaaS solution commercially available on the market”. You have to take a step back guys, Santa has been on this trend for at least a few decades!
During the past years, the popularity of MaaS solutions has been increasing. Due to this, PwC predicts the number of cars will decline by 2025. And that’s amazing news! But if we want to speed up the process, we should ask Santa to lend us his platform. It looks like it’s better than everything currently available on the market.
There are other things we can do until Santa shares his solution with us. Like tracking him on Christmas Eve to see what kind of features he might have and start working on them too. Imagine implementing his technology in the public and private sectors. We could assure high performance at low costs. Avoid risks and emergencies related to either our drivers or assets. In-depth performance analysis and an insightful overview of…anything! Sounds like the dream of any fleet manager. | https://medium.com/@ruxandratheodoramazilu-79268/santa-uses-mobility-as-a-service-on-christmas-eve-c846c3a0047f | ['Ruxandra-Theodora Mazilu'] | 2020-12-23 15:57:14.533000+00:00 | ['Santa Claus', 'Christmas', 'Technology', 'Mobility As A Service', 'Transportation'] |
Dysmorphia | Written by
Daily comic by Lisa Burdige and John Hazard about balancing life, love and kids in the gig economy. | https://backgroundnoisecomic.medium.com/dysmorphia-8fb74053672d | ['Background Noise Comics'] | 2019-05-15 03:02:19.535000+00:00 | ['Humor', 'Comics', 'Character', 'Webcomics', 'Cartoon'] |
Kubernetes CKA hands-on challenge #4 Node Management | Content
Overview and Tips
Rules!
be fast, avoid creating yaml manually from scratch use only kubernetes.io/docs for help. check my solution after you did yours. You probably have a better one!
Notices
This challenge was tested on k8s 1.18. Please let us know should you encounter any issues in the comments
how to be fast with Kubectl ≥ 1.18
Scenario Setup
You will start a two node cluster on your machine, one master and one worker. For this you need to install VirtualBox and vagrant, then:
cd cka-example-environments/cluster1
./up.sh git clone [email protected] :wuestkamp/cka-example-environments.gitcd cka-example-environments/cluster1./up.sh vagrant ssh cluster1-master1
vagrant@cluster1-master1:~$ sudo -i
root@cluster1-master1:~# kubectl get node
You should be connected as root@cluster1-master1 . You can connect to other worker nodes using root, like ssh root@cluster1-worker1
If you want to destroy the environment again run ./down.sh . You should destroy the environment after usage so no more resources are used!
Todays Task: Node Management
Drain the node cluster1-worker1 . Save single pods manually to restore afterwards. Remove the node cluster1-worker1 temporarily from the cluster. Add the worker node back to the cluster and allow scheduling again. Restore the single pods. Create a pod of image httpd:2.4.41-alpine and confirm its scheduled on cluster1-worker1 . Expose the pod via a NodePort service and connect to it using curl. You should be able to connect to the internal IP of cluster1-worker1 from your local machine. Suspend the master node ( vagrant suspend cluster1-master1 ), then check: is the pod still reachable via the NodePort service? Resume the master node ( vagrant resume cluster1-master1 ) and confirm node status normal.
Solution
The following commands will be executed as root@cluster1-master1 :
alias k=kubectl
1.
k get node # one master one worker
k drain cluster1-worker1
An error is displayed. BUT the node is now already marked as SchedulingDisabled so new pods couldn’t get scheduled!
We can use --ignore-daemonsets to kill pods of DaemonSets, but there are two pods not controlled by controller resources:
error: cannot delete Pods not managed by ReplicationController, ReplicaSet, Job, DaemonSet or StatefulSet (use --force to override): management/important-pod, management/web-server
So we export those:
k -n management get pod important-pod -o yaml --export > important-pod.yaml k -n management get pod web-server -o yaml --export > web-server.yaml
I know the --export flag has been marked deprecated, but I don’t see a good alternative as of now. Else we need to clean the yaml configs ourselves.
And run:
k drain cluster1-worker1 --ignore-daemonsets --force k get pod --all-namespaces # various PENDING states
2.
To remove the worker node stop the kubelet :
ssh cluster1-worker1
root@cluster1-worker1:~# service kubelet stop
root@cluster1-worker1:~# exit
Then we check the node status, give it a minute or two:
k get node
We should see cluster1-worker1 marked as NotReady,SchedulingDisabled .
3.
We add the node back to the cluster:
ssh cluster1-worker1
root@cluster1-worker1:~# service kubelet start
root@cluster1-worker1:~# exit
Then we check back:
k get node # should show Ready,SchedulingDisabled k uncordon cluster1-worker1 k get node # back to normal
Restore the single pods:
k -n management -f important-pod.yaml create
k -n management -f web-server.yaml create k get pod --all-namespaces -o wide
This should show all pods are RUNNING again. The pod web-server might still be in an ERROR state, this was handled in part 1.
4.
k run pod --image=httpd:2.4.41-alpine k get pod pod -o wide
Working, scheduled on cluster1-worker1 .
5.
k expose -h
k expose pod pod -h
k expose pod pod --port 80 --type=NodePort k get svc pod # find node port k get node -o wide # find node internal IP
And connect from your main machine:
➜ curl 192.168.101.201:30801 <html><body><h1>It works!</h1></body></html>
Awesome. Check my explanation of NodePort and the other Kubernetes Services if you need a refresh.
6.
Log out and run from your main machine:
➜ vagrant suspend cluster1-master1
vagrant suspend saves the current state of the virtual machine on disk, no more ram used.
Then check the NodePort service again:
➜ curl 192.168.101.201:30801 <html><body><h1>It works!</h1></body></html>
Still working!
That’s one great thing about Kubernetes, the current state is implemented on all worker nodes. Like the services are implemented via the kube-proxy which runs on all workers. If the master (or all masters) are down, like during an upgrade, the cluster still runs normally.
BUT controllers are running on master nodes which means resources like Deployment or HorizontalPodAutoscalers will not work any longer. Also the api-server is not reachable so we couldn’t apply changes.
7.
Let’s boot the master up again:
➜ vagrant resume cluster1-master1
➜ vagrant ssh cluster1-master1 sudo -i k get node
Wonderful.
Clean up
Run: ./down.sh .
All CKA challenges
More challenges on | https://codeburst.io/kubernetes-cka-hands-on-challenge-4-node-management-df7bf48897d3 | ['Kim Wuestkamp'] | 2021-01-02 19:12:19.213000+00:00 | ['Continuous Deployment', 'Continuous Integration', 'Continuous Delivery', 'Cka', 'Kubernetes'] |
The Multiclass Definitions | Photo by Tuân Nguyễn Minh on Unsplash
One of the first lessons a budding machine learning programmer learns is about binary classification. It is the idea that you and your model are trying to classify an input as one of two outcomes. It is a hot-dog or not, should you reject of accept someone for a loan, or do you think a student will pass or fail a class.
Once you get the hang of that, courses start to then teach about multi-class classification. This is the idea that inputs can be classified as one of many outputs — this represents the world more closely. Maybe you would like to predict an image of a number as between 0–9. Or maybe you are curious about what kind of flower that pretty one on your neighbor’s lawn is so you train a model to find out. Some first key lessons include things like one-hot encoding or label encoding.
We are all here to learn, and I recently found the different multiclass and multilabel classifications that I would like to share with everyone. So, let’s dig in.
Multilabel Classification
This set of algorithms can be thought of as classifying your input as part of one or many classes. Think of Medium articles for one second. When authors are getting ready to publish their article, they have to decide a set of tags that represent their article. These could be tags like ‘artificial intelligence’, ‘dumb story’, or ‘Towards Data Science’.
Now, Medium or someone with some time could train a model that could learn how people tag their articles by doing some natural language processing on their article itself. Their model would then be able to predict or recommend the top 5 ‘labels’ or tags that a new article should have.
The idea here is that there is no mutual exclusivity, and the output can classify the input as one of many things.
Multiclass Classification
Conversely, multiclass classification does have mutual exclusivity. If we extend the Medium analogy a little bit further, the same model would only predict or recommend one of the tags instead of many.
This type of problem is more commonly talked about within the machine learning guides out there because the training sets may have a defined ground truth. For example, if you have a classifier that is predicting dog breeds, you would want the model to choose one output instead of two.
Interestingly, there are a couple of sub-classes within this set of methods. There are one vs. one and one vs. all/rest classification. Here are a couple of links that succinctly explain these differences. In essence, the are smart ways to divide the multi-class classification into easier sub-problems, particularly binary classification problems.
Multioutput Regression
This classification method is similar to multiclass classification but instead of a class that the model is predicting, the model is spitting out a number or continuous variable for the result. If you are looking to create a model that outputs stock price of Apple as well as the momentum of the next move, this may be the way to go. | https://towardsdatascience.com/the-multiclass-definitions-356d2de7ef20 | ['Danilo Pena'] | 2018-04-13 20:27:26.706000+00:00 | ['Machine Learning', 'Classification', 'Advice', 'Algorithms', 'Data Science'] |
Intro to QPE and Phase Encoding | Intro to QPE and Phase Encoding — QPE algorithms
This is the first post in a new series on Quantum Phase Estimation algorithms. The series aims to dive into a very important subroutine in quantum computation: the QPE algorithm. In the first two posts, we will look at the basics of the QPE algorithm — what it is, why is it needed and some mathematics required to fully understand it. These posts assume that the reader is familiar with the linear algebra required for quantum computing. You may look at our Linear Algebra series to brush up on such concepts. Let us get started then!
Intuition behind QPE
Let’s start with an analogy.
An analogy for Quantum Phase Estimation
Imagine you have a shelf. Suppose that shelf contains planks at different heights. Each plank provides some definitive information about your shelf. If some plank is at height h, then it provides us with a piece of information that this shelf has the ability to contain objects that would be placed at height h. You can also have other planks with heights h1, h2, h3, and so on. Each value for height gives you some information about the shelf. Well, how do you measure this height? You take a ruler and you measure it relative to your floor or some surface.
This is the essential idea behind QPE. Quantum Phase Estimation is a procedure, an algorithm used to measure the eigenvalues of an unknown unitary matrix. Sounds tough? Let’s relate it.
Think of the unitary matrix as the shelf which has eigenvalues (which are, back to the analogy, the heights of the planks). QPE is the act of measuring these eigenvalues. What is the ruler then? That’s the math and the neat tricks we employ in our algorithm! How do we do it? To measure with a ruler, we need to know how to read its scale, and thus for understanding how we measure the phase requires us to look at the math needed to make sense of the QPE algorithm.
