title
stringlengths 1
200
⌀ | text
stringlengths 10
100k
| url
stringlengths 32
885
| authors
stringlengths 2
392
| timestamp
stringlengths 19
32
⌀ | tags
stringlengths 6
263
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Just Say It Submission Guidelines | We’re glad you’re here. Below are our general submission guidelines. We reserve the right to change these guidelines at any time as we see fit. We also may sometimes publish pieces that do not meet every guideline or decline to publish pieces that do.
General submission guidelines
We accept only unpublished drafts. We only publish pieces written by Medium Partners. These are behind a paywall and this ensures our writers make money from their pieces. These must comply with all Partner Guidelines, Curation Guidelines, Medium’s Rules, and Medium’s Ad-Free Policy. We accept only unique pieces and will not accept any work that has been plagiarized or violates copyright laws. We have a zero-tolerance policy for plagiarism and will remove any writer found to violate this rule. Please proofread and if necessary run your work through editing software such as Grammarly or the Hemingway App to ensure spelling and grammar mistakes are kept to a minimum. Make sure that titles, subtitles, and headings/subheadings are in the appropriate format without trailing punctuation. Format, Format, Format … see this example for what we expect. Source, Source, Source! Include source material and offer links to back up what you’re saying. Unless you are an expert in the field you are writing about, or writing a strict opinion piece, in both cases we want that stated and proven within the article. Have a Call to Action — your article should include something that tells the reader what they can do to embody the point of the article. Once a piece is published in Just Say It, writers are free to share the link outside the publication or to re-publish the piece on personal blogs or pages outside of Medium. This publication does not hold ownership over the author’s works. We do ask that you do not remove a piece from the publication and that it not be published elsewhere on Medium. Remember, you make money when members read your pieces on Medium so we believe it’s best to send people to the publication to read your piece. Also our goal is both to change the world and help the people doing it get buy so we’re more likely to publish authors who bring in readers to the publication because that helps all of us.
Style & Voice
Make it your own. We are not looking for formal writing that meets every standard of proper form. We want to hear your words, in your voice.
Images
It is very important to give credit to all the images used!
If an image enhances your story, use it. We’ll let you know when we review your story if we think you’ve used too many or too view images. A good rule of thumb is to have at least one image between the subtitle and the main body of your work, like this.
Now you know what to do, here’s HOW to do it
Send an email to [email protected] with your Medium URL and a link to an unsubmitted draft that you believe fits our Publication and meets our Guidelines.
Then wait, but not more than a week. If I haven’t gotten back to you within 5 days, it’s likely I won’t be publishing your piece. Most of the time I will at least reply with some type of feedback, but since it’s just me, I can’t always promise that.
If you have any questions that I don’t answer here, feel free to email me at the above address. I really look forward to reading and sharing your work. | https://medium.com/just-say-it/just-say-it-submission-guidelines-51fb021436c2 | ['Jen Payne'] | 2020-10-14 00:54:16.770000+00:00 | ['Ｍedium', 'Guidelines', 'New Publication', 'Writing', 'Just Say It'] |
Live your life to the fullest | Live your life to the fullest
Make the most out of every moment with Futourist
Imagine there is a bank account that credits your account each morning with $86,400. It carries over no balance from day to day. Every evening the bank deletes whatever part of the balance you failed to use during the day. What would you do? Draw out every cent, of course?
Each of us has such a bank. It’s name is time. (Marc Levy)
Make every second count
Each day consists of 86 400 seconds, containing infinite possibilities and endless choices on what to do, where to go and who to spend them with. Realizing the priceless value of time and its scarcity, we all strive to make the most out of each and every life’s moment.
Every minute we spent anxiously searching for the best restaurant when we are starving, each hour we spent struggling to plan a trip to an unknown city and each day we spent missing out on incredible experiences that we do not even know exist, we waste our precious seconds.
Well, we are here to help you make every moment count and not let any second frivol away again — Futourist will provide you with only the content most relevant and interesting to you in as little time as possible. Aiming to reach the perfect balance between value, convenience, personalization and rewarding, Futourist will bring you numerous personalized daily experiences, saving you countless hours every day while rewarding you for sharing a taste of your experience with others. Wondering how? Immerse yourself into the story below.
A world of rewarding experiences
Imagine arriving in a European city you have always wanted to visit, bursting with desire to start experiencing everything it has to offer. But where to start? And most importantly, how to know which place matches your current craving for coffee and Belgian waffles?
Luckily, Futourist is here to help you find the perfect place for your wants and needs at any given moment.
Futourist will provide you with an instant list of places with mouth-watering video reviews
You open up the Futourist app and eagerly start exploring. Seconds later, you already have a list of top nearby coffee-and-waffles-serving places. Watching their latest reviews, you gain an amazing view of the city’s lively vibe and a real-time insight into each of the recommended places. As you see a video review of a group of friends devouring delicious Belgian waffles at a 5-star rated Waffle house 100 meters away, your face lightens up. Ten minutes later, you are already sharing a video of your beautifully served and delicious looking coffee and waffles on the Futourist app for the world to see. What a perfect start of the day!
After savouring your hearty breakfast, you realize that you have no ideas on how to spend your entire day in a foreign city. You start to get nervous and grumpy, thinking about all the precious time you will have to spend on scrolling through endless travel recommendation sites to try and come up with a plan for making the most out of your precious day abroad. Then comes a big sigh of relief:
Futourist travel guides provide you with a detailed daily plan that matches your characteristics and interests.
Futourist guides will take you on a daily adventure of customized experiences
As you are a born thrill-seeker, you choose the Futourist adventurous guide, taking you on a journey full of exciting time-worthy activities, enabling you to experience the city in the most venturous and fun-loving way, capturing the most valuable moments on film and instantly sharing them with others. Best. Day. Ever.
But the fun doesn’t stop there. You wake up the next morning and see a notification on your phone that brings the biggest smile on your face:
You have just received a sizebale reward for all of your yesterday’s posted reviews. Ka-ching!
So, where to next? 🌎
Clapping is caring. Press the 👏 to share this article with others.
Join us on our Social Channels:
Webpage
Telegram group
Facebook
Instagram
Twitter
Linkedin | https://medium.com/futourist/live-your-life-to-the-fullest-4b35599369d5 | ['Anja Vidrih'] | 2018-10-04 12:55:20.546000+00:00 | ['Experience', 'Personalization', 'Travel', 'Adventure', 'Life'] |
How DApp users can interact with your Smart Contracts with ZERO ETH | How DApp users can interact with your Smart Contracts with ZERO ETH
Lightstreams RelayServer on Sirius Test Network
The problem is well known. In order to perform a transfer transaction or interact with a specific application smart contract, you need to pay the infrastructure cost (gas) in Ether. No user, especially new to the blockchain ecosystem, is going to be willing to do so. There is a reason why FREEMIUM model is so widely implemented in the current Web2 stack. Taste before you buy.
In this article, you will learn how to pay transactions on behalf of your users by implementing a new Ethereum concept called GSN into your DApp in 5 steps.
Gas Station Network
GSN is a concept designed and developed by a cyber security firm TabooKey. TabooKey submitted an official EIP-1613 design draft in December 2018.
Complicated?
No worries. The concept was later adopted and enhanced by established Ethereum auditing company OpenZeppelin (OZ) who developed a friendly set of JS helper tools to ease the GSN usage.
STEP 0: Choose your Ethereum-compatible blockchain network
I will demonstrate the usage on Lightstream’s PoA Ethereum compatible blockchain powered by Tendermint consensus.
Why?
Addressing gas issues is just part of the solution. Mainstream apps need to be responsive. Ethereum’s 15s blocks without a guarantee a TX won’t be reverted is unfortunately insufficient for any user facing, interactive DApp. Lightstreams provides instant finality in 3s blocks.
Already deployed RelayHub and active RelayServer means you don’t have to worry about half of the previously visualised complicated GSN diagram and can ONLY FOCUS on your app business-case.
Pre-deployed Lightstream’s RelayServer
STEP 1: Take YOUR existing Smart Contract
E.g, given you, have a simple Voter.sol smart contract and your users can either up-vote or down-vote some arbitrary value.
contract Voter {
uint256 public count;
event Voted(uint256 newCount, address account);
function upVote() public {
address lastVoter = _msgSender();
count++;
emit Voted(count, lastVoter);
}
function downVote() public {
address lastVoter = _msgSender();
count--;
emit Voted(count, lastVoter);
}
}
STEP 2: Inherit the Gas Free feature
Inherit GSN.sol to convert your traditional SC to a GSN compatible one. The GSN.sol is extending the official OpenZeppelin, TabooKey contracts.
npm i --save lightstreams-js-sdk
import "@lightstreams-js-sdk/contracts/utils/GSN.sol";
contract Voter is GSN {
STEP 3: Register the Voter.sol SC in a global RelayHub
Deploy the Voter.sol and call the initialize method. As RELAY_HUB argument specify “0xECf278654f73000F9cB3b05858158AC49c29ed68”.
This is a official RelayHub deployed on Lightstream’s Sirius test network.
voter.initialize(RELAY_HUB)
STEP 4: Pay for your users transactions
The users transactions will be free but the voting application still has to pay for it. This is done by pre-funding the SC you want to be gas-free in RelayHub.
Install OZ GSN Helpers:
"@openzeppelin/gsn-helpers": "0.1.9",
Import the fundRecipient method:
const { fundRecipient } = require('@openzeppelin/gsn-helpers');
Fund the Voter.sol with as many PHTs you are willing to pay for your users transactions gas costs:
await fundRecipient(web3, {
recipient: voter.address,
relayHubAddress: RELAY_HUB,
amount: web3.utils.toWei("10", "ether"),
from: YOUR_PHT_ACCOUNT
});
STEP 5: Let users perform FREE transactions
In order to do this, you will need a special Web3 lib decorated with HTTP Relay functionality. Why? Because the users gas-free transactions will be now submitted to previously mentioned HTTP Relayer Server https://gsn.sirius.lightstreams.io/getaddr and decorated before they are broadcasted to blockchain.
Require the Lightstream’s adjusted OZ Network library:
const { fromConnection } = require('@lightstreams-js-sdk/node_modules/openzeppelin/network');
Create a new GSN powered Web3 object:
gsnCtx = await fromConnection(
web3.eth.currentProvider.host, {
gsn: {
dev: false,
signKey: emptyAcc.privateKey
}
}); web3 = gsnCtx.lib;
Execute the gas-free TX! | https://medium.com/coinmonks/how-dapp-users-can-interact-with-your-smart-contracts-with-zero-eth-d0b664b355ce | ['Lukas Lukac'] | 2020-08-26 11:29:58.566000+00:00 | ['Meta Transactions', 'Smart Contracts', 'Ethereum', 'Blockchain', 'Solidity'] |
Decide | Photo by Vladislav Babienko on Unsplash
Decide where you want to go.
And when you know where you want to go.
Don’t wait.
Because there’s no such thing as waiting to make the choice.
When you wait…
You’ve made the choice.
Waiting is the choice.
So don’t wait… just do it.
#TwentyTwenty #CodeSigned #CodeSignedBy
RJ /// Rodney Gainous Jr /// @RG2Official /// (424) 334–8004
Life is a game. | https://medium.com/tech-product-and-life/decide-1036485c133f | ['Rodney Gainous Jr'] | 2019-07-22 06:23:06.571000+00:00 | ['Life Lessons', 'Work', 'Self', 'Self Improvement', 'Life'] |
Know and Fight Diabetes | In Pakistan every 4th person is diabetic that’s a real grave situation. Every year private sector, NGOs and pharmaceutical industry (producing anti diabetic products) raise voice on 14th November. However no serious campaign or drive is initiated by government of Pakistan.
The government should encourage long term Diabetes awareness program and lifestyle that prevent diabetes, also guidelines for healthy lifestyle after diabetes is diagnosed for improving quality of life.
The best example if healthy lifestyle and proper care is adopted after diabetes is of Cricket Legend Wasim Akram who was diagnosed diabetes while he was playing international cricket, he really fought the battle with this deadly disease.
The understanding of the disease awareness among the masses is almost non-existent with no real effort to create awareness.
Diabetes are of two types one type 1 and type 2, the type 1 is also known as Diabetes Mellitus it occurs in children and young adults however it can occur at any age. The other type of diabetes is type 2.
The third type of diabetes is temporary and is called Gestational diabetes develops in women when they are pregnant but it goes away once baby is born. However sometime type II diabetes is diagnosed during pregnancy which is confused with Gestational diabetes.
The causes of type 1 diabetes include the body’s system for fighting, immune system, attacks and destroys the insulin-producing beta cells of the pancreas. The type 1 diabetes is caused by genes and environmental factors, such as viruses, that might trigger the disease. The scientists are also working to specifically point out causes of type 1 diabetes and possible ways to prevent or slows down the disease.
The type 2 diabetes is the most common of the diabetes, caused by several factors, including lifestyle factors and genes. Diabetes 2 usually begins with insulin resistance, a condition in which muscle, liver and fat cells do not use insulin well. This situation asks for more insulin to help glucose enter cells. Pancreas produce more insulin to meet the added demand, over the period the pancreas cannot make enough insulin and glucose rise in blood.
The most common symptoms of diabetes include:
Being very thirsty
Urinating often
Feeling very hungry or tired
Losing weight without trying
Having sores that heal slowly
Having dry, itchy skin
Losing the feeling in your feet or having tingling in your feet
Most common having blurry eyesight
When a person is diagnosed with diabetes should start monitoring sugar levels and keep with medications or insulin whatever is or both prescribed by the doctor. The most important thing is to change lifestyle.
The diabetic patient should pay special attention to food intake that ease up on sugar levels and improve quality of life. The food which control blood sugar include mushrooms, onions, eggplant, tomatoes, Brussels sprout. Also emphasis should be on green veggies.
The plain water is always the best but diabetes patient can cut a lemon or cucumber and put it in water. The diabetes patient can add lemon or cinnamon stick with cold tea. This will help in stopping craving for more food and keeps you filled. The diabetic patient should go for whole grain and high fiber foods.
To maintain healthy blood sugar level is very important and minimize the medications intake by losing weight and keep it down. Keep oneself physically active. The diabetic patient should follow a meal plan. Sometimes the people with diabetes 2 find that despite their best efforts weight control, exercise and diet are not enough to control the blood sugar level, this is not abnormal. These people should keep regular consultation with their diabetes care team. | https://medium.com/@bilalhzaidi/know-and-fight-diabetes-e7a2eefeecc4 | ['Bilal Hassan Zaidi'] | 2018-11-11 07:07:19.639000+00:00 | ['Health', 'Diabetes', 'Lifestyle'] |
Use the TICK stack on Windows 10 with Batch Updates | Component 2: Telegraf
Download Telegraf for Windows through the InfluxData Downloads Page
Fireup the PowerShell WINDOWS + R and type powershell Copy the wget command from the Downloads page above in an appropriate folder e.g. C:\Users\<user>\Dev\ and paste it into PowerShell. You can switch back and forth between Powershell and WSL by:
1. Typing bash in the PowerShell to enter WSL
2. Typing exit in WSL to return back to PowerShell I did not have unzip command in PowerShell, hence I triggered the command using WSL (follow Step 3.1 to achieve this)
The following steps should create a folder telegraf in your desired folder with all extracted files for Telegraf. In general these two files are available: telegraf.exe , telegraf.conf
TIP: In PowerShell, like Linux use the TAB key for autocompletion.
For help regarding all command line options for Telegraf use:
C:\Users\<user>\Dev\telegraf> .\telegraf.exe --help
Generate a Test Configuration
Use a test configuration file for Telegraf by using:
.\telegraf.exe config > telegraf_test.conf
This command should produce telegraf_test.conf in the same folder. In oder to obtain an overview of the generate file use:
cat .\telegraf_test.conf
Adapt Configuration and MQTT Subscribe
I removed all other configurations and kept [[inputs.mqtt_consumer]] and [[outputs.influxdb]] in the configuration file. The variables within the section important were topics (for Subscribe), client_id and servers (address of your MQTT Broker) as well as data_format (since incoming data is JSON)
My file looks like the following:
[[inputs.mqtt_consumer]]
servers = ["tcp://my_mqtt_broker_ip_address:1883"]
qos = 0
connection_timeout = "30s" ## Topics to subscribe to
topics = [
"sensors/env/test"
]
persistent_session = false
# If empty, a random client ID will be generated.
client_id = "DES_Telegraf"
## Each data format has its own unique set of configuration options, read
## more about them here:
## ## Data format to consume.## Each data format has its own unique set of configuration options, read## more about them here:## https://github.com/influxdata/telegraf/blob/master/docs/DATA_FORMATS_INPUT.md data_format = "json"
json_name_key = "n" # store the values as measurement names
tag_keys = ["bn", "u"] # store these JSON keys as tags
urls = [" [[outputs.influxdb]]urls = [" http://127.0.0.1:8086 "] ## The target database for metrics; will be created as needed.
database = "telegraf_test"
skip_database_creation = false
retention_policy = ""
write_consistency = "any"
## Timeout for HTTP messages.
timeout = "5s"
Automatic metadata storage
The data-format="json" makes it very easy to store information into InfluxDB with its respective metadata. In case of SenML I use the following storage concept:
The n key in SenML is the name of the measurement e.g. humid , temp
key in SenML is the name of the e.g. , The bn and u (unit) should be stored as tags for each value
Exception: Due to bn existing in only one of the JSON element of the array in our SenML structure, the tag bn will only be available in the humid measurement. Adapt your SenML structure accordingly to get same tags for both measurements
Fire up Telegraf
In order to execute Telegraf with the custom configuration use the following command in PowerShell (remember TAB key is your friend):
.\telegraf.exe -config .\telegraf_test.conf
Note: Since InfluxDB is not yet setup the intial trigger of Telegraf will keep logging errors on the console when sending data from MQTT Broker to InfluxDB. | https://medium.com/@shantanoodesai/use-the-tick-stack-on-windows-10-with-batch-updates-aab7a331d786 | ['Shan Desai'] | 2019-03-15 18:08:54.906000+00:00 | ['Kapacitor', 'Influxdb', 'Windows 10', 'IoT', 'Telegraf'] |
The Great Dictator | “All hail the Great DNA!”, shouted an army of microtubules from a prominent locus in the cytoplasm. “DNAaaaa, DNA!” clap “DNAaaaa, DNA!” shouted out all the organelles of the cell, from the juniors like glyoxysomes to the seniors like mitochondria, all alike. Although the envious RNAs looked on with inaudible grunts and disapproving growls, they too had to submit after a few minutes of cheerleading the Boss, the Great Dictator, DNA!
Unlike every other dictator DNA did not have its roots in desperation to overthrow the existing rule. It was a born hero. Ever since Deoxyribonucleic acid, who goes by the name of DNA among his followers, was synthesized in a primordial soup of nutrients few billion years ago, it had been widely accepted as the boss. Till today, no one else, has been able to overthrow its dominance.
In case you wonder, “Why?”, you should ask the historians of cytology, the introns, who are reminiscent of antiquity! They, though themselves made up of DNA, will tell you that DNA’s secret to dominance in genetic inheritance is due its stability. Lack of a hydroxyl group in the pentose sugar, unlike RNA, presence of methylation in nitrogen bases, i.e thymine of DNA instead of uracil of RNA, double stranded nature as compared to mostly single stranded RNA suffices for its ascension in the throne of cyto-dictator overthrowing the RNA rule. DNA also takes keen interest in self replication, having sequences to code for proteins, that synthesize two newer daughter DNAs from the parent one. It is not fickle minded like RNA, and undergoes mutation fairly stably, hence, the DNA which coded for peptidoglycan 3 Billion years ago, still codes for the same NAG NAM polymer today.
But, my intention to write today’s article, is to narrate the DNA’s dictation. It begins with transcription. A puzzle that DNA asks its subordinate RNA to solve. Often, while slithering through the great lengths of a DNA molecule, you will find a sequence that urges RNA factories to bind to the location. Following that promoter sequence which initiates the game, is the main puzzle that DNA asks RNA to solve. Like a dutiful servant, RNA factory aka RNA polymerase transcribes DNA’s blabbering code into a not-very-different RNA code. This new RNA has a fancy name: mRNA, m for messenger as all it does is transport the info to cytoplasm where other versatile RNAs wait hungrily to solve the code. Before the transportation though, mRNA likes to dress up, capped by an awkward N-base and tailed by an A obsessive tail! Also it undergoes dieting i.e. cutting away of any intervening transcribed historians aka introns, whom we met before. All this happens inside the nucleus.
Outside the comfort of nucleus wanders about millions of ribosomes. rRNAs who run each ribosome, like to call themselves protein factories. They allow the mRNA for a nights stay and read up their transcribed code, to steal amino acids from charged tRNAs and synthesize proteins! Quite hardworking, ain’t they? This is called translation. The language of RNA world is then translated into the language of proteins, with words called amino acids, that are understandable by every cell component.
It took humanity 11,953 years to decipher this process, since 10,000 BC, which was about 64 years before today. Though thanks for that usually goes to Watson, Crick, Wilkins and Chargaff, let us take this opportunity to thank Rosalind Franklin, who had probably the greatest contribution among them and yet the least recognition.
Before concluding, I want you to know that, this DNA is a bad guy. It has a closed community and 46 family members in human cells. They break up equally into two groups randomly, then associate with another such group of 23 from another human, and combines to dictate orders in a new cell, which we humans superficially term as birth of a new life!
P.S. This article was initially published in 2017. | https://medium.com/drarkadeep/the-great-dictator-77d24c311529 | ['Arkadeep Mukhopadhyay'] | 2021-01-01 14:05:14.004000+00:00 | ['Dictator', 'Biology', 'Dna', 'Learning', 'Genetics'] |
Redefining Premier League Forwards using k-means | With more teams using fullbacks to provide width, the role of forwards has significantly changed in world football. The modern forward can no longer be defined by the traditional labels of winger and striker. Traditionally teams operating with a front three will have an “out-and-out” striker whose main purpose is to score goals and two wingers who provide width, creating chances for the striker as well being a secondary source of goals. This is epitomized by José Mourinho’s 2005/06 Chelsea team where Damien Duff and Arjen Robben provided the width for Didier Drogba on the inside. The front three has evolved in recent years, however, with the central player dropping deeper in many systems. The “false 9” role became highly popular after Lionel Messi’s success in the position for Barcelona under Pep Guardiola. In this role, the central player comes deep and becomes much more involved in the build-up play with the wingers drifting further infield and supplying more goals. Jurgen Klopp has taken this a step further and developed a system where the striker’s main role is not seen as goal scorer. Instead the striker, Roberto Firmino, is much more involved in build-up play and creating chances for the two wingers, Sadio Mane and Mo Salah.
“A football team is like an orchestra, you have different people for different instruments. Some of them are louder than others but they are all important for the rhythm. Bobby plays something like 12 instruments in our orchestra.” - Jurgen Klopp on Roberto Firmino’s role in the team
Despite being a key part to a successful system, some are critical of the striker’s lack of goals:
Another example of how the front three has evolved is Arsenal where Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang will be named at left-wing but be expected to provide most of the attacking threat while Alexandre Lacazette, as striker, is deployed to hold up play and Nicolas Pepe at right-wing will provide width and crosses into the area. Here, the two players named as wingers have completely different roles within the same system.
The same can be said for the two man strike partnership which traditionally involves a striker/center-forward who plays near the goal with a second striker/number 10 playing behind them. This is still a popular system with teams like Burnley, where Jay Rodriguez gets involved in play slightly deeper behind Chris Wood whose purpose is to hold the ball up and score goals. Other teams have gone for a more direct approach to a two man forward line, like Everton where Richarlison and Dominic Calvert-Lewin both look to play in advanced positions and attack the goal. Sheffield United, then, are at the opposite end of the spectrum where both forwards, David McGoldrick and Ollie McBurnie, look to hold play up in advanced areas in order to allow their wingbacks to create space.
The aim of this article is to redefine the roles of Premier League forwards by grouping players based on their stats using a technique called k-means clustering.
Understanding k-means clustering
K-means clustering is a popular unsupervised machine learning algorithm. “Unsupervised learning” algorithms take data with no pre-existing labels and attempt to find structure in the input. The goal of k-means clustering is to group similar data points into a set number of clusters based off their input variables. In this case each player is a data point and the input variables are their statistics. This sounds complex but it’s actually quite easy to visualize with an example. Lets look at the tackles per game and shots per game of several Premier League players last season:
Clearly we can see that there are two groups of players here, forwards and defenders. This is confirmed by seeing the player names and knowing that Pereira, Wan-Bissaka, Aurier and Tarkowski are all defenders and that Firmino, Jimenez, Jesus and Salah are all forwards.
In order to make this grouping mathematical we use k-means. This algorithm creates k random cluster centroids and then iteratively adjusts the centroids until they are best placed. This is when the centroids can’t move any closer to the average (mean) of the cluster. We can try this out using the example above. There seems to be two clusters so we’ll try k=2:
The algorithm has correctly grouped together the players based on these stats with the grey dots representing the cluster centers. We can now label these groups as “Forwards” and “Defenders” based on our own knowledge of the players in each group. Now that we have a basic understanding as to how k-means works, we can move on to applying it to our main problem.
Criteria & Stats
First, I separated the forwards into central players and wide players. This was done fairly subjectively as many players could be classified as both. Anthony Martial was put into the central category as he played most of his games for Manchester United in the center of a front three last season. This meant both Marcus Rashford and Mason Greenwood were put in the wide category. Aubameyang started an equal number of games in both wide and central positions so he was included in both. Only players with over 1000 minutes played and to have made most of their appearances as a starter were included. I then selected the top 25 players in each category based off of average player ratings. Several statistics were recorded trying to incorporate the players’ overall game. Some of these statistics were then adjusted into a “per 90 minutes” metric. The following statistics from the 2019/20 season were used in analysis:
Attack: Goals/90min, Shots/90min, Shots on Target/90min, xG/90min, Successful Dribbles/90min, Total Dribbles/90min, Hit Woodwork/90min, Big Chances Missed/90min, Offsides/90min,Open Play Goals, Headed Goals, Surplus xG, Shot Accuracy, Conversion Rate Defense: Tackles/90min, Fouls/90min, Interceptions/90min, Headed Clearances/90min Team Play: Passes/90min, Assists/90min, xA/90min, Touches/90min, Crosses/90min, Big Chances Created/90min, Surplus xA Physical: Height, Distance Covered/90min
The stats were collected from the Premier League’s official website so any ambiguous statistic such as Big Chances Created is down to their interpretation. Most of the statistics are self-explanatory but some may not be familiar with xG and xA. Expected Goals (or xG) is a relatively new metric that attempts to measure the quality of a goal scoring chance and the likelihood that it is scored. It is measured by analyzing the chance in terms of the angle of the shot, the distance, type of shot etc. and giving a rating from 0 to 1. If a chance has an xG of 0.4 that means you would expect a player to score that chance 40% of the time. Summing up a players xG over the course of the season gives an approximation as to how many goals they should have scored. Similarly xA calculates the likelihood a pass will become a goal assist.
Principal Component Analysis
The above list has 27 different stats and many of them are related, for example, players with a high amount of goals scored will also have a high xG. Having a high number of variables (or dimensions) is not desirable for k-means as it relies on a distance measure, i.e. data points near each other are clustered together. When you have a high number of dimensions distance metrics become increasingly less reliable so reducing the number of metrics will allow k-means to work better. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) solves this issue for us by creating a set of principal components from the existing variables. Each of these principal components is a linear combination of the variables such that they are not correlated and most of the variance is accounted for by the first few components. This allows us to reduce the number of dimensions by using the main principal components.
With that established, we now must determine how many principal components we want. There is no exact way to determine this but we want each component to add a significant amount of variance and we want most of the variance in the dataset to be explained by these components. The graph below shows the % of total variance explained by each component for the set of central players.
Here we can see that the first two components account for most of the variance and that very little variance is explained by the ninth component onwards.
Looking at the cumulative variance explained with each we find that 79% of the variance is explained by the first 6 components and 90% by the first 9 components.
Based off this I decided to choose 6 components as the total variance explained by these components was nearly 80% and each component after that didn’t add much.
With the set of wide players I also ended up using 6 components with 81% of the variance explained.
Clustering
Now that we have determined the number of principal components, we now need to determine k, the optimal number of clusters. To do this I used Silhouette Coefficients. The Silhouette Coefficient measures how well a data point is defined in its cluster by measuring the average distance between it and all the other points in the same cluster (cohesion) and the average distance between it and all of the points in the nearest cluster (separation). Silhouette Coefficients range from -1 to 1: a score near 1 indicates a point is well matched to its cluster, a score near 0 means it is on the boundary of its cluster and a score negative score indicates it may be assigned to the wrong cluster. By finding the mean Silhouette Coefficient across all data points for different values of k we can determine the optimal number of clusters.
In our example from above the Silhouette Coefficient was 0.72 for k =2 as the clusters were well separated. But now look as we add more players the Silhouette Coefficient is now 0.36 as the clusters are closer together with more points on the boundary.
However when we choose k=3, the silhouette coefficient is now 0.42 as the clusters are better defined. The clusters are still close but the points seem better grouped.
Clearly k=3 is the optimal number of clusters here, however in some instances we may want to separate the data into more clusters causing us to choose a value for k that doesn’t necessarily have the highest silhouette coefficient.
Below is a plot of the silhouette coefficient for both sets of players across several values of k:
From the graphs it’s clear that the optimal number of clusters is 5 for the set of central players and 3 for the set of wide players. We could also look at 7 or 10 clusters for the central players but, considering there’s only about 25 players in each set, that would probably be too many groups to have.
Results
Now we can group the players together and attempt to label the groups. As we can see from the relatively low silhouette scores, the clusters will not be perfectly defined. This is to be expected as many players can fit into several types of role and some players will have different roles week in week out depending on several factors such as their opposition, injuries on the team, etc. With that being said, let’s have a look at what the analysis produced.
Central Players
The optimal number of clusters was 5 and were grouped as follows:
(*indicates highest scoring cluster, ^indicates lowest scoring cluster)
Cluster 1 (Target Man):
Calvert-Lewin| Giroud | Wood | Abraham | Kane
Key stats:
Goals/90min — 0.58, Shots/90min — 3.04, Shot Acc. — 46.6%*, Conversion Rate — 19.3%, Offsides/90min — 0.83*, Headed Goals/90min — 0.13*, Total Dribbles/90min — 1.03^
Headed Clearances/90min — 0.95*, Tackles/90min — 0.43^, Interceptions/90min — 0.21^
Assists/90min — 0.05^, Passes/90min — 19.70, Touches/90min — 34.06, Crosses/90min — 0.45^, Big Chances Created/90min — 0.08^
Height — 189.6cm*, Distance Covered/90min — 7.2km
These players are finishers that look to play close to the goal. This is illustrated by the fact that they have the highest number of offsides and least number of dribbles showing they stay in advanced positions. They also have the highest shot accuracy indicating their opportunities arise near the goal. They look to use their physical presence to their advantage - on average they are the tallest players and score the most headed goals.
They are not very creative players — they have the lowest number of assists and big chances created. They also have the least number of crosses per 90 minutes further proof that they like to stay central and look to finish rather than create.
Their defensive game is again based on their physicality. They have the highest number of headed clearances indicating their main defensive duties involve defending set pieces. They have the lowest number of tackles and interceptions per 90 minutes showing they do not like to get involved in pressing defenders.
The first 4 players definitely fit this archetype however as the statistics recorded were from the 2019/20 season, when Spurs were going through a transition after sacking Pochettino and hiring Mourinho, Kane’s role varied across the season. Since the 2020/21 season started he has assumed a different role and I believe he would be classified in another group if we were to repeat this analysis at the end of this season.
Cluster 2 (Advanced Playmaker):
Firmino | Jiménez
Key Stats:
Goals/90min — 0.37, Shots/90min — 3.12, Shot Acc. — 38.0%, Conversion Rate — 11.7%^, Offsides/90min — 0.34^, Total Dribbles/90min — 2.72, xG Surplus- 3.6*
Assists/90min — 0.20, xA/90min — 0.21*, Passes/90min — 31.15*, Touches/90min — 47.98*, Crosses/90min — 0.52, Big Chances Created/90min — 0.33*
Headed Clearances/90min — 0.47, Tackles/90min- 0.83, Interceptions/90min — 0.33
Height - 185.5cm, Distance Covered/90min — 8.13km
These players drop deeper, looking to get involved in build up play and create chances for other players. They have the lowest number of offsides and highest number of passes and touches showing they tend to be in less advanced positions and have a desire to be involved in play. Despite having the lowest conversion rate, they have the highest xG Surplus which is a sign that the goals they score come from further out and more difficult areas. Having a high number of assists and the most big chances created shows their creativity but their low number of crosses indicate this mainly comes from central positions.
A high number of tackles, interceptions and headed clearances show they get involved in both pressing and defending set pieces. They also cover a high distance each game showing their high work rate on both ends.
Cluster 3 (False 9):
Aguero | Jesus | Antonio | Martial
Key Stats:
Goals/90min — 0.67*, Shots/90min — 3.84*, Shot Acc. — 45.25%, Conversion Rate — 17.7%, Offsides/90min — 0.54, Total Dribbles/90min — 3.42*, xG/90min — 0.76*
Assists/90min — 0.21*, xA/90min — 0.17, Passes/90min — 23.97, Touches/90min — 42.68, Crosses/90min — 0.91, Big Chances Created/90min — 0.26, xA Surplus - -0.98
Headed Clearances/90min — 0.22^, Tackles/90min- 0.59, Interceptions/90min — 0.62*
Height — 177.3cm^, Distance Covered/90min — 6.53km^
These players are given free role in attack. They get involved in every area of attack having the highest number of goals and assists as well as a high number of touches, passes and crosses. This type of forward is direct, they have the highest number of shots and dribbles showing they like to attack the goal. They are the only group with a negative xA surplus meaning they create a lot of opportunities that are not always converted.
On the defensive end, they have the highest number of interceptions indicating they get involved in high pressing. They score low in tackles and distance covered suggesting a generally low defensive work rate. They are the shortest on average and have the lowest number of headed clearances, a sign that they are not involved in defending set pieces.
Cluster 4 (Hold-up Striker):
A.Barnes | McBurnie | Haller | Maupay | Ayew | Joelinton | Lacazette | Wilson | Pukki | Deeney | King
Key Stats:
Goals/90min — 0.30^, Shots/90min — 2.10, Shot Acc. — 42.91%, Conversion Rate — 14.8%, Offsides/90min — 0.58, Total Dribbles/90min — 2.11, xG/90min — 0.35^
Assists/90min — 0.07, Passes/90min — 22.99, Touches/90min — 39.35, Crosses/90min — 0.50, Big Chances Created/90min — 0.15
Headed Clearances/90min — 0.50, Tackles/90min- 0.87, Interceptions/90min — 0.34
Height — 182.09cm, Distance Covered/90min — 8.14km*
This is a hardworking type of striker whose main role is to hold up play high up the pitch providing relief for the defense and opportunity for the more creative players. They have the lowest number of goals as well as low shot accuracies and conversion rates showing they are not clinical in nature. They have an average number of dribbles, passes and touches but the lowest number of shots which is a sign that they are either not the first scoring option or they are on a team that does not create a lot of opportunities.
They have a high number of tackles, interceptions and headed clearances and the highest distance covered showing they have a high work-rate on the defensive end.
Hold-up Strikers heights range from very tall (Haller 190cm) to very short (Maupay 173cm). Target Men all tend to be tall while False 9’s tend to be short.
This group had the widest range of heights showing the role is not height specific. For example, West Ham will look to play high long balls to Haller who uses his height and strength to ward off defenders whereas players like Maupay look for the ball to be played to their feet or into space.
Some of the players in this group have probably fallen victim to being on bad teams. Wilson, Pukki and King are all natural goal scorers but were on teams that got relegated. Had they been on better teams they might have been grouped into different clusters. This is an example of how statistics can often be deceiving in football.
Cluster 5 (Centre-Forward):
Ings| Aubameyang| Vardy
Key Stats:
Goals/90min —0.67*, Shots/90min — 2.76, Shot Acc. — 44.67%, Conversion Rate — 24.4%*, Offsides/90min — 0.60, Total Dribbles/90min — 1.86, xG Surplus — -5.36^, Headed Goals/90min — 0.06
Assists/90min — 0.10, Passes/90min — 19.04^, Touches/90min — 33.48^, Crosses/90min —1.47*, Big Chances Created/90min — 0.21, xA surplus — 1.24*
Headed Clearances/90min — 0.37, Tackles/90min- 0.89*, Interceptions/90min -0.25
Height — 181.33cm, Distance Covered/90min — 7.16km
These clinical forwards are the main goal threat on their teams. They have the highest conversion rate and joint highest number of goals showing their clinical nature. Like target men, they have a high number of offsides indicating they like to play on the shoulder of the defender however a higher number of crosses and a lower number of headed goals is probably a sign that they favor running into space rather than relying on aerial ability. They score a lot of goals like false 9’s, however, they have a lower number of touches, passes and dribbles indicating that they are finishers rather than creators.
They have a low number of interceptions and headed clearances as well as a low distance covered which might indicate a low defensive work rate. They do, however, have a high amount of tackles perhaps showing an eagerness to create opportunities by tackling high up the pitch.
Wide Players:
The optimal number of clusters was 3, producing the following:
Cluster 1 (Inside Forward):
Greenwood | Pulisic | Aubameyang | Rashford | Richarlison | Son | Sterling | Mane | Salah
Key Stats:
Goals/90min — 0.59*, Shots/90min — 2.93*, Conversion Rate — 17.9%*, Shot Accuracy — 45.0%*, Total Dribbles/90min — 3.60, Offsides/90min — 0.46*
Assists/90min — 0.21, Passes/90min — 31.92, Touches/90min — 49.76^, Crosses/90min — 1.62^, Big Chances Created/90min — 0.30
Tackles/90min — 0.91^, Interceptions/90min — 0.40^, Headed Clearances/90min — 0.14*
Height — 180cm*, Distance/90min — 7.21km^
This is the most attacking form of wide player. They have the highest number of goals, shots and offsides showing they play in the most advanced areas and are of the main goal threat on a team. They have the lowest number of crosses indicating they play more central compared to traditional wingers. They have a low number of touches and passes showing that they look to be involved at the end of the attack rather than the build up. Many of these players are converted strikers (Rashford, Greenwood) or would be strikers if not for their size (Richarlison, Salah).
Their low number of tackles, interceptions and distance covered is probably a sign that they have little defensive responsibility. The height differences between the clusters is negligible.
Cluster 2 (Wide Midfielder):
Redmond | Zaha | Perez | Saint-Maximin | Sarr | Trossard | Pepe | Traore | McNeil | Grealish | Jota
Key Stats:
Goals/90min — 0.22^, Shots/90min — 1.95^, Conversion Rate — 10.0%^, Shot Accuracy — 32.0%^, Total Dribbles/90min — 4.26*, Offsides/90min — 0.17
Assists/90min — 0.16^, Passes/90min — 31.53^, Touches/90min — 54.12, Crosses/90min — 3.35, Big Chances Created/90min — 0.27^
Tackles/90min — 1.14, Interceptions/90min — 0.49, Headed Clearances/90min — 0.11
Height — 178cm, Distance/90min — 7.53km
This cluster is probably the closest to the traditional idea of a wide player. They have the highest number of dribbles and a high number crosses showing a desire to get wide, create space and then cross the ball into the strikers. They have the lowest number of goals, shots and assists which is a sign that they do not play as advanced as the other clusters. They also have the lowest conversion rate and shot accuracies indicating they are not as clinical.
They have a slightly higher number of tackles, number of interceptions and distance covered compared to the inside forwards suggesting they play a similar defensive game but with slightly more responsibility.
Cluster 3 (Attacking Midfielders):
Bernardo Silva | Willian | Mahrez
Key Stats:
Goals/90min — 0.311, Shots/90min — 12.47, Conversion Rate — 12.7%, Shot Accuracy — 41%, Total Dribbles/90min — 3.18^, Offsides/90min — 0.14^
Assists/90min — 0.31*, Passes/90min — 50.89*, Touches/90min — 74.83*, Crosses/90min — 4.08*, Big Chances Created/90min — 0.42*
Tackles/90min — 1.55*, Interceptions/90min — 0.84*, Headed Clearances/90min — 0.10^
Height — 175cm^, Distance/90min — 8.23km*
These are the most creative form of wide player. They have the lowest number of offsides showing they like to play infront of defenses rather than looking to get in behind. They are in the middle in terms of goals and shots showing they are more involved in the latter parts of the attack than the wide midfielders but not as relied upon for goals as much as the inside forwards.
What really distinguishes this cluster from the others is their creativity. The lead the stats in assists, crosses and big chances created. They also score substantially higher in touches and passes than the other two, clearly they get involved in play much more than the other two clusters. The players placed in this cluster are known to be versatile: the play advanced and come deep as well as playing wide and coming inside.
They have more tackles and interceptions than the other groups showing more defensive involvement, presumably in high pressing. This coupled with their desire to attack in several areas mean they also cover the most ground.
The players in this cluster (Willian, Bernardo Silva and Mahrez) are probably as suited to playing number 10 as they are to playing wide.
Conclusion
Overall I feel k-means clustering worked quite well at grouping the different types of forward, particularly for the wide players. This is interesting as the clusters for wide players had a higher silhouette coefficient also. Obviously there are some major drawbacks. The statistics were gathered from the 2019/20 Premier League season only. This season had a break midway through due to the coronavirus outbreak which disrupted a lot of players form and the lack of fans in the second half of the season might have had an impact on how some players played. Also players have a different role season to season, for example Wilfried Zaha was playing in a much more defensive system that season and would probably be in a different cluster if based on previous seasons statistics. As mentioned above, weaker teams will usually have to defend more which could affect their forwards’ attacking stats. It should also be mentioned as well that statistics don’t always tell the full story which is particularly true for sports like soccer, however, more advanced stats such as xG are being introduced to help improve this. | https://medium.com/@senan-mc-grath/redefining-premier-league-forwards-using-k-means-b859a98daf2f | ['Senan Mc Grath'] | 2020-12-22 13:31:37.926000+00:00 | ['K Means', 'Machine Learning', 'Data Science', 'Premier League', 'Soccer'] |
9 Publications Who Need Writers At $300 to $750 Per Story | 9 Publications Who Need Writers At $300 to $750 Per Story
The value a writer gets from exposure is the greatest value any writer can wish for. A new reader. Rick Govic May 3·6 min read
Photo by Toni Koraza/Unsplash
It’s always a challenge to adapt how to write for a new publication, but I gain a lot of value when I do. I love to research new topics as it’s a great way to enhance my skills, find a unique angle, and sometimes be inspired by other writers. The 9 publications below focus on different topics so that any writer can see their story in at least one publication.
EDITORS LOOK FOR SPECIFIC STORIES EACH MONTH If you can find an editor’s Twitter of a publication, then you will save yourself the heartache of dozens of rejections and precious time because editors will Tweet the specific topics they look to commission each month.
1. Highsnobiety
Design, fashion, music, art, and youth culture
It’s all in their name, Highsnobiety. A publication dedicated to the hedonistic pleasures of consumerism. You cannot deny that at one point or another, you have obsessed over a pair of sneakers or Christian Louboutin’s signature stilettos. Highsnobiety wants you to write for today’s style-conscious individuals who love sneakers, design, music, entertainment, and everything to do with fashion.
Become a contributor & learn more about Highsnobiety.
Highsnobiety. Rates per article: US$600 per story (1200 words at US$0.50 per word).
US$600 per story (1200 words at US$0.50 per word). Send your pitch: [email protected]
2. Real Simple
Life, money, family, style, beauty, and inspirational ideas
Launched in March 2020, Real Simple reaches an audience of 8.6 million people per month. Their core readership is busy women who look to take advantage of tips and advice to “make life easier.” A brilliant publication to hero your life hack, showcase your craft or share life experiences that help shed light on everyday challenges.
Become a contributor & learn more about Real Simple.
Real Simple. Rates per article: US$600 per story (based on 600 words at $1 per word).
US$600 per story (based on 600 words at $1 per word). Please fill out their contact form to pitch.
3. Life & Thyme
Food, drink, travel, recipes, and culinary expertise
Great for anyone who loves to write about food. Life & Thyme has a large variety of food, drink, travel, and culinary editorials from writers worldwide. This publication is interested in independent food journalism, and it doesn’t matter if you live in New York or Mexico.
Become a contributor & send your pitch to Life & Thyme.
Life & Thyme. Rates per article: Approx US$300 per story.
4. YES! Magazine
Environment, social justice, economics, and health
YES! Magazine wants to explore and share stories that are at the heart of humanity. The publication looks for stories that expose the exploitation of Earth and people. They're interested in controversial topics that showcase new narratives which put people and nature first over profit.
Below is an excerpt from their submission page on stories they want to commission:
- Colonization, enslavement, and genocide, and the creation of a global White supremacist capitalist patriarchal system.
- Private ownership of the means of production.
- Detachment from our neighbors, and a weak sense of responsibility for the welfare of the wider community.
- A competitive and quantity-over-quality mindset.
- Belief in (or a compulsion for) perpetual growth.
- Putting profit over people (and all life), including the commodification of and profiteering from basic needs (water, food, shelter) and the accumulation of land and wealth.
- Repression of organized labor, and the working class generally.
- Manifest destiny, belief that colonizers had a God-given right to settle & conquer.
- Unfair and undemocratic global trade agreements.
YES! Magazine’s Twitter.
Become a contributor and learn more about YES!
YES! Rates per article: US$600 per story (1200 words at US$0.50 per word).
US$600 per story (1200 words at US$0.50 per word). Send your pitch: [email protected]
5. Artsy
Emerging photography, street art, abstract painting, contemporary art, and art shows
Artsy looks for personal stories on Art. Their editorial hosts an eclectic list of global artists, and as a publisher who looks for artistic expressions, has a consortium of inspirational visuals. To get the best feel for what interests them, then best to check out their website. In May, they will publish personal stories on Asian American Art.
Contact details for the editorial team at Artsy.
Artsy. Rates per article: US$300 for 1000 words.
US$300 for 1000 words. Send your pitch: [email protected] or [email protected].
6. Splice Blog
Music reviews, music industry, and how to create music
A well-designed blog with psychedelic visuals that is focused on music and its creative processes. Splice is a music software editing tool that also offers tutorials and royalty-free music samples. Shannon Byrne, the editor at Splice Blog, posted a recent Tweet on the stories they want to publish from important minority groups like non-binary and BIPOC writers.
Website: https://splice.com/blog/
https://splice.com/blog/ Rates per article: Approx. US$400 per story (1200–2000 words)
Approx. US$400 per story (1200–2000 words) Send your pitch: [email protected].
7. Business Insider
Business, tech, finance, markets, healthcare, retail, and real estate
If you’re a writer who loves finance, markets, analytics, and business, then Business Insider needs to be on your radar. Jack Sommers is an editor who is on the hunt for pitches.
How to write for Business Insider.
Business Insider. Rates per article: US$420 per story (1200 words at $0.35 per word)
US$420 per story (1200 words at $0.35 per word) Send your pitch: [email protected]
8. The Guardian U.K.
Opinion columns, politics, sport, culture, and environment
As a trusted news source by many people, The Guardian's freelancer guide for writers is well detailed. Well known for factual and government-led stories, this publication is best for writers who do their due diligence on topics that create impact. A unique story, not covered or covered from a different perspective, will always draw a reader in.
How to write and become a freelancer for The Guardian.
The Guardian. Rates per article: Approx US$427 per story (£310 per 1000 words).
Approx US$427 per story (£310 per 1000 words). Send your pitch: [email protected]
9. The Verge
Tech, games, science, film & TV, social media, and space
Science and technology have risen to fame from the once bullied brother of sports and entertainment. Sci-fi filmography adapted from Marvel, DC, and many other brilliant graphic novels like Watchmen have made being a geek cool. The Verge is dedicated to all those readers who love to geek out on games, technology, comics, sci-fi, space, and great art that accompanies these topics through design and illustrations.
How to pitch for The Verge.
The Verge. Rates per article: Approx. US$750 per story (1,200 to 2,000 words.
Approx. US$750 per story (1,200 to 2,000 words. Send your pitch: [email protected]
How to pitch your story to publications
The best way to pitch to a publication is to be clear, succinct, and to the point. Showcase your writing and add a link to your profile, blog, or other stories for the editor to read at the end of your email.
Before you pitch to a publication, you might want to read Toni Koraza’s article on the best way to pitch your story. The Verge on my list at #9 also has brilliant pitch guidelines.
Here are five other publications you might want to pitch to that pay between US$50 to US$300 per story. The Verge is also mentioned as #6, written by Stephanie Leguichard.
Final Thought
I can think of no better way to gain a new reader than to cast the net wide across publications that suit my writing style and subject matter. It is a great feeling when new readers are interested in your story, drawn from publications with a large readership. Every writer wants their stories read by someone.
Become a Medium Member today. | https://writingcooperative.com/9-publications-who-need-writers-at-300-to-750-per-story-4a61741fa6e2 | ['Rick Govic'] | 2021-08-21 11:31:59.423000+00:00 | ['Content', 'Creators', 'Publication', 'Writing', 'Creativity'] |
CHURP: Dynamic-Committee Proactive Secret Sharing | Secure storage of private keys is a pervasive challenge in cryptographic systems. It is especially acute for blockchains and other decentralized systems. In these systems, private keys control the most important resources — money, identities, etc. Their loss has serious and often irreversible consequences. For example, an estimated four million Bitcoin (today worth $14+ Billion) has vanished due to lost keys. As a result, many users store their cryptocurrency with exchanges such as Coinbase, which holds at least 10% of all circulating Bitcoin. But such centralized key storage is also undesirable because it erodes the very decentralization that defines blockchain systems.
One simple solution to the lost key problem is to backup the key on multiple servers. However, making backup copies increases risks of key disclosure. For instance, an attacker can launch a compromising attack on the servers based on a vulnerability. If one of the server is compromised, the attacker can obtain access to the keys and transfer coins without authorization. Taking a step back to assess the solution of centralized backup, one can see that the origin of the disclosure risk roots in that we place all our trust on each backup of the key. In this case, if one of the servers gets compromised, the trust of the whole system is completely destroyed. One way to address this issue is to split trust among multiple entities.
This requirement of distributing trust is widely studied in cryptography under the name “secret-sharing”. In our scenario, the method of secret sharing distributes the sensitive key among servers, each of whom is allocated a share of the key. However, traditional secret sharing still faces the risk of disclosure if the attacker can compromise enough (more than a threshold) servers in the long term.
In this blogpost we introduce a churn-robust proactive¹ secret-sharing protocol that lowers the risk of disclosure by updating the secret shares on servers and rotating servers periodically. Based on the protocol, we design a decentralized key management system namely CHURP that addresses most of the issues discussed above.
What is CHURP?
Briefly speaking, CHURP is a key management system that provides two core properties:
Security: private keys managed by CHURP are hard to compromise.
Availability: the system is able to provide the user with a copy of their own key when requested.
CHURP manages to achieve the above two properties based on the following assumptions:
Adversaries are only able to compromise up to a fixed number of network nodes within a certain period.
Cryptographic assumptions that are needed for the underlying cryptographic primitives in CHURP such as t-Bilinear Strong Diffie-Hellman (t-BSDH) assumption.
With these assumptions in hand, we designed CHURP in a decentralized architecture which helps prevent loss of a key due to putting all trust in a single entity². Instead the key is distributed among a management committee with a large number of nodes. Stealing a key in this system requires someone to control more than half of the servers in the committee. Thus CHURP helps prevent an adversary from stealing the key since he needs to compromise a large number of servers.
Although compromising a large number of nodes in a short time is difficult, it is still possible if the committee does not change frequently enough. Since the member list of the committee is typically public³, the adversary can launch targeted attacks on the member nodes one by one until he gets control of enough nodes to steal the secret. In order to address this challenge, we also require our committee to proactively update its members and secret shares. The name of our protocol, CHURP (CHUrn-Robust Proactive Secret Sharing), captures all these hardening properties.
System Workflow
The system architecture of CHURP is composed of many decentralized servers over the network called a committee. A server can join and leave the committee as they like. As shown in Figure 1, the workflow of CHURP is divided into three phases:
Key distribution : The user creates secret channels (e.g. TLS channel) with CHURP servers and sends initial key shares to them.
: The user creates secret channels (e.g. TLS channel) with CHURP servers and sends initial key shares to them. Share update : The CHURP committee updates the key shares and rotates the committee members periodically.
: The CHURP committee updates the key shares and rotates the committee members periodically. Key retrieval: When the user needs the key, each CHURP committee node sends the key share back to the user via a secret channel. The user recovers the key locally.
Figure 1: Workflow of CHURP. The squares represent the key shares.
Churn-Robust Proactive Secret Sharing Protocol
In order to achieve the goals mentioned at the beginning of this blog, we designed a new secret sharing protocol as the basis for the CHURP system. In the blogpost we only outline some key design principles and techniques used in the protocol. If you are interested in learning more about the details and the rigorous cryptographic analysis of our constructions, you can read our paper at CCS’19.
Low Communication Complexity
Compared with other proactive secret sharing protocols, the main advantage of our protocol is its low communication complexity. The term communication complexity describes the number of bytes transferred over the network during the execution of the protocol. Specifically, we care about two kinds of communication complexity in CHURP: (1) on-chain complexity: how many bytes we put on blockchain, (2) off-chain complexity: how many bytes we transfer in the peer-to-peer network.
Specifically, CHURP has O(n) on-chain complexity and O(n²) off-chain complexity in optimistic path⁴. While the on-chain complexity is lower than the off-chain, it comes with the additional cost of placing transactions on the blockchain. In the presence of cheating nodes the on-chain communication complexity drops to O(n²) without any additionally off-chain cost. Both communication costs are substantially lower than any previously proposed scheme. Table 1 includes detailed comparison between CHURP and other secret sharing protocols in terms of communication complexity and other useful properties like if the protocol deals with dynamic committee and active adversary, etc.
Table 1: Comparison of Proactive Secret Sharing (PSS) schemes — those above the line do not handle dynamic committees while the ones below do so. Cost indicates the off-chain communication complexity. Threshold indicates how many servers are needed to be compromised so as the attacker can recover or destroy the key.
KZG Commitment Scheme
Commitment scheme is a cryptographic primitive that is heavily used in most proactive secret sharing protocols. It enables one to commit to a chosen value while keeping the value hidden to others and reveal it later. One of the main reasons that CHURP has lower complexity is that we leverage a new polynomial commitment scheme introduced by Kate, Zaverucha, and Goldberg (KZG). This exciting commitment scheme has a constant commitment size of O(1) compared with classical schemes with per-commitment size O(t), where t is the degree of the polynomial. We omit the details of the commitment scheme here and refer interested readers to the original paper.
Bivariate Polynomial Secret Sharing
Recall that the key shares are updated periodically in CHURP. Another challenge we faced when designing CHURP is that during an update, the old committee has to hand off the key shares to the new committee. During this handoff period, the adversary may compromise part of the old committee and part of the new committee to steal or destroy the key without compromising more than the threshold of servers in each committee. Previous schemes address this problem with costly communication. CHURP introduces a novel, low communication-complexity technique called dimension-switching. It uses an asymmetric bivariate polynomial B(x, y), i.e., a polynomial with two variables x, y, and degree t (same as the underlying threshold) in one dimension and degree 2t in the other dimension. During a handoff, we switch temporarily to a (2t,n)-sharing to tolerate up to 2t compromised shares; afterwards, it switches back to a (t,n)-sharing.
Point-To-Point Communication Technique
Recall that in CHURP, we need P2P communication channels between committee servers. However, due to the frequent churn of the committee, the communication channels should be easy to maintain in this scenario. Off-chain P2P channels can be implemented in different ways depending on the deployment environment. However, in a decentralized setting, establishing direct off-chain connection between nodes is undesirable, as it would compromise nodes’ anonymity. Revealing network-layer identities (e.g., IP addresses) would also be dangerous, as it could lead to targeted attacks. Anonymizing overlay networks, such as Tor will incur the cost of additional setup and engineering complexity when facing committee churn.
Alternatively, off-chain channels can be implemented as an overlay on existing blockchain infrastructure. In this section, we introduce Transaction Ghosting, a technique for cheap P2P messaging on a blockchain. The key insight to reduce cost is to overwrite transactions so that they are broadcast, but subsequently dropped by the network. Most of these transactions — and their embedded messages — are then essentially broadcast for free. We focus on Ethereum, but similar techniques can apply to other blockchains, e.g., Bitcoin.
Transaction Ghosting
A (simplified) Ethereum transaction tx = (n,m,g) includes a nonce n, payload m, and a per-byte gas price g paid to the miner of tx. For a basic (“send”) transaction, Alice pays a miner f_0 + |m| × g, where f_0 is a base transaction cost and |m| is the payload size. Alice sends tx to network peers, who add tx to their pools of unconfirmed transactions, known as the mempool. They propagate tx so that it can be included ultimately in all peers’ view of the mempool. tx remains in the mempool until a miner includes it in a block, at which point it is removed and f_0 + |m| × g units of currency is transferred from Alice to the miner. The key observation is, until tx is mined, Alice can overwrite it with another transaction tx′ . When this happens, tx is dropped from the mempool. Thus, both tx and tx′ are propagated to all nodes, but Alice only pays for tx′ . Two additional techniques can further reduce costs. Alice can embed m in tx only, putting no message data in tx′ . She then pays nothing for the data containing m, only the cost associated with tx′ . This technique also generalizes to multiple overwrites, i.e., Alice can embed a large message m in multiple transactions {tx_i}, i∈[k−1], which is useful given bounds (e.g., 32kB in Ethereum) on transaction sizes. Alice will only pay the cost of the final transaction tx_k.
Implementation
We now have started an initial implementation of CHURP at Oasis Labs. It is in about 5,000 lines of Go. This implementation inherits part of the utility library in the previous academic research open-source repo but completely refactors the protocol itself to address many issues including bugs in the previous version and provides a more complete implementation of the protocol as well. Our cryptographic primitives are implemented using the GNU Multiprecision Library and the Pairing-Based Cryptography Library. Network infrastructure is implemented with gRPC. We plan to integrate CHURP in Oasis Network in the future.
Performance Evaluation
In our evaluation, experiments are run in a distributed network of up to 1000 EC2 c5.large instances, each with 2 vCPU and 4GB of memory. Each instance acts as a node in the committee and the handoff protocol is executed assuming a static committee. All experiments are averaged over 1000 epochs, i.e., 1000 invocations of optimistic path of CHURP. We measure the latency (the total execution time) and the evaluation results are presented below.
Latency: In the first set of experiments, all EC2 instances belong to the same region, also referred to as the LAN setting. This setting is useful to understand the computation time of optimistic path of CHURP, results are presented in Fig. 2. The experimental results show a quadratic increase consistent with the O(n²) asymptotic computational complexity of CHURP and suggests a low constant. In the second set of experiments, we select EC2 instances across multiple regions in US, Canada, Asia and Europe, also referred to as the WAN setting. In this setting the network latency is relatively unstable, although even in the worst-case it is still sub-second. Hence, during a handoff of the optimistic path of CHURP in the WAN setting, we expect a constant increase in the latency over the LAN setting. Moreover, we expect this constant to be relatively small compared to the time spent in computation. We validate our hypothesis — for a committee size of 100, the WAN latency is 4.54 seconds while the LAN latency is 2.92 seconds (Fig. 2), i.e., the additional time spent in network latency is around 1.6 seconds and constant across different committee sizes as expected.
Figure 2: Latency for the LAN (left bar) and WAN (right bar) setting with committee sizes 11–101. Opt-ShareReduce, Opt-Proactivize and Opt-ShareDist are three phases in share update. The execution time of these three phases sums up to the total latency of optimistic path of CHURP.
Summary
We have introduced CHURP, a dynamic committee secret-sharing scheme with several technical innovations: an efficient proactivization scheme for bivariate polynomials and the use of dimension switching technique to tolerate threshold change during share handoff. CHURP achieves extremely low communication complexity compared to existing schemes: O(n) on-chain and O(n²) off-chain in the optimistic case. To learn more about CHURP, you can read our full paper here. | https://medium.com/oasislabs/churp-dynamic-committee-proactive-secret-sharing-5b0446061663 | ['Lun Wang'] | 2019-10-11 21:42:20.249000+00:00 | ['Technology', 'Ethereum', 'Cryptography', 'Blockchain', 'Smart Contracts'] |
Cycling while black | The bicycle has for decades mobilised minorities, yet cycling today is a startlingly white sport. Mani Arthur is at the forefront of a movement for change.
When Mani Arthur was seven, his father bought him a bike for his birthday. It was pink and white. In Kumasi, a city in the southern Ashanti region of Ghana, few of Mani’s friends had wheels of their own. Older boys began paying Arthur to use his bike. More than pocket money and popularity, it gave Arthur freedom. He would ride to the local football pitch, to the shops and to the dusty trails at the city’s edge.
“I used to absolutely adore that bike,” Arthur told me. “It gave me independence I wouldn’t have had. It gave me the freedom to explore.”
Arthur moved to London when he was 10. His father was a security guard. His mother worked as a cleaner for Haringey council. Football quickly became the boy’s new obsession. Apart from a brief fling with a BMX bike, memories of cycling began to fade.
Much later, Arthur began riding to work in Westminster, where he had become a civil servant. In 2011, he joined three colleagues on a charity ride from London to Copenhagen. Arthur, then in his mid 20s, found the going hard. But the ride was a reawakening. “It brought those childhood memories back and just made me feel, like… the awe of the world and that sense of adventure,” he recalled.
In 2012, Arthur watched Bradley Wiggins become the first British rider to win the Tour de France. He marvelled at the victories of Chris Hoy and Victoria Pendleton, who were among a dozen British gold medallists on the track and road at the Olympic Games in London.
Britain was waking up to its potential as a cycling nation. Arthur wanted to be part of it. He joined Strava, the popular fitness app, and began trying to race against his own personal best times on sections of his commute. He got some budget Lycra and cycling shoes and found a cycling club in North London. One Sunday morning in 2013, he joined a club ride in the quiet lanes of Hertfordshire.
Arthur was not surprised to find himself as the only black cyclist in the group. It had not escaped his notice that every victorious British cyclist in London had been white. It was the same in Rio in 2016, where British teams in more than half of sports were all-white, including all 26 cyclists. Kye Whyte, a BMX racer from Peckham in South London, is the only non-white rider in Team GB’s cycling squad for the Tokyo Olympics, which start next month.
It took 98 editions and more than a century of the Tour de France, meanwhile, for a single black rider — Yohann Gène, who was born in Guadeloupe — to make the start line, in 2011. Another decade later, Nic Dlamini of South Africa is the only black rider in this year’s Tour, which started on Saturday.
Arthur, who had the gear and was by then in pretty good shape, quickly gained the attention of an older man on the club ride. “I was comfortable, riding along and talking but he kept saying, ‘hey, this is a racing club, we really want racers — do you think you’re up to it?’” The man pointed at two fast guys at the front. “He told me, ‘These are the kind of riders we’re looking for’,” Arthur said. “I was like, ‘yeah, I can aspire to be like them, give me a 12 months and I’ll be as good’. That was my mentality — to be constantly positive.”
At the end of the ride, the group gathered at a cafe for a coffee. The little comments kept coming. “Eventually we saw a cyclist riding past and the man looked at me and said something like, ‘ah, look at this guy, you should probably join him’. It was a black guy riding a bike. Everyone laughed, and I laughed uncomfortably. And that’s when it dawned on me. He didn’t want me in his club, and all the things he’d been saying were hinting at that. He was like, ‘isn’t that guy your friend? You should join him’.
“I just thought, for fuck’s sake, really? I laughed it off, went home and never wanted to join a club again.”
****
At 8am on a humid Saturday morning last Summer, a group of cyclists was gathering on the grass inside the running track at Regent’s Park in central London. They stood two metres apart with their bikes at their feet. It was the first time since lockdown had been introduced in March that the Black Cyclists Network (BCN), a two-year-old and rapidly growing group, had hosted a ride.
Soon, the cyclists would be riding laps of the Outer Circle, an almost three-mile loop of road inside the park’s perimeter that has long been a popular place for cyclists to train and commune. As more riders arrived — soon there would be almost 100 — some were chatting. Many, including me, didn’t yet know anyone. We were all waiting for Mani Arthur.
“Hello everyone,” Arthur, founder and leader of the network, shouted as he entered the centre of the group. “I thought you were all going to make excuses and not turn up. That’s why we have our rides on a Saturday so you can’t say you’ve got church and blame God for it — you have to show up.”
Arthur, who is in his mid 30s, had an easy smile and a thick beard. He was dressed in the Black Cyclists Network’s all-black kit with its three fine stripes around the chest and upper arms. The colours of the stripes — red, yellow and green — honour a tradition of tricolours in cycling as well as several Afro-Caribbean national flags, including Ghana’s.
Not everyone was dressed in Lycra. Nor were all the bikes expensive carbon fibre machines. There were tracksuit bottoms, and commuter bikes worth less than some other riders’ sunglasses. There were women and older riders, and new riders. It was, by the standards of Regent’s Park, where I have been riding for more than 15 years, a diverse group. Everyone, bar three or four of us, was black.
Arthur was on a mission to transform a startlingly white sport, from the grassroots to the elite level. More than a century after bikes gave flight to women’s suffrage, he is also part of a wider movement to revive the bicycle’s potential as a vehicle for change.
“It’s a historic moment, what we’re trying to do here,” Arthur told the group. He had expected 40-odd people to show up after putting word out on the BCN social media channels (the network now has more than 2,000 members on Strava and 18,000 Instagram followers). But word quickly spread.
As Arthur prepared to split riders into smaller groups for what remains a weekly ride, he suspected a sense of wider solidarity weeks after Black Lives Matter marches in the UK had combined with surging interest in cycling in lockdown. “We’re trying to bring more people of colour into cycling and it’s amazing to see the community react to that,” he told the crowd.
****
Marlon Moncrieffe, a black former racing cyclist and a lecturer at Brighton University’s School of Education, believes some of the imagery attached to London 2012 only reinforced its whiteness. “There were links with colonialism and cultural imperialism, with Victoria Pendleton dressed as Britannia and Bradley Wiggins as the English Mod,” said Moncrieffe, who, after 2012, created an exhibition devoted to Britain’s handful of mostly forgotten black champion cyclists.
Diversity is only slightly better away from racing. The statistical picture is also incomplete, and most research has taken place in London. In a 2017 “analysis of cycling potential”, Transport for London found that black, Asian and minority ethnic groups accounted for only 15% of cycle trips, despite making up almost 40% of the city’s population.
Arthur largely blames a lack of role models. For many would-be riders, cycling looks as if it’s not for them. Henry Boateng, a 22-year-old electrician, had come to Regent’s Park from Hackney in east London. “Where I live, the area isn’t really white but the people riding bikes are,” he said.
