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My Owner Just Died. Who Will Feed Me Now? | Pets
My Owner Just Died. Who Will Feed Me Now?
I loved my owner, but… a cat’s gotta eat.
Image by Christel SAGNIEZ from Pixabay
“I pawsitively deny that allegation,” Sally Painter
If you die, your dog will guard your dead body and stay with you like the loyal companion and best friend he is. On the other hand, your cat, who is self-serving and stays with you because you have the best cat food on the block, might eat you.
The idea that your cat might eat you was given legs when researchers performing a body decay experiment found that cats were eating the dead people. I sure hope this does not explain why my cats sometimes look at me then lick their lips. I can’t figure out which of my outfits says “delicious” when I wear it.
“It’s a question that’s kept many a pet owner awake at night, and one that’s gaining attention thanks to a recent paper out of the Forensic Investigation Research Station at Colorado Mesa University. While conducting a study on body decomposition, in separate incidents, forensic researchers unintentionally captured footage of two feral cats feasting on human corpses. Interestingly, the cats picked favorites, each returning to their preferred body multiple times over the course of several weeks.’” — Wired.com: “Will Your Cat Eat Your Corpse?”
The part I found most fascinating was that the cats had favorite humans that they liked to nibble on. It makes you think about your diet differently.
I sure hope this does not explain why my cats sometimes look at me then lick their lips. I can’t figure out which of my outfits says “delicious” when I wear it.
Of course, the circumstances for the consumption of human flesh are usually unique. The owner dies, but no one knows; the poor cat is left alone with the dead owner and no food. I’m going try to die with an adequate and available supply of cat food nearby. I’ve brought new giant feeding bowls for my cats’ dry food. I will keep them filled. No one wants their remains to become for their beloved pet. Maybe someone else’s pet could eat me but I don't want my cat eating me.
Of course, I really cannot complain. If the circumstances were reversed, if there was an apocalypse with no food except cats and dogs; I would reluctantly eat Fluffy; I hear cat tastes like chicken. | https://medium.com/afwp/my-owner-just-died-who-will-feed-me-now-a49648dd2b69 | ['Toni Crowe'] | 2020-12-30 16:57:37.737000+00:00 | ['Cats', 'Short Story', 'Food', 'Pets', 'Health'] |
Future Price Prediction Beyond Test Data Using Vector Auto Regression | Predictive analytics and time series data
Future Price Prediction Beyond Test Data Using Vector Auto Regression
Simple steps to multi-step future prediction
Image by author
Vector Auto Regression (VAR) comes with an advantage in easy implementation. Every equation in the VAR has the same number of variables on the right-hand side, the coefficients {α1, α2, …, β11, β21, …, γ 11, γ 21, … } of the overall system can be easily estimated by applying (OLS) regression to each equation individually. We could estimate this model using the ordinary least squares (OLS) estimator computed separately from each equations. Since the OLS estimator has standard asymptotic properties, it is possible to test any linear restriction, either in one equation or across equations, with the standard t and F statistics. The VAR models have the advantage over traditional machine learning models in that the results are not hidden by a large and complicated structure (“black box”), but are easily interpreted and available.
Testing of Granger causality helps to know whether one or more variables have predictive content to forecast and Impulse-response function and variance decomposition are normally used to quantify the effects over time. I already have written in the past about VAR and how multivariate time series can be fitted to generate prediction covering both.
Here, I will discuss simple steps to predict unknown future using VAR.
stock = ['^RUT', '^GSPC', '^DJI', '^IXIC' ]
start = pd.to_datetime('1990-01-03')
df = web.DataReader(stock, data_source = 'yahoo', start = start);
print(df.tail());
Here, we have data from Russell 2000 (^RUT), S&P 500 (^GSPC), NASDAQ Composite (^IXIC) and Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI). Let us separate Adj Close columns for all variables.
data = df['Adj Close']
data.tail()
Let us visually compare these series in one chart after applying normalization. We can see high correlation among all the variables selected here. This makes a good candidate for multivariate VAR.
scaler = MinMaxScaler(feature_range=(0, 1))
sdf_np = scaler.fit_transform(data)
sdf = DataFrame(sdf_np, columns=data.columns, index=data.index)
plt.figure(figsize=(12,6))
plt.grid()
plt.plot(sdf)
plt.legend(sdf.columns)
plt.show()
Our goal here is to predict expected future prices of ^RUT and a motivation for the selection of DJI, GSPC and IXIC is their high correlation with RUT.
We can also diagnose the correlation by measuring the average linear correlation over the rolling window in a function of rolling window size; here I have taken window size of 5 and 20 days for visual display.
blue, orange, red = '#1f77b4', '#ff7f0e', '#d62728' # color codes
plt.figure(figsize=(12,4))
plt.grid()
cor1, cor2, cor3 = list(), list(), list()
# average correlation for increasing rolling window size
for win in range(5, 20): # Days
cor1.append(data['^GSPC'].rolling(win).corr(data['^RUT']) \
.replace([np.inf, -np.inf], np.nan).dropna().mean())
cor2.append(data['^DJI'].rolling(win).corr(data['^RUT']) \
.replace([np.inf, -np.inf], np.nan).dropna().mean())
cor3.append(data['^IXIC'].rolling(win).corr(data['^RUT']) \
.replace([np.inf, -np.inf], np.nan).dropna().mean()) plt.plot(range(5, 20), cor1, '.-', color=blue, label='RUT vs GSPC')
plt.plot(range(5, 20), cor2, '.-', color=orange, label='DJI vs RUT')
plt.plot(range(5, 20), cor3, '.-', color=red, label='IXIC vs RUT')
plt.legend()
plt.xlabel('Rolling Window Length [Days]', fontsize=12)
plt.ylabel('Average Correlation', fontsize=12)
plt.show()
In the context of variables or features selection, we need to decide which variables to include into the model. Since we can not and should not include all variables of potential interest, we have to have a priori ideas when choosing variables.
ADFuller to test for Stationarity
We need to get rid of trend in the data to let the model work on prediction. Let us check the stationarity of our data set.
def adfuller_test(series, signif=0.05, name='', verbose=False):
r = adfuller(series, autolag='AIC')
output = {'test_statistic':round(r[0], 4), 'pvalue':round(r[1], 4), 'n_lags':round(r[2], 4), 'n_obs':r[3]}
p_value = output['pvalue']
def adjust(val, length= 6): return str(val).ljust(length) print(f'Augmented Dickey-Fuller Test on "{name}"', "
", '-'*47)
print(f'Null Hypothesis: Data has unit root. Non-Stationary.')
print(f'Significance Level = {signif}')
print(f'Test Statistic = {output["test_statistic"]}')
print(f'No. Lags Chosen = {output["n_lags"]}') for key,val in r[4].items():
print(f' Critical value {adjust(key)} = {round(val, 3)}')
if p_value <= signif:
print(f" => P-Value = {p_value}. Rejecting Null Hypothesis.")
print(f" => Series is Stationary.")
else:
print(f" => P-Value = {p_value}. Weak evidence to reject the Null Hypothesis.")
print(f" => Series is Non-Stationary.") # ADF test on each column
for name, column in data.iteritems():
adfuller_test(column, name = column.name)
It is clear that our existing data set is non-stationary. Let us take 1st order difference and check the stationarity again.
nobs = int(10) # number of future steps to predict # differenced train data
data_diff = data.diff()
data_diff.dropna(inplace=True)
print('Glimpse of differenced data:')
print(data_diff.head()) # plotting differenced data
data_diff.plot(figsize=(10,6), linewidth=5, fontsize=20)
plt.title('Differenced data')
plt.show()
From the plot, we can assess that 1st order differenced has made the data stationary. However, let us run ADF test gain to validate.
# ADF Test on each column
for name, column in data_diff.iteritems():
adfuller_test(column, name=column.name)
Our data is stationarized to fit into regression model.
Vector Auto Regression
One model is specified, the appropriate lag length of the VAR model has to be decided. In deciding the number of lags, it has been common to use a statistical method, like the Akaike information criteria.
var_model = smt.VAR(data_diff)
res = var_model.select_order(maxlags=15)
print(res.summary()) results = var_model.fit(maxlags=15, ic='aic')
print(results.summary())
Future predictions
Now that the model is fitted, let us call for the prediction.
# make predictions
pred = results.forecast(results.y, steps=nobs)
pred = DataFrame(pred, columns = data.columns+ '_pred')
print(pred)
Similar observations can be obtained with the below lines of codes. In both cases we get the output but on differenced scale because our input data was differenced in order to stationarize.
Invert transform data to original shape
pred = DataFrame(pred, columns=data.columns+ '_pred') def invert_transformation(data_diff, pred):
forecast = pred.copy()
columns = data.columns
for col in columns:
forecast[str(col)+'_pred'] = data[col].iloc[-1] + forecast[str(col) +'_pred'].cumsum()
return forecast output = invert_transformation(data_diff, pred)
print(output.loc[:, ['^RUT_pred']])
output = DataFrame(output['^RUT_pred'])
print(output)
Above are the future 10 days prediction; let us assign future dates to these values.
Assigning future dates
d = data.tail(nobs)
d.reset_index(inplace = True)
d = d.append(DataFrame({'Date': pd.date_range(start = d.Date.iloc[-1], periods = (len(d)+1), freq = 'd', closed = 'right')}))
d.set_index('Date', inplace = True)
d = d.tail(nobs)
output.index = d.index
print(output)
So, here we can see future prediction. Let us draw a plot to visualize with the historical data.
fig = go.Figure()
n = output.index[0]
fig.add_trace(go.Scatter(x = data.index[-200:], y = data['^RUT'][-200:], marker = dict(color ="red"), name = "Actual close price"))
fig.add_trace(go.Scatter(x = output.index, y = output['^RUT_pred'], marker=dict(color = "green"), name = "Future prediction"))
fig.update_xaxes(showline = True, linewidth = 2, linecolor='black', mirror = True, showspikes = True,)
fig.update_yaxes(showline = True, linewidth = 2, linecolor='black', mirror = True, showspikes = True,)
fig.update_layout(title= "10 days days RUT Forecast", yaxis_title = 'RUTC (US$)', hovermode = "x", hoverdistance = 100, # Distance to show hover label of data point spikedistance = 1000,shapes = [dict( x0 = n, x1 = n, y0 = 0, y1 = 1, xref = 'x', yref = 'paper', line_width = 2)], annotations = [dict(x = n, y = 0.05, xref = 'x', yref = 'paper', showarrow = False, xanchor = 'left', text = 'Prediction')])
fig.update_layout(autosize = False, width = 1000, height = 400,) fig.show()
Here, we see how close VAR can predict future prices.
Key takeaways
VAR is easy to estimate. It has good forecasting capabilities; VAR model has the ability to capture dynamic structure of the time series variables and typically treat all variables as a priori endogenous. However, fitting standard VAR models to large dimensional time series could be challenging primarily due to the large number of parameters involved.
We have covered here as how to find the maximum lags and fitting a VAR model with transformed data. Once the model is fitted, next step is to predict multi-step future prices and invert the transformed data back to original shape to see the actual predicted price.
In the final stage, plotting the historical and predicted price gives a clear visual representation of our prediction.
I can be reached here.
Note: The programs described here are experimental and should be used with caution for any commercial purpose. All such use at your own risk. | https://towardsdatascience.com/future-price-prediction-beyond-test-data-using-vector-auto-regression-eedb7e0c04e | ['Sarit Maitra'] | 2020-11-14 14:23:39.613000+00:00 | ['Predictive Modeling', 'Vector Auto Regression', 'Linear Regression Python', 'Ordinary Least Square'] |
Meross Smart WiFi Plug review: This simplistic indoor smart plug is too rough around the edges to recommend | Meross Smart WiFi Plug review: This simplistic indoor smart plug is too rough around the edges to recommend Shameka Dec 21, 2020·3 min read
In my recent review, I found Meross’ outdoor Wi-Fi smart plug to be an affordable and quite capable addition to your smart home. The indoor version of that plug, however, leaves much to be desired.
Mentioned in this article Meross Outdoor Smart Plug (model MSS620B US) See it The two devices are relatively similar in function on paper. They both support a wide range of third-party smart home hubs, including HomeKit, Alexa, Google Assistant, SmartThings, and IFTTT. The interior model of the plug is fairly wide (4.5 inches across), but that’s out of necessity, as it offers two three-prong outlets, with a 10-amp maximum load rating per outlet. The plugs are independently operable, both via the hardware buttons situated in between the two outlets and via the app on your mobile device.
This review is part of TechHive’s coverage of the best smart plugs, where you’ll find reviews of competing products, plus a buyer’s guide to the features you should consider when shopping for this type of product.iOS users who attempt to set up this Wi-Fi plug (2.4GHz only) in Meross’ mobile app are quickly diverted to the iOS Home app and HomeKit to complete the process. (A sizeable HomeKit sticker appears on the top of the plug, perhaps not the most elegant placement.) I had no trouble with setup, and after a quick minute I was able to assign the plugs to rooms, scenes, and automation schedules, and could manually turn each outlet on or off with a quick swipe.
Christopher Null / IDG The dual outlets on the Meross MSS120HK smart plug outlets appear individually within iOS Home after just a couple of minutes of setup.
If you only want to work with the plug in the iOS Home app, this might all sound fine. But if you want to use the official Meross app (which is necessary for things like firmware updates, disabling the onboard LEDs, and connecting to voice assistants), things get a bit tricky. Meross’ protocol requires you to complete setup in iOS Home, then return to the Meross app to add the device there as well. When I went back to the Meross app, the plug was nowhere to be found, and even a factory reset—followed by running through the entire setup process again—didn’t resolve the issue.
Meross sent a two-pack for this review, which sells for about $32 on Amazon; they’re also available singly for about $19 each. Since I had two, I tried the process another two times with the second plug, again with no luck getting it to show up in the Meross app (though it also worked in iOS Home).
[ Further reading: The best smart switches and dimmers ]I spoke with the company via email about the issue, and its suggestion involved a complex series of steps including rebooting everything, logging out and back in to iCloud, and trying to reduce the number of devices on the 2.4GHz Wi-Fi channel. I tried all of this, spending another couple of days working with the plug to try to get it to show up, and just as I was about to give up, suddenly the plug appeared in the Meross app as it was supposed to.
Meross If you like the Meross Smart WiFi Plug (model MSS120HK) despite its flaws—or perhaps because you’ve learned they’ve been fixed—you can buy a two-pack at a discount over a single purchase.
The final few steps of the setup process proved to be a bit buggy—involving a configuration screen that froze—but eventually everything came through and I was able to control the plug through the Meross app and connect it to Alexa. What was the fix that finally got all of these systems to start working together? I couldn’t hazard a guess.
Meross’ indoor smart plug is a bit pricier than other generic two-outlet smart plugs on the market (some of which even include energy monitoring), but it’s less expensive than many of the bigger name brands in this spice. HomeKit support is a nice addition, but the company needs to work on smoothing out its setup process if it wants to earn a broad recommendation.
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/@shameka09011463/meross-smart-wifi-plug-review-this-simplistic-indoor-smart-plug-is-too-rough-around-the-edges-to-241986b58d60 | [] | 2020-12-21 07:07:58.447000+00:00 | ['Lighting', 'Cord', 'Deals', 'Headphones'] |
Interpreting Linear Regression Through statsmodels .summary() | Images taken from https://www.statsmodels.org/
All coding done using Python and Python’s statsmodels library.
Let’s Figure Out What This Means!
Don’t be intimidated by the big words and the numbers! This blog is here to translate all that information into plain English. Our goal is to provide a general overview of all statistics. Further research is highly recommended for in depth analysis for each component.
Let’s start at the beginning.
Coding our summary.
The earlier line of code we’re missing here is import statsmodels.formula.api as smf So what we’re doing here is using the supplied ols() or Ordinary Least Squares function from the statsmodels library. OLS is a common technique used in analyzing linear regression. In brief, it compares the difference between individual points in your data set and the predicted best fit line to measure the amount of error produced. The smf.ols() function requires two inputs, the formula for producing the best fit line, and the dataset.
The formula is provided as a string, in the following form: ‘dependent variable ~ list of independent variables separated by the + symbol’ In plain terms, the dependent variable is the factor you are trying to predict, and on the other side of the formula are the variables you are using to predict. The data set in this case is named ‘df’ and is being used to determine per capita wager in the Royal Lottery of 1830’s France using a few characteristics. For the purpose of this lesson, the data is irrelevant but is available https://cran.r-project.org/web/packages/HistData/HistData.pdf for your interest.
Our first line of code creates a model, so we name it ‘mod’ and the second uses the model to create a best fit line, hence the linear regression. We name it ‘res’ because it analyzes the residuals of our model. Then we print our summary.
Details and statistics
The top of our summary starts by giving us a few details we already know. Our Dependent Variable is ‘Lottery,’ we’ve using OLS known as Ordinary Least Squares, and the Date and Time we’ve created the Model. Next, it details our Number of Observations in the dataset. Df Residuals is another name for our Degrees of Freedom in our mode. This is calculated in the form of ‘n-k-1’ or ‘number of observations-number of predicting variables-1.’ Df Model numbers our predicting variables. If you’re wondering why we only entered 3 predicting variables into the formula but both Df Residuals and Model are saying there are 6, we’ll get into this later. Our Covariance Type is listed as nonrobust. Covariance is a measure of how two variables are linked in a positive or negative manner, and a robust covariance is one that is calculated in a way to minimize or eliminate variables, which is not the case here.
R-squared is possibly the most important measurement produced by this summary. R-squared is the measurement of how much of the independent variable is explained by changes in our dependent variables. In percentage terms, 0.338 would mean our model explains 33.8% of the change in our ‘Lottery’ variable. Adjusted R-squared is important for analyzing multiple dependent variables’ efficacy on the model. Linear regression has the quality that your model’s R-squared value will never go down with additional variables, only equal or higher. Therefore, your model could look more accurate with multiple variables even if they are poorly contributing. The adjusted R-squared penalizes the R-squared formula based on the number of variables, therefore a lower adjusted score may be telling you some variables are not contributing to your model’s R-squared properly.
The F-statistic in linear regression is comparing your produced linear model for your variables against a model that replaces your variables’ effect to 0, to find out if your group of variables are statistically significant. To interpret this number correctly, using a chosen alpha value and an F-table is necessary. Prob (F-Statistic) uses this number to tell you the accuracy of the null hypothesis, or whether it is accurate that your variables’ effect is 0. In this case, it is telling us 0.00107% chance of this. Log-likelihood is a numerical signifier of the likelihood that your produced model produced the given data. It is used to compare coefficient values for each variable in the process of creating the model. AIC and BIC are both used to compare the efficacy of models in the process of linear regression, using a penalty system for measuring multiple variables. These numbers are used for feature selection of variables.
Onto our coefficients!
Now we see the work of our model! Let’s break it down.
The Intercept is the result of our model if all variables were tuned to 0. In the classic ‘y = mx+b’ linear formula, it is our b, a constant added to explain a starting value for our line.
Beneath the intercept are our variables. Remember our formula? ‘Lottery ~ Region + Literacy + Wealth’ Here we see our dependent variables represented. But why are there four different versions of Region when we only input one? Simply put, the formula expects continuous values in the form of numbers. By inputting region with data points as strings, the formula separates each string into categories and analyzes the category separately. Formatting your data ahead of time can help you organize and analyze this properly.
Our first informative column is the coefficient. For our intercept, it is the value of the intercept. For each variable, it is the measurement of how change in that variable affects the independent variable. It is the ‘m’ in ‘y = mx + b’ One unit of change in the dependent variable will affect the variable’s coefficient’s worth of change in the independent variable. If the coefficient is negative, they have an inverse relationship. As one rises, the other falls.
Our std error is an estimate of the standard deviation of the coefficient, a measurement of the amount of variation in the coefficient throughout its data points. The t is related and is a measurement of the precision with which the coefficient was measured. A low std error compared to a high coefficient produces a high t statistic, which signifies a high significance for your coefficient.
P>|t| is one of the most important statistics in the summary. It uses the t statistic to produce the p value, a measurement of how likely your coefficient is measured through our model by chance. The p value of 0.378 for Wealth is saying there is a 37.8% chance the Wealth variable has no affect on the dependent variable, Lottery, and our results are produced by chance. Proper model analysis will compare the p value to a previously established alpha value, or a threshold with which we can apply significance to our coefficient. A common alpha is 0.05, which few of our variables pass in this instance.
[0.025 and 0.975] are both measurements of values of our coefficients within 95% of our data, or within two standard deviations. Outside of these values can generally be considered outliers.
Omnibus describes the normalcy of the distribution of our residuals using skew and kurtosis as measurements. A 0 would indicate perfect normalcy. Prob(Omnibus) is a statistical test measuring the probability the residuals are normally distributed. A 1 would indicate perfectly normal distribution. Skew is a measurement of symmetry in our data, with 0 being perfect symmetry. Kurtosis measures the peakiness of our data, or its concentration around 0 in a normal curve. Higher kurtosis implies fewer outliers.
Durbin-Watson is a measurement of homoscedasticity, or an even distribution of errors throughout our data. Heteroscedasticity would imply an uneven distribution, for example as the data point grows higher the relative error grows higher. Ideal homoscedasticity will lie between 1 and 2. Jarque-Bera (JB) and Prob(JB) are alternate methods of measuring the same value as Omnibus and Prob(Omnibus) using skewness and kurtosis. We use these values to confirm each other. Condition number is a measurement of the sensitivity of our model as compared to the size of changes in the data it is analyzing. Multicollinearity is strongly implied by a high condition number. Multicollinearity a term to describe two or more independent variables that are strongly related to each other and are falsely affecting our predicted variable by redundancy.
Our definitions barely scratch the surface of any one of these topics. Independent research is strongly encouraged for an understanding of these terms and how they relate to one another. Hopefully this blog has given you enough of an understanding to begin to interpret your model and ways in which it can be improved! | https://medium.com/swlh/interpreting-linear-regression-through-statsmodels-summary-4796d359035a | ['Tim Mcaleer'] | 2020-12-14 23:31:05.985000+00:00 | ['Linear Regression', 'Data Science', 'Statsmodels', 'Statistics'] |
Rethinking Transhumanist Politics 2— Political Neutrality is Death | Space exploration is easily the most symbolic, strongest political cause that transhumanism can take up, because a stance in favor is one of the few things that brings all transhumanists together: space flight requires massive resources and strong tech development with, on the other side of the equation, the promise of even more resources and development; indeed, mastery of the universe. Space exploration is, or should be, the main transhumanist rallying cry.
The assumption that space exploration is a given, unstoppable part of tech development that will continue to evolve and improve until humans are masters of the Solar System and beyond, is laughably wrong. Yes, Elon Musk is building a massive Spaceship, and I wish him all the best in his endeavor. But what if he fails? He’s only human, and leads a company that must keep investors happy while servicing hard-to-please clients on which it completely depends… like NASA.
If SpaceX were to fail, for whatever reason, there just isn’t any alternative out there, and there has been no single plan for even modest manned exploration that has gone beyond the blueprint stage for decades — the likes of Blue Origin are well behind SpaceX in terms of tech, and even more in terms of ambition. The Asteroid Mining Craze? Wake up: that went away a long time ago. Unless Musk’s Spaceship provides a low-cost, reusable transportation method, there will be no asteroid mining in our lifetimes.
One should also discount NASA’s on-and-off plans to build a Lunar outpost, last re-launched under the current U.S. administration following, again, decades of discussions. That can go down the drain with a flick of President Biden’s pen, and very likely will, unless his handlers feel that China or Russia can build a Lunar outpost soon.
The U.S. Senate just drastically cut funding for the program so that nobody thinks it will be make its “ambitious” target of returning humans to the Moon by 2024, that is, during Biden’s administration. Did you know that NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine was perhaps the staunchest supporter of human spaceflight within the agency? He’s out. Because of his opposition to same-sex marriage.
This decade in particular is critical. Right now, there still is some measure of popular, wide-eyed support for launching astronauts on a wild ride, or at least limited outright opposition; in ten years, that may be gone, perhaps for generations. The writing is on the wall.
Take a recent, much-reviewed book that is making an impact with its arguments against space exploration. Yes, it’s 2020 and the most popular book on space exploration… is strongly against.
“Dark Skies: Space Expansionism, Planetary Geopolitics, and the Ends of Humanity,” written by Daniel Deudney and published by the prestigious Oxford University Press, makes the straightforward argument that space exploration is mad, bad and dangerous, and should be stopped at all costs.
There are reviews of the book in Turing Church and Centauri Dreams for those interested in the details of Deudney’s points, but in summary Deudney rests his argument on the much-abused principle of precaution: same as some climate change experts call for stringent measures to reduce the chances of catastrophic, low-probability events to zero or near-zero, Deudney calls on space exploration to be stopped because it’s a double-edged sword, that can harm mankind as much as it can aid it.
Deudney isn’t 100% anti-space. He supports Earth-centered space activities focused on nuclear security and environmental protection. He likes his cellphone, so communication and weather satellites are cool. In general, he believes that any space activity that doesn’t lead to the protection of Earth should be banned. Banned, yes, proscribed, forbidden.
Oxford University Press, remember.
In the finest tradition of propaganda and politics, Deudney coins an expression to describe us supporters of space exploration as pathological enemies of the people: “space expansionists.” That’s who we are, from now on.
I find it fascinating that Deudney really concedes all the main points of what we might describe as the “transhumanist consensus.” As I discussed in part 1 of this essay series, transhumanists are a varied bunch and lot of them are more focused on, say, mind uploading, genetic and cybernetic technologies than they are on putting boots on the Martian ground.
But, generally speaking, all transhumanists agree that all of these developments go hand in hand: again, better technology for mind-computer communication and for physical body enhancements — perhaps including genetics — will help space exploration; and space exploration and its releated technology is a great driver for massive leaps in the fields of computer science, genetics and cybernetics.
It all comes together in a virtuous cycle, and Deudney totally understand this, and agrees. He just sees it as horribly dangerous. Please note that he explicitly singles out genetic and cybernetic technologies as the riskiest of any human technologies, including mind-uploading-related advancements as a part of cybernetics (which is fine by me).
Deudney adds that space exploration may provide god-like destructive powers to those in charge of moving asteroids or space freighters. Think of those mad scientists in orbit who may finally take their revenge on the cheerleaders who didn’t want to go to the Prom with them, by hurling space rocks on Earth and destroying all human civilization. That will teach them! Deudney thinks we can’t run that risk in the Tinder era.
Jokes aside, we must understand the roots of Deudney’s objections, in order to refute them. Space exploration does indeed implies risks for human life on Earth. Small, of course, even infinitesimal, but real. There may be not entirely sane people who will be capable and willing to leave the Earth to work with massive asteroids and spaceships. These risks as real: if we say they amount to zero, we’re lying. This is a debate that must be had.
At the same time, we must understand where this unease comes from. It doesn’t come from Deudney himself. He didn’t invent it. He’s just a spokesman who has been given a pretty big loudspeaker.
Even during the heroic era of space-flight in the 1950s and 1960s, there were objections to the massive expenses incurred in the race to the Moon. In the Soviet Union, many other government priorities had to be put in the back-burner while the relatively backward country devoted a large percentage of its resources to put Gagarin, Tereshkova and Laika on orbit.
In the U.S., opposition was as muted as it was in the more repressive Soviet Union, but it did exist. Some liberals complained about the expenses, especially when the country embarked on the Great Society programs of the Lyndon Johnson administration, but they were kept on the margins. Black opposition was harder to silence, since it coincided with the rise of Black Power and the push for civil rights for African-Americans.
Few remember now, but most black leaders were intensely critical of the U.S. space program. As man was about to land on the moon, the black magazine Jet was condemning the space program for using money which could be better spent on welfare programs for blacks. [“Blacks Scarce as Men on Moon at Launch, by Simeon Booker,” Jet, July 31, 1969] The more mainstream Ebony magazine published an editorial comparing white men going to the moon to Columbus’s voyage to the New World, which led “to one of the most infamous and long lasting rapes of all history” [“Giant Leap for Mankind?”, Ebony, October 1969].
One month before, Ebony had reported that blacks opposed what they thought was a misallocation of taxpayer dollars better suited for ameliorating poverty in black communities and Africa: “From Harlem to Watts, the first moon landing in July of last year was viewed cynically as one small step for ‘The Man,’ and probably a giant leap in the wrong direction for mankind. Large segments of the rest of the population, except perhaps at the time of the first landing, were merely bored.” [“How Blacks View Mankind’s ‘Giant Step’: Space scientists, laymen see space program from different perspective,” by Steven Morris, Ebony, September 1970, p. 33]
On July 16, 1969, Ralph Abernathy — the heir to Martin Luther King’s civil rights movement — rode a mule cart, with three mules, along with 150 other poor black people to protest NASA’s launch to the moon. [“Protesters, VIPS Flood Cape Area,” by William Greider, Washington Post, July 17, 1969].
It’s easy to dismiss this. But, in the end, financial considerations are the main (but not sole) reason why space exploration slowed down to an effective halt over the next decades. The protest did succeed. NASA budgets have been cut down ever since; in 2019, it was at less than 0.5% of the U.S. Federal Budget, its lowest level since 1959, down from almost 5% in the mid-1960s. Meanwhile, international aid and government handouts have ballooned.
This is, of course, incredibly important for two reasons. First, the trends that we see in American politics and NASA budgets have been mirrored elsewhere, with similar money troubles from pretty much every other space agency in the world, save for the Chinese space agency which — although no reliable numbers are available — is probably still expanding its budget.
Second, NASA is hugely relevant for human, not just American, space exploration as a whole. Only NASA took humans to the Moon, only NASA has anything close to a decent record of Mars exploration (a huge Russian/Soviet failure); and NASA is a key source of financing for the U.S. private space sector, the world’s most relevant by far, which is booming but still needs plenty of government subsidies, and will for the foreseeable future.
In a world in which social, racial and environment concerns dominate, and this increasingly is our world, there’s no way in hell that coming American administrations will keep even the current, reduced level of budgetary support for NASA.
The fact that NASA is a giant money pit from which Boeing and other contractors with increasingly damaged reputations are extracting resources with which they build McMansions, and politicians extract jobs to be re-elected in their states, doesn’t really help to make NASA’s funding future any more secure. NASA is a very soft, very exposed target for anyone who is looking to cut spending someplace, and increase it someplace else.
Also, we’re not even taking into the account the hugely demoralizing effect of political correctness on a workforce that is already subjected to massive indoctrination and racial preferences that, by design, result in lowered hiring standards and, obviously, lowered work standards.
I’m Hispanic myself so if you’re thinking that’s very harsh on Hispanics (a larger percentage of the American population than Blacks, and a rising one, unlike Blacks), all I can is that’s just the way it is. Facts of life. Check the SAT numbers out and spare me the lectures.
So, there are two ways this can play out. Either the idea of space exploration and budgets for space exploration are defended, or they will be gutted like a Trump supporter surrounded by antifa activists.
Did you ever wonder why it’s the nature of political systems across the world to produce two opposing voting blocs? Because concentration of power is the only way to survive. If there’s an anti-exploration bloc, and it’s pretty evident that it’s only growing, there must be a pro-space exploration bloc to square off against it. Or the battle will be lost for our generation.
(To be continued) | https://turingchurch.net/rethinking-transhumanist-politics-2-political-neutrality-is-death-aee97098ac77 | ['David Roman'] | 2020-11-20 06:42:35.268000+00:00 | ['NASA', 'Politics', 'Space', 'Space Exploration', 'Transhumanism'] |
The story of a simple installation | The story of a simple installation
Not all jobs are complicated. Some are simple, yet elegant. Refined even. Much like the 90 Mini Mini Table Lamp, we advertised for Anglepoise at London’s Design Museum.
But even the simple needs care and attention. We take our time cutting the artwork from the vinyl. We take care of weeding the design from the vinyl sheet. And we install the final decals with the due attention they deserves. There’s no point taking all that time and care if we fall at the final hurdle and fit the graphics wonky or with bubbles or creases. All our installers are experienced, having prepared and worked on myriad different types of installations during their careers. It’s a skilled profession for sure.
A decal is simply when letters and shapes are cut from pre-coloured adhesive vinyl. It’s much like using sheets of coloured paper, except that it comes on a roll up to 50m long and has a sticky reverse. The adhesive allows us to install the produced designs onto glass or other surfaces.
The vinyl is available in a wide range of colours including some metallics and fluorescents. We can reproduce any shape or pattern you require in theory. The material is cut to shape using a plotter which follows the vector path, supplied to us in .ai or .eps format. This means the finish is also clean and sharp — great for geometric designs and text like we have here for the Anglepoise job.
After cutting the design we then remove the parts of the vinyl not needed, called weeding. Lastly, the decal is applicated. This is when a sheet of film is applied to the vinyl, holding it in place for installation. Once stuck to the surface, the application film is removed, and presto — you have a vinyl decal for all the world to see.
On site the essential kit for an installer consists of a sharp blade, tape measure, water spray, vinyl applicator, masking tape, ladder, spirit level, patience and attention to detail. Anglepoise have worked with The Graphical Tree for quite a while now, and in all likelihood, because they trust us to produce and install graphics as well crafted as their own products. And fitting at the Design Museum, frequented by visitors of a keen eye for detail, means the job needs to be perfect.
An installer will often spend as much time measuring the windows to fit the graphics in the correct placement, and ensuring they are straight with a spirit level, as they will applying the decals to the glass. The last part of the job is removing the application film once all the elements of the graphic are in place in their final location. This needs to be done slowly and steadily to ensure no pieces of vinyl remain on the film, rather than in-situ.
Stepping back and seeing the creative take shape before your eyes is one of the most rewarding parts of our job. It’s a pleasure to be on site and see the finished article, as we know that we’re the final piece to an often long chain of events from the start of an idea through to the final application.
So of course, let us know if we can help produce your vinyl decals ready for the big reveal — poise, patience and all. You can contact us here ~ [email protected]
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The Graphical Tree are a specialist large format print and display production company and can be found in London, UK.
www.thegraphicaltree.com | https://medium.com/@thegraphicaltree/anglepoise-at-the-design-museum-ac32d2122a96 | ['The Graphical Tree'] | 2020-10-13 12:32:36.064000+00:00 | ['Printing', 'Signage', 'Design', 'Graphics', 'Interior Design'] |
BCC Protocol — Email Morality? | What does the existence of “BCC” (which I think stands for the anachronism “blind carbon copy”) tell us about the social norms of emails? This thought occurred to me just now as I was the recipient of an email (corresponding to (3) in the not at all uncommon scenario that I describe below.
It is an interesting piece of deception that we all participate in, isn’t it? Has anyone ever thought about the morality of email addressing?
Scenario:
X sends an email to: A, CC: B and C A does a “Reply all” so that B, C and X see the response A sends an email directly to X, BCC to B
Analysis:
X wants to tell A, something, and make sure that B and C also hear. X wants to communicate that the message is meant for A, that A is the one who is expected to respond, but wants each of them to know that the others are getting that same information. A wants to answer X, and make sure that B and C see the response. Why? Perhaps A wants to make sure that A, B, and C keep their story straight? Perhaps A actually wants to tell B or C something, uses the Reply All as a carrier for that message, thereyby getting some cover. Now, this gets interesting. Apparently A wants X to think that he is getting some information privately. But at the same time wants B to know that X has gotten this information. Why? Perhaps A would like B to make the same point to X, and make it look like the it was independent. Or perhaps A wants to make sure that if X asks B about it, B says the same thing that A said.
Hmm, sounds like a bit of interpersonal deception is going on here. I am not casting judgement — I’ve played the role of X, A, B or C more than once. But it does make you think.
What would Dear Abby say?
Update:As one wag said to me in email: “I think Dear Abby might say that Pito needs a hobby :-)” | https://medium.com/pito-s-blog/bcc-protocol-email-morality-10080633ef84 | ['Pito Salas'] | 2017-06-08 19:19:32.658000+00:00 | ['Life'] |
22 SEO Tips for Modern Copywriters (Part Two) [Updated 2019] | 22 SEO Tips for Modern Copywriters (Part Two) [Updated 2019]
The list of important copywriting tips does not stop at these 8 strategies. For those wishing to know how to write SEO content, there are additional helpful tips and they are listed below. Remember that SEO and content marketing are linked closely and stop thinking of content only in terms of text — let’s break the boundaries of stereotypes as articles for blog copywriting are interesting when they are fresh and visual.
9. Use One Keyword per Page and Theme Words to Produce Positive Footprint
Search engine optimization content is valued for its specificity. One of the best SEO copywriting tips would be targeting one exact keyword (per page). In order to make the copy even more focused, long-tail keywords are used. Latent-semantic indexing (LSI) posits that through the use of synonyms, SEO copywriting services can help avoid two issues:
synonymy — different words with the same meaning;
polysemy — words with multiple meanings.
A search engine understands all-important theme words in the text (besides main keywords). Google understands what you are talking about by looking at the uncommon word combinations that are used together, and this is how relevance is determined. This is called “footprint” and it can be either positive or negative — to be positive, the “footprint” must contain the word combinations that are related to your main topic. For instance, if you would like to talk about dog food in your copy, make sure to provide enough theme words throughout instead of just telling a story about the dog named Lacy going for a walk. It may not have a positive “footprint” if you stray away from the focus theme words.
10. Optimizing SEO Copywriting
One of the most popular SEO copywriting tips is the use of focal keyword 3–5 times throughout the article, depending on its length (and remembering the rule of 1 keyword per page). Of course, the role of keyword density in SEO copywriting services must not be underestimated; however, proper density still means no keyword stuffing.
11. Use Your Keywords in Headings
If you’d like to know how to write SEO content effectively, remember that bots look for clues in the headings, first of all. In the other words, H1 tag must contain the focus keyword. However, it’s not enough to just use the main keyword. Coming back to our example of dog food, instead of simply calling your article “Dog Food”, make use of the most effective SEO copywriting tips and tools and go for something like “10 Ways to Use Dog Food to Make Sure Your Pup’s Tummy Is Happy.”
12. What about the Subheadings?
Among other important SEO copywriting tips, subheaders should be mentioned. Subheaders are those H2 tags which are used to organize your text into logical structural blocks. Use long-tail keywords to allow the audience to skim the article and find the most relevant content for them. For instance, someone looking for vegetarian dog food would benefit from seeing a subheading like “Mouth-Watering Vegetarian Options for Your Pet”.
13. Keywords Should be Placed up Top
Among the remaining SEO copywriting techniques that should be relevant for any copy writer, is the primary position of the main keyword: both in copy and meta description. Since meta description shows up in search results, it should include the keyword that the user is searching for. Those who know how to write SEO content professionally always include the main keyword at the beginning of meta title and meta description to boost click-through rate (CTR).
14. Start with a Question
The best way to encourage curiosity among the readers is to start with a rhetorical question. Top SEO copywriting services always use this trick to keep the readers engaged: “Would you like to learn how to make sure your dog stays healthy and not hungry throughout the whole active walk?”
15. The Finale in SEO Copywriting that Provokes Interaction
Content is key only when the ending of the article is brilliant. A finale must raise new ideas. For instance, after having covered healthy and nutritious dog food, some further questions may be raised to be discussed in the comments section, such as: “Should the dogs ask for food when hungry, or should you as the owner be deciding when and how many times a day to feed your pet?” | https://medium.com/@jennabrandon07/22-seo-tips-for-modern-copywriters-part-two-updated-2019-6ea5090e6341 | ['Jenna Brandon'] | 2019-01-14 12:45:07.229000+00:00 | ['SEO', 'Copywriting', 'Seo Tips', 'Seo Tips And Tricks', 'Copywriting Tips'] |
Developing a text retrieval system | An example of text retrieval system is google search. It functions like this. You write an inquiry string and based on that you get documents sorted by relevance. From the most relevant to the least relevant. Of course, as there are many many documents on the internet you won’t get all of them back when you make a request, just the most relevant.
You can see that for this sorting you need some kind of metrics that connects your inquiry string and a document. So, let’s develop that metrics.
There is a certain presumtion, or maybe it is better to say, simplification, that makes this fairly simple. Both documents and the inquiry can be looked as “bag of words”. What does that mean? It means that order of words in these texts is neglected. Texts are represented only by the words they are made up of. If there are two identical words we just put a mark that this word has appeared twice. So, in pythonic terms, text is reperesented by a dictionary where key is a word and value is number of times this word has appeared in the text.
So, having this fairly simple representation, let’s develop certain principles that correspond to the real life, which will be later turned into mathematical formulas. Lets call the metrics we are developing “matching metrics”. Here are the principles:
The more words are identical in the document and the inquiry the higher is the metrics.
The higer the count of the identical word is in document the bigger the merics.
The bonus for higher count shouldn’t be linear, but punish the bonus for every new same word. So, it should be sublinear. Maybe logarithmic would be good. It has decreasing derivation, so it fits the request.
Punish the word for appearing in many different documents. So rarer words give bigger increase to the metrics. However, also don’t make the punishment linear, it shouldn’t go into infinity. Alright, maybe not very fast. Logarithmic should fit this.
Let’s now conjure up a mathematical formula for “matching metrics” from these principles.
As we have a principle that needs information on in how many documents a word has appeared, we have to make this data structure.
So, the metric goes like this. Go over all words that appear both in the document and inquiry and make a caluculation for this specific word. Give it logarithmical increase for number of appearances in the document, and logarithmical decrease for number of appearances in different documents. So, formula for a single word goes like this:
( log( number of appearances in the document ) + 1 ) / ( log( number of appearances in different documents ) + 1 )
I add a plus 1, so there won’t be a division with 0, and because it seems that when number of appearances is 1, the increase part should return 1.
Now, sum this calculation for every single word that appears both in the document and the inquiry. And voila! We have the “matching metrics”.
Calculate this for every single document you have and sort documents by decreasing order considering this calculation. The first document in the list should be the most relevant and the last the least relevant.
Check the implementation of this on my github: https://github.com/lsamec/myProjects/blob/master/textRetrieval.py
One more thing, there is something called stemming and lemmatization. These operations on the bag of words make all the words with the same root the same. For example, “climbing”, “climbs” and “climbed” would be all treated as the same word. Quite a neat features that probably improve your system because what actually matters in the retrieval is the essence of a word and these operations extract it for you. | https://medium.com/analytics-vidhya/developing-a-text-retrieval-system-f84f7e1f0729 | ['Leon Šamec'] | 2020-07-13 12:54:44.669000+00:00 | ['Text Retreival', 'Query', 'Document', 'Metrics', 'Computer Science'] |
The unexplored scope of sustainability: SDGs, SDFs and SDEs | Since 2015, the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) framework has been a convenient reference to understand the scope of Sustainable Development and to build a global, coherent narrative and roadmap. Just like the Ten Commandments, the SDGs succinctly list the 17 goals that we should strive to achieve individually and collectively in order to enable our society and environment to sustain, longer and healthier.
The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), UN, 2015
I have taught a lot about the SDGs and have been one of its most diligent ambassadors, especially as Sustainability Director of Techno India Group — which counts 100,000 students from K-12 to college at any point of time — and as co-founder of Y-East which aggregates more than 100 sustainability-focused organisations in East and North East India. The SDGs are so convenient to provide a clear introduction to learners; however, as soon as you want to dive deeper and customise the SDGs to each individual learner, you start to face roadblocks related to the framework’s lack of preciseness and practicality: in which sectors and industries should these goals be implemented? By who? And most importantly, how?
I entertain the belief that no matter which studies or career one opts for, there is always a way to adapt traditional paths and address sustainability. So many different talents populate this earth. Each of us has a unique set of skills, sensitivities and interests that we need to be able to accommodate and utilise for social, societal and environmental enhancement. We therefore need to find ways to visualise sustainable development beyond the spectrum of the 17 SDGs, which only provide a relatively narrow and vague understanding of all the tools and all the ways one can contribute to a more sustainable tomorrow.
In an attempt to further specify and map the framework more practically and at the service of individual career decisions, I developed two complementary frameworks: the 17 Sustainable Development Fields (SDFs) and the 17 Sustainable Development Enablers (SDEs). While the former refers to the industries which we need to reinvent and make more sustainable, the latter provides a list of the tools we can use to enable change towards sustainability. As you read along the 17 SDFs and SDGs below, I invite you to reflect on your own interests and skills, and determine your Personal Key Combination(s) (PKC), i.e. the optimal SDG-SDF-SDE combination(s) that fit(s) the causes you have most at heart and your unique strengths. For instance, I have determined my PKC to be SDG4 Quality Education / SDF12 Education and Skills Development / SDE7 Citizen and Community Movements. Do consider your PKC as flexible: you can explore more than one PKC, and one PKC can include more than one item from each of the three frameworks. Eventually, these complementary frameworks should be able to help you navigate sustainability in relation to your professional and personal development, and to guide you in choosing a path that is unique and specific to you.
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Sustainable Development Fields
The 17 Sustainable Development Fields (SDFs)
SDF 1- Agriculture, fishery and F&B: The art and science of cultivating the soil, raising livestock and fishing, from nature to plate, from extraction to consumption, need to be comprehended through the spectrum of generated social and environmental impact. Scientific research has notably proven the health and environmental benefits of plant-based diets, which have timidly started to gather momentum.
SDF 2- FMCG: Fast-Moving Consumer Goods — which include packaged foods, beverages, cosmetics, toiletries and other consumables — are products that bought on a regular basis and typically don’t stay very long on the market shelf. Tightly associated with the concepts of single use, mass consumption and daily waste, the production, packaging and consumption cycles of these items need to be reinvented in order to both be more environmentally healthy and meet the consumers’ needs.
SDF 3- Textile and Fashion: Fashion — especially fast fashion — is the second most polluting industry after Oil and Gas, sadly reputed for its environmentally damaging production processes, the questionable working conditions within the industry, its fast consumption patterns and heavy waste left in our landfills. Changing the status quo in this regard implies to raise awareness about sustainable fashion, increase cloth items’ lifespan, treat fabric waste especially through innovative processes such as circular economy and upcycling, better allocate resources to stakeholders involved in the production line.
SDF 4- Electronics: Technologies, individual gadgets and heavy hardware have invaded households and organisations, making us both more productive and bigger generators of Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (widely known as WEEE or e-waste). Planned obsolescence and unsafe e-waste disposal are two of the many challenges this industry needs to address.
SDF 5- Energy and utilities: Our transition from fossil-fuel energy to renewable energy has significantly accelerated in the past couple of decades, with the leadership of and successful case studies hailing from countries such as Iceland, Paraguay, Norway, Denmark, Austria, Brazil, Chile, China, Australia, Costa Rica. Solar, wind, hydro and other energy solutions are key to a sustainable future which does not deplete energy source sand run out of power. Questions remain about how to accelerate the transition and how to make sure that the energy sector creates millions of jobs to sustain a green economy.
SDF 6- Natural resources and Raw Materials: Natural resources are the foundation of everything humans are able to invent, build and do. Invasive and thoughtless exploitation of said resources, which includes forestry and deforestation, destroys natural habitats, reduces biodiversity and eventually annihilates the ability of all living species to thrive. Securing a sustainable supply of raw materials that have been extracted responsibly in regards to the resources’ ability to renew, and to safe and fair working conditions, is indispensable to a long-lasting and resilient environment.
SDF 7- Construction, Real Estate and Urban Planning: Solutions for humans’ habitats and activities, crystallised under the term ‘development projects’, usually infringe on natural territories on land, over sea, and even towards the sky. More sustainable solutions need to be found to enable cohabitation, where new development projects harmoniously coexist and interact with their specific natural surroundings while social and environmental footprint is duly and continuously assessed.
SDF 8- Home, Hospitality and Tourism: As population and middle-to-high classes increase in numbers, residential capacities, moving into bigger homes, and touristic migrations into hotels and AirB&Bs are boosted along. These sectors are powerful vectors of discovery and new adventures, and therefore also opportunities to start afresh and venture into new, more responsible home design, furnishing and habits, and into supporting traditional local activities, art and ecosystem through travel.
SDF 9- Healthcare and Pharma: Research and technological progress in the spaces of healthcare, medtech and pharma have strengthened our collective immunity overtime, for both our physical and mental health. Today, the sector mostly requires progress in regards to technology and profit-related ethics (especially in the space of biotech), political decisions for access to healthcare services, accessibility, affordability for all and inclusion of marginalised communities. Persisting inequalities in access to healthcare services is also a significant threat to our ability to sustain as a society.
SDF 10- IT and Telecom: The Telecommunications sector gathers companies which globally connect people through phone, internet, cloud and other remote solutions. Though partially invisible to our eyes, this infrastructural network of data servers, wires and cables is very much there, to the tune of more than 8 millions data centres, 380 underwater cables spanning a length of over 1.2 million kilometres around the world, and other facilities such as Satellite Communications facilities. On top of mental health considerations and changes in the way we operate as humans, the way we exchange and power data to the world comes with heavy installing, maintenance, electricity and environmental bills, which cannot be ignored and need to be further optimised to sustain.
SDF 11- Media, Advertising and Marketing: The power of media, advertising and marketing techniques have evolved and strengthened overtime, using techniques to hook the brain which hail from new knowledge in the fields of psychology and neuroscience. Today, the younger generations spend more time in the virtual world than the physical one, absorbing social media and streaming platform contents. What if we used this power to meaningful ends, towards environmental awareness, social inclusion and societal wellbeing, and to spread the use of products and services that strongly align with the SDGs?
SDF 12- Education and Skills Development: The main challenges in the education sector around the world can be summed up into one key question: are we properly equipping our young generations with the tools to navigate a world in constant change, and to solve today and tomorrow’s most pressing challenges? Unfortunately for most countries, the answer is: not yet. The traditional dichotomy between public and private education, unequal access to quality and complete education based on socio-economic background and genders, subject-wise learning hierarchy and silos, lack of research and curriculum contents related to sustainable development, and persisting gaps between taught skills and job market needs are some of the key issues we are still to find efficient solutions to.
SDF 13- Manufacturing and Packaging: Following the financial and economic deregulation in the 1980s, our production lines have become increasingly and fundamentally global. New challenges have arisen in this era of globalisation, which require talents to tackle: responsible stakeholders management i.e. fair treatment and distribution of resources to all stakeholders involved in the production chain, no matter how remote they are from the headquarters; decrease in prices allowed by cheaper labor force abroad leading to ever more mass consumption and therefore more waste; environmental pollution — related to the manufacturing, packaging, delivery and consumption cycles — which especially affects low-income and marginalised communities.
SDF 14- Logistics and Distribution: The advent of globalisation has transformed the space of logistics and triggered new long-lasting realities especially related to global value chain (GVC). Although it may have created enhanced customer satisfaction thanks to online ordering and last-mile delivery, it also created new, complex issues such as the erosion of commercial neighbourhoods and small shops to the profit of big malls and Amazon-like aggregators, destruction of local employment, heavy environmental pollution related to the necessary packaging and transport required for products to keep fresh while travelling the world. While delocalisation and globalisation benefitted from quite a unanimous acclaim, today, mouvements of relocalisation and anti-globalisation are asking the right questions and gathering momentum.
SDF 15- Transports and Aerospace: Mobility solutions, from daily home-to-office commutes to travelling to space, from public tuktuks to the Hyperloop, have always been a switch for fascination and sophisticated innovations. A productive economy, it seems, is one that moves around, travels and explores. However, the advent of fuel-hungry private vehicles and frantic plane travels on a whim have brought transport energy to almost a third of total energy consumption worldwide. Efficient public transportation, car pooling, electric and hydrogen-powered vehicles have offered fascinating leads into a sustainable mobility world.
SDF 16- Finance, Banking and Insurance: The economical, institutional and financial power of the finance, banking and insurance sectors is undeniable, as they offer well-organised money-aggregating spaces and smooth-running financial mechanisms for everyone’s daily monetary affairs and insurance coverage. With great power comes great responsibility… What are the ways in which such mechanisms can be reinvented towards achieving the SDGs, especially in terms of poverty alleviation, reduced inequalities and the financing of a green economy? Great models from impact investment to microcredit to social impact bonds have been showing the way.
SDF 17- Luxury goods: Luxury is often associated with obnoxious lifestyles and perceived as an antonym to sustainability. In many ways however, luxury goods, for their quality, can be a lot more ‘sustainable’ than other fast-consumed, cheaper products. Sustainable luxury is increasingly aligned with conscious consumer behaviours and expectations, to truly include social and environmental sustainability at its core and go beyond gimmicky moves which can be perceived as greenwashing.
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Sustainable Development Enablers
The 17 Sustainable Development Enablers (SDEs)
SDE 1- Tech for Good: Technology is a tool which can be useful for social and environmental impact in so many ways. Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, 3D printing, blockchain, cloud computing, robotics, biotechnology… and many more tech tools can be activated to gain in efficiency and implement at a large scale, while improving well-being, tackling inequalities and building a green economy from the ground up. As a matter of fact, most SDGs would have their tech offshoot: edtech, agritech, medtech…
SDE 2- Awareness and Education: “Awareness is like the sun. When it shines on things, they are transformed”. Global spiritual leader Thich Nhat Hanh implies here that awareness, reinforced by more in-depth educational inputs, is the first step towards individual and systemic change. Well-articulated, mind-opening awareness campaigns can not only shed light on unknown facts and taboos, but it can also trigger a sense of concern, care, and willingness to act in more than one heart, eventually leading to individual and collective action.
SDE 3- Innovation and Entrepreneurship: Converting impactful innovations into long-lasting businesses through entrepreneurship is an efficient weapon to create social value through employment and social impact through the new ventures’ activities themselves, especially through impact entrepreneurship (a term I prefer over social entrepreneurship) which places the SDGs at the core of their DNA. Innovative and entrepreneurial mindsets in general, whether applied to the creation of new ventures, to intrapreneurship or to open innovation, call for needs-based and problem-solving approaches, which is in essence the first logical steps towards solving the issues suggested by the SDG framework.
SDE 4- Inclusive Business Models: Innovation may also occur in regards to the very way business models are thought and deployed. The days of traditional business models of extracting, producing, selling to an unsegregated target audience at a fixed price through one delivery channel are over. Today, there are plethora of inspiring business models embracing the 5P’s (People, Planet, Prosperity, Peace, Partnerships) encapsulated in the SDG framework, using witty mechanisms to offer products and services in a more socially inclusive and environmentally respectful way: cross-subsidisation, circular production lines, servicisation, performance-based contracts, rent-to-own / leasing models, value-for-value models etc.
SDE 5- Human Psychology and Neuroscience: In the past couple of decades, the fields of psychology and neuroscience have opened groundbreaking pathways to better understand our own brains. Humans are creatures of habits whose behaviours, even seemingly irrational behaviours, can be understood through the spectrum neuronal and hormonal activity. New theoretical fields with very concrete applications such as neuromarketing or the nudge theory have proved powerful game changers for new, more sustainable consumer behaviours and individual habits at scale.
SDE 6- Culture, Values and Ethics: Value education, cultural traditions, religions and belief systems in general have a tremendous influence on how people build their sense of ethics and socially behave. Values of care and respect for nature, for example, are at the core of religions such as hindusim, jainism or taoism, and essential to numerous indigenous cultures such as the Maori culture in New Zealand. How to discover and spread the most sustainable world views, and thereby regenerate the nature of our relationship with others and nature?
SDE 7- Citizen and Community Movements: The power of collective approaches have historically shown powerful for both systemic change (here we would remember the Civil Rights Movement in the US, or Fridays for Future launched by Greta Thunberg), and reduction of inequalities of access through decentralised action and fairer distribution. For example, community healthcare implemented in countries such as Liberia enables last-mile delivery of healthcare services. Localised action appears to be the only way to tackle centralised, unequal systems that tend to only profit the most privileged urban population.
SDE 8- Creativity, Arts and Design: Our ability to achieve the Goals relies upon our capacity to dream, imagine and then design solutions for a more sustainable world. Our imagination is the only channel towards a better tomorrow that is yet to exist. The domains of the arts and design offer powerful creative tools to raise awareness, break taboos, elevate the dialogue and trigger action towards our common vision. Art for Good, artfulness and artivism are interesting declinations of the term which further indicate how we can use these tools towards the SDGs.
SDE 9- Communication, Media and Entertainment: By definition, entertaining refers to the ability to hold the attention and interest of an audience — which big social media oligopolies, TV channels, streaming platforms and advertisement companies have learnt to master. Gaming for good, TikTok for Good, Facebook fundraisers, shocking investigative documentaries are other specific examples of how entertainment can do wonders in terms of impact.
SDE 10- Organisational Culture, Policy and Processes: Companies and other organisations significantly structure our lives as well as the economic landscape worldwide. In the same way a family or a country has a culture associated with specific codes, organisations control rules and behaviours within their ambit. Responsible leadership at the top does matter a whole lot, and sets the tone for collective willingness to adopt more sustainable organisational practices, from responsible stakeholders management to inclusive HR policies to enhanced Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) strategy, to carbon offsetting and insetting.
SDE 11- Non-Profit Sector And Philanthropy: Although criticised for its top-down and relatively short term approach (inserting food for thoughts here: There wouldn’t be anyone available today to efficiently think about future generations — i.e. sustainably — if present generations were not taken care of as well; so some short to mid-term action may make sense, too!), philanthropy implemented through Civil Society Organisations play a key role, not only in emergency relief efforts but also in our collective progress towards social and environmental change. This sector enables resources to meet local needs and rectify inequalities, usually acting as a necessary complement to public services that are lagging behind.
SDE 12- Policy Advocacy, Political and Legal Frameworks: Systemic change without supportive governments and legal framework is close to impossible. Legal compliance is the ultimate way to orientate mass behaviours at scale, and more responsible policy-making is the ultimate goal to ensure sustained change, as laws and rights get established and claimed. Properly enforced civil rights, environmental, CSR and ESG laws essentially align all stakeholders, binding them to play the game.
SDE 13- Market Mechanisms and Economic Policies: Market mechanisms define the way resources are sold and bought at the level of a national economy. For example, supply and demand flow differently in free market economies than they do under planned, controlled markets. The way economic policies establish the rules of supply and demand, from pricing to taxing, plays a key role in resource allocation and distribution, accessibility and affordability, and, of course, environmental sustainability, especially since the Kyoto Protocol put a price on carbon.