R equired Mathematics
1. Nature of eigenvalues of a unitary matrix
Any unitary matrix, in quantum mechanics, is a square matrix that satisfies the following equation:
Unitary Matrix equation — (1)
This has implications for the eigenvectors of U (unitary matrix) and the corresponding eigenvalues. The following image would make things a lot clearer:
Nature of eigenvalues of a unitary — (2)
We can now clearly see that any eigenvector, λ, of a unitary matrix, U, satisfies the following equation:
Eigenvector equation for a unitary -(3)
where θ is the angle or the phase associated with the eigenvalue of U. Since determining this θ ensures that we can also determine the eigenvalue of the matrix, the QPE algorithm is all about determining this phase.
NOTE: although θ can be anything, we assume that θ belongs to [0,2π) as any angle > 2π or < 0 can always be brought down to the domain [0,2π). Have a thought about how this can be done and why is it equivalent.
2. Phase Kickback
Now that we are aware of what the phase we are looking for in QPE is, let’s look at a neat little trick that enables us to run QPE in the first place.
Imagine you have a unitary matrix U and you form a single-qubit control gate out of it. Let’s call this gate CU. This is a controlled unitary gate that is conditioned on a single qubit and looks something like this:
A controlled unitary gate- (4)
Now, let us say that this CU gate acts on a state |λ⟩ present in a target quantum register and has a control qubit in the state |q⟩ present in the control quantum register. If we assume |λ⟩ to be an eigenvector of U, as we change the state |q⟩, the following results arise —
How CU acts in a combined system — (5)
What if control was in an equal superposition of |0⟩ and |1⟩?
Phase kickback in a superposition state — (6)
Since the eigenvector can be factored out as an independent quantum state in our system, we are left with a relative phase kicked back into our control qubit. This attachment of relative phase to a control qubit due to the action of a CU gate on its eigenvector is called Phase Kickback. For a more thorough understanding, be sure to check out our article explaining the same. But the bigger question is, how is this phase kickback going to help us in phase estimation?
3. Encoding phase to control qubits
As we just saw, the phase kickback process allows us to encode the eigenvalue of a unitary matrix as a relative phase in the superposition state of a qubit. From image 6, it can be clearly seen that this eigenvalue was encoded as a relative phase in our control qubit. But, how do we determine this phase?
The next part requires some patience, so bear with me!
As mentioned in image 4, we can assume the phase θ belongs to the interval [0,2π). Further, for representation’s sake, we may say that θ = θ* ⋅ (2π) where θ* belongs to the interval [0,1). Determining this θ* is equivalent to determining θ as they only differ by a constant factor and since θ* is a decimal number between 0 and 1, it can be represented as a binary fraction, that is —
θ as a binary fraction
where n is the precision up to which this binary fraction has been defined.
For example, a phase of 1/4 looks something like 0.01 in binary. In this case, the phase has an exact representation in binary form. For a phase of 1/5, we have to specify up to what precision we want to determine this θ. Let’s say we want a precision of 4 bits, then we have our representation as 0.0011 for θ = 1/5.
Now that the representation is taken care of, let’s get to the encoding (and most interesting) part. If we have an n-bit binary representation of the phase, it makes sense to use n-qubits for each of the bit. The essential idea behind encoding is that we somehow want to encode each of the bits present in our phase such that when we measure the qubits, in which we encoded our phase, we get a correct estimate of the phase with high probability. Taking this one step further, let us actually look at the math that would help us realize the same.
Let’s look at the following circuit —
A general phase kickback circuit
Here, as we understood in phase kickback, |λ⟩ is an eigenvector of U, the control qubit is in an equal superposition of |0⟩ and |1⟩ but the matrix is a bit different. What is it?
The explanation for U^(2ʲ)
Let us mathematically define the system that we have with us —
Mathematics of the combined system with U^(2ʲ)
What does (2^j)θ mean here? It is just equal to the bit representation of θ shifted left j times as you would expect for any binary fraction. But since this binary representation is present as the power of the imaginary exponent, we can simplify our state further as:
Simplification for (2ʲ)θ
We simplified the left half before the decimal point of our binary exponent to k because the binary representation of any number has an integral part and a fractional part. If we take the example of 4.25, we have an integral part of 4 and the fractional part as 0.25 or 1/2². This number, 4.25, can be represented as 4 + 1/2² which is equal to 100 + 0.01 in binary. Now, 100 here represents k in our expression. Since this binary representation, to the left of the decimal point, is for an integer, we say that k is an integer. You may even refer to this link for a more clear understanding of the binary representation of numbers.
The final result that we get after all of this heavy-duty math is a simple expression which says that:
Final expression
Let’s take some examples to clear things out more. Let us say θ is 1/4 = 0.01 in binary. If we apply the matrix U 2¹ times we will have:
Final State after applying U 2 times
If the value of θ is 1/5 = 0.0011, up to 4-bit precision, and we apply the matrix U 2² times, the system would look something like —
Final State after applying U 4 times
Let the above math sink in nicely before you move ahead as this is the backbone for the phase estimation procedure that we are going to explore in our following posts.
Okay, with this math under our belts, let us see how the whole phase encoding step looks like.
As we discussed before, it made sense to take n-qubits to estimate the phase up to n-bit precision. Let us then take n ancillary (extra) qubits and look at what the combined state for our system looks like. We number the extra qubits from 0 to n-1 and each jth qubit has the matrix U^(2^j) applied to it. This is what we get:
Final Phase encoding
To remember this expression, a simple way would be that the phase, which is encoded in the qubit j, is shifted j places to the left due to the application of the unitary U^(2^j).
At this point, we have the tools to understand the phase estimation algorithm to some extent. We understood what is the phase in the QPE algorithm, how it can be represented efficiently and looked at a neat procedure to encode that phase into different qubits. But this is only half the picture. The last piece of the puzzle is extracting the bits out of those qubits. This would lead us to something called a Quantum Fourier Transform which is much, much simpler than it sounds!
Extracting the phase, combining everything to form our QPE algorithm, and why we care about the phases of a unitary matrix so much are going to be some of the topics of our next post in this series. Hope you learned a thing or two from this post and found it as exciting as it really is! Stay tuned for more by Quantum Untangled. | https://medium.com/quantum-untangled/intro-to-qpe-and-phase-encoding-qpe-algorithms-15638a8554b9 | ['Harshit Gupta'] | 2021-06-30 05:50:25.745000+00:00 | ['Quantum Algorithms', 'Physics', 'Quantum Computing', 'Linear Algebra'] |
To Vaccinate or Not | A poem on what happens when life decisions confront
Photo by CDC on Unsplash
Covid-19 out of control
308,000 U.S. deaths to date
an climbing, hospitals full
don’t wish to be a casualty
to take or not to take
the injection to prevent
or down the road
pay an unwanted price
like the Tuskegee experiment
much to ponder, who truly cares
to do or not to do
pay now or pay later
that is the dilemma.
For additional reads: | https://medium.com/illumination/to-vaccinate-or-not-79af16dca08 | ['Ep Mcknight'] | 2020-12-17 23:18:44.311000+00:00 | ['Life Lessons', 'Covid 19', 'Self Improvement', 'Poetry', 'Life'] |
Getting creative with the GI Bill —How I get paid thousands per month to learn how to fly planes | Originally posted on Kyle’s Work.
Sort of out of nowhere, I decided this summer that I wanted to become a pilot, and began compulsively researching what it would take to start training the next day. Similar urges have occurred many times throughout my life, and has led to me riding motorcycles and owning a parrot, among other things. My research began under only one condition, that I didn’t want to spend a dime out-of-pocket on any of this.
I want to share how I used my Post 9/11 GI Bill education benefits to not only take flight lessons for free, but to get paid doing it, all while keeping my full-time job. This is the first few months of my journey to become an expert pilot, going from low-key aviation geek to pilot in command.
It’s my hope that you find this article on your own path to cruising altitude, and dispel some rumors and myths you may have heard along the way.
When I joined the Marines in 2006, I didn’t really consider college as an option. This was great news for my recruiter, who told me I wasn’t alone, and that a military career could open many doors that may have been shut. I can’t remember all the promises this man made to me, but I do remember being told I could use education benefits to pay for flight school, which is an easy way to sell it to someone who clearly doesn’t care about school. The GI Bill is something that comes up often during and after your military career, something like, “You’d be stupid not to use these benefits. You earned it!”
Being Anti
It took me 5 years after my EAS (end of active service) to look into using my education benefits. As someone who broke into the tech industry with self-taught software engineering skills, I’ve often been the one trying to convince my friends to avoid going back to school, as blasphemous and privileged as that sounds. For years, I believed higher education was the enemy, a “cruel joke on the poor,” to quote Peter Gregory, leaving its victims with years of debt and false hope for prosperity, all while there are many career paths to take which don’t require it as a baseline for entrance. But after only a few days of research, I realized I needed to make my enemy my friend. So far, this was a rare scenario in my life where almost nobody was standing in my way—except me, I realized.
After all, the law says I can’t pass this benefit on to my children. So unless I had a change of heart, this amazing benefit would have otherwise died with me. The most marvelous punchline of the “cruel joke” would be that some of us can afford it solely on the taxpayers’ dime, but choose not to.
The Regs
It turns out my recruiter didn’t lie necessarily about the GI Bill paying for flight training. I don’t blame him for missing one critical detail, that the U.S. government doesn’t want to pay for your piloting hobby, but rather your next career in aviation. In practice, this means under both the Montgomery and Post 9/11 GI Bill, you can’t use your benefits to pay for a Private Pilot-Airplane certificate from a vocational flight school. Having a Private Pilot certificate, which can cost anywhere from $9-25k, depending on how luxurious the school, is a prerequisite to using the GI Bill to pay for follow-on flight training. For many of us, this is an insurmountable hurdle and deal breaker. This could change, more on that later.
Flight block at 0730 means showing up at 0700 to preflight. The airport is an hour from home, so that was nice.
For the uninitiated, it’s important to note some basic rules of the sky. When you go to a flight school, your goal is to obtain any number of pilot certificates and ratings, which allow you certain privileges such as carrying passengers, flying in inclement weather, or making money as a pilot. The first certificate most people get is the coveted Private Pilot certificate.