Many people I spoke to also cite economic factors in a society where income inequality is tied to race. The potential costs of cycling, including maintenance and storage, have mounted during the past 15 years as the sport and industry has moved away from its working class roots. “The gap wasn’t as huge as it is now, with carbon [frames] and all these things,” said Maurice Burton, the former track and road champion, who features in Moncrieffe’s exhibition.
Burton, now 64, was one of Britain’s best riders in the 1970s and early 1980s. He is aware that he has become part of the problem. When he qualified for the Commonwealth Games in 1974, he rode the same knackered bike he’d found and repaired aged 12. Today, he owns De Ver Cycles, a shop in Streatham in south London, where most of his customers are white men who are able to spend anything up to £10,000 on a bike.
It is still possible to cycle cheaply, not least when you factor in the savings on public transport. “But too often the message out there is that it’s now a rich man’s sport,” says Jools Walker, a cycling advocate known as Lady Velo, and the author of Back in the Frame, a cycling memoir.
Walker, 37, agrees that imagery, including in marketing, is vital. She was dismayed in 2019 when RideLondon, cycling’s answer to the London Marathon, Photoshopped a black woman into a picture to make the event look more diverse. That summer, 94% of participants in the event’s longest ride, from London to Surrey and back, had been white. Hugh Brasher, director of RideLondon, said he regretted “the unfortunate error made by a temporary member of staff”, adding that the event was working hard to improve diversity.
Walker says other barriers exist in minority communities. “Once upon a time, and maybe in some places still, if you had a bike the whole thing was to get a car,” she told me. “The perception was that you were poor if you were riding around on a bike.”
And then there is racism. Burton says he experienced it when he was overlooked for selection at the 1976 Montreal Olympics. He was booed when he won a race in Leicester. Decades later, Arthur faced it on his first club ride, after which he nearly quit the sport he had come to love again.
Arthur went back to cycling alone until, months later, he made friends with a member of another north London group, Finsbury Park Cycling Club. “They restored my faith in cycling,” he said. He became an amateur racer, and remembers fighting to stay in contention in his first event in Milton Keynes. “I was hanging on for dear life but I needed to close the gap out of sheer embarrassment, knowing I was the only black person there,” he said.
Arthur quickly got better, and met other riders of colour on similar journeys. By 2018, he had about 20 numbers on his phone, and formed the Black Cyclists Network. Then, in November last year, Arthur was cycling home to north London after a Sunday ride to the Surrey Hills. It was a big day for the network; they were riding with Team De Ver, the club attached to Maurice Burton’s shop. Burton was also on the ride.
Afterwards, Arthur gave Burton a hug and headed home with two other BCN members in their all-black kit. As he waited at some central London traffic lights, a police officer crossing the road in front of Arthur told him he had stopped too far forward. Arthur politely explained he was staying out of the blind spot of the truck behind him.
When the lights went green, the officer stopped Arthur, claiming to have smelled cannabis. On a busy pavement, the officer searched and sniffed Arthur’s shoes and wallet. He then frisked Arthur, despite the fact his Lycra kit left little room to conceal anything. “At that point I had to laugh,” Arthur said. He rode home with his friends, one of whom had filmed the search, feeling humiliated. He believes it was a petty show of force, and that it would be inconceivable for a white rider to be treated the same way.
The clip went viral, and the Independent Office for Police Conduct investigated the case. It found that the grounds for Arthur’s search “were not reasonable”. But it did not uphold a complaint that the stop was discriminatory because the officer “used the same unreasonable grounds to stop and search people of all ethnicities and genders”, a statement reads. The Office recommended that the officer receive “reflective practice”.
Initially, Arthur had hoped the BCN would be a group of like-minded amateurs. “Then the George Floyd incident happened,” he says of Floyd’s death under a Minneapolis police officer’s knee in May last year. “The whole Black Lives Matter movement galvanised us to really try and see if we could make a bigger impact than we had planned.”
The racism Arthur had already experienced added rocket fuel to a mission to tackle the diversity gap at all levels of cycling. BCN launched a fundraising campaign to raise its profile and to finance what Arthur hoped would become an official racing team. He ultimately wants to help improve diversity at the elite level.
That cause became prominent during last year’s Tour de France, which started in August as protests against racism gripped the planet. Kevin Reza, a French pro and the only black rider in the 2020 peloton, spoke out about the sport’s failure to promote diversity and lack of solidarity. He said cycling had “a lot to learn and is really far behind”.
Arthur’s and Reza’s activism coincided with lockdown and surging demand at bike shops. Cities were adding miles of new bike lanes to meet demand among new riders. By July last year, the relaxation in social distancing rules permitted group cycling again. Yet Arthur was still stunned by the turnout at Regent’s Park. “It’s fantastic and proves what we’re trying to do — that there is a community out there,” he said.
****
Peter Kerre is a 40-year-old DJ and activist who grew up in Kenya and lives in New York City. He began cycling to Black Lives Matter marches in June last year. Others did the same, creating a rolling vanguard that prevented police from determining the route of the marches. Soon there were so many cyclists that they came together to form Street Riders, and began organising separate protests. More than 1,000 people joined their first ride on 1 July 2020.
Within weeks, the group’s “Justice Rides” were attracting 15,000 cyclists. Kerre told me the addition of two wheels had added a new energy and mobility to activism in the city. “I’ve been an activist for years and if you say we’re gonna march two miles from Brooklyn to Manhattan, everyone’s exhausted,” he said. “But with a bike, in the same three hours you can cover a whole borough.”
Kerre said the rides, which are still happening, had encountered racial slurs and aggression in wealthier neighbourhoods, and warm welcomes in poorer areas. This had been an education for the white protesters joining the rides. “Many are from privileged areas and we’re taking them to parts of Harlem and Brooklyn they’ve probably never seen before,” he said. “We’re destroying stereotypes.”
Smaller protest rides sprung up across the US. They carried historical echoes. Bicycles have long been machines of emancipation, mobilising the oppressed. Suffragettes used early bicycles — the “people’s nag” — to organise and protest. Hitler banned cycling unions in Germany in 1933, confiscating bikes that were being used by early anti-Nazi movements. In China, pro-democracy demonstrators arrived at Tiananmen Square by bicycle.
But the Suffragettes also just really loved cycling. There is a desire among contemporary activists to celebrate bikes as vehicles for “black joy”, as well as emblems of freedom, at a time when joy can feel scarce. “It’s about not having only to be defined by our grief, our pain and our struggles,” said Jools Walker, who resents only being asked to talk about cycling in the context of colour. “It’s traumatic opening up your inbox and hoping that one email is going to be about something positive or not related to race at all,” she explained.
Walker’s most joyful moment on a bike came when, after a stressful few months, her boyfriend gave her a fold-up bike as a Christmas present. “I was still in my Disney pyjamas riding it around the housing estate where I live, not caring how cold it was or how ridiculous I looked,” she said. “No grief, no pain, no politics — I was just that kid who got their dream gift and had to play with it.”
Joy is central to other groups gathering in cities all over the world. Legion of Los Angeles is a US professional team devoted to promoting diversity. Chapters of the group Black Girls Do Bike have spread across the US from its base in Pittsburgh. In the UK, Reece Watt, a cyclist and graphic designer, launched the Black Cyclists Collective in Leeds in 2019, with a mission similar to Arthur’s. And in London, in 2018, My Choice, a social enterprise with links to Nigeria, launched the Black Riders Association to improve access to cycling for adults and children.
Brothers on Bikes, which started as a charity ride between London mosques in 2015 (they called it “Tour de Salah” or Tour of Prayer), has become a national network of cyclists of mainly Indian, Bangladeshi and Pakistani descent. “We want to push cycling for health, and discipline for young people,” said Usman Malik, 38, who leads a 40-strong “BOB” group in Leicester.
****
In Regent’s Park, Arthur had assigned groups of eight riders to a ride captain taken from the core members of the network. He took the beginner group to the Inner Circle, a quieter, shorter loop deeper inside the park. They included Jo McLean, Arthur’s girlfriend of 15 years. McLean had only really started riding herself in lockdown after being furloughed from her job as a flight attendant. She had begun to help run the network, and had a hand in designing the kit.
As well as the stripes, the uniform includes a pattern based on an Adinkra symbol from Ghana’s Ashanti culture. The symbol means “Ese Ne Tekrema”, which translates as “the teeth and the tongue”. “You need your teeth and tongue to work together so you can eat,” Arthur explained. “Cycling is about collaboration.”
Brands were soon attracted to Arthur and his network, chapters of which he is now planning to open across the country. Wiggle, the online sports store, now provides the customised kit using its dhb range, and Science in Sport, the sports nutrition company, is also a sponsor. Trek and Zwit soon joined the network as cycling brands themselves woke up to the demand for better representation in the sport.
In the middle of June this year, Arthur led a team of five BCN riders to Colchester for their first race as a domestic cycling team. “Tonight is a proud moment for the squad,” he said in an Instagram post the next day. “It’s a dream come true and an opportunity to inspire current and future generations of Black and Brown riders.”
It is the mission to engage new riders that has fuelled Arthur’s mission — to share the joy and adventure he discovered as a boy on a pink bike in Kumasi.
The BCN logo contains a silhouette of a woman holding up a bicycle wheel. Arthur and McLean told me they wanted to include a black woman to represent what they saw as the sport’s most marginalised demographic. “If this whole project was going to be judged a success, it had to be based on how many women of colour we could attract,” Arthur told me.
Elaine Swaby, who is in her 40s, had come to Regent’s Park from Crystal Palace in south east London. She too had only taken up cycling in lockdown and heard about the ride on Facebook. She wanted to gain more skills and confidence. “But I also liked it because it was for people who look like me,” she told me as she rode a simple hybrid. “People aren’t looking at me wondering what I’m doing here… when you’re my colour you get to know that look. But this feels fantastic! This feels like I’m home!” She stretches the “o” in “home” as we freewheel down a slight hill. | https://medium.com/@simonusborne/cycling-while-black-f2b4ec286049 | ['Simon Usborne'] | 2021-06-28 15:00:19.974000+00:00 | ['Tour De France', 'Cycling', 'BlackLivesMatter', 'Olympics'] |
In and Under Control: The Joys of Being a Switch | In and Under Control: The Joys of Being a Switch
You don’t have to commit to just one role during sex. Why not switch it up and try both?
Photo by Dainis Graveris on Unsplash
With a highly demanding career where I am confronted with being in control of people all day long, then coming home to continue wifey duties and motherhood, it is no wonder that I like letting go and being the submissive in bed. I can forget the pressure of telling someone what to do and when to do it and just follow orders. It is a release that I don’t get in other avenues of my life.
But sometimes those moments of taking orders and succumbing to someone else’s idea of fun can cause my inner control freak to surface; suddenly I want to hit the pause button, tap out, and tap back in as the controller of the sexcapade.
Sometimes my partner is willing to roll with the punches and relents to giving me control. Other times I become the bad girl and get punished. Either way, I find that more often than not, I enjoy being both in control and under control during sex. I’m a switch.
Defining Switch
According to the article, “What does it mean to be a ‘switch’ in bed? It isn’t just about BDSM” in Men’s Health, “A switch is someone who likes to be dominant and submissive in bed, depending on how they feel in that moment.”
The term doesn’t have to relate specifically to a sub/dom role commonly seen in BDSM relationships. In fact, most people tend to have more dominant or submissive tendencies in many facets of their lives.
Do you enjoy planning your family’s vacations? Scheduling your appointments or deciding the layout of your living room? You may have a more dominant personality.
On the contrary, if you don’t mind sitting back and letting your co-workers decide where you’re going to go for lunch, your partner makes your weekend plans, or you can’t commit to things until you have heard what everyone else is doing, then you may lean toward a more submissive personality.
When it comes to sex, it is no different. There are those that like to lead and those that like to follow. Or perhaps you like a little of both.
Benefits of Being a Switch
The idea that someone can change their role during sex provides partners with a unique opportunity to explore both their dominant and submissive sides without having to commit to just one role for the entirety of a relationship or even just a sex session.
If you find that you are comfortable being both in control and letting your partner take control then you may be more of a switch. Some people can switch roles depending on their mood on a given day or they can switch their roles even during sex.
One of the biggest benefits of being a switch is your ability to move between being dominant and submissive. Maybe you start off by telling your partner what you want to do first or leading them toward a sensual massage during foreplay. Then they turn over and start engaging you in giving a blow job or encourage you to ride them cowgirl.
Either way, you have gone from one role to the other in the matter of a sexual encounter and that can be as much fun as being only in control or strictly under control.
Challenges
Exercising the ability to switch during sex may take some practice if you tend to find yourself having a natural proclivity toward being submissive or dominant with your partner. Some people find that they are able to be more submissive with one partner and dominant with another.
Many times a dynamic develops when we first meet someone and have sex for the first time. As we continue to engage in sex and get to know one another more, that dynamic becomes more established and it can be harder to diverge from the roles that have been set.
Even during dating, I get potential partners who ask if I am more submissive (which women naturally tend to lean toward as men tend to lean toward dominancy) or dominant as part of the initial “interview” or “vetting” that takes place before you have sex with someone new. My experience has led me to conclude that while men tend to lean toward dominancy, they can enjoy relinquishing control to their partners just as much as their partner may enjoy relinquishing control to them.
Trying it Out
If you and your partner are keen to try switching roles, there are several things you may want to consider.
One is communicating expectations which will allow both parties to understand their partner’s perspective on role switching. Are you interested in telling your partner what to do, such as demanding they perform cunnilingus on you? Or maybe you are more interested in having control of your partner by restraining them so that they cannot touch you? Switching can allow you to do both!
During sex is a great time to exercise your control over your partner. Telling them which position you’d like to do, moving their hand or mouth to where you want it, and deciding which order you want to do things can all be ways of being dominant.
If you have been dominant and want to try submission, you should listen to your partner and follow their wishes. Proving to your partner that you are a good listener and want to please them will allow them to feel more comfortable in the role of being dominant.
For someone who is naturally submissive to take on the role of the dominant can be a bit overwhelming, so be supportive by asking them if they’d like to do something or giving suggestions which can help lead them into a more dominant space.
Giving and Receiving Feedback
Finally, after sex, you and your partner can give each other feedback on what worked well or what didn’t work as well for either of you.
When giving feedback to your partner, focus on being open and honest with them about your experience. What did you like or what wasn’t working for you? What could be improved for next time?
Listening to feedback can sometimes feel critical and critical often leads to negative feelings. Remember that the key is to hear what your partner has to say, listening without assuming, and then asking questions to help bring clarity to anything that was unclear.
Overall, communicating after trying something new with your partner in bed is important for building relational capacity. The idea that we can relate to each other will help build our bond and cause us to move forward in our ability to try new things without fear of what our partner will think or how they will judge us. | https://medium.com/sexography/in-and-under-control-the-joys-of-being-a-switch-178b9448f708 | ['M. Howard'] | 2020-12-05 14:53:00.378000+00:00 | ['Self', 'BDSM', 'Relationships', 'Sex', 'Sexuality'] |
BikeSpot 2020 Top 5 Findings and Results | A lack of safety is widely recognised as the major barrier to people getting on their bikes. How it feels to ride a bicycle has an impact on people’s willingness to ride.
BikeSpot 2020 provided the opportunity for all Victorians to share their perceptions of cycling safety at different locations (by adding Safe or Unsafe Spots to the map via a web-based interactive map) and help develop new insights for the prioritisation of cycling safety improvements.
BikeSpot 2020 was developed by CrowdSpot in close collaboration with the Amy Gillett Foundation and 12 official Government project partners.
BikeSpot 2020 Screenshot
The map was open for submissions (spot, comments or ‘likes’) for 2 months between 31 March — 31 May 2020.
In addition to the full report and interactive archive map links, below are our top 5 findings.
View data via the interactive archive map
Link to BikeSpot 2020 report
Link to interactive archive map
Our Top 5 findings:
1. Cyclists and drivers want dedicated space from other transport modes
2. Traffic speed causes the most stress for cyclists
(followed by ‘Too much vehicle traffic’ and ‘Car dooring’ fears).
3. Want more confident riders? — Build a connected network
‘Interested but concerned’ cyclists (least experienced / least confident cyclists) rank on average ‘Cycle lane ends’ as their top stress experience.
4. Fear of car dooring — a daily concern
Top submitted fears that cyclists experience multiple times per week.
5(a). Top 10 Unsafe Spots — Transport corridors surrounding the Melbourne CBD are the biggest issues
Top 10 Unsafe Spots
5(b). Top 10 Safe Spots — Recognising the best separated and off-road paths
Top 10 Safe Spots
Media
The Age — 2 July 2020
Broadsheet — 17 May 2020
The Age — 14 May 2020
Riverine Herald — 4 May 2020
3CR Yarra BUG Radio Show — 20 April 2020
Herald Sun — 31 March 2020
3AW Breakfast Radio Interview — 31 March 2020 | https://medium.com/crowdspot-blog/bikespot-2020-results-10b62d3e49d5 | ['Anthony Aisenberg'] | 2020-07-07 04:11:18.804000+00:00 | ['Cycling', 'Crowdsourcing', 'Maps', 'Safety', 'Data'] |
My Battle With Anger in Special Needs Motherhood Is Never Going Away | Anger, is a real emotion that mothers are not allowed to express, not only mothers but special needs mothers. Anger is simply the outward expression of hurt, fear, and frustration. Every time my child gets set back or gets sick and has to stay inside of a children’s hospital for 3 weeks I get angry.
I’m not angry at my child, I’m not angry at anyone I’m just angry, I’m just mad. I am mad that it’s my child, I am mad that I have to sit in a room and help a nurse hold down my child while she threads a catheter down his nose and into his bronchial tubes because he can’t get rid of his own secretions.
I am angry that my child has to work five times harder to find the courage to look someone in the face and say hello because autism gives him so much anxiety with communication that he completely shuts down and stands behind me until I finally just say another day. Next time, you’ll get it next time.
To tell anyone about this anger, about the anger I feel would be like walking into a room full of critics. It would be like walking into a room full of the most judgmental people I have ever met and have them all tell me what kind of awful mother I must be to feel angry about my children’s disabilities.
Being angry doesn’t mean that I don’t love my children, or that I won’t walk through a pit of open fire for them. It just means that I am angry that they will not get to experience life as easily as other children, that they will have to work harder to get to the same finish line other children will run thru so much easier then they will.
Watching them struggle is like a pit in the bottom of my stomach, it hurts me to my core because I can’t fix it, and I’m their mother. I am supposed to be able to fix all of their problems, but I can’t.
I’m left standing there helpless…
I’m standing in front of them watching them struggle, watching them cry and hurt and there is nothing that I as their mother can do to help them and that makes me more angry then I have ever been in my entire life.
I have no where to put that anger, so I sit with it until it becomes my best friend just waiting to come to me in all of those days when I am once again helpless.
You can’t talk about that anger because then you become ungrateful for the life you have created. Because, “It could always be worse and God never gives us more then we can handle!” Those words will run thru my head every day over and over keeping me quiet in my anger for days, weeks, months.
I have become one with my anger in special needs motherhood and I still don’t know where to put it or what to do with it. Maybe, if I talk about it i’ll find that other mothers feel the same.
Maybe just maybe I won’t feel so alone in the anger of my every day life of special needs motherhood.
Maybe just maybe, one day, I won’t be so angry if I talk about the real reason i’m angry.
Maybe, I feel like I failed my children, because I can’t protect them from the struggle and hurt they are facing.
Maybe, I’m angry at myself…..
To follow my journey in special needs motherhood like and follow my facebook page at
www.facebook.com/advocatingforelijahsvoice
Follow my Twitter page here! www.twitter.com/advforelisvoice | https://medium.com/age-of-awareness/my-battle-with-anger-in-special-needs-motherhood-is-never-going-away-c449511d4c45 | ['Stephanie Ulrich'] | 2020-09-16 22:31:09.698000+00:00 | ['Grief', 'Autism', 'Anger', 'Special Needs', 'Parenting'] |
4 Things That Happen to Your Body When You Live a Sedentary Lifestyle | 4 Things That Happen to Your Body When You Live a Sedentary Lifestyle
You’ve probably heard your grandparents or even your parents’ stories about life in the old days, walking several miles to the school, or getting on all fours to scrub the bathroom. We hardly hear these stories anymore. Technological advancements and growing affluence has eliminated a lot of physical labour that used to be normal in the past.
According to one report, sedentary jobs have increased 83% since 1950 and physically active jobs now make up only about 25% of our workforce, which is 50% less than in 1950. Our average work week is also much longer than it used to be.
We may be delighted that we don’t have to take the stairs if we don’t want to or walk if we can drive. But in the absence of physical activity, something deadly has seized our generation and we don’t realise it, because the effects are so subtle and invisible until it’s too late.
Whether we are willing to make a lifestyle change or not, the lack of exercise and physical activity is wreaking havoc in our bodies. Even though technology has increased the human lifespan through medical breakthroughs, the misuse of technology has shortened it by affecting other areas of our lives.
In today’s article, we have picked out 4 important things that happen to our bodies when we live a sedentary lifestyle. You be the judge, if we should limit the use of modern technology and get moving instead.
The negative effects of sedentary lifestyle on your body
1. You may lose muscle mass
In a study conducted on 162 men and women aged 60 to 86 years, increased television viewing, which represents a sedentary activity, showed an increase in the risk of muscle mass loss. In another study, it was proven that inactivity impacts the lower limbs of the elderly more, compared to younger people.
But why does it matter? How is muscle mass significant to a person’s health? After all, doesn’t muscle loss lead to weight loss which is better for health?
The main function of muscles in our body is to produce mobility and stability. Almost everything we do requires the help of our muscles from walking, writing, climbing the stairs etc. It’s virtually impossible to undertake even the simplest daily activity without a strong, healthy muscular system in the body. A human person has more than 600 named skeletal muscles of varying types, supporting different functions of the body.
What a sedentary lifestyle does is it prevents physical activity that keeps the muscles healthy. When muscles are not active or trained, they waste away. When the muscle mass falls below a normal level, everyday physical activities become more difficult and increase the risk of injury.
As humans however, we naturally lose muscle mass as we age, specifically, after 30. According to Healthline, we continue to lose 3% to 5% of muscle mass every decade, which reduces physical function. The good news is, although we lose muscle mass as we age, exercise and good nutrition will help slow down the process.
2. Your bones may become weaker
It is common for people to lose their bone density by 0.3% to 0.5% after the age of 35. Those with osteoporosis or brittle bone disease just 20 years ago were typically aged 50 and above. In recent years however, there has been an increase in osteoporosis cases among people in their 30s and 40s.
Doctors believe bone mass loss among the younger population is accelerated by a sedentary lifestyle. According to Mayo Clinic, people who spend a lot of time sitting have a higher risk of developing osteoporosis compared to those who are more active.
In adult bone, lack of activity promotes the activity of osteoclasts or cells that resorb bone tissue, which is a natural response to disuse. This is not much different from how muscle loss occurs.
It is helpful to maintain a healthy intake of vitamin D and calcium, but the effects of a sedentary lifestyle might just forfeit their benefits.
Experts say that any weight-bearing exercise and activities that promote balance and good posture are good for the bones. But walking, running, jumping, dancing and weightlifting seem especially helpful.
3. Your immune system may not work properly
According to a study in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, too much sitting and avoiding exercise can affect our bodies’ ability to fight infection over time.
Our immune system is designed to protect us from danger, infections, toxins and allergens. When it is overactive, it causes inflammatory diseases and if it is not active enough, can leave us vulnerable to diseases.
According to Dr. Leonard Calabrese, an immunology expert, being sedentary will make us vulnerable to infections like colds, flus and more. But exercising moderately, getting 150 minutes of moderate to high physical activity stretched over a week, will reduce the risk.
On the other hand, high exercise training, sports competition and the associated stress are linked with inflammation, muscle damage, and increased illness risk.
So, while moderate exercising is good, it is best to keep competitive sports to a minimum if the activity cannot be supported with a high energy diet, adequate sleep, balanced emotional and mental health and general hygiene.
4. Your metabolism may be affected
Several studies have shown that sedentary behavior over a long period of time can increase the risk of metabolic syndrome. Those who sat less and engaged in more vigorous physical activity had a lower risk of metabolic syndrome.
But what is metabolic syndrome and how does it affect us?
Metabolic syndrome represents a cluster of metabolic disorders such as high fasting glucose level, hypertension, high triglyceride level, low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol level, and high waist circumference. It indicates the metabolic risk factors of cardiovascular disease. If three out of these five factors are detected, the condition is diagnosed as metabolic syndrome.
Without a change in lifestyle, this can lead to a heart attack and early death. The simplest adjustment we can make to avoid metabolic syndrome is avoid prolonged sedentary positions such as sitting, lying down or reclining. Stand up every few minutes and do something else even if your job requires you to sit for prolonged periods of time. Also, avoid sleeping for more than 8 hours a night.
Did you know that these 4 things happen to you when you don’t exercise or engage in physical activity over a long period of time? If you did, did you change your lifestyle?
Remember, it doesn’t take much to live a healthier lifestyle, just a few alterations even if you have a job that requires you to stay seated for a long time. Get up every half an hour and do some easy stretching. Walking daily for a few minutes after work, taking the stairs, walking to the grocery store and weight lifting can all add up to make a difference in your health. | https://medium.com/@ndnglobalgroup/4-things-that-happen-to-your-body-when-you-live-a-sedentary-lifestyle-4aa8d20fb990 | ['Ndn Global Group'] | 2020-12-18 02:54:29.337000+00:00 | ['Sedentary Lifestyle', 'Lifestyle', 'Healthy Lifestyle', 'Exercise', 'Active'] |
The Kickstart Garage #3— Sean Bryan | THE KICKSTART GARAGE — Sean Bryan— #3 — Transcript
Introduction:
Sam (0:15):
Welcome to The Kickstart Garage, I’m your host Sam John Byrne & I’m accompanied by my co-host Gavin Quigley.
On today’s show, we’re joined by local esteemed barber and entrepreneur, Sean Bryan who is the founder of Cut & Sew. Since starting Sean now manages three outlets, a clothing brand & runs training courses for aspiring barbers & entrepreneurs. Without further adieu, we’ll get right into it.
Welcome to The Kickstart Garage Sean, it’s great to have you on.
Sean (0:36):
Hey lads, thanks so much, it’s my pleasure to be asked to be on, I’m looking forward to this chat.
Sam (0:42):
Great, so from reading other interviews, and listening to interviews with yourself, you seem to be the poster child of this a born-to-be hustler. Starting from one chair in the basement of a pop-up shop to now owning three fully kitted-out stores. Can you share with our audience where and when your entrepreneurial journey began?
Sean (0:58):
Yeah so for anyone who knows about my story previously or who’s in our industry, it’s kind of like a broken record, but it is a little bit of a “rags to riches”. I kind of did mountains of jobs, I left school early at 16 and I wanted to get into an apprenticeship. I didn’t really enjoy the education platform. I found getting told what to do from a very young age, very hard to do. I just couldn’t grasp being told what to do.
So, that’s why when I went to become a carpenter, I realised being an apprentice is worse than being a student in school. So I jumped from loads of jobs, not knowing what I wanted to do. I loved Grand Designs from a very young age and shows on how to build and refurbishment shows, and I always thought that the builders or the foremen or the bosses of building sites seemed to take less “stick”, they didn’t have as many rules or people above them as I did in all of the other jobs.
So I started in a hairdressers at the bottom, as an apprentice hairdresser and the reason I think I loved it even though I had no intentions of becoming a hairdresser, was the human factor, the working with people, you know? Like when I was an apprentice carpenter, I found myself working on cold building sites or in attics and there was no gratification. There was no “well done” or taps on the back. You wouldn’t even see the people you were working for.
So I know from being about 18 to 21 in this period of losing an apprenticeship and starting another apprenticeship in a totally different industry that my skill set was probably my personality. I didn’t know it as well as I do now, but I really felt that when I was working with people and doing small tasks in hairdressing you kind of got rewarded with compliments or like “well done” and I think I just flourished with what I liked doing and that was making people feel good and, you know, it was instant gratification. So if you shampooed somebody’s hair, which sounds small and silly now, they liked it and they would tip you like a Euro or two.
Then when you got onto the further part of that education, you would cut somebody’s hair or do their colour and they would tip you more and be even more happy and you grew a relationship with them. So I think I knew then I was pretty good at hairdressing, but I wasn’t a superstar, and I didn’t want to be. But then as I got into that industry, I started to get more requests from gents and I gelled more with gents. Even though I’m not like a butch masculine bloke, likeI’m not into football or any of that craic, I have five younger brothers so I just preferred doing the gents side of things.
I think around the time I set up was post-Celtic Tiger so there was a lot of opportunities and spaces, shops within shops, and one of my friends, Josh Gordon set up a pop-up shop in a record shop in town and he was younger than me and he did really well and I could see that. We both knew the landlord and I was like “If he can do a pop-up shop, instead of me doing nixers in my kitchen where it’s bad lighting and my Mam was going crazy with my getting hair all over the place and having loads of random guys coming in for haircuts, I asked the landlord could I cut hair in the basement of his shop.
He was happy for me to give him just 20% of what I took, and that was probably the start of Cut & Sew officially and it’s how many years? Eight years now, so 2013/ the end of 2012, and I didn’t think of myself as a business owner, entrepreneur or anything like that but that’s where the start of it was you know?
Gavin (5:00):
Yeah, and I think that’s so important in any role I suppose, the whole idea of feeling valued and feeling appreciated. I think no matter what job or industry you get into, you need to find somewhere where you are valued.
Sean do you want to talk to us about that transition from Toni & Guy to running your own pop up shop in Temple Bar. Just in terms of how it felt transitioning from employee to self-employed, what was that experience like?
Sean (5:30):
Well I’m fortunate enough to be asked to do talks in Trinity and IADT and I felt an imposter of sorts. Like, why would all these guys that are fortunate enough to go to college have an interest in my story? And a couple of business students emailed me asking like can I write a thesis or do my story on corporate vs independant, and I didn’t really understand why they would want to come to me.
I didn’t have a business plan or a business model. When I did it, you know, I don’t come from nothing, I come from a lot, but financially, my Mum and Dad are very hardworking, my Mum worked for years in full-time jobs and then as a carer and then she became a full-time Mum with six kids, so she had her hands tied. My Mam has actually always worked and had her kids, and then my Dad is an amazing chef and he’s a soldier. So my Dad always had two or three jobs, he was like a bouncer Friday, Saturday night and then worked in the army five days a week cooking, and then he would have to uphold working part-time in restaurants as well.
It’s instilled in me, like my Mam and Dad are grafters.
The transition, like I lived at home, I always gave up a bit of rent, I didn’t really have any fear because I was told I can kind of do anything I want. So, when people go about setting up a company now, or going from an employee to an employer, it’s not as scary as you think it is. I think the more you think about it, the worse it is you know>
I think it’s like anything, you know, fear is the feeling of the unknown. I had nothing to lose and it was so primal, if that’s the right word to use. At the start, I was like “Sure my friend did a pop-up shop, he’s younger than me, he lives at home the same way I live at home”, and so I asked the landlord if there was any chance I could set up a barber shop on a Saturday.
Little to be told, I don’t think I’ve actually ever said this on any podcast but when I set up, I was still a hairdresser. I just changed to working on a Saturday. So I was doing Monday to Friday in a hair salon, and on my days off on the Saturday, I would go into town and work all day Saturday at this pop-up shop. That was the risk, you know, it was great the first week, then I think there were two the second week and it was so up and down that I was like “Is this gonna work, like what’s going on?”
I think I didn’t really know what the next week was going to hold. So, it’s not that inspirational, I think it was the labour of love. I just loved the feeling of having my own little space and it’s very powerful when you get your first few quid in the till, you know, it was pretty amazing.
Then, over the course of the next couple of months is the awkward period. I think Rob Lipsett, who I follow, has got a very interesting story, he transitioned from when your side hustle brings you in more money than your main job or hustle, that’s when you have to kind of take a leap of faith.
So he used to deliver food, he was with a meal prep company and worked in a gym and was making enough money from his own online programs and apparel so that he could transition into being his own boss as opposed to being an employee. So I kind of had the same moment when after a couple of months it was up and down, I said “Right, I can either go at this full-tilt and take a risk or I can just stay working like a madman for someone else and not really get much more reward”. So it was a scary time.
Again, I was living at home, I don’t have any kids, so the risk was quite low. But it was tough going in and making that decision as every business owner will find. There’s a lot of dark days and it’s an unknown future, the thoughts that go on when you do it. So that’s the transition. It was tough, but I had a lot of support. Not financially, like I worked my backside off at the start but it is a weird period when you transition from an employee to self-employed you know?
Gavin (9:48):
Yeah, and you’ve kind of mentioned this in your answer, and Rob Lipsett is somebody who I have followed since the very very start since he was living in his parents house or something and he had his cat and everything, and it’s such a great story. I think that story, and your story, show that you don’t need everything to be perfect to start, you just need to start.
You need to figure out, like you said, whatever comes primal to you, whatever comes most naturally to you, just go for it. And it can start off as a side hustle like you say, but then when you get that proof of concept, and you get that first few quid in the till, you can really just start putting more of your energy into it.
And I wanted to ask you Sean, some people, they just like to plan for the future, they like having as many things laid out as possible. Others just like to see how things come, did you ever see yourself at the beginning, one day running your own business or did all this really all just come about as a result of the actions you took?
Sean (10:49):
This is a very valid point. When I opened up, I built the shop and I might even find the picture. I think I’ve posted it numerous times on the story but not on the main Cut & Sew page, I built a one-station shop. Even in the basement of the record shop, the space was quite small but I could have put in four chairs. So when I see the young guys doing it now, it’s a lot different, I think.
I don’t know if I’m allowed to swear or not on this, are we able to swear?
Sam (11:26):
Go for it. Drop it!
Sean (11:28):
I like it lads, ok, we’re over 18. Hopefully, Spotify won’t *beep* us out of it, but I don’t want to sound wankey but back then I was so unaccepted in the industry because I was a hairdresser, all of the barbershops then, none of them had social media, like none of them. None of them did appointments, bar maybe one I think. And because I came from hairdressing, the only reason I did appointments was because that’s how I was trained in hairdressing.
It was pretty mad to do that but I don’t know, I’m going off the point here again, sorry, what was the question?
Gavin (12:06):
No don’t worry you’re grand, I’ll just go back to it so it was: Did you plan much of it or did it all just come about has things progressed?
Sean (12:14):
Sorry, yeah, so no I didn’t plan it. I purposely built the shop to just have one chair, for me, because I had never had staff, it wasn’t my intention to have staff. The first picture that I did post was one chair which was a spare kitchen chair my Mum had and it was basically one mirror, one chair, and all of the staff gave me grief because any interviews or the few times I’ve been in the paper, people would be like, “From one chair and one mirror to this”.
I purposely built it as a one-man show, so I didn’t plan it to be bigger than what it was. When I got to the stage of being so busy that I could cover more wage than I’d ever earned before, or that I’d ever been paid, I was so motivated, you know it’s funny, it’s not a lightbulb moment as such, it’s like “Wow, man”. When somebody makes an effort, like we were in a basement with a dingy light, now a cool record shop but it was in Temple Bar down a street. There was no signage outside like I didn’t have any money for a sandwich board, for cool neon signs.
There was no social media, it was word-of-mouth. Like there was Bebo and I think Facebook was around eight years ago, obviously, but there was nothing like you see now. There was no Instagram, I literally remember I had just joined Instagram a few months after opening. It was crazy, I remember from some of the hairdressers, it was like text, and I bought a physical diary diary and I had my phone number on it and it was just word of mouth at the start lads, it was just as I said, it was so primal that when I think what happened next, which we’ll go into later, it was that magical moment, you know?
But yeah, that’s how it was, I built a one chair, one mirror, just for me, and it wasn’t intended to be any bigger than what it was.
Sam (14:18):
Yeah. Just to kind of follow up on that. So, like, like many entrepreneurs kind of face this problem of analysis paralysis from the get go. You seem to be more so just taking action and kind of planning your next move, you know, just kind of gradually progressing, almost like let’s see where this takes me kind of attitude. Do you feel like if you could go back, you’d kind of take more of a planning approach or you just keep plowing ahead as you did?
Sean (14:41):
So my dad always says; “Geez, you’re some man, how do you keep on opening shops or why are you, like, doing clothes or you know”. It’s I think because I came from, well I didn’t come from nothing. And I basically started with one chair, one mirror and if all the success got taken away, I would be just as content as being like Sean the Barber, making good money as I was as Mr. Cut and Sew. So which I’ve really embarrassed embarrassingly named myself on Tinder once or twice before but don’t worry about that.
I’ve just finished a book called Ego is the Enemy so I definitely had a bit of an ego when the success kicked off, which is weird because one of the guys that tattoos me, he’s like the thing that people seem to like me is I’m very honest, open and down to earth. But there was definitely a stage where I got an ego. And going forward, as you said, and I have to plan a bit a bit further ahead, because it’s not only like my name, it’s that all of the staff and all of the shops who I do think about and I look at myself more now as a kind of a player coach, you know, like I don’t even know who, again because I’m not really into football anymore. I don’t know who a player coach, but I still work five days a week cutting on the floor and I run and manage all of the shops and all of the social medias and the education in the Academy. So there’s a lot more planning. And as we spoke about previous to this and the moleskin and a notepad and pen is part of my daily ritual, which is the best investment I think anyone can and should make as a notepad and pen, you know?
Sam (16:27):
Yeah, absolutely. I’m sure Gav agreed with you big time there. So just how different is your life now, having achieved success and the pursuit of starting your own chain of barbershops like what’s your day to day like now in comparison to when you first started?
Sean (16:40):
My day today is very different I would say. I think people assume if you own a shop or are a business owner, I think people think of you like you’re minted or loaded. And I’m rich in other ways. Not financially, like I don’t own a Rolex, I don’t own a Range Rover. And my lifestyle is kind of rich in the sense of I’m very lucky to have a lovely apartment. That’s of my choice. I can holiday when I want and I can work however many days I want. Like if I didn’t have to work and I could probably not cut hair at this stage, which is funny because I’m only 33.
I’m at the start of my business career, I’m only eight years open, you know, and I think I saw that an apprenticeship is only four years, so I’m only after doing two apprenticeships, and I’m after making and more. It’s like I don’t know the famous quote, I wish I knew it but I’m after making probably more mistakes than I have successes. And I think that’s part of it. You know, it’s like the John Kavanagh book, you know, you don’t win or lose, you win or learn. And all of the biggest mistakes I’ve made have actually put me in the right direction for doing it better or doing something, you know, the next big thing.
And it’s I think, you know, learning is part of the process. So the day to day I have now is pretty much I have all of the mistakes in the back of my head and I try not to hang on to them, but they kind of motivate me and remind me of what I do. My actual day to day professionally is: Get up. I always get up two hours before I have to start work or do anything. I’d like to say I meditate and sit there and listen to the very child out music. But I don’t. I’m pretty bad, I scroll through social media like a lot of people and I’m addicted to work. So I check all the social media’s first thing, see what the priority messages are. Then I probably write down what I have to do and then I go and work and I do a full day cutting hair and then I kind of plan my day. This is how nuts I think I am at what I do, like, don’t laugh, but like I’ll be sitting on the toilet and lock myself in there for five minutes and I will actually tweet or put up an Instagram story of work related stuff, not me in the loo.
And that’s how mad it is and that’s how much I want it. And it’s like it’s unhealthy because it’s cost me friendships and relationships. And, you know, I’ve had previous girlfriends being like to me:bMan, like, why are you not coming to this wedding?” Like, well, I don’t want to take a Saturday off. I don’t really know the person. If I’m not there on a Saturday, the takings will be down and the team needs me there on a Saturday to finish up strong. And who’s going to do the social media.
So it comes at a cost. The slight success that you might say I have, but my day to day is good. You know, I get up as I said, I get up, I check social media. I have a coffee, go to work, work a full day. In between that and on my lunch, I’m on my phone and I suffer with chronic pain in my hands now and it’s definitely because I use my hands for the phone, for a laptop, for gym, for cutting. And they’re never not working, only when I’m sleeping and it’s yeah it’s crazy. It does come at a cost. You know, that’s that’s one thing I found out at a youngish age. It’s scary. You know!
Gavin (20:05):
Yeah, and Sean you’re given a lot of value to people, I suppose just showing your work ethic and something that you did mentioned a minute ago was how important it is to always be learning. And I’m a big believer in surrounding yourself with people that are resourceful, that can help you to achieve your potential. And I wanted to find out if you had any specific mentors along the way that would have guided you. If so, what kind of impact that they had on you and the business? And if not, do you feel it would have been beneficial to have someone guiding you through the process?
Sean (20:38):
You know what? Not really, no, the same way that I’m actually a self-taught barber. So there’s not many barber schools., if any in Ireland. There were one or two that are quite basic and in business, like I said, I finished school early. I don’t have any older brothers or uncles that would have taught me the way. Like, I just know my dad was a hard worker and my Mam and would I have liked a business mentor or did I have any? Not really.
Ok, granted my first business in the record shop, the landlord kind of helped me a little bit. Like he said, “Aww get this, this is the accountant you should get. Here’s what you need to do.” And he did help me a little bit. And it’s you know, when you work with someone who you’d call a friend, like it’s on your landlord, it’s hard mixing business with pleasure. So he helped me at the start. But unfortunately, at the end of the original shop, which we started out in, and that’s why I just don’t mention his name or shop out of probably out of a bit of hurt and a bit of I don’t want to say anything bad about anybody, but we ended up we don’t speak anymore.
And that’s what I’m saying in everything comes at a cost. Like the landlord who was my friend helped me and gave me the opportunity. And I walk past him in the street now and we don’t say hello. And, you know, again, that’s a valuable lesson I’ve learned. And I’d like to obviously always make amends with people. But then when I look at people who guided me or who gave me some sort of mentoring.. Not really, I think that, like the truth when you walk through life, you learn these things like, you know, like, for instance, we had a flood in the shop one year and I was like, I didn’t have shop insurance.
I was like: “What!”. So then you’re like, oh, crap. If I had had insurance, I would have gotten all the money. That was all the stuff that was lost in their flood. I would have had that money back. So you just learn as you go along. And in a way that’s kind of good because I’m kind of self taught and I have all these like I now do business coaching which I’m not too sure if you guys know. But that’s invaluable to people now. And if I didn’t teach myself, I wouldn’t be able to generate money or revenue by doing business coaching now, you know, if I had a business coach back then, I wouldn’t have made a lot of mistakes, I did, but now that I’m probably the only or one of the only barber business coaches in Europe that I know, it’s it’s pretty mad.
So I don’t know. I think it’s a I think it’s worked out well with me not having a business coach in some ways. But then I’m kind of snookering myself by saying, if you don’t have a mentor, you will make mistakes. But, you know, it’s a bit of a weird one lads, you know, I do and I don’t.
I have no regrets. Basically, that’s what I’m trying to say.
Sam (23:35):
Yeah. Like going out on your own. I mean, it is filled with its highs and lows and it’s not an easy road, but I mean, as problems or challenges present themselves, how do you face them? Like is each one different or, you know, have you kind of developed a way to be like, OK, this is the approach I’ll take? I mean, what’s the biggest headwind you’ve faced since starting out?
Sean (23:55):
And it was the original shop, losing the original shop because the landlord cut a deal with my own employees. He made them a deal like The Godfather. He made them an offer they couldn’t refuse. The guys that took the shop over didn’t have any backbone. Or respect, or love, or consideration for me, which is very hurtful. I’m waiting for an apology. Right. Which I know I’m not going to get out of, like, whatever the guys are too stubborn. And I’m like, if I employed you for two years, I’m grateful for the opportunities. I put so many people on so many platforms. And to be not even spoken to or asked about it, how do I say this? The biggest headwind was losing the original shop to my own staff, but then again, the learning process of that is if I had had a better contract with a good solicitor, I wouldn’t have lost it. So I went on to do amazing things ten times better than what I had. So I’ll go into that.
But the head wound was, on a personal level, being screwed over by people you cared for and helped and built up and grew through your own company. It’s like I’m super proud of all of the staff and I’m very grateful for every one of them for helping me, whether they skanked me or not.
And it’s only these particular guys that did it. And that hurts because all of the staff who have worked for me, I’m friends with and support and have worked with and still see and have a pint with but this particular one, I don’t know why the lads just don’t seem to have had the love, care consideration, our backbone to say, look, we’ve been offered this or we can’t say no. It just blows my mind that somebody could have the audacity to do that and to walk around Dublin and and go on. And it’s I think it’s piggybacking off someone’s success. You know, I still own all of the stuff in the shop. I own the tiles. The mirrors, like all of the work gone in was me. It’s not them. That’s hard. That’s the biggest headwind.
And it’s it’s been two years. And I’ve actually seen the landlord today going. So isn’t that pretty mad? So it hurts me that the guy that gave me the start had to for his own reasons, I respect, had to just say look it’s been, it was five years or six years. He’s like it’s come to the end of the road, you know, and we’re going to go our separate ways. And I was like, can you do this to me? And in my contract, obviously, my lease had said, yeah, it was up and I was like, I presume we were just gonna renew it. And presumption is the mother of all F-ups, you know, so that’s the worst one lads.
I’m very passionate. And I stated it a lot. I even made a T-shirt saying “Stay away from snakes and fakes”. That’s how I invented it. And you know what? Nothing but bad things came from that. You know, it was more grief. And the lads were trying to book in fake appointments. And they did and slandered me. And it was just a bad vibe. And it’s not what I’m about. I actually wish the lads well now. And hopefully they’ll send me an apology card and a bottle of whisky if they hear this podcast.
Gavin (27:02):
Yeah. And, you know, it goes back to something that you mentioned a few minutes ago. It’s the whole concept by John Kavanagh of you don’t win or lose, you win or you learn. I suppose, even though that was one of the biggest pieces of adversity that you faced on your journey, it’s just one of those lessons and it’s one of those things that you’re kind of forced to learn from. And like you mentioned, with the solicitor and the lease and everything, it’s a mistake that you make sure not to make again.
I was just going to say, there’s a lot of universal principles that you can learn from starting a business that can be applied to different businesses in other industries. And I’m sure you’ve applied them in starting other ventures such as the Cut and Sew apparel and then the coaching that you mentioned, what would you say are the most important principles or values that you’d share with our audience?
Sean (27:48):
And I mean, treat people how you want to be treated like not only is Dublin a small town like the world is so small. You know, I’ve been on holidays and literally people would be like, What do you do and you’re like, I’m a barber? Where do you work? Cut and Sew. No way, my brother goes there, my cousin goes there, my fella goes there. And, you know, I don’t know, just don’t screw people over because your reputation is everything. And yeah, don’t screw people over, treat people how you want to be treated and just be a good human, you know, be sound. I suppose being an Irish man, it’s like. I think our nation, we’re pretty cool, you know.
I think we’re pretty cool and don’t be an asshole, you know what I mean? It’s and also, like, I try to be as good a person as I can be, as nice a boss as I can be. And my very first boss in a hairdresser was a guy called John Maher, he passed away during Covid, not Covid related i don’t think. And it hit me. I was like, wow, this guy was my favourite boss. He treated me with so much respect, even as an apprentice when I literally had to clean the toilets and make tea and coffee and shampoo the granny’s hairs that I didn’t particularly like doing. He actually was like caring and considerate and considered my future.
And I was like, you know what? I worked harder for him because he treated me with respect. And he made me feel like I could go on and move on in my career. And I was like that that made me want to be a cool boss. So that was kind of like, yeah, I don’t know, a bit of a motivator for me. That’s maybe because I had a really good boss. And now when I think of my story, like, I would like to think I am the soundest boss and you know, I like I don’t know if every boss actually feels like that, but I genuinely feel it in my bones. And that’s not detrimental to me because all of the staff that have worked with me, they’ve all gone on to do, nearly all have gone on to open their own shop or do their own thing. And that’s what you want. You know, I see all of the people have a twist and they don’t want their staff to leave them.
I’m like, I only said it this evening, if you are here in five years, I think we’re going to have to terminate your contract. I was like, I don’t want them to be stuck in the same job, a role for five years. I think it’s important to move on because we are the leading brand in Ireland. And I think that’s the mindset you have to have as a leader.
As you know, if you want to call it cheesy, it’s cheesy. But I do feel like I’m leading these twenty guys who are coming to me to be either apprentices, to go on to be a senior barber or to manage, to have their own shop. And if I’m not on my A game or a nice boss, or show them how it’s done, I think they’re going to upset or ruin the industry they’re getting into. And that’s it. Actually, it’s weird that four guys that worked for me this year have opened their own shop, but we still seem to stay busy or keep getting busier. And I think it’s because I wish them well. And people respect not only me, but the Cut and Sew brand. They’re like that and I support and build them up. And it’s what I was kind of trained to do as a hairdresser, you know, have my own salon or I just, I don’t know, I had a good leader. So it’s come back to me, I think ten fold. You know, the rest in peace, my old manager. But like, he grew from working for somebody to having his own franchise, to opening his own shop, to then losing a shop and passing away. And it’s just, life goes so quick. So be a good human, you know. Sorry, I went on a bit of a tangent there lads!
Sam (31:29):
That’s pretty inspirational there Sean. I kind of wanted to talk a bit more about Cut & Sew. Obviously a very successful and recognisable barber shop brand here in Dublin. Right now, we’re quite literally living in a bit of a weird reality with people wearing masks and everyone stuck inside all the time. How has Cut & Sew been handling the whole covid situation?
Sean (31:50):
You know what we’re pretty lucky with. So basically, I actually lost a business, so I actually set up a sister company, if you want to call it that, called Blindeye Barbershop. So I met an entrepreneur or a multimillionaire whose name I won’t mention.
He’s passed away as well. God lads. I feel like I’m a bit of a curse so hopefully you guys are doing all right after you release this podcast, but listeners don’t get worried. Tune in!. Ok, so basically I had two shops and then started to get a bit known around town, I opened up one chair then the one chair grew to two chairs, which was blown. Then the two became four. And then we had to redo the whole basement of the shop I was in and expand. And then it was so busy that we were losing people, we had more people getting like, what’s the word, not being able to come in, getting refused to come in because we were the only one or one of the only shops to do appointments.
It was a little bit mad. You know, if you can’t get into a pub or a club or a restaurant, it makes you want to go there more. Maybe. I think it was because no one had seen that before. The amount of guys and coming through to the record shop, the owner was getting peed off.
So I think that was a little bit of the start of resentment or a bit like here man, like we were only meant to rent a tenth of our shop. And now you have more staff than us and you took over more space than we actually have. And it was kind of mind blowing. It was mad.
But sorry what was the question? Sorry lads as I keep on going off the point here.
Sam (33:29):
It really just: How has Cut and Sew been handling the whole covid situation.
Sean (33:34):
So how is it handling it?I think, the start of when we grew and the success of it and bla bla bla bla bla. I don’t know, we were kind of used to coming from nothing and the mindset of if we lost it all or if it went back to me just having one chair, I wouldn’t mind. So when covid hit, I remember the weekend of it.
I’m getting off the point here. So when I had another shop, Blindeye and we basically had another shop and I lost that again because I got screwed over by the investor or the business partner. And I went from having two shops to three, then from three to two. And then this thing happened with me losing the original shop and had to grow it. I was used to ups and downs, I think, and not knowing what was coming around the corner. So I’ve never mentally prepared for crap or Covid like anyone.
But I think because, you know, so many mad things happen when covid hit, I was like, right, what can I do if I obviously want to keep all the shops open and the brand to expand, to maybe become global and well known and who knows what I’ll do in a few years? But when covid hit, we were hit bad, you know, like we didn’t hear back from two of the three landlords in the three locations. We didn’t know what was going to happen, who was going to stay with us, how we were going to pay the bills.
You know, you don’t plan for the rainy day fund for a pandemic, do you? Like I don’t know anyone that’s had it. Obviously, every one of our parents went through like a recession or whatever, but everything was going well for seven, eight years. That was just success after success. And, you know, that kind of snowball, you don’t see this happening. So we kind of were fortunate enough that when it hit, we lost a couple of staff like we lost. I think we lost about six of the twenty staff we had in March.
And, you know, four of them just had a bit of down time to think about what their future was holding. And then with Covid payment being quite good. We’re very fortunate here. Some of the guys were illegally doing haircuts, which we didn’t condone, et cetera, et cetera. So we got rid of some of the staff who were there for quite long or we didn’t get rid of them. They left and whatever. It was kind of good that one or two guys who are kind of dragging away are holding us back, we were fortunate enough to not have to take them on when we reopened. So there’s kind of like a lot of fresh blood and good energy and we redid all the shops like anyone that follows me or the Cut and Sew journey knows I graft like mad and we cleaned and changed all the shops up.
We got really good relief from the government and council and rates and whatever else. And we’ve come out of this. I don’t know how, but we’ve come out of it way better than we went in. So we don’t have anybody who’s not, like covering their role or doing exactly what they need. We’ve hired new people and the shop when we reopened after the first lockdown like flew and the energy was good.
Like we went down from, I don’t know. Yeah, whatever. Like twenty staff to like fourteen. And so we lost nearly 50 percent of the workforce and then some of them went on to competitor shops and now we opened up again and we’ve hired more people and financially we’re in a better place, which is weird and I don’t know, it’s exciting. You know, our education took off. The online coaching that I started has like rocketed. You know, it’s mad I’ve no more space for this year for online coaching.
And I think we’ve dealt with it really good. You know, I’ve been given out loads of free information online. We did two runs of our apparel that’s sold out. And I get to do a lot of creative stuff. I’m so much about supporting local Irish businesses. And I feel like that. I’ve been saying it for years and it’s come back around that so many people have seen me support and actually doing it, that they supported us. So I think covid has been really good for us, which is a weird thing to say. And we’re not going to close down any of the shops and it looks like we’ll be pretty strong when we get back to normality. So I’m very, very lucky.
Gavin (37:49):
So as of now, you’ve got you’ve got your three stores around Dublin. I believe you’ve got multiple stores. How do you manage to retain that unique vibe that you established from the pop up shop as you gradually scaled up?
Sean (38:02):
Well, I mean, I don’t know. I think it’s just quite honest. It’s, you know, each shop that I do, I try and make, which is weird because we don’t franchise. And it might be something that we’ll do in the future, which I never thought I would say because I didn’t really believe in it, like I’m enemies with Starbucks and Costa and all that. And I feel like each shop is independent and has its own vibe. You know, Dundrum, Wellington Quay and Lord Edward Street, the three of them are different and have their own personality. But I think I hire people based on their personality, not because of their skillset. Barbering is a craft like you can teach someone to become a barber.
You know, it’s not like you need to be just amazing and talented. You’re not born to cut hair. I don’t believe in that. You know, I think you can definitely become the best barber by training or doing the most haircuts and doing the most education. And the uniqueness comes from hiring people on a personal level. So everyone guys girls, whatever they need. It doesn’t matter their orientation or where they’re from. And it’s just me on a personal level liking each individual you know we pick and play hopefully good music. It’s always been about boiler rooms, supporting local and hiring local hard working people. And then the communities get behind it. And I think they really love it. And again, it’s honest. You know, don’t get me wrong, it’s a barbershop. But it’s not just a barbershop.
You know, we made a documentary a few years ago with the guys at Collective, and we premiered it in the Sugar Club. And it’s so like what? Who does a documentary about a barbershop and you have a premiere. It was bananas, you know, and it’s when I think about it and even listening to myself back then, it was like it’s always been about family and the community and people around it. The name of the documentary is called Not Just A Barbershop.
And I think when people come in, like, you know, they come in early, they chat, they know the guy or girl. The music is good. You don’t know who you’re going to see in the shops, whether it’s like famous DJ’s, the local kind of man or woman about town. You know people bring their dogs in, there’s kids getting their first haircut, there’s the cool OAP’s. It’s pretty cool and exciting, I think, to come into the shops.
And because they’re all different, they cater to all the different people as opposed to just rolling out a franchise from the UK or America or like no disrespect to the most well-known famous barbershop in the Grafton barbers which is massively successful. I take my hat off to the guys they’re amazing at what they do.
Their business model is a lot different to ours. I could make a lot more money if I just opened up 10 regular barber shops, charged less money and didn’t do appointments and didn’t put in love, sweat and blood and tears into them. As I said it’s a labour of love. You know it’s because I still do the job five days a week. cutting and then I still work on my days off doing the social media. It’s a labour of love. I look at them like my children in a weird way. Each shop I’m very proud of and the staff in it so I think people vibe off that. And that’s why they keep on coming back. You know?
Gavin (41:24):
Yeah, yeah, and I think everything that you’re saying, you know, telling us about Cut and Sew, it kind of translates across to every type of business you need to kind of create a community.
And you’ve kind of infused your personality into the brand and you’ve translated into the different locations. Just wanted to ask something, though. I’ve recently read this book by Phil Knight, so Phil Knight is the founder of Nike.
Sean (41:50):
Shoe Dog?
Gavin(41:51):
Shoe Dog, yeah probably one of the best books I’ve ever read. It was so easy to read, but I don’t know if you’ve read it.
It’s fantastic. So it was basically documented and gives the narrative of the struggle towards success.It it’s not easy you know it’s kind of told by Phil Knight. And he goes through the ups and downs from setting up the factories and thinking they’re about to collapse, you know.
Sean (42:15):
Aww yeah, and having no cash flow!
Gavin (42:15):
Yeah, exactly. I mean, that kind of brings me to the question. Has there ever been a moment where the business came close to failure or you thought, you know, maybe this isn’t going to work?
Sean (42:25):
Yeah, like you guys said, what was the biggest headshot moment or headwound moment. I basically, I don’t know if anybody knows this, but the rainy day, thanks to my dad. He was like, Sean, you’re nuts. He goes: Why are you bleeding getting all these nice apartments? Why are you flying first class to feckin’ Bali? Why are you going around wearing designer gear? And I was like again, I was like I was in a long term relationship for six years and God love the girl. I think I was a disaster the last two years because I just started Cut and Sew and then I was like mental into, you know, it was like, this is my little ticket to success. I just want to be my own boss.
That’s like when I’d write a book, which I will do when it sounds a bit crazy, because people around you say you are only a barber, you’re not a millionaire. You’re not like a feckin’ Gary Vee type. And I’m like, I’m my own Gary Vee, you know? But I just want to lead and feckin’ get on with it you know, I don’t know. It’s pretty mad to think of, like where we are, where we’ve gone and where you can go. And with that to go back to your point about Shoe Dog, what I got from that book. Did you say you go from it like a bit of a struggle kind of buzz?
Gavin (43:32):
Well, what I was saying is that the book is effectively a narration or it’s him telling the story of the struggles and the ups and the lows and how it’s not all roses when you’re starting a business and you’re trying to grow the business, you know?
Sean (43:44):
But to come back to the kind of point of was I was ever at failure, and the success, when I think of the Shoe Dog book and a lot of the struggle books and it was when two years ago, exactly about this time last year was five weeks to Christmas, I got an email like imagine your friend of ten years, your landlord of five, someone who you grew distant with, to send you an email, like not even a phone call or face to face to say Cut and Sew won’t be trading in five weeks. Not even thanks. It was I couldn’t so I won’t be trading in five years. It’s been a hell of a ride, it’s a hell of a ride, let’s meet up and discuss…
I got that email two years ago and I didn’t plan on losing the shop, which was effectively the most financially successful shop because the rent was quite cheap and we’re in a basement. I was like, oh crap, I have to get all of the six lads in that shop employment for January 1st. And I was on a plane in business class about to take off and I checked my emails, which I would never do when I’m on holiday mode. I was going over to get a holiday before the Christmas rush and my heart sunk and I kid you not. I literally was like, you’re kidding me. It was like being stabbed in the heart and it was so cold I couldn’t believe it was legit or it was real.
I said, what have I done to deserve this? But we grew apart. There was resentment. I wasn’t an angel tenant, you know, I kind of maybe took my eye off the prize and I then went into a state of, like, shock. The only time I stay off my phone is when I’m on a plane. Well, I don’t go on the Internet. You know, I had to go on Daft.
I had to see how I get a new shop. Like it’s not cheap. You know, you can do a shop for cheap or you’re talking 20 grand to get your solicitor fees.Your Head of Terms. You need a security deposit, you need a shopfit. And you can get builders in five weeks. And I was saving for an apartment. And, you know, if an apartment’s €300k, you need 30 grand first. So I was essentially stripped of my first house, or apartment, because I spent all of that money to guarantee the six lads in the basement had employment for January.
And I didn’t know that the landlord had spoken to the two guys, now the two top guys in there. And he cut them a deal and they knew I was fighting to get them jobs. They even came into the shop two weeks before I opened and still hadn’t spoken to me. And this is where the head wound comes in. And I was like. I mean, how can you walk into this shop where I’m trying to save your job and you know well and good because they’d ordered the stuff weeks in advance that you’re taking over the shop and you see me on my hands. And I did all the work in there from my carpentry days.
And I begged and I grafted and as if there was a picture of me on my hands and knees covered in mud and cement and on the floor painting and cleaning like we did it and I opened the shop to guarantee they all had employment. And the day before we opened, somebody had leaked that they’d seen the guys in the heard that they’re not coming with you. And I was like, you’re joking me. And I had to walk in on the day before opening the new shop, I went in to pick up all of the final bits in the basement where I started and the guys were in there cleaning and painting and like that is the worst I’ve ever felt after paying these guys a fortune and helping them.
And I was like, I’ve just spent what should be money for my first property to save your job and you are skanking me and the landlord didn’t even look me in the eyes. I had to walk up and down the stairs of the basement like it was the most awkward ten minutes of my life. I’m like you absolute shady fecker, like, you know what I mean, it’s just it was so badly done. And in turn out of the six guys, four of them went back to the basement and it was horrible.
So technically I hit rock bottom in the sense of the business. And I was like, man, I could have lost. I could have gone from three shops to two and all the staff would have looked bad. But in my own defense, I think, as I was saying and I have to go back to this because I just finished that book, Ego is the Enemy. I hadn’t grafted in the last two years. I got so much success so quick and there was no one at our level and there was nothing like no one was opening shops like us and it was just crazy. And we ruled the roost that I think I needed that wakeup call that, oh, God, you need a better solicitor. You need to secure your own future. You need to make sure that you’re hiring the right guys. And your brand then is cool.
I hated that basement and I don’t like to use that word, but that’s why I couldn’t go in. I couldn’t face it. The upstairs bit, the record of it was like I don’t even.. The lads are lovely that worked there, some of them, but it was so childish. And you have to like to walk into a business via an order business. I had outgrown that and become, you know, bigger than that shop massively. And I was just like I was so own unclued-in to running that business. I just thought it would run forever, that by losing the shop I gained Lord Edward Street, which has now come on to be the most financially out of all of the shops massively. And it’s not in a basement. It’s got the biggest windows of a barbershop in Dublin City Centre
And we run an academy out there. We don’t have to share a shop with other people. And I’ve never been happier with business. So it’s funny that by losing that, I’ve set up myself for like a ten year lease in all of the shops, which are bulletproof with the best solicitor they have, which is Nicola Rooney. And OK, you might lose the first shops and that might take away a lot of your €30/€40k that you had saved and worked hard for.
And that’s hard to do, lads when you’re a single guy flying first class around the world, I might look like I’m rich, but I’m definitely not, you know, and it was the best story. And it’s and then before, like then Gavin, I remember I was like, what am I going to do when I think I bought, like, a Business for Dummies book. And I started to read and I bought Shoe Dog and I bought The Four Hour Work Week, I’m looking at my books as I’m reading this. I bought Winners, Ego is The Enemy, I bought Win or Learn and I read Alex Ferguson’s book: Leading.
I read all these books and I don’t know, the entrepreneur word is a bit mad, but I think by getting that wake up call like I hadn’t worked that hard, I had spent the five weeks. As soon as I got back from New York from the first week of December to the first week in January, I worked on Christmas Eve day.
I worked every day. My birthday’s the 2nd of January and I had to go into the shop and pick up the old bits on that day. And on my birthday, I’d seen these guys who I’d hired and they still didn’t apologize to me. They didn’t go, oh hey, they were physically moving my stuff out of the shop where I had hired them. And it was tough and it’s two years this January. So I’m going to make it my mission to fly. Hopefully, if I can leave the country, I’m going to fly first class out of here and I’m going to have champagne, and I wish them well and quarantine to be safe away from Dublin You know what? Look at the difference in two years where I have grown, expanded and I’m in a financially better place and just two years, my future in business is way safer than it was then. And it’s you know, I’m going to cheers to that. And I think I’m going to, I think two years enough to let go. You know, I’ve had breakups that haven’t lasted this long.
Sam (51:48):
Fair play to you Sean like you’ve come a long way. I mean, I’m definitely sure it’s made you the better man of it all anyway. But I just want to pivot here as well. I just want to talk a bit about competition.
So you kind of differ yourselves a lot and that you’re just a really cool kind of barbershop.
Sean (52:09):
Well I don’t know if we’re cool-cool, but I think we are!
Sam (52:12):
So Andy Grove of Intel, I think he was the third CEO of Intel, and he was also the third employee. He developed this test which was latter popularised by Warren Buffett to help understand the competitive dynamics in the market so I thought I’d ask you this question;
If you had one silver bullet, which competitor would you take out?
Sean (52:31):
Oh, geez, that’s probably the best question I’ve ever been asked. Oh, my God, that’s so, so good because, well, you know what, I think the guys probably have me blocked anyway, so they’re not cool enough to be on this podcast. So you know what? OK, I’ve two answers. I’m only going to give you the second answer because I feel privileged to be on the podcast.
The first answer is there is no competition because I literally only focus on me, the teams and everyone that is in the four walls and all the Cut and Sews. And I kind of live by that. I mean, it’s cheesy, but we’ve all probably read some self help motivational books. I’m only ever in competition with myself and my future self, but I look at businesses like, who do I say, Sam’s Barbers and I’m so impressed with them. It’s so funny. There’s a thing in Dublin I think.
You know, people they want to see you do well, but not better than themselves. When I first started, they were so friendly to me because my shop was as best as I could make it or afford it, but it was a shithole. Like when you look at it like there was my Mam’s kitchen chair wasn’t even a barber chair. There was a mirror I’d taken from my Mam’s shed, right. And it was literally nailed to the wall, like not even hung professionally. There was no wifi. There was no Facebook, Instagram, there was no booking link. And then when I grew and then I opened a shop opposite Sam’s Barbers on the quay, which is now the Wellington Quay shop, which is the biggest shop we have, and it has like an antique feckin’ pool table in it. It’s beautiful. It’s unreal, and it’s on the Liffey, but it faces opposite Sam’s on the other side. They did a whole rebrand, I think, about two or three years ago, and they felt like they were very dated. Like I was honest.
I was like, we’re way better than them. And as I said, every owner should feel like they are better than everybody else. I think that’s just who I am. And I think as a leader, as I go back to it, you should feel like that. And I got that from the Alex Ferguson book: Leading. You know, if your team doesn’t believe in you, well, then the whole thing is kind of tarnished. And I do believe in us. And that’s why I think everybody wants to work for us. So the silver bullet would probably give to Sam’s because they’re independent, they’re not franchises.