SDE 14- Investment and Financial Mechanisms: Responsible finance invites financial players to invest in socially inclusive and environmentally responsible companies, while disinvesting in harmful ones. An increasing number of investment platforms and funds rely on ESG standards and indexes for their investment decisions. Responsible finance has also taken the shape of new, powerful mechanisms at scale, such as Social Stock Exchanges.
SDE 15- Research, Data, Analytics and Assessment: Thank you, Lord Kelvin, for your famous “If you cannot measure it, you cannot improve it”. We have to know the objective facts about the status quo to be able to rationalise our understanding and determine necessary action. For example, social and environmental impact assessment, both pre and post-implementation, allow us to evaluate the desirability and efficiency of a given project, thereby informing and guiding responsible decision-making.
SDE 16- Reporting and Transparency: The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), founded in 1997, set the tone for a new wave of enhanced standardisation and reporting at the global level. Numerous countries and companies have now embraced annual ESG reporting following standardised frameworks, in a (compliant) spirit of transparency for their stakeholders and shareholders. This, in turn, informs better investment choices and redirect resources towards organisations that increasingly focus on their social and environmental responsibility.
SDE 17- Cooperation and Collaboration: Achieving the SDGs will require us to let go of our competitive habits and to show a genuine will to cooperate and share resources. More and more organisations are striving to activate community-based, open-sourced, crowdsourced, collective intelligence approaches (such as the alliances I am associated with, namely Y-East, Youth for Sustainability India Alliance and #LearningPlanet) , thereby truly embodying SDG17- Partnerships for the Goals.
_____________
Of course, these frameworks are not perfect, starting with the SDGs, which omits a few objectives (e.g. preservation of cultural heritage) and includes a few contradictions, especially in relation to SDG8 which rushes into the controversial and more-than-uncertain conclusion that economic growth and sustainability go hand in hand. You may also have noticed that a few items are overlapping, or may be missing. The 3D mapping based of these models is yet to be built; and we may need a forth dimension that we could call the 17 Sustainable Development Stakeholders (SDSs) to have the full picture (although you would get a good idea about the stakeholders in place as you read between the lines of the SDFs and SDEs).
In the meantime, I believe these complementary frameworks provide further enlightenment on the way we can achieve a sustainable society and environment, and accelerate the shift, by allowing each and everyone of us to position ourselves , guide individual decision-making and best put our talents to use. On average, we are called to work 80–100,000 hours in total throughout our professional career, so better combine it with meaningful impact while we’re at it, don’t you think?
Wishing each of you the best on your impactful journey ahead!
Y-East, 2021 © All rights reserved | https://medium.com/@paulinelaravoire/the-unexplored-scope-of-sustainability-sdgs-sdfs-and-sdes-b615e686e361 | [] | 2021-05-15 18:30:16.869000+00:00 | ['Sdgs', 'Framework', 'Sustainability'] |
Runner’s Life Newsletter | Runner’s Life Newsletter
Photo by Quino Al on Unsplash
Welcome to the Runner’s Life newsletter!
If you’ve missed previous newsletters, you can find the archive here.
As the year ends, I want to say thank you.
When I started Runner’s Life in April 2018, I had no idea what to expect. I mostly wanted a place where I could share how running has impacted my life, and let others do the same. I’m proud of what Runner’s Life has become. As I watch Medium grow, I’ve noticed the quality in many publications decline. I think we’ve done the opposite. We’ve grown while maintaining quality, and we will not decrease our standards for the sake of growth as I’ve seen so many others do. The quality is because of the editors and writers who are a part of Runner’s Life.
I want to especially thank Amy J. Wall and Stacey Curran for being incredible editors and for your Slack sessions, which often provide a much needed laugh and break from our current world. You’ve helped me tremendously and I’m grateful for both of you. I sometimes don’t know the best way to run a publication, and I appreciate your patience in helping me figure it out.
Thank you to all our writers for submitting quality stories and for helping with the growth of the publication. Without you, Runner’s Life would not be what it is today. I appreciate each and every one of you. | https://medium.com/runners-life/runners-life-newsletter-fcc144f7d4fb | ['Jeff Barton'] | 2020-12-20 16:17:04.941000+00:00 | ['Fitness', 'Running', 'Sports', 'Health', 'Newsletter'] |
Gov. DeSantis Should Veto Florida’s Tragically Flawed So-Called ‘Parents’ Bill of Rights’ | Thanks to the South Florida Sun Sentinel editorial for highlighting significant concerns with a so-called “Parents’ Bill of Rights” (HB 241) that passed the Florida Senate this week and is now on the way to Gov. Ron DeSantis for either his signature or veto.
The Governor should veto this legislation because of its numerous problems and flaws. Instead, the Governor should form a special advisory committee that actually includes children and youth in the discussion about their health, education, and well-being. Kids, after all, might just have something to say about their own lives and future.
At the outset, let’s be clear that nobody disputes that parents and families are fundamental to the upbringing, education, and well-being of children. The U.S. Supreme Court has stated that parents have fundamental rights and responsibilities. For instance, in Troxel vs. Granville (2000), the Supreme Court concluded “the interest of parents in the care, custody, and control of their children” to be “perhaps the oldest of the fundamental liberty interests recognized by this Court.”
There is no doubt that the role of parents in the protection and well-being of children is vital. Consequently, the organization that I work for, First Focus Campaign for Children (FFCC), supports numerous pieces of legislation that respect and support the critically important role of parents, including the Child Tax Credit, Family First Prevention Services Act, Family and Medical Insurance Leave Act, the Homeless Children and Youth Act, Healthy Families Act, Trauma-Informed Care for Children and Families Act, Family-Based Care Services Act, Preventing Maternal Deaths Act, and other pieces of legislation that encourage parental involvement in schools and in preventing the separation of migrant children from their parents and families, which violates the rights and best interests of both parents and their children.
However, HB 241 fails to recognize that children also have fundamental rights and that government has a role in promoting the health, education, safety, and well-being of children as well.
There is no doubt that children need the support and protection of parents and government. But children also sometimes need protection from actions by parents and government that threaten their health, education, safety, and well-being.
In case we need reminding, a Commission to Eliminate Child Abuse and Neglect Fatalities published an extensive report in 2016 that found:
Every day, four to eight children in the United States die from abuse or neglect at the hands of their parents or caretakers. No one knows the exact number, and there has been little progress in preventing these tragic deaths. Most of the children who die are infants or toddlers.
While most parents deserve deference in the upbringing of their children and support to help any parents struggling to fulfill parenting duties, some parents are simply unable to live up to the responsibilities and duties of parenting. The reality is that, tragically, some parents are violent, criminal, unfit, and a danger to children.
As Florida Rep. Susan Valdés (D-Tampa) said to WPTV in West Palm Beach:
I can’t support the bill because I am thinking about all — all of the children. Not just those that have good parents.
Consequently, undoubtedly parents do have rights, but they also have the responsibility and duty of addressing the needs of children and youth, acting in their best interests, and protecting them from harm.
To ensure the protection of the health, education, safety, and well-being of all children, a balance should be reached. Unfortunately, there a number of problems with the Florida Legislature passed so-called “Parents’ Bill of Rights” that fail that important test.
As the South Florida Sun Sentinel editorial rightfully points out, there are enormous problems with the legislation. The language in the bill is sweeping and radical. It systemically fails to recognize or protect the fundamental rights, voice, and best interests of children.
HB 241 by Rep. Erin Grall (R-Vero Beach), reads:
The state, any of its political subdivisions, any other governmental entity, or any other institution may not infringe on the fundamental rights of a parent to direct the upbringing, education, health care, and mental health of his or her minor child without demonstrating that such action is reasonable and necessary to achieve a compelling state interest and that such action is narrowly tailored and is not otherwise served by a less restrictive means.
The rights of parents are emphasized, the role of government is deemphasized and minimized, and the rights and voice of children are deemed non-existent in this bill, even when it comes to their own well-being and future. This is wrong. As Justice John Paul Stevens wrote in Troxel vs. Granville (2000):
Cases like this do not present a bipolar struggle between the parents and the State over who has final authority to determine what is in a child’s best interests. There is at minimum a third individual, whose interests are implicated in every case to which the statute applies — the child. . . [T]o the extent parents and families have fundamental liberty interests in preserving such intimate relationships, so, too, do children have these interests, and so, too, must their interests be balanced in the equation.
HB 241 fails to achieve that balance and it may have tragic consequences, particularly for vulnerable and marginalized children.
Threats to Child Health
First, in the “Parents’ Bill of Rights,” the language is so broad and far-reaching that parents could opt-out their individual children from public health measures, such as mask wearing requirements by schools related to the COVID-19 pandemic, even if these actions could threaten the health and lives of children and adults in schools, child care, or afterschool programs.
Although the anti-mask community is declaring the passage of this bill as some sort of victory, what about the rights of parents of immunocompromised children, such as kids that have had cancer or had an organ transplantation, who just want schools to do all they can to protect the health of their children?
Furthermore, according to data from the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children’s Hospital Association, as of April 15, 2021, Florida had the 3rd highest rate of cumulative cases of COVID-19 infections in children in the United States. The number is approximately 180,000 cases in Florida and that number represents a vast underreporting because Florida is one of two states in the country (the other is Utah) that reports on COVID-19 cases for children up to only 14 years of age. There have been 3.6 million cumulative cases of reported COVID-19 cases in children nationally.
Florida also happens to have one of the fastest growing rates of COVID-19 cases as well, so how is that a “victory”?
Also beyond masks, what’s next? Can parents reject public health protections in a future pandemic under this law? How about the requirement that parents keep children home who are vomiting, have a fever, diarrhea, a communicable disease, etc.? Again, the language is rather sweeping.
Second, the legislation reaffirms “the right of a parent to exempt his or her minor child from immunizations.” The problem is that vaccine exemptions are growing nationwide, but those rates are higher in Florida. According to an April 2019 article in the Orlando Sentinel:
When accounting for all children up to 18 years old, including those in private schools and preschools, between 2013 and 2018, the total religious exemptions in Florida climbed each year from about 12,200 students to nearly 25,000 — an increase of about 105 percent over that span of time, according to data provided by the Florida Department of Health.
This poses a danger to children. As the Orlando Sentinel’s Naseem Miller and Cindy Krischer Goodman explain:
As measles outbreaks are popping up across the country and the number of unvaccinated children in Florida is climbing, state health officials and parents worry that one of the most infectious diseases that was practically eliminated in the United States two decades ago could have a resurgence.
And during the COVID-19 pandemic, vaccine rates have dropped even further.
Third, the bill creates barriers to care for children. It reads:
. . .a health care practitioner. . .or an individual employed by such health care practitioner may not provide or solicit or arrange to provide health care services or prescribe medicinal drugs to a minor child without first obtaining written parental consent.
On its face, this language may not seem problematic, but it could result in tragedy in certain cases. For example, school nurses and athletic trainers at school events see and treat children all the time for issues related to illness, sports injuries, etc. Can they not provide a health care evaluation or service to a child suffering from acute appendicitis, an asthmatic attack, an allergic reaction, a sprained ankle, a broken bone, or a concussion without first obtaining written parental consent? Schools often obtain blanket waivers from parents, but this language would appear to undermine that. Would parental written consent need to be obtained for every service provided by health officials in schools? Does this include school counselors?
Beyond schools, this language allows parents to deny health care services from any “health care practitioner,” unless government officials, such as a judge, can point to a “compelling state interest” to protect the health and well-being of a child. Does this new law effectively make it harder for children to be protected from potential medical harm or neglect?
For example, in 2019, a Hillsborough County judge ordered that 3-year-old Noam McAdams should continue chemotherapy at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital at the advice and counsel of doctors rather than the parents desire to stop cancer treatment and use, according to NBC News, “other methods such as an alkaline diet and cannabis.”
In Idaho, parental rights are granted in virtually all matters related to the health of their children, including the use of faith healing rather than medical treatment. This has resulted in tragic health outcomes, including the death of children. The Washington Post reported in 2018:
Child advocates estimate that 183 Idaho children have died because of withheld medical treatment since states across the nation enacted faith-healing exemptions in the early 1970s.
As Roger Sherman, executive director of Idaho Children’s Trust Fund says:
No child should die as a result of neglect of any kind. . . Idaho policymakers have chosen to ignore this aspect of medical neglect. The most vulnerable members of society needed the protection of adults in society.
Proponents would likely argue that parental actions that lead to death are not allowed by HB 241, but in the case of the young woman pictured in The Guardian story, her parents withholding of medical treatment has caused her significant and life-long health issues.
Fourth, parental consent should not be required in cases where adolescents wish to seek out “confidential care” and privacy in obtaining certain health care services. While parent and adolescent communication on health care issues should always be encouraged, as Abigail English and Dr. Carol Ford explain in The Journal of Pediatrics, confidentiality and privacy is critically important to adolescents in some circumstances:
Decades of research findings have documented the ways in which privacy concerns influence adolescents’ willingness to seek healthcare, where and when they seek care, and how candid they are with their healthcare providers. In the absence of confidentiality protections, some adolescents forego care entirely, some delay care or avoid visiting providers they perceive as not assuring confidentiality, and some limit the information they are willing to disclose. These findings have provided a strong rationale for protecting the confidentiality of adolescents’ health information and their communications with healthcare providers. The underlying rationale for confidentiality in adolescent healthcare is to protect the health of adolescents and promote public health goals such as: reducing unintended teen pregnancy, sexually transmitted infections (STIs), and substance abuse; and encouraging early intervention to address depression.
The authors add:
Not all adolescents have parents who are available, willing, and able to communicate with them about sensitive issues, and not all adolescents are willing to share information about all sensitive health issues with their parents. In this context, confidential consultation with a healthcare provider can play an essential role. Eliciting candid information about adolescent concerns, health behaviors, and symptoms clearly increases clinicians’ opportunities to address concerns, provide evidence-based prevention and risk-reduction counseling, and ensure timely diagnosis and treatment.
With potentially tragic consequences, HB 241 undermines the affirmative rights of young people to seek out or health care providers to offer treatment or counseling for suicide prevention, mental health, substance abuse, cancer screening, family planning and reproductive health services, infectious diseases, or emergency care services without first obtaining written parental consent.
In fact, health care providers that help a child without obtaining prior written consent from parents if HB 241 is signed into law could be prosecuted as committing a “misdemeanor of the first degree” and subjected to disciplinary action, such as fines or even imprisonment for up to one year.
Fifth, in addition to denying children access to health care services, the bill’s language takes the additional step of allowing parents to demand certain health care treatment be performed on their children. It reads:
The right to make health care decisions for his or her minor child, unless otherwise prohibited by law. . .
HB 241 adds:
Unless required by law, the rights of a parent of a minor child in this state may not be limited or denied. This chapter may not be construed to apply to a parent action or decision that would end life.
Short of an action or decision that would result in death, this language suggests parental rights “may not be limited or denied,” even if it might be detrimental to the health and well-being of children and against the will of a child or adolescent. The language reopens grave concerns about the role some parents have played in decisions to impose female genital mutilation, conversation “therapy,” rebirthing “therapy,” certain types of involuntary institutionalization of children, seclusion and restraint, forced sterilization of children with disabilities, and other harmful or detrimental “care”.
Parents are not medical experts and sometimes buy into social media “cures” or “treatment” that are anything but cures and treatments. Regardless, HB 241 would put into law the following language:
The state, any of its political subdivisions, any other governmental entity, or any other institution may not infringe on the fundamental rights of a parent to direct the upbringing, education, health care, and mental health of his or her minor child without demonstrating that such action is reasonable and necessary to achieve a compelling state interest and that such action is narrowly tailored and is not otherwise served by a less restrictive means.
Unfortunately, some parents across the country bought into an array of false or dangerous treatment for autism that, according to NBC News, included “industrial bleach. . ., turpentine or their children’s own urine as the secret miracle drug for reversing autism.”
In Florida, the New York Times reports that on Friday a federal grand jury indicted a Florida man and his three sons running a “business masquerading as a church” for selling over $1 million of a toxic bleach solution called “Miracle Mineral Solution” as a “religious sacrament and ‘miracle’ cure for Covid-19, cancer, autism, Alzheimer’s disease and more.”
Protections for children from such harm would be more restricted by HB 241. Disturbingly, under the language, laws that create limitations on parental authority can only be enacted if there is a “compelling state interest” rather than because of the best interests of children or harm to children.
As a result, the protections that children need from harmful decisions or “therapies” and the fundamental self-determination rights of adolescents to affirmatively seek out medical services or information and to provide assent and consent with respect to their own health care and body are ignored, at best, or undermined by this legislation.
Sixth, the legislation appears to create enormous ambiguity and problems with respect to end-of-life care for a child. This legislation does paradoxical things. In the case of parents, it says that parental authority is not applied with respect to actions or decisions that would “end life.” Although it is believed this language was included to preclude parents from requiring a child to have an abortion or to deny life-saving care, the circumstances change in the context of a child with a terminal illness or is brain dead and in a coma. In such a case, does this mean that a parent cannot make end-of-life decisions?
Meanwhile, according to the Florida Legislative staff analysis of HB 241, the role of government also declines. The analysis reads:
. . .the state also has an obligation to ensure that children receive reasonable medical treatment that is necessary for the preservation of life. The state’s interest diminishes as the severity of an affliction and the likelihood of death increase: There is a substantial distinction in the State’s insistence that human life be saved where the affliction is curable, as opposed to the State interest where . . . the issue is not whether, but when, for how long and at what cost to the individual . . . life may be briefly extended.
So, who is left to make such decisions? Who decides?
Threats to Privacy of Children
In addition to threats to the health of children, the bill also undermines their basic privacy rights. The bill reads:
The Legislature further finds that important information relating to a minor child should not be withheld, either inadvertently or purposeful, from his or her parent, including information relating to the minor child’s health, well-being, and education, while the minor child is in the custody of the school district.
My parents were life-long educators. Both have numerous instances in which their students told them things in confidence out of fear of physical harm or possible disownment by parents due to their political or religious opinions, sexual preferences, or desire to obtain reproductive health information. Under HB 241, teachers or other school personnel would potentially be disciplined, fined, or disciplined if they “withheld” such information from parents, even if the student asked for such privacy and argued sharing such information could lead to disownment, harm, or abuse.
For example, John Mower with Equality Florida said in the Daytona Beach News-Journal pointing out that the legislation “could compel schools to out LGBTQ youth.”
Mower adds:
We wish that all youth, including LGBTQ youth, had supportive and affirming families, but we know that that is not always the case. Schools are sometimes the only place of safety for our LGBTQ youth. Many of them come out to teachers or guidance counselors, before they come out at home.
The Daytona Beach News-Journal also cites opposition by Trish Neely with the League of Women Voters of Florida to the bill. As Neely says:
Developing responsibility for health care is part of building a healthy adulthood. The vast majority of young people exercise this responsibility in consultation with their parents. The ones that don’t probably have good reason. Not all parents deserve parenthood, nor can you legislate that.
Mower agrees and told WFSU Public Media:
It’s not just about sexual orientation and gender identity. We know that students can also disclose other things they’re seeing in the home. . .and compelling these educators to disclose that information to parents could endanger these young people.
As Florida Sen. Lori Berman (D-Lantana) said in the South Florida Sun-Sentinel in a debate over the bill in 2020:
School personnel have always been a safety net for children having home issues. This legislation disrupts the safety net and can be harmful to our most at-risk students.
In the last few years, I have served as a volunteer high school assistant basketball coach. Our players have told both the head coach and me things — both minor and major — in confidence. In reading the bill language, I literally have no idea as to what constitutes information that I would be compelled to tell parents related to their “health, well-being, and education.”
Beyond basketball, pretty much everything kids talk about is related to health, well-being, and education. They talk about their thoughts, their hopes, their fears, their dreams, and their ideas. The educators who listen to kids and help them should be allowed to do so without threatening their privacy and trust. Instead, this legislation threatens educators with possible punishment and fines.
Additional Burdens Imposed Upon Public Schools
Related to this, the legislation places additional burdens upon schools and educators to adhere to the demands of individual parents in their child’s education. In fact, the “Parents’ Bill of Rights” goes so far as to allow parents to significantly micromanage many aspects of their child’s education.
The Florida House of Representatives’s staff analysis of HB 241 indicates that, in addition to the whole range of requirements that public schools currently have, the bill imposes a litany of new policies and notification requirements on schools to address individual parental issues.
HB 241 could potentially result in a flood of litigation initiated by individual parents, at taxpayers’ expense, against anyone working with children, including teachers, librarians, counselors, social workers, and nurses, or even between parents with opposing values.
Disgruntled parents could create havoc in schools and communities across the country by demanding changes to curriculum and teaching methods that might then conflict with the desires of other parents with children in the schools and the community. Education decisions and disputes would have to be litigated by the courts as “parental rights” cases rather than by communities and parents within the schools themselves. This would be an outright disaster for Florida’s education system and children would be the biggest losers.
Threats to Child Protection and Safety
And last, the legislation is also concerning with respect to child abuse. Although there are other laws in statute that address child abuse, this legislation’s sweeping language could arguably preempt aspects of those protections for children. According to the bill:
A parent of a minor child in this state has inalienable rights that are more comprehensive than those listed in this section, unless such rights have been legally waived or terminated. . . Unless required by law, the rights of a parent of a minor child in this state may not be limited or denied.
HB 241 adds, for example, that in the case of suspected physical or sexual abuse of a child, a health care practitioner cannot withhold access to a child’s medical record from a parent unless “the parent is the subject of an investigation of a crime committed against a minor child and a law enforcement agency or official requests that the information not be released.”
If you know anything about child welfare agencies and law enforcement investigations, this may take many weeks, months, or even years before a suspected child abuser can be stopped from accessing a child’s medical record.
In short, parents are granted sweeping rights under this bill short of “a parental action or decision that would end life” or a “compelling state interest” that is narrow and limited by a “strict scrutiny” standard.
The State of Florida should not need to be reminded that this type of language lead to enormous problems in the child welfare system in past years. In an award-winning series by the Miami Herald in 2014, reporters found that changes to the child welfare system supported by “parents’ rights groups. . .who wanted the government to stop meddling in the lives of families” led to the deaths of hundreds of children at the hands of their parents because of the decline in government case workers, prevention services, and removals of children from dangerous parents.
The appropriate role of government should be to support parents, engage in the prevention of harm, and to remove children from parents in extreme circumstances. Unfortunately, after the changes pushed by parents’ rights groups and some child advocates, government was doing less of all three things of importance to the protection, safety, and well-being of children.
Reject HB 241 and Find a Better Balance of Protections for Children
To restate my initial point, the rights of parents are critically important. However, parents also have duties and responsibilities to children. This has been lost in HB 241.
In addition, government also has an important role here to be supportive of parents and to promote the health, education, safety, and well-being of children.
And finally and most importantly, children need the support of parents and government. But sometimes children need protection from both parents and government, such as when children are physically or sexually abused by parents and the government’s child welfare system fails to protect them.
Unfortunately, HB 241 fails children because it fails to understand four important facts:
Parents are the guardians of and not the owners of children;
The legislation does not recognize that, when it comes to policy that impacts children, their best interests must come first and their rights and voice must be fully heard and considered;
The lives of children are best served when parents, government, and children are working together — rather than at odds — toward the common goal of improving their lives and well-being. By failing to understand these basic tenants of child development, the so-called “Parents’ Bill of Rights” includes a number of provisions that threatens the health, education, privacy, and safety of children; and,
Children and youth have fundamental rights.
Consequently, Gov. DeSantis should veto HB 241 and form a special advisory committee to correct its many flaws.
If the threats to the lives and well-being of children are not persuasive to the Governor to veto HB 241, maybe the unanswered questions and unintended consequences that this bill creates might be. In addition to all the questions previously raised, we all know that sometimes parents are not in agreement and something they are just wrong. As a result, what should a health care practitioner or an educator do if a child’s two parents tell them contradictory things about how to address their child’s health or educational needs? What happens to a child that does not have a functional or legal guardian? Does parental consent apply to a parent or parents who are not really involved in the lives of their children? What happens if a parent thinks putting a child in a cage or denying a child food is, as part of their newly established parental rights, for punishment?
We can be sure of one thing: the consequences of this bill will lead to a surge of litigation.
Before signing the bill, we ask Gov. DeSantis to ask himself the simple question, “Is it good for the children?” Based on its threats to the health, education, privacy, safety, and well-being of children, the answer should be a resounding “NO!”
If Gov. DeSantis Signs It, Child Advocates Should Think Creatively
However, if Gov. DeSantis decides to sign the bill and it goes into law on July 1, child advocates should begin thinking creatively about ways to mitigate the bill’s harm and to use the bill’s language in ways that might provide some important benefits to children and families.
For example, the bill directs government and institutions not to “infringe on the fundamental rights of a parent to direct the upbringing, education, health care, and mental health of his or her minor child.” Therefore, parents should affirmatively demand a right to better family medical leave and sick leave benefits from government and businesses. The denial of family medical leave and sick leave benefits could be argued by parents to be an undue burden that negatively impacts their “parental rights.”
Furthermore, undue burden arguments should also be considered in supporting of the elimination of bureaucratic paperwork requirements imposed upon parents to get themselves, their family, or just their children enrolled in certain health care, nutrition, housing, or other programs. The point that parents could make is that bureaucratic red tape burdens “infringe on the fundamental rights of a parent to direct the. . .health care and mental health” of their children.
In addition, parents who object to high-stakes testing mandates imposed by the government and schools, inequality in school funding, the violation of their children’s basic rights by law enforcement (including school resource officers), certain school discipline or seclusion and restraint policies, or who want open records from institutions like the Catholic Church or Boy Scouts when it comes to sexual abuse should be able to demand changes. The language in HB 241 is sweeping, so if it can be used to prevent schools from requiring a child to wear a mask to protect people in a pandemic, maybe that some language could be used in other ways that are more beneficial to children.
To the proponents of this bill, I say to be careful what you wish for. To child advocates, I would argue that if you are handed lemons, sometimes the best thing to do is be creative and make lemonade or learn to juggle. | https://medium.com/voices4kids/gov-desantis-should-veto-floridas-tragically-flawed-so-called-parents-bill-of-rights-f8931d576ea7 | ['Bruce Lesley'] | 2021-07-16 06:28:28.661000+00:00 | ['Parenting', 'Child Health', 'Children', 'LGBTQ', 'Florida'] |
The Art of Problem Solving | Perform root cause analysis to fix problems for good
Successfully solving a problem requires the skill of taking a step back. When facing a problem, you may want to jump in immediately and start delivering value, but trying to fix something too soon may be futile, or worse, it could create new problems. Over time, I learned the importance of breaking down problems into two components: symptoms and root cause. Differentiating between the two empowers my teams to understand the big picture and find solutions that work in the long-run. My goal is to help explain root causes and cover best practices to fix problems better.
I will start with a definition of Root Cause: “The most basic reason, which if eliminated, would prevent recurrence. The source or origin of an event.” The concept sounds simple though finding root causes is not always straightforward.
In my experience, the biggest impediment to finding a root cause has been the severity of the symptoms a team is experiencing. It doesn’t take much to understand why: when you’re in pain, you want the pain gone more than you want to take the time to be treated for something. When deciding between focusing on symptoms vs. root causes, here’s my recommendation: the extent to which you devote capacity to alleviating symptoms should be determined by the extent to which the severity of the symptoms could impede you from getting to a root cause (e.g., severe profitability/liquidity issues).
The process of working on root causes is called Root Cause Analysis. Tableau has an excellent overview article with the following definition: “Root cause analysis (RCA) is the process of discovering the root causes of problems to identify appropriate solutions.” Some of the methods to conduct RCA include: 5 Whys, Change Analysis/Event Analysis, and Cause and Effect Fishbone diagram. My personal favorite is the 5 Whys approach due to its reliance on open communication. The video below is one of the best resources to quickly understand what it means:
We are all busy dealing with a multitude of competing priorities. When problems arise (both in our personal and professional lives), it’s easy to get lost in the symptoms and not take the time to address the root cause. At the end of the day, leveraging the resources in this article and practicing RCA will help you systematically prevent future issues. | https://medium.com/@roberto-portolorena/the-art-of-problem-solving-d71dc29771c8 | ['Roberto Porto Lorena'] | 2020-12-16 14:06:48.258000+00:00 | ['Root Cause', 'Problem Solving', 'Root Cause Analysis'] |
Apptuse — Omnichannel Commerce Simplified | At Apptuse we want to power individuals and businesses all over India to start selling products they make, in a language they understand. So today we are launching the new Apptuse Ecommerce app with support for 12 Indian languages.
What can the app do?
You can sign up, manage and grow your ecommerce business right from your phone. What’s more — you can set up an ecommerce store + mobile commerce apps + app POS + sell on multiple marketplaces from one single platform — your Apptuse Dashboard — we are enabling businesses to go truly Omnichannel!
You can add products, manage your inventory and your orders right from your phone!
The best part is you can do set up, manage and grow your business in 12 Indian languages.
How much time does it take to set up?
Setting up your business online now take less than 5 minutes, Download the Apptuse app. fill in your details and get started with adding your products and selling. If you already have a payment gateway, integrate it, or we can get you a brand new payment gateway in no time. Once you add a product, it automatically becomes available for sale online, as well as on your POS, right within the app. You can also use the Apptuse app to accept digital payments and go cashless. To know more about going cashless read this.
How much does it cost?
We are one of the first companies to launch an omnichannel solution, that too with extremely affordable pricing plans. You can view all our pricing plans here. Our basic plan starts at Rs 2999 per month and includes the following:
Ecommerce Website + inventory management system Mobile commerce apps on Android + iOS (iPhone + iPad) App based Point of Sale System for offline selling Sell on multiple marketplaces like Snapdeal, Amazon, Ebay Flipkart and more Payment Gateway + Logistics tie up
To top this off, we are currently running an introductory offer. You get all of the above at Rs 1999/- per month if you sign up before 31st January 2017. Use Coupon Code “AMAZING1000”
To get started, all you have to do is download the Apptuse App and get started. Click here to Download Now | https://medium.com/apptuse-magazine/apptuse-omnichannel-commerce-simplified-8bbb257e4599 | ['Nameet Potnis'] | 2017-01-17 09:44:29.596000+00:00 | ['Ecommerce', 'B2B', 'Digital Marketing'] |
Timothy Ong Bitcoin — Review. “Bitcoin Trader Timothy Ong” Click Here… | “Bitcoin Trader Timothy Ong” Click Here To Join!
Check out my analysis to see how we compare to other auto-traders in the crypto industry.
Here’s my brief review of my Bitcoin Dealer.
I got together with Bitcoin Trader to keep it quick, and I added $250 to my account because it’s the sum recommended to maximize your earnings ultimately. Today is my sixth day using the software, and I was able to hit $11,000+, but I’m still trying to reach my $21,000 target by the end of the week.
My Honest Analysis of Bitcoin Auto Trader:
Bitcoin Dealer has a super-speed program that exchanges a large number of trades every day. The framework uses the existing business establishment and rapid AI, which gives this program a favorable position over the other systems.
This item has an unfortunate speed of just .07 percent after more than six years of automatic trade. This means you’d have a very low chance of losing your cash, like less than 1% of the probability of misfortune. Take the divider lane!
The machine signal carries out transactions with 163 exchanges in 35 countries, and the amount of trades it is getting to is disconcerting-4 million!
After looking at the association behind this signing scheme, I found that it was on favorable terms. In 2018, this Trading Application earned $723 million in benefits, which was 11 percent more than the Merchant of 2019. A beautiful return.
This year, regardless of how the market sectors are in a state of unrest, this bitcoin merchant has determined that he will start picking up $650 million in benefits amid immense misfortunes on world securities exchanges.
I’ve been wildly looking for some real technique to pick up money online from home for as long as two years. I was looking for a dream that I couldn’t get my all-day pound by working my hours and making shrewd speculations. So when I caught the breeze of the broker robot on my Facebook channel, the thought provoked my curiosity.
How does it work?
You start by opening a record to use Bitcoin Dealer. At the hour of my registration, they provided a record master to walk you through the cycle and “hold your hand” for your first projects. For the calculation to make trades, it needs assets to work with, so I just stacked the base to start with $250. In any case, writing this out of what’s to come, I’m thinking about how much better my earnings would have been if I had started higher. When I stacked the assets, Bitcoin Broker dominated and started to do business for me!
Having used Bitcoin Merchant for a couple of days, I’m very excited about the performance. Bitcoin Broker can consistently trade when the conditions are acceptable, but it is inactive as a general rule. However, I’ve found out on the off chance that you’re only keeping your PC running with the intention that it can do business at whatever point it needs to, you have the best results. So I just let it go and let it get me some cash while I’m resting!
My Score of Bitcoin Trader: 4.75 /5
On the off chance that you need to start, click this link to start making the most of this Bitcoin Broker in 24 hours! Click Here To Join!
“Bitcoin Trader Timothy Ong” | https://medium.com/@chagibson90/timothy-ong-bitcoin-review-7cddcc1571a0 | ['Cha Gibson'] | 2021-06-22 11:54:03.331000+00:00 | ['Bitcoin Wallet', 'Bitcoin Mining', 'Bitcoin News', 'Bitcoincash', 'Bitcoin'] |
Best Sound Bars 2021 | What’s up guys! Today’s blog is on the Top Five Best Budget Sound Bars In 2021. Through extensive research I’ve put together a list of options that all meet the needs of different types of buyers. So whether it’s price performance or its particular use. Let’s get started if you’re looking not just for any budget item but the cheapest of the cheap. The Absolute Lowest price that will still deliver the goods and cover all the key points.
The best ultra cheap budget sound bar available on the market in 2021 switching from TV to cinema is now possible on the budget with the TCL TS 6110 sound bar. A slim speaker designed to enhance your home theater given on this price range. This product boasts a fairly powerful sonic output, the device is equipped with a wireless Subwoofer that is as practical as it is efficient. The woofer is a real plus because it emphasizes the base to deliver the intensity of the action as faithfully as possible.
A major plus for music lovers that’s for sure this product packs another quite important feature Dolby audio surround technology a system whose reputation is well established and known by music and tech fans. This technology spreads the sound 360 Degrees so you are completely immersed and experience your favorite movies as if you were a part of them. As you know all the latest high-tech in the world will do nothing if your sound system is not equipped with significant power to satisfy you.
The TCL t66110 Sound bar supports 240 watts of audio power. You will have enough to adjust the sound to your taste and adjust all content types with the preset equalizer for Movies, Music and Television also. The quality of the connection is crucial and the TCL alto 6 plus sound bar has an Hdmi port equipped with auto return channel technology, a system that allows you to enjoy crystal clear sound through a single cable without adding an optical cable for diffusion, perfectly adapted to the layout of your room you will appreciate the wall mounts. The TCL alto 6 plus comes inelegant black and has the size of 34.25By 13.75 by 10.25 inches while the weight is 14.7 pounds.
Also known as the best value budget Sound bar that can be found on the market in 2021. With this you’ll have the opportunity to experience top audio technologies and a smooth sound that will complement the TV experience in any room. You’ll be able to improve the sound of the TV even in smaller spaces such as a dormitory or an apartment.
It integrates incredible sound quality into a compact aesthetic to add an enveloping sound with smaller space such as a bedroom or children’s playroom. Also included in mix is a thin subwoofer with a completely new design whose goal is to discreetly fit in a variety of places in the corner of a room or even under the sofa and which also provides even more bass that makes the whole room vibrate. The product is designed with Dts virtual x technology for a larger more comprehensive audio experience.
Another item that comes with this product and no less important is the chromecast set of features as well as of course the built-in Bluetooth, this will allow you to stream your favorite apps and artists whenever you want. The vizio sb3621n-H8 comes with all the necessary audio cables which will allow users to install the device with ease. This product comes with an elegant black finish and the size of 3.2 by 36 by 2.1 inches while the weight is 17.31 pounds. For the listed price you really get the whole package you can’t find another item in this range that will beat this.
Also known as the best mid-range budget sound bar that can be found on the market in 2021. At a fairly affordable price tag the Samsung HW-T450 sound bar is versatile enough to meet most needs with decent sound quality. Let’s start with the design, Samsung sound bars are quite versatile, simple and fit easily into any living room. what makes the Hw-t450 stand out a bit is the subwoofer that is included in the price. The whole package can easily fit under the TV.
The absence of cables to interconnect the box and the rod allows them to be laid as we deem appropriate without any restrictions on cable storage in the case of placing a bar on the wall. The pairing is done quite fast via Bluetooth by pressing a button on the back of the subwoofer. To suit all content types the Samsung hwT450 sound bar offers a variety of audio modes, Preset values can be selected via the supplied remote control including standard surround game and smart in the game mode.
The base is even more pronounced to emphasize explosions, shocks and all the epic gaming stuff. Surround mode also allows you to interconnect compatible additional speakers to form a complete 4.1 kit and improve immersion. The default settings are well balanced and will suit all types of content. If you change the content type frequently you’ll choose smart mode which automatically adjusts the sound settings according to what you’re listening to. The sonic output always maintains good quality depending on the chosen mode of operation. It is easy to notice the difference in the emphasis of the bass and middle frequencies. The audio spectrum is top notch and distortion free even at maximum volume regardless of the strength.
The quality of listening is the same Dolby audio and Dts certifications help to maintain optimal listening quality even with the addition of satellite speakers. To improve sound immersion with 200 watts of total sound power the Samsung Hw-t450 sound bar delivers on all fronts to cover even large rooms. This is more than enough. The product comes in the size of 33.9 by 2.9 by 2.1 inches while the weight is 12.8 pounds.
If you’re looking for a premium product We say check out the Sony Ht-S350 the best premium budget sound bar available on the market in 2021. The Sony HT-S350 sound bar is a 2.1 model with a wireless subwoofer that delivers a total of 320 watts and is capable of reproducing surround sound. Thanks to S force pro front surround technology. Also this product has an optical digital input Hdmi arc output as well as a Bluetooth connection for easy streaming of music from a smartphone, Tablet or computer compact and sleek the Sony HT-S350 sound bar features a digital S master amplifier responsible for powering two stereo speakers located at the left and right ends of the sound bar.
To provide a wide sonic focus low frequency reproduction is delivered via a wireless subwoofer that carries a 12 Inch diaphragm mounted in a base reflex in a volume of 28 liters to provide deep and rich bass. This Package allows the Sony HT-S350 sound bar to deliver those 320 watts of total power and stereo enough to bring all of your movies and music to life for multi-channel listening. The Sony ht-s350 sound bar features S-force pro front surround simulation technology that is able to reproduce cinema sound without additional speakers. This digital processing system can turn even stereo output into covered sound at the touch of a button on the remote control that comes with the product.
Several preset sounds are available to customize the display of the Sony HT-S350 sound bar according to the program being watched. Among the many DSP modes the device offers the cinema mode to optimize immersion in movies, the game mode for a better gaming experience, a sports mode that accurately reproduces the ambient noise of the crowd, the music mode to optimize stereo listening and a news mode designed to emphasize dialogue. On the connectivity side this product includes an optical input compatible with Dolby digital, Dolby mono and dual channel LPCM streams.
There is also an Hdmi output compatible with arc technology to provide audio feedback conveniently. The Sony ht-s 350 sound bar integrates a Bluetooth receiver for easy music sharing from a smartphone, tablet or computer. This f delivers on all fronts.
Finally after all the carefully summarized experiences, opinions and reviews we came to the conclusion that the Polk audio signa S2 is overall the best budget sound part that can be found on the market in 2021. As you may or may not know Polk audio has been producing speakers for over 45 years. All sonic areas are covered both for Hi-fi and home theater with the new signa s2 sound bar. Polk offers you an amazing home cinema experience far beyond what the small speaker has built into your Tv can deliver.
An Hdmi cable is provided for quick and easy installation while the company’s patented voice adjust technology helps to improve dialogue clarity further more. Dolby digital decoding creates unsurpassed immersive surround sound. The package includes a wireless subwoofer to enjoy powerful deep bass. You can also stream your favorite music via Bluetooth.
Also there are performance focus speakers and a Dolby digital 5.1 decoder that provides exceptional surround sound. And a backdrop from the compact sound bar with a slim and sleek profile and a wireless subwoofer exclusive to Polk audio patented voice adjust technology allows you to adjust the level of voices on the sound bar to your liking to reproduce sharp clear sound and never miss a word from your favorite sporting events, movies, Tv shows and more. The device also boasts universal compatibility making it compatible with Hd and 4k Tvs and you can watch your favorite shows with exceptional contrast and clarity. Also users will be able to enjoy a quick and easy connection to the Tv. The thin design allows you to fit the product into most spaces. You can easily place it on the wall or in front of the Tv.
Additional Bluetooth technology allows you to stream music directly from your smartphone, tablet or any other compatible device. The tape has three inputs Hdmi, optical and analog to accommodate all Tvs. The Hdmi connection is of course Arc compatible it allows you to restore all streams even those encoded in Dolby digital.
In conclusion the sound section is primarily focused on efficient playback of movie sound bars. Thanks to three technologies voice adjust to improve voice clarity preset from movie, music to depth. The display to the type of program and night mode to enjoy movies even when the whole house is asleep. The Polk audio signa S2 comes in the size of 3.22 by 35.43 by 2.15 inches as well as weight of 3.9 pounds. | https://medium.com/@articlesweb4u/best-sound-bars-2021-d171c2bdcbb3 | [] | 2021-06-23 12:53:20.059000+00:00 | ['Sound', 'Speakers', '2021', 'Smart Home', 'Technology'] |
Migrate from Vue Cli 2 to 3 | Vue Cli 3 is officially released so it’s a great time to upgrade because it brings a bunch of new features like plugin system, hiding the complexity of webpack and the very nice UI for the Cli. It make the Vue development experience even more fun.
I spent around 30 mins to migrate an complete application which including Vue router, vuex, authentication, authorization and so on. The migration experience is quite smooth and with no pain at all. Here are my steps (let’s assume my app is called myapp ):
Install the Vue Cli 3 with npm install -g @vue/cli Create a new project with vue create myapp-cli3 Copy the content of src folder from old app to new app. Create aliases.config.js in the root folder, content (to enable the @ as src root):
const path = require('path') function resolveSrc(_path) {
return path.join(__dirname, _path)
}
'@': 'src',
'
} const aliases = {'@': 'src', @src ': 'src' module.exports = {
webpack: {},
jest: {}
} for (const alias in aliases) {
module.exports.webpack[alias] = resolveSrc(aliases[alias])
module.exports.jest['^' + alias + '/(.*)$'] =
'<rootDir>/' + aliases[alias] + '/$1'
}
5. Create vue.config.js in the root folder, content:
module.exports = {
configureWebpack: {
resolve: {
alias: require('./aliases.config').webpack
}
},
css: {
// Enable CSS source maps.
sourceMap: true
}
}
6. Create .env (and .env.production based on your environment) to enable configuration according target environment. Please be aware that you have to start the configuration key with VUE_APP_ . For example:
And in the client code to use this configuration:
process.env.VUE_APP_OAUTH2_ENDPOINT
7. Try to npm run serve (if you still want to use npm run dev , you can add "dev":"vue-cli-service serve" in package.json file) to start myapp-cli3, fix errors you may encounter. | https://medium.com/jinweijie/migrate-from-vue-cli-2-to-3-16f14e7febdc | ['Jin Weijie'] | 2018-08-16 02:31:38.512000+00:00 | ['JavaScript'] |
4 reasons why you should practice self-acceptance | Acceptance is a difficult notion to apply in everyday life but so liberating. Whether it is about accepting external situations or accepting yourself, applying it in your life is always liberating and calming.
To accept is to see things as they are. Accepting does not mean being in agreement, but it’s about welcoming situations, people, and yourself as you are at the moment T. Acceptance is seeing and welcoming things as they are and not as you would like them to be.
So self-acceptance is seeing yourself and welcoming yourself as you are and not as you would like to be. Self-acceptance is living in non-judgment of yourself. Accepting yourself is accepting who you are as a whole. Entirely. Fully. It is accepting both your good qualities and your faults. Your strengths and weaknesses. Your light and your dark side. Your feminine energy and your masculine energy. Your pains and wounds, joys and resilience, pride and success, failures and life lessons.
To accept yourself is to accept:
- Your physical body completely as it is
- Your current thought patterns, whether limiting or extremely powerful and different from others,
- Your soul with its life mission and its wounds.
Accepting yourself also means accepting not always to be as you would like to be. It is to progress gradually towards the future vision of yourself while having love for yourself. It’s realizing that you are a complete and complex being who is evolving and doing her best.
There are dozens of reasons for practicing self-acceptance. Today I have chosen to give you the 4 most important reasons:
- to find inner peace,
- to forgive yourself,
- to heal your wounds,
- to be fully accomplished.
Accept yourself to find inner peace
woman in yellow and teal sleeping beside lavenders
When you fully accept yourself you decide to stop fighting with yourself. You decide to become one with yourself. To become one with your body, your mind and your soul. You choose to welcome them in their entirety, without any value judgment.
Accepting yourself brings you serenity and peace of body, mind and soul.
Accepting yourself allows you to make peace with yourself, to find inner peace which will help you forgive yourself later on.
Live in peace to forgive yourself
It takes a lot of self-love to fully accept yourself. It also requires forgiving oneself for one’s mistakes, shortcomings, and weaknesses.
But how can you manage to forgive yourself if you don’t make peace with yourself first?
To be successful in forgiving yourself, you will first need to accept yourself for who you are. With your flaws and your weaknesses. Because yes, no one is perfect!
By finding this inner peace you will be better able to develop love for yourself and therefore forgive yourself. To forgive yourself means to let go of all feelings of resentment, anger, frustration, shame, disgust towards yourself. It’s giving you the right to make mistakes and learn from them to move forward. It’s about granting yourself the right to be who you are today.
Forgive yourself to heal your wounds
When you fully accept yourself you also become aware of your pain and suffering and accept them as part of you. When you finally accept that these wounds are part of you, then you stop fighting, wanting to remove them, suffocate them or ignore them.
Just like your flaws, when you choose to accept yourself and therefore forgive yourself, you finally decide to welcome your suffering and give it legitimacy so that it can finally play its role in your life: to push you to evolve.
Recognizing and welcoming your wounds as part of you in the present moment is the start of your healing.
Accepting yourself therefore leads you to free yourself from the judgment of yourself, to cease this incessant inner war with your imperfections and to fully welcome the pain of injuries instead of rejecting or repressing it. By doing this, you heal little by little.
Heal oneself to finally be fulfilled
Accepting yourself therefore also allows you to reconnect with you, with your strengths, your light, and your full potential.
Indeed, when you heal, you can finally free yourself from the voice of your ego, listen to your intuition and reconnect to your soul and therefore to your life mission.
And from this life mission stems your personal development, your personal accomplishment and your personal success.
Bottom Line: Accepting yourself helps you face your flaws, observe your wounds, embrace your vulnerability and then make peace with yourself, forgive yourself, heal and unleash your full potential. | https://medium.com/@lelialouisedouard/4-reasons-why-you-should-practice-self-acceptance-6b769e002bff | ['Lelia Louis-Edouard'] | 2020-12-27 23:41:09.687000+00:00 | ['Accomplishments', 'Self Acceptance', 'Healing', 'Self Love', 'Forgiveness'] |
Shrek the Musical | The Medford Panther Players, comprised of students from the Haines and Memorial Middle Schools, are preparing for a journey to a kingdom far, far away with their production of “Shrek the Musical, Jr.” Based upon the Oscar-winning DreamWorks film, the show brings the hilarious story of everyone’s favorite ogre to life on the Lenape High School stage April 15, 16, 22, and 23.
Join Shrek, the unlikely hero, and his loyal steed Donkey as they set off on a quest to rescue the beautiful, yet slightly fiery, princess Fiona and bring peace and quiet back to the swamp he calls home. Add a villain with a “short” temper, a gingerbread cookie with an attitude, and many of our favorite fairy tale characters in a singing and dancing mix of adventure, and you have a must-see musical comedy for all ages.
Through the laughter and fun, the show carries a poignant message that it is important to accept others even though they may be different. There is often more to a person than meets the eye, even if they have green skin, breath fire, or have a nose that grows when they tell a lie.
Veteran director and social studies teacher Michael Del Rossi leads this talented cast of sixth, seventh and eighth grade students as they bring this upside-down fairytale to life.
“This is a really fun show that will appeal to everyone, young and old. It carries a great message, especially for middle school students, about appreciating inner beauty and maintaining high self-esteem. Audiences will be reminded to love people for who they are, not what they are or how they look. Most importantly, I hope that the young people who see the show will realize that it’s okay to be yourself, it’s okay to ‘Let your freak flag fly!’” Del Rossi said.
This year’s production will be performed at the Lenape High School theater located at 235 Hartford Road in Medford. The show will have two matinee performances- April 16 and 23 at 2 p.m., and four evening performances — April 15, 16, 22, and 23 starting at 7 p.m.
Tickets, which are reserved seating, are available for purchase at the Medford Memorial School main office Monday through Friday 7:45 a.m. to 3 p.m. or online at www.medfordmemorial.org. A limited number of tickets will also be available at the box office on the night of the show. | https://medium.com/the-medford-sun/shrek-the-musical-cf45fe898471 | [] | 2016-12-19 15:55:45.747000+00:00 | ['Medford Panthers', 'Headlines', 'Haines Middle School', 'Families', 'Entertainment'] |
Reconfiguring Life After a Major Loss | Major losses spare no one in this world. I am reminded of this by my children who lost their mother to Early-Onset Alzheimer’s disease a few days ago.
I have lost both of my parents and even though I had a very difficult relationship with them; I realize how monumental their deaths were in my life. With my kids, they have been slowly losing a dear and loving mother, which makes their loss even more painful than what I experienced.
Monumental losses like this are not uncommon, but they leave us disoriented, especially when the cause of the loss is so inexplicable. Early Onset Alzheimer’s is uncommon because doctors diagnose it before the age of 65, accounting for only 5%-10% of all Alzheimer’s cases. This made it more difficult for my children to understand and accept because it seemed random and unfair that their mother contracted such a rare affliction.
Finding ourselves
“Not until we are lost do we begin finding ourselves.” Henry David Thoreau
All major loses seem unjust. This has to do with the time it takes for your mind to reconfigure new paths and new ways of being. Major loses can make us feel lost and hopeless. They can leave you wondering how in the hell you are going to go on.
Getting laid off from a job, losing a parent/spouse/child, facing bankruptcy, having a heart attack or major injury can leave you unbalanced, unhinged and insecure. It is like someone cut a leg out of the stool you were sitting on and now you don’t know how to balance it. Yet, unbeknownst to us, major loses can be the key that opens the door to self-discovery, but only if we chose to see them in that light.
We move forward with our experiences
I have been impatient in the past with those who had been suffering for a while. I urged them it was time to let it go and move on with their lives.
But this was terrible advice I was giving to those unsuspecting people. I know better now. One cannot put memories behind; they remain a part of us because they helped shape the person we are now. It is more important to move forward with those memories, influences and events. They have and continue to teach and mold us.
Grief is necessary in whatever form it takes
Grief is best described as a multi-layered response to loss. Its effects have physical, emotional, behavioral, spiritual and philosophical dimensions. Psychiatric studies define grief in five stages; denial, anger, bargaining, depression and, finally, acceptance.
The grief process has no shortcuts. The pain from loss can be so great that the person is not ready to deal with it. This is a big part of the denial phase, making it tempting to avoid the sadness and emptiness by turning to something external; drugs, alcohol or a new relationship to quickly after the loss.
Although this can frustrate those around, this is something that we must allow, for it is only by trying these things a person may find they don’t work. Eventually, they will move on from those things, although there is no set time for that to happen.
The same goes for denial, anger, bargaining and depression. They are processes that one must experience before moving forward to a better reality. Denying them or forcing them to go away rapidly will only delay your progress.
One cannot reconstruct your life until you have completed the grief process, this is why I am not advocate of making major life decisions during this time. these can distract you and postpone the issues you need to deal with.
One step at a time
The way one can reconstruct your life is by taking one step at a time, sometimes, it is one breath at a time. You can ease your path by remembering how you overcame past losses and how their effect opened the door to a redefinition of your life.
You rebuild your life by moving forward with the memories of your experiences and in gratitude for them. It is not by forgetting or moving past your losses that makes you grow. The road to self-discovery can only happen when you live forward mindful of the lessons these experiences taught you.
As always, wishing you a life filled with joy, love and serenity.
Photo by Cristian Newman Zi8-E3qJ_RM on Unsplash | https://medium.com/change-your-mind/reconfiguring-life-after-a-major-loss-7fbc4a4f1059 | ['Guillermo Vidal'] | 2019-07-17 12:55:44.971000+00:00 | ['Self Love', 'Life And Death', 'Spirituality', 'Grief', 'Life Lessons'] |
Battle of the titans Ipad Pro Vs Laptop | Battle of the titans Ipad Pro Vs Laptop
Photo by Dose Media on Unsplash
The latest iPad Pro has got many of us. Asking the question, do we even need a laptop anymore?
For many of us, the answer would be no. The last thing the iPad was missing is a mouse and now it has one.
As a business tool, especially for anyone who travels. Its the perfect solution.
Quicker than many basic laptops, the last thing the Ipad needed. Was that ability to manipulate documents and spreadsheets with a mouse.
Now that it has that with the new trackpad. It should be world domination time.
I’m an engineer in daily life and my Ipad has now become my go-to machine. I can hook it up to a monitor when I’m at home.
Using the apple pencil and the correct apps, I can draw 2d and 3d CAD drawings. Quicker and easier than I ever could on a PC.
Yes, when I’m traveling it is a little harder, but the 11" model isn’t that much smaller in screen size to most laptops.
Travelling is where it all comes into its own. I carry a small lightweight iPad with one charge cable. That and my phone I don’t need anything else.
My external hard drive, replaced by the cloud. No more bulky drives, cables, etc.
My phone and my Ipad, both sync to each other and charge on the same cable.
Easier packing, and easier going through airports.
The only issue I still have is the MS project. It isn’t supported on the Ipad which means I’m back to excel. That’s ok it works great with the trackpad. Plus in excel a well-executed template makes up for no project!
I have to say I’m very happy with the Ipad pro and trackpad. For me, it does what I need it to do and I see no need to go back to a laptop.
So while it does depend on what you use your machine for. I think that finally, the iPad has overtaken the laptop. For me its the better and smarter buy today. | https://medium.com/@dodwalker1/battle-of-the-titans-ipad-pro-vs-laptop-bf051dc8ac4d | [] | 2020-07-16 08:06:55.955000+00:00 | ['Apple', 'Computers', 'Review', 'Electronics', 'Technology'] |
The COVID Crisis and Digital Solutions to Fight It | The COVID Crisis
Unless you are in a coma for the last 6-months, I am sure you know the havoc COVID has brought to this blue planet. After the sustained lockdowns in most countries, governments around the world must reopen society and economy. And, we need digital tools and measures to protect healthcare services and at the same time, maintain human and civil rights. In addition any of these technologies must be: (a) accessible by the vast majority of the population, (b) be accurate and secure in their assertions, (c) be consistent and compliant with wide-reaching policies and our civil principles and (d) privacy-respecting and non-discriminatory.
The SARS‑CoV‑2 virus
Track and Trace: Tracing Apps
Early on governments, academic institutions and industry around the globe have been exploring the use of proximity tracking apps to trace people infected with Covid-19. The idea of these apps is to track and trace any person who reports themselves with symptoms and following a positive Covid test, others who have been in close proximity with the candidate can get informed to self-isolate and obtain a Covid test themselves. South Korea was one of the first countries to mandate contact tracing via location tracking bracelets and mobile phone data. Since then two main approaches have been established: (a) centralised tracing apps and (b) decentralised tracing apps.
Track and Tracing apps
Notably, three high-scale approaches evolved with a collaboration of over 130 members of industry and academia. Firstly, the Pan-European Privacy-Preserving Proximity Tracing (PEPP-PT/PEPP) protocol is using bluetooth and a centralised server to identify matches of Covid positive cases. Secondly, the Decentralized Privacy-Preserving Proximity Tracing (DP-3T) protocol is also using bluetooth and a decentralised server to identify matches. Thirdly, Google and Apple introduced a privacy-preserving contact tracing framework that works on both types of phones — iPhones and Android phones.
Sadly, however, there hasn’t been a significant uptake by communities around the world and the fear of being traced and tracked has given rise to several privacy issues.
Immunity Passports: Towards Proving Immunity?
Whilst tracing is an important step to prevent the virus from spreading, proving one’s immunity status via vaccination, antigen test or antibody test is another tool in the arsenal. To ensure the safe return of people into public spaces and workplaces, it is therefore of utmost importance to securely and accurately prove one’s immunity status without sacrificing their privacy. So called ‘Immunity certificates’ or ‘Immunity passports’ — the term that misnomer our opinion — ascertain a holder’s identity and their immunity status. Ideally such certificates are issued by certified providers such as the NHS in the UK or any other health care provider around the globe.
Companies such as Onfido, Yoti, Mvine, among others have proposed such certificates often by forcing the use of identity documents to link to a person’s identity and/or by the use of their existing applications.
While such certificates would enable a person to participate in society and economy, such endeavours are often more tricky in practice:
Unfortunately, since the pandemic outbreak there is not yet a known vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 virus. Researchers around the world are currently working very hard to create a vaccine that could help save the lives of many people. Immunity is not yet proven once one contracted and surpassed the disease. For example, the WHO warned against the use of immunity certificates, since there is no evidence that surpassing the disease and having antibodies would protect against a second infection. Immunity certificates have to coincide with policies to enable a safe and fair return of individuals to society and economy. The Ada Lovelace Institute warns against discrimination and stigmatisation in case of the assertion of immunity with someone’s identity.
Covid-free Certificates: Prove You Are Covid-free!
Since a recent study has shown that immunity may not last for a long time, and may be lost after a few months, another approach contrasting immunity certificates has been given rise: so-called ‘Covid-free certificates’ or ‘Risk-free certificates’. Technically speaking, these ‘Covid-free certificates’ are the same as ‘Immunity certificates’ except that the validity of the ‘Covid-free certificates’ are a few days, instead of months.
While an immunity certificate would prove someone’s immunity towards the disease, a Covid-free certificate shows, with a high probability, that a person currently does not have the disease. To achieve that, a person first has to conduct a Covid test. Then, given a negative outcome of the test, the likelihood of that person contracting, developing the disease and being the spreader should be marginally low, within a certain period of time — often 72 hours.