Private Pilot
Or more specifically, Private Pilot-Airplane, Single-Engine Land, allows you to fly as pilot-in-command of a single-engine airplane with passengers under VFR (visual flight rules) conditions, which essentially means you must steer clear of clouds and use the ground and horizon as reference for navigation and attitude at all times. Going the helicopter route, the equivalent certificate is the Private Pilot-Rotorcraft (helicopter and gyroplane). Instrument Rating
Commonly the first rating pilots earn after Private Pilot, this rating allows you to fly under IFR (instrument flight rules) conditions, which means flying solely by reference to cockpit instruments with no visibility outside, a whole other way of flying! The captain of your last commercial flight is an expert at this, and can land an enormous plane with less than 500-ft. visibility. Commercial Pilot — Allows you to be compensated to fly others around. Requires many hours of training and higher level of airmanship. Other endorsements and ratings: Multi-engine rating, seaplane rating, high-altitude endorsement, complex aircraft endorsement, ratings specific to aircraft, such as for a Boeing 737 Max Other certificates: Flight Instructor (CFI), Ground Instructor, Airline Transport Pilot (required by commercial airlines)
Though the Private Pilot certificate is highly coveted, it’s often thought of by professional pilots as one of the easiest hurdles of your piloting career. You could stop at Private Pilot and have an enviable life as a weekend warrior, you’re Harrison Ford flying to Denali on holiday, completing daring search-and-rescue operations, or flying your friends to Jamaica for fun! But this is exactly what the current law is meant to exclude, which makes a little sense. We want our veterans to have a great shot at a new career as a pilot, not help fund their next dream vacation.
This was a tough pill to swallow, as it meant I would have to pay out of pocket for a Private Pilot certificate, which even with all my determination, I could not justify funding. Not ready to give up, I kept searching and found a way around this critical barrier to entry.
As an aside, there is legislation recently approved by congress that would essentially allow veterans to use their GI Bill to pay for a Private Pilot certificate with some limitations. Many thanks to the office of Rep. Mike Quigley (D-IL) for keeping me up to date with these changes.
The Loophole
Despite the clearly written laws regarding the use of GI Bill benefits for flight training, there exists a way to pay for your Private Pilot certificate, as long as you are a full-time student enrolled an accredited degree program where the flight training is a requirement for graduation. This is an important distinction. Until this discovery, I thought the only way to learn how to fly was through a vocational flight school, wrong! There exists several aviation-focused universities both private and public that train pilots from Private Pilot all the way up to restricted ATP (Airline Transport Pilot, the crème de la crème). The best part? Unlike most of your fellow students whose parents are shelling out tens of thousands in tuition, you get the full monty of GI Bill benefits, including a monthly housing allowance—you get paid to fly!
Benefits Breakdown: Part 141 and 61 refer to the federal regulations under which the flight school operates. A Part 141 school is a full-on flight school, whereas a Part 61 school could be a smaller program or freelance flight instructor. Both types not part of a university program are known as “vocational flight schools.” One takeaway from this table is you can use the GI Bill for a Private Pilot-Rotorcraft certificate to fly helicopters without attending a Part 141 university with some limitations, such as no monthly housing allowance and an annual tuition cap of about $14,000 for 2019.
Note: A Private Pilot certificate from a Part 141 school is the same certificate you get from a Part 61 school. There are no shortcuts taken! I’m in no way knocking Part 61 schools.
As luck would have it, one of these Part 141 universities is located just an hour outside Chicago in Romeoville, Ill. That the GI Bill could be used to pay for my initial flight training was a myth until it wasn’t. Lewis University is a Yellow Ribbon-participating school that really gives a shit about its veterans and wants them to fly. Elated at this discovery just a week after beginning my research, I knew I had nothing standing between me and my aviation dreams (well, sort of).
The Harold E. White Aviation Center at Lewis University
Go Flyers
“I’ll tell you, I’ll do anything to get you in here. It could be the day before classes start and I will make sure you get in. When can you come by?”
That’s what I was told by Scott Inskeep, the Director of Veterans Affairs and Recruitment at Lewis, during my first phone call. Within days, both the Office of Veterans Affairs and Aviation Department at Lewis worked together to help me register for classes, claim benefits and more importantly register for a flight block, a designated time with a CFI (certified flight instructor) at the school’s on-campus airport up to three hours per week, a hot commodity among students in the aviation program.
If you ever start taking classes, I hope you experience as little friction as I did by going to Lewis. I could not have asked for or expected a more efficient system for admission. These are people who understand and welcome both veterans and adult learners. You’re treated as a first-class citizen the entire time. I know this is not the case for many schools my friends have attended, so I recognize my privilege.
Faster than you can say ATOMATOFLAMES, I was enrolled for the 2019 Fall Semester at Lewis, officially pursuing a B.S. in Aviation Administration under the legendary Bill Brogan. Lewis offers a B.S. in Aviation Flight Management, which can take you from Private Pilot to Certified Flight Instructor-Multi-Engine Land (CFI-MEL), about $80,000 worth of training in certificates alone virtually free for GI Bill students. Unfortunately, this particular program requires a minimum GPA for transfer students that I (ah-hem) didn’t seem to have. Having finished my first semester, I’m now eligible to declare this major. Though, I’m told it’s a miracle I showed up in August and obtained a flight block as a transfer student with a below-average GPA. Like I’ve said, Lewis really loves its veterans.
Morning flights at Lewis. On the left is my CFI, Alex Santillan. Luke and I were his first ever students, which is the last thing you want to tell someone right before you’re going to teach them to fly. But he was a phenomenal instructor, and we were glad to have him.
There were a few items I needed to take care of before I started, but it’s the same with any flight school.
Class I or II medical certificate
A medical certificate is required to exercise any pilot privileges, but in order to use GI Bill benefits, students must obtain at least a Class II medical certificate. A medical certificate used to double as your Student Pilot certificate, but that’s no longer the case. I opted for a First Class medical because I’m lucky to be healthy and had $120. First, you’ll need to sign up for an account and complete an application on the FAA MedXPress website. Be sure to take note of your confirmation number. Your AME (aviation medical examiner) will need it during your exam. You can use the FAA Aviation Medical Examiner locater to find an examiner near you.
I can only speak about the exam for a First Class certificate. I was asked a series of questions about my medical history, including if I had ever been diagnosed with PTSD, depression or ADHD. This led to an interesting conversation about how veterans as especially at risk for being medically disqualified from a career in aviation due to PTSD or by having a high disability rating (a First Class certificate is required for an Airline Transport Pilot certificate), which sounds very discriminatory, especially in a pilot crisis, and is another problem worth solving.
I’m not here to tell you what you can or can’t do, but this is one example of how veterans gaming the system could lead to consequences down the road. I personally know at least one fellow veteran who fought the VA (Department of Veteran Affairs) for a year for his 60% disability rating due to a respiratory illness and a shoulder injury, even though I’ve seen this man do 10 pull-ups and go on a 3-mile run within the same year. He and his family will receive healthcare benefits and more than $1,000 per month in compensation for life, which is a major victory for someone who really needs it. On paper, it may also be hard for this person to convince an AME that it’s no issue.
After the conversation, I had each of my tattoos noted, and was asked to perform a few basic physical tests, such as a vision test, a test for color-blindness, test for a lazy eye and show that I could maintain my balance. This took about 20 minutes, no duck walks, no sweat! You walk out of the office with your signed medical certificate.
Student Pilot certificate
You’re starting to get the naming convention down. Before you’re a Private Pilot, you’re a Student Pilot. The final step requires a CFI, but you can and should get the process started by signing up at the FAA’s IACRA website. The process involves a not-so intense Department of Homeland Security vetting process administered by the TSA. Legally, you need both your Student Pilot certificate and medical certificate on your person in order to fly. Expect an e-mail notification from the IACRA website that you can print your provisional Student Pilot certificate while you wait for the plastic one to arrive in the mail.
Pilot headset, logbook and aeronautical charts
Any flight school will require you to purchase these items, but the good news is these purchases are reimbursed through the GI Bill annual book stipend. Couple these items with a current copy of the FAR/AIM, and you’re looking at about $400 of supplies.
Of course, I ended up spending more than this amount in textbooks as a full-time university student, but I feel my compensation was more than fair. I’m sure if I did the math, I would be in violation of my not-a-damn-dime policy, but at this point (at the checkout form on Chegg.com), I felt I was in too deep to start drawing lines in the sand.
Not quitting my job
One of my last tasks before takeoff was to let leadership at my job know my intentions. This is one step where your own mileage may vary greatly, one that could result in a deal breaker in most cases, an unfortunate truth. Even at this company, I believe asking to completely re-arrange my regular 9-5 M-F schedule to allow myself the time to be a full-time student, which involves being out-of-office two mornings during the week, is a huge ask, an unreal level of accommodation for a not-so senior member.
But leadership at this company are nothing short of fanatics, known to be fiercely accommodating not just to their veterans, but to all their employees. It’s a win-win. They’re out to change the meaning of flexibility in workplaces forever. I’m proud to be on the front lines with them, because without support from The Mom Project, none of this would be possible. How long I can keep this going is hard to say without being able to predict the future, but one semester is already done. And for me, it’s enough to change my life, and is a fantastic story to tell. | https://medium.com/@kyleramirez/getting-creative-with-the-gi-bill-how-i-get-paid-thousands-per-month-to-learn-how-to-fly-planes-1e5f1ffab703 | ['Kyle Ramirez'] | 2020-06-19 19:05:06.394000+00:00 | ['Veterans', 'Workplace Culture', 'Training', 'Aviation', 'Education'] |
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The W.A. Franke College of Business’ Veteran Student Center: Supporting our Veteran Students at any Stage of their NAU Journey | Zach Hamilton, Franke Veteran Student Center Coordinator
The W.A. Franke College of Business offers numerous degrees and certificates, as well as provides many student support systems within the college. One such vital resource is the Veteran Student Center, conveniently located in the Franke building for its students. Northern Arizona University has a university-wide initiative to create a welcoming and supportive environment for all veterans. The FCB Veteran Student Center is dedicated to the support of veterans who attend our business school so that their next chapter is as seamless and rewarding as possible.
The list of available programs and support systems offered by the Veteran Student Center is seemingly endless. Zach Hamilton, a veteran and NAU alumnus, runs the Veteran Student Center in the Franke College building. Hamilton was kind enough to speak to all the excellent work that goes on in this specialized center.
Hamilton spoke to how both Student Veteran Centers on campus are primarily social spaces where military veterans, and dependents, can find people with shared experiences and build a community on-campus. Secondly, each center provides a computer lab and collaborative learning spaces for group work.
“Lastly, in addition to the programs I manage, students can also come to me with any questions or issues they’re having with VA benefits. Also, I make a fresh pot of coffee every day,” Hamilton said.