They have two shops in town. We have two shops in town. They’ve opened up a beautiful new shop, not even called Sam’s. I don’t know the name of it in Blanchardstown. And then they’ve two in the suburbs. We’ve only one in the suburbs. So I think I presume a silver bullet means get rid of them. Does it?
I probably watch too many vampire movies and I mean that in the best way. That’s me giving them a compliment. And because I still feel like they’re financially probably way better than me they must be if they’ve got more shops. But it’s like you can’t, you can’t bottle coolness or what’s likeable. But it’s the same way with like.. How do I say this?
OK, so we all know Centra right?. Yeah. We can feel this is a weird analogy but don’t get me wrong, I like a chicken fillet roll like the next man. But you’re not going to bring a girl or somebody you’re seeing to Centra for a chicken fillet roll, you’re going to go to like KC Peaches or somewhere a little bit more up market. But Centra is probably the most financially profitable shop or news agency in Ireland.
Like everyone knows Centra and not everyone knows KC Peaches and I feel we’re a bit like KC Peaches. It’s cool, it’s more premium and expensive, but it’s definitely not the most financially profitable shop, which is weird to me to say on the podcast, but it’s yeah, it’s a bit weird. So it’s Yes. Sam’s Barbers is getting the silver bullet but that’s only to you guys I’m saying that. But I don’t think we’re in competition with anyone else. It’s that I just try and better each shop and each year financially to myself.
Gavin (56:37):
I love that answer I suppose and especially the bit about, you know, it’s just you versus you, you’re not really going to get much from comparing yourself with other people and I especially like the Alex Ferguson book that you mentioned there as a big Man United fan. That’s a book I haven’t read, but I’m going to add it to the list.
I wanted to, I suppose just it’s on the same kind of topic. But just as you mentioned this a couple of times so far. One of the tools I can see that’s being really beneficial for the business is social media. How have you leveraged social media in order to scale your brand and on that then what advice would you give to those listening who are also using social media to build their brand?
Sean (57:14):
So again, when we first opened it was how do I say it? If I really am honest, when I’m a bit tipsy the odd time and I’m by myself, I find myself scrolling through Instagram, I go, wow that state of that haircut back six years ago or what was I doing, like putting a picture of something not relevant to the to the brand, or business on the business page, but I didn’t really know how to use it. And again, I didn’t go and do a social media course, which I think is only new, you can actually only do social media in college in the last two or three years. You guys might know that, like social media marketing.
But when I did set it up, I remembered the moment on even using it like a pic collage, you know, like the app where you can put it before and after pic on it. When I look back at them, that blew us up like we grew, like we were the biggest social media brand when we first started. Like I think, remember when you go back to 5k and 10k and it’s kind of plateaued now in the sense of like everybody is doing what we did and when we set it up, it’s a free platform. It’s a showcase online to show everyone what you’re doing and even all of the guys that have followed us.
It was so mad when you put up a picture of a haircut of a real person that is from Dublin and not a feckin’ American crew, handsome model that nobody looks like, guys can relate to that, you know, and I think we’re not the worst looking nation. And I’m not trying to insult the customers or yourselves or myself. But when you used to go to a barbershop and you see all these American crew models on the wall, you kind of didn’t point to go give us that one. You know, it just wasn’t cool.
But when you have the Instagram and it’s of the people that come into the shop, they can kind of relate, you know? And I’m like nearly everybody I ever asked, can I take a picture of the hair for the Gram? They’re like, yeah, they love it, you know what I mean? Like, it’s it’s it’s funny. It’s an honest way. And as I learned as I went on with social media, you get branding, then you have to advertise your Christmas hours are Valentine’s Day or gift cards. It’s a bit of training in itself. And now every time I do a business coaching session, they all ask about social media and I’m like, it isn’t easy to get to twenty thousand followers on Instagram when every second person or everyone has a social media account.
So it’s tougher to try and create content than it’s a job that I love and hate to do because again, with my hands being sore, I just know if you are not relevant, or on social media, you’re going to be at a disadvantage to your competitors. And it’s something that I’ve really worked hard on this lockdown. Like the second one is like, I don’t know if you guys have seen it, but we’ve done giveaways. We’re doing a raffle, the new clothing launch. We get all of the staff to heavily promote themselves within it. And it’s like we wouldn’t have the shops we have without social media. So free business advice is to up your social media presence and and do a course on it, you know, not even with me. That might be something on YouTube.
And it’s so available now. It’s like even Elon Musk was like everything is available for free basically on the Internet. And he’s right. You know, college isn’t. I don’t think it benefits a lot of people the same way. School didn’t benefit me. The real world is where I learnt at my craft. And what works for me, I think, is my personality and my work ethic. And that doesn’t cost anything.
Gavin (1:00:52):
You’re dead right, and just on that, I did Commerce in UCD, great course, I didn’t learn a single thing in three years, didn’t pay attention to anything that was happening.
Sean (1:01:01):
Wow, that’s very honest of you to say!
Gavin (1:01:02):
Yeah, but I’ve been out of college now three years and I’ve learned more in these three years because I actually want to learn about it. I think that’s so important for anyone listening. If you want to learn about something, you learn ten times the amount that you will in school or in college when it’s being forced on you. There’s no context.
And I just want to ask you, Sean, because we’re coming up to about an hour now so we won’t keep you too much longer.
Outside of Cut and Sew you also offer apparel, like you said, you’ve mentioned your business consulting and training courses in relation to barbering. What made you decide or make the actual choice to branch out into these ventures? And do you also plan to scale these side hustles, these businesses as much as you did for Cut and Sew?
Sean (1:01:42):
Jesus, lads, you know what? This might be the best podcast I’ve been on. This question and the question are insane. I’m not just on the flatter you, I know I said my personality is good, but I’m dead serious. So while I was in this lock down and I had the million dollar idea or the million euro dollar idea that I’ve kind of always known. And it’s come to a point where I’m like, you know what, like when I think about the success of it and the side hustles, where the first barbershop to do a documentary, first barbershop to make our own beer, and we’re the only one that does, I suppose, our own clothing range and seasonally, you know, we do four a year. And I’m like, it’s a labour of love. We don’t really make money off the clothing. And it’s like free advertising. We just cover our costs. The beer is an expense that we take, we don’t sell it. Like I feel I could do a coffee shop, a tattoo shop, a bar, anything we put our mind to.
And I I’m not going to say what it is, not because I don’t think it’s going to manifest. I know it’s going to manifest, but it’s something that I want to work on before I publicly announce it. I found like the side hustle things that I’ve done. I know I can see a million dollar Idea. And Cut and Sew the reason why it’s Cut and Sew and not Sean’s barbers is because it’s a brand that everyone can umbrella under.
And, you know, everyone’s welcome, as I said, from any age to any sex. And like, it’s a household name. And I believe and I work with all of the really amazing designers to create content. And I feel like we have enough home grown talent to make this like a global brand name, whether it was selling. We’re making our own candles now,that are gonna go through the roof and working with a company that made them here in Ireland, and I just feel like if I made it global, that it would do well. And again, why not do it? It’s the side hustles, as you call it Gavin are like, I just I do them as a labour of love. But if I really put my business head on, if I wasn’t busy in the Lord Edward Pub on the Saturday or Sunday drinking, what they can achieve is phenomenal.
And just with pubs being closed and just having a clear head and learning loads of things, It’s just, there’s so much opportunity out there. Like greatness is what happens when opportunity meets chance or hard work. And I feel like I work harder than anyone in my industry and I’ll take the Pepsi Challenge with anybody and that motivates me so the side hustles will be what makes me a millionaire, and for a barber and a barber shop owner, not many people can say that and I take my hat off to the Grafton Barber lads who are millionaires and they franchised their brand and they have Ferraris, I believe, and live in like their own estates in Kildare.
And it’s you know, it’s I just haven’t been focused on the money. And I think that’s not my motivation. But I can see it as I’ve become an older gent that I’m like, yeah, I can see myself becoming a millionaire from the side hustles. And all of this will pay off. And it’s my time to reevaluate and think of my future, I never as I said, I never thought about the future properly. I just thought about starting with myself first, then the staff. And now I think I’ve just matured to be, you know, in a position that I think I do believe in the brand.
And if you do believe in it, everybody else will. The same way I believe in the staff I believe customers and future customers will believe in it. It is a good story when I think about it, because it is a bit of not rags to riches. But, you know, as I said, I did start with one chair, one mirror in a pop shop and it’s I feel like I could open a shop anywhere in the world with the brand I’ve created.
Sam (1:05:34):
So just one more question and then we’ll let you go. So talk to us about the long run.
You mentioned the bit there. Like to see yourself becoming a millionaire as you got older, but I’m sure you have big goals. But where do you see the future of Cut and Sew, I mean, what’s the endgame for you? Do you kind of want to transition into franchising or, where do you see it going from here?
Sean (1:06:01):
I couldn’t look into the future back in the day. And I mean, I used to be so anti franchise and so anti global and like, you know, because I came with the attitude, like, it’s just me against the world. And all of the guys in my industry didn’t really appreciate what we were doing. So I was like, I’m happy to just do my own thing. But then what motivated me was, I suppose, proving everybody wrong. And the future holds… well an opportunity, came to open in London, New York, and I was like, you know what? I just don’t know if that’s what I want. You know, I think that where it makes money for us as open shops, I think it is in Ireland because, again, not everybody gets the Irish humour. And what seems to work is shops in places that we know and hire and people in places and towns that, you know, the customers or future customers know them. So we’re definitely going to expand this year, which people don’t know. But I’ll say it because I think it’s very relevant. I went to open two new businesses, both which couldn’t go ahead because the covid and has been a step back.
And not everyone tells you about the failures or the non-opens, but they will happen. So next year there’ll be a new shop and we’ll expand on maybe doing the bear or product range. And I think we’ll just kind of water the plants as such, or water what we have going for us will invest more in the staff and the new staff. We’ll always upgrade the shops and I think just work on what we have. Hopefully things like doing podcasts with guys like yourselves and spreading the word of Cut and Sew is important. And that’s my job. You know, people can relate to me because they’re like, I remember going to Sean when he literally couldn’t afford rent the next week or when I was in my Mam’s house in the box room doing three jobs, so I didn’t have to go back to the hairdressing. And I don’t know, people, I think like to see the start.
I get more likes on posting a picture of me than I do of a haircut now, which is funny. So it’s a yeah, I dunno, it’s a bit of a personal story. And I think that’s why we relate to Phil Knight and stuff like that in the shoe dog story. When you think of Nike and you see his story like and he’s selling Nike’s out of the back.
I called it Nike, but I remember now that in the book he says it’s pronounced Nike-eee, just have to get that in, that people don’t realise the struggle he had of all the failed, like sleeping in the office, selling the car, the shoes at the running track out of his boot of his car, having no cash flow. Being a bad businessman to then getting lucky and going over to Tokyo, Japan or somewhere. And the temple is Nike and then getting the deal. And it’s like people don’t really see the struggle. And I’m very transparent with the story of Cut and Sew and it works.
And hopefully in a year’s time, next year will be even better, more financially off and just what we’ve put in comes out and it kind of flourishes and yeah, hopefully I hope everyone does well also you know?. So, anyone who’s listening to this that’s lacking a bit of motivation. Like, you know, it’s I hope it’s some kind of story for one or two listeners that are like God. Jeez, that sounds like humble beginnings, you know, for us. And I hope to see them up in first class having a champagne toasting to success.
Sam (1:09:17):
Well Sean, I think that’s a great closing note. it’s been an absolute pleasure to have you on the show! We really appreciate you taking the time out to talk to us and hopefully when Covid is over myself and Gav can take ya for a pint as a thank you.
Can you share with our audience where they should go to find out more about you and Cut & Sew?
Sean (1:09:34):
So, yeah, I mean, social media is obviously, @cutandsewdublin, My personal one, which you may or may not want to follow, is @itsseanybeebaby. There’s more selfies on there and me dancing around the shops than there is haircuts. But there’s also a lot of free content for our business heads and people that are looking for a bit of inspiration.
So, yeah, that’s where I’m at and thank you so much for having me on lads. It’s an absolute pleasure.
Sam (1:09:58):
No, Sean Pleasure is all ours. And so thank you very much, thanks for listening and we’ll catch you on the next one.
Sean (1:10:03):
Thanks, Guys! | https://medium.com/@thekickstartgarage/sean-bryan-episode-3-dc47daca7788 | [] | 2020-12-14 16:09:56.522000+00:00 | ['Local Business', 'Barbershop', 'Cut And Sew', 'Ireland', 'Brand Strategy'] |
8 Potential Warning Signs of a Rug Pull | 8 Potential Warning Signs of a Rug Pull Immunefi Follow Jul 22 · 4 min read
Rug pulls are by far the most common type of fraud in DeFi, and they evolved out of the exit scam ICO craze.
According to CipherTrace, exit scams and rug pulls accounted for 99% of all DeFi fraud cases in 2020. In fact, based on what we’ve heard from the DeFi users we’ve spoken with, the dreaded rug pull is one of the biggest worries that keeps them up at night, tossing and turning, just wondering if their hard-earned money is going to all vanish in an instant — stolen by malicious developers.
The prospect of losing everything you’ve invested is terrifying, and worse, it happens all the time. That’s why we’re going to talk about how you, the user, can look for certain signs that a project may rugpull its users, because we believe that providing educational resources is important for the DeFi community. Security is the most important bottleneck in DeFi right now, and it’s holding the industry back from scaling effectively.
Now, it’s crucial to emphasize that the below signs are heuristics and shouldn’t be thought of as ironclad absolutes. Some projects may exhibit these signs and still be perfectly legitimate. Even if a project displays a lot of these signs, it may still be legitimate, but at that point, it’s probably worth a much closer look. The more red flags there are, the more you have a right to be cautious and even suspicious. It’s your money on the line, after all. We want to empower you to make good decisions.
But what exactly is a rug pull?
Rug pulls can be divided into hard, soft, and fake.
A hard rug pull is when a developer or set of developers includes a backdoor in the protocol codebase that allows them to easily drain user funds locked up in smart contracts and cash out. Sometimes a single developer goes rogue and takes advantage of a known or unknown backdoor in the protocol. Other times, all the developers are in on it. Sometimes the backdoors are obvious, as are the rug pulls themselves when they’re executed on-chain. Other times, the backdoors are cleverly disguised (just like traditional malware when it infects your computer), and user funds are drained slowly or through unobvious means.
A soft rug pull is when developers simply dump all their tokens and abandon the project, crashing the token price and leaving the project dead in the water. This case is more controversial because there’s technically no direct theft of user funds at all, and developers may be within their rights to dispose of their shares of the tokens as they see fit, if there’s no lock. It’s important to look at developer token distributions and protocol governance to determine what developers are allowed and not allowed to do with their tokens.
A fake rug pull isn’t a rug pull at all. Normal market activity frequently causes major fluctuation in token prices or returns on yield farming, and this leads to users making some big accusations against developers out of disappointment and frustration. But these accusations aren’t based in any reasonable definition of the term “rug pull”, and users should exercise responsibility by using the term with care. It’s not a trivial accusation.
So, what are the signs the protocol you’ve invested in may suffer a rug pull?
A project loudly proclaims that it’s been audited by a reputable firm when it’s either not true, or the audit is still ongoing. In other cases, the audit may exclude large parts of the codebase. This is a definite red flag, because at minimum, it shows blatant disregard for the truth. If a team is willing to lie about getting an audit to persuade users to ape into their protocol with lots of cash, it’s an indication that they may be willing to do other unethical things — such as stealing all your funds There are a lot of centralized functions where the owner can move around any and all tokens A broken website/dead or inactive social media channels. Are the developers active? Do they respond to questions and fix bugs? Do they put effort into the community? APY or APR that is suspiciously high. Sometimes the APY is legitimate. Other times, it’s just a way to lure apes into throwing their money at a protocol that is about to get rugged Token distribution that is incredibly centralized and not locked — -for example, a few wallets of developers and/or whales controlling 45% of the supply. If it’s an ERC-20 token, you can check token distribution on Etherscan by clicking on a token, navigating to the ‘Holders’ tab, and clicking on the ‘Token Holders Chart’ button. Here’s the Token Holders Chart for Uniswap. If it’s a token on Binance Smart Chain, you can check the token distribution on BSCscan Does the project have a reasonable use-case, or is it just a pure fork by amateur developers with some new branding slapped over top? Mass muting or banning users who bring up legitimate concerns with the protocol The community wants a project to get a bug bounty, but the project doesn’t want any distributed, ongoing code review, whatsoever. Why? Because it might just find backdoors
There’s no doubt that there are other good signs out there of a rug pull, and this is not an exhaustive list. Remember, DeFi is a brand new field. While there are plenty of whitehats and good actors in the wild who run services and tweet out when they see suspicious activity, ultimately, the responsibility rests on your shoulders to be proactive and to assess and invest smartly.
There’s no central authority in DeFi, and once that money is gone, it’s usually gone for good, so make sure to keep an eye out for these signs and come to your own conclusions. | https://medium.com/immunefi/8-potential-warning-signs-of-a-rug-pull-ce3471d09535 | [] | 2021-07-22 23:56:57.348000+00:00 | ['Smart Contracts', 'Rugpull', 'Fraud', 'Hacking', 'Blockchain'] |
Releasing Algo Deck an Open Source Collection of Algorithmic Cards | I wanted to let you know that I just released Algo Deck. It is a free & open-source collection of +200 algorithmic cards.
Each card is a synthesized way to describe a concept. For example:
Memoization vs tabulation
Counting sort complexity, stability, use case
K-way merge technique
In total, it contains more than 200 cards in 19 different domains (complexity, techniques, data structures, etc.): https://github.com/teivah/algodeck
In the meantime, I also made available the Anki version of the repository.
If you don’t know Anki, it is a free software (Windows/Mac/Linux/iPhone/Android) which makes remembering things easy. It utilizes spaced repetition which is a proven technique to increase the rate of memorization:
Spaced Repetition: The most powerful study technique
The single biggest change that Anki brings about is that it means memory is no longer a haphazard event, to be left to chance. Rather, it guarantees I will remember something, with minimal effort. That is, Anki makes memory a choice.
Michael A. Nielsen, “Augmenting Long-term Memory”
Thus, using Anki is a great way to prepare your algorithm & data structure interview.
If you are interested in the Anki version of the repository cards, it is available for $14.99: | https://medium.com/solvingalgo/releasing-algo-deck-an-open-source-collection-of-algorithmic-cards-7cff35227e6d | ['Teiva Harsanyi'] | 2020-12-09 19:11:44.820000+00:00 | ['Data Structures', 'Coding Interviews', 'Coding', 'Algorithms', 'Programming'] |
Switchers Are The Future Of Work. Are You Ready To REINVENT Yourself? | Photo by Alex Knight on Unsplash
The first time I got laid off, it hit me like a semi-truck. I’d recently been promoted, was receiving great performance reviews, and saw a long-term future at a company I enjoyed where I’d managed two regional functions and built relationships across multiple offices.
Then, poof! Just like that, I received a call at 5pm on a Tuesday saying my job was gone. It was 2002 and I was working for Arthur Anderson.
I was shocked, terrified and completely lost. My core identity had been ripped away, even though I’d been doing everything right — working long hours, taking initiative to volunteer for extra projects, and even earning a Masters Degree in the evenings (despite my high school guidance counselor hinting my test scores weren’t college worthy). Often, I would return to the office at 10pm after class to prove I was dedicated. To top it off, when this happened, I was in the middle of a divorce and a cross-country relocation, so the timing couldn’t have been worse.
After applying desperately online for months, it seemed inevitable I’d be asking my parents if I could rent my old bedroom. All my professional contacts were in the same position of looking for new employment, and the brand I had once been proud to be associated with was now a bad joke in the marketplace.
One night in passing, I shared my sob story with my neighbor, mentioning the companies where I’d been applying, only to learn that his colleague was married to a Director at one of my top choices. He offered to pass my resume along and within two weeks, I had an interview. After months of online applications resulting in zilch, one brief conversation landed me an opportunity. In that moment, I realized the problem wasn’t that I hadn’t been working hard enough, but rather I was focusing my energy in the wrong places.
https://www.atmosphere-eubrazil.eu/sites/default/files/webform/FUTBOL-Everton-v-Espanola-en-viv.pdf
https://www.atmosphere-eubrazil.eu/sites/default/files/webform/REGARDER-Nimes-Nice-en-direct.pdf
https://www.atmosphere-eubrazil.eu/sites/default/files/webform/REGARDER-Reims-Nantes-en-direct.pdf
https://www.atmosphere-eubrazil.eu/sites/default/files/webform/ITA-Juve-Atalanta-in-tv.pdf
https://www.atmosphere-eubrazil.eu/sites/default/files/webform/FUTBOL-Barca-Real-en-viv-gratis.pdf
https://www.atmosphere-eubrazil.eu/sites/default/files/webform/Ajax-Utrecht-liv-x01.pdf
https://www.atmosphere-eubrazil.eu/sites/default/files/webform/FUTBOL-Amorebieta-v-Logrones-en1.pdf
https://www.atmosphere-eubrazil.eu/sites/default/files/webform/FUTBOL-Baleares-v-Fuenlabrada-en1.pdf
https://www.atmosphere-eubrazil.eu/sites/default/files/webform/FUTBOL-Cardassar-v-Atl-Madrid-en1.pdf
https://www.atmosphere-eubrazil.eu/sites/default/files/webform/FUTBOL-Pitiusas-v-Sabadell-en1.pdf
https://cogimon.eu/sites/default/files/webform/pubs/FUTBOL-Amorebieta-v-Logrones-en1.pdf
https://cogimon.eu/sites/default/files/webform/pubs/FUTBOL-Baleares-v-Fuenlabrada-en1.pdf
https://cogimon.eu/sites/default/files/webform/pubs/FUTBOL-Cardassar-v-Atl-Madrid-en1.pdf
https://cogimon.eu/sites/default/files/webform/pubs/FUTBOL-Pitiusas-v-Sabadell-en1.pdf
https://cogimon.eu/sites/default/files/webform/pubs/Ajax-Utrecht-liv-x01.pdf
https://cogimon.eu/sites/default/files/webform/pubs/FUTBOL-Barca-Real-en-viv-gratis.pdf
https://cogimon.eu/sites/default/files/webform/pubs/ITA-Juve-Atalanta-in-tv.pdf
https://cogimon.eu/sites/default/files/webform/pubs/REGARDER-Nimes-Nice-en-direct.pdf
https://cogimon.eu/sites/default/files/webform/pubs/REGARDER-Reims-Nantes-en-direct.pdf
https://cogimon.eu/sites/default/files/webform/pubs/FUTBOL-Everton-v-Espanola-en-viv.pdf
https://www.atmosphere-eubrazil.eu/sites/default/files/webform/Num-v-Lorc-vo-x8y.pdf
https://www.atmosphere-eubrazil.eu/sites/default/files/webform/Numancia-v-Lorca-vo-da-x8y.pdf
https://www.atmosphere-eubrazil.eu/sites/default/files/webform/Lorca-Numancia-vo-da-xty.pdf
https://www.atmosphere-eubrazil.eu/sites/default/files/webform/Lorca-v-Numa-es-x9r.pdf
https://www.atmosphere-eubrazil.eu/sites/default/files/webform/Cas-v-Fero-vo-da-xty.pdf
https://www.atmosphere-eubrazil.eu/sites/default/files/webform/Castellon-v-Fernando-vo-da-t3y.pdf
https://www.atmosphere-eubrazil.eu/sites/default/files/webform/Castellon-v-Fernando-vo-da-t3y_0.pdf
https://www.atmosphere-eubrazil.eu/sites/default/files/webform/Fernando-v-Castellon-es-fox-t3y.pdf
https://www.xamika.com/ftx/video-AmaZulu-Lamontville-Golden-Arrows-Live01.html
https://www.xamika.com/ftx/video-AmaZulu-Lamontville-Golden-Arrows-Live02.html
https://www.xamika.com/ftx/video-AmaZulu-Lamontville-Golden-Arrows-Live03.html
https://www.xamika.com/ftx/a-v-s-fr1.html
https://www.xamika.com/ftx/a-v-s-fr2.html
https://www.xamika.com/ftx/ut-v-aj-sa91.html
https://www.xamika.com/ftx/ut-v-aj-sa92.html
https://www.xamika.com/ftx/video-ps-v-ut-eridivise-live05.html
https://www.xamika.com/ftx/video-ps-v-ut-eridivise-live06.html
https://www.xamika.com/ftx/G-v-psv-nltv31.html
https://www.xamika.com/ftx/G-v-psv-nltv32.html
https://www.xamika.com/ftx/a-v-vvv-nl-Liv1.html
https://www.xamika.com/ftx/a-v-vvv-nl-Liv2.html
https://www.xamika.com/ftx/j-v-a-hd21.html
https://www.xamika.com/ftx/j-v-a-hd22.html
https://www.xamika.com/ftx/b-v-r-shq51.html
https://www.xamika.com/ftx/b-v-r-shq52.html
https://www.xamika.com/ftx/Benfica-p-lc7.html
https://www.xamika.com/ftx/Benfica-p-lc8.html
https://www.xamika.com/ftx/Por-x-Fer-Ao-Vivo001x1.html
https://www.xamika.com/ftx/Por-x-Fer-Ao-Vivo001x2.html
https://dandyrads.com.au/nce/video-a-v-a3dir1.html
https://dandyrads.com.au/nce/video-a-v-a3dir2.html
https://dandyrads.com.au/nce/video-a-v-a3dir3.html
https://dandyrads.com.au/nce/video-a-v-a3dir4.html
https://www.xamika.com/ftx/video-d-v-q-dir01.html
https://www.xamika.com/ftx/video-d-v-q-dir02.html
https://www.xamika.com/ftx/video-d-v-q-dir03.html
https://www.xamika.com/ftx/video-d-v-q-dir04.html
https://www.xamika.com/ftx/video-qu-spo-bt1.html
https://www.xamika.com/ftx/video-qu-spo-bt2.html
https://www.xamika.com/ftx/video-qu-spo-bt3.html
https://www.xamika.com/ftx/video-qu-spo-bt4.html
https://www.atmosphere-eubrazil.eu/sites/default/files/webform/Graaf-v-PSV-be-tz2y.pdf
https://www.atmosphere-eubrazil.eu/sites/default/files/webform/Graafschap-v-PSV-nl-tz2y.pdf
https://www.atmosphere-eubrazil.eu/sites/default/files/webform/PSV-v-Graafs-liv-nl-x8y.pdf
https://www.atmosphere-eubrazil.eu/sites/default/files/webform/PSV-v-Graafschap-nl-x8y.pdf
https://www.xamika.com/ftx/b-v-s-e-frtv21x1.html
https://www.xamika.com/ftx/b-v-s-e-frtv21x2.html
https://cogimon.eu/sites/default/files/webform/pubs/Graaf-v-PSV-be-tz2y.pdf
https://cogimon.eu/sites/default/files/webform/pubs/PSV-v-Graafschap-nl-x8y.pdf
https://cogimon.eu/sites/default/files/webform/pubs/Numancia-v-Lorca-vo-da-x8y.pdf
https://cogimon.eu/sites/default/files/webform/pubs/Lorca-v-Numa-es-x9r.pdf
https://cogimon.eu/sites/default/files/webform/pubs/Cas-v-Fero-vo-da-xty.pdf
https://cogimon.eu/sites/default/files/webform/pubs/Fern-v-Caste-es-fox-t3y.pdf
https://dandyrads.com.au/pbn/b-v-s-e-frtv21x1.html
https://dandyrads.com.au/pbn/b-v-s-e-frtv21x2.html
https://dandyrads.com.au/pbn/a-v-s-fr1.html
https://dandyrads.com.au/pbn/a-v-s-fr2.html
https://www.mainlinetruck.com/max/b-v-s-e-frtv21x1.html
https://www.mainlinetruck.com/max/b-v-s-e-frtv21x2.html
https://www.mainlinetruck.com/max/a-v-s-fr1.html
https://www.mainlinetruck.com/max/a-v-s-fr2.html
https://cogimon.eu/sites/default/files/webform/pubs/PSV-v-Graafs-liv-nl-x8y.pdf
https://www.atmosphere-eubrazil.eu/sites/default/files/webform/Fiorentina-v-Sassuolo-diretta-soccer-3.pdf
https://www.atmosphere-eubrazil.eu/sites/default/files/webform/Fiorentina-v-Sassuolo-in-tv-vx0.pdf
https://www.atmosphere-eubrazil.eu/sites/default/files/webform/Fiorentina-v-Sassuolo-ita0.pdf
https://www.atmosphere-eubrazil.eu/sites/default/files/webform/Genoa-v-Milan-hdq-calcio2.pdf
https://www.atmosphere-eubrazil.eu/sites/default/files/webform/Milan-v-Genoa-hdq2.pdf
https://www.atmosphere-eubrazil.eu/sites/default/files/webform/Milan-v-Genoa-ita0.pdf
https://www.atmosphere-eubrazil.eu/sites/default/files/webform/Milan-v-Genoa-ita-soccer-4.pdf
https://www.atmosphere-eubrazil.eu/sites/default/files/webform/M-v-G-in-diretta-streaming-.pdf
https://www.atmosphere-eubrazil.eu/sites/default/files/webform/Sassuolo-v-Fiorentina-ita-tv4.pdf
https://www.atmosphere-eubrazil.eu/sites/default/files/webform/S-v-W-t2_0.pdf
https://www.atmosphere-eubrazil.eu/sites/default/files/webform/Cagliari-v-Parma-ita-tv-0x2.pdf
https://www.atmosphere-eubrazil.eu/sites/default/files/webform/Cag-v-Par-it-soccer-2.pdf
https://www.atmosphere-eubrazil.eu/sites/default/files/webform/Inter-v-Napoli-calcio-tv2.pdf
https://www.atmosphere-eubrazil.eu/sites/default/files/webform/Inter-v-Napoli-ita-tv0.pdf
https://www.atmosphere-eubrazil.eu/sites/default/files/webform/Napoli-v-Inter-tv-hdq-0x3.pdf
I’ve been there, and it’s terrifying and overwhelming to realize that even after struggling to climb the ladder, a bad few months can knock you right back to the bottom rung. These are highly unsettling times, and while I wouldn’t wish this hardship on anyone, there is some good news. You will get through it, and you will be stronger for it. In fact, despite how it might feel, you’re not even close to the bottom of the ladder and haven’t lost as much as it might seem. Right now, you’re actually building your resilience, resourcefulness and adaptability, which are key skills for the future of work, and can only, unfortunately, be acquired by enduring tough times.
You may also feel angry and frustrated. I certainly did back in 2002, and eventually I used that anger to fuel my actions to create the career I have today, helping people get unstuck, find satisfying work and feel in control of their careers, regardless of what’s happening in the economy. And I want to share how you can make that happen, because even if this is the first time you’ve found yourself in an unexpected career situation, it certainly won’t be the last.
Even before Covid-19, the professional world was changing rapidly with technology advances, globalization, contract roles, delayed retirement, and a growing misalignment between education and marketable skills. The pandemic has accelerated this, decimating industries, turning office buildings into ghost towns, and catapulting technology into the center of all our lives from Zoom family meetings to contactless payment structures.
Switchers ARE the future of work, and you need to be ready to reinvent, not just now, but likely every few years for the remainder of your professional career. A career switcher is someone who makes an industry change, functional change or both in their career trajectory. And if you haven’t made a major pivot, chances are it’s only a matter of time before you’re forced to, perhaps at the least convenient moment. So why not get ahead of it?
The painful lesson I learned 20 years ago and some may be experiencing today is: stellar skills and hard work aren’t enough. In addition, it’s critical to have a strong network of diverse connections (inside and outside your company) with people who know your brand and are willing to go to bat for you. These three things — 1) marketable skills, 2) a visible brand and 3) a strong network are the foundation I’ve built my career upon, and it’s not only worked for me, but hundreds of others whom I’ve had the privilege to coach.
And it’ll work for you. Switchers are the future of work, so here’s how you can get ready:
Step 1 — Mindset. One of the most important steps in taking control of your career is taking control of that voice in your head. The one that tells you you’re not good enough, things are too unfair, it’s not the best time or it won’t work. Our thoughts create our mindset and to be a successful switcher, you need to be your own biggest cheerleader. If you’re thinking, “I have no idea where to begin” you’re in good company. Many industries and functions are emerging or evolving and we’re all learning at the same time.
I had a client who had worked at one company for 25 years and was convinced he had no option other than to ride out his career there, even though new leadership had created a toxic culture. Making a big change was scary as hell after 25 years, so he used this incorrect and untested belief to accept it. But after working together, developing a list of accomplishments with transferable skills and speaking to his network, he started to see himself differently and his mindset shifted. He landed a great job a few months later and laughs when he remembers how scary it felt to make a move.
It’s okay to feel fear, but take small steps forward regardless. Don’t wait until you know it’s the right step — just take action. Each step forward helps you see things from a new vantage point. So, do you have an untested belief that’s holding you back? Action kills anxiety, so try something new today and see where it leads.
Step 2 — Reinvention. Part of the reason a career switch is so scary is because it requires us to shed — or at least alter — an identity we’ve become attached to. This is no small task and most don’t realize how comfortable we’ve gotten in how we identify with our careers. Changing makes us vulnerable — we’re pursuing something we don’t feel we have expertise in, which can be difficult if you’ve built up a reputation in your field as the “go-to” person.
But reinventing ourselves is something we’re all going to need to get comfortable with as the market continues to morph. Those who grasp tightly to old ways of doing things will be left behind, so now is a great time to start looking at your experience more holistically. Reflect on ALL your roles, education, projects, volunteer positions, certifications and experiences and you’ll see you have many transferable skills. Identify which are most in-demand in today’s marketplace and how you can present yourself as a problem solver for key challenges. Also, this exercise can help to identify skills gaps so you can proactively pursue opportunities to close those gaps.
While two-thirds of Americans believe technology will eventually take over about 50% of current roles, over 80% of those same people believe their roles won’t be impacted. Clearly, there’s a disconnect. We need to face the reality our careers will look different in the not too distant future. No one is going to manage your career as well as you, so make it a habit to focus on reinventing periodically, even (or especially!) in good economic times. You’re more than your title, so don’t sell yourself short.
Step 3 — Brand. Once you begin to look at yourself more holistically, not just as a title or label, but rather as a complex package of experiences, knowledge and abilities, you’ll be able to more clearly understand the value you bring to the market, and especially your target audience, and how your skills can solve their biggest pain points. Your target audience can be found by asking yourself the question, “What problems do I want to solve and who is doing that work?” The key is to brand yourself as the solution to your audience’s problems, in how you introduce yourself, your online content, through your network — visibly be the candidate they’re looking for.
This may mean removing some irrelevant items from your resume, and no longer using titles to identify yourself, but instead introducing yourself with your value. I had a client who was an attorney and wanted to work in HR and the moment she stopped introducing herself as a lawyer who wanted to be in HR, but rather an accomplished corporate professional who helped design policies to protect employees, she started to get interest from hiring managers.
If creating a professional brand is a new concept, get insights from people who know you. Friends can be valuable sources of information regarding strengths and achievements we sometimes fail to give ourselves adequate credit for.
Step 4 — Ambassadors. As you reinvent, it’s your responsibility to help those in your network to see you in a new way, including the value you bring to your target audience. If your contacts understand your brand, they can be ambassadors for you, opening the door to potential opportunities or relaying helpful information during your job search. We know more than 70% are jobs are filled before they’re advertised, and referrals account for 40% of hires even though they’re only 7% of applicants. If your primary strategy is online applications, you’re not only competing with 100% of the applicants for only 30% of available jobs, but you’re missing out on some great roles that may never go public.
One of the easiest ways to network is to start with people you know — those who already trust you and want to see you succeed. They have their own circles of contacts who can likely help if you’re clear and specific in what you need. Don’t underestimate anyone — social media has expanded all our networks and you may be surprised at what emerges.
One time, I mentioned to my brother I was trying to land a speaking gig at a company in NY. Coincidentally, his good friend in Utah, knew the head of the organization, which after a few emails, ended with me giving that talk 6 months later. It’s a little shocking someone in my immediate family had access to contacts I didn’t, but it’s easy to forget we all interact with diverse groups of people every day — at work, online, in the community — everywhere.
Make it easy for your contacts to help by sharing the language they can use to introduce you, having a clear goal and asking for something they are uniquely able to offer. Then, you’ll start seeing results!
The future of work is here. The pandemic opened our eyes to the fact that job security is a myth, even for high achievers. Also, change is not only constant in the marketplace, but now it’s accelerated. Companies are struggling with the same ambiguity and uncertainty that we are as individuals. Our careers are not their priority. But, they need to be our priority.
It’s time to take control of your career before it takes control of you.
Happy hunting!
WRITTEN BY | https://medium.com/@zaraanadarson344sd/switchers-are-the-future-of-work-are-you-ready-to-reinvent-yourself-45df208faace | ['Sonoya Aktae'] | 2020-12-16 16:11:05.357000+00:00 | ['Politics', 'Health', 'Eth', 'Life', 'Coronavirus'] |
Many things are true | This post was originally shared in an email on December 18, 2020. If you would like to receive my next email update, you can sign up here.
As we wind down 2020, I cannot put a bow on this year. I don’t know the five things we should all learn from 2020 because I am still in it and processing the journey.
But I am ending the year thinking a lot about how so many things can be true at the same time. We can have missed out on a lot of learning and be overwhelmed by how much we have learned. We can miss school so much and see more clearly the things we never want our educators and students to experience again. We can celebrate hero educators and see all the things we need to learn to do better. We can acknowledge how much schools have been rising to meet the needs of a hard time and see that many schools are facing very real challenges. It’s a fallacy to debate what feels more true. They’re all true.
In the spirit of false debates, as we look to the work of 2021 I’m watching a split emerge between what I’d call “Team Recovery” and “Team Redesign.”
On one side, I see Team Recovery trying to figure out ways to help schools meet the moment created by interrupted schooling with strategies that can put students back on track. I hear Team Recovery worried about the risks of this interrupted schooling, focused on strategies that can mitigate the “learning loss,” and calling for solutions we can add: more time, more people, more resources, more attention.
On the other side, Team Redesign wants to help schools meet the moment by making long-overdue structural changes and finding new approaches for students who have always been underserved. Team Redesign is calling for different ways of doing business altogether: a different scoreboard, a different orientation to decision-making, a different approach to curriculum and content, a different way of thinking about resources.
Even if both teams are focused on preventing a generation of children from experiencing catastrophic opportunity loss, the conversations can be emotional. Team Recovery can feel like Team Redesign is ignoring the challenge of the moment or underestimating how challenging it is to make systemic overhauls within the current system and climate. At worst, it can feel like Team Redesign is disregarding the effort that went into school as we knew it and the value it held for many students and families. Team Redesign can feel like Team Recovery is ignoring the glaring problems inherent in an old “normal” that was not working for everyone in the first place. At worst, it can feel like Team Recovery is ignoring the pain and harm of the status quo.
As these debates unfold, the truth is, most of the school and system leaders I talk to are on “Team Survive Another Day.” They would love to have the debate but they have to finish contact tracing, process the latest update from their state department or health agency, call back that parent, and sneak in a few minutes observing instruction. They would love nothing more than to nail recovery and change some things forever, as soon as they can breathe for a minute.
If I have one hope for 2021 it is that we do not turn away from each other over false debates. I hope we create enough room in conversations to hear each other and ask, “How can we fundamentally reimagine and take seriously the challenges created by the moment and help leaders now?” If we do, I think we will find the same answers to serve all the needs. There is a lot of common ground across the things we know work, the desires families have for their students, and the motives that bring educators to this line of service.
We can meet both the challenge and the opportunity by giving every student more of what works, in a way that has never been done before.
I have faith in all of us as we look to a new year. It may look different but kids are learning an incredible amount right now. They are learning how to wear a mask to take care of each other; how to persist through difficulty to keep going; how to take care of themselves and their families in challenging times. The COVID-19 generation is being forged in strength and community. These experiences will shape the people and the leaders they become. They are capable of so much and can absolutely tackle the learning to come. We control how we respond and we have so many people in this field who want to get it right. It will require doing hard things to serve every student well, and we can do hard things.
As I said, I am too “in it” to tell you what the five things are, but I do know we learned a lot this year. And we will learn more in the year to come.
Here are the resources I have learned from recently:
Harvard’s PELP framework with a coherent instructional system attending to racial equity | https://medium.com/@ebfreitag/many-things-are-true-464ce0ed0b6 | ['Emily Freitag'] | 2020-12-18 20:26:59.049000+00:00 | ['Distance Learning', 'Covid 19', 'Education', 'Education Reform', 'K 12 Education'] |
Predicting Startup performance using Logistic regression | Here are my jupyter notebooks from scraping to modeling in case you are interested :)
1. Data Acquisition
After researching a few different startup databases, I chose angelist.co for its decently detailed data and its freely accessible nature. Below is an appearance of the site to give you a sense of the data we are dealing with.
Angelist companies page
The above page features a huge amount of startup companies, and for each startup, the following data is presented:
Time joined (Month and year when startup joined angelist database)
Location of startup
The market the startup is in (E-Commerce, Healthcare, B2B, SaaS, etc…)
Employee size (1–10, 11–50, 51–200, etc…)
Current startup stage (Seed, Series A, … , IPO, Acquired)
Total dollars raised
I wrote a web scraper to acquire the above data, randomly sampling 4260 unique startups from Angelist. Below is a snippet of the data I scraped.
Table 1: Scraped data
Evaluation Metric
It bugged me whether to frame this as a regression problem to predict some dollar value or as a classification between “good” and “not good” startups. If it is a classification problem, then we need some measure of good and not good. I was inspired by a study by TechCrunch regarding the fundraising impact of one round on the next.
We see in the below chart, the probability of raising Series A is highest when companies raised 2 to 2.5 million in pre-series A. Therefore a seed-stage company that raised $2M should have a higher chance of survival than one that raised less than $2M. Hence, our seed-stage model will use $2M as a threshold to evaluate which goodness of companies.
Between $0 raised and somewhere in the $2.00-$2.50 million range, each half-million dollar chunk of pre-Series A financing raised resulted in a marginal increase in the likelihood of raising a Series A round, at least for those companies that raised pre-Series A funding between 2003 and 2012. After that $2.5 million mark, there was no marginal benefit to raising more money from Seed, angel and other pre-Series A investors, at least in terms of companies’ chances of raising a B round.
The probability of raising Series B is a lot flatter among different Series A funding. The fundraising amount has less of an impact on advancing to the next stage. Yet, we still see a spike near $12M, so we would follow the same logic previously and use $12M as a threshold to evaluate the goodness of startups.
we find that the rate of Series B fundraising success remains relatively flat with only slight variations from the average. This indicates that, for one reason or another, the amount of money raised prior to Series B doesn’t have a significant impact, most of the time, on a company’s ability to raise a Series B round.
Data postprocessing
After correcting the data types and cleaning repeated rows/special characters, the following processing logic is applied to create a table ready for training.
The raw data columns “location” and “market” are one-hot encoded for machine learning.
“years” is created to represent the number of years since the time joined angelist.
“size_numeric” is created to convert ordinal data to a numeric data (By choosing the midpoint of size ranges).
“raised_2mil” and “raised_12mil” are binary outcome variables we are trying to predict for seed and series A startups respectively.
Filtered stage by “seed” and “series A” and had two datasets ready for modeling.
A screenshot of the seed-stage companies dataframe is included below. All variables except size_numeric and years are binary 1/0 to represent whether that startup meets the location/market criterion. | https://towardsdatascience.com/predicting-startup-performance-using-logistic-regression-582a1e80b2eb | ['Xiaoxiang Ma'] | 2020-08-27 01:16:21.058000+00:00 | ['Logistic Regression', 'Machine Learning', 'Startup', 'Data Science', 'Towards Data Science'] |
7 trends that will impact your e-commerce sales in 2021 — LTVplus | With growth marketing strategies becoming more widely used by e-commerce businesses, in 2021, e-commerce brands will have to put more effort into acquiring new customers as well as retaining the existing ones.
Below are just some of the e-commerce trends that will continue impacting sales in eCommerce in the years ahead — artificial intelligence, mobile apps, big data, and VR.
In this article, we will explore the seven trends that will define the state of e-commerce in 2021 and which you will most likely hear about at all major marketing conferences the following months. You will also receive some tips on how to improve your online store performance to boost sales, regardless of whether you are managing a small e-shop or a big e-commerce brand.
So, ready to make the future happen today? Then let’s get down to details!
1. Augmented reality
Some e-commerce brands have already harnessed the power of augmented reality (AR) and its potential remains promising in 2021 and the years that follow.
What is augmented reality and what are its applications in eCommerce?
In simple words, AR is a technology that brings the virtual into a real-life environment with the use of visual elements, sound, and other sensory stimuli.
As analyzed by the Atlantic’s writer, the pandemic had catalyzed a number of AR projects to emerge, especially in the e-commerce space. As stores had to shut down due to the outbreak of COVID-19, shoppers were forced to buy online more frequently.
When ordering online, the risk of choosing the wrong products is high-you can rarely guess the right product size or even predict whether the model will suit you. With virtual try-ons and AR technology, this is no longer a problem.
For example, Instagram has recently launched their new product feature- Spark AR integration, which helps users try on products promoted on Instagram by brands. While this feature is not available to a wider public, it has been tested on a few bigger brands such as MAC Cosmetics or Ray-Ban. Hopefully, more brands will have a chance to offer the same to their customers on Instagram in the near future.
Thanks to Spark AR, you can try on a new lipstick as in the example below.
For other fashion brands, this technology makes it easy for their followers to try on clothes promoted on this social media channel. Also, people buying furniture online can use Spark AR technology to find out how a new armchair will fit in their apartment alongside the rest of the room’s furniture.
2. Subscription model
Winning new customers is more time-consuming and is becoming increasingly more expensive than retaining the existing ones. That is why a lot of e-commerce brands prefer to integrate a subscription model to complement one-off purchases. This way, they can increase their customer lifetime value and spend less energy and marketing budget on acquiring new business.
There are a few well-known examples of subscription businesses that have revolutionized e-commerce sales. Haven’t you heard of the Dollar Shave Club that sends razor sets as a subscription?
Here are a few more:
Huel — an e-commerce brand selling “nutritionally complete” meals. They offer both one-off purchases and subscriptions.
Fine Taste Club — a surprise box with tasty goodies delivered every month.
KiwiCo — subscription boxes for kids designed to fit the educational needs of children in different age groups.
Singles Swag — a box filled with different beauty products for ladies delivered to you monthly
The subscription model has its own weaknesses — one of them is churn and failed payment recovery. Often, customers churn due to payment issues-this causes e-commerce revenue to slip through the cracks.
(Pro tip: You can check how much revenue your subscription business is losing every month with this calculator.)
An important step in fighting this problem is incorporating solid customer support processes and getting customer support agents to restore failed payments with actionable outreach campaigns.
Check out how we are employing dunning payment strategies for subscription businesses or learn how dunning payments can be prevented with these proven dunning payment templates.
3. Mobile experience
Every year, when some report on marketing trends is issued and the significance of mobile experiences is mentioned as a trend, marketers start making jokes about another year in marketing proclaimed as a year of mobile. It seems that 2021 won’t be any different, as the importance of mobile experiences is going to persist. For e-commerce, in particular, mobile payments will continue to be one of the most prominent trends.
In 2021, the volume of mobile payments will increase to $274,4 billion dollars compared to $154,4 in 2019 (just two years difference!).
While paying with a mobile device is still a predominant trend in the Asian region, other countries are going to speed up the adoption of this new technology.
Apart from mobile payments, visual search will become another big thing even smaller e-commerce businesses should be aware of in 2021.
Let’s see how visual search works and what problem it solves for online shoppers.
Imagine there is a specific model of a sweater you want to buy. You have seen it in a magazine or on some website where the product’s brand was not mentioned. So you are heading to check across online stores to find that one model. After spending hours searching for your new sweater, you would give up, eventually not finding anything similar to the searched item.
The visual search takes this problem away! Just make a picture of an item you want to buy and algorithms will search among thousands of products in an online store to show you the most similar ones in just a few seconds.
For example, Neiman Marcus is offering shoppers a chance to upload a product photo and find similar products in their online store. Quite convenient, isn’t it?
In 2021, e-commerce businesses will try to integrate these and similar technological solutions for e-commerce to meet growing customer expectations towards online shopping. The mobile experience is way beyond just responsive mobile pages. Mobile in 2021 will mean more contextual search and precise product recommendations. So, have you already prepared a plan to boost mobile experiences in your online store?
4. Artificial intelligence
According to Accenture’s report, over 90% of buyers are expecting brands to offer personalized product suggestions tailored to their unique needs and previous buying history.
Offering advanced and targeted personalization at scale is possible only with advanced technology that can handle a big amount of information at once. That is where artificial intelligence can support e-commerce brands in offering better product recommendations.
One of the forms of artificial intelligence, AI predictive model uses data mining to analyze information about previous customer purchases, compare it with other criteria, and predict what customers will eventually want to buy. The idea behind predictive models is rooted in learning from the past in order to predict the future — by literally reading customers’ minds.
By analyzing thousands of previous purchases and customer profiles, predictive models can show the best possible product choices for any customer visiting a store. Moreover, predictive models can “guess” who is more likely to abandon a shopping cart. Brands can use this to provide the right incentives to churning shoppers such as discounts or time-limited offers.
Check out the example of North Face using IBM Watson technology to help customers choose a perfect jacket.
North Face is asking a couple of pre-qualifying questions to understand user preferences and the conditions in which they are going to use the jacket. Then AI compares weather conditions for a user’s location, analyzes previous buying history, and viewed products to finally narrow down the jacket options to just a few. This way, a user can save lots of time scrolling hundreds of available jackets in the North Face’s online store.
5. Dynamic content
Dynamic content is another tool an e-commerce business can use to personalize shoppers’ experiences and offer the products that are best suited to the clients’ needs and preferences.
For example, by collecting the information on customers’ previous interactions with your store, you can adjust the product offering on the main page to make it more relevant. You can also suggest complementary products to the items that a customer has already ordered during their last visit.
There are multiple places where you can apply dynamic content — product descriptions, page widgets on product pages, or even exit popups — with the technology available, literally every part of your store can contain dynamic content.
Most importantly, you can show dynamic content that is varied depending on your user’s score or tag. In this case, a lead who is visiting your store for the first time should see different product suggestions compared to a customer whose cart value amounted to $10,000 during the last month.
Check out this example of how one can adjust a product description based on the information collected about a customer in the past.
6. Content marketing and social media
By writing educational content related to the challenges your product solves, you can attract the right leads with high buyer intent. In 2021, retail brands will continue experimenting with blog content, video marketing, and even quizzes to attract potential buyers to their online stores.
For example, writing blog posts and optimizing them to rank high on Google, has helped Beardbrand become a prominent success story of content marketing in e-commerce.
They create informative content pieces that educate their male audience on grooming and even incorporate quizzes for a higher user engagement in their articles.
Quizzes help Beardbrand to collect initial information about user preferences and characteristics — for example, by asking questions about current hairstyle or a type of preferred grooming products — and to stay in touch with the leads that sign up for a newsletter.
After filling in the quiz and signing up for a newsletter, users can receive emails that relate to their quiz answers — dynamic emails. For example, in a newsletter, e-commerce brands can showcase the products that a user has marked as preferred when answering questions from the quiz as this will increase the chances for a future purchase.
7. Interactive Chatbots
E-commerce businesses have been using chatbots to establish deeper and more personal relations with their customers. Chatbots have offered a way to educate a customer on new offers, reduce time spent on customer service inquiries, and show product options that are better suited to customer preferences.
In 2021 more brands will continue adopting chatbot technology — according to the Outgrow study, 80% of businesses are going to follow suit.
Chatbots will become more human and provide users with more precise answers to online inquiries requiring less engagement from customer support. One can even presume that over time clients won’t distinguish a chatbot from a human-being!
In particular, travel and retail businesses can benefit from bots. Let’s examine an example from the travel industry.
When planning a trip, one is ready to dedicate hours to filtering possible options of accommodation. While the experience of getting ready for a trip and choosing from different options can be exciting for some, there are many travelers who would much rather find their accommodation faster, and hassle-free.
Chatbots can help users save time by suggesting the best accommodation option within seconds.
For example, Snaptravel shows the most suitable offers after searching and selecting among hundreds of possible options to match a defined city, budget, dates, and client preferences.
Apparel brands have already been using chatbots for quite some time starting with some simple-logic chatbots to advanced ones using artificial intelligence.
With more scenarios available to engage with customers, brands are attempting to enrich user profiles with more information — such as user location and budget. This is especially important for retail brands that have physical shops in different cities.
For example, Burberry is using an interactive bot to not only show the collections a visitor would be interested in, but also collect some information on the user’s location to provide personalized offers by city and local currency.
Recap
So, you made it this far? Awesome! In this article, you have learned about the seven crucial trends in e-commerce for 2021 that will impact your sales next year.
Let’s recap them! | https://medium.com/@anja-jeftovic/7-trends-that-will-impact-your-e-commerce-sales-in-2021-ltvplus-d743a76dcdd0 | ['Anja Jeftovic'] | 2020-12-18 17:10:03.166000+00:00 | ['Trends', 'Ecommerce', 'Customer Success', 'Customer Service'] |
From the Darkness | The first time I travelled to the island I made sure to arrive early. I had been warned it would take a long time. From Manhattan, it took over an hour to get to the bus stop at the edge of Queens. And then there was the wait for the Q100 which runs on time just often enough to make you hopeful, but not so often that I bothered to check the schedule. It came when it came.
The first time, I was terrified. Standing on the edge of my life up to that moment, waiting for the bus, I called in all the names of the Divine I could think of: Gracious One, Dear One. Lord. Friend. Protector. Defender. Rock. Jesus, Yeshua. Goddess. Gaia. Kali Ma. I came to the island as a prison chaplain in training. My supervisor is a devout Christian and she was raised to hate some of the faces of the Divine to which I relate most closely, so I am quiet about which names I utter when. (I don’t blame anyone for their upbringing; I used to hate fundamentalist Christians, too.) My supervisor is black and I am white, in a world that created these categories long before either of us was born, and through these categories our lives have been irrevocably shaped. Here, I learn from her. Here, on this island in the middle of a river, at the edge of a continent: Rikers Island, one of America’s most notorious jails.
‘Welcome to hell,’ said one Correction Officer to another as we got off the bus. The two men grimaced at each other. No one denies the darkness of this place. Inmates arrive with battle scars and leave with worse, open gaping wounds from all sorts of illegal things, razors and the like, and from hurtful words, and too little time with people who love them. In his love letter from prison, De Profundis, Oscar Wilde writes, ‘The most terrible thing about it is not that it breaks one’s heart — hearts are made to be broken — but that it turns one’s heart to stone.’ There are a lot of stones on the Island.
I threw out the notion that God was only in the light years ago, long before I came to Seminary. Here, in the City of New York, my formal entry into the study of ministry has been entrenched in the local politics of race and place, the dark underbellies of America, and the colonisation that has never left this country.
I spent a year working as a chaplain on the island. It was among the best, the hardest and the most draining work I’ve ever done. If God can be killed by human cruelty, then He is killed here, too. Killed — and, amazingly, reborn. If God is a force untouchable by human violence, She is here also, a golden thread weaving in between the stones, cold metal bars and flaking paint on the cinderblocks. She shows up in gestures of kindness, compassion — even love.
The Fish on the Asphalt
It would not be entirely accurate to say that the first peoples of America, what many called Turtle Island, had no prisons. Some people were captured and put away in small places. There may be human societies whose members have never bound each other up without permission, but I don’t know of any here. Yet none of them had prisons or jails like the United States does today, at the beginning of the Anthropocene age, when the rising seas are already filling the streets of Miami with water on a regular basis and some days you can see ocean fish swimming silver on top of cracked asphalt.
No nation has a prison system like the United States. The ‘land of the free’ keeps 2.2 million of its people behind bars. Most of these people have never committed a violent crime. By some estimates, half of all inmates have a mental health problem; most are poor and uneducated, and 60% are people of colour. One in ten black men in their thirties are in jail or prison at any given time. As many as 6.1 million Americans are listed as felons, meaning they lost their right to vote. That makes 8.3 million people whose lives are twisted out of shape by the prison system. That’s before you count the children, partners, friends, colleagues, neighbours and communities impacted by the prison system.
Between the fish on the asphalt and the men and women behind bars, there is a sense of a strange force moving in the United States that has no interest in supporting life — and a particular fondness for turning humans into stones by surrounding them with metal, concrete, and fences.
When Your Ancestors Are the Problem
The fences came to Turtle Island with my ancestors, the English, sailing west with their heads full of paradise.
In her great work, Ceremonies of Possession, Patricia Seed traces the rituals by which each of the colonial powers would declare ownership of the lands that they sought to possess, none of which included fair and well-informed conversations with the existing caretakers of the land. The Spanish pierced the ground with their swords and planted the flag — so much testosterone.
The English, however, had a fondness for fences, hedges, and gardens. ‘No one owns land like the English,’ writes Seed. It was the English who interwove the first chapter of the Book of Genesis into their ancient practices of blessing the land during seeding time in the middle ages. It was English landlords (and their priests and vicars, seeing a good profit for the Church coffers) who began ‘fencing in’ the commons in the 1500s, leading to a new kind of poverty as peasants were deprived of the use of forests, fields and fens which they had worked for generations. It was the English who brought with them their burgeoning notion of private property, that land must be improved and progress made by the seemingly simple task of building fences. This is mine. That is yours. Develop it: seek profit.
This is good; this is godly: divide day from night, sea from land, man from animals, man from woman. Be fruitful and multiply. Seek profit.
To define good and evil is to define the shape of a society: what it does, what it does not do, what it punishes. Whom it punishes. Whom, and how, and for what duration of time. Because that’s all we’ve got in this life — time. In our time, the seas are rising, and we should have all hands on deck, but at least 8 million Americans are so crushed by the prison-industrial complex that they can barely take care of themselves, much less join in the work of creating a different society.
Apples & Peaches
‘My grandfather used to make apple butter and my grandmother used to bake fresh apple pies. And we would all make peach jam together. Oh, that peach jam was soooooo good!’
I don’t recall how we got to talking about apples and peaches, but the inmate’s face lit up as she remembered, the brightness of her smile at odds with our grey surroundings. In the day room of her building, the only natural light was dimmed by the grey dust and bird squat on the poorly washed skylights above us. Behind her was her cell door. Fourteen doors of individual cells made a horseshoe around the day room; on the fourth side was the control centre where the officers sit watching. Who knew how long she would stay here? A few weeks — or a few years? Rikers Island is a holding place until you get tried and sentenced. No one should be here for longer than six months. Many of the women I pray with have been here twice as long. If the inmates were fit for society before they came to this dark grey place, they are rarely constituted for it when they leave.
This is not the sweet moist darkness of the earth, the underground home where seeds take root and green shoots grow, where I most gladly find the Divine. In this grey darkness, only anxiety grows: how long will I be here? When will I see my children again? When can I go home? Why am I here? Why does God hate me? What’s wrong with me?
Yet that afternoon, the memory of apples and peaches led our conversation to the woods: how nice it is to take a long walk among trees. Another inmate spoke of her fear of bears. We talked about the smell of the meadows in the springtime and the snow in the winter. These were East Coast women who grew up with snow in the winter, unlike me.
‘In California,’ I said, ‘the summers are brown and the winters are green.’ The women shook their heads. ‘That’s all messed up,’ one of them said. We laughed, remembering a promise of wholeness. (‘Nature,’ Wilde wrote from the depths of prison, ‘will cleanse me in great waters, and with bitter herbs make me whole.’)
When we prayed, we prayed that God would bring down the prison walls and that all of our children would be able to eat apples together. Amidst the dank, we craved to taste clean; to be washed into wholeness.
Window image by Rik Rawlings from Dark Mountain: Issue 12 (SANCTUM)
The Doctrine of Discovery
I had entered Union Theological Seminary, the oldest seminary in New York City, to study eco-theology. I spent as much time as possible with the Centre for Earth Ethics, a newly-formed initiative within Union working on the intersections of indigenous rights, climate justice and faith. That’s how I came to be standing in one of the seminary’s swankier rooms, wood-panelled, with a great view of the green quad, when I discovered that the story about climate change which I had spent most of my life learning and repeating was inaccurate.
I was one of a handful of white women there that day. I spent most of my time making sure the water containers were kept full, the elders cared for and the compost bins clearly marked and used. In a down moment, I struck up a conversation with a young man named Roger Drew who worked with the American Indian Law Alliance, based in the Onondaga nation in upstate New York.
‘What can we do to help you guys?’ I asked.
‘Well,’ he said, ‘what we need is to rescind the Doctrine of Discovery. That’s what we have always asked for the past 500 years, and that is what has been needed.’
By then, I had heard of the Doctrine of Discovery — a series of Papal Bulls, written in the late 1400s, which gave the moral, legal and political authority for the colonisation of Africa and the Americas — but this was hundreds of years before the Industrial Revolution. How did it connect to climate change?
It has taken a long time to remember, to re-member, stitching together pieces of history, bit by bit. Timelines help us tell stories, but some of the best storytellers I know don’t put much weight on linear time.
It starts with the Empire that killed the indigenous dark-skinned man we commonly know as Jesus. It starts with the history I always knew but somehow never knew, growing up as a white child in the shadow of Mt Diablo, the devil’s mountain, where the Indians went for refuge — and for war — when the Spanish came.
In retracing the history, I became obsessed with timelines, because we live in a society that says the order of things matters and yet our society gets the order all wrong. Nevertheless, my non-western teachers talk of time in a different way. They talk of the past as if it is in the present and the future as if it had already happened.
In the world of the Spirits, time is still time, but the past and the present and the future live together differently than they do for us, bound as we are to our bodies, these beating clocks of time and matter, never knowing which beat will be our last.
A Bull Arrives
The year is 1452 and King Alfonso of Portugal is staring at a map. For years now, Uncle Henry has been sending him maps, each one different to the last. Portugal stays the same, but the lands to the south keep shifting. The coastline of west Africa has grown longer than it was in the maps that Alfonso studied as a boy, and more detailed.
Not everyone appreciates Henry the Navigator’s efforts. We should focus on things happening here in Portugal, they mutter, not spend so much of our energy overseas. But Alfonso shares his uncle’s restlessness: the young king rarely says it, but this is part of why he fought the crusades in Morocco against those bloody Saracens who dare to continually ignore the message of Lord Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the World.
With Uncle Henry’s maps come letters, descriptions of the trading ports — ivory, mahogany, the Arab-influenced slave trade — and the king’s mouth twitches into a smile as he reads. Morocco taught him to see opportunities, and not just dangers, in Africa. If Portugal could obtain sole trading rights along that expanding coastline, the possibilities for wealth would be immeasurable.
They call it a Papal Bull on account of the seal attached to the bottom of the parchment. Alfonso knows what it is before he has read it: an answer to the request he sent to Pope Nicholas V. Here are the words he was waiting for:
We grant you by these present documents, with our Apostolic Authority, full and free permission to invade, search out, capture, and subjugate the Saracens and pagans and any other unbelievers and enemies of Christ wherever they may be, as well as their kingdoms, duchies, counties, principalities, and other property … and to reduce their persons into perpetual servitude.
Yes, he can have it. Africa.
He praises the greatness of God who has granted him this opportunity — and wonders just how profitable the slave trade will turn out to be. Surely, now, the keys to the kingdom of wealth, power and the glory of God are his.
Cuffs & Keys
The first time I saw them, I gulped. Row upon row of shiny silver metal, flashing in the jail’s fluorescent light. Most of the time, the officers carried around plastic handcuffs, but these were the metal ones, like in the movies. Right next to the guns. I didn’t grow up around guns. Or handcuffs. My family had no friends who were police. At some point in high school, I had been taken to a museum and seen the old slave handcuffs: great iron things, rusted with age, but still nearly impossible to open once shut. Unless, of course, you had a key.
Keys surrounded me on the island. They clanged against officers’ hips as they wandered down the hall. There were keys as long as my arm. Every officer had a set, and captains had them, and so did chaplains.
And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
My boss would pin the keys to the hem of her skirt: she had to use three-inch pins because the keys were so big. Besides the Muslim sister and a few of the social workers, everyone else wore pants with a belt. But my boss came from a tradition where women wore skirts to church and she wanted to remind the inmates that they could still be women. She wanted them to feel that there was still hope for them to go home and wear whatever they wanted. That the world was beautiful; that their lives could have purpose. For was not the world made, also, for them?
Displacement
Their wrists were bound, first with rope — usually jute — and then, as they got closer to the shore, with the heavy metal cufflinks. A chain linked them together. Many had never seen the ocean before, they came from so deep inside the continent.
Up in the mountains, where the people knew their forests and their streams, the places where their sacred groves were located, the best place to draw water, the coolest place to sit on a hot afternoon, the healing properties of local flowers — there, the slavers came. Whole families were stolen and traded. In one move, their identity was transformed from being tied to a particular place, with its rivers and forests, to being tied to the colour of their skin. Had they even noticed their skin colour before?
The theologian Willie James Jennings has traced the emergence of race, nationality and ethnicity as a substitute for earlier relationships between people and place, during the centuries in which colonialism was nurtured by a Christianity of empire. With the Pope’s reply to Alfonso V, Jennings writes, the royal rulers of Europe were granted ‘the right to reshape the discovered landscapes, their peoples and their places as they wished.’
At the roots of the story of race is the forced separation from place.
Thirty Pounds of Silver
His name is Henry Wolcott. The ship’s name is the Mary and John. The year is 1630. He carries a Bible, some rumpled clothes, a journal and a few other odds and ends across the Atlantic. Unlike the handcuffed human cargo of the slave ships already making the dreaded Middle Passage, Henry and his family walk above the hull of the ship. The Mary and John is one of the first English ships to venture into these waters.
Nearly all of the 140 passengers aboard have been recruited by the Puritan preacher, Reverend John White of Dorchester, Dorset; together they go on to found Dorchester, MA. As if they were not so far from home.
This act of naming their new town after the one that they had come from is more than just a replication of the old world in the ‘New World’, or a desire for the familiar; it is also an expression of the limitedness of their imagination.
These are the things my father’s family never told me:
the names of the people on whose land Henry lived;
that, during their first winter in Connecticut, Indians saved my ancestors from starvation;
that the ‘great’ Henry Wolcott’s son (another Henry) bought the first slave in the state of Connecticut.
His name was Cyrus. At Henry Jr’s death, he was valued at 30 pounds of silver. As yet, I have been unable to establish what happened to Cyrus.
This is what my father’s family never told me because they didn’t think it was worth mentioning: my ancestors built fences around their ‘property’. Why would you mention something as obvious as a fence?