Another recent study has shown that the median incubation period is 5 days, from which time on a person typically shows symptoms of the disease.
For such kinds of certificates to work, there have to be a set of minimum requirements: at the core, such certificates must link one’s Covid test status to the identity of a person.
Further requirements to support a fair, non-discriminatory and inclusive handling of such certificates includes: (a) supporting everyone, (b) being tamper-proof, (c) being simple to handle, (d) support audits and are verifiable, (e) open-sourced for public scrutiny, (f) privacy-respecting, and (g) do not require existing application and any hard identity documents (such as a passport or driving license). | https://medium.com/@robin_79099/the-covid-crisis-and-digital-solutions-to-fight-it-a5036f2712eb | ['Robin Ankele'] | 2020-07-31 12:02:57.970000+00:00 | ['Track And Trace Solutions', 'Immunity Certificate', 'Covid Free Certificate', 'Co Vid', 'Digital Solutions'] |
EOSIO Weekly (October 22, 2020) | Welcome to the very first official episode of EOSIO weekly.
In this show co-hosts Corey and Jimmy D plan to go through some of the most pressing events in the EOSIO space of the week and usually get lost in the process. As this is the first one we are still ironing out a few of the details, however keep a look out for some fun and exciting adaptations we have been tossing around in the background and will be implementing sometime in the very near future.
EOSIO Weekly will take place live at 9:00 am EST most every week so for those that wish to listen in your more than welcome. For those that would like to have a say or drop us some features that you think might be of interest please do so on our EOSIO Weekly Chirp channel at https://chirp.la/channels/EOSIOweekly
To keep up to date with all our outlandish episodes please like and subscribe to the Chirpcast YouTube Channel (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCB_pSKnJaY8xnnN3phQzU5w) | https://medium.com/@kansaikrypto/eosio-weekly-october-22-2020-db23afcf122a | ['Jimmy D'] | 2020-10-23 13:26:11.585000+00:00 | ['Blockchain', 'Eosio', 'Eos', 'Crypto', 'Chirp'] |
A Poem A Day, Every Day, for A Month: How Poetry Can Make You a Better Writer | The Writer by Suzanne LaGrande, Mixed Media
National Poetry Month begins in April, but I thought I’d start early.
Although I have written a novel, several screenplays, short stories, essays, plays, poetry always intimidated me.
Perhaps its because it’s so easy to do it badly and so hard to do it well.
I edited a feminist literary journal in college, and we got a lot of bad poetry submissions. We decided to hold an annual bad poetry contest — everyone could invent their own category, and of course their were costumes and everyone won some kind of a prize.
It was great fun to actually just go for — create the worst poem you possibly could, with gusto, and it broke the spell cast by academics, critics and perfectionists that poetry was a rarefied art form, that only the anointed few should even attempt.
I knew I could write intentionally bad poetry, but I was still intimidated to write poetry in earnest.
I noticed over the years that the writing that I was drawn to, that moved me, had a poetic quality to it, and the essays I particularly loved were mainly written by poets.
Two years ago, I finally got up my nerve the fear of it being embarrassingly bad, and bolstered by a bad breakup, I decided to just try writing poetry.
Writing poetry badly, or doing anything badly is the price of admission you must pay to begin practicing any art form. If you can’t practice, if you can’t be bad at it, you will never put in the time to learn the skills you need to actually get better at it.
My willingness to write poetry was bolstered by a bad breakup: Even if I wrote lots and lots of bad poems, at least it would be cheap therapy.
When I actually did begin writing poetry, I discovered something I’d lost in all the years of working in earnest on improving my writing: Delight
At some point, very soon into the writing process, writing turned into hard work. And being a workaholic, I dug my heels in with word counts and multiple drafts and spent serious time showing up, butt in chair (which began spreading out, the more time I spent sitting writing).
I approached writing like a job, and treated it as a profession. The only problem was, the harder I worked, the less I enjoyed writing. I worked at a job in order to be able to have time to write, but over time, my writing became like my job, with long hours, little or no pay, and scant recognition.
When I started writing poetry I re-discovered the sounds of words. Children, when they learn to speak, and when they learn to read, spend a lot of time trying out sounds, playing with the sounds of words. It’s fun. Try it. Making sounds. Playing with the sounds of words, exploring not the sense words make but sound sense they make.
As poets and songwriters both know, words are first and foremost and remain a kind of music.
So starting now, today I will begin writing a poem every day for a month, and to show how willing I am to be publicly and throughly embarrassed in order to continue writing poetry, I will post my daily efforts here on Medium, along with daily reflections about the process of writing poetry and an occasional writing prompt in case you’d like to join me.
For writers who have never considered writing poetry or for those who are on the fence about dipping their toes into the world of poetry, here are five reasons why you might consider trying to write a poem or two, or perhaps, a poem every day for a month.
Whether you write good or bad poetry, the act of writing poetry makes you a better writer.
1) Poetry invites the spirit of play into the writing process.
In writing poetry you have the opportunity to play with the meaning of words, with the sounds of words, with nonsense and with multitude of sense that words make when they are not constrained by the need to make grammatical sense or habitual, well- worn common sense.
2) Poetry allows you to delve deeply into the sensuousness of language, and to cultivate an erotic relationship with the words you use.
We experience the world through multiple senses, yet in our haste to communicate clearly with a minimum of unnecessary words, we often resort to language that is transactional, abstract, hackneyed.
Consider the well known and overused phrase, “I love you”
Now consider how June Jordan expresses the same idea in her poem, Poem For My Love. Jordan uses eighteen words instead of three. But she also unpacks what “love” means in a way that is sensuous, memorable and concrete.
I am amazed by peace
It is this possibility of you
asleep
and breathing in the quiet air
3) Poetry distills meaning. It helps a writer to attend to both the specificity and the multiplicity of meanings contained in a single word.
Consider the subtle differences in the following word choices:
I appreciate you. I’m fond of your. I enjoy you. I cherish you. I adore you. I like you. I want you. I favor your company.
All writers think about their word choices, but because the meaning of a poem can turn on one word, poets in particular practice paying attention to word subtleties.
4) Poetry helps writers incorporate a greater variety of words into their vocabulary.
In every day communication, whether written or spoken, we tend to over rely on and reused the same words.
Kono Kim estimates that the average English speaking adult knows between 20,000 and 30,000 words total words.
This number is misleading for it counts tenses of the same word, such as run, ran, running, as separate words.
Kim compares Shakespeare’s vocabulary to that of words found in the Wall Street Journal. Shakespeare uses 25,000 original words in his masterworks, more than 10 years worth of words published in the Wall Street Journey.
The actual words a speaker uses regularly is considerably less.
John Bagnall that there is a difference between words people actually use (active vocabulary) and words they understand but don’t use often or at all (passive vocabulary) “Clearly, a person’s passive vocabulary is (much) larger than their active one.”
Further, of the words people actually do use in speech or writing, many of these words are overused, or “crutch” words — those you use out of habit.
As writers and as readers you have probably had the experience of being astonished by a wholly original turn of phrase.
It depends on your writing style and your audience, but as a writer, I would like to be able to write more like Shakespeare than the Wall Street Journal. The originality of Shakespeare language has everything to do with the fact that his language is anchored in poetry.
5) The practice of writing poetry invites the writer (and the reader) into a relationship with mystery.
So much non-fiction is intent upon giving us answers, offering advice, insight, solutions. Fiction creates a mystery and then tries to solve it.
Poetry is an art form that asks questions without expecting the poet or the reader to answer them. How often do we allow ourselves to entertain and hold open a question without rushing to google to give us an answer. Google gives us a quick answer, the one that their search engines spiders, bots and crawlers all agree is the most common, and therefore the best answer.
We are suffering not just from too much information, but from an overwhelming glut of other people’s opinions.
In all the noise of our world, we rarely give ourselves the contemplative space to not know. To entertain, and to revel in mystery, much less develop a relationship with it.
In poetry, observation and description are not used as support for an argument with a clear thesis.
We may enter the world of a poem and linger there without knowing what it means. The willingness to not know and linger in the space of not knowing helps us to recognize we are in relationship to the world around us. We are not always in control of the meaning of our experiences or the world around us. And if we can appreciate and allow for this space of not knowing, we can arrive at new questions, ones that google never entertained and cannot answer.
Poetry develop in poets and in readers of poetry a greater capacity for wonder and awe.
Wonder and awe fuels curiosity.
Wonder and awe deeps our capacity to feel.
Wonder and awe allows us to push past what we know, without having to arrive at, or know the answer.
Wonder and are is surely useful to writers, and to anyone who strives to live an ecstatic life.
ec·stat·ic
adjective: 1.feeling or expressing overwhelming happiness or joyful excitement.
“ecstatic fans filled the stadium”
synonyms: enraptured, elated, transported, in transports, in raptures, euphoric;
2. involving an experience of mystic self-transcendence.
“an ecstatic vision”
noun
1. a person subject to mystical experiences.
or, in the words of Sufi poet Hafiz:
I Have Learned So Much
I
Have
Learned
So much from God
That I can no longer
Call
Myself
A Christian, a Hindu, a Muslim,
a Buddhist, a Jew.
The Truth has shared so much of Itself
With me
That I can no longer call myself
A man, a woman, an angel,
Or even a pure
Soul.
Love has
Befriended Hafiz so completely
It has turned to ash
And freed
Me
Of every concept and image
my mind has ever known | https://medium.com/creative-humans/a-poem-a-day-every-day-for-a-month-how-poetry-can-make-you-a-better-writer-2ec7f25c8468 | ['Suzanne Lagrande'] | 2019-03-09 22:52:39.115000+00:00 | ['Creativity', 'Creative Writing', 'Poetry', 'Poetry Writing', 'Writing'] |
Sometimes the man of dreams should remain in dreams. Thanks! But No Thanks cupid! | Marriage sounds like a beautiful word, especially for unmarried girls. The thought, the word” wedding” just gives butterflies in your stomach. Laughter, happiness, besties, music, dance, makeup, Jewellery, it’s all going to be about you!
You are gonna be the princess, and how can I forget to mention that all this happiness is going to be ever after because you are going to go to your man’s house and of course he is going to make you feel on top of the world and you are going to be the happiest couple, love will be all around !!
But soon you start seeing the flaws which were so not expected, no one ever mentioned the word adjustment. Oh God, how can that be? Why do I have to adjust?? His friends, his routine, his family, his room, his favourite food, his job, his income, his money, his career, how can suddenly everything be just about him? Daddy’s princesses are never aware of the small adjustments. Even if you get to hear it from others, it just doesn’t matter unless you practically wear the shoe and realize where and how hard it is actually biting.
My friend Susan got married. She’s young, bold, beautiful, classy and the cherry on the cake is that she is intelligent(something her in-laws were not atoll expecting) A highly intellectual female.
She got married at the age of 19. She was smart but love (teenage infatuation) made her mad. She forced her daddy to get her married ASAP.
Oh, before I forget to mention, her dad is not atoll like the general Indian fathers, he wanted his daughter to stand on her feet, it was important for him to see her shine like a star but he could not see her crying. “I wanna get married NOW. He is “The” man. My man,” said Susan
Though her dad tried to make her understand that now is not the time, education is important, you work first, Marriage can happen later but nothing worked. He failed to convince her.
Susan got married and went to her new house and no what you are thinking is not correct, her mother-in-law or GM (godmother as she addresses her) was not a Dracula. I mean to be a bad mother-in-law you have to hit her or make her work hard or tell her that she didn’t bring enough dowry and of course Susan’s GM didn’t do anything like that. Her GM was a sweet woman who had three sons, a rich family, an obedient husband and all of them were over-enthusiastic to show how perfect they were. Sounds sweet, isn’t it!!?
Her honeymoon ended in a week. She wasn’t surprised by a visit to any other country or even a good place with mountains and snowfalls in India (like we all dream of) she went to a nearby city Puri in Odisha(India). The beauty of the city was a historical temple and a not so clean beach. Though like all of us she had dreamt of a super romantic honeymoon, and the dirty beach was not in her list but as she said in our first meeting “how can the place matter when you are so much in love”.
Susan’s normal routine as Mrs Patel started soon. Her days started early, preparing breakfast, listening to her annoying father in law’s(GF) tantrums. How perfectly he took out mistakes in whatever she did, sarcasm was his forte. She didn’t utter a word; Ji papa (Dad) was all she said. Sadly, GF had the characteristics of a lady. He loved to irritate and comment on others matters. And very perfectly he made an innocent face as if his words have not hurt anyone ever.
Her husband had his business so no proper schedule/routine like her daddy’s house followed. No fixed time of going to work or coming back. These small things were new for her but she tried to make her peace with it. In the afternoon they had a family get together again, it was lunchtime but eating was not all they did, they discussed, discussed a lot and no not about the world/ our country, its growth or the economic situation of our country. Gossiping about everyone else’s life was so important. I mean how could Arora’s son shift in another apartment or how could Bedi’s daughter in law not give good news even after a year…Susan failed to understand that how can someone’s personal life matter so much to them? What satisfaction will her family get if Bedi’s have a grandchild but she preferred to keep quiet and stayed out of it.
Evenings were even more wonderful, Susan’s mother-in-law had a get-together, no not a kitty party but a cards seminar. The rich old woman of their small town loved to play cards. Of course, Susan had to deck up like “A BAHU”,(Daughter-in-law) wear ornaments, Indian attire, makeup(which she hated)and serve the best snacks for the so-called high tea party. Her GM used to feel super happy because her trophy(bahu) is the best. All the ladies adored Susan for her elegance and confidence.
Evenings were long as either the card seminar didn’t end soon or they had to go for some party. Yes, of course, Susan loved to party but not like this. She had no one to talk to in these parties. Everyone was gossiping and backbiting about their friends, it was only after a year that she found 2–3 people of her mental wavelength. One of them was an old woman in her late seventies, but age didn’t matter. That aunt knew a lot about books, art and life. They talked and felt good, it gave Susan a sort of peace at that moment.
Her husband who was very homely, sweet and madly in love with Susan could not do much for her. He loved his family and small underdeveloped city; it was his world. Sadly, he didn’t realize that Susan has no one to talk too, rather there was no problem atoll in his view. Loving family, fun and parties everyone wants that kind of lifestyle, isn’t it?? On the other hand, Susan felt that bedtime was not all that she wanted to share with him, she wanted to talk to him but there was hardly anything common.
Watching television together was also not an option, she liked TLC and national geographic but he was keen to watch dance reality shows, which didn’t interest Susan. He loved to play karaoke with his family and friends. He wanted Susan to also come and sing and dance, Susan did join him at times but she could not be in that artificial energetic mood always. It was difficult for her to pretend to be happy. She wanted to speak to him, she needed his support but he didn’t understand the depth of her problem.
Susan enjoyed staying in her room with a book and coffee but that was also interrupted by his niece and nephew. They ran on her clean bedsheets, scribbled on her walls and often pee in her room. Susan of course could not say anything because it would have sounded impolite.
All these things were making her irritated more and more but the fact that she could not do anything about it was breaking her internally. She was not happy atoll. Susan did think about working but there were hardly any job opportunities and even if there were, for Patel’s daughter in law, it was degrading to work for little money. So, she thought of opening her own boutique, it was a fairly good idea she thought. She discussed it with her husband and family. Of Course, her GM and GF thought it’s not necessary for her to work right now because Susan was doing her MBA that time and they thought soon she will have a “good news” and then who will look after the boutique?
Her husband like always thought mummy papa (Mom Dad) are correct.
I remember one evening Susan, after serving her GM with tea and snacks, came running to my house and cried like a baby. All she said was “ I feel suffocated. I can’t do this; I can’t be their perfect daughter in law. What am I doing with my life ?”
After two years Susan had to go to Bangalore for her higher studies. Though her family didn’t approve, Susan was firm about her decision. She wanted to study more( her father’s upbringing gave her strength) and so she went for a year.
Susan soon got a satisfactory job in Bangalore. Her schedule was fixed, morning job, evening classes. Her days were hectic. Susan’s life was not very easy in Bangalore. She had to work, study and did household chores as well. After she got her first salary, she stopped taking money from her husband and adjusted in little money she earned. All the difficulties that she faced were giving her a peaceful sleep. Susan is different, she doesn’t want someone’s bed of roses to rest on, her hand-knitted sheet gave her more courage.
A year had almost passed and it was her time to go back to her husband’s small town. As time passed, she started getting cold feet. And after many sleepless nights of anxiety, she gathered strength and decided to tell her husband that she doesn’t want to go back. She wanted to study more and didn’t want to kick her job opportunities. She requested him to shift with her to Bangalore, obviously his male ego and love for his parents answered NO loud and clear.
He is the man why should he leave the house!
Surprisingly that didn’t hurt Susan, she knew that this would be his answer. Rather in her heart, even she didn’t want him to come and live with her. In this one year, she had never really missed him. And after marriage, it was not the first time that he had said no to support her.
Another year was passing., her GM and GF were getting restless because people of their small town had begun to make stories about Susan’s divorce. They started pressuring Susan to come back home. Susan didn’t know what and how to tell them that it’s not working for her, she wants to do something in her life, achieve success before making babies.
Susan gathered all her strength and told everything to her father. Her father said, “ I am with you dear. It’s your life and you should be happy”.
According to me, all dads should be like Kapoor uncle. He didn’t bother about society even once. He didn’t think what will people say or will Susan get another husband or not. Kapoor uncle didn’t want Susan to live her life crying every day. He didn’t want her to get depressed at this young age. Susan’s smiling face was all that he wished to see. Kapoor uncle knew that Susan will never fail to make him proud.
Most of the Indian parents do the mistake of forcing their daughters to adjust beyond their limit. Parents think about society more than their kids and later when children suicide because of depression parents shed tears at funerals. It’s high time parents start taking a stand for their kids.
Presently Susan is earning more than her ex-husband and is satisfied with her life.
She doesn’t wish to get married, at least not for 3 or 4 years. The society does not discuss Susan anymore because there’s nothing they can say bad about her and praising her achievement is no fun!!
What do you think about Susan?? | https://medium.com/@aakritisays/sometimes-the-man-of-dreams-should-remain-in-dreams-thanks-but-no-thanks-cupid-582ca35f9633 | ['Aakriti Dhawan'] | 2020-12-23 09:15:09.300000+00:00 | ['Mistakes', 'Couples', 'Courage', 'Parenting', 'Marriage'] |
Trump Isn’t Entitled To Freedom Of Speech Anymore | I am watching in amazement as Trump and the GOP are staging a coup right under our noses, on television in America. They feel that they are so above the law, so entitled, they aren’t even respecting the first and elementary rule of coups — plan it in secret and surprise everyone.
No, they are staging their coup in broad daylight. Wasn’t that a smirk I saw on Attorney General William Barr's face when he said: a smooth transition to a second Trump Administration?
My word, not only are they doing it, they actually seem amused. They are basically walking a fine line between instigating a brutal civil war and outright treason, and they are laughing about it. Is this some sick joke? | https://medium.com/illumination-curated/trump-isnt-entitled-to-freedom-of-speech-anymore-9f77343c306c | ['Rebecca Stevens A.'] | 2020-11-12 03:37:07.522000+00:00 | ['Elections', 'Leadership', 'White Supremacy', 'Politics', 'USA'] |
How to win at remote product management | Make a social contract.
Having a team working agreement helps to set expectations and ensures the team members are committed to each other. It also (hopefully) prevents miscommunication, frustration, and bloodshed. During project kickoff I like to use a team canvas to run an interactive brainstorming session. Even without brightly colored post-its and markers, I promise you can run a lively and effective workshop online. My personal favorite is Confluence’s collaborative editing feature combined with Hangouts.
I’ve worked alongside a number of PMs who get it wrong with their teams. They attempt to motivate by pushing deadlines and doling out tasks — but this approach doesn’t work. Instead, help the team establish and live shared values. When they commit to each other (rather than to deadlines or features), they’re much more likely to hit their milestones and achieve their goals.
Set ways of working.
Photo by Emilio Garcia on Unsplash
Start by agreeing on the basics:
When you’re going to work (main time zone, working hours, ‘on call’ times) How you’re going to work (tools, frameworks, ceremonies) Process for escalation when something goes wrong
Don’t worry about rigidly adhering to scrum, kanban, agile, etc. Find a way of working that suits your team’s specific context. Lean on your tools as much as possible.
I like:
Slack for chatting (make sure to install Giphy!)
JIRA or Asana for ticketing
Confluence for wiki / documentation
Hangouts (now Meet) for voice and video calls
Zeplin for design-dev collaboration
InVision for prototyping
Scatterspoke for retros
GDrive for file sharing
The first sprint with a new team is like the first pancake (i.e. a bit of a throwaway). If your ways of working aren’t working, use the retro to call out what went well and what needs improvement. Continue to refine and add until everyone is smashing tickets and doing their best work. I’ve found that it takes 1–2 sprints to figure out how to best work together.
Over-communicate.
Photo by Glenn Carstens-Peters on Unsplash
Over-communicate information. When in doubt, communicate more. Depending on the team, it may be helpful to include the same info via different tools, as team members may check one more than the others.
I have a channel in Slack specifically for #announcements. Once we’ve finished a particular discussion, I re-post a summary in the channel (as well as in Confluence or JIRA when appropriate). This (hopefully) ensures that everyone sees the info.
Communicate visually as well. Just because you’re not sitting next to a whiteboard doesn’t mean you can’t draw together. Draw stuff, snap a pic, and send to team members. Use tools like draw.io for digitizing sketches. Use tools for screen sharing, screen recording, and annotating screenshots. I like the Chrome plugin Awesome Screenshot.
Quick decisions are better than no decisions.
The best way to keep the team unblocked is to make speedy decisions. This may be controversial, but I believe that a decision is better than no decision. Use the information you have at the time to make the best decision you can. Sure, you’re going to get it wrong occasionally and have to refactor, but keeping the team moving forward is a PM’s top priority.
Once a decision is made, document it. (Remember that tip about over-communicating?!) Post the what and why of the decision in Slack, Confluence, relevant JIRA tickets, etc. Ensure the whole team is across what was decided both in the moment and as reference in the future.
Don’t forget to celebrate.
When you sit next to your team members, social interactions happen organically throughout the day, week, and project. It’s easy to remember to say ‘good morning’ to the team member sitting next to you or to organize team lunches or Friday beers. When your team is remote, it’s even more important to consciously create opportunities for personal, micro interactions and celebrate the small wins.
Here are some of the ways we celebrate on my current projects:
Call out the first deployment of working code
Ask about someone’s day while waiting for the others to join Hangouts
Pause the discussion to call out the team’s 100th PR
Send a GIPHY to the #general channel when it’s time for the weekend
Ping team members individually on Slack to check in
Give a shout out for help with a tough ticket
Cheers when all of the tickets in the sprint are closed out
Add emoji reactions to show you agree (or disagree) with what’s been said
One of my teams (working a few time zones ahead) used to Skype me in for Friday afternoon beers at their office. Sure, I still had a handful of hours to go before I quit for the weekend, but it was awesome to be included in a virtual ‘cheers’ after a hard week. | https://medium.com/future-of-work/how-to-win-at-remote-product-management-82256f78e479 | [] | 2018-08-23 14:30:57.368000+00:00 | ['Collaboration', 'Software Development', 'Freelancing', 'Remote Working', 'Product Management'] |
The Economic Season Is About to Drastically Change | What matters right now is that you don’t panic, but prepare. Many people are living in ignorance and not understanding what is about to happen. It doesn’t take an expert to understand.
There is 90 days to change your behavior, get yourself together, and face the changing economic situation. It’s going to be hard — we’ve faced far worse before. Here’s what you can do in the next 90 days to deal with what is about to happen.
Get a plan together
If you were to lose your job, how long could you survive?
If you had to take a significant pay cut, how would that look?
If you got sick, what’s your backup plan?
These questions can help you prepare so that when the storm comes, you don’t need to panic and you can ride it out in style — and hopefully help others, too.
It’s time to reinvent yourself
The skills you need might change.
This is the time to go all-in on building a mindset that can overcome challenging times. This is the time to admit what you’ve been trying to hide and get real with yourself. This is the time to rethink what work looks like and consider having a second income.
You can sell your skills to more than one bidder. You can work for several employers to diversify your risk or find a way to be helpful to a small audience and earn a little money on the side.
Those who refuse to change are going to get hit the hardest when the economic season moves in the opposite direction.
It’s time to radically cut your costs.
Having a buffer is key. Even if you think you’ve got plenty of money, you’ll probably need a softer cushion to land on when the economy changes.
Cut your costs more than you think you have to.
Do you really need all those subscriptions? Could you eat at home a little more? Could you pay off that credit card? Could you give gifts that are thoughtful rather than expensive?
If you cut your expenses too much you can always add them back again. A “just in case” mindset is a life-saver during an economic storm.
Don’t worry about how you look in front of your friends when you decide to cut costs. They too will be affected. It’s not the time to protect some fake image of yourself; it’s time to be smarter than you’ve ever been financially by cutting costs where you can.
It’s time to have a hard conversation with your bank.
Having worked in finance for many years, one mistake people make is not reaching out and asking for help. If you’re struggling financially now is the time to tell your bank or get professional advice.
Banks can help you get your finances together if you’re honest with them early on. There are payment plans and things they can do now to help you prepare. But when a lot more people are contacting their bank in 90 days it may not be so easy to get the help you need.
If you’re doing well financially, it’s time to ask your bank to cut their interest rates or waive some fees to help increase your buffer.
It’s time to sell something, or many things.
Selling stuff you don’t use anymore or don’t really need is a way to further increase your financial buffer.
It’s also a good way to practice entry-level minimalism and experience the freeing feeling of not letting your stuff own you.
You probably don’t need as much stuff as you think you do. Lighten your load and put the savings somewhere useful like in your investment portfolio.
Do whatever it takes
The part people will find the hardest is letting go.
Letting go of their image, their past, their idea of work, their old home, their stuff, their feelings, their potential ignorance of this situation.
You deal with what is coming by making a decision to do whatever it takes. You commit to the future, and to what counts: family, love, happiness, productive work you enjoy. Everything else isn’t so important. | https://medium.com/the-ascent/the-economic-season-is-about-to-drastically-change-54fb7a40fb | ['Tim Denning'] | 2020-07-02 20:43:05.832000+00:00 | ['Self Improvement', 'Money', 'Economy', 'Society', 'Life'] |
Connecting Small Businesses with Their Community: Meet the Dashible App | Connecting Small Businesses with Their Community: Meet the Dashible App
Meet the Dashible app, a relatively new discount and deals app founded in the NYC area.
Dashible is a New York City based company that strives to connect local businesses with prospective customers and locals. Vendors can sign up with Dashible for free. People then download the app, also for free, where they have access to use deals around town. The intention is to showcase local businesses and provide a way for consumers and vendors to connect.
During the unprecedented times of 2020, the Dashible app has taken on a new role of importance in the community. Since many around the world are observing stay-at-home recommendations and organic foot-traffic has dissipated, vendors are looking to maximize their reach and discoverability online, on social media, and on apps such as Dashible.
Available on both the Apple App and Google Play store, Dashible provides a platform for locals to discover restaurants, boutiques, and services in their area directly from the comfort of their phone.
It’s perfect for discovering a new coffee shop in an area of the city you want to explore. Use the app to create an adventure outside of your normal walking route, to pick up a new type of food across town, and most importantly, to save money along the way.
A few examples of awesome discounts available on the app are:
10% off for first time customers at LashPower
[28 W 30th Suite # 304, Manhattan, NY 10001]
Manicure & Pedicure for $23 at Stone Spa & Nails
[3406 Broadway, Astoria, NY 11106]
10% off pick up & online orders at Sushi Star
[462 9th Ave, New York, NY 10018]
90 minutes of bottomless drinks during brunch for $25.95 at Calle Dao — Chelsea
[461 W 23rd St, New York, NY 10011]
Free cocktail with any entree purchase at Cafe Nunez
[240 W 35th, New York, NY 10001]
$75 worth of merchandise for $50 at Aum Shanti Bookshop & Crystal Gallery
[230 E 14th St, New York, NY 10003]
The people behind Dashible also are active in creating a sense of community in the neighborhoods of NYC. By partnering with local businesses on events called Dash Drops, Dashible helps bring customers into businesses looking to grow their outreach. Dash Drops normally include a super awesome deal or freebie at participating vendors’ locations on the day of the event. A few examples of previous Dash Drops are:
Free hot milk tea at Squarrel Cafe
[572 Atlantic Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11217]
Free baklava at Brooklyn Baklava
[42 4th Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11217]
25% off a lobster roll at BK Lobster Williamsburg for their grand opening
[340 Bedford Avenue (Bet. S 3rd & S 2nd) Brooklyn, NY 11211]
Download the Dashible app today and learn more here: https://linktr.ee/xplore_mktg | https://medium.com/@writewithkendra/connecting-small-businesses-with-their-community-meet-the-dashible-app-a003f4629c74 | ['Kendra Muecke'] | 2020-12-09 21:52:06.153000+00:00 | ['New York City', 'Marketing', 'Food And Drink', 'Apps', 'Savings Tips'] |
Consensus Mechanisms. Part II | Proof of Storage (PoS)- PoS was invented in 2013. Proof of Storage does not run on the blockchain system- it uses a blocktree. Users will be noticed only of the transactions that are relevant to them: PoS does not show every single transaction made in the blocktree: in every single blocktree there is a blockchain.
What does staking mean? It is a process that each wallet uses for transaction validating and then awarding you with a specific amount of coins. In staking process transactions made are checked because of security reasons such as authenticity of the transactions, safety etc. When staking process is complete with most wallets agreeing on the rightness of the transaction then it is accepted by the network.
Coin- Storj
Proof of Stake Time (PoST)-Vericoin digital currency was the first using PoST system. Proof of Stake Time system’s intention is to avoid making the rich richer which generally happens in Proof of Stake systems. PoST does not use the amount of coins to calculate the age: it uses a specific time period of the coins being held on one’s address. Proof of Stake Time introduces the consensus system with a time component- so the stake probability should increase over a certain time period.
Pros- PoST is a very secure system and it strengthens the decentralization of the consensus
PoST is a very secure system and it strengthens the decentralization of the consensus Coin-Vericoin
Proof of Activity (PoA)-Proof of Activity is basically a mix between Proof of Work and Proof of Stake systems. The main point in this system is to bring together the best of Proof of Work and Proof of Stake- resulting in Proof of Activity. PoA process begins just like in Proof of Work (different miners competing with each other in order to find a new block). When the block is found (mined) system automatically switches over to Proof of Stake. This new block mined contains the miner address and header details. One of the advantages is the more crypto coins one holds the higher are the chances as being selected as a signer. The newly found blocks only gain authenticity as a whole when it’s signed by all validators- after that transactions can be recorded on it.
Pros– low transaction fees and good energy usage.
Cons-centralization risks
Proof of Burn (PoB)-this means providing evidence of your burned coins in order to make transactions. Proof of Burn method can only be used with coins that are mined from Proof of Work cryptocurrencies. Users that are using Proof of Burn are basically trying to the burn the highest amount of coins in order to be rewarded with a new block. Proof of Burn births new coins by destroying the values of older ones.
Proof of Capacity (PoC)- PoC is also known as Proof of Capacity. This system is running on Hard Drive Mining in order to validate new blocks. The first coin to use PoC was Burstcoin. The algorithm is used to create bulks of new data (plots) by hashing public keys. The more space one has on a computer hard drive, the more likely he/she is to successfully mine a block.
Coin- Burstcoin
Proof of Checkpoint (PoC)-This sytem utilizes any Proof of Stake system with a Proof of Work processes. The main point in this system is to protect Proof of Stake system from possible attacks. There is no way to give a 100% protection because when a node has been offline for a longer period of time the percentage of a possible attack rises. Proof of Work block has to be mined every once-in- a -while for the Proof of Stake system to function. This system functions as such. | https://medium.com/@aicestonia/consensus-mechanisms-part-ii-fac13022eceb | ['Sara Ray'] | 2019-03-21 13:05:20.267000+00:00 | ['Cryptocurrency', 'Proof Of Stake', 'Bitcoin'] |
The Practicality Behind Accepting Things You Cannot Change | In the book “The Law Of Attraction” by Esther and Jerry Hicks, accepting things you cannot change is called “the art of allowing” which says that you should allow people to choose what they want while you go your own way or else you’ll make what they’re choosing your point of attraction.
Your point of attraction is what you focus on. And the more your focus on that point of attraction the more of it you get.
For example, if you focus on all the bad in the world, you’re only going to keep seeing more of the bad in the world. Instead of focusing on the bad, it’s advantageous to focus on the good.
Optimism doesn’t mean that you’re embracing naïveté. It’s acknowledging all that is right despite all that is wrong, bad or outside our preferences. | https://medium.com/bad-buddhism/the-practicality-behind-accepting-things-you-cannot-change-726965817be4 | ['Anthony Boyd'] | 2020-10-18 19:39:50.549000+00:00 | ['Productivity', 'Leadership', 'Self', 'Self Improvement', 'Education'] |
The Ambiguity of Feeling | The Ambiguity of Feeling
A poem about existential thoughts before coffee
Photo by Ronaldo Arthur Vidal on Unsplash
I meander to the void and back
existential placards
upon the edge of space
I ponder love-struck sunsets
in vortex yaw, twists of fate
reflections in the mirror to ascend
What axiomatic kisses
can undo these chains
to free thee from time’s Möbius loop blame?
Those endless mistakes
monologues in bathroom stalls
wondering when my flame will burn again
Have I made and un-made myself enough
for you to come back?
Somehow I got lost in singularities cold hands
And as the water bubbles and sings
percolating through caliginous beans
I wonder what tomorrow shall bring?
Shall I see the truth in smiles or doubt in tears?
Shall I find meaning in octopi hearts
or death in mortal’s frowning mirrors?
Shall I create with words so fleeting?
Do cosmic expanses rise in blackhole hills,
to feel real as the sound of spring leaves trill?
I wonder.
I doubt.
I fear.
And when the moment draws nigh
I sip that darkness and settle into,
matters endless meadows, now clear. | https://medium.com/illumination/the-ambiguity-of-feeling-e06617d34400 | ['Bradley J Nordell'] | 2020-04-25 16:23:17.174000+00:00 | ['Philosophy', 'Creativity', 'Coffee', 'Poetry', 'Existentialism'] |
A Pro-Democratic Artist’s Vow | A Pro-Democratic Artist’s Vow
A Pro-Democratic Artist’s Vow
Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp = Meta.
If Meta were a country, it would be considered a dictatorship. Meta is owned by Mark Zuckerberg, acting dictator of the said digital country.
Meta is responsible for the suffering, exploitation, and deaths of millions of human beings around the globe.
Meta generates money through promoting the elimination of democracies, violence, body shaming, sex trafficking, slave trading, gang forming, terrorist acts, and the destruction of our environment.
As a pro-democratic artist and World Peace activist, I vow to do everything in my power to help minimize the harm of current and future dictatorships, be it in the real world or a digital parallel world, to the best of my abilities. Thus, I no longer use Facebook, Instagram, or WhatsApp.
Markus Mars
Alternatives To Consider
Facebook Alternative:
Instead of Facebook’s Marketplace, I use Craigslist, eBay, and Reverb.
Instead of Facebook’s Pages, I use Bandcamp, Medium, SoundCloud, Twitter, YouTube, and my Newsletter to connect with my followers.
Instagram Alternative:
Instead of Instagram, I use Bandcamp, Medium, SoundCloud, Twitter, YouTube, and my Newsletter to connect with my followers.
WhatsApp Alternative:
Instead of WhatsApp, I use Threema for free international messaging, calling, and video calling. | https://medium.com/@markusmars/a-pro-democratic-artists-vow-304dec1f6bdf | ['Markus Mars'] | 2021-12-12 04:55:52.054000+00:00 | ['Metaverse', 'World Peace', 'Facebook', 'WhatsApp', 'Instagram'] |
Best robot vacuums: We name the most effective cleaners | Robot vacuums are all the rage—and why not!? Vacuuming is one of the most loathed household chores. While it doesn’t come with the ick factor of cleaning the toilet or the tedium of dusting, pushing and dragging a noisy, cumbersome vacuum is its own kind of torture.
Robot vacuum cheat sheet Our quick-hit recommendations:
Best all-around robot vacuum: iRobot Roomba 960 Most sophisticated robot vac: iRobot Roomba s9+ Best budget robot vacuum: iLife A4s Pro Best robot vacuum for pet hair: Yeedi K650 Robot vacuums don’t have unwieldy cords or hoses to contend with, and they require little effort from you: You can run one from your couch using a physical remote or smartphone app, and the higher-end models can be programmed to wake up and start cleaning without any intervention at all. Robot vacs easily dispose of the most common household detritus—food crumbs, pet hair, dust—making them ideal for routine maintenance and quick cleanings when you’re expecting company.
To save money on your holiday shopping, see our roundup of the best deals on TVs, soundbars, media streamers, and more.Our top pick isn’t the most expensive model on the market, though it’s price tag is up there. If you’re working with a more modest budget, we have a strong recommendation in that category as well.
Updated December 21, 2020 to add our Kyvol Cybovac S21 review. This affordably priced bot copies iRobot’s self-emptying innovation, but adds an innovation of its own: It can mop as well as vacuum. Don’t expect to be able to leave your stick mop in the broom closet, though. See the bottom of this article for links to the most recent robot vacuums we’ve reviewed.
[ Further reading: A smart home guide for beginners ] Best all-around robot vacuum iRobot Roomba 960 Read TechHive's reviewMSRP $699.00See itThe Roomba 960's flawless navigation, stellar cleaning, and advanced features set it apart from all other robot vacuums.
iRobot’s Roomba brand has become as synonymous with robot vacuum as Q-tips is with cotton swabs. The Wi-Fi-enabled Roomba 960 is ample evidence why. It turns a tiresome chore into something you can almost look forward to. With three cleaning modes and dirt-detecting sensors, it kept all the floor surfaces in our testing immaculate, and its camera-driven navigation and mapping were superb. Its easy-to-use app provides alerts and detailed cleaning reports. The ability to control it with Amazon Alexa and Google Home voice commands are just the cherry on top.
Runner-up Roborock S6 MaxV Read TechHive's reviewSee itThe Roborock S6 MaxV is a powerful, highly customizable robot vacuum. It's obstacle avoidance feature is fairly unique and a great addition to an already exceptional household helper.
When a manufacturer builds one device that’s designed to perform more than one function, you all too often end up with a product that’s a jack of all trades, but a master of none. That wasn’t the case with Roborock’s vacuum/mop hybrid, and this update version features stereo cameras that enable the device to avoid obstacles like shoes and power strips that will trip up robots with simpler navigation systems.
Most sophisticated robot vacuum iRobot Roomba s9+ Read TechHive's reviewSee itThe iRobot s9+ is the most advanced robot vacuum around, but it will be out of reach of many budgets.
iRobot has done it again, taking the robot vacuum to the next level by creating another model that can empty its own dustbin. A second powerful vacuum in the Roomba s9+’s docking station automatically sucks the dust and debris out of the vacuum when it docks, storing as many as 30 dustbins full of dirt. And it stores it all in a filter bag, so that nothing escapes in your home’s air when you eventually need to change the bag. But as you’ve probably guessed, this one comes with a very high price tag.
Best budget robot vacuum Mentioned in this article iLife A4s Pro Read TechHive's reviewSee itThe iLife A4s Pro is a powerful, no-frills robot vacuum that will clean your floors well without sucking a lot of cash out of your wallet.
Whether you’re budget constrained or you just don’t need all the bells and whistles (Wi-Fi connectivity, mapping, smart speaker support) that more sophisticated (and much more expensive) robot vacuums have to offer, the iLife A4s Pro delivers a tremendous amount of bang for the buck.
Best robot vacuum for pet hair Yeedi K650 Read TechHive's reviewSee itThe Yeedi K650 is a no-frills robot vacuum that's tough on pet hair.
We’ve been impressed with several of Yeedi’s inexpensive robot vacuums, but the Yeedi K650 bowled us over with its ability to pull pet hair off the floor, using the silicone rolling brush you can swap out for its regular bristle brush. The silicone brush eliminates the problem of tangled hair impeding the vacuum’s cleaning.
Robot vacuum cleaners are not cheapThe convenience robot vacuums provide come at a cost: As much as $1,000 at the high end, with many of the best models running no less than half that. To help you determine which ones are worth the expense, we tested models from some of the most popular brands in a real-world lab: my home, where the floors are punished daily by two kids, three cats, and a dog. I tasked each one with vacuuming a 400-plus foot space that includes low-pile carpet, hardwood flooring, and linoleum that was regularly littered with food crumbs, pet hair, tracked-in dirt, stray cat litter, and other debris. To maintain the real-world environment, each model also had to contend with random floor clutter during several cleanings.
Be aware even the most premium robot vacuums are a supplement, not a substitute, for your stand-up vacuum. Despite manufacturer claims, most just don’t have the same suction power of an upright. Think of them as an easy way to maintain your floors in between deeper cleanings with your current vacuum.
Robot vacuum features and functionsFundamentally, the robot vacuums in our guide all operate the same way: They autonomously maneuver around your home on a couple of wheels suctioning debris from your floors. Two to four brushes on the bottom—both rolling-style agitators and spinning side brushes—grab dirt from the floor and wall edges respectively, and guide it into the suction area or direct it straight to a small, filtered dustbin. When cleaning is complete, or their battery is running low, they return themselves to their charging dock.
But just how they get the job done can differ across manufacturers and models. Here are some features and functions to consider beyond the basics.
ControlAutonomy puts the “robot” in “robot vacuum.” Virtually all models include an “automatic” mode that requires you to do nothing more than press a button on a remote, in an app, or on the vacuum itself to clean a room. This is great for ad-hoc cleaning, but most models can also be programmed to clean on a schedule. The latter scenario is great if you want them to work when you’re not home or to create a regular cleaning routine. Some higher-end models also integrate with smart speakers, such as the Amazon Echo and Google Home, which allows to control them using voice commands.
Cleaning modesJust as your stand-up vacuum can be adjusted to clean either carpet and hard flooring, so to can a robot vac. Most feature the ability to change suction and other cleaning functions to adapt to different floor surfaces, either automatically or with input from you. They may also have a spot mode for more concentrated cleaning on a small area (cleaning up a spill, for example), include options for single- and double-passes of a room, or offer an option to focus just on cleaning along wall edges and baseboards.
NavigationThe allure of robot vacuums is their promise to complete their task with minimal management from you. In order to do that, they must be able to navigate a room’s unique layout, maneuver around furniture and other obstacles, and avoid hazards such as falling down stairs and getting tangled in electrical cords.
Robot vacuums “see” the world through a combination of sensors. Cliff sensors let it know when there is an increase in distance to the floor—e.g., stairs or a sunken living room—so it doesn’t tip over the edge. Other sensors tell it when it has bumped into an object, so it can change direction, or is near a wall, so it can follow it. Still other sensors help the robot vacuum track how far it has travelled. Depending on the manufacturer and model, a robot vac might also include sensors that determine the amount of dirt present so it can adjust its cleaning mode accordingly.
MappingManufacturers are increasingly including mapping capabilities in some of their robot vacuums. These models use an onboard camera or laser reflections to produce a 360-degree view of the room. This allows the robot vac to create a map of the space and locate itself within that map.
The advantage of mapping is the vacuum will know which areas it has already cleaned and which it hasn’t, to avoid going over the same spot unnecessarily. It also lets it know where to resume cleaning if it must stop and recharge midway through the task. This makes it ideal for larger rooms and—because it’s still something of a premium feature—larger budgets.
Boundary blockersIn an ideal world, you’d clear all your floors of clutter before using your robot vacuum. But we live in the real one and that’s not always possible or desirable. Knowing this, many robot vacuums include some way to block off areas you don’t want it venturing into, whether it’s a pet’s area, your kids’ room, or a cluster of device cords in the corner. Often it’s just a length of magnetic tape you stretch in front of or on a forbidden area that the vacuum’s sensors will detect and tell it to avoid. But some models employ virtual barriers, such as the ability to designate boundaries on a floor plan that signal the robot to steer clear.
SizeThe dimensions of a robot vacuum matter for a couple of reasons. First, they will determine how well it can get into tight spots, such as under your kitchen cabinets and low-clearance furniture (couches and recliners). If it’s too tall, it won’t be able reach into these spots, or worse, it will get in and get stuck until physically free it. Second, the bigger the robot vacuum, the larger the dustbin. Robot vacuums don’t use expandable bags like many of their stand-up brethren do, so when it comes to debris capacity, what you see is what you get.
There is no sweet spot for robot vacuum dimensions that we could determine—it really depends on your particular room layout—but a diameter of 13- to 14 inches and a height of 3.5 to 4 inches are the most common measurements we encountered.
Wi-FiWi-Fi-enabled robot vacuums allow you to control them with a smartphone app instead of, or in addition to, a physical remote. That convenience alone doesn’t really warrant the extra cost these models command, but some model’s apps also provide other perks, such as detailed cleaning histories and the ability to save and edit floor maps for better navigation. Those models are worth considering if you’re cleaning large, intricate spaces.
Our robot vacuum cleaner reviewsWe will add to this list as new models come to market.
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/@nadine72047162/best-robot-vacuums-we-name-the-most-effective-cleaners-156892ea53cc | [] | 2020-12-25 07:25:48.366000+00:00 | ['Surveillance', 'Lighting', 'Cord', 'Chargers'] |
A Shaman’s Journey To Inner Peace and Outer Expression | Learning and Traveling the World
Treasure the moments still enough to feel the connection with the oneness and enjoy the peace and vitality the universe brings to your life.
Andean Ibises
A trio of Andean ibises, high above me in the rocks, squawk and scold, as if to say,
“Why are you here?”
“Why do you disturb our peace?”
For a moment I wonder,
“Why am I here?”
Then, “I am here!”
This is the final pilgrimage stop. I commune at the Amarumuru star gate. I want to whisper to the ibises, “I am here to fulfill a dream. I have always wanted to come home to this place.” But, I did not even know of the star gate until yesterday, this Peruvian rock face near Puno on Lake Titicaca. Here, I am because I must feel in this place. The universe has conspired, bringing me gentleness, vitality and a glimpse of my destiny. I must strengthen myself to create this feeling — this peaceful, loved and supported feeling — in every place I go and with every person I meet.
Once I grasp, the next level of my life, the three crown white and throat chakra blue ibises wing away to teach another, as if satisfied that I belong here in this sacred place, where hundreds of years ago an Inca priest gathered sacred treasures. Protecting them from the marauding conquistadores. He walks into the rock face. No, not in amongst the rocks but into the rock face and up to the Pleiades, sacred stars to the Incas.
I put my hands on the rock face, feel the vibration and will myself heavenward. I touch my forehead on the cool rough surface connecting my third eye, my intuitive sense with this sacred place and see images of my flight to the stars.
A Peruvian pilgrimage, balancing on the ridges of smooth serpent-shaped rocks, along the edges of multicolored white and purple potato and warm yellow quinoa fields. In the Hayu Marca mountains, birds and butterflies draw our attention.
After an hour of hiking, we see, for the first time, the star gate Amarumuru, an ancient carved stone called “Gate of the Gods”. In a tube-like opening cut in the stone, stretching up to the sky, I stand quietly one hand over my heart, the other over my solar plexus feeling my rhythm, my breathe, the energy of the place, remembering the third eye stone at Machu Pichu, the climb to the temple of the moon on the back side of Huayna Picchu. I don’t hear a voice, or see a vision but in this moment I know, I am okay. Not, I am going to be okay. I am okay! I will continue to enjoy life with a passion because that is just the way I am.
White Ibis Shaman totem messenger with Kimberly Burnham. Photo by Tom Nora on Unsplash
Studying Shamanism and Changing the World with Sandra Ingerman: Kimberly Burnham, Feb 2011
In her 2010 Sounds True Insights at the Edge, Sandra Ingerman, Shamanism and Spiritual Light explained how, “shamanism teaches us that there’s a web of life that connects us all and that classic shamanism, is that our outer world is a reflection of our inner state of consciousness.” She notes, “One of the great teachings from shamanism is that if you really want to change the world that you live in, to move your focus inward because we’re actually dreaming the “outer world by the invisible world of substance that we’re building within us. Then through shamanism, [they] teach the person about the changes that they need to make in their life to live from a place of passion and meaning, and to move back into a place of living life from a place of appreciation, gratitude, honor, and respect, and connecting with nature and life itself in order to restore long-term healing and not short-term healing.
My book Our Fractal Nature, a Journey of Self-Discovery and Connection is in a way Shamanism meet Quantum Physics. Our Fractal Nature gives you a way to reconnect to your inner being, your physical body, to the trees, water and nature around you.
The Start of Exchange, of Reciprocity, of Ayni
Laying in cool, lush grass above 7,000 feet at the bottom of a green stone vortex, I let go of old life seeds, opening to the new in this ancient agricultural center. I start journeying. Grounding my feet in the richness of this world, I move to fully embody the red pelvic chakra, the center of creativity — the birthing of new ideas, of unique ways of creating love and peace. Eleven of us climb into this sacred energy ring, meditating as we lay absorbing the healing electrons bouncing from the rich black earth. We are exchanging with the Quechua mother earth. Pachamama.
She is revitalized by the just ending Andean rainy season. I open to her vitality as I start unwinding and connecting. I am a light traveler, a shaman-in-training, learning Ayni — Quechua for reciprocity and respect. To give back to the earth and the environment is a privilege. My responsibility is an opportunity to improve my own life and the lives I touch.
Sacral Chakra
My bones vibrate with the stone mountains populated by the descendants of Inca magic. My sacrum resonates with the natural world at the base of my spine. Ten of us plus our shaman guides, profoundly charged in our gifts as healers, seers, clairvoyants and sound workers. Opening our chakras as we turn in the strong energy vortexes. We connect with the fractal beauty of these healing, haunting, calming mountains. Here in the Sacred Valley near Cusco, I am among the kindest most open hearted people in the world. It is possible each day to see new things and to see old things in a new way. I sleep, grateful for abundance.
Breathing Up My Dreams
This day begins with breathing high mountain air. Breathing in healing oxygen, creating experiences and resources for a day of generating energy and sharing myself. Breathing in what serves me. Breathing out what I no longer need. Breathe inward spiraling with a force that massages the organs below. Breathe providing a strong foundation to my heart, the green chakra. Clockwise, counterclockwise spinning as I breathe in and breathe out. I literally change myself from the inside out.
Inhaling the breath of my shaman power, my ability to connect. Feel the love. Supported by mother earth and father sky. Clearing ancestral patterns. Holding high the blessings. Releasing the miasmic patterns that no longer serve. Enjoying the hot quinoa soup of W’ilka Tikka Chakra Gardens, the end of the rainbow in a land of colored skies. The heart in my chest pumping my dreams into reality.
Chakana
My dreams flying on the wings of ceremonial Despacho fires — shaman lead, heart-felt rituals of gratitude and attraction. Shaman names bring it all back to me. Anytime I can connect with the thanksgiving, the flowers, the seeds, the asking and remembering the results of past prayers and requests with gratitude. They are with me, open hearted shamans: Pierre Garreaud, Vilma Pinedo, Wilson Pinedo, Don Martin, Don Ricardo, Don Fernando and Don Benito.
Highlighting Blue
The fiery sun is boundaried by the blue sky. The rain laden clouds open on the fertile green of the sacred stone covered landscape. The light all around me highlights the blue of my shirt and hazel eyes as I walk among the ancient walls of Machu Picchu. I find my voice among these sacred Peruvian temples, worshiping the universe that provides me everything and asks in return only that I contribute my humanity to a world of wonders.
I vibrate my voice out into the open white granite courtyard, into the shape of the jaguar. I call the condors in the mountain tops above me and to the snakes in the land below. I walk and call like the jaguar, expressing my voice, taking the stage. My fingers gently trace the steps of the stone chakana, a carved symbol of three connections: The condor of the upper world and universe above, the snake of the lower world and inner realms below and the puma jaguar of the here and now roaming the land where dreams are made. The chakana is anchored above with God, Wiracocha, with the highest level of consciousness being expressed as the Great Spiritual Central Sun. Wiracocha is also said to be the carver of the Amarumuru star gate. Pachamama anchors the bottom of the cross bringing vertical alignment to life.
Machu Pichu shaman journey travel in Peru with Kimberly Burnham. Photo by Adrian Dascal on Unsplash
Accessing Third Eye Vision
I connect. My senses already heightened. I feel the coolness of the night, the warmth of the fire, the gritty sand rolling around my tongue as I drink San Pedro. The texture of the llama wool blanket wraps my shoulders. The thick cactus medicine slides down my throat. It a purgative. Not all of it stays down. The visions it brings allows for the release of all the old, the no longer needed, the no longer useful baggage. I am letting go with the sounds of the drums flashing out into the night air.
Shadows and colors of the W’ilka Tika garden flowers cocoon me in the moonlight. A vibrating, halo of reflected light connects my oneness with the natural world. I see more clearly the path before me. The journey I am empowered to take. A glimpse of who I am and my place in the cosmos. I am letting go of the past. I plant new seeds of what I want to be seven years from now when every cell in my body is new.
The red chakra balanced below the orange of my sacrum spinning my life, grounding me to create goodness in this world. Above them spins my breath.
The lemon yellow solar plexus lays a foundation for my verdant heart, generating the love and gratitude. I generate my life, the energy, and the value. I feel the support of the blue throat chakra connect with my hands, my heart and my ability to contribute my voice and message. My voice mixing with the sound of bells chiming around me lending a backdrop to the sparks from the fire. This step of the journey opens my third eye to indigo visions that remain, accessible whenever I forget to create and generate healing power and access my connection to the universe through my feet and my violet crown chakra.
I take in the color, the drums, the cactus, the smoky air and touch the world around me. I have enhanced by gut sense, intuition and brain clarity. I reach for the sunlight and the star light. I am perfectly placed, perfectly aligned to walk into the unknown with clarity and hope.
I am reminded of the day, I walked off the face of a cliff. I am fourteen and just because I am roped up in rappelling gear doesn’t mean I am not scared. I do it. I revitalize the pride in a life live with passion, with creativity that contributes my humanity to the world, a pilgrimage and journey lived.
The Pilgrimage
Our shaman guide, Bruno, my girlfriend and I hike across the red rock filled agricultural land. A Peruvian pilgrimage, balancing on the ridges of smooth serpent-shaped rocks, along the edges of potato and quinoa fields. In the Hayu Marca mountains, birds and butterflies draw our attention. I think about what to write in Flat Stanley’s journal. Flat Stanley about one foot high his flat paper head sticking out of my backpack, accompanies me across Peru. Flat Stanley will soon be on his flight back to West Hartford, CT then into a box back to Miles, the second grader who sent him with me along. He will fly with pictures of his trip, his journal, a brightly colored woven water bottle holder and a small rock from Machu Picchu.
After an hour of hiking, we see, for the first time, the star gate Amarumuru, an ancient carved stone called “Gate of the Gods”. The Peruvian boy selling carved tablets depicting the stories of this place is dwarfed by the huge rock. In a tube-like opening cut in the stone, stretching up to the sky, I stand quietly one hand over my heart, the other over my solar plexus feeling my rhtyhm, my breathe, the energy of the place, remembering the third eye stone at Machu Pichu, the climb to the temple of the moon on the back side of Huayna Picchu, my Tibetan Buddhist training near Glastonbury England, the coolness of the stones at Stonehenge, the red rock of Lake Powell, Sinai at the Red Sea, all my sacred places. I don’t hear a voice, or see a vision but in this moment I know, I am okay. Not, I am going to be okay. I will continue to enjoy life with a passion because that is just the way I am.
Tibetan Shamanism Training Healing Voice with Jill Purce in Glastonbury, England: Kimberly Burnham, May, 2008
“I will quit my job when I return.” It was the first time I said aloud what I had been thinking for a year. Here introducing myself to 70 strangers, I recommitted to my own happiness, to work that is satisfying, enjoyable and contribute to healing the world, one person at a time.
I didn’t expect my life to change so dramatically in a week but these seven days in a British Retreat Center near Glastonbury, the mystical mythical center of the English speaking world drew out of me the power that had been crushed for a few years. These seven days filled with potent shamanism, Tibetan Green Tara chanting, moving meditations, the opening of powerful hearts and minds. Life altering symbolism incorporated into expression and observation of the past, present and imagining the future as well as the symbolism of the death of the old and rebirth of pure joy.
These seven days sandwiched in my life between two other powerful sound healing expediencies with Jill Purce at Naropa Institute (the Buddhist University) in Boulder Colorado and at Esalen Institute near Big Sur, California.
My Learning:
I am powerful when I hold the vibration of my soul with an open hand, reaching out to the life experiences that nourish me and help me share my unique skills to improve the quality of the lives around me.
The answer to the question, “What do I want? and What can I share? is powerful. Thank you Jill Purce for helping me to change my life
Originally published at http://www.shamanportal.org on June 14, 2012. | https://medium.com/@healthy-brain/a-shamans-journey-to-inner-peace-and-outer-expression-48d4d83e9a27 | ['Kimberly Burnham'] | 2020-12-06 01:01:47.824000+00:00 | ['Peru', 'Journey', 'Essay', 'Peace', 'Shaman'] |
Conflict, Memory, and Pleasure | Conflict rises due to comparison. To compare, we need two things: the mind provides an immense tool to create two things: memory. To compare what we want to be and what we are, to compare what we’ve done and what we should do.
Memory is the cascading of experiences and thoughts in the stitching of time. Both the time stitching backward and time stitching forward which is a mere memory about the future — goals, expectations, imagination, and so on; this linearity in our mind sophisticates the stage to compare and therefore raises a conflict in our mind.
Hence, we are destined to conflict between things even when they are right, and we tend to compare it with the future, that this normality won’t have anything to do with the latter. All this because of the notion of time — the chain of cause and effect.
Pleasure is a loop in time when we need a repetition of the pleasured experiences again and again. It is the escape from the mundane linearity which causes expectations, conflict, and fear — other terms for comparison.
It breaks the linearity, sometimes the notion of time itself, therefore breaking the conflict in beliefs, ideas, thoughts, it grabs the whole attention of the experiencer, implying providing the eternality of time, the present.