Hamilton first came to Northern Arizona University as a student and has since worked for the university in various roles and capacities. First, Hamilton worked as a student worker, then as a Student Service Coordinator, and has been in his current role in the FCB Veteran Student Center for three years now. Hamilton’s career evolution is not unlike many others, but his past experiences make him an ideal fit for his work. He spoke to how his past experiences inform the work he performs at his center.
“I think that my experience coming to NAU as a veteran helps me understand the student veterans who come to NAU, both in the challenges they are faced with, as well as the experience and perspective they bring to the classroom, and also the value they possess to potential employers,” Hamilton said.
What are some of the biggest challenges facing this unique population of students?
“I think the biggest challenge facing my students is one that many non-traditional students face. There are age and experience gaps between them and their peers in the classroom, and this can make it difficult to find common interests with other students. Additionally, many of my students have families and other responsibilities to manage in addition to pursuing their education.”
Significant and varied challenges illuminate the importance of providing specialized resources to unique populations as NAU and The W.A. Franke College of Business offer. Due to the work of Franke’s and NAU’s centers, as well as the faculty and staff who support veteran students, NAU has been noted as an excellent choice for veterans to study. Named “Best for Vets” by Military Times is one of the many acknowledgments NAU has received. Hamilton draws on his own experiences drive his work.
“I remember when I was in my first year as a student here, and I didn’t know anybody in Flagstaff. I felt isolated both in the classroom and outside of it. I started working at the Vet Center and found a few veterans who I am still friends with today,” Hamilton said.
“Fast forward to the present, and we have a vibrant, close-knit community of veterans here on campus. I think it’s really important to facilitate the development of that community because it really helps new students integrate into campus life.”
One of Northern Arizona University’s Jacks Big IDEA winners, Anthony Kiefer, has first-hand experience with this invaluable resource and the support offered to incoming and current students. “Everyone there is really great, and the services they provide are excellent. For an older student like me, it’s nice to have a place where I can go and be around people who aren’t 18,” Kiefer said. “They helped me hit the ground running when I decided in November to attend the spring semester. I had been away from school for 15 years, and a lot of the process has changed…I imagine if they weren’t there, it would have been like the first time I went to college out of high school, clueless, doing everything wrong… they are vital, and a good thing in the world.”
The W.A. Franke College of Business is committed to creating a campus culture that is welcoming, supportive, and inclusive of all veterans and military-affiliated members and their families. Hamilton is a very active contributor to this mission as he works with veteran students at any phase in their educational career. Naturally, he has many note-worthy accomplishments.
“There are a lot of great programs that I have been fortunate to play a role in: the Veteran Emergency Fund, the Executive Job Shadow program, and the Military Leadership Program for MBA students,” Hamilton said.
“These are great programs that provide opportunities and assistance to students. I think I’m most proud of the moments when I have the opportunity to make a big difference in a student’s life by solving an issue for them.”
Hamilton has offered “Finances for veterans” in the past as well as keeping up on the ever-changing landscape of educational needs and veteran benefits. One of Hamilton’s most favorite activities that he has offered to students is quite a trip.
“The best one is the three-day Grand Canyon Raft trip we offer to new students,” Hamilton said.
While facing obstacles, there is still much to look forward to, and Hamilton’s center has not skipped a beat. Remaining open and seeing any student needing assistance through many safe platforms, the Veteran Student Center has remained an active student resource. Hamilton offered sage advice, as someone who has been through it all and now helps others do the same.
“I would encourage all veterans in college to remember that their military experience can add tremendous value to the in-class discussion. Likewise, you can learn a lot from your peers in the classroom, if you keep an open mind to them.”
Written by: Cynthia Gerber
The W. A. Franke College of Business | https://medium.com/@wafrankecollege/the-w-a-franke-college-of-business-veteran-student-center-supporting-our-veteran-students-at-a8c536c271d7 | ['The W.A. Franke College Of Business'] | 2020-10-16 18:31:00.531000+00:00 | ['Veterans', 'Business', 'Nau', 'Education', 'Frankecollegeofbusiness'] |
You don’t need personalization | You don’t need personalization
So you say. A zoology of naysayers and naysaying.
In personalization, there’s a zoology of naysayers and the things they naysay. Just the same, it’s critical to engage constructively with dissenting views. I’ve learned a lot this way. You might, too.
If you know how to spot them, the dissenting arguments on personalization (see a working definition and background here) are few, but consistent, in conforming to a common line of complaint:
The critic. For some, personalization is synonymous with filter bubbles, overzealous retargeting, or dark patterns. It can’t be done virtuously. The skeptic. For us, personalization is a hill too high to climb. We can’t execute reliably or effectively. The pundit. The personalization gap is a disillusioning horse race of have and have-nots. The game is rigged. The pragmatist. We don’t need personalization to compete. It’s irrelevant.
If you and I are having a first conversation about personalization, I have to confess I am becoming good at sussing out which, if any, of these dissenting voices tugs at you most urgently. I also find myself making reference to some pat answers to these critiques:
For critics , I ask them to consider Spotify’s productization of algorithmically rich discovery tools so good they become celebrated marquee features, like Discover Weekly. Then consult a content subject matter, whom should be your first line of intelligence on the potential user benefit of personalized experience in your digital ecosystem. (My colleagues and I are at work on a sensible framework, progressive personalization, for ensuring it enhances user value and the user experience, while also driving business results.)
, I ask them to consider Spotify’s productization of algorithmically rich discovery tools so good they become celebrated marquee features, like Discover Weekly. Then consult a content subject matter, whom should be your first line of intelligence on the potential user benefit of personalized experience in your digital ecosystem. (My colleagues and I are at work on a sensible framework, progressive personalization, for ensuring it enhances user value and the user experience, while also driving business results.) For skeptics and pundits alike, I encourage them to consult the hierarchy of personalized experience. With a trusted guide’s help, there are sensible entry points of every size, scale and price point now. Getting going is about building capability and muscle mass for where user behavior is leading us: digital’s algorithmically-centered near future.
alike, I encourage them to consult the hierarchy of personalized experience. With a trusted guide’s help, there are sensible entry points of every size, scale and price point now. Getting going is about building capability and muscle mass for where user behavior is leading us: digital’s algorithmically-centered near future. For pragmatists? Read on.
“Personalization is not for us.”
Like any echo chamber, this line of dissent invites having its premise punctured.
While their motivations are sincere and their thinking generally sound, I’ve come to see the rhetorical flourish of personalization doubters—“ehh, it’s not for us”—as a kind of unintended disservice by digital professionals to themselves, their teams and organizations.
Allow me to unpack that accusation.
It’s not that they must necessarily be wrong. Inasmuch as the conversation around personalization is itself stunted, complex and confusing, these summary judgments are merited.
Taking a pass on personalization efforts in your organization is not foolish. But wishful thinking parading as informed speculation, on the other hand, does no one any favor. So I wanted to take a little time to talk about what we’re talking about when we talk about personalization.
That sidelines calculation is not misplaced nor is the root fear unmerited. But it is still ultimately wrong. Leaning into personalization is a matter of strategy and of digital evolution.
Strategy is the art of getting where you need to go
Fundamentally, technology adoption is a matter of business strategy. It’s about getting from the current state to a desired future one.
The greatest strategy will always be dogged focus and a solid plan for getting from point A to point B, distractions called out and managed to the side. In my consulting travels, banishing under-performing assets and dead-weight initiatives has always been a sound recipe.
But know that results speak plainly and loudly, and that neither personalization nor artificial intelligence, nor your competitors, nor the market, nor user behavior, are waiting on you. Your digital evolution, of course, is entirely on you.
Personalization is not a solution in search of a problem. It’s how the fabric of digital is evolving.
The so-called pragmatist tack, that personalization might be fine for retailers, but unnecessary for them, is a familiar one. But it disregards the wider shift that’s now underway, as digital touchpoints multiply, user expectations and loyalty respond to user centricity, and the need for more finely structured and intelligent, contextual content experiences grow.
Sure, personalization’s star shines brightly in social media, entertainment and ecommerce. (As Shana Pilewski notes, Gartner says personalization is the foremost priority among retailers in 2017.) But the richness of its applications are only being felt now, as new startups crop up offering specific recommender heuristics for elearning or content consumption, for example.
In fact, personalization is a landscape of related technologies, as I’ve said elsewhere. Without being exhaustive about it, consider this waterfront:
search and discovery UX, from browse to recommender systems
push notifications
conversational interfaces (as dissimilar as bots and voice)
growth testing and optimization
These are all forms of personalized experience. Are these, too, as irrelevant to the so-called pragmatist?
I could go on.
Baldly put, saying personalization is irrelevant is tantamount to saying search on Google, or reach on Facebook, is inconsequential. It’s hard to fathom, though I welcome corrective feedback.
Far from being a tech alone, when I talk to product management leaders today, I routinely hear one or another variation of “personalization is the product”: that personalization is suffused in so much of table stakes product feature development today.
Amazon, Netflix, Spotify: The motivations are diverse, the outcomes clear
Hype is unhelpful, everyone knows that. Pull the curtain back, however, and it’s plain to see that—for the poster children who’ve popularized its use, titans like Amazon, Netflix and Spotify—personalization’s benefits have themselves never been about personalization per se, but a clearly identified benefit.
Amazon: Drive transactions. Accelerate customer conversions by helping them frictionlessly navigate a vast sea of product choices.
Netflix: Drive consumption. Bring anytime, anywhere film and TV entertainment viewing to the mainstream, catering to a diverse and global range of customer tastes.
Spotify: Drive engagement. Do the same, starting with music. Productize new ways of bundling that media for different user impulses for discovery and consumption.
What do these companies all have in common? Aside from large corpuses of content and data, and their push to shift user habits and behaviors, they have become savvy players in each and every area of the wider personalized technology landscape listed above.
Are these business outcomes inconsequential to you? Let me know in the comments, pragmatists.
Still, this neat piecing apart the personalized value proposition may not always hold true. We may be in the early stages of an acceleration around personalization. For a new generation of digital brands, perhaps best exemplified by StitchFix, personalization is so core to the value proposition as to be inseparable from every element of the business and experience.
The four enduring arguments for personalization
So, when you elect to forego a personalization program this year, or your product teams veer from testing to recommendations to vague bot or voice UX prototypes, remember that personalization is an umbrella concept that spans each of these, and makes individual point solutions incrementally harder without a holistic, omnichannel view of the user.