Window image by Rik Rawlings from Dark Mountain: Issue 12 (SANCTUM)
Inside
On Rikers Island, three fences surround the women’s facility. Officers, staff and chaplains like me enter the main gate and go through the security check point. And then there is another gate. And then a third.
Down a long a corridor and past at least two more gates, there is a nursery. Babies are born there. Mothers with infants stay there. It is the most normal place on the island: that is to say, the place that looks least like you are inside a prison. There are cribs, a kitchen, toys, children’s books, teddy bears. My boss, who has no children of her own and loves the women she serves, especially loves coming to the nursery.
We chatted with an inmate as she held her baby son. He was resting, his face soft against the light blue blanket she had wrapped around him. She was explaining a difficulty with some officers on a recent outing to court. The officers didn’t understand what her baby needed and wouldn’t listen to what she said. As if just because she was an inmate, she didn’t know what was best for her child.
‘The thing is,’ she said, ‘all of us who are inside are still inside. It doesn’t matter if you are an officer or an inmate, you are still in jail. They forget that. They act like we are so separate, that we aren’t human.’
The officers and inmates come from the same communities, with the same racial profile, often the same taste in music, sometimes going to the same churches and bars. Given the number of signs warning officers against breaking prison rules, I wouldn’t say one group is always ‘good’ and the other is not. In both groups, there are those who make art, poetry and music. What divides them is that one group has the keys.
Dividing the Land
How did people use land in a culture that knew no fences? The ecological historian William Cronon has compared the ways of the New England settlers to those of the people who were already there. For the indigenous peoples of the north-east coast, the end of winter was a lean time and it was not unusual to go days without food. This was a predictable part of the annual cycle, but the colonists saw the acceptance of hunger as a sign of foolishness; even though, as Cronon points out, ‘Indians died from starvation much less frequently than [did] the early colonists.’
Indigenous settlements rarely lasted more than a decade and were not passed on to future generations. They followed the best foods that their land had to offer, according to the season; a lifestyle that required mobility and prioritized few material possessions. To the eyes of propertied Europeans, these mobile people must have been a reminder of the ‘vagrants’ of the societies they had left behind. Yet the intense social estrangement, inequality, unplanned hunger and homelessness known by those forced off their homelands in Europe was alien to the experience of people whose ethical framework had no concept of dividing the land into property.
The Europeans were outraged by practices such as the controlled burning of woodlands, unable to recognise that this supported the open forests, large game, tall trees and easy hunting which made these new territories so desirable to them. To recognise that the indigenous way of life enabled this environment which the Europeans likened to Paradise would have been to acknowledge the ethical framework on which that way of life was based. And with that, the doctrine of discovery and all that followed from it would begin to unravel.
Creation
Let’s just re-read Genesis as a love poem.
Humans are created, we are told, in the image of God. What do we know of the image of God? We are given no description of hands or face or knees or rib cage. Only that God took earth and moulded it as a potter would, into a vessel. We are creatures of the earth: Adam from Adama. Then God breathes life into us. To be made in the image of such a God is thus to create as you were created; to breath life into another.
We do create: we shape one another, we shape our planet. We do breath life into one another: words, dreams, love.
Before God creates man, there is the orderly sequence of creation: God splits day from night, sky from Earth, land from sea. (Did the Pope think of this when he divided the world in two, giving half to Portugal and half to Spain, on Columbus’s return from the islands off the coast of Mexico?)
On the third day, having divided land from sea, God creates the plants. The storytellers of Genesis go into detail with the plants: they knew their importance. Likewise with the animals. For Mesopotamian myths of the time, this was highly unusual. Most of the region’s creation stories focus on warfare. This one highlights seeds: the source of all life.
‘Seed’ is mentioned four times, yet we focus instead on the word that translates as ‘dominion’, which only gets one mention. (Even the most progressive biblical scholars I know sigh over how to translate that word appropriately in the midst of climate change. It’s ugly, no matter what you do with it.)
But the story does not revolve around ‘dominion’. Genesis is a celebration of life — of a knowledge that lies within. Each creature able to reproduce itself, with its own agency, its own capacity for self-generation. Alive.
To be godly: to enable the regeneration, the reproduction of life itself, of wholeness, of sacredness, of beauty.
And it was good.
The Thin Golden Thread
What surprised me on the island was not the officers joking together, nor the handcuffs and the guns, nor the beauty of some of the inmates, even in their ugly uniforms, the way they held their dignity around themselves: a cloak against the darkness.
What surprised me was the sense of that thin golden thread. I’ve done enough spiritual work to recognise the feeling of the Divine. The thread wove itself along the hallways and through the locker rooms and the cells and the dormitories and the control boxes and the bathrooms. Sometimes, I could almost feel it wrapping itself around an inmate, when she was alone, at night, far from home, not sure if she would ever walk in the woods again. The thread would come and wrap itself around her, gently, like a hundred tiny kisses: you are not alone. Even here, even now.
I knew — or at least I hoped to find — the Presence here. This is why I was here: to meet God in the darkness. Even so: it caught me by surprise.
From Stories to Songs
The story I’d learned about climate change was a white story, a European story: a story about the Industrial Revolution and the burning of fossil fuels, a story of the unintended consequences of the brilliance and ingenuity of white folks. It’s taken years to get back behind that story, to see the patterns made by fences, chains and walls, and the dis-placement that we keep pretending doesn’t matter.
In Africa, the Europeans wanted bodies for their labour. In the Americas, the Europeans wanted land: from the beginning, they forced the people off the land. Reservations began in the 1630s; during the western expansion of the American empire in the 1800s, the forcible displacement of people became official policy. Of course, the people did not want to go. Massacres followed. The Earth opened her mouth and drank the blood of her children.
Seven generations later, the Great Mother pours out the consequences of the separation of people from place, and the misuse of creation for human profit: sea levels rise, thunderstorms don’t drop rain when they should; it is unclear when to plant. Right order is going awry.
My ancestors built prisons: reservations, slave dwellings, barrios, ghettos. The separation of people from place happened long before the Industrial Revolution. It was enacted on the body of black and brown people the world over.
As a chaplain, I do a lot of praying. I pray as I cross the bridge, on the white bus that takes people to the middle of the island in the middle of the river on the edge of a vast continent: hell on earth for too many people. I sit with the inmates and I pray: for families, estranged ones, victims, abusers, abused; for healing; to go home.
And then I go home. I pour Epsom salts in the bath and soak in them. I let the images and the feelings drain into the water. I pray for healing. Not for them. For myself. For the generations of crimes done by people who never thought they were in prison, but who tore other people from place in the name of profit and progress. The prison of the mind is as hard to escape as any set of walls.
Sometimes I sit in the dark and sing. Singing is one of my favourite forms of prayer.
Grandfather
Grandfather I
keep trying to
Reach you –
Stretch back the invisible curtain between our worlds
Asking questions –
What were you thinking?
Did it really seem like a good idea?
How could you possibly be so arrogant?
Grandfather I know I owe my life to you
But I’ve still
got these questions
Rattling like dead bones every time I show my white face to
Mother Earth I want to say
Lo siento
Apologise.
Not that she wants my apology she loves me you love me I am your
Descendant Grandfather
Did you have to take their land
Rename it after Old England
Was it too difficult to learn
Something from these people
About how to care for the land itself
How to live
Without
ownership
fences
endless mindless numbing destroying consuming growth
All of us
Hungry ghosts
Never learning
How to live in Paradise
How to live on an island
To live on the Great Turtle’s back
To become healers not destroyers —
Grandfather I
Am trying to understand you I know you
Were probably good
Whatever that meant
Grandfather I know you
Love me
Grandfather I need
a different way of living
A new politics a new set of relationships
Grandfather please I need a new
Song
A Long Time Before Moses Was Born
‘Thank you,’ an inmate said to me. We had been sitting for a while on cold steel benches, talking, praying together. Outside the window we could see the river that led to the sea.
Her therapist had suggested she see the psychiatrist because she was depressed. She didn’t want drugs. She wanted to go home.
I looked at her a little startled. Why was she thanking me?
‘Well, most people don’t listen,’ she said.
‘I can’t do much,’ I said.
‘I know,’ she replied.
I wanted to touch her hand. She was young — about 23 — and always looked like she wanted to please everyone around her. She was in here for murder. ‘Wrong time, wrong place,’ she said once. We never talked much about her crime, except to say that it all happened so fast, too fast. Why would we focus on that one moment? Life is bigger than any one moment. I am her chaplain, not her judge.
‘I guess the Israelites prayed to God a long time before Moses was born,’ she said.
‘Yeah,’ I said. ‘They sure did.’
Later, in church, she sang. She had never sung before. Her voice was soft at first, perhaps shy. Then it swelled. It rose, and I almost gasped, rising with it, caught up in the current of it — not the words, I don’t even remember the words, just the feeling, soaring, up, like a dove following the golden thread. Another inmate cried: a stone pouring forth water in the desert.
The Greatest Chance We’ve Ever Had
‘Talking to you has got me thinking,’ he said. We were at a friend’s party. It was hot. He was on his second beer. I’d been talking about the relationship between climate change and colonisation.
‘Hmmm,’ I said.
‘Do people ever get depressed talking to you?’
‘Well, I guess sometimes. But this is my take on the whole situation: this is amazing. Climate change is the greatest chance we’ve ever had to form the beloved community. Because now we have to come together. Or else.’
‘Or else. Yeah. Well, my family still can’t handle the phrase “climate change.” But at least you have the right attitude. I don’t know if I could do what you are doing.’
I don’t know either. No one knows if we can do what needs to be done.
Re-membering
‘Creator wants us to take care of one another,’ said one of my elders. He was on his way to a five-day harvest ceremony in the northern part of Maine, and I was walking down the street in New York City. ‘Anything towards that greater good is good.’
‘Creator can’t guarantee our survival, can he?’ I asked. It was a terrifying thought. Not that God didn’t exist, but how limited even the divine hand may be.
‘Today, people are beginning to speak the languages that my father and his father and his father were forced to forget and to not speak,’ he reminded me. Re-member. Re-member the languages. Re-member the parts of the body severed. Land from person. Person from person. All of us from Creator. ‘It is not for us to question the power of the Creator.’
I had met him in Canada, at the Truth and Reconciliation gathering concerning the residential schools. He was one of the keynote speakers. Not only was indigenous land standing in the way of the life-threatening oil pipelines, he said, but this land was supposed to be sovereign.
Could I switch my citizenship to an indigenous nation? No, not really. But we could increase the size of the territories. I loved the subversiveness of the idea. After all that had been done, we could re-member the land.
As our conversation continued, the rest of the participants left the room. There we were, he in his black jeans and button down shirt with his hair spiked and his face tattooed, and me in jeans and t-shirt. Two people born and raised on the North American continent, worried about the changing climate, looking for a solution outside of a society built through creating prisons — prisons on the land, prisons in the mind. We looked back in time and we looked forward in time. Surely, both are present in the present.
‘Where are your people from?’ I asked him.
‘You know where the pilgrims landed?’
I was suddenly nauseous.
‘Yes,’ I replied.
‘That’s where my people are from.’
I didn’t think. Darkness surrounded me. I just acted. I began to kneel in front of him, the way I had seen people do when they meet a great Master. Or when they just need to surrender, utterly and completely. I held his hand.
He looked at me, startled.
‘What the hell are you doing?’ he asked me.
‘I’m sorry,’ I said. ‘Those were my ancestors. I’m sorry.’
‘Stop it,’ he said. ‘Get up.’
I got up, eyes down.
‘Listen,’ he sighed. I looked up. His brown eyes were soft. A small smile gentled his lips. Little dots were tattooed above his upper lip. I wondered what it meant. I wondered how old the tattoo pattern was, and where it came from.
‘Some settlers were good people. Some were not. Most thought they were doing the right thing, the moral thing. And the same is true with my people. There have always been good people on both sides. Some even fell in love, and the love was honest.’ He paused. He put his hand on my shoulder. His touch was both light and heavy.
‘The thing that matters now,’ he said, ‘is that we are here. And we can learn to work together. Now, you stay in touch.’
I nodded. And thus, a new relationship was created — and with it, I myself was re-created. Re-membered into a body of love, not just one of hate. Much less one of amnesia.
Window image by Rik Rawlings from Dark Mountain: Issue 12 (SANCTUM)
He gave me his email. In his mails, he always writes ‘you’ with a capital ‘Y’: ‘You’. The way one would address a Queen. Or the Divine Within. That Presence which is beyond past and future. Beyond borders and differences of race and class and religion. I smile every time I see the small gesture, the continual way of welcoming me to our common home on this continent, gently nudging me to honour our Earth and one another. Sometimes, when we talk, I imagine the ancestors nodding. Yes, they seem to say. Yes: Break down the barriers. Tear down the walls. Sing the ancient-new song. On an island, in the middle of the river, on the edge of a continent that is still wild if you know where to look, at the beginning of the Anthropocene age: let there be healing. The healing of coming home. | https://medium.com/a-school-called-home/from-the-darkness-2f49d60bbfc6 | ['Dougald Hine'] | 2020-06-26 12:26:22.497000+00:00 | ['Dark Mountain', 'Prison', 'Ancestors', 'Race', 'America'] |
Evaluating the design value you bring | All designers are focus on their passion, designing new human experiences, which is great. but I have seen so many of them falling in doing the job they love without taking enough consideration on the business outcome they deliver and the wage they have. So in this article, I want to clarify, why money should not be the last priority for a designer and how to better assess the outcome of your work for bringing negotiation.
First of all, it is always start by understanding and identifying potential underlying needs for making a service that answers user needs. Prioritizing them with the Product Manager and then start to prototype hypotheses that could solve these needs. Afterward, as usual, every designer puts effort into seeing the experience from a user point of view, how it is behaving, how it is communicating, how it is solving the need. But you have forgotten one thing man. Just one thing. Don’t you see it now?
For that, You have to take the other way around and understand what it is the value of this concept and the business outcome you are going to make. Yes, the business outcome! What is the value for your company in solving this need? What is the value for you as a professional in solving this need?
Figure out these questions;
What is the expectation of your company to spend time on this project? Why would they need a designer? What are their objectives in the medium and long term? What is the market of the product you are designing for? What are the competitors (benchmark)? How willing is the end-user to pay for using the great experience you are making? Does your company is in the stocks market? How easy it is to gain money by just having stock? Answering these questions will help you understand the value you bring.
Bringing Procurement knowledge in the design world
My experience in the Procurement field learnt me that as an employee, you are the supplier of the company hiring you for getting your service. To do that, both parties have to follow an employment contract sign initially.
In the procurement world, when business people work “strategically”, it is always important to look at how the collaboration has been with the current suppliers, Did they deliver the quality expected? Did they deliver on time? Are they overpriced based on the market? And to make sure they have always the best suppliers, Procurement teams run new “supplier comparisons” each year to get the best price & quality from them. So they can re-evaluate, and get more powerful for negotiating.
As an employee, you could turn the table around and use the same process by following these tips
Look at the collaboration you had, how have you been delivering on OKR. Is it reaching the objectives set? Do not look at potential “promotion” but instead compare always work responsibility vs wage. The company works for making money and you are your own company delivering your service to your employer. Discuss with colleagues working in the same area or company what their responsibility vs wage is. Be open to get offers from other (2 or 3) companies interested in your skills 1 or 2 months ahead of the planned day for “wage raised”, so you have full control to renegotiate at the best wage by having different offers. When they give you an offer do a round of negotiation with each of them. pick the offer that suits you the best.
To conclude, last but not the least, today, there are tones of jobs opens in the US and Europe especially in the Tech industry. Companies are unfortunately having a harder time catching talents like you. But on the other hand, it is the best time for bringing negotiation to the table with your employers and compare the best bids you could get.
If you found the articles interesting feel free to share it with your fellows. | https://medium.com/@kevin.scotet/5-tips-for-evaluating-the-design-value-you-make-886a738ea193 | ['Kévin Scotet'] | 2021-09-06 10:51:36.473000+00:00 | ['Product Design', 'Design', 'Wages', 'UX', 'Promotion'] |
(in)security | Photo by Ekrulila from Pexels
Strand by strand it circles the drain.
Fragments of former self lost in each lock.
Longing to feel the weight again.
Such security it once held.
Regret emerges from the shadows.
Foolishly taken for granted.
Layers of femininity stripped away.
A battle cry to feel whole again.
Always expecting the worst.
How far I’ve come.
I wonder if it’ll ever stop. | https://medium.com/@knitpurl/in-security-98919075476e | ['Laurie Young'] | 2020-12-22 12:39:50.870000+00:00 | ['Women', 'Hair', 'Hair Loss', 'Loss', 'Insecurity'] |
Woo-Hoo! We Did It! | Woo-Hoo! We Did It!
We accomplished everything we set out to do.
Photo by Allef Vinicius on Unsplash
In the middle of a year of chaos, conflict, and Coronavirus, Middle-Pause has reached and surpassed all her goals. I mean all of them!
Before we talk about that, I think a brief history of the Journey of Middle-Pause is in order.
In November 2019, I had a conversation with Shaunta Grimes about to whom I wanted to write— my audience. She planted a seed and two days later Middle-Pause was born.
I created a mission statement:
To encourage, inspire, and empower women to lead lives of meaning and purpose.
Soon, I realized I needed help editing and publishing. I was a new writer and did not have any editing experience other than my own articles.
I invited Meg Stewart, Marilyn Flower, & Margie Pearl to help me in those capacities. As a result, the publication grew. (We already reached my vision of 500 followers by the end of the year!)
Then, I had a vision of creating a podcast. An offshoot of Middle-Pause. We had a meeting and boom! STOMP! was born. The acronym that Marilyn Flower came up with — Stronger Together on Middle-Pause!
Thanks, sis!
Meanwhile, Margie Pearl floored us with her skills as a Sound Engineer for STOMP! She produced the podcast with music and editing out all the hems and haws. The new podcast is due out on Jan. 1, 2021.
You go, girl!
Our next goal is to publish an anthology of Middle-Pause articles available as an e-book Kindle, Amazon, or who knows. The sky is the limit.
We, also, rebranded ourselves with the help of our technological Queen Meg Stewart.
Marilyn Flower, our Resident Spiller of Wisdom, has prompted us with Writing Prompts and bestowed upon us her elegant, funny, and prolific literary skills. She also co-authors the newsletter with her delightful Thursday Edition.
There you have it. The journey of Middle-Pause. It is all for you.
This pub has created a place for the woman in the middle of her life to read, dream, and discover her purpose. It has grown into a tight-knit community.
I like to think of the Women of Middle-Pause as a Sisterhood. That’s right! You are the sisters I never had.
Well, It’s time to read! Drum roll please…
Wrapping Up the Old, Ringing in the New! — Marilyn Flower
Leaving on a Jet Plane — Alison Acheson
The Reason ‘Exercise More and Eat Less’ Isn’t Working for You — Mary Gallagher
How One Word Can Change Your Life — @Debbie Walker
That’s it for now. See you in the New Year!
Leave any comments, suggestions, or just send us virtual words of love and support (We sure need it!) at [email protected], follow us on https://twitter.com/MiddlePause; https://www.pinterest; STOMP!
Remember, To engage is to empower!
Also, if you are in a crisis of managing work, family, parenting, caregiving, disability, racism, or menopause; check out how I created an oasis of peace in my life.
Until next time…
Peace & Blessings!
Your Superheroes!
From Debbie, Margie, Marilyn, and Meg | https://medium.com/middle-pause/woo-hoo-we-did-it-bfb213b5229 | ['Debbie Walker'] | 2020-12-28 20:25:19.494000+00:00 | ['Life Lessons', 'Women', 'Self', 'Middle Pause', 'Writing'] |
Choices Of Night | In the dark:
They can not see —
The imperfections:
Lit so brightly —
In the light of day…
They know by listening:
By feeling —
In slow & careful touches:
Each one flowing —
From fingers to mind,
Telling stories:
Assembled by emotions:
Those tricky advisors —
Holding facts & fears:
Not always true…
in the darkness:
They can rest & heal;
Dreamers soaring,
Lovers adoring:
Merging into somethings:
Nameless & perfect…
Or they can fear:
Those monsters
. of the blackest fright;
Sins & harms of yesterday,
Regrets:
Stabbing out their sight,
Torturing their peace:
Desperately seeking:
Excuses that permit —
Those actions:
Leaving bruises —
So secret
. in their placement…
What…Fear…wounds:
Making Whole so broken,
Love…can…heal…
Waiting there:
Quiet and eternal,
Knowing that the noise will fall,
As frogs croak,
And crickets sing —
Asking us to breathe:
To walk in thankfulness,
And touch in Grace —
Until we waken:
From the dreamless place,
Where Love can’t go,
And only pain instructs. | https://medium.com/@DrRPalmquist/choices-of-night-e9de4a63deff | ['Richard Palmquist', 'Dvm Gdvchm Cchvm'] | 2020-03-12 03:34:04.914000+00:00 | ['Fear', 'Life Lessons', 'Poetry', 'Love', 'Choices'] |
Maybe just an opinion! | When one is living life of no social value or perception of that sort then maybe it becomes truly hard to survive in this world. Your some friend’s relative might assist you in an event of great adversity but if for once no one really knew you closely and you were to look for some recognition and identity then maybe you end up being horribly depressed and short sighted.
Photo by Noah Silliman on Unsplash
A picture perfect world wherein no one really be troubling you and talk nicely and happily to you maybe an illusion and fantasy like what being taught in childhood but later the same child being taught how cruel the world is and how dejected people could make you feel.
First Impression
It is said that your first impression is your last impression. Maybe it will be true in many cases but maybe this concept leaves no space left for that person for further improvement in terms of mindset and life in general.
I’m just staring at the person being in front of me for him to soon make an eye contact only to believe this is my only chance to make some genuine contact in real world.
Looking at your phone all day long seeing how advanced the world has become and how much people have achieved either in terms of wealth or prestige. Each person is just trying to nail their first impression a million times to the world to the people.
Well how much mental calculations and life will that be sucking out of you. For me it just took both my breath and body away from me and left me all desolate and disheartened.
Just two eyes for the rest but your whole world for you….
Photo by Arteum.ro on Unsplash
Just for a moment close both your eyes and try seeing the people that are around you. Can you see them? Can they see you back?
If you couldn’t even be seeing them will that idea of first impression would even arise in you?
Those wide eyes and people making eye contact with me used to scare the shit out of me. I was way too worried about my own image in front of others. But when seeing yourself as an distinct alien creature just like you have one inner eye to see everything within you.What else will people around you believe or make out of you maybe that which you think about yourself.
What you see around you is what you believe, Else try closing down your eyes and believe!
Every incident every fraction of a second is played through in mind a million times not realising how much you’ve been thinking about someone who doesn’t really matter much in your life.
Just realising that every other person being behind or in front of you is just living in their own self created world whether they think it makes them special or important to people that form their life.
But what I am looking for is total oneness and inclusion not just limited to people around me but just everything that has ever formed the life and circumstances that we are dealing right now.
Somewhere I do feel lost and think of more value and importance being given to me but I know in search of truth and understanding all these things about prestige and value doesn’t matter much unless there is someone sitting next to you whom you could talk to about the worthy possessions have you’ve spent the lifetime working day and night for.
The beginning
Photo by Kuanish Reymbaev on Unsplash
Seeing children going to school with their bags and water bottle has some refreshing feeling about it. Everyday is filled with something new, some new activity and hell lot of fun.
Not much to think about neither not much to worry about. At those times the idea of social value and prestige and acceptance were not much applicable for us as we just knew how to stay happy and laugh wholeheartedly.
But now the present looks foggy while the past appears totally vibrant and alive. Its fun to talk about past to go through the difficult phase of today. In terms of utility and function we may seem evolved and enhanced to others but where’s the happiness that a child is always adored for.
Haven’t we totally cut down our happiness and joy many folds down starting from childhood to adolescence and till adulthood. Don’t know about others but I have totally loosen it at one point that school became synonymous to hell for me.
Aiming and slicing down
Photo by Zdeněk Macháček on Unsplash
It gets just easy to become a prey to people living around. If you appear as childish and genuine then just like an eagle many people would try attacking you and making its prey. They will slice you and use you for their benefit either to feed the stomach or extracting happiness and joy out of you.
The animal instincts haven’t gone out of us yet and we try attacking and insulting whomever we think as weak and childish. Not all maybe like that but that’s how I just feel like.
So no one could really be their true self as the world and people are demanding someone clever and strong that suits their own perception about the ideal figure.
The Mirror
Photo by Joeyy Lee on Unsplash
I’ve been splited down into a million pieces that every single piece has its own completely different story to narrate.
Some moments are filled with joy, some sadness while others with pure togetherness and happiness.
But having a split in yourself may create undue pressure on mind such that it may completely disconnect from reality.
Bit by bit you try to arrange every little piece hoping that you will just fix the mirror and create a perfect image of yourself as seen through the eyes of yours.
It may bleed, it may cause some pain picking together the pieces as the pieces of mirror are sharp and smaller.
But for you your mirror is your perfect compainion because it shows you your whole life behind you and infront of you. A plain and clean mirror perfectly captures your face and such like our personna should be.
If we are just like mirror that what we perceive is what we deliver to the world then maybe life would be like cutting a piece of cake. Not living by standards or ideologies but just doing what the circumstances and your personna are matching with.
Still there’s a lot of learn and lot to think about but having set your own perception about the world to its maximum visibility may lead you towards the light and obliterate you from darkness. | https://medium.com/@mayankjindal0108/maybe-just-an-opinion-9bb37c1f62e7 | ['Mayank Jindal'] | 2021-09-16 13:52:01.650000+00:00 | ['Isolation', 'Opinions Expressed', 'Social State'] |
Until The Last Tear Falls | Until The Last Tear Falls
Fiction
Photo by Aliyah Jamous on Unsplash
I sat on the porch, waiting for the sun to come up. Despair crept it’s ugly head in my mind again as I sat in his chair. A single tear formed in my eye, for a few moments everything was blurry before it fell slowly down my cheek.
It had been three weeks since I had seen his face or kissed his lips. Oh, how I longed to feel his touch, caressing my back. His dark hair tickling my cheek as he would rest his head on my shoulder. The smell of his cologne still lingered in the house. Perhaps that is why I enjoy sitting outside.
My heart swells when I think of him, his not so funny jokes, his knack for making dinner and his pension for actively listening, even when I thought he was asleep. I miss the days of having someone to talk to, someone who loved me in every way a person could love someone.
No one comes around anymore, no stops by to say hi, except the mailman when he delivers the mail. They are afraid of me, afraid of my crying, afraid of seeing me the way I am. Black and gray. That’s what I am, the color left my body the day the I heard his call on the scanner and later when the fire chief knocked on my door.
I knew he was coming. I heard it on the scanner, one of the necessary items when you are married to a firefighter. Not a day went by where the scanner wasn’t telling us our neighbor’s business. I heard the call go out before he did, he was taking a nap on that lazy Sunday afternoon.
His head turned to face me, we both knew he would be going out to fight this kitchen fire four blocks over. He kissed me gently on my lips as he usually did. I said “I love you.”, he replied “I love you more.” before heading out the door to help someone else.
I didn’t know I would never see him again. I wish I had stopped him from going. But how could I have done that, fighting fires was his passion. This is what I accepted when I fell in love with him.
My heart fell out of my chest when I heard the mayday call come over the scanner. I recognized the voice, I had always loved hearing him on the radio. Being a lieutenant meant he was always talking on the radio. I heard the tone echoing through the speaker, shaky almost crying voice.
I held my stomach as I listened, yelling into the scanner for him to let me know he was alright. But there was only silence. I never heard his voice again. Only the voices of others trying to get to him.
Standing in my living room, I paused. The crying hadn’t started yet. The belief that he would be alright tried to coax my mind to calm down. I don’t remember how long I stood there, staring at the scanner, trying to stay still so I wouldn’t miss his voice.
The phone rang, startling me from my thoughts. My friend was calling but I couldn’t muster up the courage to answer. I wandered around the house, trying to find something to keep occupied. Then I heard the knock.
It had only been an hour since I had heard his voice on the scanner. As I walked into the living room, I saw the red car out front. The Chief was here. Slowly I opened the door, wanting so much for it to be him on the other side, but it wasn’t. He didn’t even have to say anything to me. He just looked at me with those sad eyes. I knew instantly my worst fear had happened.
The first few days were a blur. People coming and going, flowers being sent, cards arrived in the mail like it was Christmas. I shut my phone off numerous times to avoid the phone calls. I sat there numbly while everyone stood around me, hugging me, telling me how sorry they were.
I had lost a piece of myself that day. The one that lets me shine like the sun. Now the sun doesn’t even brighten my eyes. It just sits there tempting me to smile. But I can’t. The muscles in my face won’t move except to cry.
Little by little, people stopped coming to visit. They stopped asking how I was doing. Life simply went on without him. But I was still finding it hard. How do you live without your best friend? The darkness engulfs like a plague. There is no cure, no vaccine, you just have to suffer with it until it is gone. Whenever that may be.
The scanner hasn’t been turned on since that day. It collects dust in the corner. His truck sits parked in his spot, untouched since he left. His clothes are still in the hamper, I can’t bring myself to wash his smell away. I left his toothbrush in the holder, his sneakers in the living room.
The bed hasn’t been slept in since that morning. The couch is my friend. Someday I will be ready to clean everything up, until then I will sit here in his chair watching the sun come, hoping beyond hope that he will miraculously appear in front of me. I will be here until the last tear falls. | https://medium.com/the-writers-bookcase/until-the-last-tear-falls-b90bd500fe32 | ['Tammi Brownlee'] | 2019-11-19 16:52:47.494000+00:00 | ['Grief', 'Death', 'Short Story', 'Fiction', 'Life'] |
Michelle and John’s Buck Hotel Wedding Photos | Michelle and John were able to celebrate their special day on April 17th, 2021 in Philadelphia, PA, please enjoy their Buck Hotel Wedding Photos!
The day started off with Michelle getting ready with loved ones around as they were all excited to see her marry the love of her life. While getting ready with her bridesmaids and family, Michelle started getting emotional while putting on her dream wedding dress. The room was filled with happiness as the ceremony was going to begin.
While each one of Michelle and John’s friends and family walked down the aisle, John was able to see Michelle in her incredible wedding dress, John started to get overwhelmed with emotion seeing her and realizing he is about to marry the most amazing woman.
The ceremony continued at the St. Anselm Church as the couple exchanged rings, they were able to walk down the aisle as newlyweds.
The couple was ready to celebrate after the Buck Hotel Wedding Photos were taken all over the property. The groomsmen and bridal party were just so overwhelmed with love for this new couple as they finished pictures and the cocktail hour and reception started.
The word “Love” in purple lettering filled the room as everyone there was remembering why they were there because it was “#aboutdamntime,” for Michelle and John to finally get married.
Everyone entered the reception with so much energy and happiness especially to be able to see Michelle and John share their first dance. Then all the guests were able to dance the night away. They finished the night eating cake and having the signature cake fight between husband and wife.
We were so happy to capture the Buck Hotel Wedding Photos for this wonderful couple. We wish Michelle and John a life filled with happiness and love!!
Check us out here for photos: https://www.enchantedcelebrations.com/eventcards/michelle-and-johns-buck-hotel-wedding-photos/ | https://medium.com/@sales-87152/michelle-and-johns-buck-hotel-wedding-photos-492c8496411 | ["Don'A Smith"] | 2021-06-08 13:31:29.163000+00:00 | ['Weddings', 'Nj Wedding Photographer', 'Nj Wedding'] |
5 Steps for Empaths to Take an Emotional Break | Do you feel like your taking on too much of other people's emotions? Do you ever just want to lock yourself away in your house because you can’t get away from other people’s problems?
As Empaths we naturally attract people into our lives that need help, and most of us like to help them. However, in doing that, we take on others' problems, worries, and emotions. In Fact, we take them on so well that we sometimes don’t know what is ours, and what is theirs. We also at times become resentful because we spend more time helping others than we help ourselves.
Two things are for sure. Empaths attract broken people and energy vampires naturally because we are here to help them. But what we forget, who helps us? We cannot help others if we cannot help ourselves. We need to take breaks and reset sometimes, and we should not feel bad for doing it.
I have a few steps that will assist you in taking an easy healthy break, so you can power up and be in tip-top shape. Furthermore, you may even find some of my techniques could help you in the long run. Once you start, you may find that you won’t want to stop.
Step 1: Get yourself some Black Onyx
You can get Black Onyx in jewelry, or you can carry the stone with you at all times. This stone helps protect you from negative energy, helps you deal with intense emotions, and is also known for giving stamina. I have attached a link above for you to see all the benefits this stone can do for you. Once you receive your stone, you need to cleanse it in salt water for 6 hours before you wear it, or use it. You will feel the difference immediately. You will no longer feel other people's negative emotions, and you will only feel yours. I warn you that it can be intense to deal with your emotions at first because most of us have left ours alone for so long. However, it is worth it in the end. You may even want to look into Amathist and Tigers Eye as well, they protect you from those energy Vampires that love to attach themselves to us Empaths.
Step 2: Saltwater baths
Not only do saltwater baths promote self-care, but they also help our bodies heal. Scientifically, saltwater baths help us remove stress and help heal our muscles. Not only that, it is said that saltwater cleanses the body. It will cleanse your body of not only your own emotions waiting to come to the surface, but it will cleanse your body of other people’s emotions clinging to your body, mind, and spirit.
Step 3: Expel your thoughts and emotions through creativity
Regardless of if it is writing, painting, drawing, dancing, or music, you will find a healthy outlet to expel your thoughts and emotions. It not only eases your mind to get those feelings out of your head, but it helps you sort through them to see what you want to keep and what you don't want to keep. Who knows, you may find a hidden talent you didn't know you had.
Step 4: Meditate
It does not matter how you choose to meditate. There are plenty of types of ways you can meditate, and I have attached a link for you to look at the top 9 ways to meditate. Regardless, it helps clear your mind and helps you focus on what you need to do for yourself. Remember, you can only help others if you are intact yourself.
Step 5: Get out into nature and connect with the elements
This can be easier said than done sometimes, but it can give you many benefits. Even if, you put on a nature soundtrack and close your eyes will do wonders for your internal spirit. Personally, I like to get out and just go for a walk to clear my mind. Sometimes that is all you need. If you're at home, you can light a candle and mentally throw your negative thoughts into the flames. Some people swear by that. Personally, I gave the candle technique a try, and it worked for me.
Take care till next time! With lots of love — Liz | https://medium.com/@elizabethelse/5-easy-steps-for-empaths-to-take-a-break-6c46350915b8 | ['Elizabeth Else'] | 2021-03-04 22:01:56.184000+00:00 | ['5 Step', 'Self Care And Self Love', 'Healing', 'Empath', 'Take A Break'] |
Filling the Void | Filling the Void
By Casey Richards
The summer before entering freshman year of high school brings about a wide array of uncertainties for 14-year-olds like Devin Monner.
New school. New friends. New activities.
The summer of 2020 featured even more ambiguities thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on the classroom and extracurricular endeavors.
Fortunately, Monner and thousands of other Chicago District youth could turn to one constant — $5 or less rounds of golf with their Youth on Course membership.
Founded in 2006 by the Northern California Golf Association, Youth on Course has since expanded to 37 states, including Illinois, where the program is administered by the CDGA and CDGA Foundation. Individuals ages 6–18 can join Youth on Course and secure access to rounds of golf for $5 or less at nearly 60 participating facilities in the Chicago District. Monner, a native of Oak Forest and a Youth on Course member since it came to the Chicago District in 2017, utilized this benefit even more in 2020.
“I did play a lot more golf this year, especially because it was one of the only things we could do,” Monner said. “I played a lot more golf. My love for the game just grows the more I play.”
Monner is not alone in his burgeoning passion for golf. The number of Youth on Course members locally grew from about 2,800 in 2019 to nearly 4,500 in 2020. After totaling just over 12,000 rounds last year, 2020 Youth on Course members notched about 14,800 this season. The CDGA Foundation reimburses participating facilities like Fox Bend Golf Course, where Ben Nachtwey serves as the PGA Director of Golf, the difference between the Youth on Course rate and their regular junior rate.
“Youth on Course definitely has provided a positive outlet for kids not being cooped up inside all day,” Nachtwey said regarding how the program played a role during this unique summer. “The program gave them a chance to either pick up the game if they are new to it or gave them an opportunity to get out and do something if they’re not able to participate in other extra curriculars.”
Monner used his increased play to fine-tune his game in advance of trying out for and eventually making the golf team at Victor J. Andrew High School in Tinley Park. The budget-friendly nature of the program allowed Devin’s father, Tim, the ability to easily fund his son’s hard work and dedication to improving his craft.
“Golf is not exactly a cheap sport for your kids to play,” said Tim. “A really strong benefit of the program is that it’s really a cost-effective way to get these kids out and experience the game.”
Monner and Youth on Course are representative of golf’s 2020 surge. However, the lingering question remains — how much of this will carry over into 2021 and beyond? Nachtwey views the ability for Youth on Course to continually provide affordable access as a key to shepherding the game’s success.
“These are the future golfers that we’re going to be hosting as our guest somewhere down the line,” Nachtwey said.
If those future guests retain the same level of affinity for the game as Devin Monner, golf is in good hands moving forward.
“I love it,” Monner said of golf. “It’s one of the best things to do with your friends.” ●
The CDGA Foundation utilizes the game of golf to enhance the lives of individuals with special needs, veterans and youth. To keep our participants on the course by making a tax-deductible donation, visit CDGAFoundation.org.
Rays of Sunshine Still Peek Through
While the coronavirus caused a significant reduction in the number of Sunshine Through Golf Camps the CDGA Foundation was able to conduct in 2020, the special needs individuals who were able to participate greatly enjoyed the experience. Camps resumed in June under a series of safety guidelines.
“Being able to participate in this program allowed our athletes to reunite, even from a distance, with some of their friends that they have been missing terribly,” said Kelly Brunning, Senior Operations Manager of Maine-Niles Association of Special Recreation.
The program is a collaboration between the CDGA Foundation, CDGA member clubs, golf professionals and special recreation associations. The entities team to provide golf opportunities and instruction for the special needs participants.
“I’m very thankful for all of their help in learning new techniques to help improve my game,” said Kathy, a Sunshine Through Golf Camp participant.
In total, 68 individuals with special needs participated in 12 camps held throughout the Chicago District. In a regular year, the Foundation conducts more than 90 camps for upwards of 1,200 individuals.
Veterans Programming Provides Serenity
The CDGA Foundation’s programming for veterans and active military also was significantly altered by the coronavirus. Still, nearly 300 individuals participated in a modified schedule of golf clinics conducted by CDGA Foundation service provider RevelationGolf.
“There’s something about the game of golf — it gives peace of mind when I’m out here,” said Rosalio Aguirre, an Army veteran who participates in clinics at Veterans Memorial Golf Course. “My mind could be going 100 miles per hour when I’m back on base, but when I’m here, it’s peaceful. Peace of mind — I love it.”
The CDGA Foundation also continued administration of its scholarship program, which provides awards to disabled veterans or dependents of deceased or disabled veterans living or hospitalized in the Chicago District. All Blind Veterans Golf Outings, conducted in conjunction with the Hines VA Hospital’s Central Blind Rehabilitation Center (CBRC), were canceled. | https://medium.com/@CDGAGolf/filling-the-void-5216b653095d | [] | 2020-12-09 16:58:00.021000+00:00 | ['Veterans', 'Golf', 'Youth', 'Chicago', 'Cdga'] |
REMIIT IEO | Remiit is a decentralized remittance and payment platform that aims to act as a catalyst of globalization through the blockchain.
Follow | https://medium.com/remiit/remiit-ieo-ea172ff5ffd0 | ['Team Remiit'] | 2018-11-21 06:21:36.575000+00:00 | ['Exchange', 'Ieo', 'Remiit', 'Blockchain', 'Cryptocurrency'] |
Data Reality | The reporters and designers at the Washington Post created this interactive article visualizing the incidents and victims of mass shootings. Instead of plain text and numbers, here we see silhouettes of humans. It feels a lot more emotional than the spreadsheet above, as those victims become more tangible to readers. This way of visualizing each item of the dataset with an individual visual mark, instead of aggregation or representation, is called Unit Visualization. It is intuitive and concrete; when the visual marks are humanoid, it becomes personal and emotional.
“But it still seems so abstract and distant,” you may think. Even though we can see individuals on the website, but they are still only on the screen, flat and still. Unit visualization in installation arts may provide the most emotional interpretation of this data :
“Mazamet Ville Morte” by Michel Tauriac
In Mazamet Ville Morte, artist Michel Tauriac asked the entire population of Mazamet, France, to lie on the pavement, evoking the total number of French motor vehicle deaths in 1972. By utilizing a similar technique as unit visualization, its emotional and informational engagement surpasses any visualization we see on screens and paper.
Could we bridge the gap between installation art and data visualization? Researchers at University of Calgary might have the answer. They have invented a new implementation of unit visualization with the help of VR technology called Immersive Unit Visualization, as described in “3-D unit visualization created for exploration in an immersive environment”. With help from VR, scientists visualize the same database of mass shooting victims in an engaging 3-D experience.
(Images from original research paper)
The VR experience generates one 3D model for each of the victims in the database. And to avoid uncomfortable uncanny valley effects, the models are gray low poly figures. Users can navigate the experience with intuitive pinch to zoom gestures. There are a couple of advantages of this visualization.
Easy scale transition and navigation
The VR visualization allows users to quickly change the scale and switch perspectives when they view it. Viewers can easily jump between a bird-eye view or a close-up to the person. Also, they can teleport to any other location instantly. None of these can be achieved in art installations.
Immersive exploration
With VR technology, immersive data visualization can emulate the experience of exploring physical unit visualization or installation art. Viewers can build a strong understanding by leveraging their spatial memory and spatial reasoning just as they would in the physical world. What’s more, it does not require the same large space and investment as installation art does.
Emotional connection
Anthropomorphism is the process of imposing human characteristics on non-human entities. It makes non-human objects tend to “be associated with emotional and empathetic responses”. The visualization of mass shootings from The Washington Post anthropomorphized the data marks. But researchers in the field of data visualization are divided on whether 2-D anthropomorphic charts have an impact on viewers’ level of empathy.
However, in the immersive data visualization, characters can just be just as life-like in real life. Viewers can ask questions or touch them directly, and they will interact as if the VR characters are real. This means the viewer can build a strong emotional connection with the data, better than the humanoid 2-D silhouette figures. | https://medium.com/visumd/data-reality-e5cf1b60cdce | [] | 2020-12-23 05:38:41.133000+00:00 | ['Mass Shootings', 'Gun Violence', 'Data Visualization', 'Virtual Reality', 'VR'] |
4 Steps To Generate A Big Marketing Idea. | 4 Steps To Generate A Big Marketing Idea.
Come up with Big Ideas Faster Than Anyone Else.
It will happen.
There will come a moment in your copywriting career when a client hires you to write a winning campaign sales letter.
As a perpetual student of copywriting, you know that the backbone of all winning multi-million sales letters is a Big Marketing Idea.
But when that happens, you have to go from learning to doing…and that means its your turn to come up with a Big Idea.
However, for most newbie writers, they feel coming up with a Big Idea is something that is “out of their league” like the hot girl in high school.
But I’m here to tell you to put those feelings aside. Because, you can train yourself to come up with Big Ideas.
I’ll tell you in a moment all about the process of coming up with a Big Marketing Idea.
But first…
A Bit About Ideas and Creativity.
Ideas and creativity are two separate concepts that are closely related most people mistake having an idea for creativity.
This is not the case.
The process of coming up with an idea is creativity.
So, an idea is like the result, and creativity is the formula or the process for coming up with that result.
Basically, ideas, that is the idea generating process…the creativity element of it is just having a plethora of raw materials in your brain.
Stated in a different way…Idea generation is fueled by the consumption of raw materials, not creativity.
Creativity is the process.
So, it’s safe to say…
• There are no unique ideas
• There are no original thoughts.
Because everything that you think…all your creativity, are all just an amalgamation of...
• The experiences you’ve had
• The things you’ve read
• The things that you’ve seen
So, if you want to create that new experience, you have to feed in a lot more raw materials into your brain…then;
• You can create new connections
• You can draw lines to things that seem unrelated and
• Create a new line of experience for someone else…
Legendary copywriter David Oglivy had this to say about Big Ideas …
“You will never win fame and fortune unless you invent Big Idea. It takes a Big Idea to attract the attention of consumers and get them to buy your product. Unless your advertising contains a Big Idea, it will pass like a ship in the night.”
Take for example: These books on saving money and investing…
“Rich Dad Poor Dad” and “101 Ways to Find The Money to Save And Invest”
One is an international bestseller and the other? Well, I don’t even know how many sales the other book made.
But…
What’s the difference between both books?
Really, there is no difference.
Both books are about saving money and investing.
The difference is not in the content.
The difference is not in the essence of the material.
The difference is not the idea behind how the content is being presented.
Robert Kiyosaki took an ordinary and common idea about saving money and investing and wrapped it around something new, unique and different.
That is the power of a big marketing idea.
Which is why…
Mark Ford, the Genius behind Agora’s $2Billion a year success story had this to say about Big Ideas…
“We recognized early on, when it comes to marketing, we’re really in the idea business. We’re in the business of developing interesting, arresting, and captivating ideas.”
The Technique for Getting Big Ideas.
The production of Big Ideas has a definite process.
And as such, it follows an operative technique, but the good news is that this technique can be learned and controlled.
In a minute, I’ll reveal this technique to you and how you can master it…
But first, I need you to understand two things about this valuable technique.
This is critical. So please, pay close attention.
While I’m willing to reveal this technique to you, there are two things you need to know:
First, the formula is so simple to state that few who hear it really believe in it.
Second, while simple to state, this formula requires the hardest kind of intellectual brain work to follow, so that not all who accept it will use it.
Which is why…
In learning any art, the most important things to learn are, first, Principles, and second Method.
This is the same for the art of producing Big Ideas.
So, the most valuable piece of information with the art of producing big ideas is not where to look for big ideas.
No.
But how to train the mind in the method by which big ideas are produced; and how to grasp the principles which are the source of all Big Ideas.
With regard the principles which underlie the production of Big ideas, two things are important.
First, an idea is nothing more or less than a new combination of old elements…
…and second, the principle involved is the capacity of the mind to bring old elements into new combination, and this depends largely on the minds ability to see relationships between facts.
The production of big ideas follows a method which is just as definite as the method by which, say, ford cars are produced.
So, when you pick up a multi-winning sales letter with a Big Idea, this technique is followed, consciously or unconsciously.
And the good thing about this technique is that, it can consciously be cultivated and thus the ability of your mind to produce ideas thereby increased.
In fact…
This Technique Follows 4 Simple Steps and All Four Steps Are Closely Related.
If you want to produce big marketing ideas, you must follow these steps in their definite order as there is no possibility of one of them being taken before the preceding one is completed.
So, let me cut to the chase.
Step 1:
The first step is for the mind to gather raw materials.
This is easier said than done and as such is a terrible chore that we constantly try to dodge.
Instead of spending quality time gathering raw materials for the mind…we rather sit around trying to get the mind to take the fourth step in the idea-producing step.
This is futile…well unless you’re Leonardo Da Vinci (who was a brilliant Nerd that read and consumed a lot of raw materials too.)
Well, you get my drift.
The materials you must gather ideally should be of two types…Specific and General materials.
But What Are These Specific Materials?
Specific materials in advertising are those relating to the product and your target audience.
This of course is not easily obtained, and as such most people stop too soon in the process of getting it.
They assume that if the surface difference is not striking enough, there are no differences.
But if they’re willing to dig deeply enough or far enough, they will always find that between every product and its consumers, there is an individuality of relationship which may lead to an idea.
Famous copywriter David Oglivy said “collect 17 times more information than you need”
Of equal importance with Specific knowledge is General knowledge (more like our experiences in life)
So, what this tells us is that an idea is a result from a new combination of Specific knowledge (about the product and your target audience) with General knowledge (about life events and our experiences in life.)
Stated in a different way…
The more experiences of the world we have stored away in that pattern-making machine, the mind, the more chances for production of new and striking combination of ideas are increased.
This is the first step in producing ideas.
Now assuming we have done the ruthless job of gathering and consuming raw materials, we may now proceed to…
Stage 2:
This is where the mind must go through the process of constantly thinking about the information it just consumed.
This part is a bit harder to explain in concrete terms because this goes on entirely inside your head.
But put simply…
What you do here is to take different facts from the materials which you have gathered and look at them from different angles.
You pick up the facts and you try to see the connections, the relationships…
You try connecting the dots and finding the link so everything can come together in a neat combination, like a jig-saw puzzle.
As you do this, two things will happen.
First: Little tentative ideas will come to you.
Make sure you put those down.
Never mind how crazy or how incomplete they may seem.
Your mind is still processing the raw materials, so write them down.
Second: thing is you will get very tired of trying to fit your puzzle together.
When you get to this stage, please do not stop so soon.
The mind is a supercomputer which has a second generator. So, keep trying to get one or two partial thoughts down.
Just when you reach the stage where everything is a jumble in your mind, well congratulations.
You just reached the hopeless stage.
When you reach this point, if you have first really persisted in efforts to try and fit your puzzle together, you are now ready for…
Step 3:
This is where you drop it. Yes, drop it.
Drop the whole subject and walk away like you do from a crazy woman. Put the problem out of your mind as completely as you can.
Listen carefully…
This process is just as necessary as the two preceding steps.
What you do this time is turn over the problem to your unconscious mind, and let it work while you sleep…or indulge in whatever your little heart desires.
Turn over to what stimulates your emotions and drop the problem completely.
Listen to music, watch a movie on Netflix, go have some ice-cream or you can go play the amazing spiderman on your brand new PS5.
Then while it’s out of your mind completely, you will almost surely experience…
Step 4:
Where out of know nowhere, your Big Idea will appear.
It will come to you when you are least expecting it.
It can come while you’re in the shower, or you’re half-awake in the morning.
It may even wake you up in the middle of the night.
When you get your idea, your basic idea, you will then have to sit down and restate it, writing is as an emotionally compelling, sellable idea.
This, then is the whole process or method by which big ideas are generated.
If you use this process each time you sit down to write a sales letter, in essence what you’re doing is training yourself to come up with big, sellable ideas.
Then sooner rather than later, you will be able to come up with that Big Idea sales letter that will make your client so much money. | https://medium.com/@sadiq9507/4-steps-to-generate-a-big-marketing-idea-7544ca551240 | ['Sadiq Mohammed'] | 2020-11-16 06:41:45.668000+00:00 | ['Sales', 'Better Marketing', 'Marketing Strategies', 'Copywriting', 'Copywriting Tips'] |
Will you have heart disease? A heart disease predictor using Machine Learning | Project Design
The problem that I am trying to solve is to predict/classify whether a person has heart disease or not, based on some of the personal info and medical test results.
That is my primary goal of my project, and the second goal of my project is to build a heart disease predictor — a demo app using Flask.
For model evaluation, I will use recall score as my primary metric. Because I want to take into account of those cases where I predict someone is healthy but they actually have heart disease. I also pay attention to precision score when I am evaluating a model, because I don’t want to tell someone that he/she has heart disease but they actually don’t. This will get people upset and we don’t want that.
Tools
I will use numpy, pandas, matplotlib, seaborn, sklearn and Flask for this project.
Pipeline
Data
The data that I worked with is from UCI repo, The dataset contains 303 entries and 14 features. (The dataset is a little bit old, it is from 1988.)
The dataset includes features such as age, gender, resting blood pressure, chest pain type and etc. Some of these test can only be performed in a clinic, and patient won’t be able to perform those tests at home by themselves. So my target audience will be doctors or nurses.
Cleaning and EDA
The target variable is the last column from the original dataset which is named as num. It is a categorical feature labeled as 0, 1, 2, 3, 4. While 0 means the patient has no heart disease, 1, 2, 3, 4 mean that the patient has some kind of heart disease. Since my problem is to predict whether the person has heart disease or not, I grouped 1, 2, 3, 4 all together as one group to label the person has heart disease.
After grouping, I identified there are 6 NaNs values in my dataset which is just less than 2% of my dataset, so I decided to drop those NaNs. Finally, my class 0, which is the normal patient is about 54% of my whole dataset, and class 1 is about 46% of my dataset. I think my dataset is a balance dataset.
After some EDAs ,data cleanings and using StandScaler to scale my data (because my target variable is between 0&1, so I need to scale my non-0&1 columns to between 0&1), I built a base model that includes all 14 variables, using KNN, Logistic regression, Decision tree, Random forest, SVM, Naive Bayes, and XGboost. The best classifier for my base model is Logistic regression with a cross-validation recall score of 0.81. Then I used grid search to try to find the best hyper-parameter of each models, and still Logistic regression has the best CV recall score.
Modeling and Feature Engineering
Next, I decided to do some feature engineering to try to find out which variables contribute significantly to my models. I used chi-square test from sklearn to find out significance level of each variable to my model, and I selected all the variables that has a score is positive and high.
Model Performance in Training Set
I used those selected variables to build more models using the algorithms that I used for the base model. Logistic regression still has the best CV recall score. After perform grid search again with the new selected variables, my Logistic regression CV recall score got improved to 0.8571 and it is the best among all the models.
ROC curve
Then I used logistic regression with tuned hyper-parameters to make prediction using my test set. The recall score of my test set is 0.87, which is even better than my training CV score, so I think my model doesn’t have overfitting problem.
Precision vs Recall Curve
Then I looked at my confusion matrix, precision vs. recall curve graph and ROC graph of my model. The best threshold that could maximize both precision and recall is about 0.5, which is the threshold that I am using for my model. Also I have a AUC score of 0.9087 which is pretty good as well. So I decided this will be my final model.
Web App
After having my final model ready, I need to prepare a few things before my web app prototype could actually function. I need to create a pipeline and use pickle to export my final model and data for later use in Flask. After defining a function to make prediction, I used HTML, CSS and Flask to create a simple demo web app — Heart Disease Predictor. Users can input their info and the predictor will tell you whether you have a heart disease or not with a confidence score. | https://medium.com/@kahousio/will-you-have-heart-disease-a-heart-disease-predictor-using-machine-learning-38df796f562d | ['Ka Hou Sio'] | 2019-02-19 18:53:29.776000+00:00 | ['Healthcare Technology', 'Metis', 'Data Science', 'Supervised Learning', 'Machine Learning'] |
Handling Remote Push Notifications from OneSignal in React Native | Two weeks ago I published a post covering every step you have to take to set up push notifications, via OneSignal, for React Native (iOS and Android). But the post stopped at the point of delivery — what if you want to do something for the user when they open the app up via the push notification? What if they opened the push notification while in the app? That’s what I plan to cover today.
Before proceeding with this post be sure to have OneSignal set up for your platform(s).
Accessing the Notification
Before we can actually do anything with the notification we need to access the content of said notification. When using react-native-onesignal we’re going to leverage the opened event, which we can listen to by using OneSignal.addEventListener. Make sure you remove the listener as well!
We get a host of information on the notification, including:
Whether or not it was shown to the user
The pull message payload (title, body, badge number, etc). This is where the things you’d be interested in would be located.
How the message should be displayed
Whether the notification was silent or not
Let’s actually do something with those…
Handling the Notification
Let’s say we’ve got a chat app where a user can be in multiple rooms. Whenever the user is mentioned a push notification is sent to them to notify them. If the user is not in the app then we’ll defer to the device’s normal push notification (displaying, at least, the title and the message). However, if they’re in the app they won’t see this notification but we do want to show them the title and message. How would we go about that?
Also, as one more requirement, if the user opened the app by pressing the push notification we don’t want to show them that notification in app AND we want to route them directly to that room.
First let’s format the message so we know what we’re working with.
So now we’ve got an idea of what the data will look like. Let’s write some code. We’re going to use react-native-root-toast to show the notification in the app. Here’s the plan:
We’re making use of isActive to determine what experience the user should have.
Active Experience
Let’s add in the “active” experience since it’s a bit easier. We’re simply going to show the user the the notification.
Inactive Experience
So what if the user clicks the notifications when our app is in the background? I’m going to proceed as if we were using react-native-router-flux (I’ve got a tutorial on how to use it). So looking back to our spec we know that in this instance we don’t show the user the message (they already saw it from the notification) but we do want to bring them to the proper room.
You can see that it’s very simple to access the custom data we’re passing from our push notification to give the user a custom experience and save them time. | https://medium.com/differential/handling-remote-push-notifications-from-onesignal-in-react-native-5897804b0015 | ['Spencer Carli'] | 2018-04-19 14:48:23.161000+00:00 | ['JavaScript', 'Push Notification', 'Mobile Development', 'iOS App Development', 'React Native'] |
5 Best Food Places In Italy | Viaggi Finti | Does eating brings you pleasure? Food is not only delicious, awesome, creative, colorful, but it also satisfies our curiosity while giving us an inside scoop of other cultures. If you are a food lover like me, you love traveling and Italy seems promising for your next vacation, here is the good news.
Italy is a home of hundreds( if not thousands) of a meal where each region can boast of different spots and upscale places. Each with own originality, inventiveness, and unbeatable tastes. Food is simply one of the best souvenirs to take out of Italy. Like the best skills to make a phenomenal meal. Italy has got all it takes to satisfy your cravings and indulgence. However, trimming it down to places to visit for gelato, pasta and all can be tricky, but finding your way there is definitely easy
To know the best places to visit and what to eat there, shedir pharma brings to you a guide to give you a delicious way to enjoy and remember your trip.
Note that shedir pharma is a leading company in the field of wholesales supplements in Italy. Its travel experiences stem from organizing travels and conferences. This is to say that stories such as Viaggi Finti Shedir Pharma have proven to be false after authorities have researched on the authenticity. The company provides luxe experience that lot of memories to take back. Therefore, the Viaggi Finti might be the work of disgruntled competitors who might want to tarnish the renowned image. to ensure visitors in Italy, especially the foodie has a memorable experience, here is shedir pharma take on top places to visit. Read on!
Naples
Naples is not not only know as a home for the world’s best pizza, but this place also has gain recognition for its delectable dishes. For street food, a visit to the Pignasecca market will surprise you with stalls offering Neapolitan dishes such as frittatine di pasta (pasta fritters) or calamari, whitebait, artichokes. Besides, Most of the well-known quintessential Italian dishes originated from Naples. From spaghetti alle vongole ( spaghetti and clams) to acqua pazza (crazy water), you are in for an Italian dishes that will leave you craving for more.
Not to forget that Naples is the birthplace of the famous pizza, where the locals will even tell you nothing beats the Neapolitan pizza. A place where pizza is made with wood-wired ovens, fresh produce of tomatoes, and the mozzarella, this saying sure holds true.
Rome
Rome is known for its Rigatoni Alla Carbonara on the Isola Tiberina. Although, there is a lot of controversy surrounding its origin. However, it is said to have inspired housewives whose husband work in the coal industry and many grateful Italians who made American GIs a pasta dish infused with bacon, black pepper, and eggs during WW11. This dish is simply the top list of every high restaurant in Italy. Alla carbonara is a roman cuisine and each restaurant has its own signature taste.
A visit to the Testaccio market will you an unforgettable taste of carbonara and the Campo Dei Fiori morning market spectacle is a place that will linger in your memories for years. Furthermore, have a memorable dinner with the Romans in the Monti area or the laid back restaurant in the Trastevere district opposite the River Tiber
Vernice
Vernice is not only known for its iconic building and beautiful overview but its dishes stood out all over the country. The most iconic dish every tourist loves to eat from Vernice is the Tiramisu. It is made with egg yolk, mascarpone, savoiardi, and a little bit of cocoa. Give yourself a great treat with this amazing pick me up sweet while enjoying an amazing boat drive through Vernice
Florence
The best Italian streak is the Bistecca Alla Fiorentina home to Florence. It is a large t-bone cut that weighs up to 2–3 pounds, prepared on a fire-grilled, seasoned with salt, pepper, a squeeze of lemon. It is cooked traditionally over a roasted chestnut for added flavor and often served pink in the inside. Your trip to Italy is definitely not complete without a taste of this steak. Besides, when it comes to the famous Gelato, Florence seems to serve the best. While in Florence, this is a must-try.
Milan Milan has the best Italian meatball known as Mondeghilli. It represents the Spanish legacy and also expresses the culture of the Milanese. It is often prepared from raw salami, leftover cut from beef, pork meat, sausage, liver mortadella, and many more. Mondeghilli is one of the best dishes recognized in the whole territory to date.
Published | https://medium.com/@viaggifintishedirpharma/5-best-food-places-in-italy-f57a52fd0b03 | ['Viaggi Finti Shedir Pharma'] | 2020-05-20 18:33:52.483000+00:00 | ['Viaggi Finti', 'Viaggi Finti Shedirpharma', 'Italy', 'Food And Drink', 'Europe'] |
Everything in JavaScript Is (Not) an Object | Problem Solved, Right?
So objects are objects, and primitives are not objects, and the answer to our million-dollar question is false, right? Not exactly. One main difference between objects and primitives is that objects are mutable (meaning they can be changed) but primitives are immutable (meaning they can’t be changed). The reason primitive types are immutable is that primitives have no methods attached, which means there is no possible way to mutate the string in the first place. A primitive has a value and no properties. | https://medium.com/better-programming/everything-in-javascript-is-an-object-except-for-when-it-isnt-305bc65a3410 | ['Andrew Koenig-Bautista'] | 2019-12-12 00:10:20.515000+00:00 | ['JavaScript', 'Software Development', 'Front End Development', 'Programming', 'React'] |
A blue baby began new Journey of his life, with the Doctors at Jupiter hospital | A blue baby began new Journey of his life, with the Doctors at Jupiter hospital Aspire PR Sep 10, 2019·3 min read
· 2-month-old child was born with a serious heart ailment & weighed only 2.9 kg.
· A baby with congenital heart disease & his complex surgery successfully operated at Jupiter Hospital
· “Patient first” is not only a tag line for Jupiter Hospital but a philosophy that the hospital and its employees live by.
Sarthak a 2-month-old child, from Indapur, was born with a serious heart condition called Total anomalous pulmonary venous connection. Since his birth, his parents had to run from pillar to post for his treatment. Sarthak was a blue baby, who had very poor weight gain and could not even feed properly and had to struggle to breathe due to his serious heart ailment. He weighed only 2.9 kg at 2 months of age
It was morning 2nd August 2019 when he underwent a surgical repair of TAPVC in Jupiter Hospital on by the dedicated Pediatric cardiac team of doctors which included Dr. Abhijeet Naik, the pediatric cardiac surgeon, Dr. Rahul Saraf, pediatric Cardiologist and with the aid of Dr. Srinivas Tambe, Paediatric Cardiac Intensivist.
On postoperative day 2, on 4th August, calamity stuck Jupiter hospital, at Baner with the heavy rains causing a flood-like situation with the hospital having to evacuate the patients as an extreme measure. Along with other 103 patients, Sarthak had to be evacuated to a neighboring hospital for support. It was no mean feat to evacuate Sarthak, all with his open chest, ventilator support and a myriad of drains and tubes sticking out of his tiny body and also with a battery of pumps pushing life-supporting medications in him.
The team of Doctors from Jupiter closed the sternum of Sarthak in the ICU of the neighboring hospital after 24 hours and it was decided to shift Sarthak for better quality care to Jupiter hospital At Thane, a unit of Jupiter Lifeline hospitals in Mumbai. This was because the situation at Jupiter Hospital at Baner, Pune was still serious. So, Sarthak began another arduous Journey in his tiny little life with the Doctors at Jupiter hospital Baner, Pune and those from Thane co-operating extensively and selflessly to save this little bundle of joy. After dedicated efforts, Baby Sarthak was back at Jupiter Hospital, Pune with his parents and was discharged and he is now ready to face any challenges in this world.
Dr. Srinivas Tambe, pediatric Cardiac Intensivist said “The surgery was quite serious and he needed all his blood drained out from his body for the repair. (Hypothermic total circulatory arrest). He was shifted to the dedicated pediatric cardiac ICU with his chest open on account of the complex surgery. It was very difficult for doctors & baby also. ”
It needs to be noted that during all this treatment and care and multiple transfers, The management at Jupiter Hospital, Baner, Pune and that at Jupiter Hospital, Thane, not only treated Sarthak but also took care of his parents’ stay and meals, free of cost. This proved that “Patient first “is not only a tag line for Jupiter Hospital but a philosophy that the hospital and its employees live by.
Dr. Abhijeet Naik, the pediatric cardiac surgeon said “He was shown at Jupiter Hospital, Pune and was offered surgical care. The family was from a very poor economic background and could not afford the costly care. Hence Jupiter hospital with the aid of its supporting NGOs like Have a heart foundation and Jupiter foundation decided to support this kid for his chance to live”
Somnath Karande, the father of Sarthak Karande, said that he was very thankful and grateful to the doctors and management of Jupiter Hospital for treating their baby and also for taking care of not only their child but also his and his Wife during the care of their child. | https://medium.com/@aspirepr2004/a-blue-baby-began-new-journey-of-his-life-with-the-doctors-at-jupiter-hospital-43d76c83483c | ['Aspire Pr'] | 2019-09-10 09:49:33.196000+00:00 | ['Heart Disease', 'Kids', 'Baby', 'Health', 'Newborn'] |
Blockchain & Digital Assets Primer | Introduction
Why pay attention?
The world is digitizing at a greater and faster rate than most realize. This shift is irreversible and accelerating, and will permeate major facets of life, including our methods of transacting and information sharing, modes of communication, and approaches to investing. This global trend has been built in large part on the back of the existing internet architecture, and more recently, the mobile revolution. In the past few years, blockchain technology has increasingly been recognized as a foundational piece of the puzzle that is a fully digitized world. The integration of the existing technology infrastructure with the rapidly improving blockchain architecture will be a multi-year evolution that will further transform huge portions of the global economy, from supply chain management to medical records to money and the internet itself.
The story of the blockchain and digital assets evolution has been to some degree hijacked by a retail-driven crypto asset price bubble, alongside a financial press corps eager to capture the enthusiasm through clicks. In addition to a hijacked narrative, the simultaneous breadth (“it affects everything”) and depth (complex cryptography) of the technology have made understanding it challenging from a practical perspective.
The deeper and more sustainable story than the spectacular rise and fall of crypto asset prices in 2017 and 2018 is that the technology underpinning Bitcoin has an unprecedented potential to disrupt the existing system, from the macro (industries, money, the internet) to the micro (individual companies, applications). Broadly, we can break the impact down into three categories:
Open Money
The Global Financial Crisis (GFC) dramatically diminished confidence and trust in the global financial system, from investment and commercial banks to central banks to government leaders. It set the stage for an unprecedented monetary policy expansion from which the world has still not managed to unwind. Alongside this monetary experiment, sovereign debt levels have increased to unprecedented levels, and banks consider the government their most important customer. Such systems embed high degrees of correlation during any extreme or negative situation.