That is what one wants, an escape from the causal chain when there is only present, and there is nothing else to compare with the now.
That’s why one seeks pleasure more often when the comparison is unstoppable; he wants time cessation. | https://medium.com/@mediocremind/conflict-memory-and-pleasure-b375b91dad3f | ['Mediocre Mind'] | 2021-04-25 16:40:51.468000+00:00 | ['Conflict', 'Memory', 'Pleasure'] |
Samsung’s 110-inch MicroLED TV brings The Wall to your living room | Samsung delights in scoring splashy headlines at CES with its mammoth micro-LED displays, with the company springing a humongous 292-inch model of “The Wall” on CES attendees back in January. But while its earlier micro-LED panels arrived in modules that needed to be professionally assembled, its new 110-inch MicroLED TV will come ready to watch, right out of the (giant) box.
Related product Samsung Q90T 4K UHD TV (55-inch model) Read TechHive's reviewSee it Slated to ship globally in the first quarter of 2021, the Samsung MicroLED TV is based on micro-LED display technology: self-emitting pixels that offer vivid colors and perfect blacks similar to OLED, because they can be turned on and off individually. Unlike the organic pixels in OLED panels, however, micro-LED panels are not susceptible to burn-in.
Samsung has been touting its micro-LED-based “The Wall” displays for a couple of years now, with the company offering sizes from a crazy-big 292-inch panel down to a more reasonable 75 inches.
[ Further reading: TechHive’s top picks in smart TVs ]Previous versions of Samsung’s micro-LED displays have been saddled with a couple of key problems. For starters, due to the difficulties inherent in micro-LED manufacturing, the displays usually arrive in separate modules that must be assembled by a professional installer. Second, Samsung’s micro-LED displays are prohibitively expensive (think six figures), which means they’ve been aimed mainly at business and luxury customers.
Enter the 110-inch MicroLED, a TV that promises to fix the first problem with Samsung’s micro-LED displays by eliminating the need to assemble multiple panels. Instead, the new TV comes as a complete, prefabricated unit, with Samsung boasting that it has developed a new production process to streamline micro-LED panel manufacturing. With this new set, you’ll need only to take it out of the box, plug it in, and turn it on—although, given that we’re talking about a 110-inch TV, removing it from the box could prove to be quite the operation.
Whether the MicroLED TV addresses the second problem with Samsung’s micro-LED displays—the exorbitant price tag—remains to be seen: Samsung has yet to reveal pricing. (Honestly, we’re not holding our breath for affordability.)
Samsung promises that the MicroLED will deliver “stunning,” “bright,” and “vivid” images, thanks to a new Micro AI Processor. It’s worth noting, however, that this 110-inch TV is only capable of 4K maximum resolution, not 8K like Samsung’s larger “The Wall” displays or its pricier LED-based QLED TVs.
The MicroLED will boast a near bezel-less display with a 99.99-percent screen-to-body ratio, Samsung says. In addition to watching one giant image, you’ll also be able to split the display into four 55-inch screens, ideal for NFL Sunday Ticket junkies.
Besides the images, Samsung says the TV’s integrated Majestic Sound System with Object Tracking Sound Pro functionality can crank out realistic (if virtualized) 5.1-channel sound without the need for external speakers.
All very impressive, but we’ve yet to see (or hear) the 110-inch MicroLED in action, nor do we know how much Samsung plans to charge for its giant new set. Given that Samsung’s 98-inch Q900 QLED TV, an 8K set based on traditional LED technology, goes for a breathtaking $60,000 (and that after a 40-percent discount), we’re steeling ourselves for the MicroLED’s eventual price tag.
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/@jackie44094705/samsungs-110-inch-microled-tv-brings-the-wall-to-your-living-room-529da12cd6d8 | [] | 2020-12-24 20:32:44.958000+00:00 | ['Electronics', 'Connected Home', 'Chargers', 'Entertainment'] |
I declined two dream job offers. It was heartbreaking for me | Photo by Cameron Venti
I’ve been interviewing at three companies over the past six weeks. I chose to only apply to companies and teams that inspired me and that I admired. If I put in the hard work, I knew I could land one of these dream positions. I was only banking on one offer to come through.
I met many amazing people during my interviews — some I pictured myself learning and growing from. We had enriching discussions about what life would be like to join their teams and how excited they were for me possibly joining. It felt like dating at times, where the recruiter was playing match-maker and I the prospective bachelor.
Here’s the thing, I was expecting to be rejected by everyone. That’s why I chose to interview at three companies at once. I even had a second list of companies to apply to once those companies rejected me. So I was prepared for the worst if the romance didn’t work out.
All three companies sent me an offer letter within 48 hours of each other. I was stunned. I had to say “no” to not one but two dream jobs. It felt like heartbreak to me.
These are the four aspects I considered when choosing between the offers:
• Compensation
• People
• Company
• Product
All companies were amazing. They all had competitive compensation packages. They all had amazing people I respected and could learn and grow from. These companies would all look great on my resume. But, for me, my decision came down to one thing: the product. In the end, my passion for the product drove my decision.
While working at Hulu, I would reference Netflix as the standard for product quality and craftsmanship. Netflix stole my heart long ago, and that envy stuck with me over the years. I dreamed of a day when I could contribute to a product as great.
I sent the other two companies a breakup email and was delicate in the way I let them down. First, I shared what I loved about their companies, people, and product. Then, I felt brave enough to write a couple of bullet points of feedback and kindly declined their offers. Then a moment of sorrow poured over me. I just declined two dream jobs.
The moment of sadness quickly faded away and turned to excitement. I said “yes” to Netflix. I landed a job — my dream job. I’m over the moon.
Follow me on Medium or LinkedIn | https://medium.com/@imaaronjames/i-declined-two-dream-job-offers-it-was-heartbreaking-for-me-6863f5e28765 | ['Aaron James'] | 2021-09-15 22:22:50.929000+00:00 | ['Career Paths', 'Design', 'Netflix'] |
What Is Parler, and Should You Care? | It’s been quite a ride
I was pleasantly surprised by the layout and appearance of the app. It looks nice and clean, with a large font, which is easier for my tired eyes to read. I was even able to choose an accent color, which was a nice touch. I chose pink. The first thing that happens after sign-up, is Parler posts a message for you. It says something like, ‘hi, I just joined Parler, I can’t wait to meet everyone.’ Then, you receive three comments. One is from a member of the concierge, offering help, support and tutorials. I didn’t feel it was necessary, but I’m sure some people would appreciate the welcoming touch.
Want to know about the other two comments?
Huh. I was most curious about the comment from @TeamTrump, so I clicked on the link:
Gulp. Now, I was expecting this platform to lean far right, but I did not see that coming. Given Parler claims to be ‘non-biased’ as one of its selling points, it was immediately clear to me this was untrue. Many members of Parler complain that Twitter shows bias. I started up a new Twitter account 2 months ago. Neither the republicans nor democrats commented when I joined, nor did either party demand I donate to them.
And before you ask, no, there was no @TeamBiden posting comments or linking me to anything on Parler. Of all the social media platforms I’ve used, this was the most biased introduction I’d ever experienced, bar none. This site is biased toward the right, and heavily so.
On the right-hand sidebar, was a list of recommended accounts to follow. At the top of the list was the Proud Boys. So, you want me to sign up, donate to Trump, then join the Proud Boys? At this point, I was already queasy about the place, and I hadn’t even explored the posts of users, yet.
I had the option of following organizations, such as Babylon Bee, a right-wing Christian satire site, and conservative outlets. Because I enjoy reading and writing satire myself, I begrudgingly followed Babylon Bee. I ended up also following The Daily Mail, because I’m familiar with it, although not a fan. I wanted to see Parler members in action. | https://medium.com/sharon-alger/what-is-parler-and-should-you-care-d6388ae526a6 | ['Sharon Alger'] | 2020-12-02 12:18:41.587000+00:00 | ['Diversity', 'Equality', 'Social Media', 'Culture', 'Digital Life'] |
Mayor Pete’s Opportunity | Mayor Pete’s Opportunity
By Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ— Pete Buttigieg, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=93853338
In the long-term, the selection of former Indianapolis Mayor Pete Buttigieg as Secretary of Transportation-designee may prove to be Biden’s most important appointment to date. Not only will the Transportation Department play a central role in Biden’s “Build Back Better” administration, but the appointment allows Buttigieg to demonstrate the skills one looks for in a president.
Mayor Pete is making history — again. His surprisingly strong run for president as the first openly gay candidate was historic. This time the 38- year-old is the first openly gay appointee to a cabinet post. He will also be one of the youngest members ever to serve in a cabinet.
Perhaps more importantly, the appointment is a major step towards Buttigieg’s long term career goal — election as president of the United States.
In recruiting Buttigieg for the cabinet, President Biden gets a talented, articulate leader to spearhead a key part of the administration’s economic recovery plans. A Rhodes Scholar, Buttigieg honed his project management and data analysis skills at the blue-chip consulting firm McKinsey. Biden’s chances of delivering on his promise of rebuilding America’s infrastructure will benefit.
An infrastructure track record
Earlier this year candidate Buttigieg released a detailed infrastructure plan titled, “Building for the 21st Century: An infrastructure plan to create jobs, increase resilience, and usher in a new era of opportunity.” Among other things, the plan proposes changing the funding base for the Highway Trust Fund from a gas tax to a user fee, assumed to be a “miles-driven formula.” The new tax would produce $165 billion for the trust fund, helping to make it solvent.
Perhaps more importantly, the plan called for $50 billion in grants to states and local governments to repair or replace at least half the nation’s failing bridges by 2030. It also proposed $6 billion in grants to support infrastructure, such as charging stations, to support electric vehicles.
Consistent with the Biden plan
Differences with the president-elect’s infrastructure plan are minor. Buttigieg’s plan would invest $1 trillion and produce six million jobs. Biden calls for “an accelerated $2 trillion investment” that includes infrastructure repair but with a more prominent focus on climate change.
John D. Porcari, a principal advisor to Biden during the presidential campaign and a Deputy Secretary at the Transportation Department in the Obama administration, said that the new administration's priority would be to get the economy moving again. After that, Porcari expects a new surface transportation bill to implement several of Biden’s proposals, including an enhanced rail system, grants to states, and clean energy initiatives. It is unclear whether Porcari will play a major role under Buttigieg or elsewhere in the Biden administration.
An opportunity to make a difference
Although service as Secretary of Transportation will make Buttigieg a more credible future presidential candidate, his main motivation may be public service. He served in Afghanistan in a non-combat role as a member of the U.S. Navy Reserve and has long been an advocate for national service. He told MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow:
We really want to talk about the threat to social cohesion that helps characterize this presidency but also just this era. One thing we could do that would change that would be to make it — if not legally obligatory but certainly a social norm — that anybody after they’re 18 spends a year in national service.
During the campaign, Joe Biden proposed granting $10,000 of undergraduate or graduate student loan forgiveness for each of up to five years of national or community service. Biden’s principal domestic policy advisor, Susan Rice, also has championed community service as a means of healing national wounds.
Transportation may be just the beginning
So, Biden is both tapping an exceptional talent and providing a rising star an opportunity to demonstrate his skills on a national stage. Just as service in the Senate and as Secretary of State eliminated any questions about Hillary Clinton’s qualifications to serve as president, four years of service in the Biden administration will do the same thing for Mayor Pete. It is also not unreasonable to speculate that after a year or so at Transportation, Biden may allow Buttigieg to work in an international or national security role.
Minimal Risk
Any opportunity to further his political career could, of course, be sidetracked should Buttigieg become involved in a scandal or trouble of the type involving several Trump appointees. Is trouble likely? Buttigieg’s track record, though currently slim, suggests he has a high probability of executing his new job with little risk of scandal.
Absent something negative happening, Buttigieg could emerge as a contender for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2024 if Joe Biden doesn’t run for re-election and Kamala Harris’ performance as VP doesn’t meet the public’s current high expectations, or 2028.
Given that the new president has not yet even been sworn into office, it’s too much to hum “A Star is Born,” but good things lie in Mayor Pete’s future. | https://medium.com/@903-jed/mayor-petes-opportunity-1d97b57b4121 | ['John Dean'] | 2020-12-26 21:06:25.023000+00:00 | ['Biden', 'LGBTQ', 'Politics', 'President', 'Government'] |
Spotlight: Maria Oliveira Tamellini, Co-Founder and COO of GamerSafer | Maria Oliveira Tamellini is Co-Founder and COO of GamerSafer, a software company helping online games and esports organizations make online safety and fair play experiences accessible to all players. She has over a decade of entrepreneurship experience in the social impact sector and was awarded by Headstream Innovation for building positive, ethical and healthy technologies for youth. Maria is a proud mom of 3 (two of them gamers) and a true champion for women and child safety in digital spaces.
We caught up with Maria to learn more about her work at GamerSafer, how community can help support more inclusion, and her thoughts on the greatest opportunities to champion diversity in tech.
Hi Maria! Tell us about yourself, how did you get to where you are today?
Maria Oliveira Tamellini, Co-Founder and COO of GamerSafer
I have always been driven by purpose and realized at a young age that serving others was a development booster, besides a way of fulfilling my role as a citizen. Since my childhood, while living in Brazil, I have enjoyed following and helping my grandma in her social work with elders and Hansen’s disease patients. At the age of 25, I founded my first company, a social impact consulting business focused on supporting corporations making strategic social investments in underserved communities. For many years, I led this company, joining many others in the most challenging fights: poverty, deforestation, clean water and sanitation, inequality, to mention a few.
After moving to Silicon Valley, I started to work for organizations using technology to impact the world positively. Simultaneously, as a mother of three at this point, I realized how deeply technology had changed my family dynamics and my closer community. Virtual worlds are a significant part of their life and development. My co-founder and husband worked for the gaming industry at the time and started to challenge me to think of pressing problems such as harassment, fraud, scams, and even predators. As a change-maker, a gamer, and a mother of gamers, I heard the call — and I couldn’t run from it. What else should I be doing besides making the online world a better place for them?
This is the beginning of my story at GamerSafer. We help online games to scale safe, positive and fair play experiences for millions of players worldwide. I also keep cultivating my social impact, diversity and inclusion work by serving other organizations such as Latinas in Tech, XRSI Safety, Women in Games.
How is GamerSafer revolutionizing the way we think about safety tools for the gaming industry?
Computer, mobile and console online games bring together dozens of millions of players around the world. The most popular titles surpass hundreds of millions of users. They gather and mix people of all ages (children, adolescents and adults), who are anonymous and can interact and socialize via text, voice and, in some cases, video in real-time. This world of possibilities also comes with risks: harassment, racism, sexism, bullying, hate speech, grooming, identity theft, account hijacking, scams, bots are a few examples.
Big titles are deploying in-game solutions to identify risks and stop them. Still, tracking billions of interactions, in real-time, written and spoken, in multiple languages, it’s a tremendous challenge. Not to mention that, in many cases, interactions can require an interpretation of what is socially acceptable by region, between friends, and other variables. So, we decided to revolutionize this industry by developing a pre-game solution, totally focused on prevention. Our software works for games of all sizes and is embedded into the game login to act as a smart gatekeeper for online games and esports competitions. This gatekeeper takes into consideration verified user data, in-game preferences, play style and other variables to support game platforms create more fair and safe environments. With that, we minimize disruptive behaviors and create better communities and experiences for players. We are bringing the missing piece of this complex puzzle.
What are some of the greatest opportunities you see right now to drive meaningful change when it comes to more equitable representation in the tech and startup worlds?
At Latinas in Tech, where I serve as a board member, we are working hard to play our part in the leaky tech pipeline. We connect Latinas with a supportive community, resources and different opportunities, reducing the obstacles restricting their participation in the tech ecosystem.
Our goal is having more of us starting and growing careers in tech, and founding more startups. As an entrepreneur, I see an opportunity to move initiatives and programs from advice and webinars to validation, access, and tangible opportunities for women, BIPOC, LatinX, LGBTQ+, etc. That’s what can drive meaningful change in the tech world.
What role does community play in supporting a more inclusive tech landscape?
Finding a supportive community is one of the most effective ways to accelerate inclusion. As an entrepreneur and working mom, I can say that having people to count on is one of the most critical things in my life. From last-minute babysitting to business advice and strategic connections, the communities I’m part of facilitates my growth and open doors that I found closed many times. These are people that advocate and encourage me to live the life I’ve chosen. They amplify my voice and accelerate my progress. I’m always happy to do the same for them. Belonging is one of the keys to inclusion, and only communities can provide that sense. Once you belong, it’s easier to commit and support others, creating a virtuous cycle that can transform tech.
Maria at the Global Entrepreneurship Summit (2016)
At Noun Project, we believe visual language has the power to shape, reinforce and change perceptions. What are your thoughts on why diverse visual representation in tech is so important to helping change the status quo in the industry?
Compared to the other planets in the solar system, planet Earth is unique and abundant in life and possibilities. We are incredibly diverse in shapes, forms, colors, resources, ecosystems, people, and cultures. It’s estimated that Planet Earth is 4.5 billion years old and we are still not a uniform, dull, pale celestial body. Instead, we are diversified, beautiful and vibrant.
I see visual language as an essential tool to express this diverse and pulsating energy. In that sense, it should reflect the natural course of our life and existence. Our capability to see ourselves and our beliefs make us feel connected to some companies, products, and services instead of others. A diverse visual language unfastens this matching process, and it’s a source of great inspiration. When powered by technology, it can make us feel part of something bigger than ourselves.
Looking to the future, what inspires you and what initiatives are you most excited about right now?
Right now, I’m super excited to see our technology benefiting the Esports competitive scene for female players. I want to see my daughter playing more competitive games without apprehension. In the near future, I want to dedicate more of my time to foster digital citizenship and digital wellbeing initiatives as I believe this can make a huge impact in an increasing interconnected world.
What advice would you give to people currently navigating the path to a future career in tech and entrepreneurship?
Find your crew, help others succeed (your progress is a consequence), and don’t give up. | https://blog.thenounproject.com/spotlight-maria-oliveira-tamellini-co-founder-and-coo-of-gamersafer-da9296c6af99 | ['Lindsay Stuart'] | 2020-10-26 19:11:28.977000+00:00 | ['Gaming', 'Entrepreneur', 'Startup', 'Diversity In Tech', 'Spotlight'] |
Swift - Write Cleaner Code Using Result Type | Swift - Write Cleaner Code Using Result Type
Error handling can even be more simple and easy to implement Mohd Hafiz Follow Jun 10 · 2 min read
Result Type was introduced as an improvement for error handling in Swift 5. It has been widely implemented by iOS developers. Since it was released, all third-party libraries also started to adopt it. But I notice that some developers are still using the old implementation probably because they already get used to it for a long time.
In this article, we are going to discuss and revise the basic usage of Result Type in the basic function and completion method. Let’s see the implementation without and with Result Type.
Without Using Result
First, we will take an example of a simple method to calculate a division of two numbers. As we know the rule of division in maths, the divisor cannot be 0, otherwise the answer will be undefined.
So, we will add a validation for checking the divisor number using guard and return nil if it is failed.
What’s the Issue?
The divide() method above looks fine until we called it and error happens. Now we found the issue and understand that we cannot simply return the details error.
Possible Solutions
Yes, now we would think to modify the method. There are few options that we can try. First, maybe we can use a completion method that returns multiple values such as answer and error message. Or maybe we can use struct or tuple type to combine the answer and the error.
Well, that exactly what Result Type does, though it is more generic and easier to implement.
Solution by Using Result
It is basically same method, except the return type is using Result .
Now we can see that the new divide() method is more readable and simple with proper error handling.
Using Result in Asynchronous Method
As we already known, the asynchronous method need a completion handler to return result or value to the method caller.
Common API request method basically will have the following steps.
Check URL validation Request URL using URLSession Then inside the dataTask completion, we will handle the error and success data Decode data in try block
Let’s take a look at our code below with the Result implementation. It doesn’t look much different, except in the completion return values.
Below is how we call the method and handle the error occurs. | https://medium.com/geekculture/swift-write-cleaner-code-using-result-type-a9412cecc205 | ['Mohd Hafiz'] | 2021-07-29 04:17:57.309000+00:00 | ['iOS', 'Swift Programming', 'Programming', 'Swift'] |
Jurassic Park Is A Warning About The Future | 65 million years in the making
The premise of Jurassic Park is of a giant zoo that is home to dinosaurs who have been brought back to life after 65 million years of extinction. A group of people including a palaeontologist, paleobotanist, mathematician and a ‘blood-sucking lawyer’ are brought to the island to inspect the facility before it’s opened to the public.
In an ominous scene as the group are about to land on the island, Dr Alan Grant, the palaeontologist, is unable to fasten his seat belt and has to improvise while the helicopter makes a bumpy landing.
Once the group land on the island they are shown around and see a variety of dinosaurs that have been brought back from the dead. It’s a visual spectacle and one that blows the protagonists away. I mean, who wouldn’t be in awe at the sight of a brachiosaurus casually walking by!?
However, this is about as good as things get for the visitors. The serenity of the park starts to collapse in the face of unforeseen consequences. The unique selling point of the park is that it contains creatures which were once extinct.
Various species of dinosaur have been brought back to life such as Tyrannosaur-Rex, Velociraptor and Triceratops. When the visitors talk with the geneticist who led the effort to bring the animals to life, we learn that they were less concerned with the ethics of bringing the animals back. What they were preoccupied with was whether they could.
In short, there wasn’t a debate about whether they should do it. We see the folly in this thinking later in the film when the park’s security systems fail and the dinosaurs run amok.
If they had only engineered plant-eating dinosaurs, there wouldn’t have been an issue. Yet, those in charge of the park decided to bring carnivorous dinosaurs back from the dead, who once set free, cause havoc. While we may not be able to bring back dinosaurs, the possibilities for other animals and, indeed, genetically altering ourselves is possible.
The potential of this genetic power is immense. It needs careful consideration before we wield it. Mankind has the power to remake the human condition, but it should not be done without considering all aspects good and bad.
Already, we have seen this happen. A scientist in China gene-edited two babies changing a gene, CCR5, to protect the children against HIV. This sounds good on the surface, who wouldn’t want their children to be resistant to HIV? But, there are more questions than answers.
Will the babies grow up to be healthy. Will their genetic modifications be passed down the generations if they have children? Is the process of gene-editing safe and ethical?
It’s a pandora box that opens up a wealth of possibilities, some of which are terrifying. For instance, if the practice becomes widespread, the rich will likely be the only ones able to afford it. This opens up the door to a future where embryos are edited in vitro to protect against any diseases, to boost intelligence and physical strength.
This would effectively create two-tiers of humans, with those at the bottom inferior to this new breed of ‘superhuman’ in every way. There is no saying what the effect on humanity could be, although it could be along the lines of the film Gattaca, where humans whose genetics are considered inferior are discriminated against.
Science advances at a fast pace, the progress in a short space of time can be astounding. However, as Jurassic Park shows, we have to consider the ethical implications of such changes before we go ahead with them. | https://tom-stevenson.medium.com/jurassic-park-is-a-warning-about-the-future-4c559389d9ec | ['Tom Stevenson'] | 2020-07-28 14:28:34.466000+00:00 | ['Dinosaurs', 'Future', 'Film', 'Philosophy', 'Science'] |
The best picture I ever shot and why its story matters | I have often found myself in love with the sea and what lies close to her.
No, I do not count the waves until I lose count. Rather, I like being close to the sea, to listen to the sounds.
The sound of each wave after the other splashing on the sandy beach and coming to their timely demise.
The sound of the incessant breeze that looks to cool all that are in the way. The sounds of the children, playing games of their own in the sand.
The sounds of coconut palm leaves meddling, ever so slightly, into my thoughts.
The sounds of the birds, some of whom are travellers that have come a long way and have long ways to go. Others who reside nearby, and are only there in search of sustenance.
It was during one of these afternoon hours at the beach I heard a most pleasant sound. The giggle of a little girl, ecstatic and in excitement over her chance to spend some time with her father. I watched, from afar.
The father dressed the way local fishermen did. And he carried with him a small fishing net.
He had all the markings of a man who has spent his life working away. His hands looked worn out, with the scarred fingers of someone used to hard labour. His body, tired, perhaps as he had been there after an already long day of work. But there was excitement in his eyes, not unlike his little girl.
They walked past me trying to take pictures of some seagulls, and moved to a quiet part of the beach where their only company were the birds.
The father handed the daughter something, not a toy, but something that he brought to along to look for fish in the oncoming waves.
He began counting the knuckles on the traditional one-person fishing net. One by one, he held them in their hand, folding each section of the net after the other. The birds that were lingering got excited too, hoping the kindness of the little girl would help land them some food for them as well.
I could have waited a bit longer, for that perfect moment of when he finally throws the net into the water like a timeless artist that he is. I could have gotten closer and probably get better picture.
But I couldn’t. I would have been an unwelcome guest into their lives.
As I took this picture, I may have jumped the gun a little. Its surely not perfect in any sense of the word. But to me, this is special. The story that those few minutes told me of these people made this special.
And as long as the bond between a father and his child exists in this world, it will continue to be special.
We all have different things in life that leads us on. It could be riches beyond what we have now. It could be a long held dream. But I believe the most beautiful thing in the world, the best thing to be led by, is human connections. And the stories that it tells us.
People are always fascinating. Someone who lives a short walk away from where you live may be leading a life unrecognisable to you. Your next door neighbour may have lived an entirely different life to you. The friendly waitress at the restaurant may have her own amazing stories to tell. And the cashier at the grocery store may have their own reasons for not being very forthcoming
People, that you meet everyday, are each a goldmine of stories. Stories that can make you happy. Stories that can inspire, enlighten and disrupt us to our core.
I wish we could listen to more stories than we have.
I wish I could have asked that father and little girl about their story. I was hesitant then. I probably will be, even if this happened again today. And I would have only gotten this less than perfect picture.
But to this day, this remains the best picture I have ever shot. And I cannot ask for much more than that. | https://medium.com/@salmanrazaq-70686/the-best-picture-i-ever-shot-and-why-its-story-matters-8954e623e513 | ['Selman Razaq'] | 2020-12-09 10:11:16.223000+00:00 | ['Daughters', 'Storytelling', 'Fatherhood', 'Beach', 'Photography'] |
Sexuality, stigma & discrimination, why do people even care? | Sexuality, stigma & discrimination, why do people even care?
My personal experience and some top tips
Pride Month
In the early hours of June 28th 1969 in Greenwich Village, New York City police raided a gay club named the Stonewall Inn. This raid started a riot among bar patrons and neighbourhood residents as police roughly hauled employees and patrons out of the bar, leading to six days of protests and violent clashes with law enforcement outside the bar on Christopher Street, in neighbouring streets and in nearby Christopher Park. The Stonewall Riots served as a catalyst for the gay rights movement in the United States and around the world.† To commemorate the Stonewall riots, we now hold Pride month every June to recognise the impact LGBT people have had in the world.
Annual LGBT Pride celebrations are a time where everyone shows up for inclusivity — including big companies. While companies such as Adidas, Calvin Klein, Under Armour, Spotify, Dr Martens and many more show their varying degrees of support in this time, it’s a real shame that many companies use this as a marketing opportunity and negate these values for the other 11 months of the year. Don’t be fooled, nine of the biggest, most LGBTQ-supportive corporations in America gave about $1 million or more each to anti-gay politicians in the last election cycle.*
There are many companies across the world hiring with complete inclusivity. This has endless benefits including a collective experience that can only enhance companies values and cultures. Check out some of the companies in the Stonewall Top 100 employers list. The list is compiled from the Workplace Equality Index — the UK’s leading benchmarking tool for LGBT inclusion in the workplace:
Inclusive companies website also has their own list which goes deeper into companies to show the UK’s top 50, that promote inclusion throughout each level of employment within their organisation. This list shows companies that hire without discrimination against age, disability, gender, LGBT and race. The Inclusive Top 50 UK Employers 2019/20 List has many names you will recognise and maybe even use every day including:
Sky
AutoTrader
NHS
E-on
Specsavers
Moneysupermarket
Bupa
As well as being a month long celebration, Pride is also a big opportunity to peacefully protest and raise political awareness of current issues facing the LGBTQI+ community. What most people know as ‘Pride’ is a parade in which there are street parties, community events, public speaking, festivals in the streets and educational events in most cities across the world.
My experience
I am not someone who gives out personal information like smiles, not everyone needs to know the ins and outs of my life, my thoughts and my feelings. I am however, an extremely open and honest person. These two things seem like they couldn’t coexist but it’s just about balance. You can be open and honest without giving information that is personalised to your experience. This is actually something I had to learn over many years due to inadvertently ‘lying’ through other people’s assumptions.
So a real-world example of this, for me, is sexuality. My personal feelings on this matter are generally that you shouldn’t have to ‘come out’ as gay, just as much as you shouldn’t have to ‘come out’ as straight. People have preset assumptions about you, and if you don’t meet those assumptions there’s a sense of unease — while, if you don’t correct the assumption you are seen as misleading. There’s also the idea that you have to fit in to a certain box, e.g. you are straight or gay — when in reality people come in all shapes, sizes, colours, orientations and that’s amazing.
I am not ‘straight’
There are so many words now for what I am… bisexual, pansexual? Whatever you call it, I have always been more interested in the things that people can choose and change than the things they can’t. If someone is an amazing, loving, considerate, genuine, caring person — these are things they can choose, and really, why wouldn’t you love someone like that? And while this is my life, it’s not information I feel the need to share when I meet people. The people I am close enough to, know this about me, and there will be a few people that are surprised by this post — and really, if you’re surprised you should be a little bit ashamed.
I am a young female UX designer in the financial sector, I am sure just from that statement you can imagine all of the stigmas I manage day to day. These stigmas definitely don’t come from my team — creative people are just built differently, they are so much more open to equality in the world. My career is probably one of the reasons I have grown the way I have in my personal life — for example, if I am asked about my past relationships I will openly say “ex-girlfriend” or share my experience, but otherwise it’s nobody’s business. If it’s not a conversation that would have been had without the knowledge, then it’s not a conversation I am starting.
Navigating your way through your feelings, whatever age that happens, is not easy in this world. Pride is a place where people can feel like they are different, they don’t need to explain themselves and they can just truly be who they are — whatever that entails. Even with the most amazing parents and friends, I was scared to tell them. The idea of having to even understand how to communicate something so deep and personal to people that would usually be there to help you is honestly terrifying. But, once you have that foundation it does get easier. And the way you end up telling the people you love is different for everyone and it may not be ‘perfect’ — I mean, I was a teenager, petrified and ended up sending my Mum a message to ‘let her know’, as if I was staying out for the night. And in hindsight, that was so true to the way I feel about it and I wouldn’t change that now.
Everyone is vulnerable, raw, real and weird — no matter how well hidden it is. When you approach people in any situation, I think that we could all take more caution in being respectful. You don’t know what people are going through and while I don’t usually share personal information like this, if this post could help even one person to feel accepted or educate someone as to why we celebrate pride and why it’s important — it’s worth it.
The reality
Around 40% of homeless youths are LGBT, this is mostly due to rejection from their friends and family. Along with this, gay and bisexual youth and other sexual minorities are
8 times more likely to have tried to commit suicide
6 times more likely to report high levels of depression
3 times more likely to use illegal drugs
Discrimination
When people decide to act on their prejudice, stigma turns into discrimination. Discrimination is when you treat people differently based on the groups, classes, or other categories to which they are seen to belong, and it is not okay.
Discrimination can take different forms, it’s not always something clear and aggressive, it can take the form of:
Obvious acts of prejudice and discrimination — e.g. someone who is open about being transgender or their sexual orientation and being refused employment or promotion due to this
of prejudice and discrimination — e.g. someone who is open about being transgender or their sexual orientation and being refused employment or promotion due to this More subtle forms of discrimination, but no less harmful, are reinforcement of negative stereotypes and feelings of isolation — e.g. use of the word ‘gay’ as a derogatory term or teaching your child that being different is a bad thing and to discriminate against people of a different size, race, culture or sexual orientation
The law for workplaces
Everyone has the right to be treated fairly at work and to be free of discrimination on grounds of age, race, gender, gender reassignment, disability, sexual orientation, religion or belief. For more information about discrimination in the workplace and what you can do about it, check out gov.uk.
Schools and Colleges
Schools have a responsibility to be diverse and empower young people to be open and inclusive. During School Diversity Week, primary and secondary schools as well as colleges across the UK celebrate lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans equality in education. In 2019, schools and colleges representing 1.4 million pupils signed up to take part and received their free toolkit from Just Like Us.
Educating young people
Just Like Us send LGBT+ young adult ambassadors to deliver talks and workshops championing LGBT+ equality. They speak honestly about who LGBT+ people are, and share their own stories growing up today to connect with all students in a powerful way. After their sessions, 86% of students understand why everyone should care about LGBT+ issues
Parents
A parent’s role and response in their child coming out is one of the most impactful interactions that will shape their thoughts and mental state. As a parent you need to be open, responsible, positive and know how to react. There’s so much information online that you can educate yourself with — and if your not a parent, you are a role model. You may have nephews, nieces, friends children, godchildren and even younger colleagues that may come out to you and you should be equipped with tools to know how to deal with the situation in a positive way.
Support
There are many charities and support groups that you can contact if you don’t have anyone to open up to or if you are struggling to connect with people that understand — but just know, you are not alone! It feels like a big step to contact any of these companies but just opening yourself up a little bit can introduce you to a world of acceptance and new friendship.
MindOut is a mental health service run by and for lesbians, gay, bisexual, trans, and queer people. Their vision is a world where the mental health of LGBTQ communities is a priority, free from stigma, respected and recognised. They do this by:
Listening to and responding to the LGBTQ experience of mental health
Offering hope through positive relationships and professional expertise
Preventing isolation, crisis and suicidal distress in LGBTQ communities
Providing safe spaces for people to meet and support each other
Helping people protect their rights and get their voices heard
Campaigning and creating conversations about LGBTQ mental health throughout the world
MindOut is needed because LGBTQ people:
do not get the support they need for their mental health from mainstream services
often feel isolated from LGBTQ communities
face additional discrimination, exclusion and minority stress
deserve a space where their identities are recognised and understood
Top tips
Whether you have children or not, you should educate yourself on how to make coming out a positive experience.
Do not pass on your discrimination to the children in your life — if everyone is inclusive now, the next generation will turn out inclusive. It’s that simple!
If you wouldn’t ask about someones sex life before, don’t ask now.
If you want details — ask google. We are not an encyclopedia of sexual orientation and shouldn’t need to explain this to everyone we meet.
Sexual orientation does not mean that you find every person of that sex attractive.
Sexual orientation is not a fun fact to be pulled out in ‘get to know you’ games or after a few drinks.
If we’re not close, it’s not okay for you to joke about my sexuality.
And finally… It’s never your place to reveal someone’s sexual orientation to other people.
* Forbes
† History.com Stonewall Riots | https://medium.com/an-injustice/sexuality-stigma-discrimination-why-do-people-even-care-8051e025b295 | [] | 2020-11-28 22:06:46.511000+00:00 | ['LGBT', 'Mental Health', 'Discrimination', 'Pride'] |
The #Giving Tuesday Fundraising Campaign | #GivingTuesday’s 4thannual campaign this December 1, 2015, was created by 92 Y and the United Nations Foundation in 2012. Online donations have increased substantially from year to year. Last year’s donations were estimated at $45.7 million.
The campaign is a way for nonprofits to join over 30,000 participating organizations, foundations and corporations in catapulting charitable fundraising and charitable awareness. Through the online exposure of Giving Tuesday, nonprofits can draw attention to their own mission and campaigns while raising money.
Nonprofits have done everything from flash dances, water dunks[i], bake-a-thons, and family and friend donation challenges as part of their outreach. So what are some of the best strategies for #GivingTuesday?
Web-driven Messaging Giving Tuesday is social media driven, and an increasing number of people donate online. Tailoring your message to this audience is crucial. Hashtagging alone will not bring in donations, therefore messaging needs to be about concrete actions and ways to drive people to support your cause.
Planning ahead[ii] and developing messages that work in different mediums is key. Think about what you want to say via video, social media, email, text and your website. A coordinated campaign across these media will increase traffic to your donation page, so make sure that page is attractive, branded and clear.
In addition to message development for multiple distribution channels and planning, here are other ways to ensure success:
Get organized early: develop a time-line, schedule your content and determine who will implement your campaign.
Run a complementary campaign or a year-end campaign[iii] alongside Giving Tuesday, e.g. mention winter meals or sweaters needed in January or your current campaign goal of raising money to send a child to school.
Use relevant hashtags and/or creative hashtags to connect to your organization and campaign.
Video: kickoff the Giving Tuesday campaign, summarize your mission or thank donors by using your videos as part of your content to share online.
Make your website and donation pages scalable and accessible on mobile and tablets.
Donation Page: create a new donation page, or update your page for Giving Tuesday — keep the style consistent with your image and use your logo. Make it easy to navigate and reiterate your campaign cause and goals, and explain with visuals how the donors’ gift helps. Care’s donation page is attractive with its bright colors and images and allows donors to easily enter an amount they would like to contribute.
Social Media Success The #GivingTuesday campaign hashtag connects your organization to the global movement, meaning great exposure. Since many organizations participate, joining in local campaigns or running your own creative campaign hashtag in conjunction will target your message further and help your nonprofit stand out. Connect your nonprofit to the state and city level movements like #ILgive or #DCgivesmore. Last year the number of tweets with #GivingTuesday was 754,600.
Another popular component of the campaign is the #unselfie hashtag, which was a clever play off the popularity of the “#selfie” social media trend, and appealed to millennial and other social media savvy donors. Last year on Instagram, there were 7,500 #unselfie and #GivingTuesday posts. The Michael J. Fox Foundation found success by sharing their donors’ #unselfie photos on Instagram and other social media. They raised $348,201 and had a donor give a $100,000 match last year. Here are some images from #unselfie.
Tangible Goals & Multiple Gift Options Setting tangible goals[iv] is a great contribution motivator — donors like knowing exactly how their gifts are used, and can share the experience with others. Make your goal[v] and share progress over the course of the campaign.
World Bicycle Relief’s 2014 goal was to sponsor 500 bikes for African students. They surpassed their goal, raising enough funds for 754 bikes. Another great tangible goal setter is Heifer International. They use interactive donation pages with colorful visuals and graphics, and show potential donors gift options. For example, you can choose to put your money towards a chicken or a rabbit, and learn more about how each will help.
Donors may want to contribute, but may not be able or may not want to give monetary gifts. Having other gift options[vi] available will still help your cause and involve donors by making them more likely to contribute to your nonprofit’s causes in the future. For example, Phoenix house encouraged donors to share their time and write a letter to those in recovery. If your organization offers objects and supplies to those in need like food, clothing, bikes, etc., consider having a drive or asking donors to give a particular item, or to volunteer their time.
Video Incorporate video as a means to launch your Giving Tuesday campaign, support your mission and thank donors. Have a story to tell and try narrating from a different perspective, like the donors or stakeholders themselves. Use video to establish a greater emotional connection by showing the people involved in your cause.
Boston Hospital used one of their beneficiaries to help announce their Giving Tuesday campaign.
Rotary International used giving Tuesday as a time to thank donors and showcase how their contributions have helped reach the organization’s goals, instead of just focusing on content that asked for donations.
Donor Appreciation Thanking donors[vii] and recognizing their contributions, like Habitat for Humanity’s 2014 campaign did with their website, makes donors feel appreciated and more involved in your nonprofit’s fundraising cause. Habitat used a side bar that showed their top donors and team contributions.
Video can be an excellent medium through which to thank donors. Partners Relief and Development created a great compilation video to show their appreciation.
What to Avoid in Your Next Campaign
Not using mobile[viii]: mobile donations are increasing, so make use of this growing donor preference. Check out how Africare uses Text2Give to accept donations via texting that charges phone providers.
Lack of visibility[ix]: avoid text, colors and format that are difficult to read and low in contrast. Make fonts and forms large and clear, and use colors for variation and interest.
Making it just too hard[x]: user profiles and logins, multiple forms or long forms and questionnaires make donating painful. Keep donation forms simple, avoid logins and don’t require too much personal information upfront — that’s what follow-up questionnaires do to learn more about your donors.
Bombarding your donors: Giving Tuesday is a large social media campaign and it is likely other organizations will be participating and contacting your same donors — don’t overdo your campaign outreach. Instead limit the amount of messages you send out, and make them succinct. Also, don’t just ask for money. Vary your content or consider asking for non-monetary contributions.
Asking for contributions only on Giving Tuesday[xi]: use Giving Tuesday as part of a larger end of the year, or year round giving campaign that can continue past Dec. 1st. Participate in other giving days like #GiveLocal[xii]. Use Giving Tuesday to gain momentum for your goals, not as your only fundraising campaign.
Not thanking donors: it is a big deal for someone to choose to donate to an organization; they want to feel like they have helped a good cause and that their help was appreciated. Thank donors via your website, personal letters and emails, or through social media or videos. This helps increase donor retention for future causes, too.
Disregarding corporate partnerships: some of the largest amounts of funds raised were because of donation and gift matching from corporations[xiii] and foundations. Look for partnerships and promote these partnerships in your campaign to encourage others to help you reach joint goals while tapping into a new network as well. Cross-promoting online will help both parties involved.
References [i] 29 Ideas for #GivingTuesday 2015 you haven’t thought of; #8: http://www.wholewhale.com/tips/29-ideas-for-giving-tuesday/
[ii]Planning Ahead for a Successful Fundraising Event Like #GivingTuesday: https://www.arkapanaconsulting.com/socialmediaforsuccesfulonlinefundraisingdays/
[iii] 6 Tips to Maximize Your #GivingTuesday Campaign; #3 Integrate Your Larger Narrative: http://www.classy.org/blog/6-tips-to-maximize-your-givingtuesday-campaign/
[iv] 29 Ideas for #Givingtuesday 2015 you haven’t thought of; #25: http://www.wholewhale.com/tips/29-ideas-for-giving-tuesday/
[v] 6 Tips to Maximize Your #GivingTuesday Campaign; #1 Clear Goals: http://www.classy.org/blog/6-tips-to-maximize-your-givingtuesday-campaign/
[vi] 12 Ways to Amplify Your Giving Tuesday Campaign; #11 Ask for non-monetary contributions: http://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/amplify-giving-tuesday-campaign-list
[vii] Best Practices for #GivingTuesday; #10 Make Supporters the Stars: http://www.givingtuesday.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/GivingTuesday-Tips-for-Facebook.pdf
[viii] 7 Most Costly Sins of Donation Forms; #1 No mobile experience for donation forms: http://npengage.com/nonprofit-fundraising/7-most-costly-sins-of-donation-forms-infographic/
[ix] 7 Most Costly Sins of Donation Forms; #2 Disregard for the visually impaired: http://npengage.com/nonprofit-fundraising/7-most-costly-sins-of-donation-forms-infographic/
[x] 7 Most Costly Sins of Donation Forms; # 3 Too many donation form fields: http://npengage.com/nonprofit-fundraising/7-most-costly-sins-of-donation-forms-infographic/
[xi] 3 Ways to Avoid a #GivingTuesday Hangover: http://www.nonprofithub.org/aroundtheweb/3-ways-to-avoid-a-givingtuesday-hangover/
[xii] Planning Ahead for a Successful Fundraising Event Like #GivingTuesday: https://www.arkapanaconsulting.com/socialmediaforsuccesfulonlinefundraisingdays/
[xiii] 29 Ideas for #Givingtuesday 2015 you haven’t thought of; #28: http://www.wholewhale.com/tips/29-ideas-for-giving-tuesday/ | https://medium.com/communications-4-good/the-giving-tuesday-fundraising-campaign-33a7765da95e | ['Ensemble Media'] | 2015-12-03 16:59:30.222000+00:00 | ['Philanthropy', 'Nonprofit', 'Fundraising'] |
So Long | Three years of dark
Any whites turned to black
Faded gradually
As I saw no more light deep in the soul
Three years of depressed
Live in anxiety
Fearness rising from the inside
Still worthless, for what I've done
And I tried to close my tragic chapter
Searched for the solution
Stopped the screams
I was about to an end
Prayers and tears
Million of them coloring nights
When I see my white shadow left me behind
Alone and afraid
Too black to feel my wish
But she told me of my journey life
She taught me how to survive
She tried to close any leaked here
Well, I was still wondering
Times drove me to my ever tragedies
I was in,
Trapped
Dying
And...
And she asked me to keep trying
When I knew I had no more strengths
She never left me
Keep drawing my hopes
Since she believes I will be in my future someday
So long...
It began when I could feel myself there
Holding my hands
Keep me in trust
Never go by
So long
And good bye
You are my anxiety
You are my fearness
You are my depressed
So long
Until then I will face another troubles
Nightmare has riden me to the truth as who I am
Shouldn't be afraid anymore
She set me free
She washed away the sorrow
She trust me more than who she really is
I learn how to live when I trully fall down six feet under
So long
Now the smiles come along
Light up the dark soul
Coloring my eyes
I left my evil mind
And begin to write a happy ending story
Creating imagination turns to reality
In my fiction
Next to her eighteen
Behind of two
In front of that nineteen...
Right of this ninety seven in my diary
So long... | https://medium.com/@breakingreza/so-long-7eb72d40abe9 | ['Reza Fahlevi'] | 2021-01-24 06:03:13.731000+00:00 | ['Life Journey', 'Poetry', 'Poem', 'Love', 'Trust'] |
Danos Irreversíveis | 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/ted-uneb/danos-irrevers%C3%ADveis-920ff37d6b90 | [] | 2020-12-07 15:28:30.568000+00:00 | ['Fake News'] |
Last in decency/ first in line. At last, non partisan consensus. | Photo by Mufid Majnun on Unsplash
At last, non partisan consensus.
The other day we had the great fortune to witness our beloved politicians receiving their covid 19 vaccination shots.
You could almost hear that collective sigh of relief around the country.
Now we can all stop worrying that our country might possibly be rendered rudderless, lest one of our fine and dedicated “public servants” contract the virus and prematurely buy the farm.
(Let the record show that I’m being extremely polite when I use the word “premature”.)
Some of these folks were past their expiration date at the turn of the last century.
As we know, it’s become almost de rigueur these days to host super spreader events in the Washington.
You ain’t nobody until you’ve made the front page by shooting the rest of the country a big fat D.C. Bird.
At least the people at the top are safe now.
And isn’t that the American way?
So now that our feckless leaders are safe, who’s next in line.
That would be the entire staff of the Walter Reed Medical Center and the Office of the Attending Physician, of course.
You never know. Maybe a rogue health care worker decided to play Russian Roulette and throw a few complimentary placebos into the Congressional vaccine mix. To hell with the vote, let Fate take the wheel.
And then the next set of essential workers would obviously be the lobbyists on K Street.
They do write our laws after all. We would be lost without them.
Perhaps Trump will even have a little fun before he is finally escorted out of the White House.
To all of his cronies, that he hasn’t already thrown under the bus, he can ask: pardon or vaccine?
Once this pathetic show of fake patriotism is over and the front of the line has been sold to the high dollar donors ,we can get to the lesser of us.
You know, the real essential workers.
Doctors, nurses, police and fire, teachers, the elderly etc.
You voted for em folks. | https://medium.com/@snarkwell/essential-vs-non-essential-46a8a70ed5fb | [] | 2020-12-26 19:16:00.258000+00:00 | ['Trump', 'Congress', 'Humor', 'Political Satire', 'Covid 19'] |
Linear Regression Part II — using Gradient Descent Algorithm | Gradient Descent approach
Introduction:
In this article we will learn about Linear Regression using an algorithm called Gradient Descent[GD]. Please check the below link to get an overview of Linear Regression using SSE → https://medium.com/@nandinisekar27/linear-regression-part-i-cc1a19a3591e
Now lets get into our topic, the word Gradient means “slope” and Descent means an “act of moving downwards”. GD performs multiple iterations to find the point at which is slope is 0 or minimal. Hence it can be framed as a “first order iterative optimization technique to find the minimum of a function”.
Predicted Y value
Where Y hat[predicted Y] is replaced in the function above
Thereby if we substitute different values of “m” and “c” each time we will arrive at different set of functions, all those when plotted results in a “convex” shaped graph and the lowest point of that curve is what we need to find.
Flow of Gradient Descent Convex Graph
The small blue circles in the above figure represents the learning rate or the speed at which the point moves from one position to another to find the global minima. There may be more than one minima in a graph, all the minima’s are referred as “Local Minima” the point where the slope is 0 or close to 0 is referred as “Global Minima”
Steps Involved:
Calculate y actual and y predicted values. Calculate their difference and square them up.(Refer little above for the function) Substitute values for slope-“m” and intercept-“c” in the function, for every value in x the Mean of Squares is calculated:
4. Initially we can take m and c values as 0. Learning Rate-0.001(blue circles in figure above) this is handled depending on how the value of m /slope is varying at each point.
5. Learning rate should be minimum for good accuracy.
6. We need to substitute the values of “m” and “c” in the partial derivative of the function. Once with respect to “m” and next with respect to “c” the partial derivatives are found, for the above function.
7. Updating the values of m and c for each iteration, this process is continued until minimum value of the function(0 slope value) is found, so that the error is 0% and accuracy is 100%
Conclusion:
With this we have come to an end of this article. We learnt about how “gradient descent” helps in finding the global minimum point by taking iterative approach in linear regression model. GD algorithm is not only for linear regression, used in various other algorithms as well.
Disadvantages of Linear Regression:
If the data we are going to operate on is non linear, then it will be inappropriate to implement linear regression algorithm.
2. This is prone to Bias trade off and Variance problem.
Please wait for my next post which is on Error metrics, Bias and Variance problems!
Happy Learning! :) | https://medium.com/@nandinisekar27/linear-regression-part-ii-using-gradient-descent-algorithm-887c3e482c89 | ['Nandini Sekar'] | 2020-08-21 19:16:06.492000+00:00 | ['Linear Regression', 'Gradient Descent'] |
Lil Nas X — MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name) Lyrics | The New English Song MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name) Lyrics by Lil Nas X. The video song directed by Tanu Muino & Lil Nas X. The song MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name) Lyrics written by Lil Nas X.
MONTERO Song Info:
Singer:- Lil Nas X
Lyrics:- Lil Nas X
Production Company:- UnderWonder Content
MONTERO Lyrics:
[Verse 1]
I caught it bad yesterday
You hit me with a call to your place
Ain’t been out in a while anyway
Was hopin’ I could catch you throwin’ smiles in my face
Romantic talkin’? You don’t even have to try
You’re cute enough to fuck with me tonight
Lookin’ at the table, all I see is weed and white
Baby, you livin’ the life, but nigga, you ain’t livin’ right
[Pre-Chorus]
Cocaine and drinkin’ with your friends
You live in the dark, boy, I cannot pretend
I’m not fazed, only here to sin
If Eve ain’t in your garden, you know that you can
[Chorus]
Call me when you want, call me when you need
Call me in the morning, I’ll be on the way
Call me when you want, call me when you need
Call me out by your name, I’ll be on the way like
READ FULL LYRICS | https://medium.com/@nikts9741/lil-nas-x-montero-call-me-by-your-name-lyrics-7aa1b0468025 | [] | 2021-04-04 05:59:54.247000+00:00 | ['Songs', 'English', 'Lyrics', 'New Song', 'Lil Nas X'] |
Demand Forecasting using R | Demand Forecasting refers to the process of predicting the future demand for the company’s products and channels to cater customers effectively.
The ever changing world is characterized by risk and uncertainty, and most of the business decisions are taken under this scenario. Through demand forecasting companies mitigate risk through efficacious planning for scenarios pertaining to excess inventory and lost opportunity.
Predicting the future demand for a product helps the organization in making decisions in one of the following areas:
Planning and scheduling the production and changing strategies dynamically
Formulating a pricing and promotional strategy.
Planning advertisement and its implementation.
Hiring employees to cater customer demand
Demand forecasting has great significance in the businesses where large-scale production is involved. Since the large-scale production requires a long gestation period, a good deal of forward planning should be done.
Business Case
Let’s look at a demand forecasting real time scenario using a business case of forecasting weekly website visits for a certain ecommerce retailer. To drive customers on website, the marketing team of ecommerce retailer makes investments in marketing certain channels. Historically the investment data is available for us, for future weeks if data isn’t available it needs to be extrapolated.
Data with External Variables (captured internally)
Data Dictionary
Forecasting Method : ARIMAX
The ARIMA (auto-regressive integrated moving average) model makes forecasts based only on the historical values of the forecasting variable. The model assumes that the future values of a variable linearly depend on its past values, as well as on the values of past (stochastic) shocks. An Auto-regressive Integrated Moving Average with Explanatory Variable (ARIMAX) model can be viewed as a multiple regression model with one or more auto-regressive (AR) terms and/or one or more moving average (MA) terms. This method is suitable for forecasting when data is stationary/non stationary, and multivariate with any type of patterns in the data viz. level/trend /seasonality/cyclicity.
ARIMAX is related to the ARIMA technique but, while ARIMA is suitable for datasets that are univariate. ARIMAX is suitable for analysis where there are additional exogenous variables usually in numeric format.
In this article, we are trying to gauge customer demand through website visits. Henceforth, time series of website visit variable is created and forecasted. The daily level data is aggregated at week level and then forecasting is done at a week level for upcoming quarter weeks.
The external variables which are available are investment made in marketing channels such as online advertising, social media etc which lead to customers visiting website and buying products. The promotional heat captures the intensity of relative intensity of promotions at week level.
Dummy variables are created to capture spikes and troughs happening on seasonal events such as Black Friday and Christmas
Data Preparation
Assumption : If we have the data for investments made then we use it, otherwise through phasing the future data is extrapolated through below steps.
Budget/spend calculation for forecast period.
To calculate budget distribution, we will be taking two series into consideration. Actual spend distribution of same quarter last FY. We also need total budget allocation for the upcoming quarter. Calculate share of spend for entire quarter of variables for last quarter. Take the total sum of individual spends. Convert it in the percentage by dividing it with total spend for that particular quarter. Calculate the weekly percentage distribution of spend for each spend variable for the same quarter of last FY. As there are 13 data points for one quarter, we need to divide spend for that particular variable in 13 parts equally for all the weeks. Use the same percentage distribution for finding the numerical values of weekly spend for upcoming quarter.
Modelling Steps
Include the necessary forecast and data manipulation libraries
library(forecast)
library(dplyr)
Creation of train and test data splits for the model
mydata<-mydata[1:143,]
mytest<-mydatafull[144:169,]
Visitss = ts(mydata$Visits.TT, frequency=52)
Plotting of ACF and PACF graph of the time series
withoutblank<-(complete.cases(Visitss))
ns <-ndiffs(withoutblank, max.d=2)
tsdisplay(Visitss)
ADF test for the stationarity of the time series
adf.test(Visitss)
Regressor Standardization of the budget and other predictor variables to make them unit free
reg_data<-scale(mydata)
reg_data[is.na(reg_data)]<-0
reg_data<-as.data.frame(reg_data) reg_test<-scale(mytest)
reg_test[is.na(reg_test)]<-0
reg_test<-as.data.frame(reg_test)
Calling the ARIMAX function with desired variables according to significant impact on the time series
fit<-auto.arima(Visitss,xreg=reg_data[reg_list])
predictc<-forecast(fit,xreg=reg_test[reg_list])
predicted<-as.data.frame(predictc)
MAPE calculation and finding the best fitted model
mapecal<-mape(mytest$`Visits.TT`[1:7],predicted$`PointForecast`[1:7]) mapecal
ACF and PACF graphs creation of the residuals
arima_Con_residule <- residuals(fit)
tsdisplay(arima_Con_residule)
Ljung-Box test for the normality of the residuals
Box.test(arima_Con_residule, lag = 16,fitdf= 1 ,type =”Ljung”)
Forecast Result
Forecasts compared with last year actuals in same time frame
Accuracy Calculation
The metric used for measuring accuracy is mean absolute percentage error (mape). Accuracy would be (100-mape). Below is the mape function:
mape<-function(actual,predicted){
return(mean(abs((actual-predicted)/actual)*100)) }
Complete Code
Other Forecasting Techniques
Some other forecasting techniques which can be alternatively used are XGBoost and RNNs.
RNNs : It requires large amount of data and time for optimum learning and the results are not fully inferential in terms of confidence intervals.
XGBoost : Tends to give results which are smoothened thereby reducing error but it doesn’t capture peaks and troughs convincingly.
References
https://www.r-bloggers.com/forecasting-arimax-model-exercises-part-5/ | https://medium.com/brillio-data-science/demand-forecasting-using-r-fbdbefd15318 | ['Ashwarya Ashiya'] | 2019-11-19 10:44:03.917000+00:00 | ['Arima', 'Time Series Analysis', 'Forecasting', 'Data Science', 'Time Series Forecasting'] |
Faces of Nuna: Divya Korgaonker | Illustration by Jesus Chico
What’s your role at Nuna and what do you do?
I am a Health Data Analyst on the customer solutions team at Nuna. As a team, we engage with payers and providers to understand their pain points with respect to managing value-based contracts, scope out their requirements and configure and adapt our products to meet their needs. One of the key drivers for the shift from fee-for-service to value-based care is providing payers and health systems with tools to track and monitor contract performance while also enabling them to measure progress on closing care gaps and improving patient outcomes.
In this role, I am working closely with our product implementation teams to onboard clients to our value platform while also providing inputs for future development work and informing product roadmaps.
What drew you to join Nuna’s team?
People, purpose and position.
People — During my interviews with Nuna, I got the opportunity to interact with people from different functions and what struck me through those conversations, was the genuine passion for transforming healthcare and turning challenges into opportunities for fueling innovation and growth. Coming into this role, my expectations were well set!
Purpose — Nuna was founded with a deep sense of purpose — to help make high-quality healthcare affordable and accessible for everyone. I believe in the mission of the company and the need to support other Nunas out there with better healthcare experiences. What can be more fulfilling than impacting real lives through your work?
Position — This role is a natural extension to my prior work — building population health management solutions to enable health systems and care teams transform care delivery and improve patient outcomes. I am excited about the opportunity to continue contributing to the field of value-based care, working on challenging problems with our team of incredibly talented and accomplished Nunas!