And remember the results you are voting down when you decide that personalized product opportunity is not for your organization:
Performance—cutting through the noise of irrelevant content, interactions and page-load times Focused efficiency—zeroing the business or organization in on key performance indicators and the user flows of highest concentrated business value User centricity — delivering and benchmarking for user value through contextual intelligence Differentiation—providing fresh and memorable modes for discovery, utility and delight that stand apart from the competition
There is no shortage of gaudy success metrics for those who’ve personalized, (I suspect the smash-ups of poorly run programs are equally dramatic!), but where I find it simpler to focus, argumentatively, in personalization’s favor is with the enduring potency of these generalized benefits.
The one counterargument: When to pause on personalization
I haven’t come across an example where outright deferring on personalization was the clear course of action, but I do encounter those embarking upon a personalization effort for whom I do recommend hitting pause.
(I’ve shoplifted with affection from Kathy Baughman and Kevin Nichols on this front. Watch them present here and see more of their thinking here.)
The case for pausing, not pursuing, a personalization program is clearer (and smarter) than it looks. Too much of the received wisdom on personalization elides the necessary hard work to get to a smoothly functioning operation.
I’ve done a client exercise with great success that helps organizations scope, shape and price what personalized product opportunity is for them.
I’ll have more to say about this in the future.
Personalization is the future, sooner
There’s no need to truck out old Jeff Bezos shareholder letters. Personalization already sells itself to those who are in market and alert to their competitors’ efforts. There’s a certain self-evident quality to the value proposition of a technology that aids and abets users and brands alike.
Said another way, results are results and there’s no arguing with them.
But if you needed any further reason for reconsideration, it’s called AI.
You won’t move ahead—you won’t be able to move forward at all—with AI, and with operating confidently in an algorithmically-driven, feed-centric distribution environment, in the future if you do not invest in building capability and wherewithal with personalization much sooner than then. There will be no leapfrog moment, no machine-learning silver bullet. Without knowing your users, and learning how to deliver content in context, you are rudderless headed into that horizon line.
All our distant tomorrows have a way of becoming today.
Don’t personalize? Sounds simple.
It is. You don’t progress. | https://uxdesign.cc/you-dont-need-personalization-757aa5e971cb | ['Jeffrey Macintyre'] | 2019-08-28 00:11:36.135000+00:00 | ['Personalization', 'User Experience', 'Personalisation', 'Optimization', 'Digital Marketing'] |
Embed Interactive Plots in Your Slides with Plotly | Effective communication is essential for us data scientists, and Plotly’s interactive plots are a great tool for that. But when it comes to presenting our work in a traditional slide-styled presentation, those plots are hard to integrate in our daily tools like PowerPoint or Google Slides. In this post, we’ll get to know the Spectacle editor — a presentation tool by Plotly that allows to embed your interactive plots and animations in your slides and level up your presentation.
But .pptx works just fine… why bother?
Photo by Leonardo Baldissara on Unsplash
Imagine you’ve covered what you thought was important for your presentation and then get follow-up questions from your audience that refer to minor details or a certain subgroup of your population. Now, you have to go back to your code to retrieve an answer or follow up on that later. Wouldn’t it be way easier to just slice up your plot and retrieve whatever needed right on spot? Check out, for example, this parallel coordinates plot that you can filter and highlight on any variable:
Courtesy of the author.
Or, this animated bar chart that you can interact with as you present:
Courtesy of the author.
What is needed to get started?
A Plotly chart studio account : you can easily sign up with your github, Google or Facebook accounts.
: you can easily sign up with your github, Google or Facebook accounts. Interactive Plotly plots : in my last post, I introduced Plotly’s interactive plots and animations. The code available in the post should be enough to generate a few plots to play with.
: in my last post, I introduced Plotly’s interactive plots and animations. The code available in the post should be enough to generate a few plots to play with. Finally, a quick download of the Spectacle editor.
Diving in
Once you’ve logged in, the interface is very familiar and intuitive to work with. Start up with your usual presentation prep routine: | https://towardsdatascience.com/embed-interactive-plots-in-your-slides-with-plotly-fde92a5865a | ['Liana Mehrabyan'] | 2020-07-28 11:25:46.807000+00:00 | ['Machine Learning', 'Data Visualization', 'Data Science', 'Towards Data Science', 'Python'] |
Melbourne Law School’s AR app teaches us to interact with the Law | It’s never been more important to engage millennials in law and traditional textbooks simply aren’t the answer.
Joshua Krook, Sydney University law graduate and author, spoke to Lawyers Weekly about why current teaching methods are short-changing students:
“Students aren’t going to law school to gain a well-rounded understanding of the law and to learn to critique the law any more; they’re going simply to gain the technical skills necessary to become a lawyer.”
He continued that, “One of the detachments that we have is that law students aren’t looking at how the law affects real people. There’s this disconnect between what they’re studying and writing down, and the world around them and the actual effects of the laws that they’re talking about.”
It’s a tricky problem. How do we empower current and future law students to reconnect with reality?
Melbourne Law School getting ahead
Melbourne Law School’s new app helps students to uncover pathways into law by presenting the information in a visually dynamic way.
It’s all about showing students how knowledge, innovation and the Law collide — part of the larger push to build smart environments and even smarter cities.
So you can put away that boring pamphlet and pick up an iPad. With the help of motion tracking sensors, students can easily engage in a bright, animated and interactive learning experience. As the app follows your movement in space, you can tap to explore different areas of study: The Justice System, Sports Law, Food Law, Health Law and International Law.
And you don’t need a headset to enjoy this sensory storytelling experience — all you need to do take note as the app overlays digital information onto the real world.
Why is it important to augment learning with AR?
The integration of AR technologies and learning experiences is not a new concept. There’s been constant chatter about the potential gains of bringing AR into the education sector. Back in 2010, the Horizon Report projected:
“Augmented reality is poised to enter the mainstream in the consumer sector, and the social, gaming, and location-based applications that are emerging point to a strong potential for educational applications in the next few years.”
Now that we’re in 2018, there are a swathe of AR games and entertainment apps available in both iOS and Android ecosystems. But we’re still in the process of seeing educational apps breach the barriers of traditional teaching methods to make “the leap from entertainment to education.”
The naysayers out there might argue that the discipline of Law isn’t a game — but we call them naysayers for a reason. Immersive technologies are capable of providing both “powerful contextual, in situ learning experiences and serendipitous exploration and discovery of the connected nature of information in the real world.”
It’s all about cognitive engagement. Researchers at Mindshare World reported this year that AR doubles the cognitive engagement when compared to non-AR tasks. | https://medium.com/the-phoria-project/see-how-melbourne-law-schools-ar-app-teaches-us-to-interact-with-the-law-73807e2e6615 | ['Trent Clews-De Castella'] | 2019-09-02 01:02:57.691000+00:00 | ['Education', 'Justice', 'Social Impact', 'Augmented Reality', 'Law'] |
Extracting selected data from a single page using lxml.html.xpath | Fast and Simple ways to learn scrapping!
In this exercise, we will use XPath to collect information from the provided URL and use lxml. But, before we start it, please refer to the XPath and CSS selectors using DevTools. This article
Here is the little documentation about XPath expression:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
We’re going to use this link for doing a “web scrapping”:
First, we have to install the module in our environment, if you are using macOS try to install through terminal, then we can import the module through IDE. It depends on you either using jupyter notebook, pycharm or VScode.
Step-1
A musicURL string object contains a link to the main page. musicURL is parsed using the parse() function, which results in the doc object which has lxml.etree.ElementTree object type.
Let’s get a base element through <article>
Get the <article> path
Make a new object as articles and put the <article> path into cell by using xpath() function and do not forget to add [0] at the last of code cause we’re just get the first area of <article> tags. The XPath for the articles posseses all of the fields that are available inside , such as title, price, availability, imageUrl, and starRating.
First <article> path
After this, we have to set up the individual expression. If we are going to get information about title, price, availability and imageURL, we should to declare the individual XPath expression such as:
Set up Individual XPath Expression
Check the result by printing each result object. There is still messy data on availability, imageUrl and starRating object. So let’s try to clean up the data
Checking
Cleaning Process
So, here is the final step, we are going to make a DataFrame after doing a “Web Scrapping” using lxml.html and XPath.
Make a list of number
DataFrame from Web Scrapping
This article is used to fast learning documentation about web-scrapping using lxml.html and XPath. Hope u enjoy it! | https://medium.com/@mulianaraul/extracting-selected-data-from-a-single-page-using-lxml-html-xpath-975bcbde9e0c | [] | 2020-12-19 16:16:56.703000+00:00 | ['Python', 'Web Scraping', 'Lxml', 'Web Scrapping Tips', 'Data Science'] |
5 Best Places to Watch The Promised Neverland Online | The Promised Neverland is a must-watch anime that every anime fan needs to check out. Below, I have compiled a list of the 5 best places where you can watch The Promised Neverland online. I will also tell you guys where you can purchase a Blu-ray set to enjoy this anime in the best way possible.
About The Anime
The Promised Neverland is a shounen anime that gives us a beautiful blend of horror and mystery. With stunning animation and a well-built plot, The Promised Neverland has managed to win the hearts of many fans all over the world. This suspense-filled masterwork follows the story of a group of orphans who live a relatively happy life in Grace Field house. The caretaker in this orphanage is a kind and loving woman named Isabella whom the children refer to as mama. This orphanage seems like a very nice place, but in reality, there is something quite sinister going on beneath the covers as the children are actually being raised as livestock.
Please note: I am only going to mention all the legal viewing options, so you will have to pay for a better experience.
1. Netflix
Netflix is probably the most loved streaming service on my list, and it deserves all the praise that it gets. There are a lot of licensed anime on this streaming platform that you can watch whenever you want. Of course, the huge list of available anime on this platform also includes The Promised Neverland.
Netflix is a paid platform that charges you on a monthly basis. You can choose between the basic, standard and premium plans and start watching your favorite anime today. Netflix also lets you try out its services for absolutely free for the first month if you decide to purchase a subscription. There are no hidden costs involved, and you can cancel your subscription at any time. Netflix is available on almost every single device, so all of your anime are extremely accessible.
Price: 8.99–15.99 USD per month
2. Hulu
Hulu is another streaming service just like Netflix that provides us with tons of amazing dramas, movies and anime. There are tons of anime available on this platform. The best thing about Hulu is the fact that it adds newer anime more frequently as compared to Netflix, so you’ll always be able to stay up to date.