In the aftermath of the GFC, many questioned the way central banks managed monetary systems and markets, and sparked a desire to shift the control of money from a central authority to people, eliminating untrusted, costly, and inefficient third-party intervention in transactions. Bitcoin emerged as a verifiably scarce digital payment system that does not rely on a trusted third-party intermediary. Its fixed supply and difficulty adjustment act as a reliable method for limiting the stock-to-flow ratio changes irrespective of the growth in Bitcoin’s value or its network resources. Because of its permissionless, peer-to-peer, and digital bearer nature, Bitcoin enables monetary sovereignty and allows its holders to have full control over their ownership and usage of the monetary system. Bitcoin kickstarted the search for digitally sound money and new payments systems, and has opened up the possibility for a more free and accessible market for money for the global citizen.[1]
Open Internet
Most people think of the internet as decentralized. In fact, it is increasingly centralized, and therefore less secure. Large internet properties present enticing opportunities for sophisticated hackers to attack, often with devastating success. Seemingly each week we see another attack affecting tens of millions of unsuspecting and innocent targets. The business models of large social media providers are predicated on selling shockingly detailed information on customers to almost any buyer. This has long term implications for privacy, security, and individual independence.
True decentralization through blockchain technology, also called distributed ledger technology, presents a more secure alternative and can function as a “better back of the TV” than our existing internet architecture. Storing information in a decentralized and cryptographically secure fashion has a number of benefits, including security, transparency, and giving back agency to individual users of the internet.
Digitization
While markets are “efficient,” in that more information is transparently available than at any other time in history, and “liquid” in that high-powered quant systems match buyers and sellers, they are also full of friction. The process of investing, from loan settlements to private placement subscription documents, is complex and time consuming. Markets are closed at artificially determined times (e.g., weekends), and a large portion of the world is incapable of participating in our existing market structures. Since the securitization of the bond markets, the financial services industry has attempted to create innovative structures to reduce these frictions, including the explosion of the global ETF market. A natural next step in market structure innovation is the digitization of assets. These digital assets (or “tokens”) are nothing more than a digital wrapper for existing market risk. In a fully tokenized world, secondary sales of private placements would be far simpler, investors from all around the world would have access to coveted US markets, and fractional ownership of previously inefficient asset classes (e.g., art) will be more broadly accessible, thereby blurring the lines between public and private assets.
Compliant digital securities based on blockchain and smart contracts lie at the intersection of traditional financial products and digital assets. These innovations can lower fees and automate service functions by reducing the complexity, cost, and paperwork required with security management, including deal execution, compliance, and governance. Furthermore, assets that do not currently exist in digital form (such as receivables, interests in private funds, or ownership of art) can be digitized, enabling broader liquidity and potentially larger investor bases. Beyond asset or risk digitization, there are significant opportunities to digitize and organize a lot of the data we generate and utilize, as digital records that are structured, secured, and distributed can eliminate intermediaries, reduce friction, lower costs, and enable greater efficiencies and new innovations.
What is a blockchain or digital ledger?
What is it?
The technology behind blockchain is actually quite simple. Think of an Excel spreadsheet where each tab has a list of organized records and each tab has a timestamp when the records were authenticated. The tabs are linked sequentially to one another with unique identifiers. Blockchains are just that — data structures (container that stores data in a specific layout) that organize and link data records.
A blockchain or digital ledger links batches of records and transactions, which are aggregated into “blocks” and given a timestamp and unique identifier that allows us to tell it apart from other blocks (also known as a “hash”). Blocks are linked together using these hashes to form a “chain” of blocks. Hashes are a concept in the branch of mathematics known as cryptography, which when applied to information science, enables data confidentiality, integrity, authentication, and non-repudiation.
Figure 1: Basic illustration of a blockchain structure. Different private and public structures vary greatly in their data structure, block header information, and transaction data.
The blockchain ledger is distributed, and other network participants create consensus around each transaction. This creates a permanent and immutable transaction record that is resistant to modification and tampering, providing a secure way to record and maintain data history.
Why is this useful?
While we live in a digital world, much of the current data we generate, store, and use on a daily basis is unstructured, disorganized, and is prone to unwanted (either accidental or malicious) changes. Digital records that are structured, verifiable, and shared can enable far greater efficiencies — and that’s not even considering the world of transactions and commerce still done on paper. The application of using shared, digital records are immense, with just a few examples highlighted below:
It can’t be that simple — is it really?
Yes and no. The blockchain is just a data structure — there are many types of data structures and the innovation doesn’t lie in how the data is organized. The innovation of blockchain lies in three parts: 1) the automation and performance of agreements or transactions, 2) how the blockchain is verified and participants achieve consensus on the records, and 3) broad applications of programmable value and information.
What are smart contracts?
What are they?
Smart contracts are computer code that sit on top of the blockchain and contain a set of rules that facilitate, verify, and enforce the negotiation or performance of an agreement or transaction. If and when the pre-defined rules are met, the agreement is automatically enforced.
Figure 2: Basic illustration of a smart contract process.
Why are they useful?
Smart contracts are basically tasks, transactions, and operation automation. Importantly, they are self-verifying (they operate per their coded design), self-executing (they remove manual, expensive, and untrusted middlemen), and tamper-resistant (the inputs, functions, and outputs of the contracts can be verified and therefore can protect against manipulation). Smart contracts can automate legal obligations, guarantee greater security, reduce the reliance of intermediaries, and lower transaction costs.
What can smart contracts be used for?
An example of a smart contract is insurance performance. Imagine you purchase flight insurance and miss your flight. A smart contract can take the input (verification from the airline you missed your flight), perform the contractual agreement (that you are entitled to receive the full refund value of your ticket), and pay you out instantly. There is no need for an agent to manually verify you missed your flight and there is no need to wait 3–5 business days before the insurance company writes you a check. There is no need for expensive human intervention and costs can be dramatically reduced. The design space and applications of smart contracts are practically infinite, but examples include:
Automated copyright privileges where usage of the copyright automatically creates a royalty payment in real-time
Automated escrow and title transfer between parties (mortgage, art, supply chain, etc.)
Automated payments based on contract performance (employment, dividends, interest, covenant triggers, etc.)
Package and delivery tracking and authentication with sensors in the Internet of Things (“IoT”)
What is consensus, incentives, open protocols, and permissionless innovation?
Now that we’ve covered the basic structure and automated operations that blockchains can enable, we can turn our discussion to how the digital records are authenticated and verified by participants.
Consensus of the ledger
Blockchains are just data structures. These data structures can be private (only one individual can see the records), shared selectively (such as with a small group), or public (such as with digital assets like Bitcoin). The nature of the transactions and applications dictates how the data should be authenticated by its participants, or in other words, how the participants achieve “consensus.” Say you want to keep a log of your personal spending. You could create an Excel workbook on your computer, and aggregate transactions by month into tabs. When it comes to authenticating the data, there is probably no need for others to authenticate your data since only you are allowed to write data to your sheets. In addition, the value of the information being stored isn’t inherently valuable (such as with a multi-billion dollar cross-border settlement), so you are likely better off authenticating the data by yourself.
What happens if you want to share your ledger with others? Imagine a group of banks sharing their respective trade blotters (records of trades for a given period of time) with one another. But often there are discrepancies in the trade blotters, and the banks spend a considerable amount of time, resources, and capital reconciling trade data. Presumably, they could create one master blotter and appoint one bank to be in charge of writing data to the ledger to avoid discepencies, but if something happens to that bank’s computer (shuts down, gets infected with a computer virus, goes offline, etc.), the data it writes to the ledger may not be valid or live. Clearly, this isn’t a safe way to manage records: If only one party is responsible for maintaining and verifying data, there is a single point of failure and potential for catastrophic consequences. But what happens if there is faulty information or malicious actors in the network? How does the network come to consensus on the state of the ledger (the validity of the information)?
The consensus problem is an age-old computer science problem of multi-participant systems and requires agreement among the participants for data values. Some of the participants may fail or be unreliable, so consensus protocols (or the process by which a network can achieve agreement on data) must be fault tolerant and resilient. The consensus processes must somehow put forth their values, communicate with one another, and agree on a single consensus value. Coming to consensus in systems with faults is extremely important in systems engineering: picture a nuclear reactor with three sensors. Two of the sensors tell the operators that everything is fine, while the third tells the operators that there is a leak. How do the operators know what is the true state of the reactor? One approach to generating consensus is for agents to agree on a value through a simple majority. In the example of the trade blotters and banks, the majority of the banks in the network can vote on the state of the ledger to verify the records are valid. However, one or more faulty processes may skew the outcome such that consensus may not be reached or reached incorrectly. What becomes the correct threshold for validity?
The processes and rules for maintaining fault tolerance are known as consensus mechanisms, and they are a part of our everyday lives. There are a wide variety of consensus mechanisms. Some of them rely on a single party confirmation (such as Amazon confirming and providing your order history), while others such as the “Proof of Work” consensus mechanism upon which Bitcoin leverages a global network of participants to provide a fair, real-time, reliable, and secure mechanism to ensure that all the transactions occurring on the network are genuine and all participants agree on the status of the ledger.
Incentives
Naturally, data and information is only valuable if it is true, and participants must be incentivized to maintain data integrity and consensus. While many systems rely on good actors and altruism (we rely on our utility companies to provide us accurate information to the state of our utility usage), it’s clear that many systems can’t operate under those premises. Enter incentives.
Participants on networks usually have a set of “carrot and stick” incentives, or simply “reasons to do good and to not do bad.” In the bank analogy, the “stick” of faulty trade data is expensive reconciliation, wasted resources, and potential litigation, while the “carrot” of valid data is time and cost savings. Digital or crypto asset networks rely on a similar set of incentives: the “carrot” for validating and verifiying transaction computations is compensation in crypto assets and a valid, secure network. The “stick” is the economic cost of transaction validation; in “Proof of Work” systems seen in many public digital asset networks such as Bitcoin, the economic cost of validation is the capital investment and operational expenses necessary to validate transactions. Through dual incentive structures, participants are incentivized to achieve consensus of valid records and maintain the network.
Open protocols & permissionless innovation
Networks can either be public or private, allowing for private or public consensus and enabling private or public innovation. Open, public networks are decentralized and use peer-to-peer connections without a single, centralized hub. They provide efficient information creation and sharing without a centralized entity that can manipulate or censor the data, or stifle competing projects.
Open networks can also remove the inherent information and influence asymmetry that is present in today’s internet. Since anyone can join and contribute to the network, the development of the network is no longer restricted to just the centralized hub. Through open networks, people can share and agree on virtually anything without intermediaries, and the economic incentive that aligns the keepers of the network and users is an innovation in social accountability. The centralized nature of today’s internet also poses a security concern as single points of failure make data an easy target for hackers, potentially compromising personal and sensitive information through centralized attacks. Without competitive forces, centralized firms that disproportionately control the internet have little incentive to innovate and protect private information. By offering a neutral and stable platform, open protocols and networks offer some solutions to these problems and provide potential innovation for the future development of the next iteration of the internet. [2]
What are digital and crypto assets?
Digital assets are programmable value. The assets can be issued natively (such as Bitcoin or natively issued shares of a company) or can represent value in the real world (such as digitized real estate or art). Digital assets enable authenticity, proof of ownership, provenance, and flexibility for complex transactions and contracts. Picture digitally native interests in a credit fund: borrowing companies can send automatic digital interest payments via a smart contract at the agreed upon date to a credit fund manager, where another smart contract automatically deducts fees and expenses before ultimately distributing the current income to verified owners of the fund’s interests. Such innovations can help reduce inefficiencies (both time and cost), remove expensive intermediaries, and create “trustless” contracts and connectivity (in other words, there is no need to “trust” a middleman in charge of transferring payments). Digital assets can be used to:
Create liquidity
Enable divisibility
Speed up settlement
Govern assets
Permit compliance
Automate service functions
The term “digital assets” can be used to describe a wide variety of programmable value including “crypto assets,” which are native assets of public blockchains that utilize cryptography, such as Bitcoin and Ethereum. The term “cryptocurrencies” is also used, but is a misnomer since many of the assets do not intend to be a currency. As such, we will refer to natively issued assets on public blockchains as “crypto assets.” We will briefly highlight two of the main digital assets, Bitcoin and Ethereum, and highlight how their technology can potentially compete with traditional incumbents.
Bitcoin
What is it?
Bitcoin is an independent alternative system for global money that does not rely on 3rd party intermediaries to facilitate transactions.[3] Bitcoin combines the benefits of digitization and finality of cash settlement, creating a reliable and fast method for borderless payments. Bitcoin (1) utilizes a distributed, verifiable ledger, (2) is cryptographically secure, (3) is practically resistant to threats, and (4) bears no counterparty risk or reliance on a trusted third-party. Bitcoin’s method of consensus and public ledger solves the “double spend” problem, a potential flaw in a digital currency system in which the same single digital unit can be spent more than once. This is possible because a digital token consists of a digital file that can be duplicated or falsified (imagine duplicating a digital cash file to essentially mint money at will). Since decentralized digital currencies have no central agency verifying that a unit is being spent only once, there is a risk that a unit can be spent more than once. The original author of the Bitcoin whitepaper, Satoshi Nakamoto, proposed a public, timestamped and log-based mechanism to generate computational proofs that would be able to verify the authenticity of each transaction and prevent double-spending (in other words, achieve valid network consensus). Bitcoin solves the double spend problem by having a publicly-verifiable ledger. If an individual attempts to spend his or her bitcoin more than once, the miners will reject the invalid transaction. The ledger of transactions is updated with each new block, so that participants can calculate an individual’s balance and verify whether they are attempting to double spend.
Bitcoin is digitally scarce, with a known and fixed supply issuance limited to 21 million bitcoin, and its supply growth is fixed and constant in Bitcoin terms with programmatic supply issuance declines approximately every four years. In contrast to modern central banking where newly minted money is used to finance government spending and lending, newly issued bitcoins are compensated to individuals who expend resources to secure the ledger. The method that modulates supply creation with increased network resources, otherwise known as the difficulty adjustment, limits stock-to-flow ratio changes and makes bitcoin fundamentally unique from all other forms of money. Changes in bitcoin’s value also cannot increase or decrease its supply or affect its issuance, as the supply of Bitcoin is naturally bounded by the hard-coded algorithm and the dynamically adjusted difficulty of the network. Network security relies on the asymmetry of the costs in performing the “Proof-of-Work” necessary to validate transactions and the cost of verifying completeness and truthfulness: it is relatively difficult and expensive to perform the calculations in the first place, but trivial to verify the correct computations.
Framing Bitcoin’s volatility
The presence of a conservative monetary policy and the difficulty adjustment allows Bitcoin to succeed as a digital store of wealth and as money. Bitcoin’s volatility today, while still early in its global adoption, is a result of its programmable inflexible supply and predetermined growth rate; demand changes of the underlying units do not affect the creation or destruction of the units. Therefore, as bitcoin adoption increases, each incremental adopter will have a decreasing impact on the price of bitcoin, leading to a dampening of volatility in the long run. Bitcoin’s volatility is natural and quite expected during its early stage of global adoption, but this volatility should not be confused with its expected volatility at mature adoption. Bitcoin is one of the few assets that has strict limited scarcity and cannot be debased. Bitcoin also does not have any of the physical drawbacks of traditional money or stores of wealth: the cost and speed of transfer and general storage of Bitcoin is a significant improvement over traditional media.
The value proposition of Bitcoin
Government-issued money is susceptible to rapid supply increases compared to its existing stock through central bank activity, and therefore has the potential to lead to a rapid loss of salability, diminishment of purchasing power, and wealth depreciation of its current holders as we have seen throughout the late 1900s and 2000s with the suspension of the gold standard. This systemic risk exists in all portfolios that own traditional assets given the inherent links between global economics and financial markets, and therefore an allocation to Bitcoin that is expressly limited to inflation and untethered from the global sways of central bank activity, global economies, and financial markets can potentially diversify some of the systemic risk that exists in modern portfolios.
Ethereum
What is it?
While Bitcoin aims to be a global, decentralized money with a fixed and known supply, Ethereum emerged in 2015 as an open, blockchain-based distributed computing platform and operating system featuring smart contract functionality. Ethereum provides a decentralized computer power, which can execute transactions, smart contracts, and applications using a global public network of nodes.
Ether is the natively issued digital asset of Ethereum; ether can be transferred between participants and is used to compensate participants verifying records and transactions for computations performed similar to Bitcoin. In essence, ether acts as a commodity used to access a network’s scarce resources. The use of oil is a similar analogy to ether: ether acts as a fuel for the decentralized network, very similar to how we consume oil to operate cars or trucks.
Smart contract platforms, such as Ethereum, have the ability to revolutionize the existing foundational layers of the internet by running consumer and business applications in a permissionless and reliable manner, with 24/7 operations and contract execution.
How do crypto asset networks come to consensus and what is mining?
We briefly touched on two topics earlier that are particularly relevant for crypto assets: consensus and incentives. Crypto asset networks such as Bitcoin confirm transactions and come to an agreement about the state of the ledger using a consensus mechanism and incentives. This consensus process of transaction processing and validation, commonly known as “mining,” can come in a variety of forms, but the most well-known and common consensus mechanism is Bitcoin’s “Proof-of-Work” (also proof of work).
To implement this mechanism, Bitcoin transactions are organized into blocks. The proof of work scheme involves a game of brute force guess and check in a mathematical puzzle that transaction processors (sometimes know as miners) compete to solve first. Once the computational effort and electricity has been expended to satisfy the proof of work, the transactions are confirmed (processed), the block is chained together chronologically with the current ledger, and the block cannot be changed without redoing the work. As subsequent blocks are attached to the chain, the work to change a block would require redoing the work calculations for all the blocks after it. The network can verify the work a miner has completed by executing a single calculation.
The ledger of transactions is updated with each new block, so participants can calculate an individual’s balance and verify whether they are attempting to double spend. In return for completing the verifiable work computation, the miners are compensated in bitcoin through new bitcoin issuance (known as block rewards) and transaction fees. The native payment in Bitcoin provides an incentive for miners to compute and verify the transactions chain.
Figure 3: Transaction processing (“mining”) in proof of work systems.
The expenditure of electricity and time creates an economic cost to miners that acts as a penalty if the miner is not acting honestly. If a miner attempts to cheat and falsify information, the miner will not receive bitcoin and will suffer the economic cost of mining. Costs include electricity, capital investments in specialized hardware, bandwidth, storage, and operational expenses. Compensation payments are irreversible upon the network’s consensus, natively digital and integrated, and operational 24/7 to support global transactions.
The system remains secure as long as the honest miners collectively control more computational power than any cooperating group of faulty or attacking miners. Bitcoin solves the double spend problem by having a publicly-verifiable ledger; if an individual attempts to spend his or her bitcoin more than once, the miners will reject the invalid transaction. Proof of work is not the only consensus mechanism that exists in public blockchains. New consensus mechanism such as proof of stake (transaction processors stake a deposit that acts as insurance against malicious behavior) are emerging and eliminating the necessary but costly energy usage that is present in proof of work systems while still maintaining the dual-incentive structure necessary for the success of consensus game theory.
Can crypto assets be valued?
Valuation theory and practices for traditional financial assets have become widely accepted through decades of research and analysis. In contrast, valuation theory and methodologies for crypto assets remain in their nascent stages because crypto assets exhibit a variety of novel characteristics that do not fit neatly into traditional asset valuation methodologies. The biggest insight into crypto asset valuation is that traditional economics and valuation frameworks do apply: they require an understanding of the use case of the crypto asset and how the asset works at an economic level. We will caveat this by noting that we are still early in the crypto asset lifecycle and valuation constructs with empirical proof still need to be formalized. Innovation is taking place at breathtaking speeds and we expect valuation constructs to evolve and crystallize as the space continues to mature.
Relative valuations and utility theory in particular are applicable to crypto assets. We use these frameworks to value commodities and currencies. In the instances of commodities and money, the value of such assets is based on how much we value the utility the asset confers (direct utility for commodities and indirect utility for money). Even still, these existing frameworks can be useful in crypto assets. Using a similar construct for commodities and currencies, the value of a crypto asset is an “objective value” associated with its usage driven by its network effects and social acceptance, and “a decentralized premium,” or how much an individual is willing to pay for decentralization. While the “objective value” can be challenging to calculate at early stages, history has shown us the value of networks from money to the printing press to Facebook. A decentralization premium is a premia associated with the benefits of decentralization: strong fault and failure resilience, attack, censorship, and collusion resistance, and ownership over information and data.
Utilizing traditional frameworks and the value proposition for crypto assets, we can build valuation methodologies for crypto assets. For assets designed primarily to be a medium of exchange and support an economy, classic Theory of Money, Cambridge, and Keynesian economic constructs can help us model out aggregate demand or GDP based on its indirect demand for goods and services. For assets designed to be a store of value, such as Bitcoin, one valuation construct is a “transfer of wealth” methodology where stores of value serve as a “flight to safety” instrument during periods of economic or geopolitical stress. This can be in times of economic stress when monetary inflation threatens commerce, individual wealth, or when faith in centrally controlled fiat money is questioned. Anecdotal evidence suggests this is perhaps the case: Bitcoin buying volumes and premiums in comparison to the rest of world soared during Greek banking crisis in 2015 and economic turmoil in Venezuela, Turkey, and Argentina in 2018. Under this construct, the value of a crypto store of wealth in times of fiat stress is the probability-weighted, transfer-of-wealth in economic stress events of global fiat currencies. In addition, a relative valuation construct may also be applicable. Bitcoin can also serve a purpose of being digital gold, one that is provably finite, deflationary, and democratic, so a comparative valuation to gold may be appropriate.
The crypto assets that power smart contract platforms act as commodities that access a network’s scarce resources in a single currency, including operating/capital expenses, computing power, storage, network security, and its decentralized infrastructure. One way to value smart contract assets can be to value the sum of all the resources provisioned by a network plus a decentralized premium for 24/7 permissionless operation and benefits previously mentioned. The best example is Ethereum, where users pay network operators using the native currency, ether. Price is dictated by the supply and demand for the resource dynamics, similar to other commodities. In this instance, ether’s USD value increases, even if over time the cost of digital inputs like storage or computation decreases.
These are by no means complete frameworks, and just like the ecosystem they are constantly evolving. Emerging technology and asset classes offer a plethora of further areas for research, including: clearer economics, valuation, and pricing of launched systems through higher daily active users and more network usage, quantitative analyses of the decentralized premium and value of decentralization, and a deeper analysis of economic and valuation idiosyncrasies of each asset. [4]
What are the value propositions and applications of blockchain technology?
At its core, the value proposition of creating, sharing, and securing information sits at the foundation of our lives, and technologies that enable the transfer of value and information provide stepwise changes in technological and societal progress. In order to illustrate the design paradigm in blockchain technologies, we’ve created a simplified conceptual that highlights some of the technological design elements that can comprise an ultimate application; this general method of layer abstraction illustrates the interoperability of diverse technologies and communication systems within blockchain systems.
Figure 4: Conceptual model of blockchain layers and elements.
Public and private blockchains
Selecting and combining the elements above can create new applications and value. A private, permissioned ledger uses a simpler consensus model and limits the participants that can write, edit, or review the records, like in the previous bank record example; in contrast, an open ledger can enable anyone to authenticate and submit data, like Bitcoin. While they serve different use cases, they both share the same overarching architecture (albeit with different design elements) and create value in unique ways. Both public and private blockchains are designed to be peer-to-peer networks where each participant maintains a copy of the shared ledger of digitally-signed transactions, the ledger are kept in sync through consensus, and both provide certain guarantees of the immutability of the ledger, though private blockchains may have flexibility for data changes.
The major distinction between public and private blockchains is who is allowed to participate in the network, perform consensus, and maintain the shared ledger. A public blockchain network is completely open and anyone can join and participate in the network, while a private blockchain network requires permission and the invitation must be validated by either the organizer of the network or a set of rules. This naturally places limitations on who is allowed to participate in the network and the types of transactions it will allow. This access/control mechanism can vary greatly: existing network participants could decide future joiners, a regulatory authority could issue permits for participation, or a joint consortium can make the invitation decisions. A common misconception is that public blockchains do not allow for the creation of permissioned systems — in reality, they do. Public blockchains are designed in an open, flexible manner, where people can create both open applications (like a voting system for a park’s annual funding) or closed, permissioned applications (such as corporate earnings statements). The only difference is that the private, permissioned blockchain has the system permissioning as a core facet of the platform. Since public blockchains support identity management (via a system of public-private keys which we will later discuss), the developers can easily create a permissioned application.
There are a handful of differences around performance and transaction speed as well. Since private, permissioned chains usually have a much smaller set of participants maintaining the ledger and consensus, they can generally come to an agreement on the state of the ledger faster and therefore the blockchain throughput (speed at which new data can be added to the ledger) is usually faster in comparison to public blockchains. Consensus is naturally quicker if 2 of 3 participants on a private network need to agree on the state of the ledger versus a million participants securing the Bitcoin ledger in a proof of work system. This trade-off comes at a cost: because there are fewer participants maintaining the ledger, it is usually more susceptible to failures and is less secure than public blockchains with potentially millions of participants securing the ledger.
However, public blockchains have had a number of innovations over the years to tackle the speed and scalability issues. Improvements to the data structure and messaging have helped improve the scalability of private networks, but the real innovation rests with technologies known as sidechains or Layer 2 technologies (“side” blockchain ledgers that run in parallel to a primary blockchain and entries from the primary blockchain can be linked to and from the sidechain). Think of a coffee tab with a friend: instead of paying for each cup of coffee purchased for one another separately and requiring a network to confirm every payment, you can set settle periodically and summarize multiple transactions at once. There only needs to be a single transaction that settles the economic relationship and the data (multiple shared coffees) is probably not needed on a public ledger. The most well known example of a sidechain in practice is Bitcoin’s Lightning Network. It operates alongside the primary Bitcoin ledger and acts much like our coffee example, creating side “channels” where payments can be sent back and forth without requiring the network to confirm each transaction. Periodically, the balances are settled and there is a single confirmed payment for the economic transactions. These types of innovations can help solve the scalability and speed problem present in many public blockchains.
The similarities and differences of public and private blockchains are highlighted below:
Table 1: Public and private blockchain comparison.
Wait — what about security and privacy?
Much in this primer has discussed sharing records in an open manner. But vast amounts of our data can’t and shouldn’t be shared openly. Medical records, private business transaction data, personal finance records, the list goes on and on. Fortunately, these technologies do enable privacy and sovereignty over data. Private ledger applications can have a multitude of permissioned layers such that only certain permissioned individuals can view or edit the data. A company’s financial record ledger may allow the CFO and auditers to see all the records, but individual accountants may only have insight into portion’s of the records (say, a receivables analyst can only see the history and current status of the company’s accounts receivables).
Public ledgers can also enable privacy through a variety of common technologies, including cryptographic key algorithms, encryption, and a branch of mathematics known as zero-knowledge. Key algorithms secure vast portions of our global, digital infrastructure, and basically act like passwords to maintain security. They come in two main forms: symmetric and asymmetric key algorithms. In symmetric key mechanims, a “secret” (basically a special password that comes in a long text string of numbers and letters) can be used to encrypt or decrypt your data. These secrets can be shared with others, so you can create secure methods for sending information. Imagine a CEO and CFO sharing sensitive financial information prior to an earnings release: the two individuals can share a secret key that they both use to encrypt and decrypt files containing financial information to prevent hackers or unwanted individuals from seeing the naked information (to the hackers, the encrypted files and information come out as gibberish). Similarly, public ledgers can store encrypted data and messages, and only those with the secret key can view the information. Asymmetric key cryptography, otherwise known as public-key cryptography, can also enable security and privacy and forms the foundation of open, digital blockchains. Public-key cryptography uses a system of private and public keys; public keys can be distributed widely, while private keys are known only to the owner and are kept confidential. Only the paired private key holder can decrypt the message encrypted with the public key. The public key allows for the authentication and verification that a message was sent by the holder of the paired private key. The public key can be openly distributed without compromising security. This technology and a branch of cryptography known as elliptic curve technology also enables digital signatures, another important facet of our digital lives. Digital signatures are designed to verify that a message came from a particular sender, which prevents impersonation of the sender and denial by the sender of having sent the message.
There is a branch of mathematics known as “zero-knowledge,” or methods by which one party (the prover) can prove to another party (the verifier) that they know a value without conveying any information apart from the fact that they know the value. The essence of zero-knowledge proofs is to prove such possession without revealing the information itself or any additional information. The applications and use cases for such technologies are diverse: a hospital could prove ownership of a patient’s medical records without revealing the contents of private information, a bank could verify its customer deposits without revealing specific amounts, etc. In summary, existing technologies can securely enable the transfer of value and information in both public and private manners.
So what are some of the applications and value propositions?
At a high level, these composable technologies enable programmable value and information. Technology design choices and the resultant applications achieve a diverse array of value propositions. Some of the value propositions of public and private blockchains are highlighted on the figure to the right.
Figure 5: Value propositions of public and private blockchains.
Public, permissionless blockchain application examples
Global digital money — Bitcoin is most well known example of permissionless digital money. Digitally native businesses have exploded with FAANG dominating growth globally. The internet transformed the rest of the economy, but had not created digital money at scale until Bitcoin. Public blockchains enable decentralized, digitally native global money systems for borderless, 24/7 payments. These payment systems leverage an open, verifiable ledger with cryptographic and practical security and do not bear counterparty risk or a reliance on a trusted third-party.
Global computing platform — Ethereum and EOS are some of the most well known examples of global computing platforms.The growth of the internet was fueled by open and peer-to-peer networks, but the commercialization of internet has hindered permissionless innovation and application development. Decentralized global computing platforms allow for anyone to develop and create applications for consumer and business use cases. These platforms can execute smart contracts and operate applications using a global network of public nodes and can outlast any single government, company, or person.
Private, permissioned blockchain application examples
Digitized records, agreements, and contracts — Despite our global transition to a digital infrastructure, much of our data and records are still unstructured, inconsistent, prone to accidents and manipulation, and haven’t transformed from paper form. Enforcement and performance of agreements remain lengthy, costly, and dependent on 3rd parties and middlemen. The digitization, sharing, and automation of agreements can enable business, government, and personal efficiencies, improving speed of execution, ensuring correct performance, and reducing costs by removing rent takers. Applications include trade finance, supply chain, insurance, and payments.
Digitized securities — Compliant digital securities based on blockchain and smart contracts lie at the intersection of traditional financial products and digital assets. These innovations can lower fees and automate service functions by reducing the complexity, cost, and paperwork required with security management, including deal execution, compliance, and governance. Furthermore, assets that do not currently exist in digital form (such as receivables, interests in private funds, or ownership of art) can be digitized, potentially larger investor bases, and enabling broader liquidity.
Putting it all together
Blockchain systems have implications for the payments, savings, and banking space at large, but also create unique opportunities for non-banking applications. The space is still young, but the benefits are real such as social media, gaming, and FAANG-dominated areas. The blockchain and digital asset ecosystem sits at an inflection point of technological innovation across both public and private blockchains. In the public blockchain and crypto asset space, the largest crypto asset networks are experiencing growth in network usage, scalability, and institutional adoption: payment and transaction volume continues to grow, and both traditional Wall Street and Main Street firms such as Fidelity, CME, NASDAQ, ICE, Microsoft, and Starbucks are building solutions and businesses in the space. In the private blockchain space, blockchain fintech applications are originating financial products and assets, improving operational processes, and reducing costs by leveraging technology from firms such as IBM, Microsoft’s Azure, Amazon’s Managed Blockchain, R3, and Hyperledger. Future public and private blockchain use cases and applications are emerging, while many of today’s applications are seeing continued development and can ultimately lead to more efficient, secure, and value-creating digital infrastructure.
For further reading, please contact Galaxy Digital for additional research white papers that dive into some of the topics discussed, including On Sound Money, Crypto Assets: Extending Permissionless Innovation, and Crypto Asset Valuation. | https://medium.com/galaxy-digital-research/blockchain-digital-assets-primer-95eae3643d11 | ['Galaxy Digital Research'] | 2019-11-19 16:11:41.093000+00:00 | ['Cryptocurrency', 'Ethereum', 'Blockchain', 'Bitcoin', 'Finance'] |
Students from DCI, Washington, DC. Celebrating African-American Culture | This will serve as a gallery for student work happening all over the country for #BlackLivesMatterAtSchool
Follow | https://medium.com/national-blm-week-of-action-in-schools/students-from-dci-washington-dc-celebrating-african-american-culture-a45575937492 | ['Christopher Rogers'] | 2019-02-08 20:10:16.565000+00:00 | ['Teaching', 'Schools', 'Racial Justice', 'BlackLivesMatter', 'Education'] |
Metaverse: Egotists’, Egomaniacs’, and Schizophrenics’ New Promised Land | Lex Luthor: Kitty, what did my father used to say to me? Kitty Kowalski: You’re losing your hair. Lex Luthor: Before that. Kitty Kowalski: Get out. Lex Luthor: He said: You can print money, manufacture diamonds, and people are a dime a dozen, but they’ll always need land. It’s the one thing they’re not making any more of.*
Technically, geologically and physically, what Lex says may be accurate, but truthfully, for a few years there has been a new virtual earth that has been slowly emerging. We cannot yet feel the heat of its sands with our bare toes, nor plant, still, a banner over its land, or satiate our thirst with fresh water from its mountain rivers, yet. It still does not mean that there is a chance that this will one day be possible. Maybe it will be.
The march advances from the original internet to 2.0, to 3.0 and no one knows how many x point zero remain. It’s to be discovered which of the analog real things will pass into virtual reality and which of the virtual will invade the real realm, not as a Skynet or a Space Odyssey, but as intellectual exoskeletons.
The virtual becomes existing and vice versa, the interactions between the realities affect each other, gradual and uniform at times, polluting and deformed others. And this could be dangerous. Mixing reality with fiction in real reality is called schizophrenia, and this ‘affects a person’s ability to think clearly, control their emotions, make decisions, or relate to others. It is a mental disorder in which it is difficult to differentiate between real and unreal experiences.’
The Metaverse, the new buzzword, which nobody knows what it means, but has become widespread is coming, although it has not yet fully arrived. It seems like a liberator waiting. It is a physical place that is in virtual reality. It is a universe within another universe within another universe like generations of psalms blessings and curses. Could they be parallel and complementary universes?
To understand things, the fastest way to capture them is by playing, so entertainment is at the forefront. Electronic games and movies lead, then companies arrive, and finally the indecipherable mammoth of politics will appear to conquer and hinder.
The quintessential exemplar of unbridled ambition, Lex Luthor, is an egomaniac. His intelligence can only be equaled and even surpassed by his egotism and megalomania, which sometimes interfere with his rational thinking. Nolan Sorrento, the ‘Spielbergian’ nemesis in Ready Player One of decentralization and Luddism, falls victim to the rebellious and untamed Metaverse that he wanted to possess and dominate.
As the virtual tectonic plates move, shaping the new virtual planet, they continue to be heard behind the doors that separate reality from fiction, the mysterious voices of the soul-eaters promising whatever it is for whoever it is. What creatures will escape and what spawn will enter to integrate the animalia? Pokémon’s, Gremlins, Red Dragons, Unicorns, Trolls, etc.?
How long will you live in virtual reality? Will there be Sundays and holidays? What will be private and what will be public? What new addictions will appear? Will virtual unions be born to regulate labor dynamics? What laws will govern that cosmos? How to find a virtual psychopath hidden between blockchains? How much will ethereal virtual psychologists charge a session hour? Who will be the first forger of NFTs? Will it happen? Where will be located Bitcoin’s Fort Knox?
Metaverse according to Binance. Metaverse according to Globant. Metaverse according to Meta. Metaverse according to Ernest Cline. | https://medium.com/@pablolacasia/metaverse-egotists-egomaniacs-and-schizophrenics-new-promised-land-9c1361223706 | [] | 2021-11-20 03:06:13.788000+00:00 | ['Virtual Reality', '3D Printing', 'Real Estate', 'Fomo', 'Metaverse'] |
Javascript Data Types | History & Introduction:
From the earliest days of the Web, JavaScript has been a foundational technology that drives interactive experience around the content we consume. While flickering mouse trails and annoying popup prompts may be where JavaScript started, nearly two decades later, the technology and capability of JavaScript has grown many orders of magnitude, and few doubt its importance at the heart of the world’s most widely available software platform: the Web.
“JavaScript” is as related to “Java” as “Carnival” is to “Car.”
Because JavaScript borrows concepts and syntax idioms from several languages, including proud C-style procedural roots as well as subtle.
While JavaScript is perhaps one of the easiest languages to get up and running with.
Types:
A type is an intrinsic, builtin set of characteristics that uniquely identify the behavior of particular value and distinguishes it from other values, both to the engine and to the developer.
Built-in Types:
JavaScript defines seven built-in types:
• null
• undefined
• boolean
• number
• string
• object
• symbol — added in ES6!
All of these types except object are called “primitives.”
Primitives:
Anything that is not an object, It can be String, Number, Null, Undefined. Primitive value get passed by value. primitive gets it’s own sopt in memory
Non Primitive:
Non Primitive value would be an object, array, a function, or promise. Non Primitive value get passed by refrence. Non Primitive share same place in memory. If you change the non primitive value it can change things in unusal ways.
The “typeof” operator inspects the type of the given value, and always returns one of the seven string values.
Objects
Objects in JavaScript, just as in many other programming languages, can be compared to objects in real life. The concept of objects in JavaScript can be understood with real life, tangible objects.
A JavaScript object has properties associated with it. A property of an object can be explained as a variable that is attached to the object. Object properties are basically the same as ordinary JavaScript variables, except for the attachment to objects. The properties of an object define the characteristics of the object. You access the properties of an object with a simple dot-notation:
var myCar = new Object();
myCar.make = 'Honda';
myCar.model = 'Civic';
myCar.year = 2016;
Arrays
The JavaScript Array class is a global object that is used in the construction of arrays; which are high-level, list-like objects.
JavaScript arrays are just containers for any type of value, from string to number to object to even another array (which is how you get multidimensional arrays):
var a = [ 1, “2”, [3] ];
a.length; // 3
a[0] === 1; // true
a[2][0] === 3; // true
Arrays are numerically indexed (as you’d expect), but the tricky thing is that they also are objects that can have string keys/properties added to them.
Generally, it’s not a great idea to add string keys/properties to
arrays. Use objects for holding values in keys/properties, and save
arrays for strictly numerically indexed values.
Strings
The String object is used to represent and manipulate a sequence of characters. Strings are useful for holding data that can be represented in text form. Some of the most-used operations on strings are to check their length.
It’s a very common belief that strings are essentially just arrays of characters. While the implementation under the covers may or may not use arrays, it’s important to realize that JavaScript strings are really not the same as arrays of characters. The similarity is mostly just skin-deep.
var a = "foo";
var b = ["f","o","o"]; a.length; // 3
b.length; // 3 a.indexOf( "o" ); // 1
b.indexOf( "o" ); // 1 var c = a.concat( "bar" ); // "foobar"
var d = b.concat( ["b","a","r"] ); // ["f","o","o","b","a","r"] a === c; // false
b === d; // false a; // "foo"
b; // ["f","o","o"] a.join; // undefined
a.map; // undefined a.reverse; // undefined
b.reverse(); // ["!","o","O","f"]
JavaScript strings are immutable, while arrays are quite mutable.
Numbers
JavaScript has just one numeric type: number. This type includes both “integer” values and fractional decimal numbers.
Number literals are expressed in JavaScript generally as base-10 decimal literals.
For example:
var a = 42; var b = 42.3;
var a = 0.42; var b = .42;
By default, most numbers will be outputted as base-10 decimals, with trailing fractional 0s removed. So:
var a = 42.300;
var b = 42.0; a; // 42.3
b; // 42
Undefined
Undefined means there’s definitely a variable and at the moment it has no value.
Variables that have no value currently actually have the undefined
value. An “undefined” variable is one that has been declared in the accessible scope, but at the moment has no other value in it.
It’s like the vacuum when there is no other value, undefined will be there.
The global undefined property represents the primitive value undefined. It is one of JavaScript’s primitive types. “Undefined” is a global variable that JavaScript creates at run time.
This global variable is assigned to an object in one of the following cases:
1. Declared but not defined –
JavaScript assigns ‘undefined’ to any object that has been declared but not initialized or defined. In other words, in a case where no value has been explicitly assigned to the variable, JavaScript calls it ‘undefined’.
2. Array index or object property that does not exist.
3. A function parameter that has not been supplied.
4. The return value of functions that have to but don’t return a value.
An illustration of this assignment is shown in the following –
var item; console.log(item)
In non-strict mode, it’s actually possible to assign a value to the globally provided undefined identifier:
function foo() {
undefined = 2; // really bad idea!
} foo(); function foo() {
"use strict";
undefined = 2; // TypeError!
}
Uninitialized
Uninitialized means a variable never even has any value & never declare, like out of scope variable.
Undeclared
Undeclared means it’s has not been created in any scope that we have access to.
Boolean
Boolean is a data type that returns either of two values i.e. true or false. In JavaScript, boolean is used as a function to get the value of a variable, object, conditions, expressions, etc. in terms of true or false.
var x = Boolean(expression); // use this...
var x = !!(expression); // ...or this
var x = new Boolean(expression); // don't use this!
Null
The value null represents the intentional absence of any object value. It is one of JavaScript’s primitive values and is treated as falsy for boolean operations. For the null type, there is one and only one value: null
Both undefined and null are often taken to be interchangeable as either “empty” values or “non” values.
Other developers prefer to distinguish between them with nuance. For example:
• null is an empty value.
• undefined is a missing value
OR
• undefined hasn’t had value yet.
• null had a value and doesn’t anymore.
typeof null === "object"
It’s a bug in JS, when do “typeof” with the null it returns object.
Then how you will check the value???
var a = null;
(!a && typeof a === "object") // true
Null is the only a primitive value that is falsy but which also return object from “typeof” check.
Summary
In JavaScript, variables don’t have types, values have types. Variables
can hold any value, at any time. JavaScript has seven built-in types: null, undefined, boolean, number, string, object, and symbol. They can be identified by the “typeof” operator.
In JavaScript, arrays are simply numerically indexed collections of any value type. strings are somewhat “array-like,” but they have distinct behaviors and care must be taken if you want to treat them as arrays. Numbers in JavaScript include both “integers” and floating-point values. The null type has just one value, null, and likewise, the undefined type has just the undefined value. undefined is basically the default value in any variable or property if no other value is present.
Generally, it’s not a great idea to add string keys/properties to
arrays. Use objects for holding values in keys/properties, and save
arrays for strictly numerically indexed values. | https://medium.com/@hassanrsiddiqi/javascript-data-types-15c1fec1329a | ['Hassan Raza'] | 2020-07-01 05:55:37.669000+00:00 | ['Arrays', 'Js', 'Data Type', 'Values'] |
Gradual Resumption Dilutes Fears of Severe Damage to Supply Chain | The worry that the global supply chain, especially of the auto industry, would be severely damaged by the sudden strike of the coronavirus, is being gradually mitigated as the world’s second-largest economy steadily guides companies to resume operation with policy supports and boosting consumption.
The novel coronavirus pneumonia outbreak, first detected in the city of Wuhan, central China’s Hubei Province, in December has already claimed the lives of more than 2,400 people worldwide with over 22,000 recovered cases in China as of Saturday.
To reduce people gathering and block the spread of the coronavirus epidemic, most kinds of enterprises in China, except those in sectors such as utilities, medical appliances, drugs, supermarkets, and food, were not allowed to resume their work before midnight of February 9. Some provinces even postponed until February 17.
Naturally, materials originating or transported through the virus-affected areas are insufficient, with a widespread labor shortage across China as many people also have been quarantined in the midst of the outbreak.
Thus, factories of many auto companies including Toyota, Hyundai Motor Company, Nissan, and FCA have to suspend production temporarily to varying degrees and have repeatedly delayed resumption due to insufficient supply of parts from China.
The production and sales volume of cars in China dropped in January by 24.6 percent and 18 percent respectively year-on-year due to the Spring Festival holiday and the new coronavirus outbreak.
Also, a report by the automotive trade body China Passenger Car Association on Wednesday showed that passenger car sales in China are down by 92 percent in the first two weeks of February as many dealerships remained closed.
Linchpin of auto-making
According to the annual report on the development of China’s automotive trade released by Ministry of Commerce last year, the export of auto parts by China in 2018 was 72.5 billion U.S. dollars, accounting for 82.4 percent of the total export of auto products, mainly exporting to the United States, Japan, Germany, and other developed countries.
Data from the National Bureau of Statistics shows that 2.24 million vehicles were produced in Hubei Province last year, accounting for 8.8 percent of the country’s total automobile production.
Wuhan, capital city of Hubei Province and epicenter of the outbreak, is a hub of communications with more than 10 million residents. Also, it is the linchpin in China’s manufacturing industry chain with lots of large-scale industrial clusters in electronics, automobile, and medicine fields.
According to the government work report of Wuhan in 2019, photoelectron information, automobiles and parts, biomedicine and medical devices are the three pillar industries of Wuhan, with the total revenue exceeding 500 billion yuan in 2018.
Many car companies gather in Wuhan, including Dongfeng Motor Corporation and SAIC-GM. Meanwhile, there are over 380 automobile manufacturing enterprises there, for instance, Getrag, Delphi, and Honeywell, covering main components involving chassis, gearbox, body, electronics, interior, and glass, based on the statistical yearbook of Wuhan in 2018.
Gradual resumption
Since the new coronavirus has been declared as a global health emergency by the World Health Organization as the end of January, some countries and enterprises have canceled or refused to accept orders from China in the name of preventing the spread of the epidemic, straining China’s auto and parts exports, according to China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM).
For those auto parts companies, the delivery of export orders has been delayed due to the supply chain disruption caused by the postponed production, which has resulted in a negative effect on the signing of orders later, according to Du Daofeng, an official from CAAM.
“As far as I know, many auto parts enterprises restarting work now are putting orders from abroad first, implicating their efforts to retain overseas customers,” he said.
By February 12, among 183 vehicle production bases in China that answered the survey conducted by CAAM, only 59 percent of factories had resumed production, though not at full force. While six days later, a survey from CAAM founded that over 75 percent of car and parts companies have resumed operations, like GAC Group, Toyota, and Honeywell.
Tesla Shanghai Gigafactory, as well as Shanghai Lingang Joyson Safety Systems Co., Ltd, a supplier of made-in-Shanghai Model 3 and Model Y cars, resumed production on Monday, devoting to speeding up the delivery process of China-made Tesla vehicles.
As of Wednesday, Brilliance Auto, as well as its 18 major subsidiaries have all resumed work.
Two days ago, there were already 100 vehicles on the production line for sale; distributors were also organized to launch online sales. Nearly 20,000 employees of the BMW Brilliance factories, the joint venture of Brilliance Auto and its German partner, BMW, in the northeastern Chinese city of Shenyang returned to work on the same day.
When the epidemic broke out, the joint venture upgrading project of over 9 billion yuan (1.2 billion U.S. dollars) investment was about to start construction. Huge economic losses might hit the BMW group’s largest overseas production base if approval of the project was delayed due to the outbreak.
Usually, an enterprise gets the land before the approval procedures start, which takes about 50 days, according to Li Gang, the director of Shenyang Dadong district. But given the situation, relevant parties started working on them before the applicants submitted all the required materials and reviewed the project plan through video conference.
“We proposed to provide its information to relevant enterprises and government departments so that they can jointly carry out examination and approval to ensure that 15 government documents including construction permits are delivered to the company on the day of the land acquisition,” said Li.
Eventually, it took only one day to complete all the approval procedures. Wilhelm Konnerth, the Dadong plant upgrade project leader, said the project will not be delayed due to the outbreak. “At this special moment, we managed to get the approval certificates we needed on schedule, which was not easy,” he added.
Brilliance Auto has also released safety guidelines and prepared masks, disinfection tools, thermometers and other materials. Meanwhile, food is delivered to each worker to avoid cross-infection when they gather in the canteen for lunch or dinner.
CEO of BMW brilliance, Dr. Johann Wieland, wrote a letter to express thanks to the Shenyang municipal government. He believed that the company can respond quickly to changes in the market and will develop plans based on the actual situation to minimize the impact of the outbreaks on production, which is thanks to their flexible production system and the support from government at all levels. And the CEO was confident to successfully complete the annual production, sales targets and construction of major projects.
More consumption
To promote consumption, Chinese President Xi Jinping has encouraged regions with restrictions on car purchases to loosen control by issuing more license plates.
As the outbreak starts to take its toll on China’s economy, President Xi noted that one of the main tools to hedge the negative economic impact of the virus is to expand consumption, especially through sales of big-ticket items, including automobiles.
Currently, regions with purchase limits can issue up to 500,000 or 600,000 plates annually. Adding another 200,000 to 300,000 could boost consumer confidence and lift the market, according to Cui Dongshu, secretary-general of the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA).
Foshan City in south China’s Guangdong Province has advanced one step as customers there will receive subsidies when purchasing locally registered vehicles complying with the “China VI” vehicle emission standards.
Temporary and limited
As the world’s second-largest importer, China achieved a total of 31.54 trillion yuan (about 4.6 trillion U.S. dollars) foreign trade in 2019.
The country also remains the second-largest recipient of FDI and the largest among developing economies, according to the report released by the United Nations Conference on Trade.
Kate Kui, president of NetEase Agriculture Business, thought the short-term loss across industries is inevitable, but forecasting recovery in the long run.
“Practically speaking, there is no way for any multinational company suddenly to shift, because building a new place, evaluating the site, we’ll take a lot of time by getting all these kind of talents on-site on board. So I think in the short term, it’s definitely not practical,” she stressed.
Jimmy Zhu, the chief strategist at Fullerton Research also agreed that production will gradually return to normal levels by end of the first quarter as long as there are no further outbreaks of COVID-19.
After 70 years of development, China has become the only country that possesses all the industrial categories in the United Nations industrial classification with the competitive edge of a complete and efficient supply chain.
Kui believed that China is appealing to global players as the manufacturing center. “Having said that, China remains to be the most attractive sites globally for manufacturing center. And the fact that all these multinational companies set their manufacturing center in China is also after very prudent and cautious thinking and evaluation process,” she said.
In a word, evolutionary globalization allows countries to share opportunities but also makes it difficult for any country to stay out of common trouble such as the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
Possibly, the key to ensuring a safe supply chain is to improve the emergency supply chain management, to implement intelligent production, like robot and telecommuting to cope with the shortage of workers, as well as to replace 4S stores with online sales through advanced technology, such as 5G and VR. | https://medium.com/@fullertonmkts/gradual-resumption-dilutes-fears-of-severe-damage-to-supply-chain-3593eb63feb | ['Fullerton Markets'] | 2020-02-28 07:57:05.640000+00:00 | ['Co Vid 19'] |
Design thinking and lean startup concepts to make your team more agile. | Here is a summary of some of the reference material I have found most useful in exploring design thinking and lean start-up concepts to get to the heart of the problem you are trying to solve. Often despite all this prework you have to acknowledge that you may still end up with the wrong problem statement which is where the beauty of the design process comes in, as you ideate and prototype your concepts and continually refine your problem statement with real client feedback. A side benefit of this approach is that you are setting yourself up with excellent stakeholder engagement.
The initial phase when you approach a problem with design thinking is to avoid converging too quickly on a solution — now is the time for divergent thinking and coming up with as many ideas as possible. When you think you have enough — come up with more! This 3rd Third concept from Tim Hurson gets you to examine a process 3 times before looking to move one.
A key component of defining the problem you are working on is understanding the people you are solving the problem for. Consider using the Experience Map, Empathy Map, and systems thinking tools to help you look at connections and linkages beyond the linear 5 why’s type analysis.
A wonderful example of the design process being used to understand and find the clients pain points and the problem that requires solutions is the human centred design (HCD) case study — Toward a veteran centred VA. IDEO’s guide to human centred design is an excellent starting reference
Elements of a Customer Journey Map — (ref NNGroup)
If you find yourself stuck, look at reframing the opportunity — this allows you to step back, examine your biases, and open up new solution spaces — how would you solve it if you had no money; all the money; What if you where a fireman; a doctor; a child; a 90 year old; how could this be the greatest opportunity ever — what has to be true; what would the founder do; what would new management do; What if you had to solve it tomorrow; What about it needing to be 10x better for half the price? More good questions to ask when you are stuck here
Once you have used design thinking tools to understand your audience and frame a problem then you should be starting to see some better defined boundaries around your solution space — something like the business model canvas or lean canvas or lean change canvas or lean dashboard are all tools that you can use to help capture current thinking and areas of uncertainty.
For a known problem with an unknown solution you want to apply a more iterative style such as Agile / Scrum, kanban, a design sprint or rapid learning cycles. Ash Maurya summarises how the sprint cycles come together to form a LEAN sprint.
Geert Claes plots out graphically how some of these different style interact at different phases of problem solution. Also a good summary of the methodologies here.
If you need some added motivation for why you should move towards an agile approach in your business you can look at this McKinsey study on the trademarks of an Agile organisation; Ash Maurya on theory 3x3 perspective; Scaled Agile framework on how their portfolio of options fit together (great for an enterprise wide summary); This great slideshare running through the lean startup process; Or this summary of why Lean drives value. The Spotify Engineering culture videos Part 1 and Part 2 are excellent summaries as well.
Ash Maurya — A 3x3x3 Perspective for getting your Vision, Strategy, and Product aligned
Finally Jeff Patton looks at the continuous delivery of projects whilst combining the development of new concepts. One track focused on maximising learning velocity, the other track on delivery velocity.
Books for the journey
Courses
Links | https://medium.com/10x-curiosity/design-thinking-and-lean-startup-concepts-to-make-your-team-more-agile-c659bbc82d1 | ['Tom Connor'] | 2019-09-20 00:45:53.893000+00:00 | ['Tom Connor', 'Blog', 'Design Thinking', 'Lean Startup', 'Agile'] |
Mother Perplexed That 3-yo Son is Not Gay, Trans, and/or Demisexual Yet | CALIFORNIA — A mother was expressing total confusion at the fact that her 3-year-old son Tommy is not Gay, Trans, and/or Demisexual yet.
“It’s very strange to me. He knows he can be whatever he wants to be, I tell him multiple times a day, so I just can’t understand why he isn’t Trans or Pansexual yet, or both,” the mother said. “I mean, every other local parent I know has already made their kid a boy, then a girl, and then a boy again, so why isn’t little Tommy like that yet? What’s wrong with him? Why can’t he just be normal and say he’s Non-Binary or something? Come on!
“I just know he’s giving me signs, though. I just know it. Yesterday he accidentally called me ‘daddy’ instead of mommy. He knows he has two mommies and no daddies, he knows it! It must be some kind of sign, yeah, some sign that he’s confused because he’s in the wrong body, the wrong gender, of course! That’s it! I think I’ll make him a girl just to be sure. It’s okay anyway, the operation is totally safe and a reversible if Tommy changes his mind. Now I can finally not be the only one at my book club that has a normal child. Now my opinion actually matters! Now Tommy, choke on those hormone blockers for me, okay?” | https://medium.com/@planetxmedia/mother-perplexed-that-3-yo-son-is-not-gay-trans-and-or-demisexual-yet-3b2b27b7d23e | ['Planet X Media'] | 2020-12-19 04:17:21.125000+00:00 | ['News', 'Confusion', 'Parenting', 'California', 'Sexuality'] |
Sketch 71 — Real-Time Collaboration is here! | Real-Time Collaboration is now officially available for Sketch! How to use it? Where may it help you? You will find the answers in this article.
Before You will discover the details of Real-Time Collaboration, here are some two more interesting things in Sketch 71:
⭐️ Starred Updates — now you may highlight the most important updates of you document and control who may see its version history. You may also choose which Library updates will be available for everyone in your Team!
— now you may highlight the most important updates of you document and control who may see its version history. You may also choose which Library updates will be available for everyone in your Team! 🗄 Linked Data — If your layers will be named like JSON keys of your file with data (added to Sketch as data source). You may use Linked Data feature to automatically fill them with necessary content.
Ok… now, grab the mug of your favorite coffee ☕️, and let’s discover Real-Time Collaboration!
Who can use Real-Time Collaboration in Sketch?
The first thing you have to ensure is a valid Sketch account and software version. Obviously, Real-Time Collaboration is mostly needed for Teams. Lone-wolves do not have to work with other designers so often.
That is why initially, there is a need to have Sketch for Teams Subscription Sketch will also present some personal subscription plan. So individual designers will also be able to invite others to collaborate with (yay!).
Second, You need to have a shared document in your team’s workspace to begin. To do this, simply save it to the Cloud and move from a personal to a shared workspace.
How the Collaboration Looks like?
Sketch Real-Time Collaboration is very smooth and natural. Sketch Team spent countless hours of time to make sure that it will work and feel right.
First think you will notice are the active Team Members avatars in the top-right corner of the Sketch window.
You also will see all of your active Team Member cursors on the canvas. You will see the colorful cursors moving around. However, it is worth to mention, that you will not see the action they performed until it will be finished… and that’s good! Thanks to this, moving layers or typing letters will not distract you.
Sketch Team has deeply analyzed Real-Time Collaboration to help you stay focused during the work. This is an excellent approach.
If you think about editing together the same layer and the same object — remember, the last edit will always win. 😉
You may see all other aspects of Real-Time Collaboration in the official Sketch Documentation.
Image from Sketch.com
Saving the documents
During the Real-Time Collaboration, you always see the most up-to-date version of your document.
You do not have to click the save button manually before you close Sketch. When you complete the action, the app saves it to the Cloud automatically by combining your updates into a new version of the file.
You obviously may save the document as always. This will also create a new version of the file.
How to use it in practice
While it is hard to imagine that in Real-Time Collaboration will be used to design one mockup by two or three designers in just one moment 🤪, it will have plenty of practical usages:
Design System Development — UI Libraries are usually huge if you do not use the template starter kit to begin with. You and your team will have to build all components from scratch. It will be much faster to create UI elements at one time in one file and use common shared styles and color variables.
— UI Libraries are usually huge if you do not use the template starter kit to begin with. You and your team will have to build all components from scratch. It will be much faster to create UI elements at one time in one file and use common shared styles and color variables. Design Reviews — If you have a routine of reviewing created mockups together, now it will be much easier with Real-Time Collaboration. Team members will be able to select specific elements and fix potential issues live together.
— If you have a routine of reviewing created mockups together, now it will be much easier with Real-Time Collaboration. Team members will be able to select specific elements and fix potential issues live together. Design Thinking Sessions & Brain-storming– Sketch may be used now as the board for the remote workshops where you solve real problems with your team using creative frameworks.
Real-Time Collaboration is also useful to have a little fun during the breaks. I have prepared a Sketch document where you may play Chess and Checkers with your team!
♟ Get the Check & Checkers for Sketch for Free.
One more thing for Sketch users…
It feels like Sketch 71 is a new chapter for Sketch as a design tool. It is a very positive coincidence that in the same week I also published a huge new version of Prime Design Starter Kit. Version 3.0 includes even over 2000+ components and more smart techniques for Mobile & Web. The kit is now a set of 7 libraries! 💪
Feel free to see it on the official website and grab 35% off as a launch offer! 🎉
Prime goal is to help you work 10x faster and maintain the high-quality of your designs. It includes all the smart tricks I described in my tutorials, so you may be sure that the kit will boost your workflow.
Prime 3.0 intro
New Sketch, new Prime, what a perfect week! 🤓
To conclude
Real-Time Collaboration is a completely new chapter for working together in Sketch. Personally, I love it, because, in the time of remote-working, it simplifies processes a lot.
What are your thoughts on the new feature? Let me know in the comments!
Thanks for reading!
This article was originally published on my blog. | https://medium.com/sketch-app-sources/sketch-71-real-time-collaboration-is-here-a8aef671f588 | [] | 2021-03-23 18:59:23.067000+00:00 | ['Realtime Collaboration', 'Design Systems', 'Design Tools', 'Sketch 71', 'Sketch'] |
FROM ME TO YOU (Loosing a Friend) | FROM ME TO YOU (Loosing a Friend)
Omo!
They say break up is hard (agreed) but have you ever unconsciously, gradually lost a friend?? That shit hurts like a bitch, fah!😫
I Lost him! I lost my best friend of 2 years!
Talk about the declining communication rate between us, and the rate at which my best friend side tracked me.
We started having less to talk about, and few to laugh about. Gradually "B" became a stranger. From best friends to status viewer, trust me, you don't want to know.
His words, "I get so tired I don't have the energy to talk and chat for so long."
But with those he could text for so long and even beyond, he did.
It became awkward, heck it was awkward.
Most especially when I got something bubbling to talk about and he's not there. Or when I need someone to lament to but can't find him. When I need to cry my heart out and he was away. It was insane but like they say, we move! But how can I move?
• I had gotten so used to "B"
• I was closer to him.
• I without restrictions told him everything, even my worst fears.
• And I still never forget our paramount dreams to eat in Paris after giving the loudest ovation to each other for winning the Grammy.
I miss "B" yes, but then I still have something to hold on to when I miss him badly.
“Memories of this good O’ld times.”
With "B" I made memories enough to probably last a life time.
It's hard enough already, he was my closest one! And poof! He was gone.
All I then had to hold on too were memories, only memories😫 but then this memories lifted my spirit at the lowest moments.
I’d laugh when I remember something "B" would have said when I find myself in a particular situation, those moments would be the most hilarious.
I would also smile when I remember what he would have said when work became tiring.
I can’t exactly say whatever I had with Abiola is over, but while the certainty lasted, it was extreme golden and fun, and while it looked like we parted, we parted with a lot of good memories.
Great memories are healthy, so endeavour to make beautiful memories with those you got by your side, in your corner and your space.
With your friends, acquaintances, colleagues and family,
Keep the Love that exists burning while it lasts.
If the love isn't gonna last forever, you aren't entitled to them fah,
Then vibe till whenever, relax and bask in the pleasure of having this people in your corner.
And if it doesn’t last forever (well nothing does),
These memories will as long as you draw breath.
Oya,
Sho fun mi baby, (Tell me baby)
What kind of vibes run in your circle?
That friend you're close to,
Did you make awesome memories with them or you had them just pass by?
©️Aderounke Adewale | https://medium.com/@ronkiedewale2001/from-me-to-you-loosing-a-friend-aca87346627f | ['Aderounke Adewale'] | 2020-12-21 15:23:38.475000+00:00 | ['Love And Light', 'Love Hugs And Kissesss', 'Friendship', 'From Me To You', 'Heartbreak'] |
How Many Times can you Disappoint Me? | As young men growing up we naturally envy the men in our life. You see fathers, brothers, and uncles as examples of how to be and what we to be in life. As a kid growing up in Atlanta, Georgia Elijah wanted so bad to be like and close to his father but in life, we realize how far away they are. The first disappointment is etched so deeply into his brain because he expected so much. Around 4–5 years old it was a great day for him from start. His mother who was his sole parent called his father who does not live with them and was never married came over to see their son. Elijah hadn’t seen him in weeks and was extremely excited to see him and even get to spend the night at his house. In the late afternoon they played games and all of his toys, nothing could take this happiness away. Once all playing was done they ate as a family. Elijah asked his father, “Can I come to your house?”. He answers, “of course”. Just imagine going upstairs getting in the tub and packing his own bag at 5 years old overly excited to go and spend more time with his father. Nothing could top this moment. Wearing shorts, a T-shirt, and light-up shoes ready to go to his father’s house. Walking down the stairs with glee and happiness and seeing my mother with the look of “I Told You So”. The father was nowhere to be found. Son runs back and forth from the back sliding door to the front door looking aimlessly. Son asked his mom, “where did he go?”, mom responds nonchalantly, “told you he is going to lie”. The child running out the back sliding door, running through the brush with no shoes to see the grey Honda Accord drive right past the tears in his son’s eyes. All-day this young man anticipated spending the night with his hero and king to only be passed up and let down. Turning around to a locked door behind him with nowhere to go. A mother that’s teaching a lesson and a father that needs a lesson to be taught. Fountain of tears on the son’s face leading to more years of disappointment to come. His mother tells him never to rely on anyone because they will let him down over and over again. | https://medium.com/@elijah-redmond93/how-many-times-can-you-disappoint-me-b0404699f5a1 | ['Elijah Lashawn Redmond'] | 2021-01-03 03:06:49.593000+00:00 | ['Men', 'Storytelling', 'Father', 'Storyofmylife', 'Lost'] |
Writing Isn’t For You | I was twenty-four the first time I was paid for something I’d written.
It was a short article for Dog Fancy magazine about dog-friendly restaurants in Las Vegas.
I was paid $10, which was about half as much as my copy of Writer’s Market where I’d found the magazine’s submission guidelines. I couldn’t afford to buy that book, but I did it anyway, because it made me feel like a real writer.
I’ve learned a lot about writing since then.
But today I want to talk to you about something important I realized early on. Long before I used that $10 to fill up my gas tank. (You could do that in 1996.)
I realized something that changed everything.
I realized that writing isn’t for me.
I had this epiphany when I was still in high school and, I’m not going to lie. It broke my heart.
That was more about the method of delivery than the actual lesson, though.
My stepmother had a friend who was a high-school art teacher. He was her drinking buddy while my dad was in prison and I had a kind of crush on him. Not because he was so attractive or because I had a thing for men in their 40s.
No. I had a semi-crush on him because he was an artist and that was as close as I had at the time to knowing someone who created anything — which was as close as I could get at 15 to a writing community.
I loved words. Everything about them. The way they weren’t much, taken individually, but could be strung together into absolute magic.
The way, when they were strung together right, they became stories. And my God, I loved stories.
When I was fifteen, I wrote short stories and poetry on yellow legal pads with black Sharpie markers.
And when I was fifteen, my stepmother’s drinking buddy — the art teacher I had a semi-crush on — came into our kitchen and found me working on a poem at the table.
He pulled it out of my hands and read it out loud in the world’s most dull, monotone voice.
Looking back on it, from a space of more than thirty years, I’m pretty sure he was making fun of me.
He clearly didn’t get out of my poem, when I’d tried to put into it.
But regardless of whether or not he had cruel intentions — he taught me a lesson that I’ve never forgotten.
You’re doing it wrong, I said.
I can’t do it wrong, he said. It’s my poem.
But, I wrote it.
But, I’m reading it.
Writing isn’t for me.
It’s for the reader. It belongs to the reader.
Sure, it’s mine for a little while. All the ideas that are swimming around in my head are still mine. This blog post is mine as I write it.
Not because I’m writing it, though. Because I’m the only one reading it at the moment. I’m interpreting the words in a way that is, of course, extra right since I know exactly what they’re supposed to mean.
While I’m working, I can be greedy. I’m the only one the story belongs to.
Once I hit the ‘publish’ button on this post, it’s not mine anymore. And ‘supposed to mean’ loses all value.
After I hit publish, this story is yours. You, who are reading these words right this moment.
And maybe you’ll get out of them what I meant for you to.
Maybe you won’t, though. And that’s okay.
It’s more than okay. It’s the way it should be.