What is your ideal work environment?
I enjoy working in a collaborative, engaging and ownership-driven environment. As a data analyst, my role involves working with cross-functional stakeholders and collaboration plays a key role in being able to collectively work towards a goal. I enjoy the process of learning through different perspectives which sometimes serves as a valuable input to my own work and sparks an alternative way of thinking about problems. Another motivator for me is an environment where during the decision-making process, questions are encouraged and opinions and/or suggestions are well-received. Last but not the least, an own-it culture rooted in trust to always do the right thing.
In a world filled with wonder, where would you most like to travel and why?
Watch the ‘goraikou’ (sunrise) at Mt. Fuji summit. The experience of hiking at high elevation in a rocky terrain will be challenging but I have heard that the views are rewarding. Also, mountains make me feel peaceful.
With which of the 6 Nuna values do you identify the most and why?
Rise by lifting others: It recognizes our collective responsibility to build a culture grounded in respect, compassion and inclusion which enables Nunas to do their best work.
Our products in healthcare data analytics serve the needs of such a diverse group of people that inclusivity can help us tap into the collective expertise of folks and educate our product features as we strive to create cost-effective and high-quality healthcare experiences for the people we serve. | https://blog.nuna.com/faces-of-nuna-divya-65e06c199c64 | [] | 2020-12-10 19:45:04.081000+00:00 | ['Values', 'Startup', 'Culture', 'Data Science', 'Team'] |
Loneliness in lockdown | My thoughts and feelings of the first lockdown
An empty carriage during lockdown
Now we’re coming to the end of the year, I thought I would write about three central themes of 2020 for me; loneliness, loss, and losing it. The Ls, guess I’m just a sucker for alliteration.
When did the lockdown actually start? It all really happened in stages. The way Coronavirus slowly made it’s way, from China to Italy, to us in the UK. With ever increasing interventions, added restrictions. The idea of lockdown kind of developed and evolved for people at different times.
For me, lockdown really became a material concept on Monday 16th March. That was the day the Prime Minister asked us all to avoid social contact, that we should avoid pubs, restaurants, clubs, and theatres. That was also my last day at the office. A weird, confusing day that ended with the Prime Ministers press conference, with one colleague heading to their family home and another in complete, and understandable, denial at how bad the situation was becoming. I remember that I ended up shouting at them, worried that my Dad could catch it and become ill. Turns out I was right to be worried, but for different reasons. But we were all confused and stressed. Lockdown was approaching, we were panicking, and we went home not knowing when we would be back.
I’ll be honest, not having to wake up to commute to work was a somewhat attractive, novel idea at first. The idea we were living through a deadly pandemic, but to do our bit all we had to do was stay inside was felt good, felt like it was easy to do our bit, play your part. I felt absolutely privileged to be one, employed when so many friends were losing their jobs, but two, being able to do my job from home. I will always have complete admiration for the healthcare workers who have helped us every step of the way through this pandemic. But also, the supermarket staff, while everyone was panic buying bags of penne were helping keep the country fed. You even appreciate the small things, like the bins! The bins getting collected, a blessing, thank you to the bin men and women that still went on to keep our streets clear.
So we entered the lockdown, not knowing when it would end, not knowing how this pandemic would play out, but the idea we’d get through this, and we could play our part by sitting at home and watching Netflix over the next few weeks. Again, acknowledge what a privileged position I was in. No need to worry about my Dad, he was vulnerable but at home watching Netflix too, one of his seven children delivering a food shop to my parents’ doorstep.
The idea of lockdown entered my life from the 16th of March. But the idea of The Lockdown came when the Prime Minister addressed the country. Not a press conference, he addressed the nation. All channels showing the Prime Minister’s address. That we were only allowed to leave the house for a limited number of reasons. Only leave the house for one form on exercise. That non-essential shops were closed. That my parents’ shops were forced to close. This was serious. This was The Lockdown.
This post is about loneliness but it didn’t hit straight away. I felt very blessed to be able to keep in touch with so many friends, with my work colleagues, benefiting from the privileges of the internet and technology. I could still FaceTime my parents every day. I could call my friends whenever. It didn’t feel lonely. I was living in a house of five too. We were all very separate. No shared living space. All ensuite rooms. Some of us didn’t even know each others’ names, but it was comforting to know you were living in a house with others.
But then they started to leave. They started to lose their jobs. They moved back home to work from home there. I woke up one night at 1am to noise downstairs, one of my flatmates was running to go home, leaving a lot of stuff. He was nice, and then he was gone. I didn’t talk to them at all, bar the infrequent “alright?” but the comfort had gone in a few days. I was living alone, totally alone.
It was then I started to become aware of my loneliness. I lived in a beautiful part of London. Since I was a child moving to London was always a dream of mine, and living in the shadow of some of its most famous skyscrapers was a dream come true. I loved exploring the buildings, finding new, nearby green spaces. Taking my camera out, headphones in, letting the world pass by was bliss. But that was it. I had Zoom, I had Houseparty, but when you turn everything off you’re just starting back at yourself alone in your bedroom.
I realised the longest conversation I had during lockdown, with an actual human being, was asking for a carrier bag in Asda. And they are different. You do have a different connection with someone when you talk to them face-to-face versus over a laptop. I thrive off that connection. I hate being alone. I can enjoy my own company, but I enjoy being around others, just talking about anything. I realised I hadn’t said anything to anyone for days and weeks on end. That I could sing in the shower, that I can laugh over Zoom, but I just wasn’t talking to anyone, in the flesh, and being able to hear their voice respond to me. It’s hard to explain how you can feel so lonely yet still be in contact with so many. I used to roll my eyes at those concerned about the lockdown, and I still think the immediate health risk of Coronavirus was the priority, but I totally underestimated how hard it hits you, living in complete solitude for months on end.
I celebrated Eid alone. I’m not a massively religious man, if at all, but it did really bring home how mad it was to live through this. Instead, on Eid, I walked across London with my camera. Serene, but lonely nevertheless.
I’ve not added a lot about my mental health in this because I’m writing another piece on my mental health but mainly because I don’t want to be too dramatic. Being alone was really tough for so many. It was hard for me. But I don’t want to say it severely impacted my mental health because it didn’t. I got to go back to the office, which I love, in July. I was very fortunate that I could talk to a lot of my friends regularly. Getting back into work really saved me from feeling so alone. Seeing people, talking to people, just being around people was comforting. It was tough for me because I enjoy company, I enjoy being around people, but it wasn’t as tough as I know it was for others.
But my mental health did suffer, in part due to loneliness and isolation, towards the second half of the year, and due to events I’ll explain in my next post. But in this post, I wanted to explore my version of loneliness in lockdown. | https://medium.com/@salman-anwar/loneliness-in-lockdown-d1c28de2807a | ['Salman Anwar'] | 2020-12-20 20:51:27.666000+00:00 | ['London', 'Lockdown', 'Covid 19'] |
You deserve better ! | You deserve better !
Dont we hear this phrase too often ?
I am serious about it this time!
You are a beautiful man with the purest soul ! You live to the fullest but am I stopping you ?
Sounds weird yeh? Day by day, it seems. like you feel suffocating! Not because of anything but the excess amount of love i give, the possessiveness, the fear i have of losing you , the unconditional care! Are these things becoming a burden on you? I can see you drowning, in your own thoughts and blaming yourself!
I dont want to bound you within me,
I want you to explore, to love others, to make other bonds ! You are bounded within me as if i am stopping you to discover yourself!
This is not love !? Or is it ?
I want you to love me , not at any cost but simply without any selfishness or boundaries!
Years from now , sitting at your couch holding your favorite coffee, would you blame me for your insecurities? Would you wonder YOU DESERVED BETTER ? That i have hurt you , maybe unintentionally but i did!? Isn’t it tough for you now to move on and blame me ?
Isnt love the purest thing and everyone deserves the best they can have?
My insecurities, my pain, my feelings, my heart, my problems ! No you don’t deserve to deal with them, yeah you deserve to be loved and pampered too!
. AD | https://medium.com/@uxjxrbw/you-deserve-better-cfb096825ef1 | ['Avany'] | 2020-12-16 18:03:39.612000+00:00 | ['Feelings', 'Boyfriend', 'Feels', 'Girlfriend', 'Broken'] |
The Two Sides of Charlottesville | by: Kat Martin
This past October, I had the chance to visit one of my close friends in Harrisonburg, Virginia. Instead of dealing with the sequel of last semester’s Zoom university, she was participating in a co-op that was roughly 45 minutes out of Charlottesville. Staying home this semester made me miss college life, so I took a COVID test, waited for the negative results, then headed down for a weekend trip to visit my friend.
I didn’t really know what to expect with Charlottesville. I had been to northern Virginia but didn’t know too much about the western part of the state. I had friends who’d considered attending the University of Virginia, all of whom loved the town, but I was still somewhat skeptical of Charlottesville. I remembered the summer of 2017, when the ‘Unite the Right Rally’ devolved into a white supremacy march in downtown Charlottesville. Seeing clips of white men with torches march together was, and still is, terrifying to me. I also thought about Heather Hayer, a counter-protester who was run over and killed. With all that in the back of my mind, I really didn’t know what type of climate we would be walking into.
Despite our apprehension, my friend and I went into Charlottesville with an open mind. And from the minute we got there, we could feel how tight-knit this community is. The downtown area of Charlottesville is almost completely filled with small businesses. Business owners would ask loyal customers about their friends and family, wishing them good health. People from all walks of life seemed to live in and around the town. When walking in downtown Charlottesville, we saw LGBTQ+ flags flying on the corner of stores, Black Lives Matter signs proudly displayed on business and residual windows, and ‘VOTE’ stickers plastered all over lamp posts and streetlights. This emphasis on inclusivity made me realize that Charlottesville is more than that infamous rally.
Everyone we interacted with was respectful and kind. While eating lunch at a local Italian place in downtown Charlottesville, our server suggested we sightsee the University of Virginia and drive through Shenandoah National Park before we left. Taking her advice, we walked around UVA’s college town, which reminded us of Ithaca.
The center of downtown Charolletsville is blocked-off to cars so that people can walk to the local shops and eat outside, which is especially helpful now that we’re all living in the COVID-era.
Much like in Ithaca, there was a sense of comradery between the local college town businesses and the students. Since neither of us is on campus this semester, it was nice feeling like a real college student again.
After we spent time shopping near UVA, we decided to head back to Harrisonburg via Shenandoah National Park. Part of what makes this National Park unique is that it covers most of western Virginia so visitors can actually drive through the park.
Not too far from Charlottesville is Shenandoah National Park, which has breathtaking views like the one pictured above.
Since it was early fall, we saw the beautiful rolling hills begin to turn from evergreen to vibrant shades of red and orange. Ending our trip with this scenic drive gave us time to reflect on our brief time in Charlottesville.
What I liked most about Charlottesville is that it doesn’t let the Unite the Right Rally define it. Once you visit the town, it seems almost impossible that such a hateful event could’ve happened there. In a lot of ways, it showed me that what happened in Charlottesville could happen anywhere. Even though places like Charlottesville have taken strides to promote inclusivity, the white supremacy march is a constant reminder that more work still needs to be done to address systemic hate and oppression in this country. | https://medium.com/@guacmag/the-two-sides-of-charlottesville-4160fc8c6a8b | ['Guac Magazine Editors'] | 2020-12-03 16:57:09.724000+00:00 | ['Shenandoah Valley', 'University Of Virginia', 'Online School', 'White Supremacy', 'Charlottesville'] |
Aleph Farms and BRF Partner to Bring Cultivated Meat to Brazil | Aleph Farms and BRF Partner to Bring Cultivated Meat to Brazil Aleph Farms Mar 4·3 min read
The partnership furthers our growth strategy of integrating into the existing global food ecosystem, enabling greater positive impact.
We’re thrilled to announce that we have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with BRF S.A., a global Brazilian meat and food company, to bring cultivated meat to Brazilian tables. Under this new agreement, together we will co-develop and produce cultivated meat using our patented production platforms (BioFarm™). BRF will also distribute our cultivated beef products in Brazil. This partnership will strengthen BRF’s supply chain and reduce its environmental impact, while diversifying the company’s product offering to meet the growing consumer demands for a variety of meat products.
“We are thrilled to join forces with BRF, a global food and meat industries leader. This new partnership advances Aleph Farms’ strategy to integrate into the existing ecosystem as part of our go-to-market plans. Leveraging the expertise and infrastructure of leading food and meat companies will drive a faster scale-up of cultivated meat and eventually lead to a broader positive impact. As one of the largest beef producers in the world, Brazil is a strategic market for us. We have been impressed by the strong commitment from BRF management to innovation and sustainability. We are convinced that shared values are the key to a successful long-term partnership,” shares Didier Toubia, Co-Founder and CEO of Aleph Farms.
BRF is one of the largest meat producers in the world, with over 30 brands in its portfolio. Reporting revenue of approximately BRL 39 billion (approximately USD 7.25 billion) and investing over BRL 155 million in 2020 (approximately USD 28.81 million) in projects to reduce environmental impact, the partnership with us is part of BRF‘s 2030 Vision strategy. Unveiled in December 2020, the initiative is expected to garner revenues in excess of BRL 100 billion by 2030 (approximately USD 18.5 billion). “BRF is ready and charged to play a leading role in this food revolution and be an active participant in one the greatest industry transformations of this generation,” enthuses Lorival Luz, CEO of BRF. “Since 2014, we have witnessed an increasing global demand for new sources of protein driven by several factors, namely environmental concerns, new diets and lifestyles, which has spurred the growth of new dietary genres including flexitarianism, vegetarianism and more,” Luz points out.
Beyond the commercial potential of cultivated meat in the Brazilian market, this alignment also enables our companies in the missions regarding sustainability and food security. Brazil recently reaffirmed to the UN (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change — UNFCCC) the country’s commitment to reducing total net greenhouse gas emissions by 43% in 2030. In April 2020, we committed to eliminating emissions associated with ourmeat production by 2025 and reach net-zero emissions across its entire supply chain by 2030. With livestock accounting for significant greenhouse gas emissions and demand for meat expected to continue growing, our partnerships with industry incumbents demonstrates how incorporating innovation into the local agricultural ecosystem can help companies and countries reach their climate goals.
“This is yet another step that strengthens the innovative journey of BRF to offer a choice of alternatives to consumers, optimize efficiency and at the same time reduce the strain on the production chain,” explains Sergio Pinto, Director of Innovation at BRF. “We are a food company that invests in advanced technology and respects and combines new trends associated with social and environmental sustainability. By producing high-quality sustainable cultivated meat, we can further establish our role as agents of transformation in the food industry, by offering the latest innovations in the production of meat,” adds Pinto. | https://medium.com/@alephfarms/aleph-farms-and-brf-partner-to-bring-cultivated-meat-to-brazil-b5606e403753 | ['Aleph Farms'] | 2021-03-04 12:10:18.244000+00:00 | ['Cultured Meat', 'Sustainability', 'Cultivated Meat', 'Food Systems', 'Impact'] |
Change the Channel | Photo by kazuend on Unsplash
This is to take stock of some of the ideas expressed in the context of webinar discussions on new trends in architecture, design and planning. A new set of vocabulary is emerging indicating a change. This new vocabulary may help in providing clarity on new approaches and interventions. This shift has stemmed from a quietened state of mind of a society that has so far functioned by measuring profit, winning, defeating, conquering, topping as its indicators of success. This quietening must be recognised and vocalised, so that it can show us a new path. Here’s a list of some of the shifts that may be useful to further develop as design parameters:
From Permanence to Impermanence:
A strong feeling that all material reality is of a transient nature. The cycle of creation, preservation and dissolution applies to every tangible and intangible reality. Recognising that things, buildings, cities go through this cycle should be part of every design brief. Design proposals could therefore address deterioration, aging, disintegration, collapse and eradication as part of the design resolution.
2. From Build to Conserve:
A realisation that there’s already too much ‘stuff’ in the world, that we have built much more that we need. Also, there’s so much that needs repair, upgrading, restoring and not necessarily demolishing and rebuilding. If the idea of preserving and maintaining is built into our every design intervention, we may find it more useful to build less and preserve more. Building less can be rewarded more, given more value and will then gain more acceptance.
3. From Cure to Care:
To move from a system that regards a design brief as a problem to be solved, to a system where the role of design is that of a carer. Where each and every action of our daily life are steered by a design philosophy of care rather than cure. Here again, ideas of preserving, maintaining, tending are part of a design process. This will mean that design is never ‘finished’ but is an ongoing process that sees the demise of the ‘solution’ through to its rebirth.
4. From Own to Borrow:
Ownership, claim, entitlement have lost their lustre and appeal, giving way to a socially dynamic idea of sharing. Design can facilitate uses of objects, spaces, land, that has the ability to endure multiple life-times. This will lead to dynamic objects and spaces. Demand of rentable and flexible housing is on the rise. Enhanced livability of cities will lower the demand of customised, single use spaces. This can be done, for example, by increasing the interiority of public spaces in a city to ample provide privacy and connectivity to its residents.
5. From Compete to Collaborate:
Competition as a method to encourage and assess excellence is fast becoming redundant. Competitive spirit where the focus is on winning can lead to destruction of good human values and erode the cement that binds teams. Competition helps to climb a ladder of success by forever testing the ability to perform a task outside of one’s role or even interest. Professors are asked to excel in administration in order to grow, good architects end up ‘managing’ offices as they expand their business. It should be possible to expand within the realm of one’s interest and expertise and join others in a collaborative way to grow bigger, rather than having to give up one’s strength and interests.
6. From Lead to Conduct:
Style of leadership is changing. A leader can no longer afford to being alone on top, miraculously churning out solutions that are pushed down in a dictatorial fashion. She must be a friend, an empath, a nurturer, a coach, a binder, a motivator….a tall order! Most of all, a leader must be that catalytic force that inspires one to contribute to the best of ones ability. This new leader can be described as a conductor of a musical composition, gently nudging each musician to excel in their contribution towards the larger sound of the composition.
7. From Add to Shed:
Trimming down one’s needs, wants and levels of consumption, which is enforced on us during the pandemic, is a useful lesson in lifestyle that we must continue. Collective fasting is as fulfilling as collective feasting. Controlling consumption may allow us a certain compactness of even thought and expression in design that may lead us to a new vocabulary. This new lean vocabulary of design will then stem from who we really are and what we really need as people. | https://medium.com/@vibhutisachdev/change-the-channel-387b2322c5c9 | ['Vibhuti Sachdev'] | 2020-12-05 14:02:23.470000+00:00 | ['Design Thinking', 'Sustainability', 'Pandemic Diaries', 'Education Reform', 'Life Hacking'] |
Hackathons 101 — and why you should consider going to one | I just returned home from my 6th hackathon in less than a year. It was a long, tiring, and amazing 24 hours — and totally worth it!
Every time I attend one of these events, it feels like I am getting a month’s worth of learning, all crammed into a single weekend.
On top of that I’ve met the most amazing people, built some cool projects (most of my portfolio outside of work), and incorporated a company. Which has been so worth it for a few hours of lost sleep here and there. 😊
I am definitely planning to attend more in the future, and, if you haven’t been to one yet, I hope you might consider it for the future.
Types of hackathons
There are many different types of hackathons, but they all have several things in common:
Time limit — usually between 8 and 48 hours
Theme — organizers will ask that you build a certain type of application (like Internet-of-Things) or they’ll tell you to use a certain technology
Prizes — generally awarded for the best overall applications and for apps that fit into certain categories, or use a certain technology
There is usually plenty of information online about the rules, judging, technologies, etc. It doesn’t take that long to read about the event and avoid surprises when you get there. Quite a few hackathons are for only for college students, and in those cases adults can sometimes attend as mentors, but not participants.
Several hackathons I’ve been to even had a Q&A or panel discussion first to talk about what they were looking for in app submissions. Some also have online boards to team up and get to know each other prior to the event. Meeting staff and participants early on helps to ease my social anxiety and give me a confidence boost.
FYI: Some of my favorite hackathons are Give Camp, Start-up Weekend, and Civic-minded local hacks. Let me know if there is another one I should attend!
Why should you go?
I already mentioned some reasons but here is a an overview:
Networking — This is a given. I’ve met politicians, business people, companies, developers, designers, and plenty of rockstars (figuratively, of course 😊) at these events. I’m shy, but I force myself to get out and meet at least a few people each time. I’ve never met someone I regret meeting at a hack! Portfolio — I have several solid, well-designed portfolio pieces that came out of hackathons. Some companies have talked to me because they liked what I built at one. Make sure you get on a team where you think you will fit in well and try to work on an idea you are passionate about or at least very interested in. Having a designer on the team is super helpful but I always try to look at some design inspiration before I go to one of these so I can whip up a layout and design doc if necessary. I think it’s good to treat every project as a potential portfolio app. Confidence — I’ve found it to be surprisingly common that new developers think their skills are sub-par and they won’t be able to make meaningful contributions to a team. Plenty of non-technical people are needed at these events and even people who want to code but only know HTML or CSS can help on a team. Teamwork — The importance of learning to work with other developers when you are new cannot be overstated. It’s very, very important. You learn to partition tasks, share a codebase, and get along in a sometimes stressful environment. Sometimes apps crash and things don’t work out. Sometimes you or your teammate will get tired or frustrated or grumpy. Going through this experience together forces you to learn how to work together through the good and the bad as a team. Communication Skills — As a good teammate, you should always be talking to your group. “I just pushed code, can you pull.” “I’m working on this…” “How are you doing with that?” “You seem frustrated, let’s take a walk and get some fresh air.” It forces you be open and explicit about what you are thinking and doing. More importantly, it makes you think about what’s going on around you and how your teammates are doing. Your communication skills will improve!
What to expect
Expect the unexpected. Things will go wrong with your code. Venues will be loud or really cold. You may need to pivot on your idea after you already started working on it.
The best thing you can do is to prepare as much as you can. Most hackathons (if they are 24+ hours) expect some participants to be staying overnight and they will have some couches to crash on.
In preparation for staying up very late (or overnight) it’s not a bad idea to bring extra warm clothes, a blanket and pillow (or, better, a sleeping bag), snacks, and energy beverages.
Before you leave your house, check and make sure you have extra headphones, chargers, and all the devices you are going to need as well as daily items that you use. Even if I live close, I don’t go home to sleep because I know I will sleep in and end up feeling lazy and losing time.
As for the coding part: knowing how to use generators or starter-kits can be a huge advantage going in. This can prevent a lot of headaches and wasted time and let you do more actual coding without beating your head against the wall getting things set up from scratch.
The less complicated your code is, the better: time is at a premium during these events and other people of various skill levels will likely be jumping in and coding with you.
If you want to do an ambitious mobile app, that’s great — as long as you are considering the time that it takes to set up and get all of the emulators up and running or devices working on whatever wifi they might have at that venue.
I’ve done web, mobile, and cloud projects at hackathons and web app are by far the fastest for me to set up and start building, even though I develop with cross-platform mobile and cloud solutions almost every day.
With a little planning, I am much more productive and end up having more fun (and getting more sleep!).
In short, go to a hackathon!
Let me know if you have any questions or if I missed something here. I would love to read about some of your experiences as well!
Now I’m going to catch up on some shut eye 😉 | https://medium.com/free-code-camp/hack-a-thons-101-why-you-should-consider-going-to-one-8b0c21923a98 | ['Gwendolyn Faraday'] | 2017-06-20 03:40:31.804000+00:00 | ['Hackathons', 'Tech', 'Startup', 'Technology', 'Web Development'] |
SafeZone: A web application mapping COVID and disaster related information for your state. | The premise is simple, when disaster strikes, what is your plan? Do you even have a plan? Does your plan account for different types of disasters? With SafeZone, you will feel safer knowing you have a plan of action when the worst moments strike.
Recently, I worked with a team to build a web app, with it’s goal being to deliver ongoing disaster related information to the user for their state of residence in the US. Along with current disaster related information, the app would also deliver 7 day moving averages for COVID positivity rates.
The scope of the project could potentially be very large with thousands of cities across the US, so we wanted to deliver an MVP that would start at the state level, to eventually be expanded further to major cities across the United States.
First, we needed to find a way to gather disaster data from a reliable and timely source. We came upon an API from FEMA that served this purpose quite nicely. It had historical disaster related data as well as current ongoing disasters. Our team wrote a script that would pull the required disaster data and we linked that data to a database to be extracted later.
Next, we looked for a source that had COVID related data. We settled on an API with the CDC that provided the 7 day moving average data we used. The next portion of our CDC data was to develop a model that could predict increases in the 7 day moving average 1 month and 2 months out. Without any prior seasonal lagging periods for COVID, we used previous winter flu rates as a substitute to map our positivity increases. With the flu data and current COVID data in hand, we built a simple SARIMA time series model that would forecast out 1 and 2 month ahead of time. Now we were ready to build that app.
We debated which framework to use to get our app displayed, we had narrowed down our choices to making a simple Streamlit app, or going with a more robust solution in Flask. The flask framework won out mainly because we wanted to expand our skillset and eventually have the styling capabilities to make a beautiful app.
The first iteration produced the screenshots below, where we had a form field that would take in the state the user wanted info on and a simple team page to showcase how handsome we were.
After a long night of debugging some pesky routing issues in flask, here is a demo of version one of our app SafeZone.
We learned a lot building this application, and could definitely expand upon the app by refining our data models for COVID predictions, adding in more granular search capabilities and getting the user a more ready make plan of action to take when disaster strikes. | https://medium.com/@christianmosley/safezone-a-web-application-mapping-covid-and-disaster-related-information-for-your-state-dfd99aeff04 | ['Christian Mosley'] | 2020-11-09 06:09:20.406000+00:00 | ['Covid 19', 'Flask Framework', 'Disaster Response', 'API', 'Flask'] |
To Know The Truth | M y date was from OKCupid, told me he was bipolar but “over it,” dragged me to three different bars, and didn’t even make out with me for my trouble.
So, in the dive we landed in last, I had no choice but to pick out someone else in the distance. I did the choking “save me” signal.
I don’t know what compelled me to choose him necessarily. I could barely see his outline with my glasses tucked slyly away. It was just a ray of comfort and approachability warming me up from across the room. Soon enough, what was moments before a mere beam of light turned out to be a tall, imposing specimen who tottered over, complete with shots of Patron. I was struck by his baritone ahem and leapt up.
“Hi, this is Daniel, he’s bipolar. I’m Michael, I have OCD,” I said quickly, repeating my therapist’s recent diagnosis (which actually explained a lot).
“Great, I’m Harvey. I have PTSD,” he said.
“Oh wow, yours is the best,” I declared.
Harvey was of Asian descent, shaved head, all in black — basically a flirting ninja, except that his intense upper body and moon-pie face precluded all stealth. I usually went for the hairier type, since I’m always in need of warmth, but Harvey’s confidence soon proved irresistible. He interrogated Daniel, sizing him up in alpha-male fashion.
“Have you kissed this boy yet?” Harvey asked him. “Why aren’t you kissing him yet?”
“Oh, stop, he doesn’t have to, this isn’t the 8th grade,” I said in the meek Daniel’s defense. Then I grabbed Harvey’s thigh under the table. Thank you, I mouthed.
Because really, I was more than hungry for sexual contact — I was crazed for it.
In fact, seven years since coming out of the closet with no action was the major contributor to my two daily pink and blue anxiety pills. The problems leading to this cold streak included shame for my pectus excavatum (Latin for ugly chest), horrible luck finding someone who could fill the “aggressive” role in bed, and worst of all, being stuck in childhood.
I moved home to Staten Island after graduating NYU — the gay bacchanal-that-wasn’t — and instantly picked up where I left off: buying toys for my room and fighting about curfew with my divorced Jewish mother.
Looking at Harvey, though, I suspected resolution. The swirling body scars crawling up his neck, as well as his full-body Japanese tattoos, showed life experience. He dazzled by saying he had worked in the CIA, visited over 50 countries, and flew in a plane with Condoleezza Rice. I was exhilarated — the adult table was within sight.
So, around my fourth drink, I said, I’m tired, left the bar with Daniel, and thanked him so much for the really nice time. Then I doubled back, swung open the bar door, and jumped into Harvey’s lap.
“Vee vant the secret to your allure, Harvey,” I said, digging a finger-gun under his chin.
“Ooh, violence and the comma-name construction. I’m so titillated,” he said, gleaming.
Then when he roughly pinned me against the stall in the bathroom, I knew I’d found a real match, not an OKCupid one. And when we met for our first date the next week, I learned the power of such an attraction.
“Yum,” he said, after hitting a corner deli to get some soup, strangely his favorite food. “Yum,” I repeated, like I was learning language. Then it was my turn to pin him against a wall.
“Don’t do that,” he said, crushingly.
I understood. We were in public. It looked weird.
“It’s not that, dope,” he said. “I’m being protective of you.”
He zipped up his sweatshirt to his neck like a caped crusader.
Finally, I beheld on that street corner what had been missing in my depressing gay life: a man.
Now, sure. It was weird when he revealed he didn’t exactly, per se, have a place to live. Taking some time for himself and using savings, it turned out that Harvey was renting different by-the-day sublets in Manhattan like an urban nomad. It also materialized that his PTSD from his “time in the CIA” — the job he quit but supposedly couldn’t talk about — was indeed a very real problem.
“Harvey, no, don’t,” I plead as he provoked a rentboy in a late-night diner a week later, ending in cursing and shoves. Nursing his hangover and regrets the next morning (and the next-next morning) became our main getting-to-know-you scenario.
But I craved it. I was finally feeling grown up. And more importantly, I was finally getting the one thing I’ve been dreaming of, aching for, and fantasizing myself to sleep about since puberty…
Regular. On-demand. Sex.
Each place and time was more intoxicating than the next, surprisingly not because of any sort of danger element, or the different apartments (although that was a nice pinch of cayenne) but because of its sheer reliability — its normalcy. He even seemed to understand my clothing hang-up, to cover my chest.
“You’re so cute,” he said as I was straddling him, pants at his knees.
“Say it again,” I said, starved for it.
“You’re. So. Fuckable,” he grunted, softly destroying me.
The only hiccup was he shut down during conflicts between us, the opposite of everything I knew from my combative, histrionic parents, who let the neighbors hear every disagreement. I learned Harvey’s parents didn’t even know he was gay, and he’d actually grown up in a physically abusive environment, so, naturally, he put up walls.
I persevered through the stony silences, however, left him alone with his headphones and Radiohead. Didn’t bug him when his responses lagged online.
And I’m sure it was because of this that six weeks and twice as many out-of-body experiences later, we landed under five portraits of Mary in his Murray Hill sublet with him asking me, really asking me: “So, wanna go steady?”
Streamers shot off in my head. I was sure I’d have to beg, write a persuasive letter, possibly a didactic play. Yet here I was in the power position. By some beautiful miracle, I was getting exactly what I wanted, what I thought I needed during this chaotic, aimless period.
Still, I didn’t say yes right away. “You have to change your Facebook photo,” I told him, referring to his underwear shot, the one that got him all his gay hangers-on I constantly had to chase off.
“Oy, it’s the same as wearing a bathing suit,” he said. Everything with him became a bigger philosophical debate, but as usual I was ready to rumble.
I needed everyone to see the hero I did.
That weekend, I waited at the bar for him, puffing out my chest the little I could, donning my best flannel was for our first night out as a real couple. I picked out a table in the middle. I knew Harvey usually liked to be in the corner behind the support beam, protected, but nope, not tonight. Tonight everyone would get a close-up view of my major post-grad accomplishment.
Harvey’s friend, Jorge, spotted me. “I hear congratulations are in order, Mr. Man-Catcher,” he said.
“He’s just as lucky!” I protested, not believing a word I said.
“Well, I just hope you’re not going to change him,” he said. “You know, dress him up like a white person or something.”
I had considered it. But then again, in the past few days I’d considered everything. Our wedding (all black — his color). Of my mother giving me away (that had to be clear). Of whose DNA we’d use for the kids (his, definitely his).
Fifteen minutes later, I checked my phone for the twentieth time. No texts or calls, which was annoying because I was getting tired. I’d been exhausted the past few days, actually, since I stopped taking my medication.
The decision had been impulsive. I should have talked it over with my doctor first. “Brain-spinning,” she called it. “We have to control the brain-spinning.” But I felt it was right. I was a little tired while on them, too, after all, and what was I supposed to do, take them my entire life? I was fine tonight. I was happy. I just hoped Harvey would show up soon, preferably during a swell in the music.
Then another half hour of staring into my beer. I really started to worry. And to suspect… something. My shine wore off. The bar was filling up and the big table I was claiming became harder and harder to keep ownership of.
“This seat is saved,” I said to one drag queen, who’d been eyeing it for a while.
“Honey, unless your name is Jesus, can’t say nothing in this bar is saved,” he shot back.
God, I hated being gay. Giving up, I went to the corner, behind the beam, to lick my wound. But that’s where Jorge was again. He saw me and looked odd.
“Hey, have you heard from Harvey? Is he OK?” I asked.
“Yeah, he’s fine. Um.” His “um” was sung, an overture.
“What?” I asked.
He pouted. “It’s not like him, but I don’t think that he’s exactly… coming,” he said.
My body went stiff. Jorge continued, “I got a text from our friend who says she’s with him somewhere, all the way uptown.”
“What does that mean? What are they doing?”
“Just drinking.”
“Oh. OK,” I somehow got out, trying not to look bothered. I took measured breaths.
“Here, I feel bad, let me buy you a — ”
And that was really enough. I was out the door.
I numbly rode the Staten Island Ferry home, stumbled into my room and screamed into my Aladdin pillow. Then, keeping with that kiddie behavior, called Harvey over and over. It didn’t make sense. Why was this happening? Eventually, he picked up, too happy.
“Just trust me. It’s better this way,” he said, slurring.
What? “No, it’s not!” I exploded. “Tell me how it’s better.”
“You’ll go out, experience more guys. You need to play the field,” he said.
“That’s your excuse?” I spit. “Why did you lead me on? Are you freaked out that you might finally be feeling something that’s not from a bottle?”
Harvey was quiet. “You’re arguing too hard. You don’t even know me.”
“I do know you,” I heaved, and fought for my life, no way letting this be ripped away now that I was so close, “I get you and you get me. It’s worth working out, worth holding on to.” I skipped the speech and went for the nuclear option: “I love you!”
Silence.
“I’m missing a leg,” Harvey responded.
My eyes blinked twice, signifying a momentary mental paralysis.
“Huh?” I let out.
“It’s gone,” he said definitively, “from a car accident — below the knee. You didn’t even notice.”
“OK,” I responded, followed by the breathy sound of me failing to process. Process that I didn’t see a limb missing on a body I’d worshipped nightly. Process the words themselves.
I didn’t believe it. Did I? There was no answer that sprang up, none that even made a little bit of sense for how this thing, this revelation, could be true. But here I was, suddenly grappling with if the guy I’ve been seeing, been sleeping with for the past two months, had all his parts, and if I was insane, legitimately going insane for not noticing.
Was that even the right word? “Noticing?”
“Uh, that’s all right,” I somehow said, high-pitched like the worst lie, my eyes stuck wide. “That’s all right.”
Another pause.
He ultimately sighed. “I’ll drive over,” he said finally, and hung up.
I lowered my phone, looked at the stuffed monster on my desk, the one with cotton guts coming out of his stomach. At my prescription bottles, my little, girlish hands, the hollow of my chest.
The hollow.
As dawn broke, my phone lit up. He was outside. I poked through the blinds of my front window to see his Jeep, already parked, and then him coming toward the house. It looked wrong. Who was this person? I felt I should run outside, knock on the neighbors’ doors, or at least come out with a kitchen utensil, screaming. Instead, I steadied myself enough to take one step at a time, go downstairs, and open the door.
“Hi,” I said, “You’re here.”
“I’m here,” he said, and came through.
He picked me up at my house a few times before, but never came in. I brought him into my room, sneakily, as my mom was still asleep on the same floor. Then tried to take it all in: the first time a boy was in my room.
He looked at the comic books, toys, my sister’s leftover purple furniture from when the room was hers.
“It’s like… you,” he said, instantly delighted.
“Yeah, just like me,” I said sharply, taking it as an insult. Just rip the Band-Aid off already, dammit, I thought. Show me my delusion, my rom-com-turned-horror-movie.
“Well,” he said. “I guess I better just—”
So he sat down on my bed, took off his shoes, unzipped, pulled down his jeans, and there it really was: his black, unmissable prosthetic. The thing that pulled everything apart, and, in a way, put things together. His muscular upper body now made sense: a compensation. His body scars from the car accident that did this to him. Wow, I’d really believed him when he told me it was a shark bite.
Then he popped it off. Instantaneously, I was faced with his stump, this little piece of mystery I was too myopic, too insane to see, week after week.
“But how?” I asked, quivering. “Did you always keep your pants on when we had sex?”
“You always kept your shirt on. Plus, you never seemed to care; you were always so hungry for it,” he said.
I winced.
“I also lied by omission,” he granted.
“And I fell for it,” I said, amazed at my stupidity. “I mean, were you even in the CIA?”
He chortled. “Where do you think I learned to be so covert?”
I was doubtful. But that was an issue for another time. Now I had to ask him: was anything real, or was I the most self-involved, desperate idiot in the world?
“You wanted a boyfriend, and regular sex. More than you wanted me,” he put it simply. “And maybe I did, too. That’s why I asked you to be together without ‘the talk’. But to be fair, I usually don’t have to bring it up myself.”
“Something is seriously messed up in my brain,” was all I could say.
He didn’t respond. He just looked around again. “I really do like this room,” he whispered softly. He placed his hand on my head. He started, awkwardly, to pet it.
I looked at his leg while he did this, trying to piece things together. It didn’t fit at all with my image of him. “Damaged goods” did intrude into my mind. Words that were foreign, difficult in my fantasy. At the same time, words like “vulnerable,” “fighter,” “survivor,” came in, but I wanted to be careful not to make the same mistake, not to craft my own narrative.
“I guess I don’t know you,” I conceded.
“No, I guess not,” he said, but then he stopped looking around my room, and looked at me. He stayed there. Perfectly still, so I could read him.
But maybe you don’t know yourself either, he seemed to say.
Cautiously, magnetically, we were suddenly leaning into each other to kiss. I decided to touch his knee, my cheesy way of letting him know it was all right. And he didn’t move it away, his way of letting me know that even though it was pretty cheesy, it was meaningful in the moment. After a few breathless seconds, we separated. I raised my eyebrow.
“I think vee found the secret to your allure, Harvey,” I said.
Soon we were under my southwestern themed comforter, resting our heads on my Aladdin pillow. The same place where I had lain being sure I’d never find anyone, the place where we’d both eventually learn to be with each other naked and comfortable with ourselves, the place where on our one-year anniversary, he’d give me his CIA coin.
It was inscribed Veritatem Cognoscere: To Know the Truth.
Michael Narkunski has an MFA from Stony Brook University. His writing has appeared in Out and The Advocate, and on stage in NYC. Follow his constant existential crisis @lampshadenark | https://medium.com/pulpmag/to-know-the-truth-56a5ca60ea91 | ['Michael Narkunski'] | 2020-08-04 15:00:55.819000+00:00 | ['Sex', 'Memoir', 'LGBTQ', 'Gay', 'Dating'] |
A Strategy to Deal With Stress | As someone who has recently joined a coding boot camp, dealing with waves of stress is something I’ve had to do daily. Studying helps this panic the most in my mind, but the lasting effects of those moments stick elsewhere, especially between my shoulder blades.
Instead of tackling a complex issue of coding for a beginner or expounding upon some area of lax documentation, I am going to dive into stretching and its importance in dealing with stress.
I’m not going to recommend any stretches or routines… I’m sure you all know some of them and can look up many more through a quick google search of Yoga or aerobics videos from the 70’s or 80’s. Instead, I am going to be talking a little about how to stretch in your mind in order to effectively stretch your body. Hopefully this mindset can help alleviate some of the pent up stress of staring at yet another new and interesting error message that has just popped up.
Jim Carrey’s Clint Eastwood Impression circa 1991
Above is an example of what stress can do to a face. Note too stress can do this to any part of the body.
Below is a video of what a muscle fiber is doing in order to contract and relax. If you don’t want to watch it all, watch the end where it shows muscle fibers climbing the sarcomere.
Libretexts.org
Remember too that these sarcomeres, or the sacks around bundles of muscle fibers, twist up a bit when they contract. Muscles knotting up is a decently apt description, but it is more like the knots a rubber band gets when twisted, rather than knots tied with rope.
Personally, I had been stretching wrong my entire life and hadn’t noticed. “Touch your toes.” Anybody ever heard that in their life? Get in this position, now do this action, now relax. Seems simple… but it isn’t. I believe a major reason for this is we all learn how to stretch at a very young age and very few of us update that knowledge.
One day I started to stretch differently from my childhood habits, and it was only because I had been forced to it. ACL surgery with a bit of meniscus work thrown in. It was years until I felt comfortable stretching and over that period my left hamstring had been tightening up slowly but surely. In hindsight it wasn’t just my left hamstring. It was my calf, and my hips and lower back. My left shoulder, collar and the back of my neck. It was the rest of my body protecting my knee.
That protection order had been issued by the stress in my mind. A major stressful incident, in this case an invasive surgery, had sent my body in to overdrive to protect itself. I had to start stretching outside in, instead of inside out. At least… that is the only way I can see to put it.
When I went to touch my toes, I focused on everything else. I focused on my toes, and how they were dug into the ground. I focused on my calves, and how they were flexing because of my toes and this transferred some tension in to the back of my knee. My calf was hell bent on protecting my knee. I focused on my hips, and how tense my thighs were. My back wasn’t straight, my neck and shoulders rigid.
I stood back up, relaxed, and touched my toes. It took about 5 minutes. I had to close my eyes and think about each of those places, as if I was looking at them in my mind. Eventually they relaxed, but it was an odd place to go. The more I thought about them the more they listened and relaxed. The more the little pieces relaxed and stretched, the further down I reached.
When I finally made it to my hamstring, after relaxing and stretching everything else, that was the only thing I needed to think about. I stretched that hammie that day. It was stretched. And it was good.
After that experience, I have thought differently about stretching. The above video is to reinforce the idea that sometimes it takes multiple systems relaxing in order to truly stretch out your muscles. The center of your muscle and the ends both need to relax in order for your muscles to stretch. Here are a few ideas to ponder while stretching…
Focus first on the rest of your body. Relax before you begin to stretch.
Keep your posture. Push with your body, don’t reach with your arms.
Relax the ends of your muscles. The connection points. Work your way towards the center. If you can’t, repeat from step one.
Stretching should feel good. If it feels unpleasant or burns, repeat from step one.
If you stretch one side of your body, stretch the other. Front to back, left to right or vice versa in both cases.
Close your eyes and look at your muscles. I know it sounds weird but try it. Just focusing your mind on a spot while stretching can help tremendously. Move your thoughts around the muscle groups that are giving you trouble. Follow them past the specific muscle group you are focused on. Be a detective.
If you don’t stretch, try it. It might have been because you learned as a child and never really learned how to stretch, so it isn’t all that enjoyable. But it can be, so try it out. The tension in your mind will build up in your body, and that tension and stress kills. Stretching can help release that tension.
Try it right now if you can. Touch your toes. Relax. Dive in with your mind, because just thinking about relaxing your body will help to relax your mind. Your thoughts might slow down, and some of that stress just might disappear. | https://cooliomoded.medium.com/a-strategy-to-deal-with-stress-9229b4e2d5f5 | ['God Beast'] | 2020-09-21 23:56:32.749000+00:00 | ['Stress Management'] |
diabetes and you need to learn more about the disease | diabetes and you need to learn more about the disease
Diabetes is a disease that occurs when the body is unable to regulate its blood glucose.
Diabetes is a disease that occurs when the body is unable to regulate its blood glucose. Glucose is one way in which energy is stored in the body. It is metabolised by cells to produce energy, so the cells can function and the body can live. If there is too little glucose then the cells will not be able to function and we will feel tired or pass out. Too much glucose can also be a problem, as the sugars interact with organs and can cause problems in the kidney, eyes and nerves.
The body can sense how much glucose is present and it regulates your blood glucose with the hormone Insulin. Insulin is produced in the pancreas. When blood glucose is high more insulin is produced, and it tells cells to take up glucose and store it. When blood glucose is low its levels fall, and the body responds by releasing its stored glucose into the blood stream.
Type 1 Diabetes
With Type 1 Diabetes your body does not make any insulin. This is because the body’s immune system attacks the pancreas and destroys the cells that make insulin. This type of diabetes is often found in children and young adults, and usually requires daily doses of insulin to replace the missing insulin. Missing insulin doses can lead to a serious condition known as diabetic ketoacidosis, which can lead to a coma and sometimes even be fatal.
Type 2 Diabetes
With Type 2 Diabetes the body’s ability to respond to high blood glucose slowly fails, and it does not make enough insulin. There are many risk factors for this condition, including obesity, family history of diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, not physically active and have a history of heart disease or strokes. Unfortunately being of Indian origin will predispose you to having diabetes, and so it is important to understand how diabetes might affect you.
Gestational Diabetes
Finally some women may find they have a temporary onset of diabetes when they are pregnant. Usually this will go away once the baby is born. However patients who have had gestational diabetes are at higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes later on in their life.
Symptoms
The common symptoms of diabetes include:
- Increased thirst
- Needing to urinate more, especially at night
- Increased hunger
- Blurry vision
- Numbness or tingling in the hands and feet
- Sores in the feet
If there is increased sugar in the blood it can react with your body organs and cause problems. This is especially true for your kidneys, eyes, nerves and arteries.
- In the kidneys it affects the filtration system, causing excessive urine to be produced.
- It can damage the nerves in the hands and feet, causing reduced sensation.
- If damage occurs to the feet it can be harder to detect, and large sores can form.
- Damage to the lining of blood vessels can cause narrowing, reducing blood from reaching these sores, and worsening wound healing.
- Narrowed blood vessels also increase the risk of heart disease and stroke in diabetics.
- All of these factors act together to affect the eyes and can cause worsening vision.
It is important to learn about your conditions and how they can affect you. Understanding your condition can help you understand how to manage and control it, so it does not affect your life. If you want to know more about your diabetes and whether it is being managed well, ask us a question on secondmedic.com.
Dr Rachana Dwivedi
MBBS, FRCOG, FICOG, PGC ( USS), DFFP
Consultant Obstetrics & Gynaecology
Royal Bournemouth & Christchurch Hospital | https://medium.com/@yashi200307/diabetes-and-you-need-to-learn-more-about-the-disease-ce7c6cbd46c5 | [] | 2021-12-18 20:30:45.848000+00:00 | ['Diabetes', 'Disease', 'Health', 'Glucose'] |
How does symlink work on macOS | I am working on a WordPress project. I accidentally removed a folder when deleting plugin. Let’s say our plugin’s name is simple-code-block . We built the project at ~/workplaces/wordpress/plugins/simple-code-block . The Wordpress is installed at /Applications/MAMP/htdocs/wordpress/ . I to be able to load the plugin directly from the development folder I created a symlink. When I delete the plugin the content in the folder is removed.
So I did a test on how symlink works:
// 1. create two testing folders
$ mkdir -p symlinks/wordpress/wp-content/plugins
$ mkdir -p symlinks/workspsaces/simple-code-block
$ touch symblinks/workspaces/simple-code-bloci/a-file.php // 2. create a symblink in the wordpress plugins folder
$ cd symlink/w/w/p/ && ln -s ../../../workspaces/simple-code-block // 3. rename wordpress, and check if symblink works
$ mv symlinks/wordpress symblinks/wordpress_2
$ ls symblinks/wordpress_2/simple-code-block
> a-file.php // 4. remove wordpress_2 and check if the scb folder is removed
$ rm -rf symblinks/wordpress_2
$ ls symblinks/workspaces/simple-code-block
> a-file.php
Explanation
A symbolic link, also termed a soft link, is a special kind of FILE that points to another file. | https://medium.com/cloud-tech/how-does-symlink-work-on-macos-8cd2cf817d2e | [] | 2020-12-20 08:46:44.601000+00:00 | ['Symlink', 'Mac'] |
Bad News for Shoplifters: AI can Now Spot You Even Before You Steal | Bad News for Shoplifters: AI can Now Spot You Even Before You Steal
Facial Recognition Software and Artificial Intelligence
Shoplifting has been on the rise according to Gartner research in retail stores in the USA and UK where despite security cameras installed, theft cases continue to rise. Retail stores continue to suffer from theft losses characterized by shoplifting¹ and artificial intelligence is offering timely assistance.
By working with facial recognition technology, artificial intelligence² is using algorithms to determine the behavioral patterns of shoppers in a bid to reduce theft cases. Vaak⁹ from Japan is a start-up leading the way where the company recently developed systems run by AI to monitor suspicious attributes among shoppers and alert retail store managers through their smartphones.
Photo by Hanson Lu on Unsplash
While AI is usually envisioned as a smart personal assistant, the technology is accurate at spotting weird behavior. Algorithms³ analyze security-camera footage and alert staff about potential thieves via a smartphone app. The goal is prevention; if the target is approached and asked if they need help, there is a good chance the theft never happens.
Overview
Vaak and Third Eye¹⁰ are some new start-ups making news regarding AI for shoplifting prevention and in 2020, more retailers are using their technology to bolster security. Based in London, Third Eye is using AI to prevent instances of shoplifting by coordinating with store owners via instant alerts.
Let us first start with Vaak from Japan, which is making progress in the theft management in the retail sector
Vaak has developed an #artificialintelligence software that can catch shoplifters in the act by alerting staff members, so they can prevent thieves from even leaving the store. Vaak used hours of surveillance data⁴ to train the system to detect suspicious activity using many behavioral aspects, including how people walk, hand movements, facial expressions, and even clothing choices.
Vaak claims that shoplifting losses dropped by 77 percent during a test period in local convenience stores, demonstrating how this technology could help reduce global retail costs from shoplifting, which hit $30 billion 3 years ago. Furthermore, implementing AI-based shoplifting detection technology⁵ would not lead to a significant increase in costs because security cameras, which comprise most of the required hardware, are usually already in place at retail stores.
AI Working with Facial Recognition Technology
Vaak’s technology demonstrates how artificial intelligence can work with facial recognition software, which scans faceprints a code unique to an individual, just like fingerprints.
Unlike fingerprints, faceprints can be scanned from a distance, which opens the possibilities of facial recognition’s applications in fields such as security and law enforcement.
Several local public security bureaus in China have started implementing the use of #augmentedreality glasses⁶, created by the Xloong company, which are able to cross-reference faces against the national database to spot criminals.
Human Behavior and AI Evaluation
The ability to detect and analyze unusual human behavior also has other applications. Vaak is developing a video-based self-checkout system, and wants to use the videos to collect information on how consumers interact with items in the store to help shops display products more effectively.
Photo by Lucas Santos on Unsplash
Beyond retail, Tanaka envisions using the video software in public spaces and train platforms to detect suspicious behavior. Third Eye, has been approached by security management companies looking to leverage their AI technology.
This is not the first time AI has been used to fight retail shrinkage. Last summer, another Japanese company, the communications giant NTT East, launched AI Guardsman, a camera that uses similar technology to analyze shoppers’ body language for signs of possible theft. AI Guardsman’s developers said the camera cut shoplifting by 40 percent.
Taming Losses with Artificial Intelligence
Because it involves security, retailers have asked AI-software suppliers such as Vaak and London-based Third Eye not to disclose their use of the anti-shoplifting systems.
The assumption here is that several major store chains in Japan have deployed the technology. Vaak has been approached by the biggest publicly traded convenience store and drugstore chains in Japan.
Big retailers have already been adopting AI technology⁷ to help them do business. Apart from inventory management, delivery optimization and other enterprise needs, AI #algorithms run customer-support #chatbots on websites. Image and video analysis is also being deployed, such as Amazon.com Inc.’s Echo Look, which gives users fashion advice.
The Ethical Questions we need to Ask
There is always an evil side to all technologies especially when it involves Artificial Intelligence, as often criticized. #Technology has always been about adding convenience to and safeguarding human lives, but what it turns in to always depend on who uses it and for what.
AI has always been a favorite subject of critics even for those who are pioneers in the technology. Vaakeye was no less of a target. Many fear that the technology will intrude privacy.
Installing artificial intelligence and facial-recognition software⁸ does raise some questions about the ethics of the technology, especially when it comes to customer consent.
Customers are typically willing to sacrifice some privacy for convenience when they are aware the technology is being used. Most retail stores already post signs about the presence of security cameras, so resolving this concern could be as simple as adding a notice about facial recognition to these signs.
Photo by Rich Smith on Unsplash
Despite how far science has come, AI does not truly think like a human being just yet. This could lead to a bias in a system’s algorithm. However, just as artificial intelligence can be inadvertently given a bias, it has the potential to be less biased than a human being. This is simply a case of auditing the algorithms to root out any potential bias before training the artificial-intelligence system.
Time to Embrace AI in Retail
Artificial intelligence in retail is not a hypothetical anymore. Today, AI algorithms run inventory management, delivery optimization, and customer-support chatbots on websites, which we are all too familiar with.
When paired with #facialrecognition software, artificial intelligence can even eliminate the need of salespeople, best shown in Amazon’s self-service brick-and-mortar stores that use image and video sensors to shape the customer experience.
With artificial intelligence entering the retail loss prevention sphere, we are going to see great change in how our departments catch shoplifters and combat retail shrinkage.
Do you think using AI to monitor shoplifters is a good idea? Share your opinions below to contribute to the discussion on Bad News for Shoplifters: AI can Now Spot You Even Before You Steal
Works Cited
¹Shoplifting, ²Artificial Intelligence, ³Algorithms, ⁴Surveillance Data, ⁵Shoplifting Detection Technology, ⁶Augmented Reality Glasses, ⁷AI Technology, ⁸Facial-Recognition Software
Companies Cited
⁹Vaak, ¹⁰Third Eye
More from David Yakobovitch:
Listen to the HumAIn Podcast | Subscribe to my newsletter | https://medium.com/towards-artificial-intelligence/bad-news-for-shoplifters-ai-can-now-spot-you-even-before-you-steal-1e778ba002ec | ['David Yakobovitch'] | 2020-11-10 20:59:44.226000+00:00 | ['Artificial Intelligence', 'Life', 'Business', 'Technology'] |
5 Ways to Give Back & Be a Better Human | “There’s no unselfish good deed.” — Joey Tribiani, Friends
One of my favorite episodes of Friends, The One Where Phoebe Hates PBS, the central theme revolves around the idea that no good deed is selfless. You want to feel good, so you do something beautiful for someone else. The pursuit of those warm fuzzies makes even the grandest gesture at least partly selfish.
In the episode Phoebe goes so far in her pursuit of finding a selfless good deed, she lets a bee sting her. That way the bee can look tough in front of his bee friends. Of course, Joey tells Phoebe the bee likely died after stinging her, unraveling the whole idea.
Sitcom antics aside, the philosophical root remains. Is there such a thing as a selfless good deed? More accurately, can human beings act genuinely altruistic?
Science says no.
But that’s okay.
In an examination of the concept of altruism in nature, Bernd Heinrich, professor emeritus at The University of Vermont, observed ravens eating a dead moose. Rather than hoard and defend the carrion, the birds were calling out to others, attracting attention and more birds to the dinner table. In most of nature, this is the antithesis of evolutionary biology. Animals (and Joey) don’t typically share food, except in pack formations or with their young.
So, why the sudden surge in bird altruism? There was a fringe benefit. The birds were likely juveniles who had discovered the carcass within another’s territory. The birds were not sharing for the sake of sharing, they were defending what little they could scavenge before a more mature bird arrived to protect his food source. By calling in reinforcements, the sheer numbers would likely ensure each individual got at least a little before the fight broke out. It was the bird version of warm fuzzies — more food.
Even in a survival setting, altruism typically has an ulterior motive. Most people have one as well, whether they realize it or not.
According to a study at Duke University, we give our resources, time and skill in part for the warm fuzzies. We also give in exchange for the social currency. We believe other people would do a nice thing and we crave the social acceptance of doing the same — even if we know our donation will not be seen by someone else.
But does that mean we are only good for credit? Dacher Keltner, director of the Berkeley Social Interaction Lab and Greater Good Science Center, argued that even Charles Darwin, the father of biological evolution, believed that our kindness and need to give was so deeply embedded as to be instinctual. It’s not just a cultural concept. Humans need to be kind.
According to Keltner, we have a physiological response to both showing and receiving kindness.
“The vagus nerve is thought to stimulate certain muscles in the vocal chamber, enabling communication. It reduces heart rate. Very new science suggests that it may be closely connected to oxytocin receptor networks… Our research and that of other scientists suggests that the vagus nerve may be a physiological system that supports caretaking and altruism. We have found that activation of the vagus nerve is associated with feelings of compassion and the ethical intuition that humans from different social groups (even adversarial ones) share a common humanity.”
We are hardwired to give, to act altruistically. Our body rewards us when we do this. We literally feel good.
Ultimately we loop back around here.
Joey Tribiani was right.
There’s (probably) no such thing as an unselfish good deed. We get a payout for kindness from our own body, not to mention the social credit.
That’s still okay. Since we know that we are going to get some sort of emotional kickback or social credit for giving back we might as well capitalize on it. Understanding the various ways to give can absolutely revolutionize our attitude. We can also use these as ways to provide ourselves with a little boost in confidence (and, you know, oxytocin.) | https://psiloveyou.xyz/5-ways-to-give-back-be-a-better-human-8d70d166b266 | ['Gwenna Laithland'] | 2019-09-19 20:58:14.803000+00:00 | ['Psychology', 'Giving', 'Life Lessons', 'Humanity', 'Self'] |
John Ruskin flying over Europe | — translation in Greek
The charts of the world which have been drawn up by modern science have thrown into a narrow space the expression of a vast amount of knowledge, but I have never yet seen any one pictorial enough to enable the spectator to imagine the kind of contrast in physical character which exists between Northern and Southern countries. We know the differences in detail, but we have not that broad glance and grasp which would enable us to to feel them in their fulness. We know that gentians grow on the Alps, and olives on the Apennines; but we do not enough conceive for ourselves that variegated mosaic of the world’s surface which a bird sees in its migration, that difference between the district of the gentian and of the olive which the stork and the swallow see far off, as they lean upon the sirocco wind.