Hulu has 3 different paid plans to choose from which are all quite affordable. You will get a 30-day free trial once you apply for one of the plans on Hulu, and there are no hidden charges. Hulu is definitely one of the best places to watch The Promised Neverland online as the show is available in both dubbed and subbed versions.
Price: 5.99–54.99 USD per month
3. Crunchyroll
Crunchyroll is a very famous streaming platform that is the number 1 stop for everything anime. You can watch tons of J-dramas and anime on this streaming platform without any kind of problem. Episodes of the latest anime are added onto Crunchyroll only 1 hour after they air in Japan. The anime available on Crunchyroll can also be watched for free, but you will also get ads as you are watching. One thing that I dislike about Crunchyroll is the fact that the anime series on this platform are not available with English dubbing. Different subscription plans are available on Crunchyroll, so you can easily find one that works for you.
Price: 7.99–14.99 USD per month
4. Funimation
Funimation is another platform just like Crunchyroll, which is filled to the brim with amazing anime titles. Funimation lets you watch all of your favorite anime in both English dub and English Sub. This platform is available on almost all devices, so you can watch your favorite anime anywhere you want. The huge library of anime on Funimation gets updated every single day! You can watch anime for free on Funimation, but you will get a lot of ads. You can purchase one of the Premium Plus packages of Funimation to get an amazing experience. All the subscriptions on Funimation come with a free trial.
Price: 5.99–7.99 USD per month or 99.99 per year
5. HBO Max
HBO Max is an amazing streaming service that allows you to watch all of your favorite TV shows, dramas and movies at a single place. This streaming service does not have a huge library of anime at the moment, but new anime are slowly getting added to the platform. You can also watch The Promised Neverland on this streaming platform! The first 7 days of streaming are absolutely free.
Price: 14.99 USD per month
Blu-ray disc
If you are someone who wants to experience The Promised Neverland in the best quality available, then you should consider buying a physical Blu-ray disc set. There are many places where you can purchase the entire Blu-ray set from. You should check out the following websites if you are interested in purchasing the complete Blue-ray set that comes with some exclusive items:
https://www.rightstufanime.com/The-Promised-Neverland-Blu-ray https://otakumode.com/shop/5dfabda2cea2cb733aee9cb3/The-Promised-Neverland-Complete-Blu-ray-Set
If you just want to purchase the Blue-ray set and don’t want the exclusive items, then please follow the link below:
https://www.madman.com.au/catalogue/view/52672/the-promised-neverland-complete-season-1-bluray
We hope you enjoyed this list of the best places to watch The Promised Neverland online. If you’re looking for more places to watch your favorite anime, check out our other articles: | https://medium.com/animedia/5-best-places-to-watch-the-promised-neverland-online-97e0c230bb46 | ['Limarc Ambalina'] | 2020-10-07 02:03:22.371000+00:00 | ['The Promised Neverland', 'Anime', 'Netflix', 'Animation', 'Hulu'] |
Pivot Table Ascending Descending Order in Google Sheets and Excel: 1-Minute Ultimate Beginner’s Guide | Hi there!
I wanted to show you something that is very different in Google sheets and in Excel:
How to sort data in a pivot table
So let’s first sort data in Google sheets
Here I have data that is sorted. When you look at the right hand side of the screen, you can see that the cities are sorted in an ascending order. When you check in the pivot table, you can verify that you indeed have Barcelona first, then the letters B, L, M etc.
The sum of revenue though is not sorted. It would make sense to have your revenue sorting rather than the cities, you’ll probably want to sort it either in a descending or
or descending order.
Actually, it’s super simple but it’s crazy how long it took me to understand how to do it. Most probably because it’s so different in Google Sheets and in Excel.
In Google Sheets, in the same drop-down menu where you can sort the City data (my 1st column), you can also choose The sum of revenue (my 2nd column).
And here it is! You can either sort it in ascending or descending order. Yes, it’s that simple! It’s really quick and easy but you first need to find where it is hidden.
Now, let’s sort data in Excel
In Excel, it’s very different. This might be why it’s so confusing when you try to do the same thing in Google Sheets.
Here, I just need to select the cells in The sum of revenue (my 2nd column), then go in Sort and filter, and click on sort From smallest to largest or From largest to smallest.
Boom, here it is!
Enjoy your new skills 😉
| https://medium.com/actiondesk/pivot-table-ascending-descending-order-in-google-sheets-and-excel-1-minute-ultimate-beginners-8f9f4c560492 | ['Stephanie Lehuger'] | 2020-03-05 17:41:32.689000+00:00 | ['Google Sheets', 'Pivot Tables', 'Excel Pivot Tables', 'Pivot Table Tutorial'] |
D3.js 資料視覺化工具(上) | D3 基本用法
開始學習前，先引用好 d3 library，並在 js 檔案中輸入 console.log(d3)
點擊瀏覽器開發者工具，查看一下：
d3 (object) helper methods
上方密密麻麻都是 d3 object 內建提供的 helper methods！
✨ D3 — 選擇 ( D3 Selection )
把 D3 library 引用到 HTML 頁面中，即定義了一個全局 JavaScript 對象 d3。而操作之前，需要先做選擇動作。
d3.select('css-selector')
根據指定的 css-selector 返回 HTML 文檔中第一個匹配的元素
d3.selectAll('css-selector')
根據指定的 css-selector 返回 HTML 文檔中所有匹配的元素
有關 css-selector 可以是節點、id、class…等，詳細可以參閱說明 🔍
✨ D3 — DOM 操作( DOM Manipulation )
先做了選擇動作後，接著要操作，以下為常見的操作方法：
text('content')
獲取或設置被選元素的文本
append('element name')
在所選元素內，但在所選元素的末尾之前添加一個元素
insert('element name')
在被選元素中插入一個新元素
🔖 補充說明
1.insert可以指定將新元素插入在什麼位置，而append只能將元素添加在末尾!
2.append()&insert()只是新增空的標籤而已, 必須再呼叫text()或html()加入內容才看得到。
remove()
從 DOM 中移除指定的元素
html('content')
獲取或設置被選元素的內部 HTML
attr('name','value')
獲取或設置所選元素的屬性
property('name','value')
獲取或設置所選元素的屬性
style('name','value')
獲取或設置被選元素的樣式
classed('css class',bool)
從選擇中獲取、添加或刪除一個 css class
✨ D3 — 方法鏈 ( Method Chaining )
D3 提供方法鏈，將第一個方法的輸出作為輸入，傳遞給鏈中的下一個方法。原始寫法舉例如下：
var bodyElement = d3.select("body"); var paragraph = bodyElement.append("p"); paragraph.text("Hello D3!");
可以使用方法鏈簡化寫成：
d3.select("body").append("p").text("Hello D3!");
✨ D3 — 資料函式 ( Function of Data )
前面提到的 DOM 操作，函數可以接受值或函式作為參數。以函式作為參數稱會是匿名函式形式。以 text() 作為範例如下：
.text(function(d) {
return d;
});
除了代入參數，也提供 index：
.text(function (d, i) {
console.log(d); // the data element
console.log(i); // the index element
console.log(this); // the current DOM object
return d;
});
延伸運用也提供了動態屬性，舉例如下：
<p>Error: This is error.</p>
<p>Warning:This is warning.</p> <script>
d3.selectAll("p").style("color", function(d, i) {
var text = this.innerText;
if (text.indexOf("Error") >= 0) {
return "red";
} else if (text.indexOf("Warning") >= 0) {
return "yellow";
}
});
</script>
✨ D3 — 事件處理 ( Event Handling )
on() 方法為所有選定的 DOM 元素添加一個事件偵聽器。第一個參數是事件類型，第二個參數是事件發生時執行的回調函數，並可以指定第三個可選參數捕獲標誌。語法如下：( Type 是事件名稱，listener 是事件監聽器)
d3.selection.on(type[, listener[, capture]]);
selection.on()
添加或刪除事件偵聽器以捕獲事件類型，如單擊、鼠標懸停、鼠標移出等
selection.dispatch()
捕獲事件類型，如 click、mouseover、mouseout
d3.event
事件對象，用於訪問標準事件字段，例如時間戳或 preventDefault 等方法
d3.mouse(container)
獲取指定 DOM 元素中當前鼠標位置的 x 和 y 坐標
d3.touch()
獲取容器的觸摸坐標
詳細可以參閱說明 🔍
✨ D3 — 動畫 ( Animation )
selection.transition() 為所選元素安排轉換
transition.duration()
指定每個元素的動畫持續時間(以毫秒為單位)
transition.ease()
緩動指定緩動函數，如：linear、elastic、bounce | https://medium.com/@jacychu/d3-js-%E8%B3%87%E6%96%99%E8%A6%96%E8%A6%BA%E5%8C%96%E5%B7%A5%E5%85%B7-%E4%B8%8A-6cc4040b50d3 | ['Jacy Chu'] | 2021-08-11 03:04:01.016000+00:00 | ['JavaScript', 'D3js', 'Frontend'] |
From the Basement to the Boardroom — AppSec Business Impact is on the Rise | From the Basement to the Boardroom — AppSec Business Impact is on the Rise
A panel lunch discussion around the importance of metrics for the board during RSA 2019. Caroline Wong Mar 21, 2019·6 min read
One of the highlights of my time at RSA 2019 was harnessing the brain power of seven expert panelists to discuss how security leaders should engage with board members in order to increase the business impact of security. What an enlightening and important conversation for our space. At the outset, we all agreed that security certainly has come a long way…from the days of vitamin-D deficient analysts hidden away in the basement all the way to the spotlight of vital business strategy discussions with the Board of Directors.
But are we prepared to make this opportunity count? Sometimes security professionals want to blame non-security executives for asking the wrong questions. But our panel of security leaders wasn’t making any excuses. They are passionate about harnessing the conversation in the boardroom and providing data-driven answers that show progress towards business objectives. Metrics and measurement are key, and our panelists provided lots of practical advice for how to deliver them to the board for the best security results.
Panelists included:
Anne Marie Zettlemoyer , VP of Security Engineering at Mastercard
, VP of Security Engineering at Mastercard Jimmy Sanders , Information Security at Netflix (DVD)
, Information Security at Netflix (DVD) Chenxi Wang , Board member, founder, investor, keynote speaker
, Board member, founder, investor, keynote speaker Summer Fowler , Chief Security Officer at Argo AI
, Chief Security Officer at Argo AI Jennifer Czaplewski , Director, Security Analytics, Security Ninjas and Risk Management at Target
, Director, Security Analytics, Security Ninjas and Risk Management at Target Heather Eggers, Director of Privacy, Risk, and Compliance and Chief Privacy Officer at Collective Health
What is a metric anyway?