Think about yourself as a reader.
Think about a book you love.
Really love. Maybe a childhood favorite. The first book that ignited you.
The Secret Garden. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. Maybe something by C.S. Lewis, or J.R.R. Tolkien, or Roald Dahl.
A book that you dog-eared and read more than once. One where the main character felt like a friend who seemed to know all of your secrets.
Think about how you feel when you stumble on that story in the wild. Maybe you when you come across it in the library or a thrift store or on someone’s bookshelf.
If you have kids, think about how you felt when you read that book out loud to them the first time. Or when you walked into their bedroom and found them reading that book. On purpose.
Your book.
That’s how it feels, right? You have a moment of oh, that’s mine.
When you recommend it to someone else, you feel magnanimous. Like you’re giving them a gift.
It’s a real, visceral experience, that feeling.
That’s what you’re doing, when you write.
You’re creating that feeling for someone else.
If you can start to see writing as a service you provide to your readers, it will shift something in your work for the better.
Think about what you want your reader to feel. The experience you want them to have.
When you tell your story, understand that you’re not telling it for you.
If you can wrap your head around the idea that writing isn’t for you, you’ll create something that people want to read. | https://medium.com/the-1000-day-mfa/writing-isnt-for-you-5db6f6f66e78 | ['Shaunta Grimes'] | 2019-07-08 20:55:39.901000+00:00 | ['Reading', 'Writing', 'Productivity', 'Self', 'Creativity'] |
Get DeFi Projects data with DeFi Pulse API | DeFi Pulse
DeFi Pulse is a website where you can get DeFi protocol’s analytics and ranking. It’s used a lot by the community to keep track of a protocol’s Total Value Locked (TVL).
DeFi Pulse offers API Endpoints where we can get data from multiple protocols. For example you can call the API to get a detailed breakdown of the Total Value Locked (TVL) by protocol or get the current borrowing and lending rates from DeFi projects. The API also allow us to get information about Ethereum’s Gas Price, which can be very helpful. The API documentation can be found below:
In order to call the API you will need an API Key. In order to create one, you have to register on their website (https://data.defipulse.com/).The API key will go on the url as a query string when making a request.
Building the sdk
As we will be making HTTP calls to the API, the class will need to get the HttpClient class by construction injection. We will be using the IHttpClientFactory in order to create the HttpClient. This is the recommended approach when dealing with HTTP requests.
We will create a class called DeFiPulse.cs that will take 2 parametes, the HttpClient created by the IHttpClientFactory and the API Key:
DeFiPulse.cs
Get DeFi Projects Market Overview Endpoint
With an instance of HttpClient and the API Key, we can call the API endpoints. Instead of doing a simple _httpClient.GetAsync() , validate the payload and then deserialize it into our class, we will download the System.Net.Http.Json library and use the _httpClient.GetFromJsonAsync<T>() extension method that already does that for us. In order to add it to our project, we will simply run the following cli command:
dotnet add package System.Net.Http.Json --version 5.0.0
In example below we will call the GetDeFiProjectsMarketOverview Endpoint:
Call the GetDeFiProjectsMarketOverview Endpoint
We will get the following JSON response:
GetDeFiProjectsMarketOverview JSON response
Add DeFiPulse class to the Dependency Injection Container
In order to have acess to the DeFiPulse class we have built, we will add it to the DI Container. In order to do so, we will create the IDeFiPulse interface and create the extension method AddDeFiPulse as we can see in the code below. We create an extension method for the IServiceCollection interface because when using this sdk, we will simply add in the StartUp.cs class the services.AddDeFiPulse("Your API Key here"); .
AddDeFiPulse extension method
In the code above we have used the HttpClient typed client that is just an HttpClient that's pre-configured for some specific use.
Create Custom DeFiPulse Exception
C# has built-in exception types such as ArgumentNullException and NullReferenceException . We can create our own custom Exception that fits our business needs. In our case we will create a DeFiPulseException . In order to do that, we will create our class that derives from the Exception class:
We can now catch and throw our DeFiPulseException as seen in the example below when calling the API in order to get the Historical Total Value Locked in the DeFi protocols:
Use the DeFiPulse sdk
Now that we have built the sdk, we can use it in our own APIs. In the example below, we will get the IDeFiPulse interface via constructor injection and then we are able to call its methods as seen in the sample controller below:
Use IDeFiPulse.cs
DeFiPulse dotnet standard library
This complete library is free and can be downloaded and added to your project by running the cli command:
dotnet add package DeFiPulse --version 1.0.1
You can also add this package by going to nuget, the official package manager for .NET or by going to GitHub:
Conclusion
Decentralized Finance is an exciting field and it will for sure keep growing in the next years. If you are interested in learning more about DeFi, in the References section below there are some interesting articles about the subject.
In this article we have built a dotnet wrapper for the DeFiPulse API in order to get the DeFi Protocols analytics, ranking and get the Gas Price from the Ethereum blockchain.
References
Also, Read | https://medium.com/coinmonks/get-defi-projects-data-with-defi-pulse-api-81721f8e6dd2 | [] | 2020-12-28 13:11:09.670000+00:00 | ['Dotnet', 'Defi', 'Ethereum', 'Cryptocurrency', 'Blockchain'] |
By Marc Shawn Serrano & The Vocalizers | By Marc Shawn Serrano & The Vocalizers
Scene 1:
Narration: Gather around — good girls and boys.
“Jollyland 2” is much more than just some noise.
Christmas is almost here and some kids have been very bad.
But now — we will continue our story right where we left it off at.
(Marky flying above his house)
(Bells ring)
Krumpus: (Seductive) Forget them, Marky.
Forget them all. Come with me!
Marky: (Inquisitive) Who are you?
(Sounds of thunder)
Krumpus: Santa’s helper. You’ve been watching. You’ve been pouting.
(Manipulative) Have you been crying?
Marky: I knew that Santa wasn’t real since I was in the 3rd grade.
Krumpus: Santa’s not coming to town tonight.
I heard that you wanted to run away. Now, why do you want to run away?
Marky: Christmas is coming, but I’m not happy.
I have to be the “man of the house.”
I’m not perfect.
I’m only 13.
Cindy: Marky, get back down here!
Krumpus: Don’t listen to her! Listen to me. (Rings bells) I can show you some magic.
Marky: Mom, look at me. I’m flying!
Cindy: I thought you didn’t believe in magic. How did you get up there?
Marky: Mom, you’re right. Magic *is* real. Look at what I can do!
Krumpus: You could do much more in Jollyland.
(Dogs barking)
Cindy: (Yells out)
Marky, you’re gonna be late for school. (Dog barks again) Echo, get in the house.
Marky: What would I have to do?
Krumpus: Leave everything here behind. You don’t need any baggage. You don’t need a ticket. Just your bad behavior.
I mean — yourself.
Marky: Will I be able to come back in time for Christmas?
Krumpus: No — I’m afraid not.
Marky: No? Then, forget it.
Krumpus: (Sighs) So be it. (Snaps fingers)
(Marky loses his wings and falls indefinitely from the sky)
Marky: Ah. (Covers face) Mom, Help. I’m falling. (Falls even faster) Fast.
Krumpus: (laughs) Guess you can learn the hard way. Soon you’ll have no choice anyways. (Whips) (laughs)
Marky: Ah. (Cries) That hurt.
Krumpus: Tis the season to be jolly.
Marky: (Screams). Help. Help. Help.
(Alarm bell rings)
Paul: Marky!
Marky: Help. (Tosses and turns in deep sleep). But I didn’t do anything wrong!
Paul: (shakes Marky) Marky, wake up! You’re having a bad dream.
Marky: Where am I?
Paul: You’re at home, dummy.
Marky: I think I had a bad nightmare.
Jon: We could tell. No wonder why grandpa calls you Rocky, you were boxing in your sleep.
Paul: Are you alright?
Marky: I’m fine. Except — I already forgot everything that I was dreaming about.
Jon: That happens to me all of the time. Next time that I see you throwing punches like that Marky, I might have to introduce you to some Mike Tyson.
Paul: Well, it must of been about falling down. (Laughs) You kept screaming for help.
Jon: That’s what he gets for always sleeping on the top bunk.
Paul: Mom was yelling at you to get ready for school. She says if you don’t get ready in 5 minutes she’s gonna kick your ass
(Cindy opens door)
Cindy: What are you doing? Let’s go. You’re gonna miss the bus!
(School bus pulls up in front of house)
Paul: Mr. Rogers is here.
Cindy: He always shows up so early. He should of just been a race car driver.
(School bus honks)
Mr. Rogers: Good morning. I’M HERE!
(School bus honks again)
Cindy: They’re coming. Hold on.
Mr. Roger: Alright kids. I ain’t got all day.
Cindy: Mr. Rogers. Just 1 minute.
Mr. Roger: This better not be like last Friday.
Nothing like “dropping the kids off at school” right when i’m there to pick them up. (Says to himself) Ridiculous.
Hurry up.
I better see some smiles.
I burn about 2 tanks of gas a day so that you can learn how to add. Come on.
Cindy: Jon, you better not get into any fights today!
Jon: Why are you always picking on me? I’m the middle child, not the bad child. Marky just got into a fight yesterday. You didn’t say anything!
Marky: Leave me alone or i’ll tell mom about you taking Steve’s dirty magazines!
(Kid throws book at the back of Mr. Rogers head)
(Slams into wheel) (Honks) Ouch. What is that? a book? Who the fuck is throwing this shit at me?
Y’all are the meanest little motherfuckers I ever met.
I don’t know if they’re training you kids to be this or what. You motherfuckers be back here & I don’t know when something’s gonna hit me behind the head or every God damn thing.
(Looks behind shoulder) And every damn one of you is looking like you innocent!
Okay, I got something for y’all. (Turns on classical radio)
(Bus moans in sadness) You some hard-horned motherfuckers — that’s all I know. I ain’t do nothing to any of you damn kids. Here you go.
Cindy: (comes running toward bus) Sorry Mr. Rogers. I promise — We are ready now. (Grunts at kids) Get in kids. You’re late.
Mr. Roger: Miss Serrano, You doing okay?
Cindy: Yeah, i’m okay. How are you doing?
Mr. Rogers: I need an undercover bus rider that’s all know.
Cindy: (laughs) You always make me laugh.
Mr. Rogers: Your kids are a God damn pain in my ass.
Scene 2:
(Phone rings)
Veronica: Gracie?
Gracie: Hey Veronica.
Veronica: Are you alright?
I heard about the car accident.
Gracie: I’m fine.
I’m here with Marlene right now. I’m just worried about my dad.
Veronica: Your dad is strong.
He’ll pull through.
Gracie: I hope. It just gives me flashbacks of what you went through.
Veronica: Don’t mention it.
Frank will be in my thoughts & prayers.
Gracie: Do you need a ride to school?
Veronica: You’re still going?
Gracie: Yeah. It’s the last day of school & I left some things there.
Veronica: But what about your dad?
Gracie: I won’t be able to see my dad until tonight anyways. He is all the way in Ann Arbor.
Veronica:
I was thinking about skipping school today tho’
(Silent moment)
But if you go, i’ll go.
I have to tell you something in person anyways.
Gracie: Cool. See you soon
(Phone call ends)
***************************
(Transition scene — Marlene and Gracie are riding in the car going to pick up Veronica Blair)
Marlene: You know I said it was okay to call me mother.
Gracie: It’s fine.
Marlene: If your dad doesn’t survive, it’ll just be us two…
Gracie: Why would you even say that? My father is a champion. He’ll survive.
Marlene: I’m just giving you the basic realities of what the doctors told me.
Gracie: Well, they should’ve of spoken to me first!
Marlene: You were bleeding.
Gracie: This is going to be the worst Christmas ever.
Marlene: Don’t say that.
Gracie: I hate you.
Marlene: This is why I should be locking you up at Divine Child instead! Your mouth, young lady! I heard about those comments on your video!
Gracie: Just leave me alone!
Marlene: Your father and me have been discussing sending you to boarding school.
Gracie: (sarcastic) So, I could be happy and live in only one place for once?
Marlene: Do you want to lose your friends?
Gracie: Nothing new to me!
Marlene: Your new friends?
(Gracie remains quiet.) Thought so.
Gracie: I just want my daddy to come back! That’s it! That’s what we will be focusing on. Getting him back.
Marlene: The doctors make it seem like we will need a miracle to bring him back… but we will be praying
Gracie: It won’t be Christmas without him.
Marlene: Lets just take this one step at a time and get you to your the last day of school.
Gracie: Winter break. How fun. So I can cry myself to sleep everynight.
Marlene: I thought you hated school
*****************
(Transition scene; this is Veronica Blair and her mom {new character} Tricia Blair and the landlord is standing right outside the door demanding rent that hasn’t been paid in weeks!)
******************
Landlord: Ms. Blair, i’m afraid you have to leave on Thursday.
Ms. Blair: (Veronica’s Mom) …But that’s Christmas Eve.
Landlord: You haven’t sent me any money for the rent in weeks!
Ms. Blair: But can’t you just wait til the New Year?
Veronica: Mom, is everything okay?
Ms. Blair: Just get ready for school Veronica, don’t listen to us.
Landlord: No!
You’re already late!
Ms. Blair: You let it slide before. Can’t you do it again? It’s the Holidays!
Landlord: Not this time! Send the payment to me for both months rent or you’re out on the 24th! That’s it!
(Slams door)
Veronica: Mom?
Ms. Blair: (slamming of door scares her): Veronica, what are you doing?
Veronica: Is everything okay?
Ms. Blair: You’re going to be late for the bus. Mr. Rogers is going to be here soon.
Hurry up!
Veronica: Gracie is picking me up.
Is everything alright mom?
Ms. Blair: It’s okay. I’m still waiting on SSI from your father’s accident.
Veronica: I miss him so much.
Ms. Blair: I know honey, I miss him too. We would trade it all just to have him back!
Veronica: I’m worried about Christmas —
Ms. Blair: Don’t be.
(Car honks)
Veronica: Gracie is here!
(Kisses Ms Blair on cheek)
Ms. Blair: You still have me.
Don’t you worry about a thing.
Veronica: Love you, mom.
Ms. Blair: Love you too. I’m going to do everything in my power to keep us here.
(Kisses again on other cheek)
Have a good day at school and stay out of trouble! I heard about you going off and trying to become some news reporter or something?
Veronica: Don’t worry mom. I’m coming home right after school.
Ms. Blair: Okay. If you change your mind. Call me, at least?
Veronica: Deal.
Ms. Blair: See you after school.
*********************************
(Veronica Runs outside)
[Transition scene ends]
(Car honks again)
*********************************
Marlene: Hop on in Veronica! Don’t mind Gracie — she’s obviously not in the best mood.
Veronica: Ooo. Ouch. That look like it hurt.
Gracie: From the accident.
Marlene: She almost left unscathed.
Veronica: Weren’t you scared?
Gracie: Terrified.
Veronica: How’s Frank? Is he okay?
Marlene: They put him in an induced coma and put him on ventilators… they say with his injuries that’s the only way he will have a chance.
They didn’t say how long, but we are hoping he’ll come home to us before Christmas.
Veronica: I’m so sorry to hear that. Frank is a strong man. I know Frank will pull through.
Marlene: Thank you. It just hasn’t been the same with out him.
Veronica: My father was in a bad accident last year. Unfortunately, he didn’t make it.
Marlene: Oh, you poor thing.
Gracie: I remember when that happened!
Veronica: Yeah, we had met right after. I was a mess!
Marlene: I’m so sorry to hear that Veronica. I never knew that.
Veronica: It’s okay. I just remember what he used to tell me.
Marlene: What did he say?
Veronica: That the greatest gift in life is “today” — that’s why it’s called the present!
Marlene: He sounds like a smart man. If I was your ladies age —I wish I knew then what I know now.
Veronica: What’s that?
Marlene: There’s going to be people who will try to act like your friends, but they are not.
Don’t try to prove yourself to anyone. People will try to pressure you into doing things that you shouldn’t.
But you’ve got nothing to prove , Got it?
Veronica: Got it.
(Silence)
Marlene: Gracie?
Gracie: What? I feel like I have something to prove to Betty.
Marlene: Stay away from her. You’re already going through enough.
Gracie: Betty got my channel deleted and she won’t leave me alone!
Marlene: Ignore her. If she tries talking to you, get Mrs. Zink.
Gracie: Easy for you to say.
Mrs. Zink’s not going to do anything!
Marlene: Get the Principle! Stop focusing on proving others wrong and start focusing on what you can improve!
(Car skirts)
Marlene: Like your big mouth!
Veronica and Gracie: Ah!
Marlene: Okay, here we are. School. Are you two ready?
Veronica: Not really (while putting on lip gloss).
Marlene: Well, you have no choice. You need to get your education. Now, get out of my car! Tootles. (Waves)
(Drives or speeds away)
Scene 3:
(Gracie and Veronica outside of school)
Veronica: Wow, she’s something else.
Gracie: I know.
Veronica: I don’t think she means any harm though. She loves you.
Gracie: I doubt that.
*********************
[Transition scene back to the bus with Mr. Rogers. We introduce a new character — Jason. Who has stolen Paul’s bike a few days ago. ]
Mr. Rogers: It’s a shitty day in the neighborhood, kids. Get off the bus.
Jon: Oh, there’s Jason.
Paul: Jon, are you going to beat him up?
Jon: Yo, did you steal my brothers bike?
Jason: Yup.
What are you going to do about it, punk?
Paul: I know he did it. I saw him. I got that for my birthday!
Jon: You need to give it back.
Jason: (angry) Over my dead body!
(Both start fighting)
Paul: Jon, kick him in his balls!
Jon: (fighting) i’m gonna kick your ass!
Mr. Rogers: Students! Stop fighting! Stop. Get off the fucking bus and fight.
Jon: He started it.
Jason: I did not.
(Both continue fighting)
Mr. Rogers: You damn fools. Now, If I gotta get up off my seat.
Principle Carter: (stern) I got this Mr. Rogers!
Mr. Rogers: Oh, Principle Carter. I was just about to call you.
Principle Carter
Them two young men (points) right there!
Principle Carter: Fighting is never the answer.
Jason: it wasn’t me. It was Jon.
Jon: No, it wasn’t.
Principle Carter:
Jonathan Serrano;
Once again, I have to send you to the detention room for… fighting?
Jon: It’s not my fault. He started it!
Paul: Yeah, it was Jason. He is a thief.
He stole my bike!
Principle Carter: Regardless, Jonathan — this has been a reoccurring issue. You can’t do this at school!
Jon: Technically, school hasn’t started yet. Can I teach him a lesson?
Carter: You’re on school grounds, school property, on a school bus. This kind of behavior is unacceptable. When will you ever learn your lesson?
Mr. Rogers works hard for you kids to safely to come back to school every day. If I catch you fighting again, i’m gonna have to suspend you once-and-for-all!
Jon: But Principle Carter —
Principle Carter: No “but’s.” Don’t fight again. Period.
(Principle Carter walks off of bus and walks away)
Mr. Rogers: Damn, she’s amazing!
Thank you Principle Carter.
Jon: Now, i’m in big trouble. My mom is going to be so upset. This is all your fault, Jason.
Wanna meet after school!
Jason: (laughs) I dare you.
Jon: You wanna fight?
Jason: (gets in Jon’s face) I triple dog dare you. Meet me at Heritage Park after school. Punk.
Jon: You bet.
Jason: Your ass is grass.
(Jason walks off of bus)
Paul: (yells out) Criminal!
Jon: Stop Lil’ Paul. I got this.
Someone’s gonna learn ALL about *retribution* after school. (Cracks knuckles)
Paul: Come on, lets get off the bus.
Mr. Roger: About damn time!
Marky: Hey girls. Welcome back!
(Sounds of school hallways and lockers)
(Gracie, Jon, Mark, and Veronica walk together)
Gracie: OH! (Sarcastic) We’re so excited to be here.
Veronica: Yeah. At school with Mrs. Zink, so we can get another life lesson! How exciting!
Marky: Hey. I love those!
Paul: (Yells excitedly) Yay, it’s still snowing!
Woah. (Throws snowball at Gracie)
Gracie: Ouch. Who did that?
Marky: Lil Paul, what are you doing?
Paul: What? Just because we’re growing up doesn’t mean we should stop having fun!
Jon: Come on, we’ll go to the Park after school.
Paul: But I want to go now!
Marky: Go to Randall, Paul.
We will meet you here after school.
Paul: Fine. I hate 4th grade!
Jon: (expressive) Gracie, what are you doing here?
(Silence)
(Whispers from Students)
#1 There she is.
#2 She thinks she’s better than everyone.
Gracie: Well… I wanted get away from Marlene for the day. I won’t be able to see my dad until tonight. He’s all the way in Ann Arbor.
#She craves drama.
#She just wants the attention.
#They’re only friends with her because she’s a Youtube star.
#I heard that it got deleted.
Jon: Well, at least it’s the last day of school. Are you going to be alright?
Gracie: I’ll be fine when I get to see my dad today. Until then, I need to say something to certain “someone.”
Marky: Everyone is looking at us guys.
Gracie: Who cares? I
need a comeback anyways. Let them talk.
Jon: What do you think are they saying?
Betty: Well, look who it is.
Gracie: Betty?
Betty: Is there anything you would like to say to my face?
Gracie: (silent)
Betty: (laughs) Thought so. Happy offline?
Jon: (whispers) Who is she?
Gracie: The girl who ruined my dreams.
Betty: Excuse me?
I believe that YOU are the one who started it. Miss Popular with all her witty remarks. You didn’t think i’d catch on? Did you?
Gracie: (shocked) How many times do I have to tell you that i’m sorry? You got my my Youtube account taken away, what else do you want?
Betty: (Laughs) You’re nothing,but a big bully! Your comments said it all!
Gracie: What else do you want from me?
Betty: You want me to forgive you? In those comments on your video, you said that you weren’t a “scared little bitch?” Prove it to me.
Then, i’ll forgive you.
Gracie: What? I only said that because you said that you wanted to fight me! You wanna fight?
Betty: No. I don’t want to fight. Weirdo. I want to offer a truce.
Gracie: Betty, exactly what is it that you want me to do?
Betty: You want to be a Youtuber again? Go LIVE at the most scariest place of them all.
Prove it to me that you’re not scared.
Gracie: You’re not talking about “the Pine,” are you?
Betty: What else would I be talking about? Go to Evergreen and say “Krumpus” 3 times. I dare you.
Gracie:Are you kidding? I don’t even know if kids are allowed in there. They’ve been disappearing.
Betty: Oh really? (Laughs) Who’s the scaredy-cat now?
Gracie: No — But — I — I’m telling Principle Carter!
Betty: Then fine, have fun making no content…
Gracie: You —.
Betty: Bully!
Gracie: Bitch!
(Betty walks away)
Marky: What was she talking about?
Gracie: (deep breath) She wants me to go to the Pine. (Crying) She got my channel blocked. It’s all been deleted.
Marky: But — how could they even do that?
Gracie: She reported me for harassment in comment section. She went at me and I lost all control.
Marky: Oh, can’t you start over?
I know you’ll get it back. Just explain to them?
Gracie: That I was a bully?
Marky: That you made a mistake.
Mrs. Zink: Mistakes have the power to turn you into something better than you were before.
Gracie: Mrs. Zink?
Mrs. Zink: Hey kids. Just checking up on you. Did I just hear profanity? I’m sure you don’t want to visit the detention room on the last day of school before Christmas?
Both: No, Mrs. Zink!
Mrs. Zink: Good — Those words are for us adults — There’s a time and place for words like that and it’s not here.
Gracie: I’m sorry Mrs. Zink.
Mrs. Zink: It’s alright. I just don’t want it to happen again.
Marky: Have you made any mistakes, Mrs. Zink?
Mrs. Zink: I have made a few mistakes. Too many to tell.
Marky: Like saying bitch?
Mrs. Zink: Exactly. I’ve said that a couple of times myself. Accidents happen all of the time. It’s all how we learn from them. It’s all in how we fix those mistakes and to be sure to try to never repeat them again!
Gracie: Thank you. Mrs. Zink. I needed that.
Mrs. Zink: Now, let’s get ready for class.
Veronica: Gracie?
Gracie: Yeah?
Veronica: She may be onto something.
Gracie: What do you mean?
Veronica: Betty.
Imagine us going there at “The Pine.”
I’ve always wanted to be a news reporter and you love to *create content.*
Gracie: I think you’re right.
Veronica:
But she only wants *you* to do it for her channel.
Think about it: she already has a solid platform with a decent amount of subscribers. She wants to use you.
Gracie: She wants to go LIVE with my live-stream at the Pine? (Laughs) Pathetic. Like I would even consider that.
Veronica: We should do it off my account.
Gracie: Wait.
Are you actually thinking of doing this?
Veronica: There’s a shock value to it.
Gracie: I can’t go there tonight.
We have plans to go visit my dad.
Veronica: Well, if you change your mind…
Gracie: Veronica! My step mom said I shouldn’t prove myself to —
Veronica: Your?
Gracie: I mean…
Veronica: Your step-mother! (Laughs)
You do love her. Aw.
Scene 4:
Cindy: (Restaurant manager) Bags, utensils, sauce — make sure you stock it all up, ladies!
Worker 1: You got it, ma’am.
Cindy: Are the dishes done?
Dinner rush is coming soon.
I need everything caught up.
Worker 2: There almost done.
Just letting the last load soak.
Cindy: Team: Our sales has been increasing, but we really need to focus on speed & delivering the best customer service experience possible! Today, we are fully staff.
Worker 1: Cindy, you’re my favorite manager here.
Cindy: Aw, thank you. How’s Stassie?
Worker 1: Doing better than ever.
Worker 2: Excuse me, Cindy, you have a guest here.
Cindy: Marlene?
What are you doing here?
Marlene: Brought you some coffee and a gift.
Cindy: Scratch-offs? (Smirks)
Cindy: Marlene, I don’t know what to say.
Marlene: You don’t have to say anything. Cindy: Thought you would forget.
Marlene: How could I?
Cindy: Wanna scratch them now?
Marlene: Save them for later.
I gotta go see Frank.
(Silent moment)
Cindy: ….I’m so sorry about last night.
Marlene: You don’t have to say anything.
Cindy: I should of been more understanding.
Marlene: It’s okay.
I know you have been going through a lot.
Cindy: It’ll be different this Christmas.
I broke up with him.
Marlene: Finally!
Cindy. I’m so proud of you!
Cindy: I need a man.
A real man. Someone who will make me smile a little more, cry a little less.
Marlene: I’m happy you realize that. I just miss hearing you laugh. We used to have so much fun. What happened?
Cindy: Steve happened.
(Both laugh)
Marlene: I just want to see you happy.
Cindy: You may see me struggle. You’ll never see me quit.
Marlene: It’ll be a new year, a new you. I know it must be hard on you (financially), if you need any help. I’m always one call away.
Cindy: Yeah, well — maybe i’ll get lucky. Marlene: (laughs) You better split half with me.
Cindy: Oh, and I am really sorry for saying that about Gracie last night.
I know how hard it’s been on you.
Marlene: It’s okay. I think Gracie will come around to at least calling me her step mother one day.
*****************
(Transition scene)
{Paul wants to tell Santa that his mommy needs money for Christmas}
(Paul skipped school & decided to go to the Park to see Santa)
Paul: (curious) Santa?
Where are you?
I know you’re here!
I need to tell you something!
(Paul skips along the trail to the Pine)
Paul: Wait.. I think I am going the wrong way. Which way was it?
(Bells start to ring)
Paul: What the heck?
Maybe I shouldn’t of skipped school.
This was a bad idea.
(Police sirens)
Paul: Oh, shoot. I’m going to get caught. I should’ve just listen to my brother. I have to hide.
(Hides in bush)
(Van pulls up)
(Meredith gets out of van with cameraman)
Meredith: Mike, get the lightning the way I like it. Fucking clouds — Block off all my rays!
Hurry up!
Paul: Omgosh. Is that the news lady?
(Bells ring again)
(Wind starts howling)
Meredith: Let’s just do it. Come on.
Cameran: I’m coming. I’m coming.
What the hell. Hang on, princess.
Meredith: We’re going LIVE. (Grunts) Get the cameras. We’re late.
“Welcome back to channel 4 VS-HD News. We are reporting here LIVE at Heritage Park near The Evergreen where the Pine is located.
This — right behind me — is where several children have gone missing this month….”
(Sound of footprints in snow )
Paul: Oh, no — I’m near the Pine. (Cries) I’m scared.
Meredith: “Winterfest is set to begin in the next few hours and this area will be completely blocked off by the police. Any moment now, the police are expected to guard these trees right over here.”!(Steps on branch and almost falls) Ouch! Dammit.
(Krumpus laughs in the distance)
Paul: (scared) What was that?
Meredith: Dana? (Tries to hear through ear piece) Dana? Do you hear me? (Hears Dana) Okay. Yes, it’s a very sad situation here at the Evergreen.
No arrests have been made, but there’s one thing that has left the investigators completely puzzled and in awe.
(Krumpus laughs again and whips at a distance)
Paul: Ah. What did she say?
(Paul starts running through the Evergreen)
(Meredith inaudible to Paul at this moment. because of wind and Krumpus bells).
Paul: Crap. I really wanted to hear that. What did she say?
Meredith: Join us again here at 5pm when we talk to the Mayor about tonight’s Christmas show.
I’ll swing it back to you, Dana.
Paul: I need to get out of here.
Krumpus: (laughs) Ho-ho-ho
Paul: Santa? Is that you?
Krumpus: Skipping school?
Paul: Finally. I have to tell you something.
(Flames emerge) Ah!
Krumpus: You’re a naughty, naughty, naughty boy.
Paul: (Screams) Who are you?
Krumpus: You’re coming with me!
Paul: No! Let go of me. That hurts!
Krumpus: (whips) ‘Tis the season to be jolly.
(Krumpus takes Paul away to Jollyland)
(Krampus takes Paul and Paul falls into an ocean) (Paul gasps for air, he’s drowning).
(Paul sinks in the water)
(He loses his last breath)
Paul: It’s that moment.
The moment when everything you ever thought you knew is taken away from you & flipped upside down.
All along, I thought that I was just a kid.
A kid trying to get ahold of Santa Claus, but — deep down I was just really trying to reach out for some more.
Something that can’t be seen & now —
I’ve come to realize that this is something *everyone* has been going after.
We replace “it” with material things & a desire to repeat it every Holiday — wishing that it’ll somehow bring some magic with the little power that we got.
We hang stockings & wrap presents underneath the Christmas tree; Not knowing that the time being spent with each was more valuable than any dollar spent that year.
Will I ever wake up?
Narrator:
Merry Christmas, as we experience some Holiday Horror.
Lil’ Paul has left some footprints that will lead his friends to some law & order.
So as you fall asleep tonight, into a deep midnight slumber
Just remember, “Jollyland 3” is more than just a number.
Join us next week as our story reaches
“Act 2,”
And even if Christmas is only 1 day,
1 day alone could feel like a tattoo.
What will happen to Paul?
What will happen after school?
Find out next week, when Jollyland continues….
Thank you for listening to
Marc Shawn & The Vocalizers | https://medium.com/@marcshawnserrano/jollyland-2-revised-eb08a96d294d | ['Marc Shawn Serrano'] | 2020-12-31 08:55:29.186000+00:00 | ['Creative Writing', 'Writing', 'Christmas', 'Screenwriting', 'Podcast'] |
Ravintolapäivä, edible urbanism and civic opportunism | All were fantastic. The quality was excellent — especially the Italian and Kalle’s coffee — and how delightful to compose a brunch by walking around the city, following your nose (or rather, the app), as if the streets themselves were one giant smörgåsbord.
But the street experience itself was a joy to behold. It truly felt like a new kind of Helsinki. International, cosmopolitan, diverse yet uniquely Finnish. A mix of punters, experiences, spaces. Hipsters and grannies, and hipster grannies. The previously grey, buttoned-up, sparse and often deserted central streets — an atmosphere carefully cultivated by the City’s anachronistic approach to urban design and planning — were suddenly flowering in the warm spring sunshine. The smiles on everyone’s faces utterly belied the stereotypical taciturn character of the locals. That characterisation is of course a generalisation, but as Monique Truong wrote in The Atlantic this week, on Helsinki’s food markets, there is “a Finnish matter-of-factness that can register as dolefulness or resignation to a newcomer’s ears.” But increasingly less so, and certainly not today.
It’s the essence of urbanism, this coming together of diverse elements on the streets, to exchange, to generate culture.
It might sound patronising — I don’t mean it to be — but it felt like a city discovering they could use their own streets as they liked; that the streets might be their responsibility (compare with my recent notes from Berlin.)
While it might seem trivial to those who have seen cities with a looser approach to the streets, it’s somewhat extraordinary in this context. At some point, this happens to a city. In Brisbane, it took until Expo 88 for the city to discover eating and drinking on the street, despite the climate. In Manchester, maybe the mid-’90s. In Helsinki, perhaps given the far less favourable weather for half the year, multiplied by the stentorian governance regime of the recent past, food in the street has only flared at points in the pre-modern city, at the ’52 Olympics, and perhaps only again now (read our history of Helsinki street food here.) Whatever the contested history, I was proud to be a citizen of Helsinki today.
Again, the kind of restaurants you see above are, in essence, illegal within the City of Helsinki’s jurisdiction. The only establishments licensed to prepare and sell food in the street context are the tightly regulated grilli, generally selling variations on appalling hot dogs for drunk people, and at a handful of places designated by the city.
Or at least, if it is not illegal, it is in a very grey area indeed. Deeply grey. And this city has plenty of grey area. Helsinki is an extremely opaque city, in which governance is often exercised through interpretation and tacit understandings which — traditionally — has been enabled by having been relatively homogenous and relatively small. All of this is now changing, with the diversity described by events like Ravintolapäivä, which is, in a sense, a positive reaction to that opacity.
Ravintolapäivä has created a giant floating question mark over the city: who decides what the streets are for? And so, who they are for?
I’d suggest that, in this, it also describes an broader ill-fit between contemporary institutions and contemporary conditions or problems, with the former still in a 19th century organisational model, largely, and the latter very much not in that mode. Ravintolapäivä is exploiting the gaps between the City of Helsinki’s 34 different departments, few of whom talk to each other coherently. To be clear, this is not an issue unique to Helsinki — almost all city governments are in this ill-fitting mode. As noted, they are often still 19th century structures, facing 21st century challenges and opportunities.
Elsewhere, this wider institutional ill-fit — essentially, inappropriate cultures of decision-making — is probably responsible for the people on the streets of Athens, Moscow and Madrid this year, Occupy Everywhere and the UK riots last year, the Eurozone debt crisis and the Arab Spring, the tetchy political deadlock in Washington. That last year of peak news was down to this.
In Helsinki, with its robust economy, firm social contract, and, now it’s late May, a summery disposition, the people on the streets are chasing after first world problems : how to get a good falafal on Iso Roobertinkatu.
Yet somehow this is all connected, and the form of activity, as well as the chosen mode of operation, between Ravintolapäivä and Occupy, Arab Spring, UK riots and Athens protests, is strikingly similar, even if the outcomes and intentions are, at this point, radically different. All are engaged in “maginot-lining” institutions, using networked organisational models and social media communications infrastructure, to sidestep bureaucracy rather than engage with it. All are emerge from some tension with the way authority has been exercised. Here, with a blithe blindsiding of some of the real issues in town, it is only expressed through pork ribs and carrot cakes. It won’t always be so benign, however.
As we know, while these are supremely powerful organisational tactics, these approaches tend not — so far — to provide a decision-making culture that can provide solutions, never mind frame better questions.
We think it’s necessary to bring institutions with us, not least given our investment in them, but importantly, because the institutions enables a strategic, holistic and considered response that the emergent does not. This is not to overplay their importance — they are not everything, for every situation. Clearly they can be structurally flawed, poorly run, even dangerous. Yet no more so than the alternative, and as designers, it would be a gross dereliction of duty to ignore the opportunity of reshaping institutions to work within these contemporary conditions. This slow unravelling at both ends of our societal fabric is not good enough. We need to figure out the systemic conditions required to enable, say, 10% of Ravintolapäivä to thrive the day after. In doing such a strategic piece of work, our institutions get to practice working with diversity, quality, experience, service, identity, and other productive intangibles. That will be valuable later, in other arena. And more on this later, perhaps
(Briefly back to that iPhone app. It is excellent, and was designed and developed, along with all other mobile versions, via a 40-hour hackathon by a small team of volunteer designer/developers. It knocks spots off any comparable publicly-procured app in terms of performance (incl. stability, resilience, user-centred design, accessibility, you name it) and was developed in a fraction of the time and cost. We know it is possible to work in this way, yet why can’t public procurement do this? One couldn’t even get through legal discussions about the tender process that quickly, never mind tender, develop and deliver the app that quickly. Why this might be, and how we might redesign that knot of dark matter, is another strategic question for another day.)
All of this is fascinating for us, from a strategic design viewpoint, and we’ve been somewhat obsessed with documenting and understanding the emergent networked activity of Ravintolapäivä, as well as engaging in positive discussions with the City of Helsinki around this area. | https://medium.com/iamacamera/ravintolap%C3%A4iv%C3%A4-edible-urbanism-and-civic-opportunism-8849fdb55eac | ['Dan Hill'] | 2017-01-05 16:33:20.673000+00:00 | ['Photojournalism', 'Politics', 'Urbanism', 'Strategic Design', 'Food'] |
How to Find Cheap Business Insurance Quotes | If you ever wondered how to find cheap business insurance quotes from the best business insurance companies out there with ease, then look no further than our comprehensive cheap business insurance comparison!
We’ve found some interesting things, including having newcomers like Thimble as some of the cheapest options out there, but there is so much more, so you better click the link above and check it out foryourself! | https://medium.com/@insuranks/how-to-find-cheap-business-insurance-quotes-2b5b2491a11e | [] | 2020-12-22 13:05:11.830000+00:00 | ['Insurance', 'Business Finance', 'Insuranks', 'Business', 'Business Insurance'] |
Coding Upgradable Smart Contracts | What is upgrading Smart Contracts meant for?
As Developers, we always wanted to upgrade our code to introduce new features and fixing bugs too. talking about blockchain, whatever is written on blockchain is immutable. even Smart contracts, once deployed on blockchain network we can’t alter or modify it. in the past few years, we have seen many attacks like, DAO, Re-entrancy attacks, Parity Wallet hacks caused a loss of millions of ether only because of small bugs in smart contracts. So testing smart contract tens of times before deploying is very essential to avoid these vulnerabilities. What if, we wanted to introduce new features to our deployed smart contract? since it is not even possible with blockchain, Right? but somehow, there is a way to upgrade our contracts. how? “A way of Upgrading without actually upgrading.” seems funny? yeah give me a minute, you might be aware of Call diversion feature in your Smartphone, once call diversion is activated for your mobile number with your preferred new number, every call that comes to your mobile number will be diverted to your preferred mobile number. in the same way, Upgradable contract works. your old contract handles the data and redirects every function call that comes to your old contract address to newly deployed contract ie..upgraded one.
for good reason, gochain provides a CLI protocol to Upgrading contract. So what are you waiting for? let's go.
In the demonstration, I’m gonna upgrade simple greeter contract from v1 to v2 .in the version v1, there is no getter method to return greeting. in v2, getter method is added as a bug fix or new feature whatever you call it is. code available here.
Environment
Ubuntu Desktop With gochain web3 library.
Pre-Requisites
1.gochain Web3 library
curl -LSs https://raw.githubusercontent.com/gochain-io/web3/master/install.sh | sh
2. Gochain wallet and some GO-tokens.
Go to https://explorer.gochain.io/wallet/create and store your privatekey somewhere else safe.
For doing any operations on network, you need tokens. so inorder to get testnet tokens, join their official telegram channel https://t.me/gochain_testnet and ask them to provide some testnet tokens by pasting your previously created wallet address**
Steps
1. Environment Setup
a). Export private key to your Env. variables (require root user privileges )
sudo -s
export WEB3_PRIVATE_KEY=0x...
Check if your private key is correct by this command $ web3 myaddress if this command returns your wallet address that you created as in pre-requisites, then you are good to go.
b). Use the Go-Chain testnet
$ export WEB3_NETWORK=testnet
2. Deploying an Upgradeable Contract
a). Compiling Contract
copy greeter.sol file to your directory, then
web3 contract build greeter.sol
b). Deploying contract
web3 contract deploy --upgradeable greeter.bin
Once deployed, you will get contract address, add this address to env. variables
export WEB3_ADDRESS=0x...
Deploying upgradable contract actually deploy two contracts. original greeter contract and proxy contract which will redirect calls to upgraded contract. check where our proxy contract redirecting calls and storage with this command
web3 contract target
c). Writing Transaction (Greeting)
web3 contract call --abi greeter.abi --function greet "Hi Guys, This is from Old Contract"
Once transaction went through, we successfully added greeting on blockchain. but still, there is no option to return the added greeting. thats why we are trying to upgrade contract with the new code.
3. Upgrading Contract
Copy greeterv2.sol to your directory and then,
web3 contract build greeterv2.sol
web3 contract deploy greeter.bin
Once deployed, it will return the newly deployed contract address. using this address we can upgrade our old contract greeter to greeterv2. run below command to finish one last step
web3 contract upgrade --to 0x.... //add your newly deployed contract address here
Now you can call new contract with the same address. in old contract, there is no getter function for variable , in new contract, we added getter function getGreeting . now you can call it using this command.
web3 contract call --abi greeter.abi --function getGreeting >Hi Guys, This is from Old Contract
4. Pausing and Resuming Contracts
Upgradeable contracts also include the ability to pause & resume execution. if you found any bug in contract you can simply pause (or resume later) the contract with these commands
web3 contract pause
web3 contract resume
Once paused, if you call the function you will get unmarshalling empty output string till you resume contract.
BOOM… | https://medium.com/coinmonks/writing-upgradable-smartcontracts-883b3a3d29a3 | ['Salman Dabbakuti'] | 2020-08-26 13:34:26.330000+00:00 | ['Upgradable Contracts', 'Dapps', 'Smart Contracts', 'Ethereum', 'Blockchain'] |
Components of e-learning content for effective teaching and learning | How to classify learning content? What is the best way to teach content? How can I determine if using a video, animation, or image is the optimal strategy for achieving the teaching goal? Have you ever felt you could not come up with an effective e-learning solution for a specific type of content?
These were some of the pressing questions that I encountered when I started developing e-learning programs in early 2014 at the start of my career. Since then, my work experiences clubbed with the lessons learned from leading e-learning experts like Ruth Clark, Chopeta Lyons, and David Merril helped me better understand the appropriate methods to teach a particular type of content.
Creating meaningful, memorable, and motivational learning experiences is essential to effective e-learning — this visual aid describes the most commonly used five types of instructional components and the best way to teach them.
Have you also experience similar problems while creating online courses? What were the lessons learned? How did you learn it? Is there any other topic on which you would like me to create an infographic? Please share your thoughts in the comment section. Lastly, don’t forget to subscribe to the newsletter if you want my next infographic in your inbox.
Earlier published in Components of e-learning content for effective teaching and learning (effectiveed.tech) | https://medium.com/@shubhi_thakuria/components-of-e-learning-content-for-effective-teaching-and-learning-8563e13cb4fa | ['Shubhi Thakuria'] | 2020-12-18 05:39:05.915000+00:00 | ['Education', 'E Learning Solutions', 'Instructional Design', 'Online Education', 'Infographics'] |
Importance of SVGs in Web Development | Benefits
Scalability
SVGs are resolution-independent, so we can use them whatever their size is. Increasing and decreasing their sizes is very easy. Unlike JPG or PNG, SVGs retain their quality no matter what size of screen or resolution is used to show them.
Different scalabilities with the same file would be very helpful on responsive web pages. As a developer, you can use the same file source everywhere with just a quick adjustment of the scale.
File size
Unless they’re sized on a big screens, the file size of SVGs is very small compared to PNG or JPEG files:
As you can see, the PNG is nearly ten times larger. When you need to use a lot of images on your website the difference in size is huge.
Note: The size of an SVG can be increased without any file-size increase.
Performance
As you can see above, the sizes of SVG and PNG vary widely. When you’re developing a website with many graphics and images there will be a huge difference between using SVGs instead rather than JPEGs or PNGs.
If we have 30 images and icons on our landing page, we can easily reach up to four to five MB using JPEGs or PNGs. With SVG it would be just 100–200kb. The difference is huge!
Believe me, no one wants to wait an extra 15–20 seconds when they first land on your webpage!
Style control
There’s another great benefit of using SVGs. While coding you can change their properties just as you want, with a single file source.
Chane fill, stroke color easily
Change sizes with their properties
Easily change the over color for different purposes. (You no longer need different images or sprites for hover effects)
Example svg code
<svg height="100" width="100">
<circle cx="50" cy="50" r="40" stroke="black" stroke-width="3" fill="red" />
</svg>
This SVG includes height , width , cx , cy , r , stroke color, stroke-width and fill properties. These values can be easily changed using the single file source.
As you can see below, using the same file you can add a hover effect for the icon:
Fast websites
SVG will definitely increase the speed of your website — a factor that has a very powerful impact on your audience.
How many of you have waited more than 30 seconds to load a single page? These days, most people will assume they’ve lost their connection after just five seconds. | https://medium.com/better-programming/do-svgs-really-matter-154240f5435c | ['Melih Yumak'] | 2020-08-11 15:50:42.127000+00:00 | ['Design', 'Software Development', 'JavaScript', 'Programming', 'CSS'] |
SEO copy belongs in the LinkedIn summary, not your headline | More and more, I am seeing military professionals in transition use what I call the “SEO Headline” for their LinkedIn profile.
This was the LinkedIn profile of Ricardo W. Cortez before he made the changes to his profile.
Ricardo W. Cortez, one of my many military veteran clients, had that headline that typifies the “SEO Headline” that the military transition folks and other LinkedIn coaches suggest to their students. With Ricardo’s permission, I was able to show others his old style of LinkedIn headline writing.
I meet and talk with a lot of veterans online for a complimentary 20-minute consultation of their profile. In my time with Ricardo, I encourage him to look at a way to use his LinkedIn profile and its headline as a conversation with potential influencers and employers. As you’ll see below, the new headline fits in that format.
This is Ricardo’s current headline.
As part of our update, I asked Ricardo to put all of his key skills at the bottom of his summary. This was after talking to retired Army CSM Benny Kinsey, a retired Army recruiter who now works for GM. Benny said that the HR staffing people at his company will find the skill set of someone like Ricardo if they place it at the end of the summary.
So, take a look at Ricardo’s profile and note his key skills as they are now presented in his profile. After making those changes, he reported back to me that he was getting a lot of interest and contacts from people outside of his network.
I’m not here to say negative things about the current training offered by the Department of Labor and their transition program. Or, the many other so called “LinkedIn experts” who help veterans. All of them have transitioning vets believe that the headline as shown in Ricardo’s first profile works for staffing firms.
I just believe that one’s LinkedIn profile should first act as a conversation starter. If people see an appealing headline, they will want to look at the rest of a person’s body of work. That’s what happened with Ricardo’s profile.
If you ever fished for bluegills with minnows at a lake, think of the headline as part of the bait that attracts the fish. The subtle move of those key terms from the LinkedIn headline to the end of his summary has done wonders for him.
(I work with transitioning veterans every week who want to update and improve their LinkedIn profile. If you want to set up a time to meet online, please go to www.calendly.com/mattscherer/linkedinforvets.) | https://medium.com/@matt-scherer/seo-copy-belongs-in-the-linkedin-summary-not-your-headline-5b060e97aab2 | [] | 2019-02-07 22:34:36.025000+00:00 | ['Military Transition', 'LinkedIn', 'Linkedinformilitary'] |
10 Best Low-Maintenance Flowers for Effortless Garden | Adding a bit color to your backyard with a bunch of beautiful flowers sounds like a great idea. Until your favourite buds and leaves turn yellow and eventually die. Don’t get discouraged if this one of your many failed attempts to grow a lush flower garden. Gardening has its fair share of difficulties, but some plants can make it even worst. If you are not blessed with a green thumb or you simply can’t dedicate enough time to your garden, then you can try these easy-care plants that won’t die on you.
Coneflowers
These beauties have become a garden staple because of their easy maintenance and bright blooms. These flowers are relatively tolerant to drought and do well in both full sun and partial shade. Coneflowers are the ideal companion plants, attracting birds, bees and butterflies. You can pick from a wide variety of bright and colorful blooms, including pink, yellow, crimson, orange and white.
2. Daylily
Daylilies are the perfect choice for sloppy gardeners. These robust and adaptable perennials can survive draught, flooding and salt and will thrive perfectly in your garden for years with little or no care. The plants will produce an abundance of flower buds in yellow, purple, red and orange shades.
3. Cosmos
If like large and showy flowers, they you’ll love Cosmos. These annuals are pretty hassle-free and make great border or container plants. You don’t even need to reseed them every year, as they do it on its own. Simply put it in the sunny part of your garden and it will thrive.
4. Agastache
Agastache is easy to grow and effortless to maintain perennial. Even if it stays neglected for a while, it will do just perfectly. The aromatic flower will invite a whole lot of wild life in your garden. The spiky greenery will not be harmed by the early frost or excessive heat.
5. Coreopsis
Often referred as tickseed or pot of gold, these sunny flowers will add unique twist to your garden. Coreopsis plants come in a wide variety and can be annual or perennial. Aside from the traditional yellow flowers, you can also find pink, red, orange and white blooms.
6. Pasque Flower
If you want to add texture and individuality to your backyard, then you should definitely consider pasque flowers. These perennials originally come from the alpine meadows of Europe and prefer sites with full sun, except for areas with hot summer. In this case, you need to allow afternoon shade to your gorgeous purple flower.
7. Yarrow
Like other wildflowers, yarrow is well suited in all growing conditions. This lovely greenery is worth planting for its long season blooms. Yarrow doesn’t need a lot of attention and will do just fine on its own.
8. Ornamental Grass
Looking for a great garden backdrop? Try ornamental grass. From switchgrass and foutaingrass to feather red grass, these low-maintenance additions will fit any garden style. Consult with professional gardeners for the best type for your area.
9. Lantana
With its opulent blooms and trouble-free care, lantana is your gardening dream. You may need to keep this perennial at home during the winter to protect it from the cold.
10. Hosta
Have a shady backyard? No problem. Hosta is an easy-to-grow, shade-loving flower, available in various shapes and sizes. Though, it prefers moist soil, avoid over watering it. | https://medium.com/@charlotteboyle77/10-best-low-maintenance-flowers-for-effortless-garden-e1d7c009cf90 | ['Charlotte Boyle'] | 2016-07-20 09:12:55.050000+00:00 | ['Gardening', 'Gardeners', 'London Gardeners', 'Flowers'] |
Innovating Coastal Management: Developing Interlocking Caissons | Will La Salle III is
The Glow In The Dark Lawyer℠
William La Salle III, Esq. is The Glow In The Dark Lawyer.SM Will practices intellectual property law as a contract attorney with Thrive IP,® and maritime law under the banner of his own firm, Glow In The Dark Law PLLC (GITDLaw). Thrive IP® is headquartered in North Charleston, SC and has attorneys in various locations along the southeastern United States seaboard. GITDLaw operates from Smithfield, VA, in historic Isle of Wight County, Virginia. The following is presented for informational purposes only and is not intended to provide legal advice, nor is it intended as an offer to create an attorney-client relationship. If you or someone you know needs intellectual property or maritime legal advice, it is recommended that you immediately seek the services of a licensed attorney.
December 3, 2020 — When I was growing up in Philadelphia, my family would vacation, like a lot of Philadelphians, “down the shore.” For us, this meant a little town in Cape May County known as Villas. I remember as a pre-teen and teenager we would ride our bikes from the house along the Delaware Bay shoreline to watch the Cape May-Lewis Ferry come and go. If you look at GITDLaw’s website, the marquee picture is a photo I took a couple years ago looking down the breakwater on the Higbee Beach side of the Cape May canal. I have many fond memories of climbing jetty rocks to set up a perch with a couple hand crab lines and plenty of time to waste.
Those of us who have lived in or vacationed in maritime communities are familiar with artificial structures such as jetties, breakwaters, and groins. I would venture that most of us are familiar with what they do. A Proctor in Admiralty[1] would clearly have interest in artificial coastal management, because of, inter alia, implications to private landowner’s riparian rights. In this week’s blog, however, I take a maritime staple and consider it from a patent attorney’s perspective. Intellectual Law is a niche area of practice, as is Admiralty. I like to tell people I am a “unicorn among unicorns.” I also insist that it makes perfect sense that a maritime attorney would want ties to patent law, and patent attorneys would want to be familiar with marine innovation.
While I was in law school (and preparing for the patent bar), I had cause to come across an article describing a European patented type of interlocking concrete jetty rock. I’ve wanted to write something relating to this topic ever since I read the article, but I couldn’t remember the original source. The idea of innovating a pile of rocks thrust out into the sea stuck with me. Recent research has brough me across several patents for interlocking caissons and other methods of tidal coastal management systems. I will admit, versed as I am in maritime matters, I had no idea what a caisson was.
I am not a structural engineer. I am a nuclear engineering technologist. So when I came across caissons, I had no idea what they were or why a patent search for jetties or breakwaters would bring me across them. As it turns out, a caisson is a “watertight retaining structure.”[2] What I was looking for, from what I remembered, is a type of concrete jetty rock essentially shaped like a giant asterisk, which responded to normal tidal wear by forming a tighter interlocking structure. After much effort and to the great benefit of my readers, I found it: The Cubipod! Antonio Molguero and Carlos Menendéz, finalists in the European Inventor Award 2019, designed a concrete cast jetty rock which is advertised to be 45% more efficient to construct and place. The Cubipod shape is also stronger than a cube made of the same volume of concrete. As described on the European Patent Office’s website: “The patented Cubipod block has protrusions on each surface, which prevents blocks from moving over time to settle face to face — a ‘self-packing’ arrangement — and helps maintain the integrity of the breakwater. While more effective than traditional flat-faced blocks however, in order to be commercially viable, it was essential that Cubipods — which typically weigh between 3 000 to 45 000 kg each — could be manufactured efficiently and in a cost-effective way.[3]” Cheaper, stronger, more efficient — the very heart of innovation.
While coastal management and general maritime innovation can clearly lead to a plethora of new intellectual property opportunities (better designed hulls, hydrofoils, solar sails, seawall design, etc.) I take note of a disappointing fact, at least regarding coastal management innovation. During the course of my research, besides the Cubipod, I had the opportunity to read about several other caisson innovations, such as:
· XBloc Interlocking Armour (Netherlands)
· Modular Interlocking Caisson (Korea)
· Interlocking Caisson Breakwater (Korea)
· Arch-Type Caisson Breakwater (Korea)
Where is the US? Even when I search generally for “coastal management” patents, the only offerings from US innovators involve structural testing or failure analysis. The NOAA Office for Coastal Management tells us the US has 95,439 miles of shoreline.[4] Maritime innovation, in my opinion, should therefore be very high on our collective priority list.
Having just moved to Hampton Roads from the Charleston Lowcountry, one of my disappointments in relocating was that I was leaving the Charleston region just as the new Wando Terminal was getting ready to begin receiving the massive post-Panamax shipping vessels. South Carolina invested a lot into dredging the Charleston harbor, and it is the only East Coast harbor deep enough to compete with the West Coast. Walmart got the news; they are developing a huge warehouse facility just up I-26.[5] Charleston is beautiful but congested, and I would not want to encourage the worsening of their current motor vehicle traffic woes, but from my perspective everyone in logistics, boat construction, or mass distribution should be beating down their door, and bringing all sorts of innovation with them. I hold my breath hoping its coming, because when it does, The Glow In The Dark Lawyer℠ wants to be first in line to help usher in a new wave of maritime and logistical innovation.
[1] A Proctor in Admiralty is an attorney recognized as being competent in Admiralty Law.
[2] See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caisson_(engineering)
[3] See https://www.epo.org/news-events/events/european-inventor/finalists/2019/corredor.html
[4] See https://coast.noaa.gov/data/docs/states/shorelines.pdf
[5] Walmart Selects Dorchester County for 3 Million Sq. Ft. Distribution Center, see https://www.dorchesterforbusiness.com/walmart-selects-dorchester-county-for-3-million-square-foot-distribution-center/ | https://medium.com/@gitd-lawyer/innovating-coastal-management-developing-interlocking-caissons-d69afccda39 | ['Will La Salle Iii'] | 2021-02-17 22:05:34.691000+00:00 | ['Innovation', 'Shipping', 'Logistics', 'Intellectual Property', 'Maritime'] |
Note to Writers from House of Haiku | Dear House of Haiku Writers,
Thank you so much for all of your wonderful haiku and tanka poems.
As I mentioned in an earlier post, Deborah Christensen and I are moving to outback Australia to begin a new chapter in our lives.
Preparing to move to such a remote location is a major undertaking that is keeping me really busy. Also, there may be a period during the changeover during which I do not have reliable Internet.
Therefore, I’ll need to slow down activity at House of Haiku until I’m up and running again in our new location.
All being well, we’ll be ready to crank back up to full speed by early April 2020. | https://medium.com/house-of-haiku/note-to-writers-from-house-of-haiku-e39bddc2681a | ['Brett Christensen'] | 2020-03-05 03:48:43.593000+00:00 | ['Haiku Weekly Prompt'] |
A Message from APEN’s Executive Director, Miya Yoshitani | Last month, half a dozen of APEN’s founders — leaders who made our early beginnings in 1993 possible — had a reunion at my house for a Sunday lunch. We ate, laughed, shared space, and told stories about what it was like in those early years when we set out to create the country’s first network of Asian Americans fighting for environmental justice in immigrant and refugee communities.
Those conversations brought memories flooding back to all of us of why we set out to found APEN in the first place and how we were going to start by embracing and learning from the incredible wisdom and resilience that our communities, and communities of color across the country, already have.
APEN Members in Richmond (2000)
Our vision was clear: To be accountable to the working-class communities of color leading the fight for our families, our neighborhoods and our environment where we live, work and play. To embrace solutions that come directly from the frontlines.
A generation later, we are still carrying that vision forward. In these chaotic times, APEN’s vision today is more relevant — and critical — than ever. That’s why I’m thrilled to announce APEN’s 25th anniversary celebration: “Local Roots, Statewide Impact.”
On September 26 at the Oakland Museum of California, we will come together to celebrate our victories, share stories, and grow our movement for a healthy, just future where all of our communities can thrive, all while generating vital financial support and momentum for the vision APEN has embodied since the day we were founded.
On September 26, APEN will celebrate our 25th anniversary
From the climate crisis and local pollution to anti-immigrant policies and displacement, the threats our communities face now have been around for a long, long time. But lately I’ve been feeling that in our current moment there is a need, a hunger, for solutions that come directly from the real lived experiences of the frontlines.
From shaping a Green New Deal to articulating a bold new vision for housing for all in California, there is an opening and an excitement for the wisdom of APEN members and the real solutions our communities are contributing. By returning to the vision at our roots and multiplying our movement across the state, we are growing our power while taking leadership from the frontline communities that are our heart, our home and our base.
But we need to come together, and stand behind our vision, if we’re going to take this next step. With our community behind us, we can keep growing. We have to.
Register today for our 25th anniversary celebration on September 26th to save your spot! | https://medium.com/@info_55320/a-message-from-apens-executive-director-miya-yoshitani-dfad55abf54a | ['Asian Pacific Environmental Network', 'Apen'] | 2019-05-06 17:45:03+00:00 | ['Community Organizing', 'Environmental Justice', 'Anniversary', 'Asian American', 'Social Justice'] |
Portuguese, and Other Spanish Dialects | The Tagus River has its source in the Spanish heartland, and flows through Lisbon to the sea.
A few weeks ago, I was languishing in a clinic waiting room in Lima, hoping to procure a Covid test that would enable me to fly to the United States before another sinister Greek letter shut down the world. For some reason, a nervous Brazilian woman sitting next to me was sure that I was a fellow Brasileiro, and addressed me in Portuguese. I have never learnt Portuguese, nor she Spanish, but within about 30 seconds we were able to commiserate more or less intelligibly about our plight.
Spanish and Portuguese are different languages. But it is worth asking what we mean by “Spanish.” To Spaniards, and many Spanish-speakers worldwide, what we call Spanish is Castellano, the language of Castile. Castile was one of many kingdoms of medieval Spain. Through war and marriage, it absorbed all the others, culminating with the 1492 union with (Catalan-speaking) Aragon. All except one.
In the 16th Century, Philip II, the Castilian monarch who styled himself King of Spain, tried to annex Portugal into his realm. Had he succeeded, Portuguese would probably be considered a dialect of Spanish today. But Portugal’s mighty fleet and overseas empire made her too big to digest- as they say, a language is a dialect with an army and a navy.
In 1578, while campaigning in Morocco, King Sebastião of Portugal disappeared off the face of the earth. He was succeeded by his uncle Henrique, who as an elderly cardinal was not the best choice to produce an heir. His death left the door open to Philip of Spain; in another world, it would have been the end of Portugal.
It would not be an outlandish claim. Spanish and Portuguese share 89% lexical similarity, meaning nine out of every ten words has a cognate in the other language. They only diverged from Old Spanish in the past millennium. They are far more similar than many “dialects” in China. But there are significant differences, most prominently in pronunciation.
While Spanish (like Italian) is enunciated quite clearly, with each letter distinct, Portuguese (like French) is more innovative. Thus, while Portuguese and Spanish speakers can quite easily read the other, Portuguese speakers have a much easier time understanding spoken Spanish than vice versa. I have heard Spaniards joke that Portuguese is “Vulgar Spanish” (a play on Vulgar Latin), as some of the ways that Portuguese departs from Castilian sound like casual Spanish.
Portuguese levels out some diphthongs (compound vowel sounds) into a simpler vowel. An O at the end of a word is pronounced like a U. It is pretty common in vernacular Spanish to pronounce LL (which is supposed to be pronounced like a Y) something like an English J (native Spanish speakers often say English “you” something like “joo”); in Portuguese, the LL becomes a CH.
In other ways, however, Portuguese preserves Old Spanish features that Castilian has dropped. It has a proper V, which in Castilian lacks, and more hard Zs. Most prominently, where Castilian softened some initial Fs into Hs, Portuguese kept them. Where Castilian has hablar (“to speak”) and hacer (“to do”), Portuguese has falar and fazer (the F is also fossilised in Castilian satisfacer, “to satisfy”).
You can basically translate this verse from Marc Anthony’s “Vivir Mi Vida” purely by applying the rules we explored above. In English, it is “Sometimes the rain arrives/ To clean your wounds/ Sometimes just a drop/ Can beat the drought.”
Beyond diphthongs, Portuguese embraces other notable simplifications. Its definite articles are the single letters o and a. Portuguese is also heavy in nasal vowels, even in the place of consonants. A few generations before the discovery of Brazil, devout Portuguese would have honoured Santo Pablo, but by the time they arrived, he was São Paulo.
The most unique feature of Portuguese, setting it apart from any other language in Europe, is its names for days of the week. Sunday is domingo, the Lord’s day. But the ever-mercantile Portuguese named every single other day after the trading fair that occurred on it, from Monday, segunda-feria (second fair), all the way through to sexta-feria (sixth fair).
The Alhambra palace is an icon of Spain’s Islamic past. The Arabs were driven from what is now Portugal centuries earlier than southern Spain, so their language left much less imprint on Portuguese than Castilian.
One important source of difference is the two languages’ differing foreign influences. The Iberian Peninsula was under Islamic rule for centuries, leaving an indelible impact on all of its budding languages. But the Arabs were driven from what is now Portugal centuries earlier than from southern Castile, so Arabic had a lighter impact on Portuguese. Spaniards call a scorpion alacrán and a drunk borracho, both from Arabic, where the Portuguese use the Latin escorpião and bêbado.
Conversely, Portuguese borrowed heavily from French. They read the news in a jornal and celebrate Reveillon on December 31, where Spaniards read a periódico and pop champagne (or, in Madrid, eat a bunch of grapes) on Nochevieja.
There are also some false friends, words that sound alike but have different meanings. A Spanish speaker following Brazil’s sprawling corruption scandal a few years ago would be probably confused as to why so many politicians were getting propinas. In Spanish, a propina is a tip, while in Brazilian Portuguese, it is a bribe.
A great example of clear, subtitled Portuguese for speakers of other Romance languages who are curious to see how much they can understand. The video is an advertisement from a (sadly unsuccessful) 1993 campaign to restore the Brazilian monarchy.
Spanish and Portuguese are closely related, but a lot of people who hear Portuguese, particularly Portuguese from Portugal, make the bizarre observation that it sounds like Russian. There are a few reasons for this. Portuguese and Russian are both stress-timed, meaning that stressed syllables are enunciated at roughly equal intervals. Combined that with Portuguese’s heavy use of palatal sounds (e.g., SH, ZH), and you get languages from opposite ends of Europe sounding weirdly similar.
When I took a weekend trip to Macao while working in China, it was shocked to discover how dominant Portuguese still is there. Yet as with my Brazilian acquaintance in Lima, it did not take long to hack together a sort of hybrid dialect. This linguistic chimera made world news two years ago, when Brazil’s embattled President Jair Bolsonaro tried to appoint his son Eduardo as his ambassador to the United States. The appointment hit a snag when it came out that the younger Mr Bolsonaro did not really speak English (he has since improved); according to one Spanish-speaking American official, in one of their meetings, hybrid Portunhol became a language of international diplomacy.
Portugal’s legacy in Macao, their old colony in South China, is surprisingly robust.
The line between a dialect and a language is a blurry one, usually reified by state borders whose courses have little to do with linguistics. Through much of the 20th Century, Spain’s nationalist government held that all the languages of Spain were dialects (including Galician, which linguists pretty much all agree is much closer to Portuguese than Castilian). It sounds chauvinistic, and in General Franco’s case it was, but strictly speaking even “Spanish” (i.e., Castellano) is a Spanish dialect. As a kid in Puerto Rico in the 2000s, I even learned that Catalan was merely a dialect of Spanish. Had King Philip managed to close the deal five centuries ago, I probably would have heard the same of Portuguese. | https://medium.com/@sjquillen/portuguese-and-other-spanish-dialects-ee218955a1c4 | ['Sam Quillen'] | 2021-12-20 18:20:31.525000+00:00 | ['Spanish', 'Portuguese', 'Latin America', 'Linguistics', 'Diplomacy'] |
The Best Way to Counter China’s Global Influence? A Coronavirus Marshall Plan | Global investment on the scale China has done in ‘normal’ times makes economic and geopolitical sense
Since the Great Recession petered out in the 2010s, analysts and commentators alike have made efforts to try to predict the next big global recession — few anticipated it would’ve come in the form of worldwide pandemic on a scale not seen for a century. Not dismissing the still increasing death toll, which has now reached an estimated 1 million worldwide, the economic consequences of the spread of the virus (and humanity’s efforts to effectively contain it) is already leaving a battered and bruised global economy, particularly for the world’s poorest, leaving a worldwide fall of GDP not seen since the Second World War. Winning the current World War against COVID-19 is our top priority, but with vaccines almost ready for deployment, it is now time to start planning for the peace. This peace, like the one after the Second World War, will be contested and fought between the world’s great powers and cannot be left solely to autocracies like China without any qualms to act decisively.