Let us, for a moment, try to raise ourselves even above the level of their flight, and imagine the Mediterannean lying beneath us like an irregular lake, and all its ancient promontories sleeping in the sun: here and there an angry spot of thunder, a grey stain of storm, moving upon the burning field; and here and there a fixed wreath of white volcano smoke, surrounded by its circle of ashes; but for the most part a great peacefulness of light, Syria and Greece, Italy and Spain, laid like pieces of a golden pavement into the sea-blue, chased, as we stoop nearer to them, with bossy beaten work of mountain chains, and glowing softly with terraced gardens, and flowers heavy with frankincense, mixed among masses of laurel, and orange, and plumy palm, that abate with their grey-green shadows the burning of the marble rocks, and of the ledges of porphyry sloping under lucent sand.
Then let us pass farther towards the north, until we see the orient colours change gradually into a vast belt of rainy green, where the pastures of Switzerland, and poplar valleys of France, and dark forests of the Danube and Carpathians stretch from the mouths of the Loire to those of the Volga, seen through clefts in grey swirls of rain-cloud and flaky veils of the mist of the brooks, spreading low along the pasture lands: and then, farther north still, to see the earth heave into mighty masses of leaden rock and heathy moor, bordering with a broad waste of gloomy purple that belt of field and wood, and splintering into irregular and grisly islands amidst the northern seas, beaten by storm, and chilled by ice-drift, and tormented by furious pulses of contending tide, until the roots of the last forests fail from among the hill ravines, and the hunger of the north wind bites their peaks into barrenness; and, at last, the wall of ice, durable like iron, sets, deathlike, its white teeth against us out of the polar twilight. And, having once traversed in thought this gradation of the zoned iris of the earth in all its material vastness, let us go down nearer to it, and watch the parallel change in the belt of animal life; the multitudes of swift and brilliant creatures that glance in the air and sea, or tread the sands of the southern zone; striped zebras and spotted leopards, glistening serpents, and birds arrayed in purple and scarlet.
Let us contrast their delicacy and brilliancy of colour, and swiftness of motion, with the frost-cramped strength, and shaggy covering, and dusky plumage of the northern tribes; contrast the Arabian horse with the Shetland, the tiger and leopard with the wolf and bear, the antelope with the elk, the bird of paradise with the osprey; and then, submissively acknowledging the great laws by which the earth and all that it bears are ruled throughout their being, let us not condemn, but rejoice in the expression by man of his own rest in the statutes of the lands that gave him birth. Let us watch him with reverence as he sets side by side the burning gems, and smooths with soft sculpture the jaspar pillars, that are to reflect a ceaseless sunshine, and rise into a cloudless sky: but not with less reverence let us stand by him, when, with rough strength and hurried stroke, he smites an uncouth animation out of the rocks which he has torn from among the moss of the moorland, and heaves into the darkened air the pile of iron buttress and rugged wall, instinct with work of an imagination as wild and wayward as the northern sea; creatures of ungainly shape and rigid limb, but full of wolfish life; fierce as the winds that beat, and changeful as the clouds that shade them. | https://medium.com/@chrysanthie/john-ruskin-flying-over-europe-95584d1c540 | ['Chrysanthi Nika'] | 2021-12-31 08:20:22.837000+00:00 | ['Translation', 'John Ruskin'] |
The Bigger Picture | The Bigger Picture
Part 3 of a Series — Setting the playing field and the challenges we face before adopting new technologies. Joe Staples Feb 4, 2020·5 min read
Photo by Tyler Lastovich from Pexels.
If you’ve hung with me on this adventure so far, I congratulate you! This is Part 3 of a series on what the next “gamechanger” in tech will be and how it can affect the new decade. So far, I’ve been enamored with Samsung’s Ballie and I’ve paid respects where they’re due to the science-fiction legends who have inspired the tech we have today as well as warn us of the catastrophic possibility that tech will turn against us. With these two ideas covered, we can now take a look at the stage set before us.
If the goal of any piece of consumer tech is to benefit our lives in some way, be it a new phone or camera or app, it has to fit into “the bigger picture” in a multitude of ways. Think of this concept of a bigger picture like a massive jigsaw puzzle. For any given piece to fit into the puzzle, it has to conform and fit the surrounding pieces. If it doesn’t fit in, the piece is rejected. In the real world, a product has to fit a purpose in society or else the product will fail. A product is only as useful as the problems it tries to resolve, and therefore we have to inevitably navigate the bigger challenges that stand in the way.
Rewind back a few weeks to CES for a moment with me. Aside from products that ooh and aah, there are panels that are meant to get us thinking about the future of consumer technology. One such panel really pulled me in: CNET’s Next Big Thing Panel.
If you want to check it out, here it is:
CNETs full opening day coverage. The panel we’re talking about starts around 6 hours in.
The TL;DW: several tech industry experts gathered to identify the next big shift forward in technology and the challenges we will face head-on in this shift forward. This year, they focused on anticipatory technology.
As the name might suggest, this is a new breed of AI tech that anticipates actions, rather than waiting on a verbal command or user-based trigger. *Ahem* Enter stage right: Samsung’s Ballie concept. Smart devices equipped with the ability to anticipate when it’s needed would be able to react automatically to the environment they’re in, like raising curtains in the morning or vacuuming when it sees a mess. It inches us ever closer to the sci-fi world we revisited last week.
If, for the last few weeks, you were wondering where the hell I was planning on going in this epic tirade, we’ve arrived at my thesis!
Anticipatory technology is the gamechanger of the next decade… as long as we don’t fuck it up.
CNET’s Next Big Thing panel started a conversation of the possible challenges and the requirements for such a technology to take off. Of course, it’s a lot more complicated than the simple, idyllic world Ballie (and George Lucus) wants to give us. It’s about the next generation of IoT devices as a whole.
Michele Turner, senior director of Google Smart Home Ecosystem, believes it centers around making smart home devices more secure and private, communicating with each other without any interruption, user interaction, or invasion from threats. I remember an article from Wired I read back in 2015 about security flaws in Chrysler’s UConnect infotainment system, allowing hackers (in on the experiment of course) to take over full control of a Jeep Wrangler while it was speeding down the highway. While I hope Chrysler and other auto-makers have begun working on how to prevent this from happening, the article pointed out just how unsecure our connected world really is. The more connected our homes get, the more vulnerable they become to external threats. If we are to prevent this, we need to keep the communication between smart devices private and invisible to anyone who might be peering in.
Data collection is a systemic problem, as Cindy Cohn, executive director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, points out. “We need to start thinking defenstively about these technologies and have them built from the beginning to actually work for us,” says Cohn. “We are nowhere near that with technologies right now and when you get into anticipatory [tech], there’s a whole other level we need to begin to think through.” There’s a lot of justifiable paranoia about how user data is collected and how it’s used. Google and Amazon admit to listening in on conversations via their home assistants, while Facebook’s privacy policy is practically a joke. Still, data collection is a necessary evil for AI to grow. The challenge then becomes how we can ethically gather data needed for AI to learn while keeping personal data private. Now this could come from regulation and creating legislature to guide big tech companies on what they can and can’t do, but it can also come from the technology itself, like intelligently filtering out private data during the data collection process, so private data never reaches tech companies in the first place.
A third challenge comes in the form of making technology equitable. Pushing to “humanize technology”, co-founder and CEO of Affectiva Rana El Kaliouby believes in finding the good in data collection. Collecting data from a wide range of demographics builds a better database, making tech more equitable and relatable to more than your average tech-bro. It’s about switching the dynamic between our interactions with digital assistants, having them fit into any given culture and not the other way around. Take accents, for example. Digital assistants are pretty narrowly tailored to the American accent. It’s decidedly easier to activate and navigate our assistants if we speak “clearly and normally”. But there’s the catch: who is to decide what is clear and normal? If we want to embrace a future where our AI companions are universally there for us, then we need to make them universal to more than just the niche that is mid-to-high income America.
But the good news is, it’s not all hurdles. These three obstacles standing between us and a future of anticipatory technology aren’t meant to stop us from ever achieving our goals. They are important tasks and questions that: if ignored will lead us to further spiral out of control; and if answered, can lead us to having a progressive society ruled by equity in technology. Once we figure out how to answer these three questions, the last one remains: how do we get it from concept to consumer? More on that next time. | https://medium.com/@joeisastaple/the-bigger-picture-54491735cbdb | ['Joe Staples'] | 2020-02-04 17:27:08.401000+00:00 | ['AI', 'Consumer Electronics', 'Smart Home', 'Gadgets', 'Technology'] |
Time to Make the Donuts | Time to Make the Donuts
It was destiny that brought Dunkin’ Donuts and I together. More accurately, it was getting fired from an ice cream shop in the summer of 2005 that facilitated our blessed, caffeinated union. But fate works in strange and soul-crushing ways. As I began looking for jobs in my small New Hampshire hometown in between my freshman and sophomore years of college, I had visions of wearing a cute red-striped hat and dress while crafting perfect banana splits and hot fudge sundaes for smiling families and cute boys I went to high school with because apparently, my imagination had been binge-watching Happy Days.
The reality for those brutal five days was unfortunately quite a bit different — far more Soup Nazi than soda fountain. Despite my complete lack of experience in the ice cream industry, the store owner took what she called a “hands-off” management approach, presenting me with a thick three-ring binder to study independently at the beginning of my tenure, then retreating to her upstairs lair for an hour or two. She would return, stealthily and unannounced, standing in the doorway between the counter and the kitchen as I nervously scanned the cash register buttons for “1 scoop” and “bkd good” and her eyes pierced through the back of my head.
I felt set up to fail. Sure, I wore completely impractical lime green flats that were probably a slip-and-fall lawsuit waiting to happen, and I had to muster all of the strength in both of my weak, frail arms to wrench each scoop of Butter Pecan out of the tub. But hell, I was trying my best. By the end of the week, the writing was on the wall. My boss cleverly and cruelly invented a “five-day trial period” loophole to can me in a slightly kinder, less awkward manner. And I didn’t even get to make a single banana split!
So, desperate for some dough of the non-cookie variety, I waltzed into one of the approximately 500 Dunkin’ locations within a two-mile radius of my parents’ home to fill out an application. In my eyes, it was a last resort. I had yet to discover the beautiful, habitual necessity that is coffee; that epiphany wouldn’t occur until the following summer, when I became reliant on the communal cubicle sludge during an internship at my dad’s employer. Creating PowerPoints about defense contractors from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday was my first taste of the brutal monotony that is life in corporate America, and I soon realized that drowning my sorrows in the the tar-colored water — made palatable by an ungodly amount of sugar and powdered creamer — was really the only answer. Well, that and long lunches with my fellow interns, spent gnawing on Hooters wings and giggling over the Sextrology book at Barnes & Noble.
But before all of that, there was the Summer of Dunkin’. Those three months were a blur of 4 a.m. alarm clock rings, walk-in freezers, headsets buzzing with static, precut yellow-and-white egg patties and slices of processed orange cheese, bathroom cleaning logs, unlimited free danishes and gritty chai lattes in the break room, Coolatta brain freezes, car exhaust funneling through the drive-through window, “Have a nice day” on a loop for six hours at a time.
My boss was a delightfully snarky, mustached caricature of a New England man, always sighing, or shaking his head, or saying things like, “Another day in paradise. Or is it hell?” with such a breezy sense of resignation that I still find myself quoting him to this day.
Much to my dismay, the red striped hat and dress were nowhere to be found here, either. Every day, I tucked a steel blue shirt — two sizes too big — into my equally ill-fitting khaki pants, topping it all off with a visor that added an extra layer of embarrassment to the whole ensemble. For three months, my hair smelled like a combination of donut glaze and dark roast, an unmistakable scent that still knocks my olfactory sense straight back to 2005 every time I stop into a franchise for a medium iced. When I got my wisdom teeth out at some point in August, the headset amplified my pain tenfold as I silently cursed my fate and horrible knack for timing when it came to dental procedures.
If there was any joy to be found, it came in the form of my regular customers. In particular, my most major high school crush: a shy, sweet, Phish-loving stoner who transferred in at the beginning of junior year from somewhere in South Florida. I’d decided instantly that I would be in love with him — sight unseen — when I glimpsed his incredibly distinctive, almost literary name on a textbook purchasing list at registration day the prior summer. So I couldn’t believe my luck when I finally laid eyes on him and he was not only my exact type, but also in nearly all of my classes. I swooned as he quietly fashioned pipes out of aluminum foil in the corner during Creative Writing and read a haunting, strange story he wrote about a nursing home while blinking a mile a minute and rubbing his telltale bloodshot eyes. He had all the elegance and mystery of Timothée Chalamet in Lady Bird without any of the ego or governmental conspiracy theories. I was head over heels; so much so that I even downloaded a Phish song from LimeWire that I listened to exactly one time before deciding that I would do anything for love, but I wouldn’t do that.
When I went off to college, I mostly forgot about him, getting caught up in the cute boys that were part of my new life — as one does when they’re 18 and surrounded by faces that they haven’t seen five days a week for the past decade and a half. So when he reappeared a few days into my coffee slinging gig, I quickly moved past my self-consciousness and immediately became giddy at the opportunity to reconnect. Maybe we’re meant to be! I thought. Spoiler alert: we were not meant to be.
His daily drive-thru visits were comically on-brand. He’d roll up, obviously and aggressively high, usually laughing at the Howard Stern Show and sometimes nodding at me to listen in. One morning, the automatic window opened to reveal a massive pile of loose coins on his lap, and I couldn’t help but chuckle along with him as he slowly and painfully attempted to pay for his coffee and breakfast sandwich with exact change. I soon learned that he had an equally draining summer job working on the back of a garbage truck, which was the icing on the cake.
Our brief, inconsequential exchanges were the bright spot in an otherwise grueling environment. While I had made a few “friends” among the crew members, I felt out of place with the already tight-knit and slightly dramatic group—at least one of the girls was sleeping with the assistant manager and things were apparently not going well. Another used her shift lead title as an excuse to boss me around and assign me toilet-cleaning responsibilities any chance she got. Plus, as you might expect from people who have to work at 5 a.m. every day, everyone was grumpy the vast majority of the time. To one another, that is. As this was my first foray into the food service industry, I came away with an incredible amount of appreciation and respect for the patience, skill, diplomacy, and amazing memory of my coworkers. I’d watch in awe as Jeff made a highly-specific latte while simultaneously taking another order at the drive-thru and coaching me on how to resolve an issue at the register. Or as Rosie remained sweet as pie as she de-escalated a situation with an insanely rude customer.
Despite the drudgery, I took a small bit of pride in knowing that I was supplying people with the energy necessary to make it through their morning, and I had to smile as the summer wore on and I realized that I could identify my regulars in an instant by the sound of their voices over the crackling speakers. There was the cute, tan, muscular construction worker: large Coolatta and a sausage, egg, and cheese on a plain bagel. The mousy, middle-aged woman who got a medium hot latte, even when it was 90 degrees out. I also might have witnessed the originator of bulletproof coffee — a man who asked that a pat of butter be placed into his large hot, a request that was not only denied outright (we gave it to him on the side) but mercilessly mocked among the staff for days afterward. One evening, my dad came home from work, chuckling, and told me I was famous. “Huh?” I quickly racked my brain, slightly concerned. He explained that one of his colleagues had come into his office and pointed at my senior photo on his desk. “That’s the girl who rings up my coffee every day at Dunkin’ Donuts!” he exclaimed. Oh. Not exactly the legacy I imagined at 19, but there were worse things to be known for, I suppose.
It’s practically a New England rite of passage to pay your dues at Dunks, and I still see my goofy, dreamy 19 year-old self in the kid making my coffee or toasting my bagel, especially when I can tell that they’ve just started their own Summer of Dunkin’. “Sorry,” they’ll mutter and blush. “No worries,” I always reply, dropping my change into the tip jar. “I know exactly how you feel.” | https://medium.com/@kimlw/time-to-make-the-donuts-c1ccdfe5f62e | ['Kim Windyka'] | 2020-07-19 14:28:24.804000+00:00 | ['Dunkin Donuts', 'Summer', 'Essay', 'Memories', 'Summer Jobs'] |
New Year Gift ของขวัญพิเศษ สำหรับคนพิเศษ | 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/kbtg-life/new-year-gift-%E0%B8%82%E0%B8%AD%E0%B8%87%E0%B8%82%E0%B8%A7%E0%B8%B1%E0%B8%8D%E0%B8%9E%E0%B8%B4%E0%B9%80%E0%B8%A8%E0%B8%A9-%E0%B8%AA%E0%B8%B3%E0%B8%AB%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%B1%E0%B8%9A%E0%B8%84%E0%B8%99%E0%B8%9E%E0%B8%B4%E0%B9%80%E0%B8%A8%E0%B8%A9-3bef86889d2d | [] | 2020-12-26 03:32:56.532000+00:00 | ['People', 'New Year', 'Time', 'Ideas', 'Gifts'] |
Extend URLSession and never forget .resume() again | No more .resume() — Use Mock Data as you please — Or Live data if you need
Extend URLSession and never forget .resume() again
Also Introducing a protocol that will allow you to switch between live and mock data
Look ma, no .resume()
If you work with networking in Swift, chances are you’ve used URLSession. Chances are also that you’ve spent 1, 2 or a hundred minutes debugging a call that just wouldn’t fire! Then you sheepishly realized you forgot .resume() at the end of your dataTask…
Why do I even need .resume() ?
If you look carefully at the way we do a network call, we aren’t immediately doing anything with the code inside of our dataTask. The dataTask method returns a URLSessionDataTask object that you can use for Asynchronous operations.
URLSession.shared.dataTask returns something!
Once you call one of the methods on dataTask, things begin to happen. Focusing on our “culprit” here, the resume method…
URLSessionDataTask inherits from URLSessionTask which has our resume method:
When we first get the DataTask back, it’s in a suspended state…
Ok, now you know you have to .resume() in order to make the work you just put into the dataTask do anything. How can we avoid forgetting this in the future?
Protocols in Swift ¹
If you know anything about protocols in Swift, you probably know they’re basically a set of instructions that anything conforming to them has to follow. You may also know that you can extend a protocol to give it a default implementation. What we’re going to do here is create a protocol, extend URLSession, and provide default implementation.
The protocol
This very simple protocol is very powerful, allowing you to not only extend URLSession in order to never forget .resume() again, but it will also allow you to (with a little more work) create a Mock Data Loader that you can use in Unit testing to provide yourself with data that you know will never change! … more on that here. For now, here’s our protocol!
All that lead-up for… this?
protocol NetworkLoader { func loadData(using request: URLRequest, with completion: @escaping (Data?, URLResponse?, Error?) -> Void) }
If you look at that closely, you’ll notice it’s nearly identical to our dataTask method that requires .resume() — we’re essentially going to be using it in order to hijack dataTask and force it to resume() for us! … ok … that may have been a little overdramatic. No dataTasks were harmed in the writing of this article.
Ok, so let’s extend URLSession with our protocol, conform to our protocol (stub out the loadData method) and provide default implementation all in one swoop.
extension URLSession: NetworkLoader {
// call dataTask and resume, passing the completionHandler func loadData(using request: URLRequest, with completion: @escaping (Data?, URLResponse?, Error?) -> Void) { self.dataTask(with: request, completionHandler: completion).resume() }
All we’re doing there is calling URLSession.dataTask in the loadData method and passing the completion to it. So now loadData will complete with everything that dataTask completes with. Let’s use it to load shall we?
func loadMedium() { let url = URL(string: "https://www.medium.com")!
let request = URLRequest(url: url)
URLSession.shared.loadData(using: request) { (data, response, error) in //check for errors
if let error = error {
print("Error loading data!
\(error)")
return
} if let response = response as? HTTPURLResponse {
let statusCode = response.statusCode
//check to make sure medium.com responded to our request with a success code
if statusCode != 200 { print("\(url.absoluteString) returned bad status code: \(statusCode)!") } else {
print("Loading Medium.com successful!")
//print the page's html
guard let data = data,
let medium = String(data: data, encoding: .utf8)
else { return } print(medium) } } } }
There you have it, just implement that Protocol and call URLSession.shared.loadData from now on instead of URLSession.shared.dataTask … and never forget .resume() again!
Footnotes
1. A protocol is not required for this single use case. You could just extend URLSession and implement the loadData method. It can also be used to implement a MockDataLoader using the same method though — and that is very powerful for such a simple protocol | https://medium.com/swlh/extend-urlsession-and-never-forget-resume-again-4e4e361b1460 | ['Kenny Dubroff'] | 2020-07-01 16:21:56.235000+00:00 | ['Urlsession', 'Swift', 'Datatask', 'Xcode'] |
Working with Fastlane on iOS in an Enterprise Environment | 🤖 Service Account
Before you go ahead with submitting a new request for your IT infrastructure change, make sure you have a service account as well.
Unlike normal user accounts, service accounts are not tied to a particular employee. This is very important. When a person leaves a company, their account eventually gets wiped and CI pipelines get broken, so the lesson is: never use personal accounts for CI setup. Service accounts don’t ask for a pay raise, don’t chuck a sickie, and they just don’t quit.
Another good thing about service accounts—they normally don’t have the password expiry policy set. You don’t have to update your CI configuration with a new password every 90 days or so.
If you don’t have a service account, request one then. Yes, it may mean you have to open yet another request to some other DevOps team, but who said enterprise was easy?
Using Fastlane behind the Proxy
Fast-forward N weeks, where N is a random large non-negative number, and you have the following at your disposal:
A service account username and password, and maybe even an email, if you’re super lucky.
Let’s assume the username is part of the Active Directory Domain and comes in a au\username form, where au is the domain.
form, where is the domain. Let’s also assume the password is just password .
. All requested domains are whitelisted on all levels of intranet.
You service account can authenticate to the company proxy using username and password and access whitelisted domains.
Let’s assume the proxy host name is company-proxy and it listens on port 8080 for all incoming connections.
Curl Test
First off, run a simple curl test to make sure everything works:
The --proxy-user and --proxy options are self-explanatory, though note the backslash escaping as \\ .
By saying --proxy-anyauth we tell curl to work with any authentication scheme that the proxy supports.
Most likely, all outgoing network traffic on your dev machine is signed with your company’s own self-signed Root Certificate Authority (CA) certificate, so we use the --insecure option to convince curl to accept this self-signed certificate.
The self-signed root CA and authentication scheme will play very important roles further on.
The output of the command should be something like this:
Unauthenticated Request ID: ABCABCBACBACXYZXYZXYZZ37.0.0
This is good. It means the request went all the way to appstoreconnect.apple.com.
🔏 Root CA and SSL Certificates
Just like with curl , a self-signed root CA certificate won’t be accepted by Fastlane either. While running Fastlane, you won't have any option like the curl 's --insecure flag. Instead you need to add your internal root CA certificate to rubygems path, because Fastlane is a Ruby gem:
You may have to use sudo if you’re using the system Ruby version, though I'd recommend using RVM or rbenv to manage your rubies.
If you are using RVM, you’ll need to run the following as well:
Now you can use this Ruby script to test the SSL connection.
E.g. just run it directly like this:
💲 Environment Variables
The next thing you’ll notice is that Fastlane doesn’t have any option for passing proxy information. Luckily, Fastlane is being a good citizen and respects all the /http[s]_proxy/i environment variables, namely:
HTTP_PROXY
HTTPS_PROXY
http_proxy
https_proxy
Remember this “Gang of Four”—nothing else will cause you as much pain as this bunch!
Somewhere in your ~/.bash_profile or other appropriate shell profile, set these environment variables—for example:
Note that proxy URL is set in the following format:
http:// <domain> \ <username> : <password> @ host : port
Without the username and password, you wouldn’t be able to authenticate with your proxy.
Now give it a try. Run the simple download_screenshots deliver action:
Answer all the prompts and see if it worked. I bet it didn’t!
Long story short, Fastlane is using the faraday HTTP client Ruby library, which uses Kernel.URI method, which can’t handle a backslash \ in the username.
The solution is to use percent-encoding for \ , i.e. %5c :
You should be able to download screenshots now, though that’s just a first, tiny step towards the final goal. Well, actually, you can do a lot of things now, such as registering devices, managing App IDs and provisioning profiles, and more. But I’d assume you also want to upload a new ipa to TestFlight, so meet The Transporter then...
🚎 Transporter
Transporter, aka iTMSTransporter, is a Java-based command-line tool used to “upload things to the App Store”, including app metadata and new ipa builds.
Installing Transporter
So how do you get a copy?
Well…according to Apple, you first login to your developer account and then click the download link like this one.
But wait! You can’t download it unless you have an Admin or Technical role.
I mean, “Why, Apple?! Why?!” 😱
Transporter is available as part of the Xcode installation anyways…why make things so hard?
Why not make it available at Apple Developers Downloads at the very least?
Anyways, if you choose to use the copy bundled with Xcode, then you can find it at:
/Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Applications/Application Loader.app/Contents/itms
Just grab the whole directory.
If you installed it via the Mac OS package, then get it at:
/usr/local/itms
Patching Transporter
If you’re wondering: “Why do I need a copy of Transporter? Can’t Fastlane just use it as is?”
Good question. You don’t need a copy of Transporter. You can use the one available inside Xcode or in your /usr/local , but you would have to patch it before using it anyways.
Given that Transporter is a Java-based command-line app, it has the same issue as curl or any Ruby gem would have with your company's internal self-signed root CA certificate - it won't trust it. Apple didn't bother to add a command line or configuration option of any kind to Transporter to trust self-signed certificates.
Thankfully, Transporter isn’t just a Java-based app, it comes with its own version of Java runtime bundled up inside itms/java . Try running itms/java/bin/java -version to see more info.
Now, the itms/java folder also contains lib/security/cacerts file, which is a keystore with CA certificates. So you need to add your company certificate to cacerts , and itms/java/bin/keytool is just the right tool to do that.
Here ${ROOT_CA_PATH} is the path to the certificate file, which you can locate directly or find in the OS X keychain
Now you’ve convinced Transporter to trust your root CA, but you’re not there yet, because you also need to teach Transporter some respect towards your new and shiny proxy, which is where trouble awaits for you…again.
Transporter and Proxy
Now that we know that Transporter is a Java-based app, we look closer inside the itms folder and find itms/java/lib/net.properties - a Java properties file used to configure the JVM that Transporter runs in.
The group of proxy variables is exactly what we need:
You don’t even have to modify the net.properties file. Fastlane reads the value of the special DELIVER_ITMSTRANSPORTER_ADDITIONAL_UPLOAD_PARAMETERS environment variable and uses it to configure Transporter. For example, in your bash script add the following export statement:
But will it work? By now you’ve been there enough times to know the answer — “No”. 😜
Proxy configuration needs to include the username and password for Basic authentication.
You can try to add au%5cusername:password@company-proxy as the host value, but it won’t work.
Removing the jdk.http.auth.tunneling.disabledSchemes=Basic limitation from net.properties won't help either.
While trying to Google you may find mention of these properties:
Those are part of Apache HTTP Client JVM options, though, and are not part of Oracle’s default network properties. Also, Transporter doesn’t respect them.
🚧 Feels like another roadblock.
Another Proxy
The solution this time is to create yet another proxy (as if there weren’t enough problems with them already!).
This “man in the middle” local proxy will take care of passing authentication information to your company proxy. The credentials no longer have to be hard-coded in a proxy URL. This way, the command line tools like Transporter can use a local proxy for network connections, and a local proxy doesn’t require any type of authentication.
There are a number of proxy tools available for Mac OS. In this example, I’ll be using CNTLM.
I’ll briefly mention that I also tried TinyProxy and ProxyChains-NG. TinyProxy just wouldn’t let me use \ or %5c in the configuration file, while with ProxyChains-NG I eventually just gave up after a number of failed attempts to make it work.
So, CNTLM—a fast proxy for NTLM authentication implemented in C.
Easy to install.
Also easy to configure. Just put the following in cntlm.conf :
Now run this command to generate password hashes:
Type in your account password, copy hashes, and append them to cntlm.conf :
Then run it:
Finally, configure proxy environment variables:
Give it a go!
What do you mean “It doesn’t work!?” Something about the proxy returning an invalid challenge?
Well, that just means you company proxy doesn’t support NTLM authentication and only supports Basic authentication. That needs to be changed by requesting IT support again, I’m afraid. | https://heartbeat.fritz.ai/working-with-fastlane-on-ios-in-an-enterprise-environment-7057a9a8c2d3 | ['Maksym Grebenets'] | 2020-02-19 19:41:06.533000+00:00 | ['iOS App Development', 'Heartbeat', 'Programming', 'Continuous Delivery', 'Fastlane'] |
Oh, Kanye | Oh, Kanye
Oh, Kanye, Kanye.
I blinked and missed
your campaign. But
’24 will be here before
you know it. And then
you can try it again. | https://medium.com/illumination-curated/oh-kanye-1dc4f726f707 | ['Terry Mansfield'] | 2020-12-21 16:41:48.168000+00:00 | ['Humor', 'Poetry', 'Poem', 'Kanye West', 'Politics'] |
Czech Carmaker Škoda will use Israeli AI Solution to Optimize Engine Production | The Israeli pioneer in process-based industrial artificial intelligence, Seebo, announced a partnership last week with the leading Carmaker Škoda Auto. This collaboration aims to use Seebo’s unique process-centric AI solution in aim to predict and prevent losses in automotive production lines.
By employing Explainable AI technology, Seebo enables process manufacturers to predict and prevent unexpected process inefficiencies that continually damage production yield and quality. The Seebo solution empowers production teams to discover process inefficiencies and their operational impact, pinpoint why these process inefficiencies happen and predict when they will happen next.
Seebo was set up in 2012 by Lior Akavia and Liran Akavia. Seebo has over 50 employees, working out of offices in San Francisco, Tel Aviv, and Shenzen. The startup has raised $16.5 million to date, according to Start-Up Nation Central. The company provided its solutions to several manufacturing sites worldwide, such as Hovis, Nestle, and PepsiCo.
Many predicted and discussed the transformation AI will have over autonomous vehicles and how will it completely change the driving experience. Although not many emphasized on how AI will transform most aspects of the auto-manufacturing process. AI will not just change the vehicles that are built, it will also change the entire business of how they get built. Increasingly, AI applications are supported by the adoption of devices and sensors connected to the Internet of Things (IoT). As companies rush to apply AI to high-value industrial tasks such as predictive maintenance or performance optimization, we are seeing a rush of investment in AI technologies.
“The use of AI in the automotive industry is expanding beyond autonomous vehicles into the production plants, to attain smarter, data-driven manufacturing processes. This collaboration demonstrates Škoda’s continued commitment to remain innovative while excelling in production technology and we are proud to be part of their smart manufacturing strategy.”, said Seebo CEO and co-founder Lior Akavia. | https://medium.com/jewish-economic-forum/czech-carmaker-%C5%A1koda-will-use-israeli-ai-solution-to-optimize-engine-production-2e462f63ad1e | ['Liran Zitser'] | 2019-11-11 10:12:51.628000+00:00 | ['Israeli Startups', 'Automotive', 'Innovation', 'Startup Nation', 'Artificial Intelligence'] |
¿Cómo utilizar Quick Link para tu Skill de Alexa? | 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://planetachatbot.com/como-utilizar-quick-link-para-skill-de-alexa-a08dbdc6a3fe | ['Javi Mora Díaz'] | 2020-12-02 09:02:53.505000+00:00 | ['Alexa Skills', 'Voice Assistant', 'Skills', 'Voice Interfaces', 'Alexa'] |
UXDB: Introduction and A Call for New User (Input) Forms | I wrote an essay several months ago, complaining that our database models are insufficient and horrible.
To address this problem, I have been working on a side project that aims to challenge all the current UX, DB and programming approaches as most programmers have come to know them.
Java, I Personally condemn You to Hell, with All Your Friends
Part of it is personal. Since learning to program (it all started with Pascal back in 2001) and being exposed to computers at a rather ‘late age’ of 15, there are very few things that come close to revolting than three things I have observed in the computing world:
A. UX designs that clearly pay little or no attention to the ACTUAL, not the imaginary user. Ever since being introduced to computers, I have always hated companies like Microsoft, and Google. Apple is actually not that much better; it is just that I have not had enough exposure to Apple products to make up my mind. The issue with UX, for me, has never been that it “looks pretty”. It has always been, does it work for ME? Even Job’s matra of ‘design is how it works’ doesn’t fairly capture the concern I have always had with the prevailing UX design approaches.
B. The entire concept of the database. My first experiences with databases was with tools like Microsoft Access. The entire experience was nothing short of brain-numbing. It was probably 16 years ago when I first had an experience with a database. It was appalling. (Let us keep in mind that my love for all things computers, computing, and programming was already on fire back then!) I vividly remember trying out my ‘new’ database table with Names, Surnames, phone numbers, and some other random field. My goal was to ‘test’ the database by scripting some Excel program that imports those Database entries into Excel. Just fooling around, really. The shock and horror of learning that if any of the ‘cells’ in any of the rows was ‘missing’ an entry, the entire ‘import’ script would return garbage! (I began strongly disliking the ‘garbage in, garbage out’ phrase right then and there!)
C. Java! And anything that comes close to looking like it! OO, objects, classes, UML, interfaces, and packages… It appears they were ALL invented with one goal in mind : to dis-empower mere mortals into building the next and better Microsoft, Google, Apple and company. My first introduction to programming was nothing short of happy, glad, and joyful. I built a sizeable number of Mathematics ‘procedures’/functions/methods using ‘lil old Pascal! In came the horrid Java, with all its insane ‘public static void main’ stupidities, and I henceforth refused to aspire to be the next Bill Gates again! In University, I had the most fun doing firmware and embedded code. It made me run away from all the universal madness of OO and its heavily sedated loyalists.
UXDB
Defective Approaches
The truth is, we have several defective concepts that are not helping programmers and computer users to move forward in terms of advancing our UX and DB approaches. Here are several of them:
The MVC architecture. Seriously? Who seriously thought this approach should be made Universal?
The Server-Client approach. C’mon! Is IBM still secretly ‘running’ our computer-terminals that we need ‘servers’ for every single program?
‘running’ our computer-terminals that we need ‘servers’ for every single program? The ‘back-end’/database. See previous.
‘The user should not change the program’. I blame Steve Jobs for this one. Bill Gates never had a single original idea himself…
That’s a wrap in terms of defective approaches.
UXDB Approach
The UXDB approach is NOT a ‘variation’ of the above approaches. It is NOT about ‘UX design’/MVC or ‘Database design’, etc…
It is unfortunately (not yet, anyway), not even a new programming language.
But it comes close…
UXDB is:
About programmatic/database-centric UI
User-centric approaches to database design. Huh? Yep, pretty much.
There have been similar approaches in the past to ‘realise’ this. Programs like MATLAB, and the REPL as experienced in LISP, Python, Clojure, come extremely close to achieving this.
The most glaring omission in these similar approaches is their lack of emphasis on data storage, retrieval and management. Their GUI/UI approaches are fairly primitive as well, but they can be ‘modified’ by the programmer/user as preferred.
UXDB : The Call For New User Forms
UXDB: Views
When it comes to user ‘Views’, a resolution of sorts exists (in my mind at least) as to how a UX can be made adaptive but functional. The Unix/Linux terminal, is, believe it or not, quite effective. The only thing ‘missing’ in the Unix/Linux space is the ability to dynamically launch personalised screens and modify them and their related data or text on the fly using the terminal itself.
That future should not be that hard to imagine or realise. But the Apple’s and the Google’s have made us think thus!
UXDB: Inputs
No one wants to ‘go back’ to the old world of CLI-driven horrid ‘question and answer’ paradigm (qAp) of providing user inputs to a program. But, to be honest, the computing world has surely regressed since qAp was introduced. The qAp system actually has some intelligent things built into it, like checking if the user inputs are valid on the fly as opposed to ‘submitting’ a whole form only to realise an entire 10 pages later than you missed a ‘field’ and now you have to go back and ‘re-fill’ the whole thing AGAIN because the darn stupid web-page didn’t cache your previous inputs!
My ‘UXDB’ project does not yet have a clear resolution to this dilemma of user inputs. The qAp system was clearly a bit too rigid. But our modern user forms are clearly much worse.
We could, however, observe some contextual issues about dealing with User Inputs:
Like my first experience with a database, there is nothing fun about ‘entering’ a form. As db-engineers in most enterprises know, users rarely even bother to ‘double-check’ if they are entering the ‘correct’ data.
about ‘entering’ a form. As db-engineers in most enterprises know, users rarely even bother to ‘double-check’ if they are entering the ‘correct’ data. Because current ‘database’ designs are not user-centric, the ‘User Form’ UX designer is usually forced to ‘comply’ with the database structure, above and beyond whether the User likes that database structure or not, or even whether the User will actually enter the correct data or not.
This provides us with some basic heuristics we could use for dealing with user inputs in an application:
Never let the ‘database’ dictate what the user inputs/form should be or look like
let the ‘database’ dictate what the user inputs/form should be or look like Make the ‘input process’ as painless as possible. Drop-down menus are actually a rather decent innovation. They just don’t work for things like entering a name or one’s favourite dish.
the ‘input process’ as painless as possible. Drop-down menus are actually a rather decent innovation. They just don’t work for things like entering a name or one’s favourite dish. Make the ‘system’ work without any user inputs. The idea that a program is to stop working due to a missing user/system input is frankly ridiculous and should be done away with, immediately . As any experienced programmer would know, this is a language-level problem. If your programming language has a heart-attack every time it sees a ‘null pointer’… the poor programmer will clearly not live long too!
the ‘system’ without any user inputs. The idea that a program is to working due to a missing user/system input is frankly ridiculous and should be done away with, . As any experienced programmer would know, this is a language-level problem. If your programming language has a heart-attack every time it sees a ‘null pointer’… the poor programmer will clearly not live long too! The User should be able to ‘programmatically’ alter the input/form process
the input/form process Data sharing between programs should be made easier. This is a little harder. It involves a bit of security re-design. OS-level ‘user-identification’ systems like FaceID will undoubtedly make this a little easier in the long run.
between programs should be made easier. This is a little harder. It involves a bit of security re-design. OS-level ‘user-identification’ systems like FaceID will undoubtedly make this a little easier in the long run. Program independent user inputs using open data format files like JSON, XML, etc
These are merely ‘structural’ heuristics. We clearly need more refined examples and layouts on how to proceed…
Transactional Anarchist
Related Stories from DDI: | https://medium.com/datadriveninvestor/uxdb-introduction-and-a-call-for-new-user-input-forms-7347e202fd1d | ['Lesang Dikgole'] | 2019-02-12 10:04:38.652000+00:00 | ['Java', 'Programming', 'UX', 'Database', 'Forms'] |
Are independent boards the way to go? | February 28th, 2020
Hope you are having a great week and welcome back to our brief thoughts on ESG. This week I’d like to share some ideas on corporate governance inspired by Warren Buffet’s latest letter to Berkshire Hathaway’s shareholders. In particular, I’d like to talk about independent board members and their effectiveness.
Who is an independent board member?
An independent director or board member is defined as a someone who doesn’t have a material or pecuniary relationship with the company either directly or through one of the company’s partners, shareholders, or management members, except for the fees it gets from being a board member. In a nutshell, an independent board member should not have any conflict of interest that would prevent them from exercising independent judgment in any and all topics discussed during board meetings. In theory this allows them to better consider all stakeholders (in particular, minority shareholders) and make the best decision for all.
Now, it is easier to put in paper when someone is independent than to judge independence in real life. Many market organizations (NASDAQ, NYSE, LSE, HKSE, among others) have tried to enumerate rules to better define where conflicts of interest exist. But life is complex, and with complexity comes subjectivity. So, investors are left to the very difficult task to not only see the percentage of independent board members in a given board, but also to judge whether these board members are actually independent.
Is an independent board always better?
This is a tough question. Several academic studies have tried to tackle it and the answer is not always straightforward.
Some supporters are:
A very large study of 10,314 firm-year observations belonging to 34 countries shows that board independence is positively associated with firm performance.
A study of 200 firms in both the UK and the US showed that there is a significantly positive relationship between the number of independent board members and firm performance.
A study of the FTSE100 constituents in the UK showed that board independence has a significant strong positive impact on firm performance (both contemporaneous and subsequent).
A study for Chinese companies covering almost all publicly traded firms on both the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges from 1999 to 2012 found that independent directors have a positive effect on firm performance. This relationship was even stronger in government-controlled firms and firms with lower information acquisition costs.
A study for 80 listed Pakistani firms, also shows a significant positive impact of independence on firm performance measures.
A study of 64 industrial firms listed in the Amman Stock Exchange in Jordan found that board independence is significantly and positively related to ROA.
Some opponents are:
A study in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain analyzing data for 162 companies found an inverse relationship between board independence and firm performance.
A study in Bangladesh found that independence and economic performance did not positively affect each other in the 135 firms studied in the local market.
A study of 200 firms in Malaysia concluded that independent directors significantly and negatively affect firm performance.
Some mixed bags are:
A study of 2883 US companies found that board independence is positively related to firm value before the introduction of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, and negatively related after the introduction.
A study of Southern European companies found that the optimal proportion of independent directors is lower in family businesses than in non-family ones.
If you look for similar studies, you can find many covering many different geographies and yielding many different conclusions. Thus, we now have an additional layer of complexity. Not all independent boards yield the same results (even if the theory behind an independent member better representing a minority is sound).
How would a great board look like then?
Quoting the source of inspiration for this week’s topic: “Despite the illogic of it all, the director for whom fees are important — indeed, craved — is almost universally classified as “independent” while many directors possessing fortunes very substantially linked to the welfare of the corporation are deemed lacking in independence. Not long ago, I looked at the proxy material of a large American company and found that eight directors had never purchased a share of the company’s stock using their own money.
… I feel better when directors of our portfolio companies have had the experience of purchasing shares with their savings.”
We believe independence is important, but it’s not a silver bullet. A combination of having an independent board (with board members who truly understand their fiduciary duty, are prepared for the task, and have minorities’ best interests at heart) and the right alignment of interests is the ideal. Board members should be aligned to care about their decisions more than they care about their board fees. Investors should be empowered to speak up when board members are not delivering. Track record should matter.
In Mexico we have a lot of family-controlled businesses in the market. As a result, we see most boards with a minority of independent members. While we believe over time Mexican companies will improve their corporate governance standards to align with what investors ask for, we don’t see a Mexican market with less control group power in the near term. Under these conditions, we believe companies need to make sure their independent board seats are being optimized. We provide some food for thought here:
Do you have the best board member sitting there? Someone prepared with useful knowledge for where your industry is heading? An independent thinker who will speak up if needed? Are your independent board members up to speed to what their fiduciary duty entails? Are your independent board members too busy to truly dedicate time to your board? Are your independent board members correctly incentivized? Do your board members care more about their reputation and interests of minorities than the privilege of sitting on the board? Are your independent board members friends or business acquaintances of the controlling shareholders? Do they sit on other boards together? Have independent board members been on the board for over a decade compromising their independence?
In addition, in Mexico shareholders who represent 10% of the economic capital of a company have the legal right to choose a board member. Groups of shareholders can club together to meet the 10% threshold and jointly appoint a board member. In many cases AFOREs thus qualify for board seats, as do certain large international shareholders (Blackrock, Wellington, Fidelity, etc.). We believe AFOREs and other investors should take up this right, and if they do not want to be an insider in the stock, appoint a reputable external person accountable to them. For the most part it makes sense to do this in a friendly, collaborative way, and reach a consensus with the company on the right person to fill the seat, if possible. The objective is not to be confrontational, but to help the company take better decisions and operate in the interests of all stakeholders.
Hope this was of use. As usual, if there is anything we can help you with, please reach out. Also, don’t forget to recommend any ESG subject matter that you would like us to research and put in a forthcoming weekly.
Regards,
Marimar
Partner, Miranda ESG | https://medium.com/@marimartorreblanca/are-independent-boards-the-way-to-go-2dfec82f3696 | ['Marimar Torreblanca'] | 2020-12-08 15:12:33.602000+00:00 | ['Consulting', 'Corporate Governance', 'Esg Investing', 'Esg', 'Finance'] |
Not Just A School Drill | By Christian Budi Usfinit, Technical Officer for Disaster Risk Management and Climate Change Adaptation, UNDP Indonesia
WATCH: Tsunami Drills in Bali island, Indonesia. Follow: #90Drills
When I heard about UNDP initiating a regional project on school tsunami preparedness my initial reaction was — why us? It’s been a while since our last work with schools through the Safer Communities through Disaster Risk Reduction (SC-DRR) project which was completed in 2012. Since then, we don’t typically work in schools, and so my interaction with the Ministry of Education and schools was limited at best.
But as one of 18 countries under this project funded by the Government of Japan, we were guided by the regional office and tsunami experts in identifying criteria for school selection, preparedness, reviewing school plans and evacuation routes, and conducting school drills.
Photo: UNDP Indonesa
Based on risk data provided in InaRISK, and discussions with key stakeholders we agreed to conduct drills in six schools in Bali and Aceh. We realized quickly enough that we needed partners on the ground since currently we do not have active DRR initiatives in both location — to help us facilitate engagement with local government, the school authorities and even local traffic police. So, we partnered with the Red Cross whose volunteers played a crucial role.
Bali is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world. It is home to many hotels — including in newly developed tourism area of Tanjung Benoa. What’s new is that the local administration is signing Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) with eight hotels that school children and even people from the local community can evacuate to, in the event of a tsunami warning.
Where there are plans in place, a drill helps to test, nurture the awareness and provide opportunity to improve them based on the developed situation in the community. Where there is an absence of plans, a drill provides an opportunity to develop one.
When we conducted the drill the students from SD 2 evacuated to ION Benoa, one of the only hotels that is six storeys high. As I watched, I realized that the moment the students left the school’s premises, the drill was no longer just about the school.
Photo: UNDP Indonesia
The Pecalang — the local security guards — had been notified and they were there to regulate traffic flow so that the students could evacuate safely. The hotel staff guided students and faculty up the stairs to safety. By the time we did the third drill there were plenty of observers — local community, university students and even tourists — who got interested in what we were doing.
The drills have prompted the local administration to sign MOUs with eight hotels. These MOUs signal the beginning of a broader initiative — from school preparedness to whole of society preparedness — advocacy, awareness campaigns, evacuation plans and preparedness drills for Tanjung Benoa.
I know that a drill is only part of a process. There is so much that happens before, and much that should happen after. But I realized not to underestimate the importance of a drill. Where there are plans in place, a drill helps to test, nurture the awareness and provide opportunity to improve them based on the developed situation in the community. Where there is an absence of plans, a drill provides an opportunity to develop one.
Then there is the drill itself — visible action that the community or neighborhood witnessed, and in turn spurred interest — a movement beyond our expectations.
Photo: UNDP Indonesia
More: Strengthening School Preparedness for Tsunamis in the Asia-Pacific region. | https://medium.com/school-preparedness-for-tsunamis/not-just-a-school-drill-6608bfcd9323 | ['Undp Asia-Pacific Disaster Risk Reduction Team'] | 2018-08-23 14:49:54.395000+00:00 | ['Indonesia', 'Asia Pacific', 'Humanitarian', 'Disaster Preparedness', 'Tsunami'] |
Closing of the Year ~ Turn of the Tide | As each grain of sand drifts through the pinch, there are blessings in it we must not miss.
Greetings Dear Reader,
I am concerned about those who are pushing so hard for the year to be over. There are still some quality days left in this year. It is not the year that causes the difficulties in our lives. People have been trying to wish this one away since April.
Let us indulge in that fantasy for a moment. Suppose we could reach a place in the year where we could collectively agree that the year would end. How long would it be before we were wishing away the next year and the one after that? We see the bad, forget about our blessings, and wish away the potential for good.
Just so I have managed expectations responsibly, the problems in our lives are not going to magically disappear next Thursday night. Many will carry over because the only way out of them is through them. I just finished writing the third book in my Thoughts and Questions Devotional series. It will be out late in April. The focus is on joy in whatever circumstances we find ourselves.
We wish time away instead of redeeming it. I have spent the entire month of December being able to give to others with great joy. It is not anything special about me. It is the Father meeting my needs and blessing me to the point where I am free to give to others. That last part is always there if we determine to see it. There is always a way to see our blessings and find the joy to share with others. Instead, we too often focus on what we do not have.
As I close this year, I am determined to see the blessings in it. I want you to join me in this. We are all better off than we deserve. We all have things to be thankful for every day. Here is a starting place for me; the Father thinks about me every single moment always. If he did not, I would cease to exist. Job understood this when he was sitting in ashes, mourning the deaths of his children, and being falsely accused by his friends.
The Father constantly pours love, grace, and mercy into every moment of sand that passes through the pinch. He asks that we look for the Son in each of those moments and follow him. I must take time as the year drifts to the bottom of the glass to count the blessings in my life instead of wishing it away. The tide will turn, the calendar will be renewed, and the hourglass will be full again.
The seasons will come and go. We will have some loss along the way. It is my obligation to use each moment I am gifted. As I journey through them, you are part of the company I would keep, Dear Reader. As we close the year, let us share some of the blessings that have been ours. I cannot wait to hear yours.
Wishing you joy in the journey,
Aramis Thorn
Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, “That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a homeowner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”
(͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
Every human story is part of the great story that leads to the Father getting everything back to Good.
Contacts for Aramis Thorn:
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As each grain of sand drifts through the pinch, there are blessings in it we must not miss. | https://medium.com/@bdsnso1992/closing-of-the-year-turn-of-the-tide-df3d5f8cb4b7 | ['Aramis Thorn'] | 2020-12-27 10:37:00.357000+00:00 | ['Time', 'Love', 'Hourglass', 'Following Christ', 'New Year'] |
COVID-19 Update: PartRunner — Construction Supply Logistics | Here we will be revisiting PartRunner, a Boston-based company that is building a platform to solve last-mile delivery for the construction industry and its suppliers.
The Problem
Moving parts/materials are a costly experience for companies in the construction space. If logistics is not part of a company’s core-competency, it is not uncommon to see slippage on that end of the business.
What The Company Does
PartRunner’s solution is an on-demand delivery service (Last-Mile) that enables companies (Supply Houses and Contractors) to move material on-demand. The service is mainly B2B now.
Here is a link to our initial profile on PartRunner in case you missed it.
Here is what PartRunner is doing NOW to adjust to the Coronavirus outbreak …
1. They have established pickup and dropoff locations with many of their customers, which helps to significantly reduce human contact.
2. All drivers have been instructed to pick up and drop off curbside and use cleaning wipes to thoroughly clean their vehicles’ interior surfaces throughout the day and between deliveries.
3. Drivers are utilizing a “touch-free” Point of Delivery process and will not be getting in-person signatures from customers until further notice.
4. Here is more information about what PartRunner is doing.
PartRunner has built a strong and reliable fleet of drivers, and the team is poised to help in other industries outside of construction. Definitely reach out if you could use their service or know someone else that could. We’re proud of the PartRunner team for playing their part in limiting the outbreak, while pushing through to keep its customers happy and safe. Connect with the PartRunner team.
Subscribe to The Buzz to get more startups and COVID-19 updates delivered directly to your inbox. | https://medium.com/the-startup-buzz/covid-19-update-partrunner-construction-supply-logistics-1903fdf37e58 | ['Jeff Piltch'] | 2020-04-14 19:01:00.875000+00:00 | ['Construction', 'Startup', 'Coronavirus', 'Delivery', 'Logistics'] |
Part of Pursuing a Creative Career | My confidence level in stating “I’m a photographer” has matured exponentially compared to where it was 3 years ago. Interesting enough, it’s difficult to fathom how much work I’ve produced considering I don’t have all the time in the world that you would expect you would need to create. Would I want more time? Probably but I would want to earn it first simply to avoid squandering it for not having a plan on what to do with it.
I wanted to share with you some random thoughts that have been permeating which I think you might relate to if you’re also pursuing any creative endeavor.
Shooting for free — Yes, I’ve done it before and if any creative tells you they haven’t then in my opinion they’re lying. I’m well aware that exposure doesn’t pay the bills but there’s been instances where some type of barter agreement has been made in which someone’s offer and my creative work have aligned. Sometimes work opportunities have arisen from it afterwards. Get use to the fact that it’s part of the hustle, just make sure it doesn’t become your actual business plan. I’ve shot for free whenever I’ve felt that I’ve had to do what it takes to get close to the fire.
You’ll probably spend less time shooting and more time networking to secure that next job — This one is difficult to swallow. You love being behind the camera and yet I feel that in order to earn the right to be in the position, you have to not only do the leg work first by promoting yourself and developing relationships but also to realize that your creative vision for anything you produce happens before you’ve touch any of your expensive gear. I also often go through that dreaded feeling of not having anything to share on social media which signals to me that I haven’t shot as much lately. I see this as a result of not having done much to put myself in a position where I either get hired or experiment on my own.
You’ll dislike your work — Everyone always tells you not to compare your work to anyone else’s but that’s easier said than done. Regardless of whether I’ve already developed a creative style, I see disliking one’s own work as a impetus to not quit what we’ve accomplished so far but to experiment new avenues that will challenge us to consider other ways to ignite our passion again. While the majority of my work revolves around people, I equally have a passion for travel photography which obviously requires time and money.
I work, I purposely save PTO time and have I’ve established a separate bank account where I bi-weekly deposit funds that I can reinvest into my creative vision and portfolio development. This is exactly how this trip to El Salvador on my own came about.
Just relax — I have a difficult time simply chilling the f**k out. Seriously. Between a full-time job and 2 beautiful kids, any downtime I do get, I invariably feel this pressure to be productive 24/7. It’s a challenge for me to just relax and not feel guilty about laying in bed and watching a movie. I continually remind myself that even the best of hustlers take a break because burning out could only set you back as oppose to moving you forward. | https://medium.com/@jorgeq/part-of-pursuing-a-creative-career-24eb6c6edf74 | ['Jorge Quinteros'] | 2020-12-17 14:36:46.809000+00:00 | ['Creative', 'Photographer', 'Photography'] |
My Dogs Are Suing Me | PETS
My Dogs Are Suing Me
It’s time to renegotiate our contract
Image via Pixabay.
My dogs, Umi and Luna, have officially denied my part-time contract. Now we’re in the thick of contractual negotiations.
See, my dogs never really supported my move away from home. Come to think of it, they never really supported my leaving the house at all unless they got a walk out of it.
Unfortunately for them, humans are a lot more like birds than they are like dogs.
Eventually, an unexplicable and uncomfortable urge overcomes us all to flee the nest. Meanwhile, our four-legged friends stay behind, left forever scratching their heads with their hind legs and sniffing butts for the answer to the age-old canine conundrum, “What more could you want out of life than a cozy nest?”
As my dogs spent their days padding around the house in search of the answer to this very question, I remained entirely ignorant to it as human beings tend to do. All I knew was that it was time for me to leave.
My first adventure into the great, big world outside the nest was my freshman year of college.
My dogs knew something was coming given the inordinate amount of suitcase packing and annoying “I’ll miss you” hovering as they were trying to nap. As the day drew closer that I was to leave the house, they contacted their shared lawyer to draft the official part-time-hour contract.
At the time, I was still a full-time dog’s best friend, coming home at the end of each school day to throw sticks and pour them a bowl of hard, brown chunks masquerading as food that they were somehow obsessed with.
The stipulations of the part-time contract were clear, which is quite amazing given their representative is a 12-year-old Shiba Inu:
I was to come home for all major holidays
Whenever I was back at the nest, I had to feed them one cup of hard, brown chunks more than they were used to getting from my parents
I had to go outside and play with them at least once a visit
They reserved the right to use the guilt-inducing, “don’t leave me again” face whenever applicable. This oftentimes coincided with begging for food at the dinner table, something my dogs swear was just a coincidence.
The contract sounded pretty fair to me, so I hastily signed my name alongside their inked paw prints.
*I’m glad they were so generous with the terms, because, if you can believe it, I had no canine legal representation of my own at the time. I know, I know — so irresponsible of me, but I was 18!
Four years later and the time has come to renew the contract — except now my dogs will no longer roll over for a part-time commitment.
“Things have changed,” they say. “It’s dangerous out there these days! There’s a pandemic going on. Whether it’s a dog bed or a desk, we’re all just lounging around at home these days anyway, so why can’t you lounge around back in the nest?”
I don’t know what to tell them. We’re at a stalemate — and oh boy if you’ve ever been in a contractual stalemate with your dogs over the holidays, you know how awkward that can be, am I right?
It’s like, can’t I just pet you?? Nope. Not until we’ve got ink on paper, apparently.
As it stands, we’re still negotiating, but I think I’ll get through to them.
I’ll have to show them that they’re barking up the wrong tree. Although I should probably avoid that phrase — I hear it’s been deemed offensive.
They might think they want me back in the family house 24/7, but as soon as they realize just how much I’ll cut into their nap-in-the-sun-spot time, I’m sure I can get them to roll-over on this.
As of today, their lawyer has told me they might file legal suits in my name if I leave the house again without signing a new contract. As annoying — and costly — as this ongoing fight may be, I guess I’m just thankful to have two doggos by my side that love me enough to sue me.
Not everyone can say as much, that’s for sure. | https://medium.com/muddyum/my-dogs-are-suing-me-f01858ab48a1 | ['Till Kaeslin'] | 2020-12-24 13:40:51.217000+00:00 | ['Pets', 'Humor', 'Love', 'Fiction', 'Dogs'] |
The Locomotive | Credit: Antonio Pasciucco on iStock
A damaged steam vessel loses track of its original design. It suddenly begins lacking in all areas of control. The only direct command it can comprehend is “listen and push”. It requires repairs, a job that will hammer hot iron within to reconstruct the locomotive.
Haunting thoughts of weakness and anger begin teasing the outdated design. Exhaling steam from the smokebox as gears and gadgets continue to work, lift, and reshape mental boundaries.
Looking back towards the tender side unleashes a variety of forceful obstacles. Relapses of construction are considered hindrances. A position, a location, a touch, a taste, all simple pleasantries that once aided the vessel.
A heavy weight piles into the firebox, more and more heat begins to push it to it’s very limit. Dry laced fingers and bulging chaliced palms suffer from bursts of red, flowing within each grip. Each surrounding vein activates as the sincerity of inner strength awakens.