We kicked off the discussion by asking “what is a metric anyway?” Responses varied, but everyone agreed, decision-making is based on metrics and measurement. One panelist referred to this as “the M&M equation” — if you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it.
Application security metrics can help us understand the state of the business and thus help board members calculate business decisions. One of the most important things you can do is tie security metrics back to business impact and overall business goals. Whenever you’re reporting to a board, make sure it can help them reach a decision. When it comes to metrics for the board in particular, you really need to think about how AppSec metrics affect the business at a strategic level.
“When it comes to metrics, it needs to be something that you can consistently record, report and educate around over time, said panelist Jimmy Sanders, Information Security for Netflix. “You don’t want to report on something related to AppSec to the board for three quarters and then never touch on it again.”
Tell Them a Story
“I want to emphasize the importance of storytelling around the metrics, not just giving the board a count, or a number or a percent,” said Summer Fowler, Chief Security Officer for Argo AI. “Recently, I sat with my leadership and explained that we had prioritized our assets and identified the top 15. Because we’re an A.I. company, our code base is at the top of our priority list. In addition to measurements related to the security of the code base, we also need to address the overall risk. We looked at the number of accounts that have access and the services that have access to give us a bigger picture of future risk. This enabled the leadership team to consider, should multiple services be able to touch that code base?”
How you set and report your metrics depends on your audience. The metrics that go to team leadership should look vastly different than the metrics that go to board members.
“I love the metrics discussion,” said Board Member and Panelist Chenxi Wang. “I’m a security nerd and love talking about counts all day long and time-to-remediation. But remember, you get maybe 30 minutes at most each quarter with the board, and this encompasses all of IT leadership. You really need to determine the most important thing you want your board to remember and act on when it comes to security. It’s not about how many vulnerabilities we’ve remediated in the last quarter…they don’t want to know that.”
The issue of repetitive, ongoing new risks like ransomware and malware came up during the panel discussion. If new risks are constantly brought up to the board, the board begins to ask why there is always new risk. As security leaders, we need to shift the conversation from a “whack-a-mole” approach to security to a confident recognition that there will always be new risk, but our security program has reached the maturity (thanks to investments by the board) to properly address new risks.
Speak the Board’s Language
“Rather than trying to train the board on security, I think we really need to train ourselves,” said Fowler. “Look carefully at what the company as a whole is trying to achieve. Read up on the 10K and the last investor report. I educate myself so that when I receive a question about security, I can direct the conversation toward a goal for the company and how security can help achieve that goal. Now I sound like a business executive talking to another exec, rather than a security practitioner reporting on a specific issue.”
The excellent point was made that many board members are risk professionals with a financial background. This means they understand the language of risk. You can tie some of the security conversation back to an issue that they will understand — materiality. The board understands financial statements are not meant to be 100 percent accurate, since the financial audit you get from a third party only asserts that the information and metrics are reasonable for decision making. Similarly in security, we attest that there are enough controls in place to reassure the public that we have reasonable security. We are protecting our systems and our infrastructure in accordance with the risk tolerance of the business.
Show Them the Money
So what should you do if you talk to the board or executive leadership and they understand there is a security shortage, but they don’t want to invest in security?
The panel remained unfazed.
According to one panelist, if you aren’t getting the budget you need, tell the board right away what you aren’t going to be able to accomplish. And always be ready to communicate what you can do with less — if you ask for 1.5 million, but you get 750K, you must be prepared to explain how you can make an impact with the 750K. Be as clear as possible about the trade-offs, whether financial or reputational.
Look in the Mirror
One panelist admitted, sometimes we don’t have a budget problem. We have an execution problem. We have squandered budget, and bought fancy tech that has no ability to perform in our environment.
Instead of asking for budget for more security technology, ask the board to invest in IT in order to clean up the infrastructure. Everything we do is dependent on the hygiene of IT systems. Emphasize hygiene and prioritize. A board will understand that just like accounting and finance need a clean chart of accounts, we need a clean IT inventory.
Another key take-away from the panel was an emphasis on alignment. Our experts agreed that we need to align the cybersecurity team and its metrics and measurements with the objectives of the organization. Even though a lot of cybersecurity teams engage in some really advanced technology, those things may not be right for that business. It’s our job as leaders in cybersecurity to align our activities with the goals of the organization. Use your measures and metrics to show that alignment.
Partner Up
Don’t forget, the board is your friend,” said Wang. “They have taken fiscal responsibility to govern risks to the organization. It is in the board’s best interest to manage all risk — financial as well as IT. As security professionals, we have to help the board see the business impact of security-related decisions.”
You can see why I’m so enthused by this panel discussion. Security can and does make an impact and the more we align our metrics and narratives with business objectives, the better we get. | https://medium.com/@caroline_70960/from-the-basement-to-the-boardroom-appsec-business-impact-is-on-the-rise-6c085b5864c8 | ['Caroline Wong'] | 2019-03-21 18:59:14.551000+00:00 | ['Security', 'Application Security', 'Information Security', 'Industry Insights', 'Appsec'] |
US sanctions crypto wallets? | The US Treasury claimed that it might publish IDs of crypto wallets whose owners are currently under sanctions. This, according to several sources quoting the US Treasury, should reduce the number of transactions with suspicious counterparts. However, this decision might not even have any serious consequences or even jeopardize those wallets holders, believes Vladimir Smerkis, Tokenbox co-founder and managing partner: «Since now crypto world is not really regulated, this matter might be resolved in the nearest future. Another year or two, maybe more, will be needed to make such list go public. It is technically impossible to ban sending money from one address to another. You can actually see if from wallet A to wallet B some funds were transferred, so this wallet B probably belongs to the person who is on the sanctions lists. However, there is no direct binding of wallet to any ID or passport. Therefore, even if funds were transferred from one wallet to another, it's very difficult to prove that a specific person owns the wallet." - said Mr. Smerkis
Source: https://www.kommersant.ru/doc/3580396 | https://medium.com/tokenbox/us-sanctions-crypto-wallets-7cf36e3d22f3 | ['Alexandra Petrova'] | 2018-03-23 14:13:39.429000+00:00 | ['Cryptocurrency', 'Bitcoin', 'USA', 'Sanctions', 'Media'] |
Vaccines Work. Here Are the Facts. | Sign up for Taking Stock of COVID: New comics from The Nib
By The Nib
New comics from Matt Lubchansky, Keith Knight, and Niccolo Pizarro. Plus How Seniors Are Living With COVID-19. Take a look | https://medium.com/the-nib/vaccines-work-here-are-the-facts-5de3d0f9ffd0 | ['Maki Naro'] | 2015-09-09 16:29:18.977000+00:00 | ['Eat More Comics', 'Science', 'Vaccines'] |
Should I Care if I’m a Top Writer on Medium? | Should I Care if I’m a Top Writer on Medium?
Given that it’s just about frequency does it really mean anything and what designation might mean more?
Photo by LongTimeLurkur on Imgur
I keep seeing these articles with people announcing that they are top writers on Medium in some area or another. They then purport to give everyone advice on how they too can become a top writer. You don’t need an entire article to answer that question, not to mention that it’s been answered dozens of times, if not more. Here’s the answer:
Pick something you like to write about that has a tag associated with it and write about it a lot using the tag.
Period. That’s all there is to it. It’s all about frequency.
Okay, so maybe there’s a little more to it, in that some tags are far more popular than others so there are more people using them for their posts. This means you have to write more posts for topics like, “Psychology” and “Writing” than you do for “2016 Election.”
There’s also maximum of 50 top writers per tag. So, if a tag has 50 top writers listed there isn’t room to be added unless you knock someone off the list by publishing more on the topic than they have and hope no one else has published more than both of you still leaving you off. Since you don’t know exactly how many articles this will take, and these are more popular tags meaning there’s more competition, these areas are harder to become a top writer in.
If you write on a topic that there aren’t very many top writers in, you will have a better shot at achieving this goal with fewer posts. For example, the tag “2016 Election” only has four top writers meaning there are 46 spots open. One post, and you’re in.
So the more detailed answer to the question is, all you have to do in order to become a Top Writer is to find topics that don’t have 50 top writers or that do but that have a low number of tag hits which you can find in the article by J.J. Pryor. This means they don’t have a lot of competition so have a better chance of knocking someone off the list and replacing them.
Of course, this also means a lower number of people that your article will be distributed to so you have to decide how much top writer status is worth to you. Personally, since it’s a frequently changing indication of writes more, I’m always going to go with distribution and let the chips fall where they may regarding becoming a top writer.
The other thing about top writer status, especially on topics that are the most competitive, is that they can change from day to day. You can be a top writer in an area for a couple of days, them wake up to find out that you aren’t any longer. It’s not like Medium does some kind of tally at the end of the year and then announces the top writers in the different areas over the past 12 months, a title you’d keep for the next year until the new list is announced. You can be top dog today, and not tomorrow.
What’s Top Writer’s Status Good For Then?
Top writer status on Medium can be useful as a way for writers to define themselves on the site. The tags show up in your “About” section so anyone looking for more information about you will see what you are a top writer in currently. This can be helpful in gaining followers interested in that area.
Since our list of articles are organized chronologically and not topically and many of us write about many different topics, it can be hard to gain a sense of our identity in terms of what we specialize in or the things we write about most. Top writer status helps with that.
Problems With Top Writer Status
One of the main problems with the top writer label is that since it’s just a frequency measure, not a quality one, you can do all of your writing on a topic but unless you are one of the 50 writers who publishes the most on that topic it won’t be reflected anywhere. You can write the best articles about a topic, hands down, but not write that often. Chances are if it’s a popular topic, you will never appear on the Top Writer list for that tag.
Also, since most readers probably don’t know what the top writer status refers to, they will likely assume it does refer to knowledge, high quality writing, background, expertise or the like. If they see you are ranked a top writer one day but when they come back you aren’t, they may assume the quality of your work has fallen or compared to others you don’t know as much or don’t write as well and go off in search of those with the Top Writer label.
What Other Metrics Might Mean More to Writers and Readers Alike?
I would propose something that would better indicate quality and how well received our work is. This would be providing awards of some kind. Some could be determined by Medium, some by Medium writers and others by Medium readers.
Other platforms do this and may even awards a small amount of money, special badge on the winner’s home page or profile, or swag. This would be a much better indicator of quality and popularity than a metric that can change from day to day. The Top Writer status could be changed to “Top 50 Most Frequent Writers in Psychology” or whatever.