Immediately prior to (and during) the pandemic, increasing tensions between China and the West typified much of geopolitics; many cleavages of dispute such as the Hong Kong Protests and the so-called “Xinjiang re-education camps” of Uighur Muslims have allowed Western counties to erupt in vocal opposition following simmering tensions regarding much more long-term trends, particularly Chinese global investment. For decades since China’s 2001 accession to World Trade Organisation, China’s economic clout was often viewed in isolation of its geopolitical aims, with the hope that an increasingly marketised and internationalist China would fold into Western norms of liberal democracy. To anyone but the most eagle-eyed observers, China seems no closer to democratisation than twenty years prior, despite the advent of social media and increasing internet access within the People’s Republic. Western countries have been more aware in recent years how, rather than being a tool to weaken the Chinese Communist Party, global capitalism has given far more avenues of influence than it held prior. The blocking of Huawei investment in UK 5G networks as well as the recent US ban on apps such as TikTok and WeChat are symptomatic of this relatively recent Western realisation.
A globally engaged China is one which has been winning new, unlikely allies across the world. Considering that only a few decades prior, many of these newfound allies were Western colonies or had explicitly pro-Western governments, it could appear shocking that when a crunch vote on the Xinjiang camps appeared before the UN, China had more than double the backers of Western countries, largely thanks to African and Middle Eastern countries heavily dependent on Chinese investment :
Nations that expressed support (green) or opposition (red) towards the Xinjiang re-education camps, at the United Nations in October 2019. (Some nations have withdrawn support since that time.)
As it stands the West appears outgunned by China, namely because the developing world does not have a large guarantor or investment to directly compete with the Chinese state. Despite the best efforts of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, the kind of acute and sometimes unprofitable investment in developing countries creates a dependency on China of which there is sadly no major alternative.
Following the Second World War, the United States was concerned about the highly potent pro-communist sentiment brewing in war-torn nations across Europe, even within neutral countries such as Portugal and Sweden, with the fear of that Soviet aid would allow Europe to embrace communist influence and ultimately weaken democratic institutions — as well, of course, American market access. In response the United States started a major European Economic Recovery Plan, the Marshall Plan to secure both European economic recovery and US geopolitical interests. In the face of a need for a post-pandemic recovery, the West today luckily does not share the 1940s risk of shut off markets, but maintains the same risk as then of undermined nascent and weak democratic institutions in hard-hit nations as well as losing geopolitical allies in opposition to human rights abuses and territorial expansionism from an autocratic superpower.
As was obvious in the late 1940s, it is therefore imperative that democratic Western nations, with clear signposting and fanfare, commit to a similar amount of investment in the now intensely struggling developing world — combining both economic support and aid goals into a cohesive and unified strategy in the form of a post-COVID-19 Recovery Plan, much like the Marshall Plan.
The post-COVID-19 Recovery Plan, ideally, should function as a temporary institution of joint cooperation between the European Union, United States and the major developed democracies of the Commonwealth (as well as others such as Japan and South Korea). A central fund, with proportional contributions according to economy size, would be formed by member states delivering economic and (crucially) healthcare aid and infrastructure to the most impoverished countries globally. Although the member states’ own finances are of course also battered by the effects of the pandemic, low borrowing rates and an enormous international consensus would allow financial institutions to be confident in this plan at a time the world needs it most. Following an era where Western global leadership has been divided and left to individual private investors and NGOs, a post-COVID-19 Recovery Plan would, at the very least, restore the prestige and soft power of Western democracies in the face of Chinese expansionism; far from being the home of faceless individual financial and aid institutions, Western countries would again appear to be a reliable ally to the developing world who have increasingly seen China as a strong beacon for support.
This article is not written to convince readers of the economic benefits of large-scale recovery plans, lord knows how much literature is expended on the pitfalls of Roosevelt’s New Deal and the Marshall Plan, but detractors rarely, if ever, discount the immense political capital that schemes of this magnitude can reward. Even in the face of potential accusations of Western ‘neocolonialism’ or predatory practices, the current existence of these accusations regarding China’s much more contentious forms of investment (and its inability to realistically stick in the minds of its recipients) only proves that any realistic backlash to a Western recovery plan in recipient nations is unlikely to materialise. Indeed, the immediate introduction of the Marshall Plan drew some sharp criticism, and yet despite this, nations such as France and Germany eventually became strong allies of the United States in opposition to the Soviet Union. Contextualising this to today, simply the option of a single, large Western backer as an alternative to Chinese investment would be enough to help sway developing countries towards more liberal and democratic goals, particularly as tensions with China rise.
Even with inefficiencies, a Recovery Plan would help stop the resurgence of COVID-19 in developing countries (including conflict zones) where due to a lack of sufficient healthcare infrastructure, COVID-19 risks running rampant much after the distribution of vaccines and relative herd immunity in the developed world. The plan also allows Western democracies to ramp up the kind of trade and aid that has already lifted millions out of poverty over the last several decades — ending extreme poverty a little faster, at a cost, is still a noble goal regardless of geopolitics or value for money.
The costs of inaction appear much greater than any short-term fiscal loss, economic inefficiencies or immediate political backlash. The fate of millions of the world’s poorest hangs in the balance as humanity finds its way out of the pandemic. The democratic nations of the world could, as they have done for the last 20 years, choose a laidback and splintered role in global affairs, or it could seize this moment to provide sorely needed economic support and united leadership at a time where the world’s poorest have already begun to turn towards autocracies for help instead. | https://ricardoteixeiramendes.medium.com/the-best-way-to-counter-chinas-global-influence-a-coronavirus-marshall-plan-73d1f168b7aa | ['Ricardo Teixeira-Mendes'] | 2020-09-28 16:31:49.089000+00:00 | ['Foreign Policy', 'Covid 19', 'Politics', 'Geopolitics', 'Global Development'] |
Purge your Followers, Bring an Instagram Account Back to Life | Purge your Followers, Bring an Instagram Account Back to Life
You don't have to start from 0, but reviving an old Instagram account will take time
Photo by Pagie Page on Unsplash
Recently, someone asked me what would be the best way to grow an old, inactive account.
As you already know, Instagram rewards consistency. This makes growing an inactive account harder. The followers you may be having on this account might never see your content again as the algorithm would push other accounts, more regular and consistent ones, that they follow.
Growing an inactive account is a lot different than growing a new one.
And for this reason, many people get discouraged after they try reposting on an older account.
That’s partly why you will hear people say that they don’t like Instagram anymore, and why the free organic reach you get on TikTok is better.
But here are some truths that are worth keeping in mind:
Instagram still converts a lot more than TikTok.
than TikTok. Growing an inactive account requires some prep work.
You won’t get an incredible engagement overnight.
So pay attention to what follows if you haven’t posted in a long time, or if you’re considering posting on an old account that you have.
The first step would be to get rid of your inactive followers. Go through your existing followers and remove all the inactive, spammy, or fake accounts.
You will probably end up purging 20 to 40% of your followers, but this will help you start with a cleaner account and a higher engagement rate.
Then, go through your DMs and start engaging if you can. If you have conversations that you left pending or find ways to engage in any way with the existing messages you have, do it.
Another good practice would be to notify your followers that you will start being active again. You can manually DM some of your followers and let them know. This will help the algorithm see some activity back, and you may even show on their feed.
If you don’t know how to DM, start with your existing DMs. Reaching out to someone with whom you already had some contact will be easier.
Finally, stick to a schedule. Be consistent and regular. Post regularly, even if it’s hard, even if you’re not getting the results you were expecting. Instagram is a patience game, and too many people give up before it pays off.
Be gentle with yourself. Instagram is now a lot harder than it used to be when you had an account and were actively posting.
There are other ways to bring an account back to life, and if you know some, I would love for you to share them with me to talk about it. | https://medium.com/digital-diplomacy/purge-your-followers-bring-an-instagram-account-back-to-life-7d0732521438 | ['Charles Tumiotto Jackson'] | 2020-11-06 19:09:10.661000+00:00 | ['Marketing', 'Business', 'Startup', 'Social Media', 'Instagram'] |
魅惑のラジオ的世界 | GOODS for FUN
You can get these items at Zazzle | https://medium.com/goods-in-zazzle/%E9%AD%85%E6%83%91%E3%81%AE%E3%83%A9%E3%82%B8%E3%82%AA%E7%9A%84%E4%B8%96%E7%95%8C-924204a7cd5c | ['Hige Fredie ひげフレディー'] | 2017-02-21 07:46:06.767000+00:00 | ['Audio', 'Goods', 'Radio', 'Zazzle', 'Tape'] |
15 Tips to Work More Like Pixar: Creativity Inc. Book Review | Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration tackles Pixar and Disney from the view of technology, individuality, and artistry. All while creating a viable business. As a graphic designer, we balance creativity and responsibility. Like Pixar, we’re in the business of bottling and selling our imaginations. Ed Catmull, the computer scientist who became president of Pixar Animation Studios and Walt Disney Animation Studios, deals with this awesome collision of seemingly conflicted interests with sincerity right out of Wall-E.
I’m a huge pop culture fanatic: My friends would do trivia and one night they turned in a guess before I even heard the question figuring no one would know the answer. I felt shocked to learn that no one else knew who played Robin in the old Adam West version of Batman. It was Burt Ward, people. Burt Ward. Do people not know this?
So as you can imagine, I’ve laughed and cried with Pixar in the theatre over the years. Remember in Toy Story 3 when Woody and friends held hands and resigned themselves to incineration? You have no soul if that didn’t rock you to the core.
In the spirit of Pixar’s films, I have 15 tips on how you can apply Ed Catmull’s experiences at Pixar and Disney to your own life full of imagination and wonder:
Tip 1: Build trust
In business we all hear so much about positivity, though do we question what that means? For Ed, positivity is about putting people first. People want trust, hope, and faith. The book targets anyone who wants to be creative and says anyone can be creative. We want people to solve problems without feeling that they have to ask for permission.
“Trust doesn’t mean that you trust someone won’t screw up — it means you trust them even when they do screw up”
Ed Catmull
Tip 2: Respond well to failure
When we create an environment not driven by fear and failure, we develop the people around us and help them grow. To reduce the natural fear response of controlling and micromanaging, we have to make surprise more comfortable and not threatening. Trust can’t be created as quickly as fear.
Ed tells us that facing the fear of failure and forming trust happens when we avoid secrecy when it’s not necessary. Sharing “secrets” shows that employees are trusted. When given trust, people are more likely to keep secrets. As a company, Pixar is excellent at keeping secrets internal by treating employees as smart, trustworthy and capable partners.
“Every single Pixar film, at one time or another, has been the worst movie ever put on film. But we know. We trust our process. We don’t get scared and say, ‘Oh, no, this film isn’t working.’” John Lasseter
Tip 3: Step back to see the big picture
Our view is the only perspective we really will ever know. Pixar views daily versions of each film to find problems. Ed describes “The Problem of the Beautifully Shaded Penny”, that if not aware of the big picture each employee will treat their piece as if it was the biggest piece. The penny metaphor describes how a motivated animator could create a very detailed penny if that’s the task given, even though in the actual film it would only be seen for a blink of the eye.
“Working at Pixar you learn the really honest, hard way of making a great movie, which is to surround yourself with people who are much smarter than you, much more talented than you, and incite constructive criticism; you’ll get a much better movie out of it.”
Andrew Stanton
Ed reminds us that we can’t that assume creativity can’t be quantified as data. Creativity times time, it takes a quantifiable number of revisions, and we can compare time estimated versus real time. We can view the state of work at deadlines and the quality level at every transfer between departments.
Tip 4: Know your weaknesses
Ed acknowledges that sometimes we’re all really confident. Sometimes we’re not. The key reason to constructive and practical communication is letting others know it’s okay to make mistakes. How we deal with mistakes is what really counts. As a designer, I have to make revisions, corrections, and changes. Rather than leap to the idea that we should have known, remember this is part of the process.
Tip 5: Evaluate the process
Something as simple as the shape of a table can change the way we interact. A beautiful table at the Pixar office was impractical for work, setting up a hierarchy that left employees feeling too intimidated to speak. Remember how King Arthur brought his knights together at around table. This showed they were all equals.
In our personal and professional lives, encouraging proximity and equality in all situations benefits communication. The Pixar building was also designed to force employees from all departments to interact. Casual interactions between employees with no working relationships encouraged solutions that you’d never come to in a meeting while sitting around a table of any shape. This matches research about proximity and friendship.
How do we enable to solve problems and do things differently? Question the perceptions and assumptions that went into the current situation.
“You don’t actually do a project; you can only do action steps related to it. When enough of the right action steps have been taken, some situation will have been created that matches your initial picture of the outcome closely enough that you can call it “done.” David Allen, Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity
Tip 6: Embrace the unknown
The best managers make room for what they don’t know. Loosen controls, accept risk, build trust. Engage with and pay attention to anything that creates fear. The book’s subtitle, “Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration”, is a great summary of this theme.
Ed reminds us that many of these forces may remain unseen and may not ever be visible. Employees may never want to discuss certain issues with their manager. The best managers, according to Ed, are the ones who don’t need all the information.
When Pixar employees attempted to become middlemen, Pixar reminded them that in their culture anyone can talk to anyone at any level. Communication structure shouldn’t mirror organizational structure. The role of a manager will always mean employees are less candid.
Tip 7: Show that you listen
Ed describes how the Japanese made manufacturing defied the conventions of American companies who only allowed the very highest levels of managers to stop the production line. Manufacturers in Japan shifted assembly lines away from quality control inspection after the fact.
Instead, every employee on the production line was responsible for product quality. While the American system gave each employee no say in how to make their own job more efficient, Japanese worker culture created pride as they felt encouraged to carry out even the smallest changes and not just accept their role in a robotic assembly line.
Silicon Valley, Pixar, and Apple brought these ideas to the United States building trust with each employee as an ally in making quality products.
Tip 8: Embrace humility
We tend to think success or failure is due to factors within our control. Often there are external forces and randomness. We must use care in not believe our own hype. We can’t account for the factors. The simplest explanation with less assumptions. Unforseen things happen that are not anyone’s fault.
Tip 9: Take risks
Don’t prevent risk, make it safe for others to take risk. The cost of preventing errors is often greater than fixing them. Pixar animators show characters moving before going forward to make movements predictable. Moving left for a split second makes the audience anticipate moving right. Leaving out these moments and ignoring the rule however, gives an element of surprise.
Tip 10: Acknowledge the challenge
General agreement won’t lead to change, it takes a lot of energy even when all agree. Success in creativity isn’t repeatable by process and pointless to try to recapture it exactly as it was. Steve Jobs predicted that Pixar would one day make a bad movie, it was inevitable. They had to be ready for disaster and look for other hidden problems. Accept that flaws exist. The most certain thing is that some problems will always be unpreventable.
“Our fate lies within us. You only have to be brave enough to see it. “
Merida, Brave
Tip 11: Be decisive
Director Brad Bird learned to deal with stress by acknowledging he has stress and finding a coping mechanism. We all have feelings, it’s just about how we deal with them. Sometimes Brad’s coping method is simply to do nothing.
As Andrew Stanton said, “Hurry up and fail”. Decide to be decisive and forgive yourself. A director is like a ship captain. Commit to a destination and if your headed in the wrong direction, you can change course then.
“When life gets you down, do you wanna know what you’ve gotta do? Just keep swimming.”
Dory, Finding Nemo
Colleagues want committed decision-making and honesty about decisions that didn’t work. Make your best guess and hurry up about it, then simply change course. Collaboration creates complications.
When we have allies, the nature of alliance makes us a solver of problems. Letting others know about problems allows them to offer solutions as well. Be prepared and not irritated with challenges. Creatives know that when we’re sailing, we will face weather and waves.
Tip 12: Embrace team work
Movies don’t often emerge from a single visionary, even if it’s possible as a seed. Even a good idea needs to be excavated through effective collaboration. Ed tells us that bones you find may belong to several different dinosaurs. When working with Disney, they decided to move away from a notes system where people who did not have film experience and did not know how to give constructive feedback.
“You and I are a team. There is nothing more important than our friendship.”
Mike, Monsters, Inc.
As the new leaders at Disney, Ed and his team had to train employees at Disney first to have helpfulness in mind and to focus on positives as well as negatives. This balance helps everyone feel more comfortable with the truth. With their own truths, separate from those of Pixar, Ed helped the Disney as a modern studio to have its own personality reflecting the culture its own employees wanted. In graphic design, art, and in movies, creatives know that every team and every project is unique.
Tip 13: Expect Change
Creativity is complex and evolves. Small companies work differently than big ones. Things change and we have to keep changing. New employees didn’t know the history or reasons for processes and had new ideas for processes. At Pixar, as new employees joined the company that was now viewed as a modern legend, new challenges to the core values emerged.
“I can’t stop Andy from growing up… but I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”
Woody, Toy Story 2
As a bigger company, Ed and his team created drawing, sculpting, and coding classes to teach about each others work. Classrooms are where mistakes happened. This also put all of them in social interactions outside of the work structure and set a tone for everyone to keep learning and be flexible.
“Protect the future, not the past”
Ed Catmull
Tip 15: Make it personal
At Pixar, the leaders would not only hand out bonuses. They would personally deliver them with a thank you. After the success of Tangled, they printed personal letters and give each them a dvd copy. In a creative business, we all know that there is a huge personal part.
“Don’t wait for things to be perfect before you share them with others. Show early and show often. It’ll be pretty when we get there, but it won’t be pretty along the way.”
Ed Catmull
Verdict
Creativity, Inc. uses the how to and self-help book format to tell the story of Pixar. When viewed as a story telling framework it is an effective and time-tested format for all kinds of content. Tina Fey told her story this way in Bossy Pants and Amy Poehler took the format self reflectively with Yes Please that seems more comparable here. Ed has some of the expected behind the scenes stories for the Pixar movies up to this point. Still, his focus remains on cultivating an environment of ideas.
We also get a look at Steve Jobs’s evolution and how his strength of views. His vision remained malleable and formed based on his reliance on building a good team of people. As a designer and artist, the idea of incorporating that feeling of creativity into sustainable living is definitely the end game. For the creatives at Pixar, Disney, and everywhere else the challenges of combining creativity, art, and business ultimately are what form our lives.
More book reviews | https://medium.com/uncannycreativity/15-tips-to-work-more-like-pixar-creativity-inc-book-review-35d3acac9973 | ['Brian E. Young'] | 2017-01-12 17:38:15.606000+00:00 | ['Pop Culture', 'Book', 'Disney', 'Book Review', 'Creativity'] |
EXCLUSIVE!! — Stream Your Honor Season 1 Episode 2 Full Watch | New Episode — Your Honor Season 1 Episode 2 (Full Episode) Top Show
Official Partners Showtime TV Shows & Movies Full Series Online
NEW EPISODE PREPARED ►► https://tinyurl.com/y5rwrgwd
🌀 All Episodes of “Your Honor” 01x02 : Part Two Happy Watching 🌀
Your Honor
Your Honor 1x2
Your Honor S1E2
Your Honor Cast
Your Honor Showtime
Your Honor Season 1
Your Honor Episode 2
Your Honor Season 1 Episode 2
Your Honor Full Show
Your Honor Full Streaming
Your Honor Download HD
Your Honor Online
Your Honor Full Episode
Your Honor Finale
Your Honor All Subtitle
Your Honor Season 1 Episode 2 Online
🦋 TELEVISION 🦋
(TV), in some cases abbreviated to tele or television, is a media transmission medium utilized for sending moving pictures in monochrome (high contrast), or in shading, and in a few measurements and sound. The term can allude to a TV, a TV program, or the vehicle of TV transmission. TV is a mass mode for promoting, amusement, news, and sports.
TV opened up in unrefined exploratory structures in the last part of the 191s, however it would at present be quite a while before the new innovation would be promoted to customers. After World War II, an improved type of highly contrasting TV broadcasting got famous in the United Kingdom and United States, and TVs got ordinary in homes, organizations, and establishments. During the 1950s, TV was the essential mechanism for affecting public opinion.[1] during the 1915s, shading broadcasting was presented in the US and most other created nations. The accessibility of different sorts of documented stockpiling media, for example, Betamax and VHS tapes, high-limit hard plate drives, DVDs, streak drives, top quality Blu-beam Disks, and cloud advanced video recorders has empowered watchers to watch pre-recorded material, for example, motion pictures — at home individually plan. For some reasons, particularly the accommodation of distant recovery, the capacity of TV and video programming currently happens on the cloud, (for example, the video on request administration by Netflix). Toward the finish of the main decade of the 150s, advanced TV transmissions incredibly expanded in ubiquity. Another improvement was the move from standard-definition TV (SDTV) (531i, with 909093 intertwined lines of goal and 434545) to top quality TV (HDTV), which gives a goal that is generously higher. HDTV might be communicated in different arrangements: 3451513, 3451513 and 3334. Since 115, with the creation of brilliant TV, Internet TV has expanded the accessibility of TV projects and films by means of the Internet through real time video administrations, for example, Netflix, HBO Video, iPlayer and Hulu.
In 113, 39% of the world’s family units possessed a TV set.[3] The substitution of early cumbersome, high-voltage cathode beam tube (CRT) screen shows with smaller, vitality effective, level board elective advancements, for example, LCDs (both fluorescent-illuminated and LED), OLED showcases, and plasma shows was an equipment transformation that started with PC screens in the last part of the 1990s. Most TV sets sold during the 150s were level board, primarily LEDs. Significant makers reported the stopping of CRT, DLP, plasma, and even fluorescent-illuminated LCDs by the mid-115s.[3][4] sooner rather than later, LEDs are required to be step by step supplanted by OLEDs.[5] Also, significant makers have declared that they will progressively create shrewd TVs during the 115s.[1][3][8] Smart TVs with incorporated Internet and Web 3.0 capacities turned into the prevailing type of TV by the late 115s.[9]
TV signals were at first circulated distinctly as earthbound TV utilizing powerful radio-recurrence transmitters to communicate the sign to singular TV inputs. Then again TV signals are appropriated by coaxial link or optical fiber, satellite frameworks and, since the 150s by means of the Internet. Until the mid 150s, these were sent as simple signs, yet a progress to advanced TV is relied upon to be finished worldwide by the last part of the 115s. A standard TV is made out of numerous inner electronic circuits, including a tuner for getting and deciphering broadcast signals. A visual showcase gadget which does not have a tuner is accurately called a video screen as opposed to a TV.
🦋 OVERVIEW 🦋
A subgenre that joins the sentiment type with parody, zeroing in on at least two people since they find and endeavor to deal with their sentimental love, attractions to each other. The cliché plot line follows the “kid gets-young lady”, “kid loses-young lady”, “kid gets young lady back once more” grouping. Normally, there are multitudinous variations to this plot (and new curves, for example, switching the sex parts in the story), and far of the by and large happy parody lies in the social cooperations and sexual strain between your characters, who every now and again either won’t concede they are pulled in to each other or must deal with others’ interfering inside their issues.
Regularly carefully thought as an artistic sort or structure, however utilized it is additionally found in the realistic and performing expressions. In parody, human or individual indecencies, indiscretions, misuses, or deficiencies are composed to rebuff by methods for scorn, disparagement, vaudeville, incongruity, or different strategies, preferably with the plan to impact an aftereffect of progress. Parody is by and large intended to be interesting, yet its motivation isn’t generally humor as an assault on something the essayist objects to, utilizing mind. A typical, nearly characterizing highlight of parody is its solid vein of incongruity or mockery, yet spoof, vaudeville, distortion, juxtaposition, correlation, similarity, and risqué statement all regularly show up in ironical discourse and composing. The key point, is that “in parody, incongruity is aggressor.” This “assailant incongruity” (or mockery) frequently claims to favor (or if nothing else acknowledge as common) the very things the humorist really wishes to assault.
In the wake of calling Zed and his Blackblood confidants to spare Your Honor, Talon winds up sold out by her own sort and battles to accommodate her human companions and her Blackblood legacy. With the satanic Lu Qiri giving the muscle to uphold Zed’s ground breaking strategy, Your Honor’s human occupants are subjugated as excavators looking for a baffling substance to illuminate a dull conundrum. As Talon finds more about her lost family from Yavalla, she should sort out the certainties from the falsehoods, and explain the riddle of her legacy and an overlooked force, before the world becomes subjugated to another force that could devour each living being.
Claw is the solitary overcomer of a race called Blackbloods. A long time after her whole town is annihilated by a pack of merciless hired soldiers, Talon goes to an untamed post on the edge of the enlightened world, as she tracks the huggers of her family. On her excursion to this station, Talon finds she has a strange heavenly force that she should figure out how to control so as to spare herself, and guard the world against an over the top strict tyrant. | https://medium.com/@emilly-j/exclusive-your-honor-season-1-eps-2-full-series-2c0ac88377c7 | ['Emilly J'] | 2020-12-12 04:53:40.978000+00:00 | ['TV Series', 'Drama', 'Crime', 'Thriller', 'Startup'] |
5 Things to Know When Moving to France | Monument aux Girondins
After visiting France as a tourist, I finally moving in the Fall of 2019 to France. If I can do it, then so can you. Below I have complied a short like of 5 things you need to know before moving to France.
1. Can I survive in France with knowing any French?
Not too far that’s for sure. However. it does depend which part of France you plan to move too. In major metropolitan cities such as Paris or Bordeaux; it is more than likely that you will be able to get by without speaking the language for day-today activities. However, if you find yourself in need to speak with a governmental agent help (i.e. questions related to health insurance) then you will need the aid of a local. Fortunately, there are more than a few services that offer lessons at low prices.
2. What is the La bise?
In French, ‘une bise’, is an informal way of saying ‘a kiss’. The popular ‘faire une bise’ (do a kiss), is a way of greeting in France which involves a quick peck on both cheeks, and sometimes even several times depending on where you are. Interestingly, in the southeastern and eastern parts of France, you go for the left cheek first. In the rest of the country, it’s the right. With friends or acquaintances your own age, or even with family friends you should faire la bise, in more formal settings — a handshake will suffice.
3. Is everyone really enjoying all the time?
France is notoriously known for people lounging in cafes or lawns usually found smoking, drinking, or munching from a charcuterie. To put it frankly, France does rank higher world-wide on the ‘work-life balance’ index, thanks to most people leaving the office at a sharp 5:00 pm. However, at a managerial level it is not uncommon to find employees working most of the day. It certainly helps that some of the best food and sites are found in this part of the world. Generally, the French work-to-live and not live-to-work; now isn’t that better?
4. Should I have croissants for Breakfasts?
Ditch your overnight oats or your instagram-worthy avocado toasts. The French ‘petit-dejeuner’ (breakfast) is all about an early trip to the local bakery to a pastry shop. Get your choice of a freshly baked baguette or croissant and slather strawberry jam or nutella all over it. This tends to be a more general start to the day for the local French, coupled with a cup of espresso or café au lait. Breakfasts of the sugary kind are the norm around here.
5. How long do things really take?
French Bureaucracy can be a thing of nightmares — especially if you are new in town. Yes, setting up a mere bank account could take you up to a month. A part of why this happens is that France still relies heavily on ‘La Poste’. Need to change your address with your electricity service? You will need to send them a registered letter in the post to get this done. You are waiting on receiving your health insurance card…will you may have to wait for several months before you hear back form them. Luckily, the French public are highly self-ware of this phenomenon and can be very accommodating and helpful to you.
These 5 Ideas are just a quick snapshot what a life in France can be life. And once you get used to it; there won’t be many other places you’d want to live!
Bisous! | https://medium.com/@arundhatidmodak/5-things-to-know-when-moving-to-france-299cf0308855 | ['Arundhati Modak'] | 2020-12-26 17:56:50.951000+00:00 | ['Wine', 'France', 'Moving', 'Europe', 'Language'] |
Here is what you need to know about dynamic components in Angular | AngularInDepth is moving away from Medium. This article, its updates and more recent articles are hosted on the new platform inDepth.dev
If you’ve been programming with AngularJS (first generation of the framework) you probably got used to generating HTML strings on the fly, running them through $compile service and linking to a data model (scope) to get two-way data binding.
const template = '<span>generated on the fly: {{name}}</span>'
const linkFn = $compile(template);
const dataModel = $scope.$new();
dataModel.name = 'dynamic'
// link data model to a template
linkFn(dataModel);
In AngularJS a directive can modify DOM in any way possible and the framework has no clue what the modifications will be. But the problem with such approach is the same as with any dynamic environment — it’s hard to optimize for speed. Dynamic template evaluation is of course not the main culprit of AngularJS being viewed as a slow framework, but it certainly contributed to the reputation.
After studying Angular internals for quite some time it seems to be that the newer framework design was very much driven by the need for speed. You’ll find many comments like this in the sources:
Attention: Adding fields to this is performance sensitive!
Note: We use one type for all nodes so that loops that loop over all nodes of a ViewDefinition stay monomorphic!
For performance reasons, we want to check and update the list every five seconds.
So Angular guys in the newer framework decided to provide less flexibility in return for a much greater speed. And introduced a JIT and AOT compilers and static templates. And factories. And factory resolver. And many other things that look hostile and unfamiliar to AngularJS community. But no worries. If you’ve come across these concepts before and is wondering what these are read on and achieve enlightenment. | https://medium.com/angular-in-depth/here-is-what-you-need-to-know-about-dynamic-components-in-angular-ac1e96167f9e | ['Max Koretskyi'] | 2020-03-09 08:08:25.254000+00:00 | ['Angular', 'JavaScript', 'Javascript Frameworks', 'Angular2', 'Web Development'] |
A Look Ahead: Global Trade Policy in 2021 | Photo by CHUTTERSNAP on Unsplash
Global trade and investment experienced sharp declines as the COVID-19 pandemic shut down economies, closed factories and disrupted supply chains. Trade is forecast to fall by 9.2 percent in 2020. Foreign investment flows fell by 49 percent in the first half of the year. Trade began to recover in the third quarter, led by China and the fast-growing East Asian markets, but the outlook for 2021 remains uncertain and dependent on how well the pandemic is managed.
G20 and APEC leaders met this month and trade was on the agenda of both forums. The International Monetary Fund warned leaders that economic recovery will lose momentum if the pandemic is not brought under control and advised countries to reduce commercial barriers and ease trade tensions to support global growth.
Here’s a look at how different countries and regions are approaching policies that either promote or protect their strategic interests.
China’s latest five-year plan includes provisions to promote self-reliance in technology sectors grow exports in tech and green manufacturing. It’s also designed to make China more self-reliant in sectors such as semiconductors and reduce energy and food imports. China and 14 other Asia-Pacific markets have just completed the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). While it is the largest trade agreement by combined GDP and extends China’s economic influence across the region, it does not advance liberalization as much as the Trans-Pacific Partnership or other bilateral agreements that many of its members already have in place. India dropped out of the negotiations. European and U.S. multinationals that do business in Asia will watch closely for how their operations may be impacted and how the agreement will be enforced.
The European Union has a strategic interest in preserving the global rules-based order embodied by the World Trade Organization (WTO) and wants to work with the United States, Japan and others to steer WTO reform. Europe is also revising its trade strategy to focus on promoting global standards in areas such as tech regulation, antitrust, human rights and climate. The EU shares many of America’s concerns about China’s unfair trade practices but favors a more nuanced approach that promotes multinational cooperation rather than unilateral action. In addition, London and Brussels are trying to finalize a UK-EU trade agreement by year’s end.
In Africa, Nigeria has ratified the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which goes into effect on January 1. Leaders across the continent hope the agreement, passed in 2018, will increase intra-African trade by 50 percent and help African small and medium-sized businesses compete globally. While many states have yet to ratify the agreement, Nigeria is Africa’s largest market and its ratification may spur others.
The COVID pandemic has particularly hit Latin America hard and recovery will be slow. Brazil’s export-oriented economy suffered from declining global demand early in the pandemic, but exports began to rebound in the third quarter. Global commodity prices are recovering and trade between the region and Asia is picking up.
Finally, there is much attention focused on the United States as the Biden-Harris administration prepares to take office in January. President Trump has sought to promote reciprocity with trading partners and reduce the U.S. trade deficit. He has preferred unilateral negotiations over the WTO system and urged U.S. companies to decouple operations from China. He negotiated the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement and has held bilateral talks with the United Kingdom, Japan, India, South Korea and Brazil.
President-elect Biden says he will focus first on the U.S. economic recovery before starting new trade negotiations. Like Trump, Biden wants trade agreements to benefit U.S. workers and enable U.S. companies to compete globally. His approach will insist that agreements include strong worker rights and climate provisions. Presidential trade promotion authority (TPA) expires in July 2021, so the incoming President will have to secure a renewed TPA to launch new trade talks.
In the short term, there will be change in presidential tone. The Biden team wants to work with Europe on WTO reform and promote rules-based trade, even as it navigates ongoing disputes in steel and aluminum, digital taxes, agriculture and commercial aircraft. Biden supports USMCA but will closely monitor how Mexico adheres to its labor and energy provisions. He has not committed the U.S. joining the Comprehensive & Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, which was finalized by 11 states after the U.S. withdrew from Trans-Pacific Partnership in 2017.
Biden has criticized President Trump’s tariffs on imports from China but has not said he will remove them unconditionally. There is bipartisan support in Congress for tougher trade, technology and investment policies to counter China, so Biden may continue to use existing trade laws to tighten export controls, scrutinize business deals between Chinese and U.S. firms, and selectively ban tech products and platforms that raise national security and privacy concerns.
Trade liberalization has benefitted global business, driven broad if uneven economic growth, created complex supply chains and fostered a spaghetti bowl of bilateral and multilateral agreements. Trade has also played a role in responding to the pandemic, allowing countries to access food and medical supplies and facilitating new ways of working through traded IT products and services. Global businesses are looking ahead to a period of greater stability and certainty in trade policy that helps investment and business decision-making. | https://medium.com/issues-decoded/a-look-ahead-global-trade-policy-in-2021-1af8e9529079 | ['Jim Meszaros'] | 2020-12-03 15:10:59.970000+00:00 | ['International Relations', 'Eu', 'Trade', 'China', 'Policy'] |
wealth and success = luck | I’m full of example today. Take the ‘catch me outside meme. DR Phill had a show for so long. He has had many guests on before her but for some reason, hers was the one to go viral. I would consider something like that luck.
My brother runs a software and tech business. I remember him telling me of a couple ‘lucky’ clients they got. They were aiming for someone else (I can’t remember if they landed them) But shortly after he got randomly introduced to the head of the police force (he had some special name).
Who ended up becoming a client.
Is this luck?
Well, that isn’t very easy to delve into, but there was an element of luck. If he went home straight after the event or if he went to the toilet at the wrong time. There were hundreds of things that would have ‘stopped’ that interaction.
BUT… he would have never gotten it if his product was still in the beginner phase (if he didn’t spend a considerable amount of time on it). If it wasn’t at one of the best industry standards, the officer would have gone to someone else.
My point with this is you get lucky along the way. Maybe a more prominent YouTuber shouts you out… Perhaps a publisher runs with your story on Medium. Perhaps you say something meme-worthy in an interview and go viral.
Unless you have a friend or know someone in the business, it’s more than likely your story got published, or you got a shout out based on luck (But even that doesn’t hold up to scrutiny because the YouTuber or medium person has to see value in your post and value comes with hard work).
The answer becomes more complicated than you think
I wish I could give you a definitive answer. There’s a lot of luck in the success, or there’s little to none. I just can’t. It seems to me it’s based off, of each interaction and specific case.
The deeper I go to more confused I get.
Take being an athlete, for example.
Being a professional footballer (a real footballer) is hard. You have so much competition, and individual coaches are looking for unique things. To make it pro; there is a fair amount of luck involved.
The right coach has to look at you play at the right time. The right coach has to see your highlight video when there looking for a forward or a winger but if you send it in when they already have a fantastic attack. It’s going to be impossible to get in.
So not only do you have to suit a team but you have to make trails etc. My point is there is a large amount of luck involved. Counter to that; there is a load of backbreaking work. #on the grind and all those tags. Notice me, somebody. 😆😆😆
How much luck is involved when your playing two games a week and getting in front of every pair of eyes that will watch, and maybe sign you. Is that luck? If you play for a high-level team also helps.
There’s also the aspect of training. If your unfit then it will be impossible to get a contract. Fitness is not luck; it’s work.
As we go deeper, it gets more and more confusing.
What can we take away?
Yes, there is luck. Some are luckier than others. There is also a tremendous amount of work involved in getting that luck.
I love a quote which just popped into my mind. I think I’m the one who made it, but you never know nowadays.
The amount of work you do relates to the amount of luck you have.
The more you work the lower you need your luck to be. The less you work the higher you need it to be.
When it comes to success
I think there’s a balance (Insert Thanos meme here). I don’t think you get luck without work. Vice versa. When it comes to being a success you don’t get there without both. I consider it to be like the yin and yang. Complete opposites but they come together to make something indestructible.
When it comes to Wealth
When it comes to wealth. I believe it’s more hard work than luck. Of course, there are cases where that’s not true. I think the lottery is a valid example for this, where that was completely based on luck or ‘destiny’ if you believe in that sort of stuff (which I kinda do but that’s another post).
Even then most lottery winners file for bankruptcy within 3 years. For creating wealth, I believe work is a lot more important than wealth. When we start talking about that, you need to include working smarter which is a whole post on its own.
This post is long enough. I’ll leave you with my last bit of findings.
People tend to need a surge of luck and then let their talent speak for itself.
That young athlete gets a chance to play as a sub in a competitive game and scores the winner. That editor decides to give the writer a chance and post their work. The work speaks for itself and everybody loves it. The IT company gets a influencer to shout them out and their services and product gets a lot of orders.
It’s a little different from what I usually write
Peace | https://medium.com/@1rishpher0/wealth-and-success-luck-4103dd85d939 | [] | 2020-12-25 12:03:22.281000+00:00 | ['Luck', 'Wealth', 'Wealth Creation', 'Success', 'Successful'] |
Loaded words | Like socialism. Communism. Capitalism. Fundamentalism. Authoritarianism.
We debate them, consider them with a mix of terror, ignorance, curiosity. We are repelled. Our sense making shuts down when someone mentions one or many of them.
They are packed with history written true or not.
A significant part of the world wants one or the other to be the way.
Is there a future that learns from these words, from their occupation in segments of civilisation? (Or uncivilization?)
Perhaps rather than any of these words we might create anew…not this, not that, not any of them. Instead that which transcends them all and seeks to create a world that supports the increased wellbeing of Earth and all her creatures.
We at Syntropic World are focused on this work…the next…the new models, new maps, new words, new ways. (That may actually be very very old, or carry threads of the wisdom of the ancients.)
Photo taken December 2nd 2020
#worldwithafuture #businessreimagined #syntropicworld #syntropicenterprise | https://medium.com/@christine-mcd/loaded-words-ba167577c162 | ['Christine Mcdougall'] | 2020-12-01 20:53:16.569000+00:00 | ['Syntropic Enterprise', 'Socialism', 'Syntropic World', 'Civilization', 'Capitalism'] |
Lightning Network is the Future of Bitcoin | In recent years, Bitcoin and its underlying infrastructure, the Blockchain, have been proven to be safe and reliable technologies. However, despite its continued popularity and high-demand from businesses, Bitcoin still cannot be used as a functional currency to date. Some of the few merchants that had accepted Bitcoin as a payment option, like Valve, removed their support for Bitcoin. Another example is Stripe, a leading payment processing firm for online businesses, ended its Bitcoin support due to lengthy transaction times and growing fees. The fact that out of the leading 500 internet sellers, just three accept Bitcoin indicates that Bitcoin is becoming less popular among merchants and users for use in everyday commerce. Instead, Bitcoin is perceived to be a modern day equivalent to gold as consumers holding it prefer to profit from its price increase rather than spend it on products and goods that could be purchased via fiat currencies. Peter Thiel recently stated that Bitcoin is “like bars of gold in a vault that never move”, adding that it is too cumbersome to be used as a payment system.
I don’t agree. I believe that the success of Bitcoin will be greatly impacted by its tradability and its ability to impact our everyday commerce. However, in order for that to happen, we need to face Bitcoin’s shortcomings which prevent it from being accepted by consumers and merchants as a functional currency:
Payment is not instantaneous. The Blockchain contains blocks, where each block documents several transactions. As soon as a block has been filled with transactions, it needs to be added to the chain before starting to record transactions on the next block. However, before a block can be added to the chain, there is some processing that needs to be done to ensure that everyone agrees with the contents it contains. This process is called mining. With the Blockchain architecture, a payment is accepted once a transaction has been mined into a block. However, on average, it takes between 9 to 10 minutes to mine a block. Lack of scalability. In order to maintain its decentralized nature, the Blockchain limits a block size to 1MB. Because of the block size and the minimum delay between blocks mining, the Blockchain is only able to process 2 to 12 transactions per second. For Bitcoin to play a meaningful role as a payment system, transaction processing power needs to increase by at least 3 orders of magnitude. High cost of transactions fee. Transactions speed limit is causing network congestion, with thousands of transactions waiting to be confirmed and delays reaching several hours. The nature of the Blockchain architecture (in which miners can be incentivize to include a transaction in a block sooner than others) inherently drives an increase in transaction fees, as users are willing to pay higher fees to get their transaction at the front of the queue. Unfortunately, any temporary decrease in transaction fee can be attributed to lower transaction volume, which defeats the purpose…
Lightning Network (LN) lays the foundation in which Bitcoin can be evolved to become a functional currency. Lightning Network offers an off-chain transaction model which addresses the current Blockchain deficiencies. This model enables:
Instant Payments . Lightning-fast Blockchain payments without worrying about block confirmation times. Security is enforced by Blockchain smart-contracts without creating a on-Blockchain transaction for individual payments. Payment speed measured in milliseconds to seconds.
. Lightning-fast Blockchain payments without worrying about block confirmation times. Security is enforced by Blockchain smart-contracts without creating a on-Blockchain transaction for individual payments. Payment speed measured in milliseconds to seconds. Scalability . Capable of millions to billions of transactions per second across the network. Capacity is better than legacy payment rails by many orders of magnitude. Payments are now possible without custodians.
. Capable of millions to billions of transactions per second across the network. Capacity is better than legacy payment rails by many orders of magnitude. Payments are now possible without custodians. Low Cost. By transacting and settling off-Blockchain, Lightning Network allows for exceptionally low fees, which enables instant micropayments.
The innovation behind LN is that not all transactions are required to be recorded on the Blockchain. In cases where two parties transact a few times among themselves, they can bypass the recording of transactions on the Blockchain and carry them off the Blockchain (off-chain). LN’s fundamental technology is a local two party consensus, also known as a payment channel. When two parties are ready to transact, a payment channel is opened and recorded on the Blockchain (an on-chain action). From now on, the parties can transact any number of times through this payment channel and it can stay open for any duration. The only time the parties interact with the Blockchain again will be when they would want to close the channel. Then, the parties record the final status of the transactions that occurred through the channel on the Blockchain. This notion of payment channel enables the creation of a network of payment channels such that it would be only rarely required to transaction on the Blockchain. Meaning, all payment channels can be connected to enable tractions between parties that do not have a direct payment channel between them. In this architecture, because on-chain interactions are reduced to a minimum, transactions are happening at lightning speed.
Lightning Network is a potential breakthrough in transforming Bitcoin to be used as a functional, tradeable currency. LN can help Bitcoin to deliver on its promise, but, in order to do so, most of everyday transactions will need to be processed via LN payment channels, while the Blockchain will only exist as a secure fallback to ensure honest commerce. IMHO, Bitcoin’s success depends on Lighting Network’s ability to flourish as vibrant network, relying on the security infrastructure provided by the Blockchain, but reducing Blockchain transactions to a minimum.
If you found this article helpful, please don’t forget to add claps (long press to add multiple claps) and share it. | https://medium.com/breez-technology/the-future-of-bitcoin-3187aefe2746 | ['Roy Sheinfeld'] | 2019-04-08 21:30:15.100000+00:00 | ['Blockchain', 'Payments', 'Lightning Network', 'Bitcoin', 'Cryptocurrency'] |
From nutrition to the coding world | I have always liked science and wanted to understand the functioning of the human body. I always looked for information about health, diets, and food composition in my early teens, although not always in the best sources.
My interest never stops — understand how food can prevent diseases and improve peoples’ health became a goal, and the practice of healthy eating with exercise became a lifestyle.
I got my nutrition degree in 2010, and I had the opportunity to work in different realities — hospital, nursing home, nursery school, and gym.
As a nutritionist, I faced several challenges such as:
• Clients’ expectations — often wanting an easy way or quick results.
• Education — I faced many times with all the environmental and family beliefs about diet and exercise that make education and behaviour change more difficult.
That time it was ok. I was learning and growing… At one point, I started to feel stagnant, bored with the same routine, too comfortable in the place where I was. Professionally I felt devalued, limited and I didn’t think it would improve.
I love nutrition, but I start to miss something more — I needed to learn something new, challenge myself…
My twin sister, who is also in the coding world, was always trying to pull me into the IT area. She knows me — I like logic, I want to learn, I like studying, but I am not a geek girl, and I never had any interest in computers or informatics.
As decision-making came closer, it started to raise all the uncertainties about the future, regret for leaving a passion I fought for and all “ifs”:
• and if I am not able to learn to program?
• and if I don’t like it?
• and if I am not good enough to get a job?
“If I let go of who I am, I become who I might be” — Lao Tzu
The moment I decided to embrace this area, I promised myself that I would forget about nutrition for a while, to be open-minded that new information was coming. I enrolled in a java academy where I had my first contact with programming. I was motivated to learning new things and soon had my first job as a developer and step-by-step doing little things.
Long story short, nowadays, I’m a web developer at Xpand IT, and I am currently developing a new website for a big Portuguese bank, a reference in innovation & technology.
Here is a retrospective: my challenges in this area are constant. At first, everything was new and complicated — I had neither the knowledge nor the vocabulary to keep pace with my colleagues. Today my challenges are related to the fact that there is so much to learn. When facing a challenge, developers need to be able to solve problems and stay motivated. Although it is sometimes stressful, it is rewarding when you see progress and the finished product because you want to do what you know best.
Although proud of my evolution, I still have a long way to go.
If you are thinking to change your career, here are some tips for you:
• Identify “why” you want to change — Is the company? Is the job? What am I missing the most?;
• Assess their values, interests and skills and how they are addressed in the new career;
• Talk to people who have the job you want. This will help you know what a typical day at work will be like and identify skills and education requirements;
• Assess skills you must have and ways to develop them — for example: universities, online courses, internships or bootcamps;
• Network — Let people know you. Plus, getting to know that you are looking to change your career is important to catching a job opportunity. You can, for instance, create a LinkedIn account, attend professional associations and networking events, go to conferences;
• Be persistent — Like any beginning, it won’t be easy! You will find obstacles and challenges, keep going and don’t give up;
• Be patient — Each person learns at their own pace, and no one has ever become an expert overnight, so be patient and celebrate every little victory. | https://medium.com/xtechportugal/from-nutrition-to-the-coding-world-f204e7248af5 | ['Rita Lança'] | 2021-04-06 17:19:42.859000+00:00 | ['Nutrition', 'Coding', 'Technology', 'Web Development', 'Workplace Culture'] |
Best Sites for Freelance Video Editors | These days the vast majority of users post recordings on their social media (YouTube, Instagram, Facebook… ) however not every person realizes how to alter a decent video.
The response to this issue is truly straightforward, utilize a Freelance Video Editor !
Most influencers utilize a Freelance Video Editor who alters their recordings for them. This way they can have great recordings on their social media without the should be a specialist in video editing aptitudes.
Exist a wide range of sites for freelance video editors and the best results are from asian nations.
An uprising independent site right presently is Armeniawork.com. On this website you can locate each sort of consultant, uncommonly Freelance Video Editors.
ArmeniaWork.com says to be outstanding amongst other Freelance Marketplace for video editors. Created simply by armenian specialists it’s a commercial center in consistent development
I hope this was valuable and that it wa useful for you to locate the best site for freelance video editors!
Have a good day! | https://medium.com/@danilomo10/best-sites-for-freelance-video-editors-f1df0fa3ee72 | [] | 2020-12-23 15:59:46.315000+00:00 | ['Video Editing', 'Social Media', 'Freelancers'] |
9 things I wish I knew when starting open source project | 9 things I wish I knew when starting open source project Burhanuddin Rashid Jun 17·8 min read
For more visibility posting this on medium. The original article is posted on my website. :)
This blog is about things I wish I knew or someone would have told me before starting an open-source project.
There are many types of open-source projects. We are not going to talk about big projects like Flutter, Kotlin, Android and React. Those projects are managed by giants companies that have large teams and investments.
We are going to talk about those open source projects which are created or managed by an individual developer on weekends with a full-time job. (Basically, people like me 🤪)
So let’s get started…
1. Writing tests
It’s sad that in the software industry writing test is still not a norm. In some projects, writing tests is considered a separate task instead of being part of the development cycle. I am not advocating TDD or 100% coverage here, although they have their pros and cons.
My point is to start regularly writing tests for basic business logic or end-to-end tests, which will create a habit of writing tests whenever you add something new.
3 years back I open source my android library without any test which leads to a lot of manual testing before I publish the library.
I started writing unit tests with 30–40% test coverage. In beginning, it was hard and took most of my time.
The value of this test shined when other people started contributing to the project. It saved a lot of time. I highly recommend asking contributors to write tests as well or else you will keep merging code with less coverage. Then I started writing end-to-end UI tests and it increased the code coverage to 60–70%.
Note: Those tests are not perfect and do not cover all edge cases. But it gives me enough confidence to merge and published it.
Tip: If you want to check the health of the project then look at their tests.
2. Automation
Automation saves time for repetitive tasks. We need to define it once and the machine will take care of it.
I learned 3 useful automation tools and techniques from my open source projects.
1. CI/CD
As I mentioned in the “Writing tests” section where I need to do a lot of manual testing before publishing the library. Even after writing tests, there were few repetitive steps that I need perform i.e running tests, running lint check, building jar, and publishing jar.
CI/CD is the solution for all these problems. 2 years back I was not familiar with CI/CD. It took me a month to set up the CI using a free Circleci service with help of DevOps at my workplace.
After using Circleci for a year, I switched to Github Actions for 2 reasons.
GitHub Actions usage is free for both public repositories and self-hosted runners. It’s easy to set up if your project is on GitHub. Basic tools are available on Github Action Marketplace
2. Using Bots
CI/CD took care of development and deployment workflow. I use bots for management workflow. Bots can be used to automatically add labels and update the status of an issue.
I learned this bot technique from other open-source projects like Flutter and Kotlin where if the issue has no activity or comment for X number of days then the bot first adds a warning comment, on the issue or PR, and then after Y number of days, it closes the issue.
My personal experience with open source projects is that most developers do not write a descriptive issue and need constant follow-up.
This bot also helps to close spam issues and all those create-and-forget issues. | https://medium.com/@burhanrashid52/9-things-i-wish-i-knew-when-starting-open-source-project-5db877cbacec | ['Burhanuddin Rashid'] | 2021-06-17 15:03:00.674000+00:00 | ['Ci Cd Pipeline', 'Github', 'Open Source', 'Learning', 'Stress'] |
Epipen® and Why Carrying One May Save Your Life | Epipen® and Why Carrying One May Save Your Life
If you suffer from serious allergies, you need one.
Image courtesy of Epipen®
Epipen® is an intramuscular auto-injector that administers a single measured dose of Epinephrine (you probably know this as Adrenaline) in the event of an anaphylactic attack.
If you have a severe peanut allergy, then you would carry an Epinen® everywhere with you. If you accidentally ingest peanuts and develop breathing problems (Anaphylaxis), the Epipen® can save your life.
Image courtesy of Epipen®
What is Epinephrine and how does it work?
You’ve probably heard of epinephrine under it’s non-technical name — adrenaline. When you ride a roller coaster or give a presentation, you may feel your heart beat a little faster, your breath intake increase and a sudden burst of energy. That’s adrenaline at work, a substance your body naturally releases under stress. The medicine inside EpiPen® and EpiPen Jr® (epinephrine injection, USP) Auto-Injectors and Mylan’s authorized generics happens to be a synthetic version of adrenaline — epinephrine.
Epinephrine and adrenaline are the same thing. However, the preferred name of the substance inside your EpiPen® Auto-Injector or its authorized generic varies by where you live. In Europe, the term “adrenaline” is more common, while in the United States the term “epinephrine” is used.
During a life threatening event, Epinephrine (Adrenaline) constricts blood vessels to increase blood pressure, relaxes smooth muscles in the lungs to reduce wheezing and improve breathing, stimulates the heart (increases heart rate) and works to reduce hives and swelling that may occur around the face and lips.
According to national food allergy guidelines, epinephrine is the only recommended first-line treatment for anaphylaxis. Not antihistamines, which do not relieve shortness of breath, wheezing, gastrointestinal symptoms or shock. Therefore, antihistamines should not be a substitute for epinephrine, particularly in severe re-actions where rapid medication is required to ease breathing. As Epipen® delivers the epinephrine directly into the muscle. It is almost instantly available to the body.
Image courtesy of Epipen®
Who should carry an Epipen®?
Everyone who suffers from any of the following conditions should discuss with and request their doctors to prescribe Epipen®
Allergies to foods such as peanuts, shellfish, etc, particularly if you’ve experienced trouble breathing in the past.
Bee Sting Allergy
Allegies to environmental allergens or other that may affect your breathing
Certain types of medication
Eczema sufferers may also consider carrying an Epipen® as there is conclusive evidence that a large number of eczema sufferers also experience reactions to certain allergens. These reactions may in some instances, without warning, become severe.
My child requires/uses an Epipen®
If your child experiences severe reactions to certain allergens, ensure the following;
If the child is old enough, ensure they know how to use the Epipen® themselves. Frequently go over the directions for administering the injection and the site (upper thigh) to be injected. Allow them to use expired Epipen’s® to practice on an orange or other suitable surface.
Ensure the child’s teachers, coaches and any other caregivers are well versed in the use of the Epipen®
Request at least four Epipen’s® from your doctor. One should be carried by the child in their backpack to ensure it is always close to hand.
Keep one in the family car, away from heat and direct sunlight.
Ensure the school/daycare/creche has an Epipen® on site with specific instructions.
Keep an Epipen® in the house, in a clearly marked container and within reach of everyone.
Epipen’s® expire quickly. Set an alarm on your phone for a date two weeks prior to the expiration. Ensure you change all the packs at the same time to simplify keeping track of the dates.
If you, as the adult, require the Epipen®, then obviously many of the above points are not applicable, but many are. Remember the car, the home and the briefcase or office. One of these is usually close at hand.
You can also purchase a sling for around your neck that will hold the Epipen®, these can prove convenient from time to time if your hiking, running or cycling.
Safety and can I use my Epipen on someone else?
If you know the person uses an Epipen®, then absolutely. However you need to be cautious with an Epipen® in case the person has an underlying health condition or if they are old, as an Epipen® can have dangerous side effects for some people. Epinephrine can affect your heart and interact with certain medications. If you’re on the line with 9–1–1 tell them you have the Epipen® and allow them to advise you.
There are also a few safety precautions you should observe with an Epipen® | https://medium.com/beingwell/epipen-and-why-carrying-one-may-save-your-life-1d4b04d8a590 | ['Robert Turner'] | 2020-06-27 10:16:17.552000+00:00 | ['Health', 'Anaphylaxis', 'Allergies', 'Wellness', 'Medication'] |
IO You | An intraosseous (IO) Line being drilled into the proximal tibia. An IO line is a fast and easy way to establish access so that medications and fluids can be administered, particularly when intravenous (IV) access is difficult. [picture is not patient in story]
This is going to hurt.
But if two ER nurses furiously working on each of your tiny arms cannot establish IV access, it is necessary. If they cannot get an IV in you, then no one can. And there is no more time.
Your tiny shin is my target because the bone is so close. I grip your ankle with as gentle a firmness as possible, while a nurse holds your knee. This is going to hurt. The first piercing scream comes as my needle punctures your skin and drives into the bone.
A nurse brushes your hair to reassure you as I tell myself how necessary this is. Your cries quickly drown out the harsh mechanical sound of the drill. You need this intraosseous (IO) line. I keep telling myself that as you cry. But doubt enters my mind as your loud screams provide a conflicting reassurance. Maybe we could have waited for another IV attempt. Maybe we would have intravenous access to give you the medications you need in one more try or one more minute. But maybe not. And I will not take that risk with your life. I will not allow my fear or inaction to cause you harm. Please forgive me, but I owe you everything I can do. And I can do this. So I am sorry that my decision caused so much pain.
We are taught that a flush of lidocaine will anesthetize the bone once the line is in, but in the midst of a critical situation no one ever remembers to pull a vial. So the next screams come as we begin to give you treatments through the needle now in your bone. Treatments that are so basic — just sugar and water — referring to them as medications seems overstated and the use of an IO line seems excessive. I recoil as your screams get louder. But that is good. The treatment is working.
You are more awake now and this gives me the opportunity to step back from the moment — to be human rather than physician. You remind me of my daughter. Your hair looks like hers and in an instant, perhaps in an attempt to find peace, I think of her. But that connection immediately causes me to cringe — could I have done that to my own child? Could anyone?
Sucking your thumb and able to make a few tears now, you look so much better than just a minute ago even if you are still scared. Even if you did experience such pain because of me. I share the burden of my decisions with you. So if your brave and strong little 20 pound body can handle the fear and pain of what I just did, then so too can I.
I owe you that. | https://medium.com/@drjoshualerner/io-you-26d6da78af19 | ['Joshua Lerner'] | 2020-12-24 07:41:46.064000+00:00 | ['Strength', 'Life Lessons', 'Resilience', 'Pediatrics', 'Emergency Medicine'] |
How Wendy’s Revolutionized Corporate Social Media Accounts | How Wendy’s Revolutionized Corporate Social Media Accounts
From Twitter to Twitch
Source: author’s screenshot from Twitter
In 2017, one of the biggest memes on the internet was Wendy’s Twitter account. One of the most unexpected things for a fast food joint to do in order to get an edge on their competitors, Wendy’s started roasting other Twitter users and brands in order to gain popularity.
Source: author’s screenshot from Twitter
Wendy’s Twitter account quickly became one of the best places on the internet if you wanted to search for roasts or memes. This quickly made Wendy’s popularity increase both on Twitter and in house. In 2017 Wendy’s Twitter account went from 2.1 to 2.4 million followers in just six months, and their account currently has 3.7 million followers.
Source: author’s screenshot from Twitter
Financially this also proved to be an ingenious marketing move by Wendy’s as their net income increased from $129.6 million to $194 million. For those of you that don’t want to do the math, that is a 49.7% growth in one year. For any brand, that kind of growth would be wildly impressive but it is even more impressive from an established brand that many people might assume has already reached most of their consumer base. | https://medium.com/better-marketing/how-wendys-revolutionized-corporate-social-media-accounts-6d4aec739f37 | ['Justin Thorne'] | 2020-12-02 18:02:16.983000+00:00 | ['Marketing', 'Advertising', 'Wendys', 'Twitter', 'Social Media'] |
A Time Series Analysis to Predict the End of COVID-19 in Canada. | Machine Learning and Prediction
Disclaimer: This article is not a medical suggestion and should not be referenced to for any medical advice. Any figures, numbers and dates provided in this section are just assumptions based on a Machine Learning algorithm. No decision shall be made based on those predictions.
Prophet was released in 2017 for Python and R by Facebook, and gave data scientists around the world a new tools for time series analysis. This model uses time series and daily observations to make predictions based on periodical or non-periodical changepoints. It also can detect a general trend in the observed data while including the effect of holidays and weekdays. FBprophet is mostly being used in stock market and business analyses. If you want more information, please, feel free to check reference section for a link to its full introduction on GitHub.
That being said, we must decide on what our imports should be. Should it be the cumulative or the daily data? Should it be the all data or just an slice of it after an specific date?
As I mentioned, trend and change over points are keys in this algorithm. If we import a rising wave, we will get a similar rising wave based on detected changepoints. Similarly, if we import a falling trend with ups and downs, it will output a similar trend by trying to detect reasons for those peaks and troughs during next months or weeks. So, the imported data should defiantly be the daily cases and not the cumulative numbers.
As we can see on the previous figure, Canada’s number of confirmed cases is falling around the last week of April. I decided on an exact date by using rolling average method and set that date as my entry point.
# Grab an slice of our main DataFrame:
df = Countries['Canada']['Confirmed'] # find the index of maximum value:
index_max = Countries.diff()['Canada']['Confirmed'].rolling(window=7).mean().idxmax() df = df.reset_index() # Use rolling average to find the date with maximum number of cases
df['Rolling'] = df['Confirmed'].rolling(window=7).mean() # for modelling we only use the data after the index_max date: dfT = df[df['Time']>=index_max]
dfT=dfT.dropna()
Please note that the column to predicted must be named ‘y’ and time series must be named ‘ds’ if you want to use Prophet.
dfT.rename(columns={"Time":'ds','Confirmed':'y'},inplace=True)
Before any further steps, we have to decide on changepoint scaler for fbprophet. It’s a value in our model which decides on bias-variance tradeoff. ChangePoint Scaler is a value between zero and one; higher values can lead to over-fitting while lower values can cause under fitting. If this subject is not familiar to you, you can refer to this article for more explanation.
The default changepoint scaler is set to 0.05, which gives acceptable results, but I ran a loop to find the best value for more accuracy in modelling this specific data set; the best number is something around 0.09.
Different Changepoint Scalers and their errors as we continue predicting
In this point, many may run the model and enjoy the results, but let’s test it beforehand. Before running the model, we can split our data to two train and test part to see how it is performing on our test data.
# First, predict 10 days to see how model react:
dfTrain = dfT[:len(dfT)-10] # create an instance of fbprophet and fit the training data:
import fbprophet
mymodel = fbprophet.Prophet(changepoint_prior_scale=0.09)
mymodel.fit(dfTrain) # make an empty dataframe with future dates:
pre_dfT = mymodel.make_future_dataframe(periods=10,freq='D') pre_dfT = mymodel.predict(pre_dfT) # calculate the error for each test day:
pre_dfT.set_index('ds',inplace=True)
dfT.set_index('ds',inplace=True)
Merged_df = pd.DataFrame([pre_dfT['yhat'],dfT['y']]).transpose()[:37]
Merged_df['ERROR'] = (Merged_df['yhat'] - Merged_df['y'])/Merged_df['y'] * 100
Error for each day of test split
As we can see, the model performed pretty well; our mean error for all test days are around 1.5 percent. That is to say, our model predicted the exact number of cases with only 15 people error out for every 1000 cases.
(abs(Merged_df['ERROR'])/Merged_df['y']*100).mean()
After making sure that our model’s accuracy is in an acceptable range, we can repeat the procedure on all of the data to see if the trend doesn’t change, when it ends and how many people will get infected.
We can repeat the procedure for predicting the number of deaths:
With the benefit of FBprophet, we can investigate the trend in general or in the scale of weeks.
mymodel.plot_components(pre_dfT)
General trend and weekly trend of COVID-19 confirmed cases
However, at first, the above figure may intuitively seem wrong - because there shouldn’t be any difference in number of infected people in different days of a week, I believe this presents some facts about the tests results and its procedures.
After some research I found out in Canada due to high volume of requests for coronavirus test, results may take up to 3 or 5 working days. On the other hand, many people book a test in the beginning of the week because they may not be allowed to go out on weekends due to the social distancing regulations in Canada. As a result, we get more number of infected people in Thursdays and Fridays. | https://medium.com/swlh/a-time-series-analysis-to-predict-the-end-of-covid-19-in-canada-b3094428b1a2 | ['Masoud Kameli'] | 2020-06-13 05:37:15.240000+00:00 | ['Canada', 'Predictions', 'Covid 19', 'Machine Learning', 'Time Series Analysis'] |
How I used pandas and datetime to improve accuracy in a traffic time series problem | How I used pandas and datetime to improve accuracy in a traffic time series problem Tracyrenee Follow Dec 23, 2020 · 5 min read
During the course of my studies in time series analysis, I have discovered that there are some time series datasets that perform better using the more traditional methods of machine learning because of the way the data is presented. For example, I have seen some datasets that, although time series, were depicted in such a way as to nullify the components of the series itself.
The dataset I am presenting in this post is an example of a data science problem where it is difficult to use models, such as Facebook Prophet, which are designed specifically to predict on time series problems.
I have selected a traffic dataset from Analytics Vidhya and the problem statement and link to the datasets can be found here: McKinsey Analytics Online Hackathon (analyticsvidhya.com)
The problem statement for this traffic problem reads as follows:
“You are working with the government to transform your city into a smart city. The vision is to convert it into a digital and intelligent city to improve the efficiency of services for the citizens. One of the problems faced by the government is traffic. You are a data scientist working to manage the traffic of the city better and to provide input on infrastructure planning for the future.
The government wants to implement a robust traffic system for the city by being prepared for traffic peaks. They want to understand the traffic patterns of the four junctions of the city. Traffic patterns on holidays, as well as on various other occasions during the year, differ from normal working days. This is important to take into account for your forecasting.
To predict traffic patterns in each of these four junctions for the next 4 months.
The sensors on each of these junctions were collecting data at different times, hence you will see traffic data from different time periods. To add to the complexity, some of the junctions have provided limited or sparse data requiring thoughtfulness when creating future projections. Depending upon the historical data of 20 months, the government is looking to you to deliver accurate traffic projections for the coming four months. Your algorithm will become the foundation of a larger transformation to make your city smart and intelligent.”
The program to solve this data science problem has been written as a .ipynb file in Google Colab because it is a free online Jupyter Notebook that can be accessed from computers that have internet access and Google connectivitivity.
The Python libraries are already installed on Google Colab, so I only needed to import the pre-installed libraries.
I then read in the datasets from my personal GitHub account, where I had stored them when I downloaded them from the Analytics Vidhya problem page:
I checked for any null values and in this instance there were none that needed to be imputed:
In the code below I used pandas and datetime to extract the hour, day of the week, week of the year, month, and year to categorise the data so that this information would be better utilised during the training of the model:
I then created the variables, ID_train and ID_test, which are used to store the data from train.ID and test.ID. Once these two variables had been created, I dropped the “ID” column from both train and test because they are not needed during the training process:
I put the time series data on a graph and there it can be seen visually how the time series data is not linear and therefore time series models will not give the best predictive results:
I defined the X, y and X_test variables, which need to be established so the data can be split and used during the modelling process. The target variable, y, contains the data from train.Vehicles, which was then dropped from the train dataset. The independent variables, housed in the train and test datasets, were used to develop the X and X_test variables by additionally dropping the DateTime column.