It has decided to leave the depths of the dismal hillside and climb up and out of this place of weakness and doubt. It moves rampant through an overwhelming atmosphere with an unchecked palpable force.
The craft listens to the surrounding setting, motivating itself to create the necessary amount of adrenaline to flow throughout its entirety. A valve gear begins to weaken, the continuous pushing is beginning to wear and tear on the vessel. Shaky uncertainty causes the vessel to peer down and demand in question, “Is that all you’ve got?”
The hand tightens and returns to its place to apply more than the necessary force to lift, push, and defy mental boundaries. The driving wheels suffer but the vessel grows to endure. Wishful thinking creates a rare heat which melds the piece to its prior and forever position.
Over time the vessel’s body has become newly forged. It’s been melted down to it’s core with different dry compounds only to have been beaten into steel. The locomotive has become durable enough to absorb heavy hits, low blows, and is prepared to go pounding through the darkest hours with steady white plumes.
© Gaston King, all rights reserved. | https://medium.com/@gastontking/the-locomotive-349029659b0a | ['Gaston King'] | 2020-12-14 18:57:28.071000+00:00 | ['Trains', 'Heartbreak', 'Poetry', 'Free Verse', 'Life Lessons'] |
How to use Growth Marketing in 2021 | In order to appear the noise, it’s become significantly vital to have an advertising and marketing strategy that is innovative, repetitive, as well as compelling. An approach that not only assists with customer procurement, but one that is a breeding ground for virality, word of mouth, and natural growth.
This brand-new as well as effective means of building a devoted customer base has a name: Growth Marketing Service.
Allow’s have a look at what growth advertising and marketing involves and also see what it requires to end up being an effective development marketing expert.
What is Development Advertising and marketing?
Growth marketing is marketing 2.0. It takes the traditional marketing model and includes layers such as A/B screening, value-additive post, data-driven email marketing projects, SEO optimization, innovative advertisement copy, and technological evaluation of every facet of an individual’s experience. The understandings gained from these techniques are rapidly executed in order to attain robust and lasting growth.
What Makes Development Advertising And Marketing Different?
Typical advertising and marketing include “set it as well as forget it” approaches that burn with a set spending plan and expect the best. Believe Google Adwords as well as show projects with some basic advertisement copy. These techniques can be a fantastic means to construct web traffic to the top of your sales channel, helping to boost a business’s recognition and customer purchase, but that’s where the value dwindles.
Yet development advertising and marketing is additionally a stochastic procedure, like biological evolution. This implies there is a component of randomness to the techniques that might work. The only method to be specific about what will be a fruitful roadway to drop is to start tossing points at the wall and see what sticks.
High Qualities of Effective Development Marketers
The very best growth marketing experts are recognized to be:
Data-Driven
The days of choosing based upon gut feeling more than. Ditto to choosing based only on the making use of the HiPPO method (highest possible paid individual’s point of view). The modern-day growth online marketer dives deep right into the data to figure out what techniques are working and is comfortable making use of all the devices that permit such analysis.
Creative
If that was the perspective Airbnb had when they were trying to expand, they never ever would have developed the concept of giving totally free expert digital photography solutions to each and also everyone listing on their site. What some thought was crazy or unnecessary became an amazing engine for driving their development.
Development of Marketing vs. Development Hacking
While the terms “Growth Marketing” and also “Development Hacking” are frequently utilized reciprocally, there are some subtle differences between these roles at several firms.
Growth hacking services are more like professional consultants induced to fix a specific problem, and also to solve it quickly. They are entrusted, commonly on a small spending plan, with finding innovative solutions to tough problems. To a growth cyberpunk, the rate is whatever, as well as issues, require to be solved the other day.
Development marketing professionals have a tendency to take a longer-term strategy. They need to strategize on exactly how to scale several SaaS development metrics across various dimensions, and also just how to do so sustainably.
growth hacking services can be thought of as similar to day trading in the stock market. Sure, you can make money like that, however, it’s not necessarily mosting likely to be a stable income source for the long-term.
An efficient development advertising procedure distills the most effective characteristics of development hacking (particularly, the wish to believe outside the package to get a grip) down right into a lasting method based on rock-solid concepts. In that method, development advertising and marketing is the reverse of day trading — it’s spending for the long-term based upon data-driven metrics that are always being maximized.
Referral Website traffic
This is any kind of and all traffic that does not originate from a significant online search engine. So, social networks website traffic in addition to all the other sites linking to your web content.
This is the definition of viral web content. Tracking the quantity and also the source of all reference traffic will certainly assist you to maximize hereof.
You can utilize affordable evaluation to acquire an edge, such as checking your competitors’ interaction spikes on social networks and after that trying to turn around engineer their success.
On-site metrics
It’s always critical to recognize what’s really occurring on your website. You want to know where your visitors are coming from, what actions they are taking, and the length of time they are spending on the site. An additional crucial number to keep track of is your bounce price, as it’s a great sign of the importance of your web content or landing web page.
Goal: Obtain Leads & Improve Conversion Rate
All the visitors worldwide do not mean anything if they aren’t being converted into brand-new individuals. Here are the crucial locations to maximize.
Conversion Rate
What is the general conversion price of individuals involving your website via any kind of method? You should offer added examination to any kind of web pages that have actually significant drop-offs compared with other parts of the website.
Hubspot experimented with various web site layouts and also found one that doubled their overall conversion prices.
Touchdown Web Page Conversion Fees
What is the conversion price of individuals who hit your primary touchdown web page? There are numerous ways to maximize right here, such as tinkering with duplicate, design, and also format.
An intriguing location to experiment with is the size of the headline for the material you present on a landing web page. For instance, it’s been shown that shorter, punchier headlines generally carry out better.
To know more !
Resources -https://surajwebi7.blogspot.com/2020/12/how-to-use-growth-marketing-in-2021.html | https://medium.com/@surajmurali-webi7/how-to-use-growth-marketing-in-2021-a9b73450a4b4 | ['Surajmurali Webi'] | 2020-12-19 05:17:13.821000+00:00 | ['2021', 'Growth Marketing', '2021 Trends', 'Growth Strategy', 'Growth Hacking'] |
Great financial education. | Great financial education. I love it. Write more of this to open the eyes and minds of people on finance Tim Denning . Makes a good read… | https://medium.com/@andersonworld88/great-financial-education-20954301800b | ['Emmanuel A. Anderson'] | 2020-12-12 20:47:05.458000+00:00 | ['Financial Planning', 'Money', 'Finance', 'Money Management'] |
There’s Always So Much To Do! | Self-portrait artwork by author, Annie Wood
There’s Always So Much To Do! Should we do something about that? We are human beings, not human doings. And yet… we are always moving, thinking, planning, wondering about what to DO next. We gotta get things DONE. I don’t know about you but I’m freakin’ tired. Still, I can’t seem to quit all that doing. Just as I was thinking this thought, I dropped a stack of magazines I was holding (because that’s what happens when I’m always doing, I’m often dropping) and a card fell out of one of the magazines. Written on the card,
It’s okay to rest. It’s a sign! Feeling inspired by this sign, I crossed out the word okay and wrote the word important in its place.
Yes, yes it is. Do it. Or rather, don’t do it.
💌 Sign up for Annie’s monthly newsletter, What I Liked, Wrote & Drew | https://medium.com/illumination-curated/theres-always-so-much-to-do-5d94e09b39d | [] | 2020-12-24 16:32:04.866000+00:00 | ['Short Form', 'Life', 'Self Care', 'Self', 'Life Lessons'] |
5 Strategic Human Resource Planning Tips For 2021 | Human Resource (HR) managers should already be fully aware that long term organisational success requires the alignment of people with the organisation’s strategy. This is undoubtedly the HR’s key role in every organisation. However, very often, it is challenging to connect people and business strategies effectively.
In order for HR to ensure that the organisation continues to grow whilst operating efficiently, it needs to delve and modify the way it manages various HR aspects. While each organisation has their own unique HR strategy, here are some of the key HR aspects that require planning and strategic approaches for the people to align with the organisational skills needs.
Compensation & Benefits
The start of a new year typically means that annual increments and bonus payments are drawing near. It is time to do salary benchmarking — where do your employees’ salaries fall with respect to the marketplace? Do you pay at the median percentile, higher or lower, and why? What is the company’s policy on salary increments and bonuses? The HR department might need to further analyze their payroll expenses as well to determine if the company is operating at full efficiency. Studying their annual payroll reports in detail can allow them to develop strategies to reduce human capital costs.
Additionally, does the organisation offer premium benefits to the employees in order to stay competitive with other companies in the market? The HR department has to be able to effectively articulate to the employees the compensation and benefits policies and guidelines, and also practice it on a regular basis.
Employee Communication
Employee communication is vital to the organisation as it affects employee morale and corporate culture. According to a Deloitte study, 94% of executives believe a strong workplace culture is important to business success. Further research done by Clear Company HRM found that “86 percent of employees and executives cite lack of collaboration or ineffective communication for workplace failures.” It is critical to develop an effective communication channel that allows employees provide their feedback. Factors to consider includes how are the collected information going to be disseminated and what is the most effective communication channel given the demographics of the organisation.
Training & Development
Employees are constantly seeking upgrading opportunities within the organisation. What is the value that the organisation places on training and development? This aspect can come in various forms, such as tuition reimbursement, internal and external workshops, on-the-job training or career succession planning. According to The 2019 Employee Engagement Report by TINYPulse, 54% of employees are unclear about their promotion and career path. The HR has to consider how much time and money they are willing to spend on training and development, and communicate to employees these career advancement opportunities.
Recruitment
A good recruitment strategy that supports the HR business goals can help ensure that new employees are on the same page with the organisation’s goals and objectives. One excellent example would be the recruitment strategy of General Mills. This U.S. food company made use of the booming social media platform to reach out to a wider potential talent pool. With the implementation of this social media strategy, potential candidates are able to get a glimpse into the company’s culture and working environment to see if it is a good fit for their career development. Through this social media strategy, they have successfully managed to portray themselves as a favourable employer among their potential audience.
To further enhance the recruitment strategy for new hires, a clear onboarding process can also provide new employees better insights on the organisation’s business strategy.
Work Environment
What kind of corporate workplace does the organisation have? Does it seem to be improving employees’ morale and boosting the business? It is important to create a workplace environment that allows employees to grow and communicate with each other so as to encourage employee retention within the organisation.
In short, the value placed on developing the human resources in the organisation will ultimately dictate the success of the organisation. What is your HR strategy for 2021? | https://medium.com/@epayroll-asia/5-strategic-human-resource-planning-tips-for-2021-1ed3fd269925 | [] | 2020-12-17 03:18:00.257000+00:00 | ['Work', 'Human Resources', 'Business'] |
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FOR MORE DETAILES VISIT OFFICIAL WEBSITE | https://medium.com/@jeeva-criminology/video-tours-360-d23120cfe270 | [] | 2020-12-23 11:22:09.583000+00:00 | ['VR', 'Review', 'AI', 'Video Tours 360', 'Gamification'] |
A Guide To The Wine Region of German-Speaking Switzerland In Switzerland | Interlude
Welcome to this post about the region of German-Speaking Switzerland within Switzerland. Yes, a very confusing region name, but that’s the name. In the last post we covered the region of Geneva. A region known for being one of the warmest in the country and the producer of some really great red wines from the Gamay grape.
We are doing these posts or guides to learn more about the vast world of wine out there. To feel more comfortable navigating it. Much like the other posts we will cover the history of the region, the style of wine that is made, climate and geography and of course some places to look for. So without further ado, let’s get started!
History of the region
So for the history of the region it is important to look at the country as a whole. As with history much of the stuff happening actually has a significant effect on all places. But they are one of the oldest ones producing wine in the whole of Europe.Maybe not to the same extent that Geogrien is as they have history dating back more than 5000 years. In Switzerland there has been evidence found that wine was made as early as 200 years BC in the region today known as Valais.
It was a small bottle made in ceramic found in a celtic tomb and text on the ceramic suggested that it once upon a time contained wine. The people of the country had a history of offering wine to the dead, but it can be assumed that they themselves als had traditions of consuming it. This was around 150 years BC. After a century or so, the Romans appeared and established more and more vineyards drastically and the whole industry flourished. They got the chance to export a huge amount as the Roman empire grew and grew more. The actual production wine in the country has to be one of the best kept secrets in the entire world.
There is a very small amount of wine that ever sees sites outside of Switzerland. The Swiss just love their own wine too much. The entire country holds about 15,000 hectares of cultivated vineyards and there are about 1,500 different producers. The country was like many others in Europe the victim of the Phylloxera disaster that happened during the 19th century. Botanists from England traveled to North America to do research on the native vines growing there.
They brought some back with them not knowing that they carried diseases not experienced by the European native varieties. This resulted in many bones having to be cut down and the winemakers were faced with a very hard decision. Either they could continue with the native ones and riske the infection ones again or they could try and create hybrid ones that could withstand the disease. This was a major influence for the diversified grape varieties that now make up the country’s vineyards.
The style of wine
The style of wine that is most prevalent here is red wine. More specifically red wine made from Pinot Noir, as red grapes make up a total 70 % of the total cultivated land. The wines show an incredible elegance and structure. Something that is easier achievable when the climate is cooler. The tannins become more prevalent but also tight and gripping when drinking. This creates a more pleasant mouthfeel that makes you able to identify the red fruits easier.
A flavour focus that is so popular here. As for white wine, the most planted grape is Muller-Thurgau. A grape that fits in perfectly with the cooler climate. Getting more fresher tones and a lightness to it. Not something that will hold up very well with age maybe but they can be exceptional when still young. Lots of green apples running through them, but also a slight spiciness with almost ginger like tones. Also here, good structure and complexity. The Swiss winemakers sure know what they are doing.
Climate and geography
The climate of the region is heavily influenced by the Alps. Bringing in cool winds and tempering the region. Making it harder to get full and richer wines. But the wineries play into this making style that are more fresh and lively. Given that the region is the largest one in Switzerland it also therefore holds the most amount of grape varieties but more importantly, microclimates.
This is the reason for being able to sometimes create full and rich wines. This term microclimates refers to such things like lakes, rivers or foehn (warm winds). These attributes help in making it more suitable for certain vines to be grown there. It helps in retaining a stricter balance in temperature throughout the season. But although these things exist, it is still hard for some varieties to reach full maturity.
Recommendation
So what type of wine do I like then when it comes to the region of German-Speaking Switzerland? For me the answer is quite clear, red wine. If you have been following for some time then you might already know that I really like Pinot Noir made from cooler climates. The wines just have such a great elegance to them. They age beautifully with the tannins rounding off and giving room and support to the fresh red fruit flavours to come forth.
These wines can however be very hard to come by as we have mentioned in other posts regarding Switzerland, they only export under 2 % of the total national wine production. A very low number making the wines also have a higher price tag to them. But if you are to do some research to buy wine, then look for vineyards close to water. Here you can almost guarantee that the temperature has been even and the grapes haven’t rushed in ripening.
Last words
That’s a wrap for this post about the region of German-Speaking Switzerland in Switzerland. I hope that you have enjoyed reading this and feel more knowledgeable and maybe even inspired to go out and get some wine from here. Stay tuned for the next post where we will cover the region of Three Lakes.
Follow Me!
https://winesofmine.com
https://www.pinterest.se/samuelpetersson01 | https://medium.com/@samuel.petersson01/a-guide-to-the-wine-region-of-german-speaking-switzerland-in-switzerland-b2be2bcf4eff | ['Samuel Petersson'] | 2021-12-25 14:03:06.249000+00:00 | ['Guide', 'Winemaking', 'Wine', 'Switzerland', 'White Wine'] |
Some dumb objections I have heard when discussing privacy in the context of analytics | Objection #1: “Are you trying to say that Google Analytics is illegal, as in non-compliant with GDPR, ePrivacy Directive and so on…?”
In short: No, Google Analytics as a tool and processor is not “illegal”.
The longer answer is that the default configuration is not compliant (also see Piwik’s blog post). There is also a significant piece that is sometimes missed in discussions like this, and the missing part is about the responsibilities of the “data collector” or simply put — the person/team/company that build the website or app or whatever the context for the use of GA is. Given that it’s a breach of contract (See “Analytics customers are prohibited from sending personal information to Google”) to place Personally Identifiable Information inside of Google Analytics at all, it is your job to also ensure and enforce that anything that is collected there is by the book.
What about the new Consent Mode in GA?
Not going to unfuck this mess, as it’s mostly a technical feature rather than a pure consent management feature. Simo Ahava does have a good article on it though.
Objection #2: “Aren’t you over-reading the law and making it seem harsher than it is?”
For brevity, more than one client (and even some colleagues of mine) believe the sharper, more painful details I tend to bring up when discussing compliance are somehow beasts of my own making. In fact, the European laws surrounding privacy are indeed rather strict and leave little to the imagination. While your own details and specific implementations may not be clear-cut, actually getting the overall picture and an A/B comparison with current practices should not be too hard. I’ve never seen one of those done that show 100% compliance, and I expect I won’t see one for quite some time. When looking at anything, err on the side of caution and give yourself some room to breathe. Don’t play on the edge if you can’t face the consequences.
Objection #3: “But we just want to follow how everyone else is doing it, and your way seems too convoluted and pedantic! It’s impractical and useless!”
This one is dumb to the point of pure idiocy. Why? Because most of the web is a complete privacy dumpster fire, so don’t go comparing with that. While numbers and sources may differ, you only need to check for basic compliance on your own and take a look in the network inspector to witness this first-hand on pretty much any given website. Many sites will be catapulting away your data no sooner than you press the return key and start rendering the page. That’s not how it should be.
Unfortunately, yes, I really do keep hearing this objection. I do my best at keeping face and immediately nag my colleagues for ultra-clear legal contracts that holds our company indemnified. It’s clearly the asshole way, but if all else fails, someone else’s legal failures will certainly not be ours.
The nice, professional way will obviously be to politely explain that it’s not super smart to build a virtually illegal solution because most others are doing just that for any variety of reasons. This is one of the areas in which I have yet to find a single client who truly has a serious commitment to understanding and driving privacy as an issue. It’s very easy to get into “Greta Thunberg mode” when you encounter companies that don’t spend any time or money on being better than the bottom-drawer players.
Objection #4: Various complaining in the tradition of “But Marketing has always used Google Analytics!” or “We can’t afford a non-free solution” or “We will lose the capability to work with remarketing/multi-site tracking/any other invasive tracking”
I’m sure you:
Possess financial capability in the typical range of $5–$50 per month to put on a paid service (that also does not “steal” the data that you collect). Have staff that is competent enough to learn a new (often marketed as “simple”) tool. Are lead by C-level folks who can appreciate a strong privacy profile and legal compliance as a Smart Thing® to get right. Agree that there are a lot of meaningful analytics and events you can do without resorting to invasive and extensive data collection practices. Are in a company that likely agrees that the day-to-day risk of a minimal (or no!) data leak is better than running the risk of a severe and large data leak.
Objection #5: “It’s not too important; there is no enforcement; we will take our chances”
Love this one. Go ahead and read for some nightmare fuel, then, I challenge you. Admittedly, some countries enforce this more than others, but with the Internet and most companies doing business globally, well, that suddenly matters a whole lot less. | https://medium.com/@mikaelvesavuori/some-dumb-objections-i-have-heard-when-discussing-privacy-in-the-context-of-analytics-7051364d43cd | ['Mikael Vesavuori'] | 2020-12-27 17:27:42.571000+00:00 | ['Web', 'Analytics', 'Gdpr Compliance', 'Gdpr', 'Privacy'] |
How I CSRF’d My First Bounty! | Hello Everyone!
This is my first blog post, and I decided to start off by sharing about my recent finding. It was a CSRF issue, which earned me $500!
What makes this even more special for me is that it was my first bounty ever!
Introduction to CSRF:
Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) is an attack that forces an end user to execute unwanted actions on a web application in which they’re currently authenticated.
Initial Reconnaissance Phase
So, I got an invitation for this private program on Bugcrowd, and it was an e-commerce website.
During my initial recon, I noticed that the users can add their address into their account. So, I quickly checked the request and there was some token named form_key that was being used to protect the users from CSRF attack.
form_key to protect CSRF attacks
So, the next thought which came to my mind was, is there any server side validation on this token?
I quickly logged into my second test account, generated a CSRF PoC, removed the token for this particular request, and sent it to the victim.
And the final request was something like this:
Removed the form_key value in the request
Did you notice something? I have removed the form_key value from the PoC, and not the entire input tag.
I sent this to the victim, and when the victim clicked on “Submit”, the address was added to his account, which was the attacker’s address.
Attacker’s address added to victim account
Boom! Like I suspected, there was no server-side validation on form_key token.
So, the next time you come across a CSRF token, be sure to perform this kind of validation.
Timeline:
Issue reported: 06 Nov 2019
Triaged as P3: 09 Nov 2019
Bounty received: 05 Jan 2020
Thanks for reading. Hope it helps
.
Connect me on twitter https://twitter.com/_rajesh_ranjan_ | https://medium.com/@rajeshranjan457/how-i-csrfd-my-first-bounty-a62b593d3f4d | ['Rajesh Ranjan'] | 2021-02-05 08:26:14.490000+00:00 | ['Bugcrowd', 'Infosec', 'Csrf', 'Bug Bounty'] |
Motherhood series, part 1 | 2. Fostering Autonomy
Someone told me a while ago that I needed to be more of an authoritarian! Mind you, not because my child behaved badly, but because she did not understand the need to confer with a child while making decisions ABOUT HER. Note said child is a toddler whose speech is developed enough to communicate her needs and wants. I felt offended.
The way we parent is mostly impacted by the way we were parented. I want to raise my child in a script that we write. Not how I was raised, not how anybody thinks I should raise her. I’m sure she will not escape unscared but at least she will have a hand in writing her script.
I need to foster a feeling of autonomy. To remember that though she came through me, she is not a part of me. She is not an extension of myself but an individual with her character which is beautiful and flawed as well. I let her take the lead on little things that make no difference to me. Little things that help her build a sense of independence as well as boost her confidence.
She gets to directly influence a lot of things that happen in her day to day life. Nothing too big because we know a lot of choices can overwhelm little people. We want her to always know that her opinion counts and is taken into consideration.
She gets to decide if she wants to play at home or go to the park. Wear outfit a or b, walk or sit in the stroller. Does she want to shower or bath? Should we cook happy nudeln (pasta) or ugali? Does she want to cook with me or play while I cook? How much she eats is her decision, our bedtime read as well. We also let her know and consent before we hold another child. It might sound absurd but it helps cut out the crying that would have followed had we not informed her.
While this is all great for her development it demands a lot of patience. I have days where it runs so thin. Days where I tell her, the same thing for about 1000 times. Days that I’m struggling with anger, days that I’m just dog tired. Days where I don’t get enough sleep…Generally, bad days Where I’m not fit to parent anyone or anything, not even a plant.
On one of those days, she goes high and I go high! These are my lowest point, rock bottom and my internal prosecutor has a field day! We all know that familiar mom guilt. These days can be so long, they feel like a 48 hours day! On these days, I thank God that I’m not a single parent because then my husband takes over as I find my calm. These days are a reminder that there is no such thing as a perfect parent or a perfect child. I try and meet myself with as much compassion and forgiveness as I can. Hats off to you single parents I see you.
Below is a quote by Gordon Neufeld which resonates with me so strongly. It looks exactly like the end goal I envision for my relationship with Shay. | https://medium.com/@ezzyyie/motherhood-series-part-1-504665df3bd9 | [] | 2020-01-29 20:49:56.407000+00:00 | ['Motherhood', 'Toddlers', 'Ectopic', 'Parenting', 'Moms'] |
Inter Not. arbitrium est plures electiones perdere | www.vice.com
arbitrium est plures electiones perdere
Once upon a time it glittered the promise of freedom and expression for all: One network replacing God, making us all gods. But Mammon would not be denied. Consumer capitalism found its perfection, a pixelated universe, nihilism achieved, a marketplace of souls. Now it sells us new versions of who we are. The Will of God is an algorithm. The Deity keeps an eye on everyone, anticipates our desires, brands them, and sells them back to us until we are not sure what we want, only that we want it Now!, and with a click, it arrives in 24 hours, postage free. Endless masturbation of the buying mind: a plethora of empty promises, lies and deceptions, endless self-delusion. We can all be celebrities in our own heads, shape-shifting from page to page in an infinite digital nowhere of empty, coded space; so many nobodies completely content to be all watched over by machines of loving Grace, until we can no longer recognize our own human face. | https://medium.com/resistance-poetry/inter-net-a8f3273afb32 | ['Mike Essig'] | 2019-09-23 12:40:24.791000+00:00 | ['Poetry', 'Consumerism', 'Internet', 'Self-awareness', 'Resistance Poetry'] |
Guaranteed Execution with Smart Contracts | We have looked at blockchain in two different ways. First as a data structure and second as a protocol to transfer value. For the last article of this chapter about what a blockchain is we want to talk about smart contracts. Besides AI, IoT, and blockchain, smart contracts have been one of the hottest topics over the last two years in the tech world. They are software on the blockchain.
A blockchain can not only host simple data like transactions, but also small programs. We call these programs smart contracts. A contract, in general, is an agreement between parties that binds them to something happening in the future. The “smart” comes from the automatic execution of these digital contracts. Simply speaking they consist of many “if, then” statements that are written in and enforced by code. The contract executes automatically if the contract conditions are met.
The Promise of Smart Contracts
Smart contracts promise to reduce the need for middlemen, such as lawyers or notaries, and thereby reduce the cost of transacting. Disposing of middlemen can also save a lot of time. You don’t have to wait for opening hours or through banking holidays. Smart contracts can not only be used to govern the transfer of digital assets such as cryptocurrencies, but they could govern many other types of value transfer, such as trading of shares and other traditional financial instruments or even transactions involving physical property (like real estate).
A landlord and a tenant could use a smart contract to govern a rental agreement. The smart contract could automatically lock the tenant out of the apartment if the tenant fails to pay rent. The if-then statement, in this case, could look like this:
If the contract address receives amount X by the 3rd of each month from address Y, then grant Y access to the apartment. If payment fails for 2 consecutive months, then revoke the right of Y to unlock the apartment.
Are They Really Trustless?
The promise of smart contracts is to allow trustless execution with automatically enforced rules without the need for middlemen. But can they actually live up to this promise?
All types of assets are subject to the local jurisdiction you are in. This means a contract, no matter if smart or not, requires additional trust in the jurisdiction besides the trust put in the contract itself. Possession in a smart contract does not equal possession in the real world. Just as with regular contracts, the terms can be subject to changing circumstances and interpretation thereof. An illegal contract is not legally binding.
One must consider that writing traditional contracts takes years of studying the legal framework regulating the different areas of contractual law. Writing smart contracts is even more difficult, as one also needs to understand the technical dimension behind them. We will need to see an entirely new generation of tech-savvy lawyers emerge to enable a meaningful adoption of legally binding smart contracts.
There is another major challenge to overcome. The digital world needs to learn about real-world events in order for a smart contract to function and execute. An oracle is an entity submitting data to a smart contract. The trust problem that comes with this role is referred to as the oracle problem. Imagine a smart contract running a betting platform in a trustless environment. The oracle needs to submit the result of a game in order to have the smart contract distribute funds to the winners. Because an oracle determines what a smart contract sees, it also controls what it does.
Centralized oracles are not considered a solution to the oracle problem. No matter what the actual implementation looks like, the incentives to untruthfully submit data might outweigh the benefits of acting honestly in some decisions. And what is the point of having trustless execution on the basis of information provided by a trusted third party?
No matter if centralized or decentralized, an oracle will always come at a cost. Acting honestly must always be the most profitable strategy and therefore strong incentives must be in place. This is another problem that needs game-theoretic evaluation and incentive design, just like the incentives for miners that we talked about in our last article.
As Jimmy Song puts it: “A smart contract that trusts a third party removes the killer feature of trustlessness.” There is a long way to go before we will see the broad use of trustless smart contracts across different domains, but they are most definitely a concept worth exploring.
Read the full article and other great articles like this one on the Horizen Academy. | https://medium.com/horizen/guaranteed-execution-with-smart-contracts-29d975cbf866 | [] | 2020-02-21 21:33:50.725000+00:00 | ['Blockchain', 'Cryptocurrency', 'Smart Contracts', 'Bitcoin', 'Horizen'] |
Apply Enterprise Risk Management in Personal Data Protection | Personal Data Protection has gain increasing emphasis on the enterprise risk management dashboards of several risk managers and practitioners.
Why is that so?
One of the key reasons why personal data has been in the spotlight, is because there are more and more countries who have put in place laws and legislations with regards to personal data protection. The most landmark law being the GPDR (General Personal Data Regulations) — the data protection law that was passed by the European Commission in May 2018 that covers all countries in the European Union (EU) and the European Economic Area (EEA). Other countries like USA, France, Australia and even several in Asia (including Singapore) started to introduce guidelines and subsequently laws on Personal Data Protection. Malaysia and Singapore implemented the Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA) in 2010 and 2012 respectively. These two neighbouring countries just happen to use the same name for their data protection law. The organisation I work with provides advisory for PDPA. In fact, in time to come, even Thailand and Indonesia will soon have the same law too, and yes same name — PDPA!
Most corporations will have personal data in their possession and must protect them because of legal obligations as mentioned above. Whether it’s personal data of customers or internal stakeholders that might include employees, shareholders or beneficiaries, it has to be protected. The challenge in a large corporation to clear accountability of the protection of personal data. Which department implements, assesses and sustains the compliance?
To understand further as to where the challenge is, we need to understand a little about management of risks. In the traditional world of risk management, risks were typically managed in silos. In other words, risks were typically handled by functional groups in the organisations; very often the head of the department in-charge of that function like the Sales and Marketing, Human Resources, Finance, IT, etc.
In a corporation that applies traditional risk management, there may not be a single central control of data protection at manages it, but rather each department that has some form of personal data will have their own way of managing it. For instance, the Human Resource department that handles staff data will have their own process; the Sales and Marketing Team that does digital and onsite marketing and promotions will too have their own processes in collection, storage and using the data; then there is the IT department that is involved in both the HR and Marketing team because they both use the servers in the office. If not managed well, the management may not be able to get a grasp of the personal data inventory and thus not be able to manage potential risks.
In more recent and modern methods of risk management, risks are managed collectively in entirety as an organisation for strategic reasons rather than operational. The fundamental goal of Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) is to coordinate, integrate and provide a unified picture to stakeholders so that better strategic decision can be made. In relation to personal data protection, it seems that application of ERM will prove highly effective in organisations today because, an appointed Data Protection Officer or Team could be made responsible for creation of company-wide policies and processes. This will ensure consistency and clarity, not forgetting clear accountability of data protection. That is likely the reason why most legislations (including the GDPR applicable in EU, PDPA in Singapore and many others), appointment of a Data Protection Officer (DPO) is mandatory, and often the DPO has to be trained or least have a width of functional experiences.
In conclusion, compliance with personal data protection is not just task handled by casually appointing the next and most convenient person in the organisation to do so. It requires management to have an idea about Enterprise Risk Management and then consider data protection as one of the obligatory compliances that the organisation will need to look into, not only because it may be required in the country they operate but will likely be an important strategic trust of the organisation as well, if not now then certainly in the near future. Speak to Data Protection Practitioner near you soon. | https://medium.com/@markbarnabaslee/apply-enterprise-risk-management-in-personal-data-protection-5cdb6941689 | ['Mark Barnabas Lee'] | 2020-07-20 03:19:56.551000+00:00 | ['Gdpr', 'Pdpa', 'Business Strategy', 'Data Protection', 'Risk Management'] |
Your Essential Checklist for Polished Writing on Medium | Your Medium Basics Checklist:
1. Create a strong title
A good title is crucial. Without it, no-one will even read your story.
Take the time to study good titles, learn different successful formulas, and practice writing them. Many successful writers create 10 or more titles for each story before they settle on one.
Highlight your title and click the Large T formatting tool.
You can choose to place your title above or below the image. Most people place it above.
Use title case — each word has an uppercase letter, except small words such as “in”, “a” etc.
Do not add punctuation at the end, except a question mark if appropriate.
Medium will not curate stories with titles that are click-bait (dishonest titles that over-promise, exaggerate, or are not delivered on in the story.)
2. Create a subtitle that matches your main point or conclusion
Don’t overlook your subtitle. You are not likely to have your story curated (recommended by Medium) without it.
Place your subtitle directly below your title.
Highlight it and use the small t formatting tool to create your title. It should change color to a light grey.
Use sentence case — words are only capitalized as they would be in a normal sentence. For example: “Make sure you’ve done these before you submit”
Do not punctuate the end of the subtitle, except if a question mark is needed.
If you change your title or subtitle, check that it is also changed under settings. Go to the three dots in the top corner near “publish” and select “change display title/ subtitle”.
3. Add a clear, quality image
The image is what readers will see when they are on their Medium home page, or the home page of the publication where your work is published. Stories without images at the start get lost in the crowd and don’t get curated.
Make sure to use an image which you have the rights to use. Unsplash and Pexels have many free images. There are more image sources listed in this article:
Credit the creator of the image. Click on the image and below it you will be able to paste or write the credits, e.g. Image by Freddy Frog @ Pexels.com.
Images which are not credited will stop your story being curated.
If you use your own image, make sure it’s high quality. Credit yourself below it.
Click on your image to change it’s size and add Alt text (a description of the image for readers with vision impairment).
4. Make sure your first 50 words are strong
You have a few seconds to engage your reader online. Spend time making sure those first few sentences hook them in.
Get to your point, cut the waffle.
5. Check for errors
Most weeks, I receive a draft from a writer that is so full of errors it’s a struggle to read. Spelling is one thing, but when whole words are missing it becomes a problem.
Read your work out loud. Listen for how the words sound together, whether you’ve made any double ups or errors, and whether any sentences sound strange to you.
Try an online editing tool, such as Grammarly or ProWritingAid.
Leave your story for a few hours (or days) so that you can read it over with fresh eyes.
Punctuation: think about using oxford commas for lists, for example: write, read, and then cut. The third comma makes a list clear and easy to read (this is up to you, it’s just my personal preference).
If you want to make an em dash — hit the dash key twice. Once, like this - is wrong.
6. Break up large text chunks
Many people are reading on their phones and long blocks of text are hard to read.
Break up your text into smaller chunks — even single sentences.
Use bullet points if appropriate to your story. Hit the Shift and * keys and then press the space bar.
Use subtitles to break up sections (highlight and use the small or large T.) Some publications have formatting preferences for subtitles within the text. It’s a good idea to check their guidelines before you submit your story.
Some writers like to place images throughout their text to break it up.
7. Publish or submit your draft
There are two ways to publish a story on Medium — by yourself or through a publication.
To publish immediately, hit “publish” and add 5 tags. The numbers next to the tags show which ones are the most popular with readers and most followed. Mental health, Self Improvement, Productivity for example are popular tags.
To submit to a publication DO NOT hit “Publish”.
Read the publications submission guidelines. Usually you’ll need to email them to be added as a writer. Click the three dots and select “Share draft link” to send them your draft. You can copy and paste the link.
You can also share your draft link with other people helping you edit your story.
Most publications do not accept stories which are already published.
Medium staff also have their own blog where you can find updates on changes, what curators are looking for, how to write headlines etc.
Medium let’s you decide how you present your work. You can ignore all the rules above and do your own thing if you really want to.
If you’d like to see your work in publications though, these guidelines will get you half the way there — which leaves you with more time to focus on writing those captivating stories.
If you want to find out more about mentoring contact me, or go here for Inspired Writers Mentor Program.
For weekly inspiration, tips, and resources for new writers, join my newsletter Because You Write. | https://medium.com/inspired-writer/your-essential-checklist-for-polished-writing-on-medium-af3293c1e064 | ['Kelly Eden'] | 2020-04-28 08:45:10.852000+00:00 | ['Writing Tips', 'Writing', 'Self Improvement', 'Life Lessons', 'Writing On Medium'] |
The Purpose and Value of Cryptocurrency and Tokens | Cryptocurrencies and tokens are a completely new digital asset class never before seen in financial systems. It’s why one of the first and most commonly asked questions about crypto-assets is what is their purpose and why are they valuable?
Answering these fundamental questions requires a thorough examination of three separate dynamics:
Identifying what purpose cryptocurrencies/tokens serve within underlying blockchain networks
Understanding why cryptocurrencies/tokens are preferred over traditional monetary instruments
Determining how cryptocurrencies/tokens accrue value
We aim to answer these questions, as well as provide examples of how some of the most popular cryptocurrencies/tokens currently function today.
Defining Cryptocurrencies and Tokens
Before diving deeper, it’s important to define the terms cryptocurrency, token, and crypto-asset. Generally, cryptocurrencies are defined as digital assets whose main purpose is to serve as a medium of exchange (MoE) and/or a store of value (SoV). Hence why the word “currency” is denoted in the name, and why cryptocurrencies are often thought of as being a new form of money. The most obvious examples of cryptocurrencies are Bitcoin and Litecoin, which aim to be used as digital money for goods and services (MoE), as well as being a scarce digital commodity similar to gold and silver (SoV).
On the other end, tokens are typically defined as digital assets whose main purpose is to provide some type of utility outside of being a MoE or SoV. We dive deeper into the various utilities in subsequent sections, but some of the most common token use cases include exclusive network access, cash flow equity, staking insurance, protocol governance, and more.
It’s important to note that the line between cryptocurrencies and tokens is not always clean-cut, with most digital assets having both properties. For example, nearly all tokens both store value and serve as a medium of exchange. So while most tokens will likely never be used commonly as a digital currency or make for a better SoV than a digital asset like Bitcoin, they still have the main cryptocurrency properties. Similarly, it can also be argued that nearly all cryptocurrencies have token properties too since cryptocurrency is used as a miner incentivization mechanism to generate and maintain network security. This is by definition an expanded utility that goes beyond MoE and SoV.
Given the extensive overlap in terms, we will use the word cryptocurrency, token, and crypto-asset somewhat interchangeably for ease of use, which all comprise any digital asset cryptographically secured and stored on a blockchain network.
The Purpose of Crypto-Assets
With a proper definition established, let’s extrapolate out the purpose of crypto-assets. Doing so requires unpacking several layers, particularly the function, incentives, and bootstrapping of both blockchains and smart contract applications, which we will refer to collectively as decentralized computation networks.
Defining the Function of Decentralized Computation Networks
In order to comprehend the purpose of crypto-assets, one must first understand the underlying function of decentralized computation networks. This can be most easily understood by comparing decentralized computation networks to traditional businesses.
Businesses are centralized entities that typically own and/or license the Intellectual Property (IP) of the product and/or service they provide. Businesses are legally designed to maximize profits for their shareholders by extracting as much value as possible from their products and services. So while they may aim to provide consumers the lowest price and at times even engage in philanthropic causes, that decision is almost always made with the goal of generating more profits for shareholders.
Alternatively, decentralized computation networks are not businesses; they have free and open-source IP, with the product/service itself maintained by a decentralized network of independent operators. Thus, decentralized computation networks do not have owners nor do they have legal mandates to maximize profits. Instead, they can be thought of as public goods that offer services equally accessible to everyone, without built-in privileges for any set of users.
These digital public goods are operated through the use of Minimally Extractive Coordinator (MEC) protocols — self-running systems of logic that connect buyers and sellers of a particular asset or service together, with the goal of allowing those buyer/sellers to retain as much value as possible during their transaction by minimizing excessive rent extraction. In many ways, MECs are similar to companies like Amazon and Uber, except the company is replaced with a decentralized computation network that automatically matches supply with demand based on preset parameters that all parties can verify, yet no one can tamper with.
Centralized Business versus Decentralized Computation Network; (source).
MEC protocols are fundamentally designed to facilitate a business process for the minimal cost possible. For example, users of blockchain networks like Bitcoin and Ethereum only need to pay a transaction fee to use the network; no additional upcharge is added given there is no central coordinator to rent seek. The cost to use a MEC protocol is typically determined by the users themselves through an open auction, where supply and demand meet at equilibrium (such as users bidding for scarce blockspace).
On the other hand, when a centralized company facilitates a business process, it owns the facilitation mechanism and runs it as a for-profit operation. This gives the business, which serves as a facilitator, the power to act in their own self-interests, such as raising costs when they establish a monopoly, censoring transactions to favor a particular party, or selling users’ data discretely to turn an additional profit.
As a result, MECs are designed to capture the large network effects that facilitators often do (e.g.; banks, social media, e-commerce, etc) without the negative downsides that often accompany large businesses-based facilitators who become “too big to fail.” By minimizing rent extraction, MEC protocols direct more value back to the users and provide a superior service long-term. The next logical question then is how do you finance and maintain the incentives of a decentralized computation network without a built-in rent extraction mechanism?
Incentivizing the Growth of Decentralized Computation Networks
Decentralized computation requires incentives to bring individual infrastructure providers (nodes) together to perform a shared objective (coordination services) in a highly secure and reliable manner. The incentives have to be sufficiently high too because decentralized computation is purposely inefficient in order to lower the barrier to entry and generate strong determinism.
For example, the Bitcoin Network has approximately 10,000 independent nodes that all verify the validity of each block of transactions on the network to ensure the ledger of who owns Bitcoin is highly trustworthy, tamperproof, and available to everyone. Without incentives, users would have to trust the benevolence and altruism of node operators, which is not a security model anyone would rely on to secure anything remotely valuable, let alone a market worth over $900B dollars (current Bitcoin market cap at the time of writing).
In businesses, incentives to act fairly are driven by profits, legally binding contracts, and brand reputation. The idea is that it is long-term profitable and legally necessary to act honestly. However, extensively large companies can use their network effects and opaque backend processes to protect themselves in situations where they act unfairly, resulting in them never experiencing any negative repercussions for their actions. A few examples of this incentive misalignment include the 2008 bailout of financial institutions, Facebook’s harvesting and monetization of personal information, and Apple’s monopolistic and rent-seeking App Store policies. Thus, if decentralized computation networks are to provide superior services, they require a better financial gain/loss system that properly rewards positive performance and punishes negative performance.
For decentralized computation networks, the most obvious place to start then is financial incentives, which require a source of capital. To even get a decentralized computation network off the ground, there is a chicken and egg problem that must be overcome: users will not pay to use a network that doesn’t exist or is insecure, and node operators will not secure or operate a network if there are no paying users or revenue. Without a financial subsidy to jumpstart network operations, each side of the market will remain in limbo waiting for the other side to make the first move.
Both supply and demand within a common network depend on the existence of the other; (source).
Traditionally, centralized companies receive outside capital to fuel their growth by raising funds from venture capitalists (VCs) or other fundraising means. While this model can work fairly well for providing the initial capital to fund the development team of a minimally extractive network, it is nearly impossible to support a sustained stream of financial incentives required to subsidize the network to the point of long-term self-sustainability. For example, the Bitcoin blockchain still has a block reward ten years after its initial launch of 6.25 Bitcoins (≈ $306k), which is issued roughly every 10 minutes to help fund the mining nodes securing the network (≈ $44M a day and ≈ $16B a year at current rates).
Decentralized computation networks that attempt to rely upon VC funding for long-term subsidization require some type of value extraction mechanism from users (such as an upcharge on network fees) in order to pay back the debt they take on. This would remove the very value proposition the network set out to generate in the first place, being a minimally extractive coordinator. It would also create misaligned incentives where time and resources are spent catering to the demands of the network’s largest investors as opposed to what may be better for the long-term success of its actual users. Thus, the network could not offer any credible neutrality, as the entities providing the capital for subsidization would ultimately have excessive control over the future direction of the network’s development.
Additionally, by extracting value from users, the decentralized computation network’s competitive advantage will weaken in comparison to protocols that do not take on VC debt, particularly because their competitors can undercut them in network costs by being less extractive. It also makes the network less secure by reducing its security budget, as some of the value that would normally flow to nodes who secure the network is rerouted to investors to pay back the debt.
**It’s important to note that VCs are not inherently bad and this isn’t meant to take a shot at them. They play a key role in providing initial capital to development teams of MECs, however, VCs as the source of perpetual funding for network subsidization is likely unprofitable for VCs and antithetical to the ultimate goal of a MEC.
Instead of relying exclusively on outside capital to grow a decentralized computation network long-term, a more advantageous approach is to create a debt-free native crypto-asset (token) specifically for the network. This native token can then be used to fund the network’s growth by making it a required component of the network’s usage and security. Upon doing so, the value of the token on the open market can be tied to the value the network provides to users, which rewards highly adopted projects and allows them to grow the network long-term. It also creates a scenario where the network operators have a direct financial stake in a token specific only to that network, meaning the network’s performance/security is tied directly to the nodes’ own financial well-being.
Native network tokens benefit all parties in the value chain:
The development team can raise funds in a debt-free manner to support the network’s development by allocating an initial portion of the token’s supply to be sold to users (including VCs) in a token sale (e.g. Initial Coin Offering).
The MEC protocol is able to bootstrap its own growth by setting aside a large portion of the token’s supply to be paid to network operators over time as a subsidy/block reward for securing the network.
The users receive the lowest cost for network services through built-in subsidies and zero rent-seeking.
The nodes securing the network receive the highest rewards possible without value extraction by non-value-producing investors.
Ultimately, newly created capital in the form of a native token allows decentralized computation networks to avoid rent-seeking middlemen, retaining their valuable property of being minimally extractive. However, the only way for those newly minted tokens to actually work in support of the network’s growth and security is for them to have financial value on the open market.
Capturing The Demand of a Decentralized Computation Network in The Value of its Native Token
While the issuance of a native token allows a team to raise funds for development and create a subsidy allocation to bootstrap the network’s growth over time, it is only effective if the token has value on the open market. The only way for the token to have value on the open market is for it to have some type of way to capture the value generated by its underlying decentralized computation network. If it doesn’t capture any of the network’s value, then the token has no intrinsic value outside of speculation or an expectation from holders that the token-economic design will eventually change to capture value. If the token is financially worthless, then the allocation set aside to subsidize the network’s growth is worthless too, as nodes will have zero incentive to spend money to run network infrastructure that earns valueless rewards.
However, when a token’s value is directly tied to network demand from users, the value of the subsidy allocation increases alongside network adoption. An increase in the subsidy allocation results in a larger budget for the network to leverage as a means of generating additional security/utility for users and incentivizing more adoption. This generates a virtuous cycle of growth:
A native token is issued by a development team. Alongside its initial distribution method (mining, public sale, airdrop, yield farming), a subsidy allocation is created and held by the protocol, development team, or community. A portion of the token subsidy allocation is used to bootstrap the network’s growth by rewarding infrastructure providers (e.g. liquidity providers, miners, validators, etc) with those new tokens coming into circulation. As a result of the network subsidy, the utility of the network increases for users (e.g. lower slippage trades, more secure network, additional services, etc), leading to an increase in adoption and additional fees paid by users to infrastructure operators. The increased network usage generates more market demand for the native token (though the methods described in sections below), culminating in a higher valuation of the native token’s market capitalization. The rise of the token’s value on the market directly leads to a rise in the value of the remaining subsidy allocation, extending the per-unit ability of those tokens to further grow the network. This enables more reinvestment into the network as a means of stimulating additional network utility, greater user demand, and larger pools of user fees; accelerating the virtuous cycle once more.
Virtuous Cycle of Growth Enabled from a Token Subsidy Allocation
The key benefit of token subsidization is being able to bootstrap the supply side of the ecosystem in a debt-free manner before the demand side exists. Once the supply side of the network is sufficient, then the demand side will naturally arise if there is real network utility. As the demand side rises via paying users, the subsidy can gradually be reduced until eventually, the network becomes self-sustainable completely from the aggregation of user fees. The remaining subsidies can then be redirected towards other network initiatives to generate more adoption such as expanding services or growing network security.
Fundamental to this entire virtuous cycle is driving demand for the native token, which in pursuit of this goal, has resulted in a wide spectrum of different token economic designs. Below are some of the most effective methods in which decentralized computation networks today generate token demand via creating token utility, which serves to tie the token’s value to network demand.
Network Access Through Exclusive Token Payments
The most recognizable way to tie network demand to the native token is to require payment for all network services to be made exclusively in the native token. By doing so, all users must acquire and gain exposure to the native token itself before being able to use network services. Having a standardized payment medium for utilizing the network ensures that demand from users must flow through the token. It also means that nodes have a direct incentive to uphold the value of the token via maintaining the health of the network, as their future revenue streams depend upon a well-functioning network that users want access to.
The most noteworthy example of a native payment design is the Ethereum blockchain and the usage of its native token ETH. In order to have a transaction validated and finalized by the Ethereum blockchain, users are required to compensate network service providers (miners) via a “gas fee” that is paid exclusively in ETH. This makes the ETH token a “first-class citizen” on the Ethereum network as all transactions, including interactions with smart contracts and movements of other tokens like stablecoins, require fees to be paid in ETH.
Since every Ethereum block only contains a limited number of transactions, as network demand rises so do transaction fees, requiring users to purchase more ETH on secondary markets to pay for gas. The rising market demand for ETH also increases the value of the subsidy already being paid to miners via its block reward, further strengthening the network’s security and utility as a global settlement layer for financial assets. Even as layer-2 solutions begin to emerge and batch transactions, the per-user transaction fee will decrease, but the total amount of ETH being paid to miners remains the same (or even increases as layer 2 attracts more paying users).
The amount of fees paid to Ethereum miners per day continues to grow alongside accelerating network demand; (source).
The Bitcoin Blockchain also operates in a similar manner where the native asset BTC is required to make transactions on the network. While Bitcoin’s primary value is derived from its “digital gold” Store of Value narrative rather than smart contract utility, users will need to continually transact on the network to generate enough fees to support the miners that keep the network secure. This is due to the fact that Bitcoin’s block reward halves every four years, meaning user fees must supplement the decline in block rewards over time if the Bitcoin network is to retain its high security.
An important caveat, however, is that while exclusive native token payments increase market demand from the user side, it does not necessarily increase market demand from the infrastructure provider side.* The reason being is that nodes may sell their earned tokens on the open market to pay operational costs, dampening the price appreciation from user demand. Therefore, exclusive payment utility is most effective when combined with an additional form of value creation that requires nodes themselves to acquire and hold the native token such as through some form of staking (e.g. Ethereum moving to Proof of Stake consensus, creating supply-side demand) or a strong social consensus around being a store of value (e.g. Tesla buying $1.5B of Bitcoin).
*Many infrastructure operators are also long-term believers in the network they secure, thus, they will have natural incentives to hold a large portion of their profits, leading to reduced sell pressure. For example, many miners use crypto-earnings as collateral for loans that are used to pay for expenses, allowing them to maintain greater exposure to cryptocurrencies.
Cash Flows Through Dividends and Burns
Another common way to generate value accrual for native tokens involves redirecting some or all of the fees paid by users to token holders. As a result, an increase in network demand from paying users directly leads to a proportional increase in the revenue rewarded to token holders. This provides token holders with a form of passive income and allows for the usage of more formalized valuation models such as discounted cash flow and price-to-earnings ratios.
The method through which network revenue is distributed to token holders can be achieved in various different ways. One approach is to use some or all of the user fees generated by the protocol to automatically purchase the native token on secondary markets and burn it, thereby reducing the total supply of tokens. This method increases the scarcity of the native token through deflationary pressure and is often used in combination with a hard-capped total supply (no inflation). The advantage of such an approach is that revenue is distributed to all token holders equally by increasing everyone’s percentage ownership of the total supply. The most well-known DeFi protocol following this model is MakerDAO, a decentralized stablecoin protocol, which has a native token called MKR. All the interest paid by borrowers is used to purchase MKR tokens off the market and burn them. In return for receiving the network’s cash flows, MKR holders act as the lender of last resort (e.g.; MKR tokens are minted to re-collateralize the network, as seen during black Thursday).
The second variation of token cash flows involves issuing dividends, wherein some or all of the fees collected by users are awarded directly to the token holders. These fees can also be used to purchase the native token in the open market and then distribute it to token holders, providing both price appreciation through market purchases as well as dividends to token holders (who may sell those earnings or keep them to earn even more dividends). One example of this dividend model is the decentralized exchange protocol SushiSwap and its native token SUSHI. Every trade made on the SushiSwap exchange incurs a 0.30% fee, with 0.25% going to the liquidity providers and 0.05% used to purchase SUSHI tokens in the open market and distribute them to xSUSHI token holders (the staked form of SUSHI).
Cumulative Sushiswap protocol revenue (in blue) paid to xSUSHI token holders; (source).
Another example of this dividend model is the decentralized derivatives protocol Synthetix and its native token SNX. Synthetix allows users to stake SNX as collateral and mint the synthetic stablecoin sUSD (500% overcollateralized). sUSD can be sold on the secondary market or converted at zero slippage into various other “synths” that track the value of different cryptocurrencies, commodities, fiat currencies, US equities, and indices. Stakers receive dividends from the fees generated from synth conversions (0.3% of trade value), as well as inflation rewards to compensate for the fact SNX stakers have short exposure to every circulating synth (akin to a clearinghouse).
While in theory, a token burn and issuing dividends should have an equivalent effect on the market value of the token, in reality, market psychology must be taken into account. A token burn occurs in the background, meaning the value accrual is not always immediately apparent to token holders and often cannot be differentiated from market speculation. With a dividend, users directly receive additional tokens, making the economic incentive of acquiring and holding a token with cash flows more apparent. However, how much this difference in perception of cash flows matters for the long-term valuation of a native token is still unclear.
Security Through Staking and Token Lock-ups
Staking is a method through which token holders are incentivized to lock up their tokens in exchange for the rights to provide and/or receive network-specific services. While staking mechanisms greatly vary in purpose and implementation from one protocol to another, the common denominator involves users/nodes taking native tokens off the market and putting them in a state of illiquidity, reducing the circulating supply of tokens available within external markets. Staking is often combined with dividend and network fee rewards, where users provide token-based capital as a form of crypto-economic security and in return receive some form of passive income generated by the network (e.g.; Synthetix).
The most recognized form of staking is Proof-of-Stake consensus, which powers various blockchain networks like Etherum 2.0, Polkadot, Tezos, Cosmos, Aavalance, etc. In the case of Ethereum 2.0, any entity that wants to participate in validating transactions and producing blocks on the Ethereum blockchain is required to lock up 32 ETH. Stakers can have their ETH tokens slashed if they perform malicious activities that attempt to corrupt the network (signing conflicting attestations), resulting in those tokens being permanently burned and the staker’s node kicked out of the network. Thus, staking in this format creates crypto-economic security that incentivizes the honest performance of network services. In return, ETH 2.0 validators are paid via a block reward subsidy and network transaction fees. This has already generated a large token sink, with over $5B of ETH locked in the Ethereum 2.0 beacon chain (as of writing).
A different form of staking involves the creation of an insurance pool that can cover any potential losses of a protocol. The most prominent example is the decentralized money market protocol Aave, which has approximately $2B of its native token AAVE locked in the Safety Module. 30% of this insurance pool can be used to absorb any black swan shortfall events, such as protocol under-collateralization. Stakers are incentivized to lock up their AAVE tokens through a reward in the form of an inflation subsidy as well as the rights to any fees generated by the protocol. This ensures that any users who want access to the protocol’s cash flows must have their AAVE tokens staked as insurance. Aave’s Safety Module covers a much different category of risks when compared to ETH staking, however, it has the same effect of taking tokens off the market and creating an incentive to hold tokens long-term to the benefit of the protocol’s security.
Aave Security Module Flow Diagram used to protect users from downfall events; (source).
It should be noted that many tokens have some staking utility in that they can be staked as liquidity within automated market makers such as Uniswap and SushiSwap. This means a user can stake their tokens in an AMM as a liquidity provider and in return earn a percentage on the swaps executed using the tokens they provided (albeit, not taking into account impermanent loss and double-sided pools). However, such staking is more of a product of AMMs and not a built-in mechanism for tying a decentralized computation network to its own token. If the token had no intrinsic value on its own network, then it wouldn’t be worth anything in an AMM.
Protocol Governance Through Voting
With the rise of Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs) — a structure for distributed social coordination — we have seen an increase in the number of native tokens that include an aspect of governance. Governance tokens allow holders to directly vote on proposals to change/upgrade the network itself. In most implementations, each vote is weighted by how many tokens a user holds, meaning anyone who wishes to gain significant influence over the direction of a network’s development is required to acquire tokens off the market to increase their voting power. However, token-based governance from one network to another varies greatly in its ability to influence the network, ranging from simple parameter adjustments to large sweeping changes of its underlying infrastructure
The most direct form of token-based governance is through binding on-chain votes. For example, in Aave, proposals are codified as smart contracts and can be executed immediately on-chain if approved by a sufficient quorum of token-weighted votes. Aave has used this form of on-chain governance for large changes such as the launch of the protocol’s v2 version, as well as the onboarding of new collateral types to its market. A more indirect approach to token governance involves off-chain signaling, such as in Synthetix, where token-weighted polls are created to gauge token holder sentiment and see if changes should be implemented by the DAO. These votes are not binding, meaning acquiring a large number of tokens is not a guarantee of influencing the direction of the protocol away from community consensus.
The value of network governance from one holder to another is highly subjective, making formal valuation models for “pure governance tokens” a near impossibility. Therefore, governance is almost always an additional form of utility for a token, and not its driving value proposition. However, there are always exceptions and this could change as these decentralized computation networks grow in value. Additionally, it’s becoming common to see tokens start out as a pure governance token and only later evolve to become a revenue-generating token after a community vote has been approved. An example of this is the decentralized exchange protocol Uniswap and its native token UNI. Currently, UNI is only a governance token, but it is broadly expected that the community will vote at some point in the future to add additional cash flow utility in a similar vein to Sushiswap.
On-chain governance allows token holders to vote on binding changes to a protocol; (source).
Tokenomic Fluidity
Most token designs being used in-production don’t implement just one method of linking network demand to the token’s value. Instead, they combine two or more mechanisms together to provide value creation through multiple forms of utility. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to value creation within minimally extractive networks, as each seeks to provide a different service to users, resulting in the diversity of implementations we see today.