For example, on Hubpages they give awards once a year to the winners in the following areas based on peer votes:
Best All-Around Article:
Best All-Around Hubber
HubPages Lifetime Achievement
Most Helpful Hubber
Rookie of the Year
Most Likely to be a HubPages Employee
Funniest Hubber
Biggest Grammar Snob
Most Trusted Hubber
Hubber with the Most Obscure Knowledge
(For some reason I keep winning “Most Obscure Knowledge, but have no idea why!)
There are often also awards given by the staff.
Medium could include awards like:
Best Overall Non-Medium Editor Group Publication
Best Newsletter
Most Diverse Writer
Best Poetry or Fiction Writer
Writer Most Likely to Make You Laugh Out loud
Best Citizen of Medium
And others that could be serious or funny.
In addition to motivating writers, getting writers across the platform even more invested in Medium, and being something that would draw in new readers and followers, there’s always the general feel good factor that happens whenever we win anything.
I know each year I win the “Most obscure knowledge” award, consciously I think, “Why does everyone seem to find my writing so obscure? Does that mean that it isn’t clear or I just write on fringe topics? I write on mainstream topics! What do they consider fringe or obscure, exactly?”
But subconsciously, I can hear a voice yelling, “I won, I won, I won!” I won’t say it isn’t a bit of a high to win even a category I don’t understand and which may mean something I’d prefer my writing wasn’t.
So perhaps instead of the Top Writer status giving writers a check when they’ve written a lot about a topic, we could come up with something that actually reflects something that indexes quality or other desirable attributes. It would be a fun way to celebrate each other and our writing. | https://medium.com/the-partnered-pen/should-i-care-if-im-a-top-writer-on-medium-cfd48c4410a1 | ['Natalie Frank'] | 2020-12-06 11:02:40.797000+00:00 | ['Awards', 'Psychology', 'Advice', 'Ｍedium', 'Writing'] |
Data Skills for Community Reporting | Data Skills for Community Reporting
Learn the analysis and visualization techniques that are critical to public engagement work
This course presents fundamentals of data-driven journalism
The Data Skills class asks everyone to think critically and report empirically. Students use data, demographics and documents to listen to their community.
Photo by David Sarkisov on Unsplash
Students hone data literacy skills by collecting and gathering data, then cleaning and analyzing data, and ultimately, visualizing and reporting about data. Even the most basic data skills help improve the degree of accuracy in news stories, so this course covers the basics and moves beyond. For instance, it addresses rookie mistakes to avoid when working with data and common pitfalls to recognize when writing about numbers. The course also shows ways that people frequently misinterpret numeric information without a fundamental grasp of the basics.
Students will
Gather and present credible information for a community
Analyze demographic data and geographic information to uncover newsworthy stories about a community
Use metrics about interests, needs and demands to listen to a community
Analyze audience behavior data to inform design and offerings
Assess relevant outcomes
Students are expected to record methodologies and are encouraged to incorporate research from the concurrent classes.
Not just visualization | https://medium.com/jour75008/data-literacy-for-community-reporters-d853eaadb3eb | ['Malik Singleton'] | 2019-01-20 16:32:40.720000+00:00 | ['Syllabus', 'Social Justice', 'Community Engagement', 'Data Journalism', 'Social Impact'] |
Barter trading of various asset classes | Hello! 👋🏻 Today we will tell you about barter trading in various asset classes.
Barter is a form of trade in which individuals and companies exchange goods and services with each other based on equivalent valuations of prices and goods without using money. Barter Smartplace makes barter transactions incredibly easy and secure.
For the barter exchange of real valuable assets, preliminary tokenization is required, which will allow the creation of a virtual token equal to the value of the subject of an exchange with the assignment of the owner’s name. After creating a virtual token, it can be placed on the smartplace, including the auction trading method, and wait for counteroffers for barter exchange.
Barter is easy to carry out if the objects are of equal value. It is only required to change the ownership rights to the asset without using financial transactions. Thus, when a barter agreement is applied, ownership of these assets is exchanged in the property registers.
Barter exchange is also applicable when objects are not equal but have a slight difference in value. The acceptable difference is only 10–15%. To exchange unequal goods, it is enough to use only one financial transaction to pay this difference.
In traditional OTC trading, the opportunity to place a lot of several heterogeneous assets has not yet been realized. The Barter platform provided such an opportunity and made it possible to exchange goods of equal value without using means of payment.
For example, two lots that include heterogeneous assets can be exchanged between their owners if the estimated value of these lots is equal, from the point of view of the parties to the contract.
To make the final decision, the parties put down the electronic signatures of the parties in the corresponding electronic smart contract, called a “barter agreement”. After the signing of the contract, the barter is executed, and the data on the owners are automatically replaced in the registries of information on digital assets in accordance with the concluded barter agreement.
Barter Smartplace is a unique blockchain trading platform that expands the use of smart contracts in jurisprudence. Thanks to advanced technologies that ensure a high level of confidentiality and security, Barter Smartplace customers receive high-quality service for concluding contracts of any complexity.
The Barter Smartplace ecosystem empowers people and traders to exchange their digital assets and provides a complete secure layer for converting physical assets to digital.
Platform users have access to a ledger of digitized real assets and can use the Barter Smartplace capabilities to tokenize real estate, vehicles, art, precious stones and metals, jewelry, and any other assets. At the same time, users can use the largest marketplace for barter, auction, and direct trading, where you can easily exchange and conduct the purchase and sale of real and digital assets.
Thus, the Barter Smartplace ecosystem brings together the most important elements of the digital environment, barter exchange and trading of different asset classes, and the platform’s smart contracts have the same legal force as if the contracts were concluded on paper in the presence of a notary.
📢 Join Barter Smartplace to trade and exchange various asset classes at http://barter.company/
Join the community: http://t.me/barterteam
Telegram wallet: http://t.me/barterwalletbot | https://medium.com/bartersmartplace/barter-trading-of-various-asset-classes-c0376582eb1f | ['Nansy Dunne'] | 2020-12-19 16:14:41.131000+00:00 | ['Barter', 'Trading', 'Cryptocurrency', 'Smart Contracts', 'Blockchain'] |
Bella&Buzz before the snow | Photographer, Poet, Musician, Mother, Mystic, Gardener, friend of wild creatures, swan whisperer. Find me on Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/wingthing/ | https://medium.com/@mccray-lori569/bella-buzz-before-the-snow-b6704dee064a | ['Lori Mccray'] | 2020-12-04 16:35:59.315000+00:00 | ['Photography', 'Birds', 'Nature', 'Wildlife'] |
You very well point out the real problems designers faced these days but if designers don’t post… | You very well point out the real problems designers faced these days but if designers don’t post their professional work somewhere or don't talk about those projects then how they get a job in the first place. switch one job to another its kind of trend and if you don’t have any project in your portfolio or any case study then what you show to an employer when they ask to guide me through one of your project? I have my portfolio and I post my work without asking anyone because I didn't come across any written document that says you can't post company projects online. read their contracts carefully if there is no written proof then it's fine (only for product-based companies) for the service-based company take the idea and your solution change the visual style in your time and make your portfolio this way no one has right to ask you why you post this online because at first thought someone is designer they only think about aesthetic layer of the product not technical layer under the hood. | https://medium.com/@iamakshayvinchurkar/you-very-well-point-out-the-real-problems-designers-faced-these-days-but-if-designers-dont-post-64da37d9681b | ['Akshay V.'] | 2020-01-14 05:07:48.215000+00:00 | ['Design', 'Problem', 'Designer', 'Solution', 'UX'] |
I Need Bruises, Not Strings | I Need Bruises, Not Strings
A Poem.
Don’t.
Don’t kiss my forehead.
Don’t try to hold my hand.
Don’t apologize for anything. Ever.
Don’t pull my chair out at the dinner table.
Don’t open any doors for me.
Don’t try to pay the bill.
Don’t let me put my feet on the dash.
Don’t ask me how my day was.
Don’t try to comfort me.
Don’t introduce me to your parents.
Don’t try to get to know me.
Don’t count the days since we first met.
Don’t call me when you get home safe.
Don’t even make it home safe. | https://hannahkatelyn.medium.com/i-need-bruises-not-strings-f83bdcc5526 | ['Hannah Katelyn'] | 2020-11-04 00:50:17.533000+00:00 | ['Love', 'Poem', 'Fiction', 'Poetry'] |
Background | Background
My name is Cora Brendle and once upon a time, I was a teenage girl who felt like they were alone. Throughout the years of high school and college, I would write to make me feel like I had someone to talk to. This collection of writings is aimed at people who feel like no one is listening, because I once felt the same way. Trust me. I want many to read this collection and understand how young men and women feel, because we do put on a good mask. I want to help, and the only way I know how… is to write it down.
-To all who feel like they are alone. | https://medium.com/@corabrendle/background-dfbefcb1845a | [] | 2020-12-21 02:57:08.911000+00:00 | ['College', 'Love', 'Life Lessons', 'Journal', 'Experience'] |
High School Reunion | Written by
Almost famous cartoonist who laughs at her own jokes and hopes you will, too. | https://marcialiss17.medium.com/high-school-reunion-2ddd3ec94a86 | [] | 2019-10-20 14:08:07.438000+00:00 | ['Art', 'Life', 'Relationships', 'Comics', 'Humor'] |
Discovering the “Story Cubes” | Last month I discovered the Story Cubes while navigating on my Instagram feed. One of the users I follow, @peregrinogris, started the #100dayproject using this kids toy that boost creativity.
Fright, Animalia and Mythic dices packs
They are basically packs of themed dices that you roll to create stories. It’s recommended to mix dices from different sets to generate an interesting story. Another tip is to start by writing 100-words stories. Constraints are another way to boost creativity.
What the creators say:
We started out making a creative problem solving tool combining evocative symbols and story making to fire the imagination. It has evolved into a universal story generator, satisfying an almost tribal need for storytelling.
People say that reading is a great way to improve your writing, and since I’m happy with my recent read habit reinforcement (thanks to 1984 and Creativity Inc.), the next step is to start writing more again.
Dices rolled by @peregrinogris
My plan is to start writing 100-word stories each day and post a weekly article with them. I already ordered this pack on Amazon!
Update: I already wrote my first stories
Never settle. | https://medium.com/the-web-is-the-platform/discovering-the-story-cubes-d3d9f5fa8ce6 | ['Fernando Agüero'] | 2016-06-12 21:11:11.428000+00:00 | ['Writing', 'Creativity', ' first stories', 'Storytelling'] |
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