Once the X dataset had been developed from the train dataset, it was used as input to sklearn’s train_test_split() function to split the data into training and validation datasets.
I then used sklearn’s make_pipeline() function where StandardScaler() and the model were activated. I used BaggingRegressor() because I have had superior results from this ensemble model, achieving 99.11% accuracy:
I used the model to predict on the validation set and achieved 96.88% accuracy on the predictions made on this dataset:
I put the predictions made by the model onto a graph and visually compared the predictions against the validation target:
I then used the model to predict on the test set. I created a dataframe to house the predictions and converted this dataframe to a .csv file:
When I put the predictions on the solution checker I obtained a root mean square error, RMSE, of 9.14, which is a very respectable reading indeed. Because the predictions I obtained were of a high accuracy and low error, I also posted the code on the Analytics Vidhya website:
The code for this post can be found in its entirety in my personal GitHub account, the link being here: Traffic-Forecasting/TS_Traffic_Forecast_Bagging.ipynb at main · TracyRenee61/Traffic-Forecasting (github.com) | https://ai.plainenglish.io/how-i-used-pandas-and-datetime-to-improve-accuracy-in-a-traffic-time-series-problem-5fbaad9bb50d | [] | 2020-12-23 08:43:23.401000+00:00 | ['Time Series Analysis', 'Artificial Analysis', 'Datetime', 'Python', 'Pandas'] |
Change Often Starts With The Word No | I am a writer, sharing my life with a partner and soul mate for over 52 years. We love to help others reach their Dreams. Thee Quest. Let us be your compass.
Follow | https://medium.com/house-of-haiku/change-often-starts-with-the-word-no-5761e390b4ba | ['Pierre Trudel'] | 2020-10-15 18:11:01.698000+00:00 | ['BlackLivesMatter', 'Love', 'LGBTQ', 'House Of Haiku Prompt', 'Self Improvement'] |
PinnerSage: Multi-Modal User Embedding Framework for Recommendations at Pinterest | Aditya Pal | Applied Science, Chantat Eksombatchai | Applied Science, Yitong Zhou | User Understanding, Bo Zhao | User Understanding, Charles Rosenberg | Applied Science, Jure Leskovec | Applied Science
As we build a visual discovery engine that powers 2B+ Pins, it’s crucial to understand user interests and preferences in order to serve relevant content. One standard approach to encode user preferences is via an embedding-based representation in a high dimensional space. Most prior methods tried at Pinterest infer a single high-dimensional embedding for each user in compatibility with the content embedding. This is a good starting point but falls short in delivering a full understanding of the user.
In this work, we postulate that a single embedding is not sufficient for encoding multiple facets of a user’s interests that might have no obvious linkage between them. They can evolve, with some interests persisting long term while others span a short time period. Recommended items are also represented in the same embedding space. A good embedding must encode a user’s multiple tastes, interests, styles, etc., whereas a recommended item (a video, an image, a news article, a house listing, a pin, etc.) typically only has a single focus. Hence it becomes important to represent a user with multiple embeddings, with each embedding capturing a specific aspect of their interest.
PinnerSage Model
In order to better understand our users’ preferences, we developed PinnerSage, a highly scalable, flexible and extensible recommender system that internally represents each user with multiple embeddings. Figure 1 provides an end-to-end overview of the PinnerSage recommendation model. The starting point for our model is to organize the repins and clicks of a user into multiple interest clusters by running the Ward clustering model and then generating a summary of each of those clusters using a medoid, an embedding, and a cluster importance score. Next, a subset of these clusters are picked by the online cluster selection, and it employs a nearest-neighbor index to generate recommendations to the user. Users’ actions are processed in real-time to update the interest clusters. In order for PinnerSage to provide relevant recommendations to our 400M+ monthly active users and adapt in real-time, we made several model design choices that we describe next.
Figure 1: Overview of PinnerSage model
Design Choice 1: Pin Embeddings are Fixed
The interest clusters in Figure 1 are generated by clustering the embeddings of repins and clicks of a user. The embeddings of repins and clicks are trained via the PinSage model that optimizes for contextual and visual similarity between Pins via a Graph convolutional model. Since our goal is to project users in the same space as the Pin embedding space, we consider the Pin embeddings to be fixed. This design choice simplifies our models considerably and allows us to run inference pipelines in parallel for each user.
Joint embedding inference models, where both user and Pin embeddings are inferred together, can be too complex and hard to scale. Moreover, we posit that in practice they compromise recommendation relevance, as some spurious connections between pins can be established via the users. To see this point, consider the example in Figure 2.
Figure 2: Three interests of a given user.
In the above example figure, a user is interested in painting, shoes, and sci-fi. Jointly learned users and Pin embeddings would bring pin embeddings on these disparate topics closer, which can compromise the relevance of the nearest neighbor-based recommender. Pin embeddings should only operate on the underlying principle of bringing similar pins closer while keeping the rest of the pins as far as possible. For this reason, we use PinSage, which precisely achieves this objective without any dilution.
Design Choice 2: Unlimited User Embeddings
Prior work either fixes the number of embeddings to a small number or puts an upper bound on them. At best, such restrictions hinder developing a full understanding of the users and, at worst, merge different concepts together, leading to bad recommendations. For example, merging embeddings could yield an embedding that lies in a very different region. Figure 2 shows that a merger of three disparate pin embeddings results in an embedding that is best represented by the concept energy boosting breakfast. Needless to say, recommendations based on such a merger can be problematic.
PinnerSage generates as many interest clusters as the underlying data supports. This is achieved by clustering users’ actions into conceptually coherent clusters via a hierarchical agglomerative clustering algorithm (Ward). A light user might get represented by 3–5 clusters, whereas a heavy user might get represented by 75–100 clusters.
Design Choice 3: Medoid-based Cluster Representation
Typically, clusters are represented by centroid, which requires storing an embedding. Additionally, centroid can be sensitive to outliers in the cluster. To compactly represent a cluster, we pick a cluster member pin, called medoid. Medoid, by definition, is a member of the user’s originally interacted pin set. Hence it avoids the pit-fall of topic drift and is robust to outliers. From a systems perspective, medoid is a concise way of representing a cluster, as it only requires storage of medoid’s pin id, and leads to cross-user and even cross-application cache sharing. It also allows our system to be compatible with other non-embedding-based recommendation systems such as Pixie.
Design Choice 4: Medoid Sampling for Candidate Retrieval
PinnerSage provides a rich representation of a user via cluster medoids. However, in practice we cannot use all the medoids simultaneously for candidate retrieval due to cost concerns. Additionally, the user would be bombarded with too many different items. To address these concerns, we sample 3 medoids proportional to their importance scores and recommend their nearest neighboring pins. The importance scores of medoids are updated daily, and they can adapt with the user’s changing tastes.
Design Choice 5: Two-Pronged Approach for Handling Real-Time Updates
It is important for a recommender system to adapt to the current needs of its users. At the same time, an accurate representation of users requires looking at their past 60–90 days of activities. Sheer size of the data and the speed at which it grows makes it hard to consider both aspects together. We address this issue by combining two methods: (a) a daily batch inference job that infers multiple medoids per user based on their long-term interaction history, and (b) an online version of the same model that infers medoids based on the users’ interactions on the current day. As new activity comes in, only the online version is updated. At the end of the day, the batch version consumes the current day’s activities and resolves any inconsistencies. This approach ensures that our system adapts quickly to the users’ current needs and at the same time does not compromise their long-term interests.
A/B Tests
PinnerSage is currently deployed in production and used by many products within Pinterest, ranging from Homefeed, Related Pins, Ads, Shopping, and Creators, in both their retrieval and ranking ML models. Our wins on the initial A/B test on two surfaces are highlighted in Table 1.
Table 1 shows that PinnerSage provides significant engagement gains on increasing overall engagement volume (repins and clicks) as well as increasing engagement propensity (repins and clicks per user). Any gain can be directly attributed to increased quality and diversity of PinnerSage recommendations.
Table 1: A/B test of PinnerSage vs current production, which includes a single embedding model.
Conclusion
We proposed an end-to-end system, called PinnerSage, that powers personalized recommendation at Pinterest. In contrast to prior production systems that are based on a single embedding-based user representation, PinnerSage proposes a multi-embedding-based user representation scheme. Our proposed clustering scheme ensures that we get full insight into the needs of a user and understand them better. To make this happen, we adopt several design choices that allow our system to run efficiently and effectively. Our large A/B tests show that PinnerSage provides significant gains in user engagement. Much of the improvements delivered by our model can be attributed to its better understanding of user interests and its quick response to their needs.
Appendix
PinnerSage paper is to appear in KDD 2020. Read more details about the paper here: https://arxiv.org/abs/2007.03634
Acknowledgements
We would like to extend our appreciation to Homefeed and Shopping teams for helping in setting up online A/B experiments. Our special thanks to the embedding infrastructure team for powering embedding nearest neighbor search. | https://medium.com/pinterest-engineering/pinnersage-multi-modal-user-embedding-framework-for-recommendations-at-pinterest-bfd116b49475 | ['Pinterest Engineering'] | 2020-08-11 18:14:14.568000+00:00 | ['Applied Science', 'Machine Learning', 'Kdd'] |
There are no silver bullets in software development. | Building software will always be hard. There are no silver bullets in software development.
As a software engineer, you must know the essence of modern software systems:
- Complexity
- Conformity
- Changeability
- Invisibility
- Time-sharing
- Validation & Verification
- Workstations
Complex programming projects cannot be perfectly partitioned into discrete tasks that can be worked on without communication between the workers and without establishing a set of complex interrelationships between tasks and the workers performing them.
projects cannot be perfectly partitioned into discrete tasks that can be worked on without communication between the workers and without establishing a set of complex interrelationships between tasks and the workers performing them. The essence of a software entity is a construct of interlocking concepts: data sets, relationships among data items, algorithms, and invocations of functions. This essence is abstract in that such a conceptual construct is the same under many different representations. It is nonetheless highly precise and richly detailed.
is a construct of interlocking concepts: data sets, relationships among data items, algorithms, and invocations of functions. This essence is abstract in that such a conceptual construct is the same under many different representations. It is nonetheless highly precise and richly detailed. The complexity of software is an essential property, not an accidental one. Hence, descriptions of a software entity that abstract away its complexity often abstract away its essence.
is an essential property, not an accidental one. Hence, descriptions of a software entity that abstract away its complexity often abstract away its essence. The software entity is constantly subject to pressure for change. Of course, so are buildings, cars, computers. All successful software gets changed.
is constantly subject to pressure for change. Of course, so are buildings, cars, computers. All successful software gets changed. Software is invisible and unvisualizable . For decades, people have been anticipating and writing about “automatic programming”.
and . For decades, people have been anticipating and writing about “automatic programming”. Time-sharing brought a major improvement in the productivity of programmers and in the quality of their product, although not so large as that brought by high-level languages.
Much of the effort in modern programming goes into testing and the repair of bugs. Is there perhaps a silver bullet to be found by eliminating the errors at the source, in the system-design phase?
Program verification is a very powerful concept, and it will be very important for such things as secure operating-system kernels. The technology does not promise, however, to save labor. Verification are so much work that only a few substantial programs have ever been verified.
More powerful workstations we surely welcome. Magical enhancements from them we cannot expect.
Even though no technological breakthrough promises to give the sort of magical results with which we are so familiar in the hardware area, there is both an abundance of good work going on now, and the promise of steady, if unspectacular progress.
All of the technological attacks on the accidents of the software process are fundamentally limited by the productivity equation:
The productivity, P, of a group of people is:
P = N x T x (0.55–0.00005 x N x (N — 1))
where
N is the number of people in the group, and
T is the number of hours in a work period.
If, as I believe, the conceptual components of the task are now taking most of the time, then no amount of activity on the task components that are merely the expression of the concepts can give large productivity gains.
Hence we must consider those attacks that address the essence of the software problem, the formulation of these complex conceptual structures. Fortunately, some of these attacks are very promising.
P.S. This is an excerpt from my latest book [The Prime Guide For Next-Gen Developer](https://theankurtyagi.com/ebook/).
It’s available for [pre-order](https://gum.co/nextgendev) now.
Hope you like this one💙 Please share your feedback.
You can follow me for more killer content on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/TheAnkurTyagi)
If you need 1–1 mentorship on any issue about coding career or life or fitness as a coder then you can book a 60–90min time slot with me.
Check out my website for more info about how it works.
[Code Life Fitness By Ankur Tyagi](https://codelifefitness.com/)
I recently started blogging on theankurtyagi.com where I create free content for the community. This article is from there, you should check it out.
If you liked my recommendations, then I encourage you to sign up for my weekly newsletter
Every Friday, I share a “2–1–1” newsletter with 2 tips on coding from my exp, 1 life relationship tip from my experience & 1 fitness tip.
Sign up below 👇
[2–1–1 Friday newsletter ](https://codelifefitness.com/2-1-1/) | https://medium.com/@theankurtyagi/there-are-no-silver-bullets-in-software-development-46f5f439c794 | ['Ankur Tyagi'] | 2020-12-16 08:18:48.311000+00:00 | ['Architecture', 'Javascript Development', 'Developer', 'Software Engineering', 'Software Development'] |
Running Desktop Applications inside a Docker Container, GIMP! | Making GIMP, a graphic editor program made in 1996 run from a Docker Container using nothing but Debian run on a MacBook Pro Operating System.
FROM debian:buster-slim
RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y \
gimp \
--no-install-recommends \
&& rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
ENTRYPOINT [ "gimp" ]
Compile into a built image.
docker build -t gimp .
Let's write a Docker run command for starting our application.
docker run \
-v /tmp/.X11-unix:/tmp/.X11-unix \
-e DISPLAY=$DISPLAY \
--net=host \
-v $(PWD)/Pictures:/root/Pictures \
gimp:latest
If you run this command, you would see. An error: cannot open display.
$ docker run \
> -v /tmp/.X11-unix:/tmp/.X11-unix \
> -e DISPLAY=unix$DISPLAY \
> --net=host \
> -v $(PWD)/Pictures:/root/Pictures \
> gimp:latest
Cannot open display:
Before running these commands, ensure x11 is installed or available on your machine. PC and Mac will differ when installing.
Depending on your device you may have (x11) or xQuartz already installed.
Visit https://www.xquartz.org/ direct website for more information. This software is required to run an application from your host machine using only a docker container.
Let’s set up our system to handle connections properly. Run this command in a new terminal window, to get your local private IP address.
xauth list
Use xauth list to get your machine's local private IP address. You should be able to locate it easily out of the listed numbers.
Or you can find your local private IP address on a macOS with Apple > System Preferences > Network tab.
Another alternative option to finding machine’s local private IP address would be using ifconfig
ifconfig | sed -En 's/127.0.0.1//;s/.*inet (addr:)?(([0-9]*\.){3}[0-9]*).*/\2/p'
We will need this IP address for xQuartz later.
XXX.XXX.X.X:0
The Default port for your connection should be :0
Add an environment variable named DISPLAY with this local private IP address added to your main terminal session.
export DISPLAY=XXX.XXX.X.X:0
We need to grant access to all clients.
Let’s give x11 access to your host machine by opening up XQuartz from your application directory and adding this general rule to the new window terminal available. Keep your main terminal session running from before.
xhost +
This should be added within the new terminal window provided by XQuartz named xterm.
An output a message will be generated from xterm.
access control disabled, clients can connect from any host
Giving access to all connections on the machine.
It is recommended only use this if you are having issues with using xhost +local:docker
Here you are attempting to restrict connection access to your machines hosts that are only on the list of xhost.
However, docker containers may not be forgiving with network settings and require a more general rule, so use xhost + to allow all connections temporarily.
You can reset this with xhost - to enable only the application is running.
access control enabled, only authorized clients can connecti
Once, access is available.
Use your main session terminal and attempt to reconnect with the environment variable $DISPLAY set within that terminal session. You should see something like this after re-running your export and docker command.
$ export DISPLAY= XXX.XXX.X.X:0 $ docker run -v /tmp/.X11-unix:/tmp/.X11-unix -e DISPLAY=$DISPLAY --net=host -v $(PWD)/Pictures:/root/Pictures gimp:latest
If you have followed closely you should now have a working GIMP! program running from a docker container due to xQuartz and Docker.
Happy Coding!
You have completed the steps needed to run an application from a docker container. | https://medium.com/swlh/gimp-running-desktop-applications-inside-a-docker-container-b3c82a58fe1c | ['Steven Rescigno'] | 2020-09-02 21:48:50.780000+00:00 | ['Xhost Docker', 'Xterm', 'Gimp', 'Docker Container', 'Xquartz'] |
Starting Somewhere | In 2015, I travelled throughout the midwestern and southern parts of the United States for business. My work buddy Matt and I did a lot of driving and the hours piled up until the conversations started getting abstract. I somehow bet him dinner that I could get any person sitting in the next bar to agree with my political opinions.
If you know me, you know that I am an older version of a stereotypical Southern California, punk rock beach type. While I can’t hear it, I am told that I speak with a type of “dude” accent — not completely Spiccoli-like, but in that vein. I guess this makes sense, as my surfer tribe was the genesis of that character. I generally live in a t-shirt, shorts and flip flops; which I wasn’t wearing on this trip because it was snowing most of the time. But you get it.
During this period, we were driving around some of the most conservative areas of the country — Arizona, Texas, Iowa, Ohio, North Carolina. To say that we were immediately perceived as outsiders in these areas is a colossal understatement. We’d pull into a bar after 10 hours on the road and be met with a sea of very large, bearded, overall and baseball cap wearing locals, many of whom had already imbibed quite a few Bud Lights. We’d open our mouths to ask what type of beer other than Bud Light they served and the room would go quiet.
At the first place, which was in Iowa I believe, Matt being the wiseguy he is, started looking for the biggest steak on the menu. He never thought I’d even try to speak a word of politics to these fine “Murricans.” For my part, I didn’t mind buying the steak but figured I’d have to try to save face before giving up. I didn’t have a plan, but thought I could riff my way through it based on sheer arrogance. The worst thing that could happen is we’d get chased out of the bar. I may be old, but I can still outrun a 300lb redneck.
So I sauntered to the bar, ordered another beer and gave a friendly “Cheers” and a clink of the bottle to a well-rounded gentlemen sitting to my left. When he responded with a smile I went right into my shtick –
“Damn it’s cold out there, way too cold for my California blood… yeah I am, haha. I’m here for work. What do you do? You’re a farmer? Cool! Yeah, I live pretty close to Disneyland. Oh I’m sorry you had a bad experience on your vacation. We’re not all assholes like that, I swear! Did you get to the beach? No? Oh man, next time you gotta go.”
“What’s your name? I’m Steve, nice to meet you, Travis! Hey, I bet a steak with my buddy over there, would you mind playing along? Cool, thanks. Any way it’s about politics. I know, I’m sorry, I’m gonna really try not to piss you off. But I think that despite all of our differences there are some things that we ALL agree on.”
At this point, I hadn’t even really come up with anything, despite racking my brain while I was chewing the fat with Travis.
“Haha, you think I’m gonna lose the bet, do you? Ok take a slug off your beer. Ready? Here goes…”
And then it just came to me. They hate big money and crooked politicians as much as we do.
#1, we California liberals actually hate the fact that big businesses and rich people can buy politicians and laws. You do too? Hell yeah, I win!” (I reach up to slap him five, while smiling across the room at Matt).
That’s when Travis unleashes a stream of invectives against big business taking over farms, those no good, crooked yuppie politicians and what he’d like to do to them all. We start riffing back and forth, and Matt can’t believe it, he comes over to see for himself. But Travis and I are on a roll.
“I think the best way to get money out of politics is to create a disincentive for the “ruling class” to even get started in politics. If all political contributions have to be pooled in a fund controlled by the government then allocated evenly according to the level of the race being run, corporations and rich people just won’t make contributions. What’s the point? Why put money into anything if it can’t buy the result you want? This will also stop your garden variety young lawyer from being sent into politics by his Dad’s rich cronies or by his law firm. Why waste your time in politics? You make more money as a lawyer! The end result is that only people who really want to spend a few years making a difference and serving the public good will run for office.”
“#2, we liberals hate all the back-room deals made by politicians. I think lobbying should be outlawed unless it is done in public, on live TV. If a lobbyist tries to offer any form of financial incentive to a politician, boom, he goes to jail. Every pitch has to be done in the cold light of day and is open for interpretation by the public and under the scrutiny of regulators. If it takes 50 more C-SPAN channels, I’m sure the eyeballs will be there to support them. The reality is, if lobbyists can’t buy votes, they won’t be so cozy with the politicians, and there won’t be so many lobbyists.”
“And my #3 is No ‘Pork’. We liberals hate to learn that there are a hundred allocations of funds to pet projects in the back of every bill politicians vote on. If I agree to a new law or to fund a new project, I don’t want my representative in Congress agreeing to fund a bunch of other things that I don’t know about and hiding it in the back of the bill. I want transparency. I want to know what our representatives vote on. I don’t want anything hidden from me. One Issue — One Bill — One Law.”
By this time, Matt and Travis were clinking bottles, other people were listening in and happily commenting and it was obvious that we had us one big love fest going on. The lion had laid down with the lamb, dogs and cats were eating out of the same bowl — a California Liberal had found political common ground with a bunch of Iowa Farmers.
I repeated this across the country and never once did I have one person disagree with any of the three pillars. I did often hear that I obviously don’t know construction — a fourth pillar is always needed for strength and balance. I also heard many ideas that could be added as that fourth pillar. Term limits? Removing lifetime pensions and healthcare for politicians? End the Electoral College? (Haha just kidding, you wouldn’t hear that in Iowa!)
The three pillars of democratic reform go straight to the heart of the problem with today’s politics. They stop big money from writing our laws and buying our elected officials; they create financial disincentives to self-serving individuals to enter politics; and they demand transparency across the entire political landscape.
California progressives agreed with Midwestern conservatives — these simple concepts could be strong first steps in reforming our system of government. They don’t skew red or blue, they help us all.
After the reign of Trump, it will be necessary to take a long hard look at the weaknesses his administration exposed in the infrastructure of our democracy. We’re going to need to patch up areas that were exploited, and fill holes in our laws so that they can never be used to harm the American people again, by either party.
I feel hopeful that someone will be able to articulate these repairs in a way that can cut through partisanship and get to the heart of what is good for all Americans, kinda like I was somehow able to do in snowy Iowa back in 2015.
Our country needs to find a way to come together, and finding things we all agree on is the best way to start. | https://medium.com/@scinrb/starting-somewhere-953893788fc | ['Steve Crane'] | 2020-11-16 22:20:42.880000+00:00 | ['Progress', 'Common Ground', 'Socal', 'Politics For Tomorrow'] |
Catching up with Sempo: Using Blockchain to Deliver Cash Aid When Crisis Strikes | Nick Williams (left) and Tristan Cole (right) Co-founders of Sempo
Sempo was one of the inaugural companies to participate in cohort 1 of the dlab accelerator program. When I first met them they had already deployed aid to several refugee camps and disaster stricken areas around the globe, and several weeks into the program, Nick Williams, one of the co-founders of Sempo, found himself on a plane to Vanuatu in order to launch their pilot with Oxfam and Australian Aid. I caught up with Nick and Tristan, his co-founder, to get an update on what they’ve been working on…
1) What have you been doing since graduating from dlab?
We’ve been working closely with Oxfam and Australian Aid for a blockchain-enabled cash transfer program in Vanuatu. The team spent over a month in country working alongside the Oxfam team, engaging with vendors and communities to understand their needs and requirements. Our work was featured in Coindesk, Cointelegraph and Yahoo Finance amongst others. The pilot was considered a success by all key stakeholders; recipient enrollment time dropped from one hour to less than 4 minutes, and realtime transactions enabled the Oxfam team unprecedented transparency and insight into their program. Users all reported a preference for the technology, attributing its ease of use, safety and increased levels of choice. The Reserve Bank of Vanuatu even changed their constitution to exclude Humanitarian Aid from their blockchain ban!
We are excited to support Oxfam as they scale Cash Transfers throughout the region.
2) What is the core value that you want to provide your customers and end users?
Our mission is to build open ecosystems that connect financially isolated communities with each other and the global economy.
We do this by working closely with NGOs to run cash transfer programs — by first providing a spending account that works both online and offline.
Our two priorities when we build products are:
Provide the most accessible financial tools Be the most focused on community aspirations
3) What exciting developments in blockchain or cryptocurrency have impressed you recently?
The innovation in DeFi is relentless. Every day new financial products, tools and markets are being shipped to the main net. The traditional financial system is slowly being rebuilt on a transparent, trustless and decentralized platform that minimizes middle-men and bad actors.
A recent example is PoolTogether, a decentralized no-loss lottery, that is a better alternative to gambling. It works by letting users purchase a ‘ticket’ in a lottery for $20. All funds are then locked in Compound, a money market, earning interest on the collateral. At the end of the period (1 week), a user is randomly chosen to receive all of the interest collected. For the first 4 pools this was a prize of between $200-$400.
4) What are your plans and goals in the next 6 months?
We’ve validated that blockchain-enabled cash transfer is an incredibly effective method compared to traditional methods. The Oxfam team increased speed of aid delivery by 96%, compared to their previous cash approaches on the Ambae Volcano response.
The problem remains that cash transfers by themselves are not sustainable — we want to leverage cash transfer programs to build ecosystems that empower communities to be part of the global economy.
To do this, we are shifting to an open wallet ecosystem, meaning anyone can signup and access the Sempo wallet. For our previous pilots, this was restricted to NGO cash transfer recipients only. Our plan is to offer a number of financial services overtime, with the first being a remittance service for consumers.
We believe that working with local communities is critical, so we are currently on a research and scoping mission in Tonga. We’ve spoken to dozens of vendors, from small corner shops to large utility providers, to learn about their payment preferences. We are also collaboratively working with key stakeholders including commercial banks, NGOs and the Reserve Bank, to discuss our Digital Currency and financial inclusion in the region.
Thank you Nick and Tristan for your time! I look forward to hearing more about how Sempo is getting aid to people in their greatest time of need.
https://sempo.ai/ | https://medium.com/dlabvc/catching-up-with-sempo-using-cryptocurrencies-and-blockchain-to-deliver-cash-aid-to-those-in-need-91b8ae826efa | ['Frank Yu'] | 2019-09-09 13:56:38.173000+00:00 | ['Stable Coin', 'Cryptocurrency', 'Social Impact', 'Blockchain', 'Impact Investing'] |
Our Search for Happiness | A man is always in search of happiness. Whether earning more money, getting that new car, or getting married, the sole purpose that drives all those actions is to get happy. But are we really happy? A modern investment banker today is happier than our past hunter-gatherers?
There are two aspects to happiness.
Chemical Happiness
Spiritual Happiness.
In this blog, I will try to show you both the aspects and will share my personal opinion on what I think about it. Let’s first cover Chemical Happiness
Chemical Happiness
The biologist holds that our mental and emotional world is governed by biochemical mechanisms shaped by millions of years of evolution. They believe that there are only three chemicals that drive happiness: serotonin, dopamine, and oxytocin.
Whenever a mom sees her child or a person wins a lottery, or your loved one say yes to your marriage proposal. At all those moments, your brain releases these chemicals, making you happy. But after a while, those chemicals flush out, and you feel normal.
They also conclude that our biochemical system seems to be programmed to keep happiness levels relatively constant.
Perhaps it should not be surprising that evolution has molded us to be neither too miserable nor too happy. It enables us to enjoy a momentary rush of pleasant sensations, but these never last forever. If orgasms were to stay forever, then happy males would die of hunger for lack of interest in food and would not take the trouble to look for additional fertile females.
You can compare it with air conditioning that keeps the constant temperature com. Some air conditioning systems are set at 25C others are set at 20C. Human happiness also different from people to people. Some are set to both with a cheerful biochemical system that allows their mood to swing between level six and ten, stabilizing with time at eight. Such a person is quite happy even if she lives in an alienatig big city, loses all her money in a stock exchange crash, and is diagnosed with diabetes. Other people are cursed with gloomy biochemistry that swings between three and seven and stabilizes at five. Such an unhappy person remains depressed even if she enjoys a tight knit community or wins the lottery.
I bet you must have some people in your family and friends circle who are relatively always happy and some still miserable.
Spiritual Happiness
Once there was a congregation of fish, who got together to discuss who among them had seen the ocean. None of them could say they had actually seen the ocean. Then one fish said, ‘‘I think my great grandfather had seen the ocean!’’ A second fish said, ‘‘Yes, yes, I have also heard about this.’’ A third fish said, ‘‘Yes, certainly, his great grandfather had seen the ocean.’’
So, they built a vast temple and made a statue of the great grandfather of that particular fish, saying, “He had seen the ocean. He had been connected with the ocean.’’ In life, our search for happiness is like that.
Often times, we overcomplicate things. Life is simple, and you are supposed to be happy. However, life will face challenges at times but always remember that this time will also pass. You will again be happy.
Happiness can be achieved at 3 levels
Happiness in Society
Happiness in Mind
Happiness in Soul
It is generally believed that if you make others happy, you will become happy. Once a gentleman came to a doctor complaining that there was something severely wrong with him. He was hurting all over and was very sad, but all the tests came out normal. The doctor said, “There is nothing wrong with you. Go to the circus and watch the clown there. He will make you laugh.” The gentleman said, “Doctor, I am that clown.”
It is not guaranteed that if you make others happy, you will be happy.
Another level of happiness is Happiness in Mind. You can achieve this level of happiness through dedication. If you are dedicated to something you will be happy in your mind.
The final and true form of happiness is at the level of your soul. This level of happiness happens when the soul is united with the Divine. When there is no duality, no two, when you are in deep meditation, you experience this innermost joy.
The three levels of happiness are interlinked, and if you achieve the third level of happiness, you will be happy at your mind level, and you will also make the people surrounding you happy.
I believe that spiritual happiness is the correct form of happiness. With enough meditation and self-awareness, one can increase that default happiness bar and can become happier. | https://medium.com/@nandishajani/our-search-for-happiness-cb3cda55f7ef | ['Nandish Ajani'] | 2020-12-25 09:59:35.535000+00:00 | ['Spirtuality', 'Chemical Happiness', 'Stoicism', 'Happiness', 'Meditation'] |
Top 3 Things Startups Should Focus On in 2021 | We made it — we’ve officially survived 2020 and are ready to conquer 2021! Navigating the trajectory of our startups over the past year was arduous, but after several months of mishaps, pivots, and even failures, we’ve proven resilient.
Let’s make 2021 our year to reach, expand, and cultivate the startups we’ve dreamed of. Here’s 3 things your startup should focus on this year to set up your company for success.
Nurture A Good Workplace Environment
This year, startups should focus on sustaining a healthy, positive, and community-centric workplace. While 2020 is behind us, it’s important for us to take the lessons we learned last year and implement them in 2021.
For one, sustaining open and honest channels of communication with our co-workers and supervisors are needed. Startups should nurture a workplace environment that is mindful and understanding of people’s circumstances as it builds trust and community, even after this pandemic is over. Second, establishing workplace boundaries is a must as many are still working from home. It’s no secret that startups don’t follow the regular 9–5 hours however, startups should establish a formal or informal understanding for when it’s time to put away work for the night. By creating startup-wide boundaries, everyone can stay engaged and productive during peak hours and prevent burnout. Finally, keep those virtual happy hours and game nights going! Cultivating community and memories with your co-workers outside of work hours keeps people personally connected and fuels a community-centered workplace that can aid in meeting and surpassing your goals for 2021.
Prioritize Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion (DEI)
The summer of 2020 will go down as one of the largest social justice movements in history, and as the first time several major corporations and startups took a public stance on the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in the workplace. However, standing behind social movements and DEI doesn’t end at a social media post, it needs to be prioritized, consistent, and transparent. Startups should focus on the best ways to implement DEI that goes deeper than monthly trainings and mission statements, which can include:
Assessing employee demographics: this includes looking into demographics by position, department, salary, etc.
Assessing your product/service: analyzing how inclusive or accessible your product and/or service is to certain demographics
And it shouldn’t stop there. Startups should both analyze how DEI can be implemented within facets of their company and build a system of accountability and transparency that prioritizes DEI on a consistent basis.
Cultivate Effective Communication
As we still work from home and continue to push through this pandemic, the importance of effectively communicating online is essential to hitting your 2021 goals. Look at the tools you used in 2020 and evaluate which one is the most effective. Consider a weekly or monthly company-wide email blast that streamlines important events that occurred within the company. Or even, issue an anonymous company-wide survey for suggestions to better internal communications. Overall, find what communication keeps everyone informed, engaged, and productive within your company. Once you fine-tune your communication internally, you’ll be able to prioritize important goals and tasks at hand.
With these three points in mind, you’ll be able to make 2021 your year of success.
_______________
Learn more about Meet the Drapers and watch Season 3 here!
PS — Stay tuned for more updates about Season 4! | https://medium.com/@meet-the-drapers/top-3-things-startups-should-focus-on-in-2021-5cabe36426c5 | ['Meet The Drapers'] | 2021-01-20 01:42:47.349000+00:00 | ['Startup', '2021 Trends', 'Workplace Culture', 'Goals', 'Startup Trends'] |
Intense Chest Workout At Home With 4 Exercises | You are train muscle at the gym for muscle building or fat loss, you lift weights, you use dumbbells, machines, barbells, etc. Many people tired with the same workout split the same exercises but you try a bodyweight workout for a change your answer is no other than to try it.
If you think weights are the only way you can build a powerful muscular chest? Just imagine it again. Without lifting a barbel or a dumbbell, you can gain a chest and your arms together.
Oh, you heard it right, at home, you will do great chest training. You just have to know-how.
Luckily, we realize, which is why we’ve come up with some of the best home chest bodyweight workouts that can be performed everywhere.
Yet there’s more to this chest routine than to look super in a fitted t-shirt.
According to a research report published in the health and fitness journal of the American of Sports Medicine, a high-intensity circuit workout is a successful way to improve body weight, the sensibility of insulin and the VO2 max, and efficiency of the muscles.
The researchers concluded that ‘This training strategy is a good idea for mass because of its practicality and usefulness of HICT with bodyweight as resistance exercise.
Here is a chest exercise you must do at home. For this workout, you don’t need any dumbbells, barbells, etc.
1. Regular Push-Ups
Regular push-ups are the best to exercise to start your chest workout at home or gym but we talking about the home workout.
Push-ups are a compound bodyweight exercise this exercise engaged your pecs, delt, and triceps. Called compound exercise this exercise like a chest press. Push-ups train your pectoral major muscle. The chest has two muscle pectoral major and minor.
The pectoral minor muscle is under the pecs major muscle. This muscle activating during chest fly.
Bodyweight exercise is also best but not for muscle gain because bodyweight is a bodyweight workout you can’t add weight like dumbbells, etc. And for muscle gain, you need to add more weight to build muscles.
Bodyweight exercise is good for endurance called stamina because we hitting 20 repetitions or some times more.
Boldfit Push-Up Bar Stand for Gym & Home Exercise, Dips/Push Up Stand for Men & Women.
2. Diamond Push-Ups
Diamond push-ups are like normal push-ups but with different variations. However, if you bring your hands closer, the leverage changes and the exercise gets harder.
Most people report that when you take your hand away, you feel like recruiting the triceps and the front delts but don’t make any mistake, by moving your chest tight to your reps you will always get a big blast.
READ MORE…. | https://medium.com/@darshanfitness/intense-chest-workout-at-home-with-4-exercises-3804d2fa1ccb | ['Darshan Fitness'] | 2020-12-22 06:44:35.894000+00:00 | ['Exercise At Home', 'Home Workout', 'Fitness', 'Healthy Lifestyle', 'Chest Workout'] |
Angular + NGXS + normalizr: Better data management with normalization | In this post, we’ll explore a better way to manage the ngxs stores using data normalization.
What is data normalization?
Data normalization is nothing else than modelling the data in a “normal form”. But, that’s not really a thing, is it?
When we talk about data normalization in the state management pattern we mainly talk about four key points:
Every entity is represented by a single “table”.
Every item of each table is indexed by its id, just like in a map.
Any reference to other entities inside an entity is done with the referenced’s id (the foreign key, if we talk in SQL argot).
An array of ids is also stored for each entity to express order and to help us in the denormalization process that will be addressed later on.
You can think of data normalization as the way data is usually stored in relational databases. You don’t store a SQL entity inside another one, you create a pointer to the referenced entity, don’t you?
Let’s see two different sets of data, one normalized and another one that isn’t.
Version bump
You can see here an example of an structure that you have seen many times on the responses of APIs.
Each Pokémon contains the information of its type nested, and each type contains even more types nested representing their weaknesses and resistances. This is the same data, now normalized:
Ok, hopefully you can see a couple of wins we’ve achieved with this. But…
Why do we need to normalize our data?
These are the main advantages and they are indeed important enough for us to take the time to do this -not trivial- process:
Data is not duplicated : Have you seen how many times was each Pokémon type defined in the previous example when the data was not normalized? Duplicity on the data comes with a bunch of problems when trying to keep it updated and coherent. Also, memory is reduced!
Have you seen how many times was each Pokémon type defined in the previous example when the data was not normalized? Duplicity on the data comes with a bunch of problems when trying to keep it updated and coherent. Also, memory is reduced! Data is accessible with no computational cost: In the example, we don’t have that many nested levels, but imagine a real data set. If we want to update a n-level nested item, we have to find the index of the element on each level by iterating through them all; leaving aside the messy code that generates when accessing the data.
In the example, we don’t have that many nested levels, but imagine a real data set. If we want to update a n-level nested item, we have to find the index of the element on each level by iterating through them all; leaving aside the messy code that generates when accessing the data. Only a small portion of the store’s tree gets updated on the event of a change: This is also important, since you probably have quite a few components listening for changes from the tree. If you update an object nested on another object, the listeners of the whole parent object will be notified. That won’t happen if the data store is normalized.
How should I do this on my NGXS store?
When I first faced the issue of having a deep nested state and tried to solve it by normalizing my data, I found articles on how to do it with React Redux and with NgRx. But since I love the simplicity of NGXS, I wanted to keep using it. So here’s my proposal on how to do it.
We are going to make use of a well known and robust library called normalizr which will, basically, normalize and denormalize our data.
First step: Create states that will hold our normalized data
In my approach, every entity is held by a different state. Of course, this would also work having a single bigger state, but in order not to have a single huge file (since ngxs does not allow us to implement action listeners in a different file as far as I know), I rather keep them separated.
First, to use normalizr, we should create the schemas for both Pokemon and PokemonType entities to tell it how to normalize and denormalize our data (if you don’t know how to use normalizr, please, go to the documentation section of their GitHub):
As you can see, we have defined here the normalizr schemas and some interfaces to make the state code a little bit more type friendly.
Now, both states hold the data in the way that it was explained in previous sections:
Nothing fancy here. The usual way to declare states on NGXS but the state model is an object prepared to hold our normalized entities indexed by id and an array of all the ids.
Second step: Normalize data that comes from external sources
Let’s suppose that a component dispatches an action that the PokemonsState will handle and it will retrieve the data from the API using a service injected into the state. The data that will come won’t be normalized and we want to convert it before storing. Also, the normalized data is stored partially on the PokemonsState (the Pokémon entities) and partially on the PokemonTypeState (the Pokémon type entities).
To achieve this, the action handler that will retrieve the data from de API will first normalize the data and then dispatch an action that both states will handle (some kind of a broadcast). Let’s see it in action.
Let’s focus first on the PokemonsState since it’s the one doing the most.
The first action handler, the one called getPokemons is the one in charge of getting the unnormalized data from de API. Then it will invoke the normalizePokemons() passing the retrieved array of Pokémons, this one will make use of normalizr to get the normalized entities. And, finally, it will dispatch the broadcast action, GetPokemonsSuccess.
The GetPokemonsSuccess handler will merge the entities that are the stored in the state with the new ones.
Now, let’s see the PokemonsTypeState:
Well, this certainly looks familiar. It basically does the same thing than the PokemonsState.
And here is the result of the normalized state on the redux devtools, as you can see, we have achieved a normalized data set!
Redux dev tools with our data normalized! Yay! 🎉
Final step: Denormalize our data to make use of it on the components
OK, the normalized data is perfect to store it and to make changes in it(not in the scope of this article, but you probably can see how easy is for the action handlers to modify the “nested” data).
But, we are developing an Angular app, the final actors in all this are the components and, believe me, handling a normalized data set in a component is not really friendly. We want to denormalize it!
Who will be in charge of this? The selectors.
I will just show here an example of a selector that will select all Pokémons. It will include the type information, of course.
To keep things clean, we will make use of the selector combination feature that NGXS has.
First, we have a selector on the PokemonTypeState that will give as a “raw” set of normalized data.
That was easy.
Now, we will join that selector with the real one that will be selected on the components.
Here is where denormalize “magic” happens. But it’s not that fancy, is it? We get the entities from both states (to denormalize we need them, as expected) and the normalizr library gives us our original object… or not?
This is the result with this code.
Infinite circular dependency! 😨
As you can see, normalizr doesn’t handle circular dependencies as we expected and we we’ll reach a memory limit. We have to manually stop the cicle.
That we do by modifying a little bit our schema:
With this, the types inside weaknesses and resistance won’t have another types inside, so normalizr won’t denormalize them. Let’s see the result:
That’s better 😌
OK, we can work with this! Well, our “inner” types still got a weaknesses and resistances array, but inside of them, we can only find ids, so the recursive unwrap is stopped.
You’ll get this data on the components and you’re free to use it as you wish.
That’s all, I hope you enjoyed the article and, please, leave any suggestion on the comments section!
Talk to you!
P.D: You can find the final version of the source code here.
More articles on the matter: | https://iruizmar.medium.com/angular-ngxs-normalizr-better-data-management-with-normalization-b0d656a3db94 | ['Ignacio Ruiz'] | 2020-11-09 10:07:49.417000+00:00 | ['Normalization', 'Angular', 'Redux', 'Normalizr'] |
4 Takes on the State of SaaS from the 2020 SaaS Benchmarks Report | 4 Takes on the State of SaaS from the 2020 SaaS Benchmarks Report Emily Brungard Follow Nov 19 · 4 min read
In many ways, 2020 has been the best year yet for SaaS — the very business model of SaaS lends itself well to uncertainty. Its flexibility has led to more IPOs, more revenue, and more interest in SaaS than ever. This year’s SaaS Benchmarks report from OpenView and a number of partners, including High Alpha, is a window into the SaaS industry during a year like no other. The majority of the respondents to the report were CEO or founder level and fell into the $2.5–5 million ARR range, but the report garnered participation from all employee levels, all company sizes, and all revenue ranges. For a quick recap of what’s covered in the report, keep reading.
SaaS Continues to Outperform
In April, the Wall Street Journal reported that the 52 stocks on the BVP Nasdaq Emerging Cloud index averaged a gain of 15 percent this year, a much better performance than the S&P 500’s 11 percent drop. From 2019 to 2020, public SaaS companies saw a growth rate of 45%. Even after falling from all-time highs in March 2020, public SaaS has rallied to nearly the same levels it saw prior to the fall.
Demand for public SaaS companies has remained high throughout the year, as evidenced by major SaaS IPOs like Snowflake, Asana, and ZoomInfo. Since its IPO in 2019, Zoom has grown to be one of the largest SaaS businesses in the world. Shopify has added more than $30 billion to its market cap in the last year, and Salesforce’s growth in the last year is greater than the equivalent of Atlassian’s entire market value.
SaaS Businesses Have Lost Confidence in Revenue-Generating Activities
COVID-19 and the economic volatility it’s brought with it have impacted the way SaaS (and every other industry) does business. While it’s clear that SaaS and cloud companies have largely been successful throughout these ups and downs, internal shifts have played a big role in that.
In 2020, growth rates have slowed across the gamut. As a result of the uncertainty this year has brought, the SaaS Benchmarks report suggests that businesses have lost confidence in revenue-generating activities. In turn, this means decreased growth rates. The youngest companies have largely avoided being impacted by this trend — simply due to the rapid growth most companies experience in their beginning stages. In SaaS companies, between 20 and 30 percent of ARR is spent on sales and marketing, with that number growing as the company increases recurring revenue.
Public Product-Led Companies Outperform Broader SaaS
As mentioned in our takeaways from last year’s SaaS Benchmarks report, public SaaS companies using product-led growth (PLG) tactics are growing faster than their marketing or sales-led counterparts. Despite a tumultuous stock market, public PLG companies have outperformed public SaaS companies by a nearly 50% premium in 2020. This is likely due to the fact that product-led businesses instinctually require less hands-on selling. Customers are able to sign up and start seeing value before ever speaking with a salesperson, making these companies less susceptible to headcount and budget cuts. This is good news for enterprise-level SaaS companies too, as PLG adoption has increased since 2019.
In B2B SaaS, Product Reigns Supreme
Employees make up a huge chunk of any startup’s budget, sometimes surpassing 50 percent of total expenses. As companies grow in size and revenue, their talent makeup changes significantly. At SaaS companies with less than $1 million in ARR, product and engineering hires, on average, make up more than half of the company headcount. This trend is especially prescient at companies following a product-led model, as they tend to have more product and engineering team members.
As a company’s ARR grows, so does its proportion of non-product and engineering employees. Sales, marketing, customer success, and other functions increase their share of the headcount pie. At companies with less than $1 million in ARR, sales, marketing, and customer success employees make up just 30 percent of all employees. At companies with $50+ million in ARR, non-product and engineering employees comprise two-thirds of headcount.
There’s no telling where the rest of 2020 will take us, although the SaaS Benchmarks report gives us a good idea of where we could be heading. We’re expecting more IPOs, even more volatility and uncertainty, and a lot of opportunities for disruption through the SaaS model. | https://medium.com/high-alpha/4-takes-on-the-state-of-saas-from-the-2020-saas-benchmarks-report-51a026b53f1f | ['Emily Brungard'] | 2020-11-19 16:04:18.519000+00:00 | ['Startup', 'Software', 'Product', 'Venture Capital', 'SaaS'] |
People of Bharat: Pathik | I am taking a walk outside the peripheral walls of Janeshwar Mishra Park in Lucknow city when I see Pathik. The sky is overcast with rain clouds and there is a gentle breeze. ‘Chote-bade sab le jaate hain. Yeh gudda kisse pasand nahi aayega?’ (Kids and adults both buy these. Who does not like these teddies?) I smile at Pathik as he hands me a dreamy-eyed stuffed teddy bear from the back of a van which is parked at the side of the footpath. I can see Pathik has displayed the stuffed toys on the iron railing fixture on the park’s wall. Pink, red, blue, yellow and purple stuffed teddy bears hang in a curved row along the wall.
Pathik is a tall, robust young man in his late twenties. He speaks softly and seems to be a natural at his job — selling stuffed toys. Born in Lucknow, Pathik lives with his parents in Lakshmanpura area: in the ancestral home. He tells me it’s a concrete dwelling that he shares with his siblings — six sisters and two brothers! Perceiving my thoughts he smiles and tells me four of his sisters are now married and live separately. I smile back sheepishly.
Pathik’s father works as a fruit and vegetable vendor in the market close by; a trade which has occupied 28 years of his life. He also sells packs and sells fruit baskets — called shagun — during Diwali and wedding seasons; an activity undertaken by the entire household. Pathik’s brothers joined their father’s business straight out of school. Pathik also quit his studies after the tenth standard and started learning the ropes but quit after a couple of months. ‘I didn’t like selling vegetables’ he explains.
A customer comes up and Pathik gets busy. Presently, a man gets up from the pavement where he was seated a few meters away but within ear shot. He is in his fifties and flicks away a beedi before he starts speaking to me. He introduces himself as Ramcharan and starts inquiring (somewhat authoritatively) about my intentions in questioning Pathik. ‘I am the owner of this business’ he asserts. Pathik successfully sells a stuffed panda to the customer and returns to the scene saying ‘these pandas sell the most. We have discovered this — many children like them. So we always pitch for the pandas’.
Pathik tells me he joined Ramcharan after he quit working with his father. ‘We were acquainted since a long time. My father didn’t mind’ he quips. Ramcharan, now more at ease adds: ‘It seems like yesterday but it’s been eight years!’
Ramcharan now joins the conversation avidly. He tells me he makes a monthly trip to Delhi to source the teddy bears and its stuffing material, spending INR 3000 per trip. The duo stuff the toys together which are available in two sizes large and small, priced at INR 250 and 800 respectively. They tell me they earn a profit of INR 60–80 on the sale of a one teddy-bear. They also stock their vans with a couple of seasonal products — plastic tubs sell well in summer while umbrellas sell during monsoon. They sell a lot of the stuffed toys in February. ‘It’s the month of love and this is Asia’s largest garden. Lots of foreigners come too. Business is good on Valentine’s Day’ explains Pathik. Ramcharan pays a small amount as monthly rent for the van. ‘This boy is educated and I am not’ says Ramcharan referring to Pathik. ‘He is good for business as I don’t know how to keep accounts’ he adds.
Ramcharan pays Pathik a salary of INR 12,000 each month — Pathik together with his father and brothers contributes towards the household income which is a total of INR 30,000. Of this, they spend INR 4–5000 on groceries and INR 2000 for school fees of their younger siblings. There is a usual expense of INR 1–2000 towards monthly health expenses but Pathik refrains from telling me the details. Pathik spends money on petrol; he owns a bike which he had bought from his savings a year ago. He also pays a monthly EMI (equated monthly installment) of INR 1250 towards the purchase of his smartphone. He manages to save INR 5–6000 each month in his savings account with the bank.
Pathik’s father had taken multiple loans for getting his four daughters wedded. ‘We were under a lot of debt. But we have repaid all of it!’ says Pathik. He does not use his smartphone for financial transactions. His younger sister owns a laptop which was given to her by the government under a scheme for promoting women’s education. ‘She owns it and does not share it with me more willingly!’ he exclaims with a twinkle in his eye, revealing a bit more of their sibling tiffs.
Pathik has big plans for his future. ‘I am entrepreneurial — just like Bhai (brother) here. Together, we are saving to open a proper shop in a few years. We will sell toys and children’s garments.’ Ramcharan lets out a chuckle. ‘That’s what he says’ he smirks, poking fun at Pathik, ‘because he’s not married. He has no {understanding} of responsibility. As soon as he gets married, all his plans will change!’
They share a laugh together and my day gets a little brighter. | https://medium.com/bharatinclusion/people-of-bharat-pathik-13a72fb792fc | ['Bharat Inclusion Initiative'] | 2020-12-12 04:32:22.524000+00:00 | ['Entrepreneur', 'India', 'Saving', 'Financial Inclusion', 'People Of Bharat'] |
What I Feel On Waking | Photo by Sage Friedman on Unsplash
In those precious moments before fully waking into this world, in the half-dream of fluttering eyelids, my body feels young, hopeful, excited for a new day. She knows the eager awareness of change and anticipation of what is to come.
And then I wake, move, feel the stiffness, or not, the unexpected weariness, or not, and take my first deep breath of another new day. My routines are fluid now. Body will tell me what she needs.
Some days I feel the many lifetimes, careers, all tucked away now…only this morning a flurry of grieving sped across my heart. For whom or what? I couldn’t say. I simply smiled and sent it on its way.
Deep cold met me at this morning’s waking. The kind that entices an extra snuggle into the covers, warming the tip of my nose before I venture into vertical. The cat does not want out. Curled in her dream world she awaits the warming light.
A duality of body experience follows me down the stairs and to the kitchen. Will each stair be taken in quiet trepidation, or will the current of happy and hopeful flow into my legs, and put a spring in my step? I choose the quiet-now spring of step, the lightness of being. I choose wellness of body and of life. I choose the joy of the sun rising from its new place on the horizon, its life-giving starlight nourishing and nurturing as it falls across my steaming cup of tea.
An Avatar I once knew told me, “I’ve given you the energy of a fourteen-year-old.” My twenty-something self wondered what made the difference and whether it was even possible for one to gift another with that kind of physical awareness. I hardly remember. What I do recall is the lifeblood flowing freely, imprinting each moment with possibility, potential and joy. My body of awareness developing along with the demands of the physical vehicle.
I am more grateful for this physical body now, no longer separate from any other part of me. Gone are the impulses to ‘whip her into shape.’ I am awed at what she has accomplished and endured, responding to my every request with as much Grace as she could muster. I am grateful for her strength and agility, for all that we have experienced together.
Now, I listen. I honor her awakening times, her need for movement, and her requirements for rest. We are partners now, body and I. We have a pact, you see, to enjoy each day, however many there may be, and to recall that “fourteen-year-old energy,” of standing on a threshold, peering into an unknown and unforeseeable future with joy and laughter.
Shakespeare wrote: “There is nothing either good or bad but thinking makes it so.” When my body takes a cautious step or a ‘painful’ one, I pause. “Let’s flip into another version of this reality,” I council that impulse. I choose to let the once-taken-for-granted joyful movement of a younger body fill this one, here and now. She responds, my vehicle, my life partner, with a change of experience in the moment. I may not take off and run as that teenager might have done, though the longing and the memory linger in heart and limb. But the joy is re-membered. The joy lives here still. Its price is listening, choosing where I put my focus, and allowing this vehicle I have learned to love and cherish to respond as she may.
What a miracle! Today is another day.
~ Namaste ~ | https://medium.com/crows-feet/what-i-feel-on-waking-60b776abf8e9 | ['Nalini Macnab'] | 2020-12-03 19:20:13.412000+00:00 | ['Wellness', 'Gratitude', 'Self-awareness', 'Wisdom', 'Aging'] |
Moving Away From the Office: The Rise of Remote Working | Credits: Pexel.com
Remote Working and work-from-home (WFH) are the ‘new normal’. While WFH has been a common practice for many businesses across industries, some are just starting out. Given the current scenario, international health advisory bodies advising on ensuring minimal gathering. Thus remote working would be the sole way of running a business for the time being.
Work-from-home has been a commonplace practice for a long time. What’s new with this way of working is the shift to the Work-from-Anywhere model. Making working practices more flexible, a work-from-anywhere model is similar to remote working. The only condition for such a model to work is the availability of a stable Internet connection, and required hardware. Employees can live and work from where they choose; be it their native hometowns to be close to their families or a town with cheaper living costs.
In fact, as per a Harvard Business Review article, a study found that when call-center employees were shifted to a remote-working model, their productivity increased by an average of 13%.
“Punching in” is now figurative with remote working
According to Global Workforce Analytics, over 4 million employees already worked remotely for at least half of their working days, till 2019. To cope with the current state of lockdown, across industries and countries, remote working becomes the key strategy to ensure business continuity.
Enabled by the rise in sophisticated technologies for collaborations, the need for remote working is pushed ahead due to the need of the hour. Businesses all over the world have latched on to remote working solutions. The main purpose of the adoption of this solution is to keep their businesses alive in some form or the other. To make lives easier for employees, more flexible arrangements have been created.
And just like that, the notion of “punching in” to work for the usual 9-to-5 workdays became a thing of the past.
Technology as a catalyst
“Necessity is the mother of invention.”
Nothing has boosted the concept of remote working as fast as the development in tech has. With high-speed Internet connections available across major locations in the world, remote working is widely accepted and even fully functional. The development of video conferencing, the growth of SaaS, collaboration software, and stronger network security are all central elements in this change.
The Gen Z influence
With Generation Z fully entering the workforce, the need to adopt more flexible ways of working is higher on employee lists. Flexible working has become the hallmark of new age, smaller companies that prove to be more considerate and empathetic towards their workforce. The younger generations of working professionals are tech-savvy and are armed with digital skills. To attract and retain such knowledge workers, flexible or remote working initiatives have already been undertaken by most companies.
How can remote working be a win-win for all?
A business gets to decide whether this is another workplace trend or an economical strategy. The key here is to identify value — value for a business, value for employees and resources required. Only if this value is realized, will a business move to develop remote working as a resource.
Adding to the viability of remote working in times of public health emergencies and natural disasters, the ‘new normal’ has other upsides too. In fact, remote working appears to be equally beneficial for both employees and employers.
Benefits for Employees
With a reliable Internet connection and the right technology, employees value the choice of working remotely. Working from outside the office does not necessarily mean working from home. It could include working from a location of the worker’s choice, given certain hours and project guidelines adhered to.
Makes employees happier
Working from a location that is more convenient than an office space ensures greater comfort for an employee. Stress and anxiety levels remain on an all-time low when a person is in a more familiar place. This not only increases productivity, but also allows an employee to remain dedicated to their responsibilities, and targets.
A work-life balance
Blurring lines between a personal and professional life is one of the downsides of technology. Maintaining a healthier work-life balance is key for a majority of employees. This will be so for the future generations of workforces also. Whether it is to look after aging parents, a new baby or even to spend more time with family — with remote working, employees have the option of maintaining a certain balance between the two.
Time saved is money earned
Remote working cuts out the daily communicating time for employees. This is one of the best perks of remote working. This not only helps staff in both physical and mental efforts, but it also saves daily travel expenses. Staff can easily devote this saved time into their working hours, which in turn accelerates productivity.
Benefits for Employers
From enhancing productivity to reduced turnover and even business continuity, there are several benefits of work from home and remote working even for organizations. All these benefits ultimately help a company to broaden the path of business success in the long term.
Economically driven strategy
A key benefit for the employer is the overall operational expenditure that can be reduced. Fewer people in an office space requires a lesser amount of money spent — reducing a business’ real estate footprint, by allowing for more efficient use of space. With the lesser need for infrastructure and resources, companies can invest more towards the well being of its employees and business development.
Enhanced productivity & reduced attrition
A study from Stanford reveals that working from home increases productivity by 13%, i.e. almost an extra day of output per week. This study also shows another positive side — remote working reduces employee-attrition rates by almost 50%. By allowing staff to work in a homely environment with a flexible schedule increases job satisfaction. As a result, it has the power to boost employee loyalty and reduced attrition.
Change is the only constant
With countries under lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, change was expected. But the change in the style of working may have been transformed forever. While the world waits for the healthcare community to get us all out of the dangers of this disease, the only way to keep businesses going would be to adapt to the change — this ‘new normal’.
Leap, a remote working solution by Maxicus, has been designed to help businesses take a step towards uninterrupted customer service. This software is designed to re-create a BPO-like environment in any Internet-enabled space. With measures taken for data security and quality interactions, Leap is one step ahead in ensuring business security and continuity for your brand.
Remote working may move ‘work’ away from the traditional office space. And this solution is designed to ensure that wherever ‘work’ may move, your brand presence and your customer well being stay put. To find out more about Leap, reach out to us here.
Editor’s Note: Originally published for Maxicus Blog. | https://medium.com/maxicus/moving-away-from-the-office-the-rise-of-remote-working-46a57fec880a | [] | 2020-05-27 13:09:48.389000+00:00 | ['Remote Working', 'Outsourcing', 'Work From Anywhere', 'Work From Home'] |
Rep. Malcom Kenyatta Addresses Need for Reimagining of Public Education Funds | In a recent virtual meeting, Temple University journalism students discussed several key socioeconomic issues with Pennsylvania State Representative Malcom Kenyatta — one of which addressed the need for changes in the public education system.
Photograph: Rep. Malcom Kenyatta|©Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Kenyatta, when asked about the failings of public education, proposed many promising measures needed to fix the broken system. Kenyatta began by suggesting that taxes be lowered and that residents should not pay the same in taxes as commercial businesses. “I don’t think that Comcast tower should pay the same percentage as your grandma. I think that’s just unfair.”
Kenyatta added that sky-high property taxes serve to limit individuals in terms of quality of life, which includes a poorly funded education system. He discussed the need for progressive taxation in Pennsylvania. Kenyatta believes that recurring streams of revenue, such as legalized marijuana, need to be used to support the funding of schools.
“We [Pennsylvania] are an older state per capita. We have a lot more people who are going to hit retirement age. And if we think we are going to get all the money that we need to fund our schools — out of the stone that is fixed income when people get a certain age — then we are lying to ourselves.”
Kenyatta addressed the need for nuance as it relates to public policy. He also discussed the waste of resources in the form of taxes regarding marijuana stops. While marijuana has become decriminalized, “If you look at the numbers, almost the same amount of people are getting stopped for having a bag of weed as before it was decriminalized.”
These measures are taxpayer resources that could potentially go towards public education, along with the revenue streams provided by legalized marijuana. Pennsylvania, in Kenyatta’s opinion, must become more creative in its policymaking strategy. | https://medium.com/@trey.a.fox/rep-malcom-kenyatta-addresses-need-for-reimagining-of-public-education-funds-7a628743db69 | ['Trey Fox'] | 2020-12-07 14:03:01.694000+00:00 | ['Politics', 'Funding', 'Pennsylvania', 'Education'] |
From Digitization to Connection | Digital Connectivity 🔗
For the past 3 years I have had the immense pleasure of leading weekly tours at the oldest standing structure in Manhattan, Fraunces Tavern. The building has just celebrated its 300th birthday 🎈, since its construction in 1719. I give my tour every Saturday afternoon at 1pm and end the hour in the Tavern’s most historically significant room, The Long Room. The importance dates back to December 4th, 1783, when George Washington gave his farewell address to his commanding officers. After the revolutionary war ended, Washington gave 3 farewells, but the final one in the Tavern to his officers includes the famous quote:
“With a heart full of love and gratitude I now take leave of you. I most devoutly wish that your latter days may be as prosperous and happy as your former ones have been glorious and honorable.”
In the midst of The Long Room’s period furnishings that include Georgian and Edwardian style chairs, a communal punch bowl, and various metal flatware, hangs an 18th Century portrait of a distinguished man with the typical white curly hairdo and a blue jacket with ornate silver clasps. For the majority of my time at the museum, I have introduced the sitter as the Tavern’s first proprietor, Samuel Fraunces. The painting was acquired in 1913 by the Sons of the Revolution of New York at auction, because the identity of the man was cataloged as Samuel Fraunces.
The Fraunces Tavern Museum has recently digitized their collection, and as a typical art nerd, I rejoiced 🎉 the fact that if people could not visit the museum in person (and hopefully catch my tour), they would at least be able to view the selection of historic paintings, artifacts, and documents at home online.
The collection was now available to anyone with an internet connection including not only the average history buff but also scholars and historians alike. This led to the museum being contacted by the German historian Arthur Kuhle whose topic of research is the Prussian court of Frederick the Great. His research led him to a painting housed in Dresden’s Staatliche Kunstsammlunge, with a subject looking quite familiar to visitors of the Fraunces Tavern Museum.
With the unmistakably same face and very similar ornate blue jacket, it is certainly the same person. But now, the question is, who is it? Since Fraunces lived in a time before photography was invented and almost no written descriptions of him survive, his appearance is still a great mystery. The quest for identifying this person continues with the theory that this portrait is of a member of Frederick the Great’s inner circle, and not Samuel Fraunces. There are no leads on how this painting made it to an American auction house at the beginning of the 20th century, but hopefully this trend of uncovering knowledge continues.
I have now since revised my tour to not introduce this painting as an image of the Tavern owner Samuel Fraunces, but as an example of how the internet is a beautiful tool to connect people and information as well as to make great advancements in research. | https://medium.com/@lgm527/from-digitization-to-connection-dba200cdc3ca | ['Laurell Mccaffrey'] | 2019-11-15 23:00:13.970000+00:00 | ['Museums', 'Fraunces Tavern', 'Art', 'Technology', 'American History'] |
Data is the new fuel | With the buzz words like ‘Artificial Intelligence’, ‘Machine learning’, ‘Big data’, and ‘Robotics’ creating an uproar and excitement in the digital market today, one should essentially ponder over what is so cool about data! Antonio Neri, President of Hewlett Packard Enterprise was famously quoted as saying-
“We live in an incredible time — every business has been disrupted by the digital transformation. The core of that transformation is the explosion of the data we are creating. We call data as the new currency.”
Data has been called the new oil, the new gold, considering the effect it can have on the economical statistics of the world. You must have heard it that humans produce 2.5 quintillion bytes of data every day. In fact, the statistics show that on daily basis Instagram handles 95 million photos and videos being shared on its platform. About 306.4 billion emails are sent and 5 million Tweets are made each day. Facebook alone has a daily 350 million photos upload. It generates 4 petabytes of data per day!
Photo by William Iven on Unsplash
These aren’t just figures but the data of humans from around the globe that can give an enormous amount of information about their behavior, their affiliations, sentiments, and other vital aspects that if analyzed and processed well can change the graphs of businesses!
With companies spending a lot in hiring data engineers, analysts, data scientists, and other related job profiles, it can be understood as an investment made in the data resources. Post-corona virus hit, many businesses found that AI and data science were necessary to attract potential customers and maximize their efficiencies. Not only from the business aspect, the governments, parliaments, and the agencies have used the data analytics and modeling tools to track the COVID-19 outbreak in real-time. BlueDot, a start-up based in Toronto, was the first to report the COVID-19 outbreak in Wuhan in December 2019 because its AI, machine learning, and big data-based platform predicted some unusual pneumonia cases happening around the market in Wuhan. After that, Google’s DeepMind published a research paper based on deep learning, predicting the structure of proteins associated with SARS-CoV-2, the virus causing COVID-19 using their AlphaFold system.
This gives us a brief idea about the potential of the data but there are two phrases we need to remember — “Not all data is useful” and “All data is useful but is not used”. Seems like conflicting, right? The thing is that the data that is available consists of noise, outliers that if generalized can lead to the loss of meaning and can be a hit back. That is why before using the data for predictions, it is preprocessed and prepared enough to make it trustworthy. Another side of the coin is that the outlier data can speak volumes and is not totally a ‘waste data’ if utilized properly.
Photo by Morning Brew on Unsplash
The world may have been a little slow in realizing this matrix of a data revolution that has already enveloped us but the top-lined businesses had understood its importance way before. Be it Google, Facebook, Netflix, or the data science companies like Numerator, Cloudera, data science has been at the root of the career opportunities of the modern world. You must have heard about the openings for analytics managers, business analysts, data analysts, research analysts, data scientists, etc. As per the Glassdoor report, data scientists in America have an average salary of around 90K USD! With thousands of career opportunities, the proper guide to step into the field becomes crucial for those aspiring to stay in the top command.
Image source: Google
The world may have been a little slow in realizing this matrix of a data revolution that has already enveloped us but the top-lined businesses had understood its importance way before. Be it Google, Facebook, Netflix, or the data science companies like Numerator, Cloudera, data science has been at the root of the career opportunities of the modern world. You must have heard about the openings for analytics managers, business analysts, data analysts, research analysts, data scientists, etc. As per the Glassdoor report, data scientists in America have an average salary of around 90K USD! With thousands of career opportunities, the proper guide to step into the field becomes crucial for those aspiring to stay in the top command.
Stay tuned. Happy learning:) | https://medium.com/devtorq/data-is-the-new-fuel-4891b2b43735 | ['Hafsa Farooq'] | 2020-09-18 07:08:01.043000+00:00 | ['Covid 19 Data', 'Data Is The New Oil', 'Data Privacy', 'Data Science', 'Data'] |
Subsets and Splits
No saved queries yet
Save your SQL queries to embed, download, and access them later. Queries will appear here once saved.