Networks are also not locked into using a specific token economic model forever, but can evolve over time given there is enough consensus from network stakeholders. The LEND token (Aave’s previous token ticker) initially had a hard-capped supply and used a buy-back and burn model. However, that was later changed during the token migration to AAVE (100:1 conversion), along with a switch to an inflation-based token supply for subsidies and a new distribution mechanism where protocol fees are issued as dividends to token holders (revenue currently goes directly to the Aave DAO which is controlled by AAVE token holders). Similarly, the ETH token started out as solely being a utility for payments to miners but has since added more token utility through the recently launched ETH 2.0 staking. It’s also incurring a potential third addition to its utility via growing community support for a token burn implementation as outlined in EIP-1559.
Conclusion: Through Tokens, Decentralized Computation Networks Become Public Goods
Decentralized computation networks serving as minimally extractive coordinators (MEC) provide humanity with an unprecedented set of technological primitives that, if implemented correctly, can completely redefine how humans interact with one another both socially and economically. Such backend infrastructure, which replaces centralized for-profit institutions with decentralized non-profit facilitators, brings about open agoras where buyers and sellers can freely exchange value without warlords exercising monopolistic control or leeches sucking out value.
Realizing the power of MECs requires the use of native crypto-assets. Crypto-assets allow MECs to be just that, minimally extractive, as properly deployed tokens can generate large network effects without taking on any debt. This empowers networks to bootstrap themselves to the point of self-sustainability, allowing them to remain focused on servicing users as opposed to appealing to special interests.
The end result is the creation of market facilitators as public goods, where financial, insurance, gaming, social media, and various other markets yet to be imagined are run purely by user input. The benefits of this are not fully understood or realized yet, but it’s bound to re-architect the way we create and manage the value within social groups and economic markets. If the Internet is any indicator, the change we are about to undergo will be profound, and it’s up to all of us as a collective society to use token-based decentralized computation networks to harness human input in a way that generates equal output. In other words, the value you put in is the value you get out; no unnecessary extraction.
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Follow us on Twitter @SmartContent777 to get up to date on the latest articles, as well as follow our individual accounts @Crypto___Oracle and @ChainLinkGod for a constant stream of information about the Chainlink, DeFi, and the blockchain space.
We would also like to give a shout to @TheLinkMarine1 for creating the image banner and infographic within this article. Check out his website for more Chainlink-related content: https://chainlinkecosystem.com/ | https://medium.com/@smartcontentpublication/the-purpose-and-value-of-cryptocurrency-and-tokens-4ad9db9fac7b | [] | 2021-02-16 17:17:49.346000+00:00 | ['Blockchain', 'Cryptocurrency', 'Smart Contracts', 'Crypto', 'Ethereum'] |
Drawing The 92nd Academy Awards | It’s always an enormous treat to go to Los Angeles and draw the Academy Awards red carpet and show. This year was no different; my fifth time in attendance drawing. I never take my luck for granted.
I arrived two days in advance of the Sunday broadcast so that I could draw behind the scenes and walk around the neighborhood.
After arriving on site, I get my credentials and head down to the red carpet area to see what’s going on. There were the usual suspects: journalists dressed up and practicing on camera, and men in dark suits seeming to be guarding things. The carpet was still covered in plastic. | https://lizadonnelly.medium.com/drawing-the-92nd-academy-awards-7c8ea0f38d0e | ['Liza Donnelly'] | 2020-02-15 19:33:44.997000+00:00 | ['Movies', 'Academy Awards', 'Storytelling', 'Oscars', 'Film'] |
5 Reasons to Use GraphQL at your Company | The Rise of GraphQL
What is the best way to build an API today? REST probably comes to mind, but if you’re going to make the investment to build new software, it’s probably worth considering a few different options and choosing the best among them. GraphQL stands out as an alternative to the REST API architecture mainly (but not only) because it provides a discoverable API by design. It also comes with its own query language and a runtime for fulfilling queries via functions called “resolvers”.
Originally developed in 2012 at Facebook as a better data-fetching solution for underpowered mobile devices, GraphQL was open-sourced in 2015. In 2018, it was moved under the care of the Linux Foundation, which maintains other important projects like Node.js, Kubernetes, and, of course, Linux itself.
The general movement around GraphQL is very encouraging for anyone looking to adopt it. Its popularity has been rapidly on the rise over the last few years, as seen on Stack Overflow Trends, for example. There are also several success stories at reputable companies such as PayPal, Netflix, and Coursera, where GraphQL was instrumental in building flexible and high-performant APIs in large, complex architectures.
However, given the dynamic technology landscape in which we operate today, you would be forgiven for being skeptical. Could GraphQL be another fad? If it works for these companies, does that necessarily mean it will work for you? Let’s discuss the benefits and challenges of GraphQL, so that you can make an informed decision.
Reasons to Use GraphQL
As an API technology designed for flexibility, GraphQL is a strong enabler for both developers and consumers of APIs, as well as the organizations behind them. In this section, we’ll explore some of the key areas where GraphQL shines.
1. One Data Graph for All
GraphQL is an excellent choice for organizations with multiple teams and systems that want to make their data easily available through one unified API.
No matter how many databases, services, legacy systems, and third-party APIs you use, GraphQL can hide this complexity by providing a single endpoint that clients can talk to. The GraphQL server is responsible for fetching data from the right places, and clients never need to know the details of where different pieces of data are coming from. As a result, the GraphQL ecosystem provides maximum flexibility when it comes to making data easily available for customers and internal users.
2. No Over-Fetching or Under-Fetching
Another huge benefit for GraphQL API clients is that they can request exactly what data they need, even across related entities. This is especially important because different clients have different data requirements, either because of different business logic or because they are simply presenting a different view of data (e.g., web vs. mobile) and may also have different hardware limitations.
By way of comparison, it’s much harder to efficiently retrieve nontrivial data from a REST API. Requesting data from a single endpoint will often return more data than is actually needed (overfetching), whereas requesting data about several related entities usually requires either several API calls (underfetching) or dedicated endpoints for specific client requests (which duplicates effort). GraphQL solves this issue by serving exactly the data which each client requests, nothing more and nothing less.
3. Better Developer Experience
The GraphQL ecosystem comes with a number of tools that make working with GraphQL a breeze. Tools such as GraphiQL and GraphQL Playground provide a rich experience, allowing developers to inspect and try out APIs with minimal effort, thanks to the self-documenting features which we will get to in the next section.
Also, code generation tools like GraphQL Code Generator can be used to further speed up development, while other tools and best practices exist to address specific problems including:
Client-side caching is available out of the box in several client libraries.
Cursor-based pagination provides a way to offer pagination across lists of data.
The DataLoader improves performance by batching data fetch requests and also provides a basic level of server-side caching.
4. Higher Quality of Your System
GraphQL APIs are built around a type system, which lays out the name and type of each field as well as the relationships between different entities. This type system, or schema, is used to validate queries sent by the client. The schema can be queried via a feature called introspection, which is often used to generate documentation and code that will be used when integrating the API on the client-side.
As a result, it requires minimal effort to have a well-documented API when using GraphQL. This provides great transparency to developers who are working with an API for the first time and makes development smoother and more efficient.
5. Build for Change
It is common for REST APIs to provide multiple versions of the same API so that it can change without breaking the existing functionality. GraphQL encourages a different approach to API modifications: evolution.
When breaking changes are required (for instance, when renaming a field or changing its type), you can introduce a new field and deprecate the old one, possibly removing it completely later on when you’re sure it’s no longer being used. This means that you can still change your API while maintaining backward compatibility and a single API.
Considerations Before Adopting GraphQL
GraphQL is an excellent tool to build scalable and flexible APIs, but it is not a panacea and is certainly not for everyone.
Learning Curve
Whereas REST is a simple and familiar approach to building APIs, GraphQL is a different beast altogether. Developers and infrastructure engineers alike will need to learn how to effectively develop and deploy GraphQL APIs, a task that will take some getting used to.
As a result, teams that are on a tight schedule are probably better off using a technology with which they’re already familiar.
Infrastructure and Tooling
Deploying GraphQL, especially at scale, can require significant investment in infrastructure and tooling. Using it does not save you from having to deploy virtual machines or containers, set up a networking infrastructure, and deploy and maintain GraphQL server software across a large environment.
Performance and Security
You also have to be extra careful that the additional flexibility afforded by GraphQL does not result in queries that maliciously or accidentally degrade or take down your system. This can be addressed by rate-limiting or limiting query complexity and depth.
Finally, it is always important to protect data that should not be public. Authentication and authorization mechanisms that are popular among other web technologies can also be used with GraphQL. Furthermore, pay attention to introspection, as it can leak internal types if not correctly secured.
Conclusion
There is no doubt that REST gets the job done, but if you’re at a point where you need a better way to build APIs and serve diverse clients, then you should probably give GraphQL a try.
GraphQL allows you to build evolvable and queryable APIs, hide the complexity of internal systems used to retrieve various pieces of data, and leverage a type system that results in automatic and up-to-date API documentation. These features, along with its tooling and ecosystem, make GraphQL an efficient and effective tool for API and client developers alike.
Although GraphQL does require some investment, this is far outweighed by its advantages in situations where there are lots of data and services that should be made accessible to various existing and future API clients.
For our latest insights and updates, follow us on LinkedIn | https://codeburst.io/5-reasons-to-use-graphql-at-your-company-fc9089308641 | ['Coder Society'] | 2020-12-10 18:30:48.649000+00:00 | ['GraphQL', 'API', 'Programming', 'Microservices', 'Architecture'] |
What Is Quantum Information Science? | We need a lot more computing power to tackle much larger and much more complex computing challenges in the decades ahead. Ditto for communication, measurement, and sensing. That’s where quantum effects come in. The quantum effects of physics are at the atomic and subatomic level, brought to us courtesy of quantum mechanics, and hold the key to major advances — quantum leaps — in computing, communication, measurement, and sensing. Quantum information science is the broad umbrella for the theory, science, engineering, technology, infrastructure, and applications related to exploiting quantum effects (quantum mechanics) in the areas of computing, communication, and measurement and sensing.
Before we get too excited, we need to bear in mind that quantum information science is primarily still at the research stage now and for the next two to five years, or even longer. Quite a few organizations are experimenting with the technology and even developing prototypes, but the technology is far from being ready for development and deployment of production-ready applications.
That caveat out of the way, quantum information science holds tremendous promise.
This informal paper is intended to give a relatively high-level overview and introduction to the emerging field of quantum information science. The intended audience would include executives, managers — both technical and non-technical, policy analysts, the media — both general and technical, and technical staff who may have heard of some aspects of quantum computing, but would like more of the bigger picture for quantum information science.
Less-ambitious readers with limited time and patience can read the first few pages of this paper, stopping as soon as they have gleaned enough information to satisfy their interests, although there may be specific sections later in the paper that may have significant value to them.
There is a Wikipedia page for Quantum information science, but I did not find it to be as enlightening as I would have hoped, so this informal paper is my own introduction to this topic.
Although quantum information science can be fairly math-intensive, this informal paper will stick to plain English. So,
No math. No equations or messy formulas. Or math symbols. No matrices or vectors.
No equations or messy formulas. Or math symbols. No matrices or vectors. No Greek symbols.
No German. No long words that begin with “eigen”.
No long words that begin with “eigen”. No physics jargon. Except to explain some of the terms, but in plain language.
Except to explain some of the terms, but in plain language. No long list of famous names from physics.
No pictures or diagrams. Keep things simple.
The three main subfields under the umbrella of quantum information science (QIS) are:
Quantum computing — includes hardware (quantum computers), software, algorithms, and applications. Quantum communication — includes quantum networking, quantum Internet, quantum cryptography, and quantum information theory. Quantum metrology and quantum sensing — includes detection of objects.
My apologies that the content at those three links is not as suitable as I would prefer for a high-level introduction, but they’re representative of the current state of affairs (mixed and so-so, at best.) It’s on my to-do list to write more suitable content in those three areas.
This informal paper will introduce some of the concepts from each of these subfields, but won’t serve as an in-depth tutorial for any of those subfields.
Quantum information science is also critically dependent on advanced and specialized materials science and engineering in order to actually construct devices which can exploit quantum effects. These are not proper subfields of quantum information science alone, but they do have an important, critical role.
Quantum information science may sometimes be used to refer to only:
Quantum computing alone. This isn’t ideal, but it is a common usage.
Quantum computing and quantum communication together, but excluding quantum metrology and quantum sensing.
Quantum information is common across all of the subfields of quantum information science. More on that later.
Other quantum areas related to quantum information science:
Some other terms you hear associated with quantum information science:
Quantum information processing — not just quantum computing, but quantum communication, quantum networking, and quantum metrology and quantum sensing, or any subfield concerned with capturing, storing, manipulating, or communicating quantum information (quantum state).
— not just quantum computing, but quantum communication, quantum networking, and quantum metrology and quantum sensing, or any subfield concerned with capturing, storing, manipulating, or communicating quantum information (quantum state). Quantum information processing system — commonly a quantum computer, but generally any hardware system which is capable of processing quantum information.
— commonly a quantum computer, but generally any hardware system which is capable of processing quantum information. Quantum-based technology — a loose reference to any technology which is based in whole or in significant part on some aspect of quantum information science.
— a loose reference to any technology which is based in whole or in significant part on some aspect of quantum information science. Quantum technologies — sometimes used as a synonym for quantum information science.
— sometimes used as a synonym for quantum information science. Quantum technology, quantum technologies — another loose reference to any technology which is based in whole or in significant part on some aspect of quantum information science.
— another loose reference to any technology which is based in whole or in significant part on some aspect of quantum information science. Quantum information technologies — ditto.
— ditto. Quantum applications — It is ambiguous whether quantum applications are included under quantum information science specifically since the term quantum information science and technology is sometimes used when applications are to be included.
— It is ambiguous whether quantum applications are included under quantum information science specifically since the term quantum information science and technology is sometimes used when applications are to be included. Quantum science — vague term which may may simply be a synonym for quantum information science, or refer to applications of quantum information science for the natural sciences, such as simulation of physics, chemistry, or biology. Or, it may simply be a synonym for quantum physics or quantum mechanics. It all depends on the context in which it is used.
Here’s a list of the sections to follow:
What is quantum information science? What’s so special about quantum information science? QIS What disciplines are involved with quantum information science? What is quantum? Quantum mechanics Quantum physics Quantum chemistry Quantum computational chemistry Quantum biology Quantum field theory Quantum theory Quantum system Isolated quantum system Quantum effects Quantum resource Quantum state Wave function Linear algebra Quantum information Measurement Qubit Quantum bit Qutrits, qudits, and qumodes Phase Interference Environmental interference Stationary qubits and flying qubits Quantum error correction (QEC) Logical and physical qubits Quantum programs, quantum logic gates, and quantum circuits Unitary transforms Quantum algorithms Algorithmic building blocks Hybrid quantum/classical algorithms Variational quantum algorithms Quantum computer as a coprocessor Quantum advantage and quantum supremacy Exponential speedup Quantum parallelism Quantum communication Quantum networking Quantum internet Quantum channel Quantum teleportation Quantum key distribution (QKD) Alice and Bob Quantum storage Quantum metrology and quantum sensing Quantum sensors Quantum-enabled sensors Quantum detection Quantum sensing and detection Quantum simulators Quantum-inspired computing Theory and practice Science and engineering Hardware and software Device NISQ device Fault-tolerant quantum computer Applications Algorithms Quantum simulation Natural sciences and quantum simulation What are the biggest factors holding back quantum computing? When will quantum computing finally take off for practical applications? Quantum cryptography and post-quantum cryptography QIST — Quantum information science and technology Experimentation and prototyping vs. development and production Quantum computer science Quantum software engineering Standardization Education and training History Quantum information science is a misnomer Glossary What’s next?
What is quantum information science?
The National Quantum Initiative Act passed by the U.S. Congress in 2018 explicitly defines quantum information science as:
The term “quantum information science” means the use of the laws of quantum physics for the storage, transmission, manipulation, computing, or measurement of information.
Quantum information science is based on any aspect of quantum effects which can be observed, measured, controlled, or communicated in some manner.
As noted at the start, quantum information science includes not just theory and science, but also engineering, technology, infrastructure, and applications.
Quantum effects will be described shortly.
What’s so special about quantum information science?
There are three key advantages of quantum information science over classical methods:
Quantum computing offers much greater performance than classical computing through quantum parallelism which offers an exponential speedup — evaluating many (all) possibilities in parallel, in a single calculation. Quantum communication offers inherent security through quantum entanglement — also known as spooky action at a distance, in contrast to security as a problematic afterthought for classical communication and networking. Quantum metrology and quantum sensing offer much greater accuracy and precision for measurements of physical quantities and detection of objects.
All of these advantages are made possible by the magic of quantum effects enabled by quantum mechanics.
QIS
The initialism QIS is commonly used as a shorthand for quantum information science.
What disciplines are involved with quantum information science?
Quantum information science is not yet its own distinct field. It encompasses a variety of disciplines, in an interdisciplinary manner:
Physics — especially quantum mechanics
Physical science — anything relying on quantum effects, such as chemistry
Materials science
Materials engineering
Mathematics
Computer science
Software development
Software engineering — in theory, eventually
Applications development
Electrical engineering
Computer engineering
Mechanical engineering
What is quantum?
Quantum is essentially a reference to quantum mechanics, which concerns itself with atomic and subatomic particles, their energy, their motion, and their interaction.
Larger accumulations of atoms and molecules behave in more of a statistical or aggregate manner, where the quantum mechanical properties (quantum effects) get averaged away. QIS and its subfields focus at the quantum mechanical level where the special features of quantum mechanics (quantum effects) are visible and can be exploited and manipulated.
Quantum mechanics
Quantum mechanics is the field of physics which is the theoretical foundation of quantum information science, but this paper won’t delve deeply into the concepts of quantum mechanics — see the Wikipedia Quantum mechanics article for more detail, but the key elements are what are known as quantum effects, summarized below.
Quantum physics
Quantum physics is sometimes used merely as a synonym for quantum mechanics, but technically quantum physics is the application to the principles of quantum mechanics to the many areas of physics at the subatomic, atomic, and molecular level, including the behavior of particles and waves in magnetic and electrical fields.
Quantum chemistry
Quantum chemistry is the application of quantum mechanics to chemistry, particularly for the behavior of electrons, including excited atoms, molecules, and chemical reactions.
Applying classical computing to quantum chemistry is referred to as computational chemistry.
Quantum computational chemistry
Applying quantum computing to quantum chemistry is referred to as quantum computational chemistry (and here).
Quantum biology
Quantum biology is the application of quantum mechanics to biology, particularly for the behavior of electrons in complex, organic molecules, such as how organic molecules form, how they can change, how they can decompose, and even how they can fold.
Quantum field theory
Quantum field theory is the part of quantum mechanics concerned with subatomic particles and their interactions, but it is not necessary to dive down to that level of detail to comprehend quantum information science. For more information, read the Wikipedia Quantum field theory article.
Quantum theory
Quantum theory is not technically a proper term. Used loosely, it commonly refers to quantum mechanics or possibly simply to quantum effects.
Quantum system
A quantum system or more properly an isolated quantum system is a particle or wave, or collection of particles and waves, which can be analyzed for its quantum effects as if it were a single, discrete object.
Isolated quantum system
Technically, any quantum system is an isolated quantum system. The emphasis is on the fact that the particles and waves within the system can be analyzed and modeled in isolation, without concern for particles and waves outside of the system. That’s the theory. In practice, no system is truly isolated (except maybe the entire universe), but the assumption of isolation dramatically simplifies understanding, modeling, and computation of the system. Without the concept of an isolated quantum system, the modeling and mathematics would be too complex to be tractable (workable.)
Each qubit of a quantum computer is an isolated quantum system, except when it is entangled with other qubits, in which case the entangled qubits collectively constitute a larger isolated quantum system.
Quantum effects
Quantum mechanics — and hence all of quantum information science and its subfields — is based on quantum effects. Quantum information science is based on any aspect of quantum effects which can be observed, measured, controlled, or communicated in some manner. Some quantum effects cannot be directly observed or measured, but can sometimes be indirectly inferred or at least have some ultimate effect on the results of manipulating a quantum system.
Quantum effects and their properties include:
Discrete rather than continuous values for physical quantities. Quanta for discrete values. The unit for discrete values. Technically, quantum is a singular unit and quanta is the plural of quantum (just as with data and datum.) Particle and wave duality. Particles have wave properties and behavior, and waves have particle properties and behavior. For example, a photon can act as a particle as well as a wave, and an electron can act as a wave as well as a particle. Probabilistic rather than strictly deterministic behavior. Uncertainty of exact value or measurement. More than just uncertainty of any measurement, there is uncertainty in the actual value of any property, as a fundamental principle of quantum mechanics. A given property of a given quantum system may have a range of values, even before the property is measured. For example, a particle or wave can be at two — or more — positions at the same moment of time. Superposition of states — can be in two states at the same time. Entanglement — the same quantum state can exist at two physically separated locations at the same time. Spooky action at a distance — popular reference to entanglement. Phase — the complex or imaginary part of the probability amplitude of a quantum state. The notion of cyclical or periodic behavior or a fraction of a single cycle of a wave or circle. Measured either in radians (two pi radians in a circle or cycle) or a fraction between 0.0 and 1.0, where 1.0 corresponds to a full, single cycle or circle (two pi radians.) Interference — cancellation or reinforcement of the complex or imaginary part of the probability amplitude of two quantum states (phases). Useful for quantum computing — it enables quantum parallelism. Not to be confused with environmental interference which disrupts the operation of a quantum system. Wave function is used to fully describe the state of a particle or wave (technically, an isolated quantum system) based on the probabilities of superposed and entangled states. The sum of the basis states of the quantum system, each weighted by its probability amplitude. Linear algebra is the notation used to express a wave function. Probability amplitude — a complex number with both real and imaginary parts. Square it and then take the square root to get the probability for a particular basis state. Basis state — the actual numeric value of a single quantum state, comparable to a binary 0 or 1. Computational basis state — the combined basis states of a collection of qubits. A collection of strings of 0’s and 1’s, each string having a probability amplitude as its weight in the wave function. Essentially each string is an n-bit binary value. Quantum state — the state of an isolated quantum system described by its wave function. Alternatively, a single basis state. Collapse of wave function on measurement, where the probabilities of superposed states will influence but not completely determine the observed value. Measurement always causes the wave function of a quantum system to collapse. Measurement — the process of observing a quantum system. By definition, measurement causes collapse of the wave function, and will always produce a single basis state (0 or 1) or computational basis state (string of 0’s and 1’s) regardless of any superposition or entanglement which may be defined by the wave function of the quantum system. Tunneling — the ability of a subatomic particle or wave such as an electron to appear to be able to move through a solid barrier as if it weren’t there. In actuality, quantum mechanics dictates that a particle or wave has a probability to be at any given location, so that a particle or wave can have a probability of being at either side of the barrier at a given moment, allowing the particle or wave to appear to skip over or through the barrier in the next moment. An example would be electrons and a Josephson junction used in a superconducting transmon qubit.
Quantum resource
A quantum resource is any quantum effect which has some utility in quantum information science, such as for computation in quantum computing or representing quantum information in quantum communication.
It’s an odd term, but sometimes you see it used. Oddly, a qubit would not technically be considered a quantum resource, but superposition, entanglement, and interference would. See the list of quantum effects above.
Quantum state
Quantum state is the unit of quantum information.
A particle or wave — referred to as an isolated quantum system — has a quantum state for each physical quality which can be observed.
The quantum state is described by a wave function. The individual possible states are known as basis states. Such as a 0 and a 1. Each basis state in a wave function occurs with some probability. A basis state can also have a complex or imaginary component, known as a phase, which is periodic or cyclical. This is exploited in quantum computing to enable quantum parallelism using interference of the phase of a potentially large number of quantum states. The probability and phase are combined into a single, complex value, called the probability amplitude, where the probability is the square root of the absolute value (or modulus) of the complex number. The basis states and their probability amplitudes are combined to form the wave function. If the probability of a basis state is other than 0.0 or 1.0, the two basis states are superposed. The quantum states of two separate particles or waves — two isolated quantum systems — can be shared or entangled.
The concept of quantum state applies across all subfields of QIS, not just quantum computing and quantum communication.
See the preceding section on quantum effects for more detail.
Wave function
Each qubit or collection of entangled qubits has a quantum state which is described by a wave function using linear algebra to detail each of the basis states and its probability amplitude.
Linear algebra
Linear algebra is the notation used to express a wave function in terms of basis states and probability amplitudes. It’s complex math (figuratively and literally), and not for the faint of heart.
Quantum information
Classical information (a sequence or collection of bits) is represented as quantum information in the form of a quantum state, one quantum state for each classical bit.
Quantum state is the unit of quantum information.
A quantum bit or qubit is the unit of storage and manipulation of quantum information (quantum states).
To be clear, quantum information can represent more than just a 0 or 1 classical bit. Since it is a quantum state, it may include a superposition of both a 0 and a 1. The probabilities of 0 and 1 may differ (but they have to add up to 1.0). The probability can include a phase component, and a quantum state may be entangled or shared between two separate, otherwise-isolated quantum systems (particles or waves.)
The concept of quantum information applies across all subfields of QIS, not just quantum computing and quantum communication.
Measurement
Quantum state is not directly observable or directly measurable using normal, non-quantum methods or devices. We can indeed measure any quantum information we want, but measuring a quantum state has the effect of collapsing the wave function of that quantum state, eliminating the truly quantum-ness of the state (e.g., superposition, entanglement, and interference), leaving the quantum information in a purely classical state, such as the 0 and 1 of classical information.
These aspects of measurement apply across all of the subfields of quantum information science — quantum computing, quantum communication, and quantum metrology and sensing.
Qubit
Qubit is short for quantum bit.
Bit is actually short for binary digit — a 0 or 1.
Quantum bit
A quantum bit, commonly referred to as a qubit, is a device or a particle or wave (e.g., photon) — an isolated quantum system — used for the purpose of holding and manipulating a single bit of quantum information in the form of quantum state.
People commonly say that a qubit is the quantum analog of a classical bit, but this is somewhat of a misnomer since a qubit is a device which holds quantum information rather than the quantum information itself. So it is quantum information which is the quantum analog of the classical bit.
Generally we can say that a quantum bit is the unit of quantum information, except that a quantum bit is really the unit of storage and manipulation of quantum information. To be more technically correct, we should say that a quantum state is the unit of quantum information.
As with quantum state, a qubit can be either a 0 or a 1, a superposition of both a 0 and a 1, or an entanglement of the quantum states of two qubits.
Qutrits, qudits, and qumodes
There are also qutrits where are three-valued quantum bits, qudits which are ten-valued quantum bits, and qumodes which are continuous-valued quantum bits used in photonic quantum computers, but these are beyond the scope of this paper.
Phase
In addition to representing a classical bit, or a superposition of two classical bits, a qubit can also have a phase, which is simply a fraction of one cycle of a periodic wave. When two classical bits are superposed, each may have its own distinct phase.
A phase is represented as the imaginary part of the complex number which represents the probability amplitude for either a zero or one bit.
As would waves in general, two phases can cancel or reinforce the complex or imaginary part of the probability amplitude of two quantum states. This is useful for quantum computing, to enable quantum parallelism.
The value of phase can be represented as either a real value between zero and two pi (pi is approximately 3.14159…), representing an angle or fraction of a circle measured in radians, or a real value between zero and 1.0, representing a fraction of a full circle. Two pi radians and 1.0 would be equivalent, as would pi radians and 0.5, as would pi/2 radians and 0.25.
Interference
The phase of the quantum state of two qubits can interfere, either cancelling or reinforcing the complex or imaginary part of the probability amplitude of the quantum states (phases) of the two qubits.
Interference is useful for quantum computing — it enables quantum parallelism.
Not to be confused with environmental interference which disrupts the operation of a quantum system.
Environmental interference
Magnetic fields, electrical fields, or electromagnetic radiation in the physical environment surrounding a quantum system (such as a quantum computer) can disrupt or interfere with the proper operation of the quantum system.
When people speak of current quantum computers as being NISQ devices — Noisy Intermediate-Scale Devices, environmental interference is a large part of the source of such noise.
Shielding and other measures can be used to eliminate or at least partially mitigate such environmental interference, but generally it is an ongoing struggle which cannot be completely won.
Some of the environmental interference can arise from the internal components of the quantum system itself, with a variety of magnetic fields, electrical fields, and electromagnetic radiation being generated as a side effect of normal operation of the system itself. Again, measures can be taken to minimize or mitigate for such internal environmental interference, but it is generally an ongoing struggle with no absolute victory in sight.
Not to be confused with interference between the phases of two quantum states, which is actually a beneficial feature and used to implement quantum parallelism.
Stationary qubits and flying qubits
Quantum computing and quantum communication make use of qubits differently — qubits are stationary for quantum computing, but qubits can be flying qubits for quantum communication — two qubits (say, photons) can be entangled and then physically separated, potentially over an extended distance, and still maintain their entangled quantum state.
Quantum error correction (QEC)
Quantum states and qubits are very sensitive to environmental interference, which can cause errors. Quantum error correction (QEC) is a method for using redundancy to detect and even correct errors which can occur in qubits and operations on qubits (called quantum logic gates.)
QEC is seen as essential for more advanced quantum computers and quantum algorithms, where errors for many qubits and many gates would quickly (or gradually) reduce or eliminate the ability to compute correct or acceptable values.
There are no current implementations of quantum error correction — QEC is more of a theoretical concept for the future. It may not be practical for five or even ten years.
See also: fault-tolerant quantum computer.
Logical and physical qubits
There are a variety of strategies that can be employed to implement quantum error correction (QEC). One approach is the use of logical qubits.
When multiple physical qubits are used to provide the needed redundancy for a qubit, they are collectively referred to as a logical qubit. Algorithms operate on logical qubits.
Quantum programs, quantum logic gates, and quantum circuits
Quantum programs for quantum computers are also known as quantum circuits, which consist of sequences of quantum logic gates, each gate of a circuit being the basic operation of a quantum computer.
Unlike classical computers, a quantum logic gate is a software instruction, not a hardware device. Qubits are the hardware devices of a quantum computer.
Unitary transforms
Each quantum logic gate implements what is known in quantum mechanics as a unitary transform or unitary transformation, which is any of the fundamental ways in which the quantum state of a quantum system (e.g., a qubit) can change. Any further detail is far beyond the scope and intended audience of this informal paper.
Quantum algorithms
An algorithm is more of an abstract, high-level plan for how to solve a problem, while code or a program is the translation of an algorithm (the plan) into the implementation details needed to execute the algorithm on a computer. This is true for both classical and quantum computers.
There is some added complexity required for quantum algorithms since quantum computers do not have all of the features of a classical computer. Generally, a quantum programmer will write a classical computer program which dynamically generates the quantum circuits (sequences of quantum logic gates) representing the implementation of the quantum algorithm, and then requests that the generated circuits be executed on the quantum computer, after which the state of the quantum computer (measurement of the qubits) will be returned to the developer’s classical program for analysis and further processing.
Algorithmic building blocks
As noted, the low-level quantum logic gates of a quantum circuit are commonly dynamically generated by a classical computer program. This is a very tedious and error-prone process.
An alternative approach is to develop pre-coded libraries of the classical code needed to generate common forms of quantum circuits. Quantum developers can then invoke these library components to generate quantum circuits rather than developing the code fresh for each new quantum program.
Unfortunately, there currently aren’t many such rich libraries available, and the ones which are available are fairly primitive — or are proprietary and not available to everyone for free.
This state of affairs will likely change, but it is not clear how long it may take before the available libraries are rich enough to satisfy the needs of most quantum applications.
Significant additional research is needed in this area before development of sophisticated quantum applications can become widespread.
Hybrid quantum/classical algorithms
Although quantum computers are quite powerful, their operations are very simple and lack the capabilities for conditional execution, looping, function calls, rich data types, I/O, database access, and network access. Also, quantum devices are very sensitive to environmental interference so that quantum algorithms must be very short. As a result many algorithms are designed as hybrid algorithms, with some parts being quantum and some parts being classical — hybrid quantum/classical algorithms, so that the quantum parts can be kept relatively small.
Variational quantum algorithms
An important class of hybrid quantum/classical algorithms are variational quantum algorithms, which iterate one or more parameters based on the results of a quantum algorithm until acceptable values are reached.
Quantum computer as a coprocessor
As mentioned above, a quantum computer lacks many of the basic capabilities of a classical computer. In essence, a quantum computer complements the capabilities of a classical computer. Put another way, a quantum computer is effectively a coprocessor for a classical computer.
An application would in general be coded as a program on a classical computer, with I/O, database access, network access, and use of rich data types, with occasional invocations of quantum circuits for portions of algorithms which can exploit the quantum parallelism of the quantum computer, as if it were a coprocessor.
Quantum advantage and quantum supremacy
Quantum advantage indicates the degree of performance advantage of a quantum computer or quantum application over an equivalent classical computer or classical application.
Quantum supremacy indicates that a quantum algorithm or quantum application can accomplish a task which simply isn’t possible on even the most powerful classical supercomputer.
Some people use these two terms as if they were synonyms, so you have to examine the context carefully to determine the intended meaning.
The quantum advantage is frequently due to an exponential speedup, described below.
For more on quantum advantage and quantum supremacy read this informal paper:
In 2019 Google claimed to have achieved quantum supremacy. This informal paper offers my thoughts on that effort:
Exponential speedup
The performance of a quantum algorithm may increase exponentially as the size of the input grows. This is known as an exponential speedup. For example, if the input grew in size by a factor of k, the speedup over a classical algorithm would be a factor of 2^k rather than only some constant factor.
Exponential speedup is what gives a quantum algorithm or quantum application a quantum advantage.
And if the quantum advantage is large enough, it turns into quantum supremacy.
See more about quantum advantage and quantum supremacy in the preceding section.
The source of exponential speedup is quantum parallelism, described below.
Quantum parallelism
Although limited to only quantum computing, the concept of quantum parallelism is the key computational advantage of a quantum computer over a classical computer.
Quantum parallelism is the ability to perform a calculation over the full range of all possible values of a parameter, all in parallel, at the same time, as if it really were a single calculation.
By setting a collection of qubits into a superposition of both 0 and 1, a quantum program can execute a computation over the entire range of values (quantum states) of those qubits.
If there are k qubits it the collection, there are 2^k quantum states.
That’s not a lot of quantum states for smaller values of k — 2¹⁰ is 1,024, but for larger values of k it is a potentially very large number of states — 2³⁰ is a billion distinct quantum states, 2⁴⁰ is a trillion distinct quantum states, and anything over about 2⁵⁵ is far greater than the number of bits that even the largest conceivable classical supercomputer cluster could hold.
The real trick is that after executing a computation over a large number of quantum states, clever tricks must be used to extract values (quantum states) of interest from the large number of values — to select single tree from a vast forest. This is where the phase of quantum state comes in and interference is used to trick the quantum computer into divulging selected information. It may seem odd to have to resort to such tricks for such obvious operations, but that’s the nature of the quantum world.
Quantum communication
The whole point of quantum communication is to enable direct and secure communication of classical information with neither the complexity nor the risk of traditional encryption. Any attempt to eavesdrop or disrupt a quantum communication link will disrupt the quantum state, which cannot be read directly, but only inferred through the use of quantum entanglement.
The focus and purpose of quantum communication is that it is secure by design.
Quantum communication is between stations and may involve repeaters for longer distances, and quantum storage as well.
A couple of terms also associated with quantum communication:
Quantum networking
Quantum networking may sometimes merely be used as a synonym for quantum communication, but it is more properly related to communication between quantum computers, which is more of a theoretical field which will have significant future applications, but at present is limited to theory and research rather than practice or commercial applications.
While quantum communication focuses on transmitting classical data (bits) in a secure manner, quantum networking focuses on transmitting quantum information. Two classical computers could communicate or network using quantum communication, but quantum networking is required for two quantum computers to communicate or share quantum information or quantum state.
Current quantum computers have no capabilities for I/O, let alone at the level of quantum information, so the concept of quantum networking remains a speculative, theoretical research topic.
There is also hope that quantum networking could lead to the development of the quantum internet.
Whether quantum networking should ultimately be a separate subfield or considered under quantum communication is not completely clear and may evolve with the field. For now, it is a distinct research field — or an ambiguous term, take your choice.
Quantum internet
The quantum internet is a research concept for using quantum networking to implement a network with a level of features comparable to what we have in the Internet, but based on transmitting quantum information rather than only classical bits.
At present, no current quantum computers have any type of I/O capability, so no networking is possible at the level of quantum information. Eventually this may change, but not in the near future.
Quantum channel
Quantum channel is an ambiguous term — it may refer to quantum communication where classical information (raw bits) is being transferred, or it may refer to quantum networking where quantum information (quantum state), including superposition, probability amplitudes, and phase is being transferred.
Quantum teleportation
Quantum teleportation is a reference to the use of a quantum channel where full quantum state is being transferred, not merely classical bits alone.
Quantum key distribution (QKD)
Quantum key distribution is a secure method for two parties to produce an encryption key that only these two parties can use to communicate with each other.
Alice and Bob
Alice and Bob are fictional names for the two parties at either end of a communication channel. Typically one of them encrypts a message and the other decrypts the encrypted message.
Alice and Bob are used to describe cryptography and quantum cryptography in general.
Quantum storage
At present in quantum computing, there is no concept of storage for quantum information analogous to classical storage (disk, tape, flash drives) — other than the qubits themselves, which are more like registers than storage.
Whether this state of affairs may change in the future is a matter of pure speculation.
The concept of quantum storage applies to quantum communication as well, such as a quantum repeater, where entangled qubits may be kept temporarily before they are sent on to another station.
Quantum metrology and quantum sensing
Quantum metrology is the study of making high-precision measurement of physical quantities using quantum effects.
Physical quantities include:
Time Distance Acceleration Momentum Angular velocity Mass Energy Electromagnetic radiation — frequency, intensity Gas concentration Magnetic fields Electric fields, charge Temperature Pressure Gravity, gravity waves
There is no great clarity as to the distinction between quantum metrology and quantum sensing. They are frequently used together or even as synonyms.
The simple distinction that I would draw is that quantum metrology focuses more on the theory (science) of the physical quantities being measured, while quantum sensing focuses more on the practical aspects and applications of that science.
Applications of quantum sensing include biosensing, neuroimaging, and object detection.
Quantum sensors
The term quantum sensors is used to refer to the actual, practical, physical devices used to implement quantum sensing.
There is no analogous term for quantum metrology, although experimental work in quantum metrology would obviously require quantum sensors in the lab.
Quantum-enabled sensors
Alternative term for quantum sensors — sensors which utilize quantum effects.
Quantum detection
Quantum detection is covered by quantum sensing but focuses on the specific task of filtering signals from noise, with the goal of detecting the presence or absence of specific signals or objects. It may be less about accurately measuring a physical quantity than about detecting that a designated signal is present or not.
Quantum sensing and detection
Quantum sensing and detection are sometimes combined. They are closely related but not identical. I surmise that the combination is intended to emphasize applications, where both capabilities are needed to be developed and deployed in unison.
Quantum simulators
Not to be confused with quantum simulation which will be described in a subsequent section, a quantum simulator is an application running on a classical computer which simulates the operation of a quantum computer.
This is useful for several possible reasons:
The desired quantum computer is not readily available due to scheduling, demand, or cost. It is not yet practical to design and build the desired quantum computer. Debugging of quantum programs is needed, which is not possible on a real physical quantum computer. An audit log of the operations of a quantum program are needed, which is not possible on a real physical quantum computer. It is desirable to do many runs of a quantum program during development and testing, without the overhead of gaining access to a real physical quantum computer for each run.
In general, it may simply be more convenient to experiment with a quantum algorithm on a quantum simulator than to deal with the formality of a real physical quantum computer.
Quantum-inspired computing
Although not listed on the common enumerations of the subfields of QIS, quantum-inspired computing is still an important subfield.
Rather than running on a real physical quantum computer or a quantum simulator running on a classical computer, a quantum-inspired algorithm or quantum-inspired application is a classical algorithm or classical application running on a classical computer in which the algorithm is modeled on the principles of quantum computing, particularly quantum parallelism.
Generally, one starts with a pure, optimal quantum algorithm, and then represents it in an intermediate language which can be compiled into classical code. A quantum-inspired algorithm then decomposes the problem to be solved so that it can be executed as efficiently as possible on a classical computer, taking full advantage of any classical parallel computing features, such as multitasking, multiple processors, and even massively distributed clusters of high-performance classical computers.
Specialized hardware, such as GPUs, FPGAs, and even full-custom digital hardware could be adapted to focus on the needs of quantum-inspired algorithms.
Granted, in the general case, a quantum-inspired algorithm would not be able to compete with a real quantum computer, but in many specialized cases it may do well enough to satisfy application needs.
The intention is that a quantum-inspired algorithm would dramatically outperform a pure quantum algorithm running on a quantum simulator — if it doesn’t then the original quantum algorithm can be run as-is on a quantum simulator.
Think of quantum-inspired computing as a poor-man’s quantum computer.
Theory and practice
Traditionally, science refers more to theory and research experimentation, while practice refers more to engineering, development of applications, and real-world deployment of applications.
Unfortunately, quantum information science combines both traditional notions of science and practice under one umbrella.
Science and engineering
Traditionally, science is more associated with theory, while engineering is more associated with practice and development and deployment of practical applications.
Unfortunately, quantum information science blurs the distinction, including both the traditional sense of science and engineering under the same umbrella.
Hardware and software
Both hardware (physical devices) and software are included under quantum information science.
Both hardware and software traditionally have a split between science and practical applications.
Hardware has its basis in theoretical and experimental physics and practical electrical engineering and computer engineering.
Software has its basis in mathematics and computer science and practical software development and software engineering.
Device
A device or physical device is generally some form of hardware, such as:
An electronic component. A computer. A digital electronic component such as a gate or flip flop. A quantum computer. Such as a so-called NISQ device. A qubit. A sensor. A quantum sensor.
NISQ device
NISQ device is short for noisy intermediate-scale quantum device. It is a quantum computer that either currently exists or might likely be designed and built in the next few years using either current quantum computing technology or modest evolution of current technology. Such a computer does not have the redundancy or fault-tolerance to fully compensate for the variety of errors which can occur in a quantum computer.
In contrast to a fault-tolerant quantum computer.
One practical effect is that quantum programs must be relatively short so that they can fully execute before errors accumulate to an unacceptable degree.
Another practical effect is to encourage hybrid quantum/classical algorithms so that a much larger quantum algorithm can be decomposed into smaller pieces, with classical code to handle the transitions between the quantum pieces. Variational quantum algorithms are an example.
Fault-tolerant quantum computer
A fault-tolerant quantum computer (FTQC) has a combination of more robust components and quantum error correction so that correct results will achieved for most computations, regardless of what errors may occur at the lower hardware levels in the quantum computer.
Put simply, in theory, logical qubits will be guaranteed to return correct results even as the underlying physical qubits may encounter relatively frequent errors.
FTQC is an active area of research, but there are no current or near-term prospects for practical quantum computers.
Noisy intermediate-scale quantum (NISQ) computers are the alternative to FTQC. All current and near-term quantum computers are NISQ devices.
Applications
Just another call out to highlight the importance of focusing attention on quantum applications — applications of quantum information science, especially since the headline term, quantum information science, leaves it unclear whether applications are really included.
But applications are definitely included under quantum information science and technology.
For an overview of applications for quantum computing:
Algorithms
Quantum algorithms are a crossover between the science aspects of QIS and the applications aspects of quantum information science. Researchers (scientists) are needed to develop advanced algorithms, while software developers and application developers are needed to put those algorithms into practice.
Quantum simulation
Technically, quantum simulation is simply an application of quantum computing, but it is a fairly special form of application since it cuts to the heart of physics, quantum physics and quantum chemistry, and it was the application which got the ball rolling to pursue quantum computing when Prof. Richard Feynman pointed out back in 1982 that quantum physics would be needed to simulate quantum physics.
Put simply quantum simulation is the application of quantum computing to the task of simulating real, physical systems at the quantum mechanical level — the level of physical reality where quantum effects and the laws of quantum mechanics prevail over classical mechanics.
Be careful not to confuse quantum simulation with quantum simulators (simulating a quantum computer on a classical computer.)
Natural sciences and quantum simulation
Any of the fields or subfields of the natural sciences which use the adjective quantum and are based on the principles of quantum mechanics can benefit from quantum simulation, including:
Quantum physics. Quantum chemistry. Known also as quantum computational chemistry. Quantum biology. Any process which involves chemical reactions and the exchange or transfer of energy.
What are the biggest factors holding back quantum computing?
This informal paper highlights the hardware and algorithm issues that are holding back advances in quantum computing:
When will quantum computing finally take off for practical applications?
This informal paper addresses the question of when quantum computing will finally be ready for mainstream applications — When will quantum computing hardware and algorithms reach the stage where real-world, practical, production-quality, production-capacity applications can be readily produced without heroic levels of effort?:
Quantum cryptography and post-quantum cryptography
Quantum cryptography includes both the use of quantum communication to securely transmit classical data using quantum entanglement, as well as post-quantum cryptography which is the use of more advanced encryption schemes which are not crackable using even powerful quantum computers.
Some consider post-quantum cryptography to be categorically distinct from quantum cryptography.
QIST — Quantum information science and technology
The initialism QIST is sometimes used as a shorthand to refer to quantum information science and technology, presumably to treat the practice and applications of quantum information science somewhat separately from the more theoretical aspects of quantum information science. In other words, to treat practice as distinct from theory.
Experimentation and prototyping vs. development and production
People are now saying that quantum computing is transitioning from the lab to practice, but that’s a little misleading. There are four distinct phases in practice:
Experimentation. Staff are simply familiarizing themselves with the new technology, software, and tools. Staff may actually be using the new technology, but not for actual production deployment — or anything even close. Prototyping and mockups. Staff are doing preliminary implementations of capabilities to see how well they work, how users respond to them, and what issues crop up, but nothing suitable for production. Development. Having identified all issues and having come up with proposed solutions, staff is now executing the engineering tasks needed to develop full-scale, production-ready solutions. Including testing, well before actual deployment. Deployment and production. The development of solutions has been completed, but rolling solutions out to users, testing with real users, training users on the new technology, and transitioning from existing solutions to the new solutions can be a tedious, difficult, and time-consuming array of tasks. Parallel use of the old and the new solutions may be necessary for an extended period until the new solutions have proved themselves in the full range of production scenarios, including peak periods and outages which could impact the new solutions.
So, while organizations are indeed beginning the experimentation phase, and in limited cases even the prototyping phase, there’s no robust body of experience with full-scale development, let alone deployment and production.
Absent full-scale development, deployment, and production, it is not appropriate to say that quantum computing has transitioned to practice.
In fact, it could be two to five years — or longer — before we see much in the way of serious efforts to move beyond the prototyping stage. There could be some niches where production might be possible, but not on any broad basis.
Quantum computer science
At present, there is no clearly defined subset of quantum information science which can be seen as a quantum analog to classical computer science.
Quantum software engineering
At present, there is no clearly defined subset of quantum information science which can be seen as a quantum analog to classical software engineering.
Standardization
Over time, de jure standardization (formal standards) for quantum information science and its subfields will become more common, more formal, and more rigorous, but for now, the field is too dynamic and changing too rapidly for de jure standardization to have much appeal or traction.
Instead, we will likely see at least some degree of de facto standardization, where organizations tend towards using similar if not identical approaches to particular issues as other organizations which are similarly situated.
On the flip side, as quickly as de facto standards crop up, they may just as quickly be rendered obsolete by advances in technology.
Education and training
This paper won’t delve deeply into education and training for quantum information science, but simply provide a high-level view. Education and training are essential, for any new field of any significant complexity.
Some key points:
Both formal education and informal education, which is sometimes referred to as simply training. Undergraduate. Both minor and major in quantum information science or one or more of its subfields, especially quantum computing. Graduate. Both focus on quantum information science or one or more of its subfields, especially quantum computing, and some degree of exposure to quantum information science for degrees in other fields. PhD. Same as for graduate, but with a greater degree of specialization. Certificate programs for professionals who already have degrees, but not in quantum information science. May range from one-month to six-week to one-year programs. May include summer programs and summer schools. Seminars and boot camps on various aspects of quantum information science. May range from one hour to half a day, two days, three days, to a full week, or maybe two. On-the-job training. By the employer, possibly outsourced. Vender-specific training. Lifelong learning. The field is evolving rapidly and continuously, so there is literally no end to either education or training. Retraining of displaced workers. High school. Exposure to basic quantum information science concepts in math, science, and computer science or other STEM courses, including some hands-on use. Interdisciplinary. Especially for applications in areas where technical expertise is not as deep as required for quantum information science.
It is an open question as to what role the federal government (of the U.S. or other countries, or the EU) should play, or whether individual academic institutions, with input from the commercial sector and government agencies, can be expected to pick up the slack.
It remains to be seen whether at some point we experience a Sputnik moment and then people clamor for a quantum equivalent of the National Defense Education Act of 1958 to dramatically increase funding for scholarships, research programs, and hiring of teachers and professors.
We already have the National Quantum Initiative Act of 2018 which provides at least some increase in funding targeted at research and education, but not to the degree listed above — it’s more at the graduate and postdoctoral level, as opposed to say, high school teachers, interdisciplinary, or corporate training, let alone lifelong learning and retraining.
History
For historical reference, a workshop on quantum information science was held by the National Science Foundation (NSF) over twenty years ago, on October 28–29, 1999 in Arlington, Virginia:
Again for historical reference, from the Executive Summary of the workshop:
Quantum information science (QIS) is a new field of science and technology, combining and drawing on the disciplines of physical science, mathematics, computer science, and engineering. Its aim is to understand how certain fundamental laws of physics discovered earlier in this century can be harnessed to dramatically improve the acquisition, transmission, and processing of information. The exciting scientific opportunities offered by QIS are attracting the interest of a growing community of scientists and technologists, and are promoting unprecedented interactions across traditional disciplinary boundaries. Advances in QIS will become increasingly critical to our national competitiveness in information technology during the coming century.
The information technology revolution of the past several decades has been driven by steady advances in the miniaturization of electronic circuitry on silicon chips, allowing performance to double roughly every 18 months (“Moore’s law”). But in fewer than 20 years, this shrinkage will reach atomic dimensions, necessitating a new paradigm if progress is to continue at anything like the rate we have become used to. Accordingly, considerable thought and long-range planning are already being devoted to the challenges of designing and fabricating devices at the atomic scale and getting them to work reliably, a field broadly known as nanotechnology.
However, it has long been known that atoms and other tiny objects obey laws of quantum physics that in many respects defy common sense. For example, observing an atom disturbs its motion, while not observing it causes it to spread out and behave as if it were in several different places at the same time. Until about five years ago, such quantum effects have mostly been seen as a nuisance, causing small devices to be less reliable and more error-prone than their larger cousins.
What is new, and what makes QIS a single coherent field despite spanning several traditional disciplines, is the realization that quantum effects are not just a nuisance, but in fact can be exploited to perform important and otherwise impossible information-processing tasks. Already quantum effects have been used to create unbreakable codes, and a quantum computer, if one can be built in the future, could easily perform some computations that would take longer than the age of the universe on today’s supercomputers. The way in which quantum effects speed up computation is not a simple quantitative improvement, like solving a hard problem more quickly by using a faster processor or many processors working in parallel. Rather it is a qualitative improvement, like the improvement one gets from calculating with decimal instead of Roman numerals. For the first time, the physical form of information has a qualitative rather than merely a quantitative bearing on how efficiently the information can be processed, and the things that can be done with it.
Believe it or not, the U.S. Congress recently passed legislation (signed into law on December 21, 2018 by the President) — the National Quantum Initiative Act — which explicitly defines quantum information science:
The term “quantum information science” means the use of the laws of quantum physics for the storage, transmission, manipulation, computing, or measurement of information.
The Act refers to “the fields of:
(A) quantum information theory;
(B) quantum physics;
© quantum computational science;
(D) applied mathematics and algorithm development;
(E) quantum networking;
(F) quantum sensing and detection; and
(G) materials science and engineering;
Quantum communication is not explicitly listed there or even mentioned in the Act, but I believe that it is covered within quantum networking. I consider them separate, but that’s the confused nature of some of these new terms.
Quantum metrology is not explicitly listed there or even mentioned in the Act, but I believe that it is intended to be covered by quantum sensing.
Quantum information science is a misnomer
Quantum information science is a misnomer on many levels.
The major difficulties:
Science and engineering are usually treated separately in the classical world, but are merged in quantum information science. The hardware engineering of quantum devices is included under quantum information science. In the classical world, electrical engineering and computer engineering are treated as separate from computer science, while in the quantum world the notion of engineering is subsumed under science — under quantum information science, that is. There is no quantum computer science as a direct analog to the computer science of the classical world. Any notion of quantum computer science is nebulously covered under the broad umbrella of quantum computing, which includes hardware, unlike the classical world where computer engineering is considered a specialized field of engineering rather than being covered by computer science. Quantum information science suggests a strong parallel with classical information science, but that is far from true. Information science classically is about information alone in an abstract sense, divorced from hardware and the physical means by which information is represented and transmitted. But quantum information science includes the hardware and physical aspects of capturing, storing, organizing, accessing, analyzing, manipulating, and communicating information. As of this moment there is no accepted umbrella term under quantum information science that serves as the analog to classical information science. All of quantum computing is included under quantum information science, while the vast bulk of classical computing is NOT included under classical information science. Quantum communication is covered by quantum information science, whereas the physical aspects of communication are covered under engineering and information theory in the classical world. Quantum information theory, the direct analog of classical information theory (ala Claude Shannon) is covered by quantum information science, while classical information theory is NOT considered part of information science in the classical world. All of quantum metrology and quantum sensing are covered by quantum information science, and while portions are indeed under science (physics) in the classical world, a substantial fraction belongs more properly under engineering. Quantum information is an ill-defined, vague, and ambiguous term. Granted, I do offer my own, clear definition in this paper, but my definition is not binding on others, and in fact is not fully representative of current usage by others. Sure, quantum information is the quantum analog of information in the classical world, but that is too vague. Does it refer to qubits, alone? Unclear. Does it refer to quantum state, alone? Again, unclear. Does it refer to superposition and entanglement of qubits, alone? Does it refer to wave functions, alone? Still unclear. Does it refer to basis states, alone? No clarity. And what about phase (imaginary part of probability amplitude)? No clarity. Does it refer to computational basis states, alone? No clarity at all. Is quantum information discrete as in the classical world, or continuous (rotations of the three-dimensional Bloch sphere)? So confusing. Given superposition and entanglement, is there actually a unit of quantum information? Not so clear. And then there are qutrits and qudits as well. And then photonic quantum computing introduces are qumodes. And squeezed states. Some combination of all of the above? Okay, sure, I guess, but that hardly seems like a sound basis for something worthy of being called a science. The hardware devices for holding, storing, and manipulating quantum information — qubits — are fully covered by quantum information science, while the hardware devices for holding, storing, and manipulating classical information — flip flops, logic gates, memory cells, and storage media — are NOT considered under classical information science, since they are covered by electrical engineering and computer engineering. There’s no notion of software engineering (or quantum software engineering) included under quantum information science. You could argue that it is or should be under quantum computing, but that belies its significance and importance. There is no notion of whether applications are included under quantum information science, or whether quantum information science is simply the raw underlying technology, the platform, and applications are built on top of quantum information science. Again, clarity is needed. Numerous entities refer to quantum information science and technology as if there are some aspects which are not considered directly under the main umbrella of quantum information science. I surmise that some writers are excluding applications and commercial products and services, trying to treat quantum information science as more of an R&D research effort. For example, the National Quantum Initiative Act of Congress: “The purpose of this Act is to ensure the continued leadership of the United States in quantum information science and its technology applications by… supporting research, development, demonstration, and application of quantum information science and technology…”. And, USC: “Quantum information science and technology is an emerging interdisciplinary academic discipline concerned with the study of the new possibilities quantum mechanics offers for the acquisition, transmission, and processing of information.” And, Japan: “we have witnessed the growing interest and rapid progress of quantum information science and technology around the world. In Japan, the early basic research in this field has mainly been supported by a unique program…” And, Berkeley: “CS C191. Quantum Information Science and Technology… This multidisciplinary course provides an introduction to fundamental conceptual aspects of quantum mechanics from a computational and informational theoretic perspective, as well as physical implementations and technological applications of quantum information science.” And, the White House: “The SCQIS assesses the national portfolio using seven broad categories: four in fundamental science (S1-S4) and three in technological development (T1-T3). … These seven areas represent the broad foundation necessary to support a full industrial and Governmental effort in quantum information science and technology.” And, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign: “Illinois Quantum Information Science and Technology Center”. And, Princeton: “The initiative comes at a time of national momentum for quantum sciences at the University, government and industry level. In 2018, the federal government established the National Quantum Initiative to energize research and training in quantum information science and technology.” And, Los Alamos National Laboratory: “This roadmap has been formulated and written by the members of a Technology Experts Panel… whose membership of internationally recognized researchers … in quantum information science and technology (QIST) held a kick-off meeting…” And, University of Cologne: “In the scope of the Cluster of Excellence “ML4Q”, courses in Bonn and Cologne from the following list can be taken to be acknowledged in the area of “Quantum Information Science and Technology”.” And, National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine: “Foundations of Quantum Information Science and Technology”. Just to mention a few. It is ambiguous whether quantum applications are included under quantum information science, or more properly belong under QIST — quantum information science and technology, unlike classical computer science which does NOT include applications.
That said, it’s the term people have used and nobody has suggested a better term.
And who’s to say that the terminology of classical computing, classical communication, and classical science and engineering in general is really so much better.
Still, mediocre and confusing terminology makes it incrementally more difficult to communicate ideas clearly, especially exceedingly complex ideas such as those derived from quantum mechanics.
And since classical computing and communication are not going away any time soon, it’s problematic to have two parallel but inconsistent sets of terminology.
Glossary
My own glossary of quantum computing terms includes many of the terms related to the other subfields of quantum information science as well:
What’s next?
More work is needed: | https://medium.com/@jackkrupansky/what-is-quantum-information-science-1bbeff565847 | ['Jack Krupansky'] | 2020-03-11 20:26:37.911000+00:00 | ['Quantum Information Sci', 'Quantum Information', 'Quantum Info Science', 'Quantum Computing', 'Quantum Communication'] |
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